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B\^(É C>(? D r E> Gx} ~ F `{ H*Y CG DF <Rq I  ={N  Ex_ |8]a :P LVALP  restore Mon, 1 Jan 2001 Volume 1 : Number 723 In this issue: Canada: 100 best things about B.C. HI: Hawaii Announces Medical Pot Rules KUB: Patients accuse O.C. Sheriff of breaking the law and violating the Constitution Executive Order #12919 & 2001, A Boston Spaced Odyssey CA Prison Walk (Feb1-Mar4) Mentally ill man fell through cracks Colorado Springs, Colorado May 5th ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 31 Dec 2000 11:15:45 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Canada: 100 best things about B.C. Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20001231111505.05892040@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: Herb Pubdate: December 30, 2000 Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Pages A16-17 Copyright: The Vancouver Sun 2000 Contact: sunletters@pacpress.southam.ca Address: 200 Granville Street, Ste.#1, Vancouver BC V6C 3N3 Fax: (604) 605-2323 Website: http://www.vancouversun.com/ Authors: Daniel Francis and Howard White (Daniel Francis is editorial director of the Encyclopedia of British Columbia. Howard White is the publisher of Harbour Publishing.) 100 best things about B.C. 33. Marijuana Sure it's illegal, but we should be proud of producing the very best. Besides, it's our number one cash crop, providing jobs for hard-pressed rural communities. Just think what the government is missing in tax revenues. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 31 Dec 2000 11:17:15 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: HI: Hawaii Announces Medical Pot Rules Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20001231111701.0588faf0@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: MAP - Making A Difference With Your Help Pubdate: Thu, 28 Dec 2000 Source: Bay Area Reporter (CA) Website: http://www.ebar.com/ Contact: ebar@logx.com Copyright: 2000 The Bay Area Reporter / B.A.R. Author: Liz Highleyman Bookmark: http://wwLVALD!w.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal) HAWAII ANNOUNCES MEDICAL POT RULES Last Tuesday, December 19, Hawaii Governor Ben Cayetano (D) approved new rules regarding medical marijuana. The regulations are the result of a law passed by the state Legislature and signed by Cayetano this past June. The rules will take effect on December 28. Under the new rules, certified patients will be allowed to posses up to three ounces of marijuana and grow up to seven cannabis plants. Doctors will be able to get certification for patients who use marijuana for qualifying "debilitating" medical conditions such as cancer and AIDS. Growing or possessing marijuana for other than medical purposes will remain illegal under Hawaiian state law, and all marijuana possession and use remains illegal under federal laws. According to Ted Sakai, director of Hawaii's Department of Public Safety, the state is "seeking to resolve the conflict" with the federal government. Hawaii is the only state in which the legislature has passed a medicinal cannabis law. Eight states have passed medical marijuana laws by citizen initiatives, including California, which passed Proposition 215 in 1996, and Nevada and Colorado, which passed such laws in last month's election. __________________________________________________________________________ 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: Sun, 31 Dec 2000 01:50:34 -0800 From: Steve Kubby <steve@kubby.org> To: undisclosed-recipients:; Subject: KUB: Patients accuse O.C. Sheriff of breaking the law and violating the Constitution Message-ID: <B6744169.A5AA%steve@kubby.org> *************************************************************** THE AMERICAN MEDICAL MARIJUANA ASSOCIATION 15 Monarch Bay Plaza, Box 375, Dana Point, Ca 92629 Web site: http://www.drugseLVALN"nse.org/amma/ E-mail: amma@drugsense.org Join our List: http://www.drugsense.org/amma/ *************************************************************** IMMEDIATE RELEASE 12/31/00 CONTACT: Steve Kubby, AMMA National Director (530) 386-0777 (working media only, please) PATIENTS ACCUSE O.C. SHERIFF OF BREAKING THE LAW AND VIOLATING THE CONSTITUTION SANTA ANA -- Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona has rejected a plea by local patients to uphold California's four year old medical marijuana law. According to a published report in the Los Angeles Times, "The sheriff has said he will not alter department policy, which does not recognize the right to use marijuana under Proposition 215, because federal law bans marijuana cultivation and use." Steve Kubby, National Director of the American Medical Marijuana Association said he was disappointed in the Sheriff's decision, but that his organization intends to continue lawfully asserting their right to grow and possess medical marijuana in Orange County under the Compassionate Use Act. Kubby urged any bona fide patients who are being harassed by O.C. officials to file a complaint with the O.C. Grand Jury, which has agreed to review such complaints. "Sheriff Carona is a good man who is getting bad advice. As a result, he is violating the Compassionate Use Act and the California Constitution, article 3, section 3.5 which clearly states that federal law does NOT supercede state law unless an appellate court rules so. Sheriff Carona is also violating the 9th and 10th amendments of the U.S. Constitution which says that the rights and powers not specifically given by the Constitution to the Federal Government goes to the State and the People," argued Kubby. ### *************************************************************** NATIONAL DIRECTOR: --Steve Kubby <steve@kubby.org> STATE DIRECTORS: --CALIFORNIA: Anna Boyce R.N. <ATBoyceRN@cs.com> --HAWAI'I: Roger Christie <pakaloha@gte.net> --OREGON: Arthur LivLVALT#ermore <alive@pacifier.com> --NEW MEXICO: Bryan Krumm <krummb@unm.edu> --VERMONT: Robert Melamede <rmelamed@zoo.uvm.edu> MEDICAL ADVISORY BOARD: --Tod H. Mikuriya M.D. --Anna Boyce R.N. --Jay R. Cavanaugh, Ph.D. --John Beresford M.D. COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: --Rick Root DIRECTOR OF VOLUNTEERS: --Richard E. Pearl, Sr., Ed.D. <rpearl1@hotcom.net>, REGIONAL DIRECTORS --Andy Kinnon <andyshellk@sprynet.com> --David Jack, <jacks@goldrush.com> CALIFORNIA COUNTY DIRECTORS: --ALAMEDA: Jeff Jones <jeffj@rxcbc.org> --CALAVERAS: Sue Garner <garner@goldrush.com> --EL DORADO: Dale Schafer <cannabisdr@prodigy.net> --FRESNO: Jonathan Richter <jonrichter@email.msn.com> --HUMBOLDT: Eric Heimstadt <child@northcoast.com> --LOS ANGELES: Jay R. Cavanaugh, Ph.D. --MADERA: Jonathan Ira Zwickel <jonathanira@thegrid.net> --MARIN: Rev. Lynnette Shaw <revshaw@hotmail.com> --MENDOCINO: John Stahl <tree@tree.org> --NEVADA: Carrie Becker <solarquest@jps.net> --ORANGE: Doug Scribner <doug@123abc.net> --PLACER: Steve Kubby <steve@kubby.org> --SAN DIEGO: Dennis Triglia <dtriglia@home.com> --SAN JOAQUIN: Marty Kell <MKELLMEG@aol.com> --SAN LUIS OBISPO: Jo-D and Tom-E Dunbar <dunbar@thegrid.net> --SANTA CLARA: Randy Moore <MJlawRandyMoore@aol.com> --SHASTA: Kim Levin <shapatall@hotmail.com> --SISKIYOU: Stephen Fisher <spiderman@sisqtel.net> --SONOMA: Robert Schmidt <pamela.grandy@gateway.net> --STANISLAUS: Kenneth Moore <moores@ix.netcom.com> --TEHAMA: Chris Ward <abes@cwnet.com --TUOLUMNE: Christopher DeMars <debjane@sonnet.com> **************************************************************************** ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 31 Dec 2000 10:21:46 -0800 (PST) From: Gary Thomas <hempliberty1@yahoo.com> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Executive Order #12919 & 2001, A Boston Spaced Odyssey Message-ID: <20001231182146.21077.qmail@web702.mail.yahoo.com> Get a TV station to cite E.O. # 12919, signed by Clinton on June 3rd of 1994 -AND- show the FOOD section of this 'strategic-comLVALD$modities' document. Hemp's listed. Try a search-engine online (White House Gov't Documents) or at any law library. Oh-**it!, even the White House favors industrial hemp as a FOOD RESOURCE. Now about that toilet paper mill near Albany, Oregon.... Hire Greg Orion Thomas (pen-name) as a writer or anti-prohibition guest-speaker!! Pay me s-o-m-e-t-h-i-n-g to bring conservatives to their senses, for I am not free! That, or watch TRAFFIC with Michael Douglas & Catherine Zeta Jones in January <HempLiberty1@yahoo.com> Hemp products replace: OIL, COTTON, TIMBER, SYNTHETICS, ALUMINUM, & STEEL. Hemp's a wonderful & nutritious food resource; now the DEA, a rogue federal agency, wants to ban 'Hemp-Plus' frozen toaster waffles, Hemp I Scream Ice Cream, and One Brown Mouse hemp tortilla chips. I don't know about you'all, but I'm now on the WARPATH! How DARE they even THINK about taking MY FAVORITE FOODS off the store-shelf! (So, for the 1001st time....how about some {non-violent} guerrilla-marketing?!!!!?) We need something more eye-catching than a (wonderful) e-mail newsletter & a "TAX ACT". Please refer to http://www.hempology.org for a bit of history on vice taxation....it's a Boston non-profit. Besides the Tea-Party all those years ago, they rioted just enough to END Alcohol Prohibition. What now? A Boston Cannabis MEDITATION to Stop Prohibition? Caffeine (in Tea & Coffee) leaves you jittery & irritable if you're a daily drinker & don't get enough of it. Fear of being without caffeine (due to excessive taxation by King George) is what caused the Boston Tea Party. Alcohol (in beer, wine, spirits, & ALCOHOL FUELED VEHICLES)....too much of it....is also associated with aggression. Boston locals rioted after the US Coast Guard accidentally shot & killed rumrunners onboard the Black-Duck boat during alcohol prohibition in 1932 or 1933. Cannabis is a non-drug farm crop, prescribed natural medicine, and mind-altering drug of a non-aggressive sort. This is why I'm left wLVALV%ondering if "2001, A Boston Spaced Odyssey" is the way to go. Is it? Or is aggressive (non-violent) Cannabis Guerrilla-Marketing the way to go? Leaflet drops at fairs, festivals, & at golf-tourneys....that sort of thing Hemp's an effective doctor-prescribed medicine Hemp users do not belong in the many jails & prisons in Texas & elsewhere in our Land of the Free Any A-N-S-W-E-R-S ? __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Photos - Share your holiday photos online! http://photos.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 30 Dec 2000 23:19:42 +0800 From: gear2000@lightspeed.net To: gear2000@lightspeed.net Subject: CA Prison Walk (Feb1-Mar4) Message-ID: <3a4ede0e.43e0.0@lightspeed.net> CA Prison Walk (Feb1-Mar4) From February 1 -- March 4, 2001, there will be an interfaith pilgrimage visiting about 22 prisons in California to bring out the many issues related to prison injustices in the United States. This will be a good opportunity to bring out the many related issues such as drug war injustices/corruptions, the death penalty, racial disparities in the US "justice" system, Prop215 interference by the Feds, etc. This walk is being initiated/conducted by a Buddhist nun of the Nipponzan Myohoji order which has conducted many prayer walks for global peace, disarmament, and social justice issues over the past decades in America and around the world. The local press on these walks typically offers good coverage of them in part due to the "colorful" nature of the event which includes the drumming and chanting of their traditional prayer for truthful understanding. Depending on the size of local participation en route the media coverage could expand to regional and national levels. Projections as of now for number of long distance walkers (15-17mi/day, total 500mi over a much longer route from Oakland to Fresno to Tehachapi to San Bernardino to Los Angeles to Santa Barbara ending at Lompoc prison) is a mLVAL&odest 10-15 walkers who will need overnight accomodations along the way. This walk has the potential to catalyze large events at locales along the route depending on how well local organizers/coordinators take advantage of this opportunity to participate locally and organize events along the way so that local speakers can bring out their various prison issue related messages to the participants and the public via media coverage along the way. Big or small, this walk will take place on schedule and whatever "snowball effect" this announcement may have on the eventual size and impact of this walk will depend on what the reader does with this information in the coming days and weeks. Please forward this brief overview message to your networks for review of details at the walk website http://www.stormpages.com/geronimo33/caprisonwalk.html and ask those interested in helping to organize/coordinate local events along this walk route, join a part of the route along the way, provide hspitality, etc., to offer their ideas and commitments to the walk egroup list by subscribing and posting at http://www.egroups.com/group/CA-prison-walk where archived posts may also be reviewed by the public, media, etc., including initial post (#3) which contains printable fax copy of basic walk flyer and route schedule. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 31 Dec 2000 09:35:24 -0600 From: "Dean" <fdb@ev1.net> To: <editor@mapinc.org> Cc: <restore@crrh.org>, <drctalk@drcnet.org> Subject: Mentally ill man fell through cracks Message-ID: <000801c0733f$4cf2fa60$cdd4dacf@i1g4h3> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0005_01C0730D.0094E160 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hawk: Dean Farrel =20 Pub: Houston Chronicle Author: Thom Marshall Date: 12/31/2000 Email: thom.marshall@chron.com Link http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/metropolitan/marshall/784458 =20 Mentally ill man LVAL_'fell through cracks=20 By THOM MARSHALL=20 YEAR'S END is a time for looking back at the way things were and, if we = don't feel good about any of them, thinking about how we might make them = better.=20 Here is an example of how we did in the category of mental health care:=20 The director of a small state-financed facility for treating people with = alcohol and drug addictions, located in a Texas town several miles from = Houston, said the 42-year-old man came in on his own, seeking help first = in getting off methamphetamines -- detox -- and then he wanted help in = staying off -- treatment.=20 He also was a client of MHMR, our public agency charged with providing = assistance and care to people suffering from mental problems. His = diagnosis at MHMR was paranoid schizophrenia with psychotic features, = said the alcohol and drug treatment facility director. But she learned = that later. He originally described himself as bipolar.=20 When he came to her seeking help, she said he was "extremely psychotic, = hallucinating, very paranoid." He believed that police had bugged the = facility. He believed that every car passing on the street outside = contained Drug Enforcement Administration agents looking for him. He = believed someone was trying to kill him. And he imagined other dangers, = none of which was unusual, said the director, "for someone who has done = a lot of speed and has not slept in three days."=20 Deteriorating condition But as the meth wore off, his mental condition grew worse instead of = better. He became more paranoid and aggressive. He also had what the = director called "moments of clarity," when he was aware that his mental = illness was getting out of control. He grew increasingly depressed, = increasingly paranoid, increasingly aggressive.=20 He believed the medications he was given were attempts to poison him, = the director said. He believed the squirrels in the facility's back yard = were talking to him, telling him to stab the director 38 times. He = LVAL(managed to hold on to enough reality to know he didn't want to hurt her, = to realize she was trying to help him. But the struggle was taking a = tremendous toll on him and the staff grew increasingly uneasy about the = potential for crisis and tragedy.=20 "We watched this man go through hell," the director said.=20 She called MHMR for someone to come assess his condition because she = believed that he met the criteria for immediate hospitalization -- "a = paranoid schizophrenic in active psychosis," who also wanted to kill = himself and to hurt the director and staff, and who was "desperate not = to act on those feelings."=20 However, to the director's disappointment, "the state hospital decides = that he is not dangerous enough to be hospitalized."=20 And yet, the director said, the man was too dangerous to remain any = longer at the small alcohol and drug facility. It lacked the resources = and had no one on staff trained to deal with his mental illness. She = could find no alternative. All she could do was release him.=20 Prison the only way? He understood that he could not stay there. And as he left, he told the = director, "The only place for me to have a life without being crazy is = in prison."=20 He had been in the state pen a couple of times before, convicted of = burglary and possession of a controlled substance, said the director. He = had told her that prison life was so structured that he had been forced = to take his medications. As bad as being locked in prison again would = be, he preferred it to what he'd been going through. He could see only = one other option.=20 "I'm either going to kill myself or someone else," he told her. "Either = way, I win."=20 A few days later, the director learned that the man had intentionally = assaulted a relative. But she said that wasn't his ticket back to = prison, because when the court learned he was a mental patient the = charges were dropped.=20 That left him only the other way. He took enough speed to leave life = bLVAL g * Y 4 O~ 3xywvfisherdampener.jpg[ms] 1001FISCHER DAMPNER - 24T - 91-93 SOFTAIL / 84-93 RUBBER MOUNT,269.95FISCHERFISCHERxxof^!?fisherdampener.jpg[ms] 1000FISCHER DAMPNER - 25T - ALL 94-UP B/T,269.95FISCHERFISCHERccZQI!?fisherdampener.jpg[ms] 1003/XL5FISCHER / M6 COMBO - 91-00 SPORTSTER,328.95FISCHERFISCHERff]TL%ehind.=20 The director said she is not allowed to tell us this man's name, but we = wouldn't recognize it if she could.=20 "Except to his family and those of us who tried our best, he's nobody," = she said.=20 Thom Marshall's e-mail address is thom.marshall@chron.com.=20 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 31 Dec 2000 20:13:10 -0800 From: joey herrmann <rainbowproductions1@yahoo.com> (by way of "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org>) To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Colorado Springs, Colorado May 5th Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20001231201302.051bbc60@mail.olywa.net> This is just a note for any and all of you in the Colorado Springs, Colorado area on May 5th for the World Cannibis Protest. Please email me at: rainbowproductions1@yahoo.com so that I can contact you on where we can meet. In addition, I am looking currently looking for a spot we can all get together afterwards.(I don't know if my place will be big enough depending on how many people come.) Thanx-Joey Herrmann __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Photos - Share your holiday photos online! http://photos.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ End of restore V1 #723 ********************** * ------ 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. ------ To subscribe, unsubscribe or switch to immediate or digest mode, please send your instructions to <restore-owner@crrh.org>. ------ *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/ LVALT*restore Thu, 22 Feb 2001 Volume 9 : Number 51 In this issue: supreme court to consider whether privacy, hi-tech are at odds Fw: Jewish Perspective on Med Mj Re: PA: Reduce Penalty For Pot? Time To Just Say No UN says Canadian pot growers get slap on wrist Re: State Rights Re: State Rights. Suggestion from RL Root GRANT KRIEGER: SHADES of a Medical, Moral Penal Horror FL: Marijuana Crop Suffers In Drought, FDLE Says did you ever post this story???? California Bill Introduced to Legalize Industrial Hemp Thermal imaging, ABC World News Tonight Re: restore V1 #773 MI: End Failed Narcotics Policy CA:Milken Institute Review Looks At America's War On Drugs OR: Grand jury briefings stir legal issue ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 18:04:34 EST From: PTPEET@cs.com To: restore@crrh.org (restore) Subject: supreme court to consider whether privacy, high-tech are at odds Message-ID: <e2.10a745b7.27c45202@cs.com> Tuesday, February 20, 2001, 09:02 a.m. Pacific Supreme Court to consider whether privacy, high-tech snooping are at odds http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/SeattleTimes.woa/wa/goto Article?zsection_id=268448413&text_only=0&slug=privacy20&document_id=1342687 95 by Mark Curriden The Dallas Morning News FLORENCE, Ore. - Early one morning in 1992, officers in an anti-drug task force pointed a high-tech thermal-imagining device at several houses in this quiet coastal town of 5,000 people. Inside, Danny Lee Kyllo and his neighbors were asleep, unaware that the government was electronically scanning their homes by measuring heat emissions. Outside, the officers could tell if the residents were sleeping, hugging, having sex or using the bathroom. They also discovered marijuana growing in Kyllo's garage, got a search warrant, raidLVALD+ed his home and arrested him. In a case to be argued today, the U.S. Supreme Court is being asked to use the Kyllo case to determine parameters for law-enforcement officials who use high-tech devices and technology to get personal information. The justices are examining whether the Fourth Amendment's promise that people are safe in "their persons, houses, papers and effects" from illegal searches is violated when police use new technologies to pierce traditional walls of confidentiality and secrecy. "The significance of this case and how it will impact people on a daily basis cannot be understated," said University of Georgia law professor Eugene Wilkes. "For the first time, the Supreme Court is going to tell us how far government can go in snooping into our private residences and personal lives." Even the U.S. Justice Department, in its briefs filed at the Supreme Court, agrees that "technological developments hold a serious potential to encroach on privacy." In the Kyllo case, law-enforcement officers used a device that looks like a video camera to scan for heat radiating from the exterior of his home. It converts the infrared signals emitted by people, ovens, hot water or lamps into a visible image on a screen. The technology was developed to assist soldiers in the Persian Gulf War. Kyllo said government agents violated his constitutional rights when they used the thermal-imaging device to "look" inside his home to see what he was doing. "When I tell people what happened, they are shocked that our own government would spy on its own citizens in this way," said Kyllo, who is now 36. Kenneth Lerner, a Portland lawyer who represents Kyllo, said law enforcement's use of such devices "strips the citizenry of the most basic rights of personal privacy by electronically gathering invisible information" about what is going on inside the home. "Since we don't permit police to break into people's homes, should we permit them to use technology to accomplish the same thing?" Lerner saLVALV,id. "If the government is free to use technology to look inside our homes, there really won't be anything left of the right to privacy," said Dave Fidanque, executive director of the Oregon chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. Even though a majority of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco held the use of the heat-imaging device in the Kyllo case was proper, a dissenting judge warned that the United States is quickly becoming "a world of Orwellian surveillance." Prosecutors say the use of thermal-imaging devices is not illegal because it doesn't "literally or figuratively penetrate the home. Instead, it measures and analyzes heat escaping from a building." The Justice Department says it is no different than spotting smoke coming from a house. "In many ways, it is a question that is both scientific and metaphysical," said professor David Schuman of the University of Oregon School of Law. "Does this (scanner) take someone from outside (a home) and put them in or take information from inside and take it out?" State and federal law-enforcement officers have used the technology in tens of thousands of drug and gun investigations. Federal judges have, with near unanimity, agreed with the Justice Department that thermal imaging is not actually a "search." However, three state supreme courts - in Montana, Pennsylvania and Washington - have banned the technique in their jurisdictions, ruling that it is a "search" and that it is too intrusive. In past rulings, the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed police to proceed without a warrant when they put a radio beacon in a car to track its location, send a helicopter over private property to see inside a greenhouse, or use a flashlight to illuminate a darkened car. However, the court has required police to get a warrant before placing a microphone inside a house or on the outside of a telephone booth. Legal experts say that if the Supreme Court decides that the use of such devices is a "search," the justices are alLVAL-most certain to rule that the search is unreasonable - a factor in deciding if a police action is illegal. "Technology is developing at the speed of light and the law has not been keeping up," said Drake University law professor Thomas Baker. "I think that the Supreme Court feels this is a growing concern among the people of this country that, because of technology, we are losing too much of our personal space." Baker and other legal scholars say law enforcement is going to use all tools available to obtain information about potential suspects or possible criminal activity. "That's why we have courts to protect our rights and to tell government it has gone too far," said Baker. The problem, according to analysts, is that there are no legal standards on how and when high-tech gadgets can be used by authorities to gather information. Yesterday, the American Bar Association, which represents 400,000 lawyers, judges and law professors, issued a report saying Congress and the president need to develop and enforce standards involving new technologies in order to protect basic civil liberties. Kyllo, who served a month in jail for marijuana possession, said government's access to "considerably more sophisticated and intrusive" equipment has grown extensively in the nine years since his case began. "The technology they are using today is simply scary," he said. "The government doesn't need to know the personal issues of my life. I know what I done was wrong. But I know what they're doing is wrong." Information from The Associated Press is included in this report. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 17:37:09 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Fw: Jewish Perspective on Med Mj Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010220173702.044f7040@mail.olywa.net> ----- Original Message ----- From: <MikkiBACH@aol.com> Sent: Monday, February 19, 2001 5:45 PM Subject: Jewish Perspective on Med Mj On Thursday evening, Chris Conrad andLVAL . I will be joining Rabbi Peretz Wolf-Prusan and San Francisco Supervisor Mark Leno on a panel at Temple Emanu-El in San Francisco, entitled, "Medical Marijuana: A Jewish Perspective." Chris will be giving an overview on marijuana as medicine, Prop. 215, and some legal issues. The rabbi will comment on the Talmud and marijuana. I will be talking from the standpoint of lessons of a cultural Jewish upbringing that has led to my activism, and giving a slide show on the persecution of patients (bringing in some bigger drug war issues). I would love to hear any insight from you on why the Jewish community in particular should support medical marijuana. Any leads on interesting writings would also be appreciated. Thanks. Mikki Norris Human Rights and the Drug War www.hr95.org _Shattered Lives: Portraits from America's Drug War_ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 21:41:42 -0500 From: ltneidow@voyager.net (Lee T. Neidow) To: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> Cc: <restore@crrh.org> Subject: Re: PA: Reduce Penalty For Pot? Time To Just Say No Message-ID: <200102210241.f1L2faN11684@mail1.mx.voyager.net> I reacted by sending them a LTE simply saying: "In view of your opinion that reducing the penalty for possession of marijuana is ludicrous, it is obvious that you suffer all the symptoms of terminal optical rectivitis." Maybe they'll print it before they figure out what I said. Lee ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 07:06:04 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: UN says Canadian pot growers get slap on wrist Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010221070501.04541de0@mail.olywa.net> http://cbc.ca/cp/world/010220/w022075.html LISA SCHLEIN GENEVA (CP) - A United Nations agency has criticized Canada for its lax attitude toward illegal growers of cannabis and failure to control illicit production of drugs such as "ice" and "ecstasy." In its annual report released Tuesday night, the UN's InternationalLVALw/ Narcotics Control Board says Canadian courts have been handing down sentences to cannabis growers and couriers that essentially amounted to just a slap on the wrist. Canadian law enforcement agencies make a lot of effort to eradicate cannabis, Herbert Schaepe, the board's secretary, said in an interview. But people who illegally grow cannabis "get very, very low sentences and we wonder whether that policy is a sufficient deterrent to get people not to cultivate cannabis," he said. The report singles out cannabis, the plant from which marijuana is derived, as "the most common drug of abuse" in Canada, Mexico and the United States. A major concern to law enforcement agencies in these countries is the spread of hydroponically grown cannabis with a high content of THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol. While the United States has had successes in dealing with illicit cannabis, the UN report notes that Canada's efforts had yielded only limited results. In addition to being smuggled into the country on a large scale, cannabis is also cultivated within Canada with annual production at about 800 tonnes - 60 per cent of which may be smuggled into the United States, the report says. British Columbia, Manitoba and Quebec are among the places where cannabis with a high THC content is grown indoors in Canada. In British Columbia, the report says, illicit indoor growing of cannabis has become "a widespread, lucrative undertaking." Schaepe said B.C.'s attitude toward cannabis is "much more liberal" than elsewhere in the country. The cannabis situation in the province "has become a problem also in the United States, because there is trafficking of cannabis from western parts of Canada to the United States," he said. Next to cannabis, the report finds a disturbing increase in the production and abuse of synthetic drugs in Canada. The illicit manufacture of methamphetamine - or ice - has increased, it says. In the past year, law enforcement agencies have uncovered a record number of clandestine laboratories. Some laLVALT0bs producing MDMA - or ecstasy - were found in middle-class suburban neighbourhoods, especially in central Canada. "The laboratories were run by people with no criminal records or connections," says the report. "The board is not happy with the controls established in Canada," Schaepe said. "The Canadian government is not yet controlling, for example, one of the main precursors of methamphetamine - ice." "We are very concerned that big quantities of these precursors are being exported into Canada and the Canadian government doesn't know where it is going." Precursors are substances used in the processing or manufacture of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances. Schaepe said the board doubts that all the precursors exported to Canada are for legitimate medical purposes. "There are no reasons for such big increases and we think that part of it might go to clandestine laboratories primarily in the United States," he said. The board is calling on Canada to make greater efforts to comply with its obligations, under the 1988 UN convention against illicit drugs, to prevent "Canadian territory from being used to divert chemicals for the illicit manufacture of drugs in other countries." Earlier this month, police said an eight-month investigation culminated in seven arrests and the seizure of cocaine, marijuana, ecstasy, handguns and more than $100,000 in Canadian and U.S. money during searches of homes in Toronto, Mississauga, Ont., Bolton, Ont., and Laval, Que. The UN report says there has been an increase in the amount of cocaine and heroin smuggled into Canada from countries such as Mexico. Last year, Canadian law enforcement agencies intercepted 156 kilograms of heroin. The Internet, says the report, is increasingly being used to spread information on ways to make illicit drugs. =A9 The Canadian Press, 2001 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 18 Feb 2001 09:35:18 -0600 From: "ricechex" <420@420station.com> To: <restore@crrh.org> Subject: Re: State Rights Message-ID: <002801c09LVALD19c0$6ff0da80$995eb218@moline.il.home.com> High Fat Freddy, We could also ask the all important question: How come they had to have a constitutional amendment to make alcohol illegal but not pot? Has the meaning of the words in the constitution changed that much? 420dj Chex http://www.420station.com Marijuana Radio Online ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 18 Feb 2001 10:15:53 -0800 From: "RLRoot" <rlroot@prodigy.net> To: "Fat Freddy" <realfatfreddyjay@worldnet.att.net>, "restore Hemp" <restore@crrh.org>, "Church of The Universe" <church-of-the-universe@eGroups.com>, "CJUST-L: Criminal Justice Discussion List" <CJUST-L@LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU>, <compassionatemoms@eGroups.com> Cc: "Ann McCormick" <amccormick@home.com> Subject: Re: State Rights. Message-ID: <02a101c099d6$db37eb60$8538ff3f@oemcomputer> There have been some very good and accurate answers given to these questions. But... Politicians (elected and appointed) look to our constitution for loopholes rather than for guidance. They write laws not to insure a more orderly society but to exploit some and grant advantage to others. The game is fixed. Until we stop putting politicians in power, questions and answers such as these will only serve as fodder for discussion, as those in power really don't care how it should be -- they have the means to interpret as they please. Life, Liberty, Happiness ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 06:25:40 -0800 From: rlroot@prodigy.net To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Suggestion from RL Root Message-ID: <200102201425.GAA22882@web15.topchoice.com> Hi Restore, RL Root stopped by The Sierra Times and suggested that you visit the following URL: http://www.sierratimes.com/archive/starticles/2001/feb/artt021901.htm Here is their message.... This is an excellent atricle outlining the probable future of the drug war as well as pointing out the motivations of the players within the new administration. The Sierra Times LVALV2SierraTimes.com - News with an attitude! http://www.sierratimes.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 10:26:37 -0500 From: "Kay Lee" <kaylee1@charter.net> To: "wayne phillips" <talismanic00@yahoo.com> Subject: GRANT KRIEGER: SHADES of a Medical, Moral Penal Horror Message-ID: <NEBBIHPLANLNKOCOELKBIENNDMAA.kaylee1@charter.net> A few days ago, I emailed a story about John [Ned] McPeak, a quadriplegic doing seven years in an American prison for marijuana. Then I received the following letters from Wayne Phillips concerning a multiple sclerosis patient in Canada, also doing time for the plant. One thing that struck me hard: In the last letter, Mr. Phillips' expresses fear of becoming "Americanized". Outside our borders, we are not looked at as we have been taught to view ourselves: Number one, the Great Nation, the Mentor/Saviors of the World. Our policy makers and our acceptance of their policies, have put us in a very dangerous position: We are ridiculed, resented, and reviled by friends and enemies alike. Now, THAT worries me. Kay Lee Eau Gallie, Florida, USA, World ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ FROM MR. PHILLIPS RE: GRANT KRIEGER Feb. 7 To the Alberta Minister of Justice and Attorney General Regarding Grant Krieger. Tuesday, January 23, 2001 Legislature Office #320, 10800 - 97 Avenue Edmonton, AB T5K 2B6 dhancock@assembly.ab.ca Dear Hon. David Hancock, Minister I am writing you out of great concern regarding the matter of Mr. Grant Krieger and his necessity to use cannabis to help ease his multiple sclerosis symptoms. Yesterday Grant Krieger turned himself in to serve a 22-day prison sentence. Mr. Krieger has said the last time he was behind bars he was confined to a wheelchair in a week because of the pain from his multiple sclerosis. This time, because his health has been complicated by a car accident last November, he expects to be wheelchair-bound within three days. While it would be entirely logical toLVALD3 supervise, monitor and schedule the required amount sufficient to alleviate his multiple sclerosis symptoms and related pain, surely you cannot mean to withhold his medication. Would the Office of Alberta Justice withhold insulin from a diabetic? As you have the ability to facilitate Mr. Grant Krieger's right to possess cannabis under section 7 of the Charter, confiscating his medicine can only be construed as cruel and unusual punishment in contravention of section 12. I believe your decision to withhold his medication is wrong and I can only hope that this letter will give you cause to reconsider, however, for the purpose of expediting resolution favourable to the best interests of Mr. Grant Krieger, this letter will also be forwarded to the following: *The Honourable Ralph Klein, Premier: Premier@gov.ab.ca *The Alberta Human Rights: humanrights@gov.ab.ca Thank you for your consideration and immediate response. A concerned Canadian, Wayne Phillips ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ THE REPLY FROM MR HANCOCK'S OFFICE Dear Mr. Phillips Your email of January 23, 2001 to the Honourable Dave Hancock, QC., Minister of Justice and Attorney General regarding Mr. Gant Krieger and concerns over withholding his cannabis while incarcerated at Edmonton Remand Centre was forwarded to me for review and reply. Under provisions of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, specifies about Mr. Krieger's case cannot be divulged to others without his written permission. That being said, health care staff assess all offenders who are admitted to provincial correctional facilities in Alberta. Medication is not withheld, however, offenders are not permitted to supply their own medication. If medication is required, the centre physician will review the case and perscribe accordingly. Incarcerated offenders who suffer from symptoms of diseases such as multiple sclerosis or any other ailments are assessed and receive medication as required based on consultation with attendLVALV4ing physicians and it is ultimately the physician's medical decision. Thank you for sharing your views and allowing me the opportunity to respond. Sincerely, Arnold Galet Assistant Deputy Minister Correctional Services Division ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ WAYNE'S RESPONSE TO MR GALET: Minister of Justice and Attorney General: and/or Assistant Deputy Minister of Correctional Services Division ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Re: Your response of Feb. 7, 2001 Sir, his appropiate medicine was refused and now he must go to court to have it returned to him. And while the Federal Minister of Health poses for photo ops ands speaks of balanced approaches, compassion, and justice, the realities of Mr Grant Krieger's situation is but a shadow of [John (Ned) McPeak, a quadraplegic who is deteriorating in an American prison for using Marijuana]. And while you who are the powers to be slowly Americanize us, just how long do you think it will take before the kind of reality that entrenches America will happen here, if it is not happening already. The manner of your response combined with the realities of Mr Krieger's predicament indicates that it in fact is. Thank You Wayne Phillips ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ENCLOSURE: Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2001 09:52:24 -0500 From: "Kay Lee" <kaylee1@charter.net> Subject: A MEDICAL, MORAL PENAL HORROR This is one of the most miserable stories I've ever been asked to share. I hope you read all the way to the end, because any of you with a conscience will be as horrified as I am. a year! ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 07:38:04 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: FL: Marijuana Crop Suffers In Drought, FDLE Says Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010221073754.04e28310@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: Sledhead Pubdate: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 Source: Tampa Tribune (FL) Copyright: 2001, The Tribune Co. Contact: tribletters@tampatrib.com Website: http://www.tampatrib.com/ Forum: http://tampabaLVAL_5yonline.net/interact/welcome.htm Author: Neil Johnson MARIJUANA CROP SUFFERS IN DROUGHT, FDLE SAYS Nearly three years of drought that hammered the state's agriculture industry also hit another group of farmers - the ones tending Florida's marijuana crop. Last year, police seized the fewest number of marijuana plants in the 19 years of Florida's effort to eradicate outdoor marijuana farming. A preliminary report by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement shows 39,219 outdoor marijuana plants were seized in 2000, says Jennifer McCord, spokeswoman for the agency. That doesn't include plants found at indoor growing operations. In 1999, deputies, police and FDLE agents across the state found 56,838 marijuana plants growing outdoors, she says. Police found fewer plants last year, even though they raided more sites - 860 in 2000 compared to 573 in 1999. ``The numbers have nose dived in the last three years,'' says Dave Broadway, former FDLE statewide coordinator for the outdoor marijuana eradication program. The drought's effect on illegal growers is exactly the same as legitimate farmers, especially those with crops such as peanuts, cotton and corn that aren't irrigated. ``Corn and soybean crops are practically down to nothing,'' says Bob Blankenship, economic researcher for the state Department of Agriculture. Last year, 18 percent of the 130,000 acres of cotton was left in the field, the yield so low it was not worth harvesting, he says. The dry weather is especially hard on marijuana, a plant that lacks an extensive root system. ``A cannabis plant only has an 8-inch tap root,'' Broadway says. ``It doesn't compete very well for water. It's hard to keep them alive.'' Rather than rely on rain to water their clandestine crop, marijuana growers have to somehow irrigate their plants without being discovered. ``If farmers are having trouble irrigating a legitimate crop, think how difficult it is if you have to do it in secret,'' Broadway says. Under the harsh coLVAL6nditions, just about any marijuana plant growing outdoors is a tended plant rather than one that sprouted from discarded seeds. ``Nothing you find in Florida is ditch weed,'' Broadway says. The crop of homegrown marijuana in Florida is usually higher in quality than imported marijuana and can command higher prices. ``This does help keep the highest-quality cannabis off the street,'' Broadway says. The FDLE uses what Broadway calls a conservative estimate of $1,000 per plant to place a value on the uprooted crop, meaning last year's seizures were valued at $39.2 million. The poor weather may be driving some outdoor growers inside, though the numbers on indoor marijuana seizures have stayed fairly steady. The Panhandle, with its open space and a population familiar with agriculture, used to see the heaviest concentration of outdoor marijuana growing. That's shifted now to north Central Florida. Last year, the most plants - 6,002 - were seized in Orange County. In Hillsborough, police found 553 plants. Pinellas authorities seized 352, and officers in Polk found 40 plants, McCord says. __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. --- MAP posted-by: Josh Sutcliffe ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 08:40:07 -0800 From: "mary mackenzie" <mmackenzie@prodigy.net> To: <restore@crrh.org> Subject: did you ever post this story???? Message-ID: <008a01c09c24$f3fd66c0$0101a8c0@pavilion> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0087_01C09BE1.E4E78960 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable http://www.salon.com/politics/feature/2001/01/12/ashcroft_nephew/index.ht= ml > > Read all about it. > > The hypocrisy of drug warriors when it comes to their own family = members > doing time for drug laLVAL 7w violations has long since been established.\ just checking--i hadn't seen it yet and hats off to all of you from = tucson arizona AZ4NORML WE'RE DOIN' IT =20 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 08:00:38 -0800 From: "Sam H. Clauder II" <s.clauder@att.net> Subject: California Bill Introduced to Legalize Industrial Hemp Message-ID: <3A93E626.5EF63586@att.net> On Tuesday, February 20, 2001, Assembly Member Virginia Strom-Martin introduced Assembly Bill 848 into the California Legislature to renew the legal status of Industrial Hemp for commercial production in the State of California. The bill would add Division 26 to the Food and Agricultural Code providing that any person who meets specified requirements and is issued a license by the Secretary of Food and Agriculture shall be authorized to plant, grow, harvest, possess, process, sell, or buy industrial hemp for commercial purposes. The bill would define "industrial hemp" to mean all parts and varieties of the plant cannabis sativa that contain a tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of 3/10 of 1% (.003), or less, by weight. The bill would require the applicant for licensure to submit an application to the Secretary of Food and Agriculture. More information is available from the offices of Assembly Member Virginia Strom-Martin in Sacramento at (916) 319-2001, in Santa Rosa at (707) 576-2526, in Eureka at (707) 445-7014, or in Ukiah at (707) 463-5770. More information is available on Industrial Hemp at http://www.CAIR.net More information on AB 448 is available as follows: BILL NUMBER: AB 448 INTRODUCED BILL TEXT http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/bill/asm/ab_0401-0450/ab_448_bill_20010220_introduced.html CURRENT BILL STATUS: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/bill/asm/ab_0401-0450/ab_448_bill_20010220_status.html COMPLETE BILL HISTORY: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/bill/asm/ab_0401-0450/ab_448_bill_20010220_history.html ASSEMBLY MEMBER VIRGINIA STROM-MARTIN WEBSITE: http://democratLVAL s.assembly.ca.gov/members/a01/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 12:18:49 -0500 From: Andrew Seidenfeld <noprob@mindspring.com> To: restore <restore@crrh.org>, Dana Beal <dana@cures-not-wars.org> Subject: Thermal imaging, ABC World News Tonight Message-ID: <B6B962A8.1ADC%noprob@mindspring.com> ABC World News Tonight Tuesday, Feb 20 2001 at 06:41 PM ......police saw what they believed was excessive heat so they then got a search warrant and found he was growing marijuana under powerful lights kyllo said thermal imaging was ...... For details, visit http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/scotus_thermal010220.html or http://www.TVEyes.com/database/expand.asp?ln=3D2989148&Key=3Dmarijuana =20 February 20, 2001 =20 =A0 =A0World News Tonight=A0 Danny Lee Kyllo at his home in Florence, Ore., where narcotics agents used = a thermal imaging device to find marijuana growing in the attic. (Don Ryan/AP Photo) =20 High Court Hears Pot Case At Issue: Technology, Privacy Rights and the 4th Amendment By Geraldine Sealey Feb. 20 =8B At 3:20 a.m. one January morning in 1992, an Oregon national guardsman assisting in a federal investigation sat in the passenger seat of a parked car and watched an apartment triplex under suspicion for drug activity.=20 STORY HIGHLIGHTS An Exploitative Technology? =A0 Gov't.: This Is No X-Ray =A0A Two-Part Test =A0 Thanks to cutting-edge technology originally designed for the military, the guardsman relied on more than the naked eye to watch the property. Wielding a thermal imaging device, a camera-like gadget that identifies infrared radiation, the agent detected an unusual amount of heat being lost from an apartment occupied by Danny Lee Kyllo. The device, called an Agema Thermovision 210, scanned Kyllo's home and recorded white blotches along th= e roofline and along one wall of the garage, indicating excessive heat in those areas.=20 Eleven days later, law enforcement agents burst into KyLVAL]aN9restore Tue, 2 Jan 2001 Volume 9 : Number 2 In this issue: Oklahoma: What Will Happen To Will Foster? CA: Marijuana Warlords Set Up Shop Beneath Redwoods Of DPFCA: More on Ashcroft as Attorney General Journal of the International Hemp Association 5(1) 2000 in Review - U.S. - What MAP's Readers Were Reading The Most HEMPOLOGY.ORG - WINTER'2000 UPDATES 2001 Expo PR3 KUB: Millennium Message: Spark up, Log on and Take Over! KUB: Pete Brady: Libertarian politician declares war on prosecutors... KUB: Citizens' arrest of O.C. Sheriff called off My [not so secret] political agenda in Benton County Fw: (Action) Appeal the Supreme Court Decision By Signing a Petition... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 01 Jan 2001 19:01:42 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Oklahoma: What Will Happen To Will Foster? Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010101190114.0554b4a0@mail.olywa.net> US OK: OPED: What Will Happen To Will Foster? URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1945/a06.html Newshawk: http://www.cannabisnews.com/ Pubdate: Sat, 30 Dec 2000 Source: Washington Times (DC) Copyright: 2000 News World Communications, Inc. Contact: nated@wt.infi.net Fax: 202-832-8285 Website: http://www.washtimes.com/ Author: Jacob Sullum Related: The Story of Will Foster http://gnv.fdt.net/~jrdawson/willfoster.htm WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO WILL FOSTER? Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating was recently in the spotlight as a leading contender for U.S. attorney general. Now that George W. Bush has picked defeated Missouri Sen. John Ashcroft instead, Keating won't be heading the Department of Justice. As a result, he'll have more time to reflect on what passes for justice in Oklahoma. In particular, he should be thinking about Will Foster. Foster, a 42-year-old LVALT:father of three, was arrested in 1995 for growing marijuana in the basement of his Tulsa home. He said he needed the drug to relieve chronic pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis. In California, or one of the eight other states that allow the medical use of marijuana, a defendant like Foster can get off. In Oklahoma, he got 93 years. On Dec. 28, 1995, acting on a tip that Foster was selling methamphetamine, police broke into his house and tore it apart in front of his terrified 5-year-old daughter, looking for evidence of the crime specified in the warrant. They didn't find any, although they looked everywhere, even inside the little girl's teddy bear. But they did find Foster's marijuana garden, which was concealed behind a locked steel door in an old bomb shelter. There were about 70 plants. During Foster's trial, the prosecution claimed the plants were equivalent to 2,652 joints. A marijuana cultivation expert who testified for the defense said the yield would be more like 12.5 ounces, or about 600 joints -- not an outlandish amount for someone who smoked marijuana daily to control pain. Foster, who made about $100,000 a year as a computer programmer, insisted that he had never sold marijuana, and no one testified that he had. But in January 1997, the jury convicted him of possession with intent to distribute, along with cultivation, the aggravating factor of possession "in the presence of a minor under age 11," and failure to obtain marijuana tax stamps ( a legal fiction used to increase punishment ). The sentences recommended by the jury added up to 93 years, and Judge Bill Beasley said they should be served consecutively. He noted that Foster had rejected plea bargains promising sentences totaling 10 to 12 years. Tulsa County Assistant District Attorney Brian Crain told Reason magazine that he asked the jury to recommend "20, 200, 2,000, whatever number of years they wanted to give." He said the sentence was appropriate "because it falls within the statute, and I thinkLVALD; that the statute is appropriate." In August 1998, a state appeals court disagreed. Saying Foster's sentence "shocks our conscience," the court reduced it to 20 years, making him eligible for parole. Days later, the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted unanimously to release Foster. Supporters, including three prison supervisors who said they rarely intervene on behalf of inmates, urged Gov. Keating to sign the parole order. In his own letter to Keating, Foster noted that he had served five years in the Army, put himself through college, and started a successful computer business. "Most important is that I have never committed a crime against any person or thing in my entire adult or childhood life," he wrote. "The only victim in the crime that I am serving time for is my family. They have to live every day without ... the guidance, support and income that I have always provided." In January 1999, Keating rejected the parole board's recommendation, something a spokesman said happens only about 25 percent of the time. The spokesman said the decision was due to "a combination of factors," including objections from the prosecutor. A letter from Keating's office to a Foster supporter implied that one reason for keeping him in prison was that he had "made public statements concerning ... his plans to resist anti-drug laws if he is released." The letter apparently was referring to interviews in which Foster had criticized the war on drugs -- which suggests that he is being punished for his political views. In August 1999, the parole board again approved Foster's release, and Keating again said no. A few months ago, the board voted a third time to parole Foster, a decision that took effect on Dec. 21. Now that it looks like Keating will be staying in Oklahoma City, he'll have another chance to display his compassion, instinct for fairness, and sense of proportion. As for Will Foster, he's had enough of Oklahoma. He has asked to serve his parole in California -----------LVALV<------------------- Date: Mon, 01 Jan 2001 19:04:19 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: CA: Marijuana Warlords Set Up Shop Beneath Redwoods Of Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010101190402.0554b740@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: Sledhead Pubdate: Mon, 01 Jan 2001 Source: Washington Times (DC) Copyright: 2001 News World Communications, Inc. Contact: nated@wt.infi.net Fax: 202-832-8285 Website: http://www.washtimes.com/ Author: Thomas D. Elias MARIJUANA WARLORDS SET UP SHOP BENEATH REDWOODS OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES - Marijuana gardens planted illegally by squatters in the national forests of California are growing steadily larger, producing crops that are becoming ever more lucrative and potent, law-enforcement agencies reported in December as they wrapped up a record season of seizures in America's leading pot-growing state. "There is a lot more growing out there," said Eric Nishimoto, spokesman for the Ventura County Sheriff's Department, which cut down more than 15,000 plants with a combined street value of about $22 million in the county's portion of the Los Padres National Forest during one month last fall. "We're seeing more sophistication in the methods used, which can yield a much larger crop. We're not talking about the old days when some potheads grew some plants for their own use." Overall, California authorities seized more than 420,000 marijuana plants, or pot, last year =97almost double the 241,000 they grabbed in 1999. Agents of the joint local-state-federal California Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP) scored their biggest single-raid haul ever in September, confiscating 58,000 plants from a patch in the Sequoia National Forest, northeast of Bakersfield. They staged their biggest-ever San Francisco Bay area bust that same month, taking $49 million worth of plants from a patch planted beneath coastal redwoods in a county park near Woodside, on the edge of the Silicon Valley. Most marijuana plants produce about a poLVAL;}und of smokeable weed apiece, with the street value ranging from $600 to $5,000 per pound, depending on the potency of their tetrahydrocannabinol, the active ingredient in marijuana. That big money, said Sonya Barna, CAMP's director of operations, is the reason "we're not dealing with traditional hippie farmers any more. A lot of them have been pushed out by pseudo-criminal organizations from Mexico who import labor and armed guards. It's more cost-effective to grow it here than to smuggle it in. If they plant 20 big gardens, they can easily afford to lose most of them [to police] and still make millions." Although one armed grower was killed this year by a CAMP agent =97the first fatality in the campaign's 15-year history =97 most raids net no suspected growers. Many patches now are equipped with watchtowers and dummies made to look like armed farmers. Police say these are principally intended to scare off poachers, but also can provide growers with warnings when police approach. Some patches feature guards carrying AK-47s, intended to fight off thieves, not for resisting police. Authorities also have found irrigation pipes running to the pot patches from creeks and springs as far as five miles away. Growers or their workers carry food, ammunition and other supplies into the park and later pack mature pot out on their backs. Forest Service officials worry that the pot patches are affecting wildlife in the national forests, as growers kill animals for food, cut away natural vegetation, litter and leave human waste. "They're using the forest as a toilet," said Kathy Good, a Forest Service spokeswoman. "Birds and animals are dying because of the pesticides they use. They're also a big fire hazard because they use stoves and campfires unsafely." Nevertheless, some law-enforcement officials believe their campaign is succeeding. "It's very, very expensive to set these gardens up, and they take a big hit financially when we strike," said Ms. Barna. "And the more we take from them, the lessLVAL{N D>restore Thu, 4 Jan 2001 Volume 9 : Number 4 In this issue: Marijuana seized at Border Patrol checkpoint US Customs Chief Calls for New Drug Strategy It's Not Over Yet! Ask Your Senator & Congressperson to Challenge Florida's Electoral Votes ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 03 Jan 2001 15:54:09 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Marijuana seized at Border Patrol checkpoint Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010103155348.0559e490@mail.olywa.net> CORPUS CHRISTI CALLER-TIMES WED, 3 JAN 2001 Marijuana seized at Border Patrol checkpoint By Jeremy Schwartz Caller-Times Two families with four infant and toddler-aged children were detained at=20 the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint near Falfurrias Wednesday morning after=20 agents found 52 pounds of marijuana in a homemade utility trailer. The families were headed home to Wisconsin after spending the holidays with= =20 relatives in the Rio Grande Valley, Border Patrol officials said. The 23-year-old uncle of three of the children, who was driving the van=20 hauling the trailer, took responsibility for the marijuana and was turned=20 over to the Brooks County Sheriff=92s Department, Border Patrol officials= said. The man=92s brother-in-law, who was carrying two marijuana cigarettes, was= =20 also turned over. Eligio Pe=F1a, assistant-agent-in-charge at the Falfurrias Border Patrol=20 station, said it=92s not uncommon for smugglers to use children as cover.=20 =93They think if you see a family with women and children, you=92ll say=20 'there=92s no way they could be smuggling,'" he said. =93It=92s just a= ruse.=94 A drug-sniffing dog alerted to the marijuana, which was hidden in hollowed= =20 out boards of the utility trailer. Contact Jeremy Schwartz at 886-3779 or schwartzj@caller.com http://www.caller.com/newsapp/latest1/2064.html ------------------------------ LVALN? Date: Wed, 03 Jan 2001 15:56:26 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: US Customs Chief Calls for New Drug Strategy Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010103155602.055a1590@mail.olywa.net> Customs Chief Calls for New Drug Strategy Kelly Urges Renewed Efforts at Treatment, Prevention Dec. 29, 2000 By James Gordon Meek WASHINGTON (APBnews.com) -- America's "war on drugs" needs to be refocused to increase resources for prevention and addiction treatment, the U.S. Customs Service chief told APBnews.com. Commissioner Ray Kelly said national policies that rely instead on interdiction and incarceration as a means to stem the flow of drugs into this country or punish those involved in the buying and selling of narcotics have not worked as effectively as hoped. "I don't know of any thinking person in law enforcement who doesn't say we need more prevention and treatment," Kelly said. Of the billions of dollars spent each year by the government to fight the drug problem, not enough goes to drug rehabilitation and education, he said. The national drug strategy is rooted in politics, which historically has stoked the public desire to be tough on drugs. "I've been in this game a long time, and the emphasis has always been on interdiction," Kelly said. "It sells politically." Need to reduce demand Intercepting drug shipments by air, land and sea will always be necessary, he predicted, but reducing the demand is also an effective way to counter the drug problem. Another useful weapon in the fight is intelligence on drug shipments bound for the United States. In spite of the efforts of several agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, the National Security Agency and the CIA to gather intelligence, Kelly said there are information "gaps" that technologically savvy drug smugglers take advantage of. They use wireless Internet, satellite telecommunications and encryption to conceal their illegal activities, making it difficult to track theLVALT@m, he said. New challenges for agency During Kelly's two-year tenure as head of an agency with a $3 billion annual budget, intercepting terrorists at the borders has been a new challenge for agents entrusted with looking for contraband smuggled into or out of the country. But the primary focus of Customs is not enforcement; it is to collect duties on imported goods. Established by congressional legislation signed by President George Washington in 1789, Customs today employs 20,000 and collected $27 billion in tariffs last year. Credited with reforms Kelly, 58, does not look like a typical government official. The stocky former Marine who sports hand-tailored wool suits carries a tough-guy swagger that is more Hell's Kitchen than Georgetown. He is credited with many reforms at Customs. When asked about his proudest accomplishments since taking the helm, he said he brought focus to an organization that was fragmented by its many satellite offices and deficiencies in employee accountability. The organization has since become "professionalized" in the past two years, Kelly said, with a beefed up internal affairs unit and standards set by the naming of the first director of training in 110 years. Morale problem? But some veteran agents are not convinced. Morale among agents is low, sources told APBnews.com, and many are leaving Customs. Kelly said he isn't convinced Customs has a morale problem at any level and denied that the attrition rate has increased during his leadership. "Any objective analysis of morale in this organization would show that it has significantly improved," he said. Until the presidential contest was finally decided, the Clinton appointee's own Customs career was up in the air. It is doubtful he will remain at the agency once President-elect George W. Bush takes office. Self-described 'adventurer' He recalled his many commands, from service with the Marines in Vietnam to 25 different command posts in a long career with the New York Police DepaLVALDArtment. Perhaps most unusual was his role as commander of a unit that monitored Haitian police after the U.S. intervention in 1994. Another photo hanging in Kelly's office shows Kelly and a U.S. peacekeeper carrying a bloodied victim of fighting in the Caribbean nation. http://www.apbonline.com./newscenter/breakingnews/2000/12/29/customs1229_01.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 3 Jan 2001 18:59:11 -0800 From: marleory@cdsnet.net (Mar, Leo, Ry & Ian Goodman) To: restore@crrh.org Subject: It's Not Over Yet! Ask Your Senator & Congressperson to Challenge Florida's Electoral Votes Message-ID: <v01540b05b67997774c4e@[208.26.131.154]> >Delivered-To: marleory@cdsnet.net >Subject: It's Not Over Yet! Ask Your Senator & Congressperson to Challenge Florida's Electoral Votes >Date: Wed, 3 Jan 2001 10:14:45 -1000 >x-sender: mana7@pop.hsa-kauai.net >From: Larry Morningstar <mana7@aloha.net> >Bcc: >Mime-Version: 1.0 >Status: U > >How do you spell "Coup"? > >If what has happened in the US Presidential elections had happened in any >other country in the world, the US media would be all over it, calling it >a Coup d'Etat. And if it had happened in a third world nation of >"strategic importance" to the US, we would be sending in the marines. So >what's up folks? Why are we sitting on our collective derrieres, simply >bemoaning the results? There is something we can do. It is not over yet! >Read on.... > >If this message is not of interest, I apologize... it is a one time >send... you are not subbed to yet another of my lists. :) I pulled out >all the stops on this one. Please forward it on to your friends and >networks, if you feel so moved. > >"One who condones evil is just as guilty > as the one who perpetrates it. > > -- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. > >"If you are not part of the solution, > you are part of the problem." > > -- Eldridge Cleaver > >> <<:::::>>@<<:::::>>@<<:::::>>@<<:::::>>@<<:::::>>@<<:::::>> < > >We must be vigilant, aLVALVBnd hold the flame of Truth alive! >Larry Morningstar > > >----- Begin Forwarded Message ----- > >From: Fred V. Cook <fcook@igc.org >Sent: Wednesday, January 03, 2001 >Subject: PolBackground: "It's not over..." (cii) > > > Dear Friends, > > This seems to me to be a good reminder. I hope you'll take a > moment to consider that we don't have to "put up with" the de facto coup > which the Shrub and his relatives (and their CIA cronies) have apparently > pulled off. I'm not thrilled about Gore either, BUT due process in > government is more important than the outcome of the election. > > If we lose on the due process level, there's no guarantee that our > country won't slide further into corruption. We have a responsibility to > the people of the world, not just to the US . . . not to allow a CORRUPT > POLITICAL PROCESS to turn the most powerful government in the world > over to the Bush gang and the high stakes oil suckers, arms dealers, > drug smugglers, state terrorists and spooks (not to mention unprincipled > multinational corporations) they represent. > > Hopefully, if enough of us get in touch with our Senators and Congress > people, there will be enough courageous Legislators to put us a decent > fight. > > I wish you all the best for the new millennium, > Fred > =-=-=-=-= > > Date: Mon, 1 Jan 2001 19:43:25 -0800 > To: cii@igc.org (electionviews list) > From: Tom Atlee <cii@igc.org > Subject: "It's not over..." > > Thanks to Doug Mosel for this fascinating collection of information and > perspectives.... -- Coheartedly, Tom > > _ _ _ _ _ > > > The transition to the Bush administration is well under way, Al Gore has > conceded, the Supreme Court had the final word...it's over, right? That's > what we're told. > > Actually, it's not over. > > The Presidential election is not quite complete, and the selection of > George W. Bush as the next President is not quite final, until Congress > opens and certifies the Electoral College votes on LVALCJanuary 6. > > That's what the Constitution says. Despite what the media says, despite > what the Supreme Court says, despite what the spinners from Austin say... > > It's not over. > > Those Florida Electoral College votes can be legitimately challenged by > law, in Congress on January 6, using new facts now coming to > light...without reference to butterfly ballots or dimpled chads. There is > ample evidence of real electoral fraud and systematic violation of > election laws, Federal and State laws, in Florida. > > Did you know that, in one Florida county, many paper ballots in which > votes were cast for Al Gore had small adhesive ovals pasted over them, > with Bush votes marked and substituted? These fraudulent ballots exist, > they've been seen and verified, and they're being thoroughly counted > and examined. Right now. > > Did you know that, as of a few days ago, the bi-partisan group of > public-interest, legal and press organizations who are reviewing the > Florida undervote has Al Gore ahead by 140 votes in Florida? We all knew > that would happen, especially the Bush campaign; that's why they used > every device and influence they had to ensure that those votes would > never be officially counted. > > They think they're home-free now, that those hundreds of Gore ballots > will never see the light of day, that the people were fooled, that their > dirty tricks worked. Not so fast...they forgot about the Congress, the > final vote of the Electoral College, the formal provisions for a >challenge. > They forgot about the Constitution, which they're so eager to quote > when they can twist it to their devices, and so quick to dismiss when > it presents inconvenient realities. > > Patriots are taking decisive action to ensure that the shameful > manipulation of the 2000 election does not go unchallenged. There is a > written Constitutional and legal process for challenging Electors. > > That challenge is going to happen, next week, in a joint sessLVAL_Dion of > Congress presided over by Vice President Al Gore. > > Details below. Join in. Forward this message. > > ------------------------ > Michael North > Los Angeles, California > ------------------------ > > <http://207.228.234.134/elandslide/index.cfm?campaign=trustthepeople > > > Elector Challenge Day > > January 6, 2001 > > On January 6, 2001, any invalid Electors can be challenged by as few as > ONE Senator and ONE Representative. > > As set forth in 3 U.S.C. section 15, Congress will convene in joint > session at 1 p.m., presided over by the President of the Senate > (Vice President Al Gore). He will open the Certificate of Ascertainment > from each state in alphabetical order and call for objections. > > "Every objection shall be made in writing, and shall state clearly and > concisely, and without argument, the ground thereof, and shall be signed > by at least one Senator and one Member of the House of Representatives > before the same shall be received." > > Following such a challenge, the House and the Senate meet separately to > debate the challenge for 2 hours, and then vote on the challenge. A > simple majority is sufficient to uphold a challenge. > > We believe such a challenge is not only justified by the facts, but is > also mandated by history in order to preserve our sacred Democrac > We believe both Democrats and Republicans are morally obligated > to uphold a challenge to the Florida Electors. > > There is a direct precedent for such a challenge. In 1876, Democrat > Samuel Tilden won the popular vote. But the Republican Congress > successfully challenged the Democratic Electors from several > states and thereby installed Republican Rutherford B. Hayes as > President. Everything we propose is strictly in accord with the rules > written by that Republican Congress in 1877, 3 U.S.C. section 15. > > Here are the facts: > > 1. On November 7, 2000, Al Gore won the popular vote by over half a > MILLION votes. > > GorLVALEe -- 50,996,064 > Bush -- 50,456,167 > Gore Victory -- 539,897 > > Al Gore received the second largest number of votes in American history, > second only to Ronald Reagan's re-election in 1984. Al Gore's margin of > victory over George W. Bush was nearly five times larger than John F. > Kennedy's victory over Richard Nixon in 1960, and nearly as large as > Jimmy Carter's victory over Gerald Ford in 1980. Morally, we believe > Al Gore won the Presidency of the United States. > > 2. On November 7, 2000, the people of Florida voted for Al Gore. As a > result, the 25 Electors for George W. Bush are invalid and should be > rejected by the U.S. Congress. > > Each day's news proves that Al Gore won Florida. > > Al Gore's margin: > > 12/8 Florida Supreme Court revised coun -- 154 > 12/19 Lake County manual recount (+130) - 24 > 12/20 Broward partial manual recount (+164) +140 > > The revised numbers from Lake and Broward counties come from news > organizations using the same conservative standards that were used by > Republican officials in Orange and Seminole counties and are included in > the official totals. These news organizations will continue to count the > votes in the coming days. > > It's Not Over > > According to the Miami Herald, Al Gore would would win by 23,000 if all > of the 185,000 undervotes and overvotes are counted. > > There were dozens of serious problems with the election in Florida. > > It is now clear that powerful Republicans at all levels did everything in > their power to stop Democratic voter from voting or having their votes > counted. These actions included: > > Before the election, Republican Secretary of State Katherine Harris spent > $4 million of taxpayer dollars to hire a Republican firm with ties to > far-right activists to purge voters who were allegedly felons. The list > of "felons" included 8,000 people - mostly minorities - who committed >only > misdemeanors. In addition, the purge removed thousands of innocent LVAL F > voters, again mostly minorities, with the same names as felons. In the > weeks before the election, Republican Supervisors of Election in > Seminole and Martin counties broke the law by allowing Republican > operatives to add information to thousands of incomplete absentee > ballot applications, while voiding incomplete Democratic and Independent > applications. Immediately after the election, Governor Jeb Bush publicly > promised to stay out of the fight. But according to the New York Times, > Jeb's top aides and lawyers used every lever of power to stop the >recount, > including Secretary of State Katherine Harris, the Republican-led >Florida > legislature, and an army of lawyers, media activists, and thugs. > In Duval County, 27,000 votes were discarded, primarily in African- > American sections of Jacksonville. This represented one-fourth of the > votes in certain precincts. However, the Republican Supervisor of > Elections refused to tell local Democrats the facts until it was too >late > to demand a recount. In Miami-Dade county, a court-ordered manual > recount of 10,750 undervotes was stopped by a riot engineered by > Bush operative Roger Stone and led by Congressman John Sweeney and > Republican Congressional staffers. Bush and Cheney both called the > rioters that evening to congratulate them. Four of the five > Republican Supreme Court Justices who ultimately blocked the > recount had conflicts of interest. Chief Justice Rehnquist started > his career in the Republican Party by preventing minorities from > voting in Phoenix as a leader of Operation Eagle Eye in the early > 1960's. Antonin Scalia's sons worked for the law firms that directed > Bush's legal strategy during the recount. Sandra Day O'Connor > shouted "this is terrible" when Florida was called for Gore early on > Election night, because she would be unable to retire with Gore as > President. And Clarence Thomas' wife is screening potential Bush > administration appointeesLVALG from her job at the Heritage Foundation. > Beyond these specific instances of wrongdoing, the Florida election > also suffered from: > > Systematic violation of the Voting Rights Act, resulting in the denial of > votes by tens of thousands of black voters. > Systematic violation of the Americans with Disability Act, resulting in > the denial of votes by tens of thousands of disabled voters > Systematic violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment > (as interpreted by the Supreme Court in Bush v. Gore), most notably in > the fact that newer equipment in Republican-leaning counties produced an > error rate of only .3%, while older equipment in Democratic-leaning >counties > produced an error rate TEN TIMES HIGHER. > > Even with all of these problems, Al Gore still would have won if all of >the > votes had been counted, as ordered by the Florida Supreme Court. This > was prevented by the unprecedented and partisan interference of a > narrow 5-4 majority of the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court's ruling in > Bush v. Gore has been widely criticized as the most illegitimate >decision > since Plessy v. Ferguson. > > Under the Constitution, Congress is not obligated to accept the Supreme > Court's decision as the final word in the selection of Electors. Just as > the Florida legislature was considered within its rights to effectively > overrule the Florida Supreme Court, so too is Congress within its rights > to effectively overrule the U.S. Supreme Court in this matter. As > described above, the procedure for challenging Electors is explicitly > contained in the law, and has been used in the past - not only in 1877, > but also in 1969 when a challenge was made to a North Carolina > Elector who cast his vote for George Wallace. > > 3. On December 18, the 32 Electors from Texas violated the 12th > Amendment. As a result, their votes are also invalid and should also be > rejected by Congress. > > The 12th Amendment is unambiguous: > > ThLVALZHe Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot > for President and Vice President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an > inhabitant of the same state with themselves... > > Richard Cheney has been an "inhabitant" of Texas since he become CEO of > Halliburton in 1993 and moved into an expensive home in a Dallas suburb. > He claims that he became an "inhabitant" of Wyoming on July 20, 2000 > when he traveled there briefly to change his voter registration. In >fact, > he may have committed a felony by falsely claiming Wyoming residency. > > Several lawsuits have been filed challenging the legitimacy of the Texas > Electors. Republican judges have sided with Cheney, claiming that the > Constitution's "inhabitancy" standard is equivalent to current > "residency" standards. But the "original intent" of the 12th Amendment > was to determine where the candidates "lived" in the plain meaning of > the word. Thus, the proper standard for judging "inhabitancy" would be > the stricter standard of "domicile," not "residency." > > The Supreme Court asked Bush-Cheney to respond to the lawsuit on > appeal by January 10. This is too late to assist Congress in its > deliberations, but Members of Congress can make their own > determination of Cheney's compliance with the plain meaning of the > 12th Amendment. > > Take Action! > > Tell your friends to visit > >> http://www.TrustThePeople.com > >----- End Forwarded Message ----- > >Thanks to, Ryan Sarnataro for sending this message. > >> <<:::::>>@<<:::::>>@<<:::::>>@<<:::::>>@<<:::::>>@<<:::::>> < > > > >Larry Morningstar >mana7@aloha.net > > >*:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:* > > "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful > committed citizens can change the world: > Indeed it is the only thing > that ever has!" > > Margaret Meade > >*:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-.,_,.-:*'``'*:-., LVAL vV5clubs http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1442/a01.html 21) US ID: Meth Causing Problems For Real Estate Agents, Landlords http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n146/a07.html 22) US: Web: We Screwed Up - Al Gore On Drugs http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1384/a07.html 23) US: Web: How the Drug War Harms, Not Helps, Our Kids http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1537/a04.html 24) US: McCaffrey's Brain On Drugs http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n597/a06.html 25) US NH: State Police Call DEA Actions In Drug Bust 'Extremely Unethical' http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1693/a04.html 26) US CA: Just Say 'Is It OK?' http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1109/a02.html 27) US HI: LTE: A Different Perspective On Extasy http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1286/a02.html 28) US: Web: Can't Sweep This Under the Rug http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n495/a05.html 29) US MN: OPED: Is Now The Right Time To Legalize Marijuana? http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1560/a03.html 30) US IL: Ravers Want To Keep Their Parties Going http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n923/a03.html 31) US OK: Marijuana View Leads To Mistrial http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1417/a05.html 32) US: I Am Wrongly Imprisoned For 19 Years http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n540/a04.html 33) US CA: Two States Tackle Lab Cleanup Problem - DAY 4B http://www.mapinc.org_,.-:* > ------------------------------ End of restore V1 #726 ********************** * ------ 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. ------ To subscribe, unsubscribe or switch to immediate or digest mode, please send your instructions to <restore-owner@crrh.org>. ------ *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/ LVAL DJrestore Fri, 5 Jan 2001 Volume 9 : Number 5 In this issue: Canada: Taylor looks to appeal pot decision DC: Metro Accepts Marijuana Ad Banned in Boston US: McCaffrey to stress continuity in final drug report McCaffrey Live 12pm Fox News NORML WPR 1/4/01 (II) / Special on N.M! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 04 Jan 2001 12:12:02 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Canada: Taylor looks to appeal pot decision Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010104121147.055b2580@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: Herb Pubdate: Wed, 3 Jan 2001 Source: Grand Forks Gazette (CN BC) page 3 Copyright: Sterling Newspapers 2000 Contact: edit_gfgazette@yahoo.com Address: Box 700, 7330 2nd St., Grand Forks, B.C. V0H 1H0 Fax: +1-250-442-3336 Website: http://www.sterlingnews.com/Forks Author: Michael Chouinard Taylor looks to appeal pot decision The news the Cannabis Research Institute's Brian Taylor got from the federal government was hardly the sort to bring Christmas cheer. On Dec. 22 Health Canada announced that it had awarded a contract to a Saskatoon company, Prairie Plant Systems, to supply marijuana for federal government studies of the plant's medicinal properties. Taylor's Grand Forks company was one of many to submit a bid. The contract is valued at $5,751,250 over a period of five years. The evaluation committee that looked at the bids included members of the Agri-Food Canada, the RCMP, the federal public works department and Health Canada. Prairie Systems will be setting up its operation in an unused mine shaft near the town of Flin Flon, Man. The added security of the underground site, Taylor says, was probably extra incentive for Ottawa to go with the Saskatchewan-based firm, although he adds that his Cannabis Research Institute (CRI) did meet the guidelines for security as set out by Health Canada. The LVALNKbig problem, according to Taylor, was that the federal government expected an enormous financial backup in the form of a performance bond. Specifically, this meant the company could not get the necessary $1-million letter of credit as was required. As evidence, Taylor points to a letter he received via fax dated Dec. 28, from the public works department, which states the company's inability to provide the necessary bond or security deposit was the factor keeping CRI from meeting all of the necessary criteria. "They created a situation where we couldn't get that million-dollar underwriting," says Taylor. If not for this clause, he says his company was well-suited as the marijuana supplier to the federal government. "We had by far the most comprehensive package." As it stands, Taylor is looking into how he can appeal the decision, whether this can be done and who would adjudicate the matter. Taylor is also planning a return to politics with plans to be the leader of the provincial Marijuana Party. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 04 Jan 2001 12:16:09 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: DC: Metro Accepts Marijuana Ad Banned in Boston Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010104121442.055ba5f0@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: http://www.cannabisnews.com/ Pubdate: Wed, 03 Jan 2001 Source: Washington Post (DC) Copyright: 2001 The Washington Post Company Contact: letters@washpost.com Address: 1150 15th Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20071 Feedback: http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/letters/letterform.htm Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ Author: Lyndsey Layton, Washington Post Staff Writer METRO ACCEPTS MARIJUANA AD BANNED IN BOSTON Metro subway stations and buses -- law-and-order places where eating a french fry can land you in jail -- began displaying advertisements this week that suggest marijuana use should be decriminalized. The ad campaign, rejected by Boston's subway system and the subject of a pending lawsuit there, LVALTLwas funded by Change the Climate Inc., a nonprofit organization that believes punishment for marijuana use is too harsh. "We are business owners and parents who are increasingly concerned that the punishment far outweighs the crime," said Joseph White, 45, a partner in a Massachusetts-based telemarketing and opinion research firm who formed the group last year. "We want the politicians and thousands of people who are going to be here for inauguration month to take an interest in the issue." Change the Climate Inc. approached both Metro and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in Boston early last year, seeking approval for its advertising. "We like transit agencies because we want to reach average Americans," White said. Metro officials initially refused the ads, citing a policy that says public service advertising must be non-commercial, nonpartisan and "not designed to influence legislation or public opinion on a controversial subject," spokesman Ray Feldmann said. But when threatened with a lawsuit backed by the American Civil Liberties Union arguing that Metro was violating free speech, officials relented. Metro is also reviewing its policy, Feldmann said. The legal challenge would have been similar to one faced by the MBTA in Boston. Massachusetts Gov. Paul Cellucci (R) has refused to settle that case, arguing that the ads promote marijuana use. Change the Climate Inc. paid Metro a discounted advertising rate for nonprofits of $2,150 in exchange for illuminated signs on 10 subway platforms, large exterior signs for 50 buses and smaller signs for the interiors of an additional 500 buses, Feldmann said. The month-long campaign consists of three ads. The first, which is in the stations -- including the one closest to the White House -- features a young woman who asks, "Why do kids go to jail for doing what politicians did when they were young? Tell us the truth." Justin Cohen, a 25-year-old lawyer from Chevy Chase, was drawn to that ad while waiting for a train at LVALDMthe McPherson Square station yesterday. "It's a good ad," he said. "I was even going to check out the Web site. I'm already leaning towards that point of view. We need to change the way we handle marijuana. . . . Good kids just experiment, but if they get caught, it can ruin their lives." The second ad, inside buses, shows a business executive with cancer who admits to smoking marijuana after chemotherapy. The third, which appears outside the buses, features two police officers in front of an American flag. It reads "Police are too important . . . too valuable . . . to good . . . to waste on arresting people for marijuana when real criminals are on the loose." All ads carry a disclaimer that Metro does not endorse the message. White said his group is not trying to legalize marijuana but rather reduce the penalties so it is not in the same category as heroin and other "hard" drugs. "Over 4 million people have been arrested since 1992, and most of those arrested have been young people -- our own children," said White, a father of three, who lives in Greenfield, Mass. "Most responsible parents don't want their kids smoking marijuana, but we don't want our children arrested, jailed and terrorized in the manufactured hysteria surrounding marijuana." But Howard Simon, of Partnership for a Drug Free America, called the advertising campaign "disingenuous." "Most people see this for what it is: an attempt by a vocal minority to make marijuana more socially acceptable," Simon said. "One of the ads says, 'Tell us the truth.' Well, the truth is the vast majority of Americans want marijuana to remain illegal. The truth is that medical marijuana should be decided by the medical community. That's the truth. We don't think these ads are going to be very effective." Change the Climate Inc. plans to expand its transit ads to New York and Chicago. "We think that having an ad campaign in the nation's capital will make it easier for us in other cities," White said. _____________________________________LVALVN_____________________________________ 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 F www.mapinc.org ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 04 Jan 2001 12:20:48 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: US: McCaffrey to stress continuity in final drug report Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010104122022.055bc1f0@mail.olywa.net> McCaffrey to stress continuity in final drug report By Steve Holland WASHINGTON, Jan 4 (Reuters) - White House drug policy director Barry McCaffrey, issuing his final anti-drug report on Thursday, will stress the need for President-elect George W. Bush to maintain the national strategy that he has pursued. McCaffrey is to appear at the White House to release his last annual report before stepping down as head of President Bill Clinton's Office of National Drug Control Policy. "The nation working together is making substantial progress in confronting illegal drug abuse and drug trafficking," McCaffrey said in a statement ahead of his appearance. McCaffrey will say that under his stewardship, the war on drugs has paid off, with teen drug use down 21 percent in the past two years, overall drug use on the decline and the number of drug-related crimes and murders plummeting. He will call for continuity in the national drug strategy, a clear appeal for Bush to pursue the anti-drug effort aggressively. While naming members of his Cabinet and other top-level positions, Bush has yet to name a new drug policy director to replace McCaffrey, a retired general. McCaffrey is also expected to announce that Jacksonville, Fla., and Las Vegas, Nevada, will be declared high intensity drug trafficking areas, making them a focal point for a joint anti-drug effort between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The law enforcement agencies will share evidence and information to confront LVALOdrug trafficking and money-laundering organizations. McCaffrey will also add a new objective to the U.S. anti-drug effort, devoting more resources to treatment programs for drug abusers. The no-nonsense general was instrumental in developing an aid package for Colombia, $1.3 billion in mostly military assistance, to try to stop the source of much of America's illicit cocaine and heroin trade. A key issue for the incoming Bush administration will be whether to continue funding this plan, in which U.S. military advisers are training special Colombian battalions in fighting the drug trade, and indirectly, leftist guerrillas who protect and profit from the trafficking. Bush, whose home state of Texas shares a long border with Mexico, has made clear he would devote more time and attention to Latin America while he is president. 03:21 01-04-01 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 4 Jan 2001 11:39:06 -0500 (EST) From: potholder@webtv.net (Joe Mama) To: restore@crrh.org Subject: McCaffrey Live 12pm Fox News Message-ID: <14798-3A54A72A-2397@storefull-106.iap.bryant.webtv.net> It's 11:40 EST. They just announced an impromptu live broadcast. Heads up!!! ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 4 Jan 2001 17:21:36 EST From: NORMLFNDTN@aol.com To: undisclosed-recipients:; Subject: NORML WPR 1/4/01 (II) / Special on N.M! Message-ID: <d6.8cff7c.27865170@aol.com> NORML Foundation 1001 Connecticut Ave., NW Ste. 710 Washington, DC 20036 202-483-8751 (p) 202-483-0057 (f) www.norml.org foundation@norml.org January 4, 2001 NM Drug Advisory Group Recommends Decriminalization Of Marijuana For Personal Use Santa Fe, NM: The current "war on drugs" is a failure and current drug laws should focus on prevention, as opposed to incarceration. That was the conclusion of New Mexico's Drug Policy Advisory Group as they presented their findings to Governor Gary Johnson today. The advisory group, appointed by the governor last May, called for the end of criminal LVAL_Psanctions for the possession of less than an ounce of marijuana by anyone over 18 years old. Those who smoke marijuana in public would still face a civil fine. The advisory group explained in the report, "Having reviewed carefully the information available on marijuana and its effects, and having heard from various representatives of law enforcement, corrections and the courts, we believe that taking this step will result in greater availability of resources to respond to more serious crimes without any increased risks to public safety." The committee also endorsed the medical use of marijuana, by seriously ill patients, and recommended the legislature revise the "Lynn Pierson Act," a long dormant New Mexico medical marijuana law originally enacted in 1978 that allowed for the medical use of marijuana in research settings. "We recommend that the Lynn Pierson Act be amended to allow physicians to recommend and patients to access medical marijuana when medically appropriate, and to allow for a registry of patients who are approved for this treatment and their caregivers," wrote the committee. "We applaud the advisory group for their two specific recommendations regarding marijuana policy," said Keith Stroup, NORML Executive Director. "First, they recognize the importance of permitting the medical use of marijuana. Nine states currently permit seriously ill patients to use marijuana if their physician recommends it to relieve pain and suffering. It would be unconscionable to continue to deny an effective medication to those who need it." Stroup continued, "Second, The Governor's Drug Policy Advisory Group joins a long list of prestigious commissions and study groups that have reached the conclusion that we should stop arresting responsible marijuana smokers, including the National Commission on Marijuana Use and Drug Abuse (the Shaffer Commission) (1972) in this country, the LeDain Commission (1972) in Canada and the Wooten Report (1968) in England. Millions of mainstream, middlLVALQe-class Americans smoke marijuana, and most of them are good citizens who work hard, raise families and contribute to their communities. It's time we stropped treating them like criminals." Throughout the report the advisory group denounced the current methods of drug education and the plethora of false information disseminated by federal agencies that help perpetuate the failed "war on drugs." "We would like to emphasize an overriding concern that surfaced repeatedly as we examined the information available on these topics," wrote Advisory Committee Chair Woody Smith, a retired state judge, in a transmittal letter to the governor. "In our society today, much of our drug policy is based on misleading and even patently false information about illegal drugs, the physical and psychological effects of illegal drugs and the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of current drug policies. Even more disturbing, the advisory group determined that false information frequently comes from sources that we expect to be reliable, including our own federal government. When incorrect information is accepted as true and policies are based upon that false information, the resulting harm experienced by those who suffer from drug addiction and their families, by criminal justice agencies, and by the public is great." "We believe that it is our ethical imperative to reject false data and misleading information no matter what the source, and to increase the availability of accurate and meaningful information to all New Mexicans and policy makers." The committee further recommended amending existing criminal statutes to reduce first and second drug possession offenses to misdemeanors with automatic probation and substance abuse treatment rather than jail time; and the elimination of mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenders. The report said, "New Mexico should begin immediately to place first priority on enforcement of laws prohibiting violent crimes, followed by enforcement of laws prohibiting proJLVALZ F > voters, again mostly minoritieperty crimes. When law enforcement officers are given the impossible task of stopping all drug use and all drug buying and selling, they are less able to enforce laws intended to protect communities from crimes such as assault, rape and murder. A reallocation of resources that prioritizes prevention, investigation and enforcement of these violent crimes over drug crimes would better serve and protect the citizens of New Mexico, would improve morale within the ranks of law enforcement and would increase public support and respect for the hard work that law enforcement, courts and correctional officers do every day." The implementation of effective prevention and science-based drug education; effective treatment programs covered by Medicaid; and harm reduction policies and programs were also recommended by the committee. "This is a thoughtful report which makes a convincing case for a harm reduction approach that relies on education, prevention and treatment over prison and other punitive approaches," Stroup said. "They have provided a useful blueprint for a more effective and humane drug policy for the state. It's now time for the New Mexico legislature to move forward with a review and overhaul of their marijuana laws." For more information please contact Keith Stroup, NORML Executive Director at (202) 483-5500. -end- ------------------------------ End of restore V1 #727 ********************** * ------ 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. ------ To subscribe, unsubscribe or switch to immediate or digest mode, please send your instructions to <restore-owner@crrh.org>. ------ *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/ LVALqp*Srestore Sun, 7 Jan 2001 Volume 9 : Number 7 In this issue: US: Get Hemp To The Jive: Day 1 NM: Johnson Hopes To Bend Bush's Ear At Governor Roundup National Review: Prohibition Fever Canada: Marijuana Party Plans To Run Candidates In B.C. Election Live on the 'net today - Peter Christ from ReconsDer [FWD] felony? 2000- A Year in the Life of Marijuana Prohibition Johnson to propose some drug legalization for NM US: America's Most Dangerous Politician NM: Governor To Pursue Changes In Drug Policy US: New Mexico Thumbs Its Nose At The War On Drugs In the New York Times - Ashcroft's WOD views Review of "Traffic" Fw: Fw: Catchy little tune ( The Week Online with DRCNet, Issue #167 Re: Oh, this is FUNNY Re: felony? Official! 50,000 items in the MAP archives! Thank You! Ebert's against the WOD (what would Siskel say): Drugs - The... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 06 Jan 2001 15:18:46 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: US: Get Hemp To The Jive: Day 1 Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010106151809.05631520@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: http://www.cannabisnews.com/ Pubdate: Thurs, 06 Jan 2001 Source: WorldNetDaily (US Web) Copyright: 2001 WorldNetDaily.com, Inc. Contact: letters@worldnetdaily.com Address: PO Box 409, Cave Junction, OR 97523-0409 Fax: (541) 597-1700 Website: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/ http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=21244 Author: Joel Miller, commentary editor of WorldNetDaily. GET HEMP TO THE JIVE: DAY 1 With the DEA threatening to ban nonintoxicating hemp products for various, spurious reasons, I think it's wise to take a quick look at what we'll be losing if we allow this unconstitutional powergrab to go forward. Making an end-run around the legislative prLVALjTocess, the DEA will accomplish its hemp ban by bureaucratic fiat -- administrative rule -- and entirely skirt Congress, the constitutionally vested body for making laws. Not only does this outrageous move show flaming contempt for our representative form of government -- sidestepping those properly responsible to, and empowered by, the people to make laws -- but it also shows a grossly asinine attitude about an amazingly helpful plant. In the next few days, I plan to use this space to catalogue just some of the valuable uses of the hemp plant and why the DEA and its supporters should think more than twice about banning its use. Hemp as food While the idea of wolfing down products from a plant related to marijuana might strike someone as a bit odd, there's little to fear. Because hemp has less than 1 percent THC, it's harmless in the dope category. What hemp does offer, however, are big pluses in the health category. Hemp seed oil is a tremendously good source for the two essential fatty acids our bodies need but do not produce: omega 3s and omega 6s. What's more, despite the fact that these fatty acids can be found in some other sources, as Dr. Andrew Weil of the University of Arizona College of Medicine pointed out in a March/April 1993 article for Natural Health magazine, hemp oil contains the best ratio of omega 3s to 6s -- one to three. A widely respected author of numerous books and articles, Dr. Weil points out that "Deficiency in omega-3 fatty acids can lead to skin diseases, heart disease and inflammatory conditions along with premature aging and disorders of the central nervous system." Further, he recommends a good intake of omega 3s "to promote cardiovascular health and protect against many cancers, including breast cancer." And where do you get your vital fatty acids? "Omega-3's come primarily from salmon, herring, sardines and other oily fish from cold waters, as well as from egg yolks. ..." While flaxseed will also work well, "the best source of omega-3's in the vegLVAL{3Zetable kingdom is hemp seeds." For those inclined toward vegetarianism, are worried about environmental toxins in animal sources of omega 3s, or are allergic to them (like yours truly), hemp is a Godsend for maintaining good health. Beyond that, hemp seeds are a prime vegetable source for complete proteins, containing all eight amino acids -- and according to some, hemp seeds taste better than their vegetable-protein rival, soy, while also being more easily digested. Further, as Weil's 1993 article keenly points out, hemp seeds are the only edible seeds to contain a very rare nutrient -- gamma linoleic acid, or GLA, which is an active agent in lowering cholesterol. Babies are, of course, fairly hip on GLA, since one of the primary methods of getting the nutrient is through our mother's milk. But since nursing is out for most of us well-adjusted ruddy Americans, the question arises about how best to ingest this oh-so healthy vegetable wonder. Dr. Weil recommends simple roasting and eating the seeds. Indeed, the restaurant Cheba Hut in Tempe, Ariz., shells and roasts its own hemp seeds for its brownies and sandwiches. Whole hemp seeds can be used for snacks, in cooking, even roasted and mixed in coffee. Processed hemp seeds can be used to make non-dairy milk, various styles of cheese and ice cream, or ground up and used in spreads similar to peanut butter. After the seeds have been crushed for their oil, they can be processed into protein powder (hemp seed meal contains about 25 percent protein), baking flour and can even be used in brewing beer. Unrefined hemp oil can be taken daily as a dietary supplement or used in salad dressings and cooking in place of other vegetable oils. For topical dry-skin care, refined hemp oil can be made into lotions and creams for your parched epidermis and can even be used to treat skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis. Skin-friendly soaps are also easily made from hemp oil; mentioned only for the sake of infamy, Dr. Bronner's "magic soaps" con} @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @defghjklnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~      !"#$%&'()*+/0 1 2 3 4 56789:;<>?@ABCDEFG H!I"J#K$L%M&N'O(P)Q*R+S,T-U.V/W0X1Y2Z3[4]6^7_8`9a:d=e>f?g@hAiBjCkDlEmFnGoHpIqJrKsLtMuNvOwPxQyRzS{T|U}V~WXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz l l l l l l l l l l  l  l  l  l  l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l  l! l" l# l$ l% l& l' l( l) l* l+ l, l- l. l/ l0 l1 l2 l3 l4 l5 l6 l7 l8 l9 l: l; l< l= l> l? l@ lA lB lC lD lE lF lG lH lJ lK lL lM lN lO lP lQ lR lS lT lU lV lW lX lY lZ l[ l\ l] l^ l_ l` la lb lc ld le lf lg lk ll lm} @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @defghjklnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~      !"#$%&'()*+/0 1 2 3 4 56789:;<>?@ABCDEFG H!I"J#K$L%M&N'O(P)Q*R+S,T-U.V/W0X1Y2Z3[4]6^7_8`9a:d=e>f?g@hAiBjCkDlEmFnGoHpIqJrKsLtMuNvOwPxQyRzS{T|U}V~WXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz l l l l l l l l l l  l  l  l  l  l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l  l! l" l# l$ l% l& l' l( l) l* l+ l, l- l. l/ l0 l1 l2 l3 l4 l5 l6 l7 l8 l9 l: l; l< l= l> l? l@ lA lB lC lD lE lF lG lH lJ lK lL lM lN lO lP lQ lR lS lT lU lV lW lX lY lZ l[ l\ l] l^ l_ l` la lb lc ld le lf lg lk ll lm:vcP=*z @ -  } j C 0  m Z G p]\I6"rY  Y pIDVolumeNoIssueNoTextU؁V؉YYIDPrimaryKey      y ]1#Fѫ]kex/"yNls=K2 mÍ@axͅX6wsM{E¬ʲR2UQEYEEp< ^5_Ԭkp   y ]1#Fѫ]kex/"yNls=K2 mÍ@axͅX6wsM{E¬ʲR2UQEYEEp< ^5_Ԭkp   y ]1#Fѫ]kex/"yNls=K2 mÍ@axͅX6wsM{E¬ʲR2UQEYEEp< ^5_Ԭkp   Ty ]1#Fѫ]kex/"yNls=K2 mÍ@axͅX6wsM{E¬ʲR2UQEYEEp< ^5_Ԭkp  Ty ]1#Fѫ]kex/"yNls=K2 mÍ@axͅX6wsM{E¬ʲR2UQEYEEp< ^5_Ԭkp   y ]1#Fѫ]kex/"yNls=K2 mÍ@axͅX6wsM{E¬ʲR2UQEYEEp< ^5_Ԭkp   y ]1#Fѫ]kex/"yNls=K2 mÍ@axͅX6wsM{E¬ʲR2UQEYEEp< ^5_Ԭkp    y ]1#Fѫ]kex/"yNls=K2 mÍ@axͅX6wsM{E¬ʲR2UQEYEEp< ^5_Ԭkp    y ]1#Fѫ]kex/"yNls=K2 mÍ@axͅX6wsM{E¬ʲR2UQEYEEp< ^5_Ԭkp     y ]1#Fѫ]kex/"yNls=K2 mÍ@axͅX6wsM{E¬ʲR2UQEYEEp< ^5_Ԭkp    y ]1#Fѫ]kex/"yNls=K2 mÍ@axͅX6wsM{E¬ʲR2UQEYEEp< ^5_Ԭkp    y ]1#Fѫ]kex/"yNls=K2 mÍ@axͅX6wsM{E¬ʲR2UQEYEEp< ^5_Ԭkp   y ]1#Fѫ]kex/"yNls=K2 mÍ@axͅX6wsM{E¬ʲR2UQEYEEp< ^5_Ԭkp     y ]1#Fѫ]kex/"yNls=K2 mÍ@axͅX6wsM{E¬ʲR2UQEYEEp< ^5_Ԭkp    y ]1#Fѫ]kex/"yNls=K2 mÍ@axͅX6wsM{E¬ʲR2UQEYEEp< ^5_Ԭkp     y ]1#Fѫ]kex/"yNls=K2 mÍ@axͅX6wsM{E¬ʲR2UQEYEEp< ^5_Ԭkp  LVALʾNewslettersCreate query by using wizardCreate form by using wizardCreate report by using wizardCreate data access page in Design view%~^6LVALP *z @ -  } j C 0  m Z G MR2ValidationRuleValidationTextOrientation FilterOrderByOrderByOnNameMapColumnWidthColumnOrderColumnHiddenDescription FormatCaptionDecimalPlacesInputMaskDefaultValueRequiredDisplayControlAllowZeroLength$UnicodeCompressionGUID     Ug8nV @Newslettersg8nVg8nVIDg8nVg8nVVolumeNog8nVg8nVIssueNog8nVg8nVText g8nV8 0Newsletters.IssueNo DESCI ID     g8nVƟVolumeNo t   $ General Number    0  m g8nVƝIssueNo u   $ General Number    0  m g8nVhText        g8nVMR2ValidationRuleValidationTextOrientation FilterOrderByOrderByOnNameMapColumnWidthColumnOrderColumnHiddenDescription FormatDecimalPlacesInputMaskCaptionDefaultValueRequiredDisplayControlAllowZeroLength$UnicodeCompressionGUID    U DnVM @Archives DnV DnVID DnV DnVVolumeNo DnV DnVIssueNonV DnVDate  DnV2 *Archives.IssueNo DESCVolumeNo t   $ General Number    0  m  DnVƝIssueNo u   $ General Number    0  m  DnVI ID      DnVrDate     Short Date  nVMR2( ReplicateProject MR20 Title AuthorCompany~ restore& egghead b jones6 .evil monk entertainmentMR2.AccessVersion Build* 08.50  LVALw1[tain hemp oil. "Eventually," writes D. Paul Stanford in the Oct. 5, 2000, Arizona Republic, "even desperately behind-the-curve companies like Franco-American and Campbell's may jump on the hemp bandwagon. Who knows? Maybe someday there will even be a hemp roll-up treat for kids." Unfortunately, if the DEA has its druthers, kids will go to jail for eating those hemp roll-ups. And, unlike hemp, jail's not so healthy. __________________________________________________________________________ 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: Sat, 06 Jan 2001 15:19:22 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: NM: Johnson Hopes To Bend Bush's Ear At Governor Roundup Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010106151907.056071a0@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: Sledhead Pubdate: Sat, 06 Jan 2001 Source: Albuquerque Tribune (NM) Copyright: 2001 The Albuquerque Tribune Contact: letters@abqtrib.com Address: P.O. Drawer T, 7777 Jefferson NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109 Website: http://www.abqtrib.com/ Author: Gilbert Gallegos Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/johnson.htm (Johnson, Gary) JOHNSON HOPES TO BEND BUSH'S EAR AT GOVERNOR ROUNDUP SANTA FE -- Gov.Gary Johnson was recruited along with the nation's other Republican governors to help usher their colleague, former Texas Gov. George W. Bush, from the statehouse and into the White House. Today those governors, including Johnson, will be at the Bush family ranch in Crawford, Texas. They have the president-elect's ear, mostly on education reform, but also on other issues facing the states that those governors represent. Johnson said he is looking forward to a discussion on school choice. Bush, like Johnson, favors private school vouchers for families who have students stuck in failing public schools. Both men as governors tried unsuccessfully to get theirLVALv1\ respective legislatures to pass voucher plans. But the two part ways when it comes to the scope of a voucher program. During the presidential campaign, Bush laid out a plan for $1,500 vouchers that would go only to families of students whose schools fail to meet standards for three years. Johnson wants a wide-open plan in New Mexico that would eventually provide vouchers for any family who wants out of public schools. And Johnson claims his vouchers would pay a larger chunk of private school tuitions. But Johnson's efforts have failed in New Mexico, and the Legislature does not appear any warmer this year to the governor's idea for school reform. Johnson is expected to lobby Bush today for a more aggressive federal voucher plan from the White House. Johnson said Friday that he may also make a pitch to the president-elect for new thinking about drug policies in the nation. During the presidential campaign, Johnson said he was hesitant to push too hard on drug legalization during conversations with Bush. Johnson said he understood why Bush wouldn't want to touch the issue because of the political consequences of appearing soft on drugs. Bush said publicly during the campaign that he opposed Johnson's ideas about legalizing some drugs. Rather, Bush said he supported efforts to cut the demand for drugs and to enforce the border against drug smuggling. Johnson goes much further in his quest to change drug policies. After receiving a report this week from his Governor's Drug Policy Advisory Group, Johnson jumped on the recommendation that New Mexico's laws should be changed so that possession of small amounts of marijuana would no longer be against the law. "The line that needs to be drawn, I think, is if you're doing drugs, you're smoking marijuana in the confines of your own home, doing no harm to anybody arguably other than yourself, do you belong in jail for that?" Johnson asked during a news conference Friday. "Should that be criminal? I don't think that that should beLVALs+] criminal." Johnson said he thinks nationally some leaders are beginning to warm to new strategies that would replace the so-called war on drugs. Because of his new optimism, Johnson said he may try again to talk with Bush about his drug reform ideas. "I might. I might," Johnson said Friday. "Again depending on the situation." The other thing Johnson said he will bring up with Bush is a recent federal decision to deny New Mexico's managed-care program the ability to keep offering mental health services. Johnson said today's meeting is a key perk to having a Republican in the White House. "I do see it as a great opportunity, and I'm certainly going to take advantage of it," Johnson 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: Terry F ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 06 Jan 2001 15:07:39 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: National Review: Prohibition Fever Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010106150714.056053d0@mail.olywa.net> Pubdate: Thu, 04 Jan 2001 Source: National Review (US) Copyright: 2001 National Review Contact: letters@nationalreview.com Address: 215 Lexington Avenue, New York, New York 10016 Website: http://www.nationalreview.com/ Forum: http://www.nationalreview.com/forum/forum.shtml Author: Dave Kopel, Independence Institute, and Dr. Michael S. Brown PROHIBITION FEVER A Legacy Project For The W. Era. What do guns, drugs, and alcohol have in common? They are all highly portable, highly prized by many people, despised by others, and can be abused. Each has been the object of societal sanctions. As we head into the new millennium, with a new president who promises to reduce the unintended harms caused by government, it is time for America to recognize some lessons about prohibition. A grand, but foolLVALo%^ish experiment with alcohol prohibition was tried from 1920 to 1933. The dreadful results are well documented. Organized crime in its modern form was created. A drinking culture based on beer and wine was replaced by one based on gin and other hard liquor. Homicide soared and so did police corruption. Wiretapping became a new law-enforcement technique, and courts invented ways for the police to evade the Fourth Amendment. The gang warfare spawned by alcohol prohibition spurred calls for restrictions on Second Amendment rights. Efforts to ban handguns failed, but machine guns were restricted by the National Firearms Act. Until then, Americans had been able to freely buy, sell, and own machine guns for the previous seven decades, with little apparent problem until alcohol was prohibited. Drug prohibition started with the Harrison Narcotics Act in 1911, continues today, and provides an excellent example of how prohibition works in modern times. In the name of protecting the public, the war on drugs has led to greater government power in many areas. The once unbreakable line between the police and military has crumbled. Our prisons overflow with people convicted of drug-related crimes, but drugs are more available than ever. New terms like "body cavity search," "no-knock entry," "racial profiling," and "stop and frisk" have entered our vocabulary. The "drug war" is no mere metaphor, now that SWAT teams that were originally formed to rescue hostages execute deadly nocturnal raids on the homes of innocents. From the eleven-year-old boy killed in Compton, Calif., to the 45-year-old father of nine killed in Denver, to the 70-year-old minister killed in Boston, the number of people gunned down in the name of the "drug war" continues to mount. Of course none of the government employees responsible for the killing receive more than a slap on the wrist. And raids continue day after day, based on the mendacities and addled memories of drug addicts, violent criminals, and other "confidential informantsLVALr,_" who get paid for making accusations which are rarely investigated before the SWAT team breaks though the window. Forfeiture laws, meanwhile, have turned police work into a form of legalized piracy. Laws allowing enforcement agencies to keep confiscated wealth often determine the targets of anti-drug raids. Hardly any jurisdictions require that a person be proven guilty in order for the government to confiscate his wealth. Police corruption is a constant problem. Criminal gangs have flourished under drug prohibition, much as they did in the 1920s. Smugglers and gangsters literally owe their livelihood to the war on drugs. It is becoming painfully obvious that the cure is worse than the disease. Yet some people appear to have learned nothing from alcohol prohibition or drug prohibition and insist that we experience the joys of gun prohibition. There are indications that the same counterproductive tactics will be used -- starting with forfeitures of automobiles because the driver had a firearm in the car. Some of the worst abuses of government force in recent years were precipitated by technical and victimless gun-law violations. For example, the BATF claimed that the Branch Davidians possessed machine guns without paying the required federal tax and filling in the proper registration forms. So a tax case worth less than $10,000 led to a 76-man helicopter, machine gun, and grenade assault on a home in which 2/3 of the occupants were women and children. The media has played an important role by dramatizing the ill effects of drug abuse, while almost completely ignoring the way that crime and violence are worsened by drug prohibition. Media treatment of the gun issue is very much the same. Stories involving misuse of firearms are front-page news, but there is a virtual blackout on positive stories about armed self-defense or the way that repressive gun laws lead to higher levels of crime and violence. Likewise, sporting use of guns -- even in the Olympics -- is almost completely ignored.LVALp` Opponents of both the war on drugs and the war on guns have adopted the same term -- unintended consequences -- to describe the way in which stronger laws paradoxically cause more crime and violence. These anti-prohibition websites are almost mirror images of each other, except that they complain about the corruption, lack of accountability and violent depredations of different government agencies. These groups are isolated at either end of the political spectrum, but their common interest is obvious. Those who oppose the disastrous war on drugs and those who oppose the growing war on guns are starting to reach out to each other. Activists are setting aside ideological differences and exploring their common interest, becoming part of what Grover Norquist calls "The Leave Us Alone Coalition." The two largest sources of Libertarian party growth these days are ex-Republicans opposed to the war on guns, and ex-Democrats opposed to the war on drugs. Within the Republican and Democratic parties, more and more voices are speaking out against the terrible harms inflicted by prohibition. In order to recognize that prohibition doesn't work, a person doesn't have to like the prohibited object. A liberal can wish that guns were never invented, but still realize that gun prohibition will increase gun violence (since only criminals will have guns) and will lead to a huge loss of Fourth Amendment rights and other civil liberties for everyone -- not just for gun owners. Conversely, a conservative can wish that people had never figured out that the cannabis plant can be smoked, and he can wish that the coca plant were extinct. But he can still recognize that drug prohibition can't stop drug abuse, but it can harm everyone's rights-destroying the lives and liberties of people who hate drugs. Perhaps some enterprising politician will sense this natural alliance and use it to further his or her career -- as Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura already has. Republican politicians have paid lip service to the cLVAL] aoncept of a smaller, less intrusive government, but are unwilling to take on the powerful government employee lobbies whose jobs depend on the drug war. There is no way to predict how much success a pro-freedom, anti-prohibition political alliance could have, since it will be opposed by many politicians who jealously protect government power. Yet much more so than ten years ago, Americans increasingly recognize that the imperial government has no clothes: That's why George Bush could win an election while calling for Social Security reform, and why people are beginning to question the premises of the government-controlled education monopoly. Perhaps some of the best-known elected officials a few years from now will be those who rise rapidly in the next several years -- by having the courage to say in public what many other politicians now admit only in private: Prohibition is a failure. __________________________________________________________________________ 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: Sat, 06 Jan 2001 15:13:49 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Canada: Marijuana Party Plans To Run Candidates In B.C. Election Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010106151329.05630d90@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: Herb Pubdate: Wed, 27 Dec 2000 Source: Cranbrook Daily Townsman (CN BC) Section: Page 5 Copyright: 2000 The Cranbrook Daily Townsman Contact: editorial@dailytownsman.com Address: 822 Cranbrook St., North Cranbrook, B.C., Canada V1C-3R9 Fax: (250) 426-5003 Website: http://www.dailytownsman.com/ MARIJUANA PARTY PLANS TO RUN CANDIDATES IN B.C. ELECTION VICTORIA (CP) - A Victoria realtor has another big sales pitch planned for the new year that has nothing to do with a big house and an attractive commission. Chuck Beyer, encouraged by his fledgling MarijuanaLVAL^b party's performance in the recent federal election, has even higher hopes for the B.C. election that must be held by June. "We managed to get 75 candidates together in the federal election in four months and I don't think we'll have any problem doing the same in B.C.," said Beyer, who founded the party five months ago. The Marijuana party outpolled the well-established Green party in several ridings, although neither party is considered a serious contender. But Beyer, 40, believes there is room on the political stage to keep attention on decriminalizing marijuana. "We feel the NDP is going to be wiped out completely and all the rest are ultra-right wing parties so we're going to take the middle ground," he said. Although Canada's drug laws are a federal matter, Beyer believes the provinces can influence how stringently the laws are enforced. B.C. Attorney General Graeme Bowbrick has not commented on pot decriminalization and isn't expected to do so, a ministry spokesman said this week. Liberal justice critic Geoff Plant said it's not likely the Marijuana party's appearance on the provincial scene will make marijuana decriminalization an issue. __________________________________________________________________________ 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: Sat, 06 Jan 2001 12:49:12 -0500 From: Richard Lake <rlake@mapinc.org> To: compassionatemoms@egroups.com, mayday@egroups.com, drctalk@drcnet.org, friends@freecannabis.org, restore@crrh.org, hemp-talk@hemp.net, DPFT-L@TAMU.EDU, ohiossdp@topica.com, U-net@drcnet.org Subject: Live on the 'net today - Peter Christ from ReconsDer [FWD] Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.0.20010106123911.00aa6380@mapinc.org> To all If you are not busy today Jan 6th at 3pm eastern time you can listen to my radio show at www.wsyr.com I will be talking about drugLVAL^c policy. PETE Peter J. Christ 5532 East Lake Road Cazenovia NY 13035 Phone: 315 655 4037 Fax: 315 655 0374 Cell: 315 420 2393 Email: christ@reconsider.org Web: www.reconsider.org " Legalization simply means the elimination of Schedule 1. All other discussion is about regulation." .......Christ 5/20/00 ------------------------------------------------ Forwarded by Richard Lake Join us for a discussion of the week's news and activities tonight in the DrugSense chat room Starts at 9 p.m. Eastern, 6 p.m. Pacific http://www.drugsense.org/chat/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 6 Jan 2001 11:36:24 -0800 From: "byrds" <byrds@mail.rvi.net> To: <restore@crrh.org> Subject: felony? Message-ID: <200101061136.AA2510291554@mail.rvi.net> Here are a couple questions that have come up here.... Does one have to have been "tried" to be "convicted" ? In other words if one plead "guilty" does it constitute a "conviction"? Can felons vote? SueB ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 06 Jan 2001 15:06:48 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: 2000- A Year in the Life of Marijuana Prohibition Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010106150551.056068a0@mail.olywa.net> Pubdate: Tues, 2 Jan 2001 Source: MarijuanaNews Copyright: 2001 MarijuanaNews Website: http://www.marijuananews.com/ Author: Kevin Christopher Nelson Note: Nelson kcnelson@premier1.net is a writer living in Bellingham, WA. Also: MAP is providing this review as an exception to our announced policy on web only items. 2000- A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF MARIJUANA PROHIBITION "One of the problems that the marijuana reform movement consistently faces is that everyone wants to talk about what marijuana does, but no one ever wants to look at what marijuana prohibition does. Marijuana never kicks down your door in the middle of the night. Marijuana never locks up sick and dying people, does not suppress medical research, does not peek in bedroom windows. Even LVAL] dif one takes every reefer madness allegation of the prohibitionists at face value, marijuana prohibition has done far more harm to far more people than marijuana ever could." =ADRichard Cowan From Buckley Writes On McWilliams And Kubby Cases; Great Ending, If I May Say So http://www.marijuananews.com/buckley_writes_on_mcwilliams_and.htm Estimated U.S. deaths in year 2000 attributed to: tobacco: 430,000; alcohol: 125,000; prescription drugs: 100,000; aspirin: 2,000; marijuana: 0 Number of Americans arrested since 1970 on marijuana-related charges: over 13 million January 12, 2000- Los Angeles, CA (AP)- The San Diego Tribune reports: The family of a millionaire shot to death at his Malibu ranch during a controversial 1992 drug raid that turned up no drugs will get $5 million under a tentative agreement with the county and federal government. Donald P. Scott's survivors contended authorities staged the 1992 raid to seize the secluded $5 million 200-acre ranch under drug forfeiture laws. Scott, 61, was shot to death by a Los Angeles deputy when he emerged from his bedroom armed with a pistol, still sleepy and slightly drunk. The shooting was held to be justifiable since Deputy Gary Spencer was in fear for his life. But Ventura County District Attorney Michael Bradbury investigated the raid and concluded Spencer used false information to secure a warrant to search the ranch for marijuana plants. "There was no marijuana on that place," Bradbury said. "Clearly one of the primary purposes was a land grab by the (Los Angeles County) Sheriff's Department." Officials deny those charges, but said they agreed to settle a civil rights lawsuit filed by Scott's family because they feared jurors would not believe government agents. The plaintiffs - Scott's wife Frances, four children and his estate =AD will split the proceeds in a formula yet to be determined. Lawyer Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. said his client, Mrs. Scott, who saw her husband killed and later lost her home to a fire, now lives in "a teLVAL\ eepee" on the property and is trying to hold off government claims to seize it for unpaid taxes. January 18- Atlanta, GA (AP) =AD Louis E. Covar Jr., 51, a quadriplegic, paralyzed from the neck down in a diving accident on July 4, 1967, who says he uses marijuana to relieve the pain from muscle spasms in his neck, is sentenced to seven years in prison after being accused of selling marijuana out of his home. Judge J. Carlisle Overstreet sent Covar to prison after investigators found about 1=BC ounces of marijuana in his home. "We feel strongly he was selling out of his house," Richmond County DA Danny Craig said. Covar denied the charges, insisting the small amount was for his personal medicinal use. According to the Department of Corrections, the special care Covar will need will cost $258.33 a day- or more than $660,000 if he serves his full seven years. A typical prisoner costs taxpayers $47.63 per day. February 9- Arizona- Deborah Lynn Quinn, 39, born with no arms or legs, is sentenced to one year in an Arizona prison for marijuana possession, violating probation on a previous drug offense- attempted sale of 4 grams of marijuana to a police informant for $20. Quinn will require around the clock care for feeding, bathing, and hygiene. Terry L. Stewart, Arizona Corrections Director, expressed his frustration: "I simply cannot understand how a judge can sentence a disabled woman to prison who presents absolutely no escape risk, no physical danger to the public, and who will be an extremely difficult and expensive person to care for ($345/day), without exploring any alternative sentence measures such as intensive probation." February 15- The United States' prison and jail population surpasses two million people. Prisons are one of the fastest-growing expenses of government, costing about $100,000 to build a single prison cell and about $24,000 per year for each prisoner. 1.3 million US inmates are currently serving time for "non-violent offenses." One-quarter of the world's prisoners areLVALt/f now incarcerated in the "land of the free." February 17- Vancouver, WA- George Ives is a 40 year-old disabled veteran, suffering from strokes, high blood pressure, and degenerative disc disease. His wife Georgia suffers from grand mal seizures. Neither of them has any criminal history. On February 17th, Clark/Scamania County Drug Task Force, acting on an anonymous tip, raided their home, breaking down the front door and holding them at gunpoint. Agents found a total of 70 marijuana plants in a grow operation that George claimed was for personal medicinal use. Because the only doctor available to them is a federal VA doctor, the Ives' were unable to obtain the state required medical note of referral, as federally paid physicians refuse to participate in I-692, Washington State's medical marijuana initiative, for fear of federal reprisal. February 23- The Hawaii Medical Association comes out formally against the pending state medical marijuana initiative. Heidi Singh, director of legislative and government affairs for the Hawaii Medical Association, said more studies should be done on medical marijuana, and that "physicians cannot in good faith recommend a drug therapy without clinical evidence to back it up." February 28- Madrid, Spain (UPI) The chemical in marijuana that produces a "high" shows promise as a weapon against deadly brain tumors, say Spanish researchers in early research. In the study on rats a research team from Complutense University and Autonoma University in Madrid found that one of marijuana's active ingredients, THC, killed tumor cells in advanced cases of glioma, a quick-killing cancer for which there is currently no effective treatment. Spanish scientists found that THC pumped into the tumors cleared the cancer in more than a third of the test rats. The drug also prolonged the life of another third by up to 40 days but was ineffective in the rest. The cancer did not come back in any of the survivors. Researchers are not sure why, but Guzman's team says THC caused a buLVALp(gildup of a fat molecule called ceramide, which provoked a death spiral in the cancer cells. March 13- Britain- (AP) Marijuana-like compounds ease tremors in mice with a condition similar to Multiple Sclerosis, researchers say in a study published in the British journal Nature, that appears to corroborate patients who say pot helps them deal with the disease. "This lends credence to the anecdotal reports that some people with MS have said that cannabis can help control these distressing symptoms," said Lorna Layward, one of the study's authors. Layward heads the research arm of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. March 13- Mondovi, WI- Jacki Rickert is 49, wheelchair-bound, and weighs 90 pounds. "Though I've seen her as low as 76," her daughter, Tammy, who lives in Middleton, said Tuesday. Jacki Rickert suffers from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and reflexive sympathetic dystrophy, bone and muscle illnesses that keep her in constant pain and often unable to eat. She smokes marijuana to ease her pain and allow her to eat. Rickert was the last patient to miss being accepted into the federal government's Investigative New Drug program that presently distributes a tin of 300 pre-rolled marijuana cigarettes to eight legally-protected American citizens each= month. Mondovi police raided Rickert's home at 3:30am on March 13th, seized a small amount of marijuana, and searched her home until 10am. Rickert's daughter, Tammy, claims the police raid has left her mother a wreck. "She's tiny, frail," Tammy said. "She's not out to hurt anybody. She's trying to maintain some semblance of a quality of life. The marijuana, which the government pretty much told her she could use, helps a little. This whole thing is unbelievable." March 16- New York City- An unarmed black security guard, Patrick Dorismond, waiting for a cab with his friend Kevin Kaiser, is shot dead by undercover New York City police officers conducting a marijuana "buy-and-bust." Two plainclothes detectives approacLVAL-hhed Dorismond asking if he would sell them "some weed." Dorismond rebuffed the men, a scuffle ensued, and a third officer, Anthony Vasquez, rushed in, pulled out his revolver and fired a single bullet into Dorismond's chest. No drugs or other contraband were found on Dorismond's body. The shooting was the third time in 13 months plainclothes New York City police officers shot and killed an unarmed black man. April 1- Canada's premier national newspaper, The National Post, editorializes in favor of legalizing marijuana: "Marijuana legalization has long been the subject of academic debate. The time has come to turn conjecture into law. Canada's police, judges and prosecutors have better things to do with their time than track down those who produce and consume a substance no more dangerous than alcohol and tobacco. We should begin the decriminalization of marijuana by immediately reducing the punishments that can be imposed for its possession to modest fines- and start thinking about how to regulate its use." April 12- California- The Santa Cruz City Council unanimously approves an ordinance making the city the first in the nation to legalize the production and sale of medical marijuana without a doctor's prescription, as long as it is sold at cost or given away. April 25- Despite the formal opposition of the Hawaiian Catholic Church, the Hawaii State Senate passes medical marijuana legislation, joining California, Oregon, Washington, Maine, Alaska, Arizona, and the District of Columbia in shielding medical marijuana patients from criminal prosecution. May 6- One hundred cities around the world participate in the Millennium Marijuana March, calling for the legalization of marijuana for adult personal use. 1,000 people march in New York City, with 312, nearly one-third, arrested by the march's end. Under Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, New York City marijuana arrests have increased from 720 in 1992, to 59,945 in 2000. May 11- The West Virginia Supreme Court, voting 4-1, deny a "medical necessity" LVALm%idefense to Donna Jean Poling, a Multiple Sclerosis patient in the terminal stages of her illness, who was arrested for growing marijuana in her home. Poling claimed that marijuana kept her symptom-free for three years preceding her 1998 arrest, after which her condition worsened dramatically. June 9- Human Rights Watch releases a study finding that Illinois is the worst state for racial disparity among jailed drug offenders. Illinois' black men are 57 times more likely than white men to be sent to prison on drug charges, and blacks comprise 90 percent of all prison admissions in Illinois for drug charges- the highest percentage in the country. Though federal studies show that white drug users outnumber black drug users 5-to-1, blacks make up about 62 percent of prisoners incarcerated on drug charges, compared with 36 percent of whites. June 14- Los Angeles, CA- Bestselling author, cancer and AIDS patient, and medical marijuana activist Peter McWilliams dies in his home. McWilliams, barred by a federal court order from using marijuana to counteract the extreme nausea caused by his AIDS drugs, was found choked to death on vomit, slumped on his bathroom floor. His federal prosecutors say they were "saddened by his death." McWilliams bestselling books included: How to Heal Depression; Getting Over the Loss of a Love; Life 101; and, Ain't Nobody's Business If You Do: The Absurdity of Consensual Crimes In a Free Society. See The Murder of Peter McWilliams -- An Indictment, Not an Obituary =AD by Richard Cowan July 31- Ontario, Canada- Ontario's top court today ruled unanimously (3-0) that Canada's law making marijuana possession a crime is unconstitutional, because it does not take into account the needs of Canadian medical marijuana patients. The judges allowed the current law to remain in effect for another 12 months, to permit Parliament to rewrite it. However, if the Canadian federal government fails to set up a medical marijuana distribution program by July 31, 2001, there will be no marijuLVALq)jana laws in Canada. The decision came in the case of Terry Parker, an epileptic who had been denied a federal medical marijuana exemption. Mr. Parker has been hospitalized over 100 times for injuries sustained during seizures. August 4- The USA Today reports: The Department of Justice on Thursday pledged to continue resisting California's voter-approved medical marijuana law, arguing the government has the right to penalize doctors who recommend cannabis by revoking their licenses to dispense medication. DOJ lawyer Joseph W. Lobue stated the federal government does not recognize California's Compassionate Use Act of 1996, which protects medical marijuana patients from arrest. "It doesn't matter what California says," Lobue said. August 16=AD Los Angeles, CA- The American Medical Marijuana Association reports: Medical marijuana patient, grower, and author of How to Grow Medical Marijuana, Todd McCormick, confined to federal prison while appealing his case, is sent to solitary confinement. According to his mother, Ann McCormick, Todd went to the medical office and requested the synthetic form of marijuana, Marinol=D4 , produced by Unimed= Pharmaceuticals, that he had been taking prior to his incarceration. One day after Todd requested the Schedule 3, easily-prescribed drug, the feds ordered he be drug tested. When the results came back positive for marijuana, Todd was placed in solitary confinement."The pain in his neck and back has been unbearable lately," said his worried mother. "Todd has a spinal fusion- the top five vertebrae were fused when he was two-years-old. A tumor had completely eaten the 2nd vertebrae and the old fusion is now literally carving grooves in the base of his skull, prompting severe headaches as well. His left hip stopped growing when he was 9, a result of radiation treatments for childhood cancer. He has severe scoliosis, nerve damage in his upper back, shoulders and neck and severe muscle spasms in his lower back. He has received no medical treatment since January," saLVALl$kid Mrs. McCormick. August 20- Seattle, WA- An estimated crowd of 100,000 people gather at Myrtle Edwards Park for Hempfest 2000, calling for the legalization of marijuana for personal and medical use, as well as legalization of hemp for environmentally-sustainable industrial uses. The event is the largest of its kind in the world, with no arrests reported. August 25- Pine Ridge Reservation, SD- A dozen heavily-armed DEA agents staged a pre-dawn raid on the Ogalala Sioux nation, chopping down and hauling away 2 acres of industrial hemp (approx. 400,000 plants). Though a number of Sioux stood in the fields claiming responsibility for the crop, no arrests were made. The Pine Ridge Reservation is one of the poorest communities in America, with 80% unemployment. The hemp crop, planted on April 29 and scheduled to be harvested within days, was to provide jobs and cellulostic building materials for a hemp-concrete housing project on tribal land. September 9- Santa Fe, NM- Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader joins New Mexico's Republican Governor Gary Johnson in criticizing the nation's war on drugs, calling for the legalization of marijuana and reform of what Nader calls "self-defeating and antiquated" drug laws. "Addiction, no matter what kind of addiction, should not be criminalized," Nader said at a news conference with Johnson in Santa Fe. "It's got to be subjected to health programs and caring programs, because they work." Rehabilitating drug addicts gives a far better payoff than "criminalizing and militarizing the situation," he said. "Study after study has shown that, and yet somehow it doesn't get through to federal policy." October 16- U.S. Drug "Czar" Barry McCaffrey announces his resignation, effective January 6, 2001. (ed note: As of this writing, President-elect Bush has not appointed a new drug "czar" although Augusto Pinochet and Slobodan Milosevic are looking for work.) October 16- The FBI releases its 1999 Uniform Crime Report. There were a record total of 704,812LVALp(l U.S. marijuana arrests in 1999, or one every 45 seconds. Of those arrests: 620,541 (88%) were for simple marijuana possession. 84,271 (12%) were for sales/cultivation. During the Clinton Administration, there have been a record total of 4,175,357 marijuana arrests, a record for any U.S. presidency. November 7- Election Day- Voters across the United States pass sweeping drug law reform initiatives. In California, despite united opposition from Governor Gray Davis, Attorney General Bill Lockyer, Senator Dianne Feinstein, statewide police associations and prison guard unions, citizens vote 61-39 to pass Proposition 36, diverting non-violent drug offenders into treatment rather than prison for first and second offenses. Proponents claim the move will save the state $150 million annually, and cancel the need for a new state prison. Mendocino County, CA, voters approve Measure G by a 58-42 margin, decriminalizing personal use and growth of up to 25 marijuana plants. Nevadans vote 65-35 to pass Question 9 allowing qualifying patients to possess marijuana for medicinal purposes. In response, a self-appointed task force of state healthcare officials, the Nevada Medical Marijuana Initiative Work Group, move to limit use of the drug to research studies, adding months if not years to approval time. Said Louis Ling, general counsel for the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy and part of the work group, "No matter what system gets passed, it's going to be a good long time before medical marijuana is available." By a 53-47 margin, Colorado voters pass Amendment 20, allowing qualifying patients to possess up to 2 ounces of marijuana and grow up to 6 plants. Tom Strickland, U.S. attorney for Colorado, in a statement released on the afternoon of November 7th, said that his office would continue to "aggressively enforce federal drug laws, including the prohibition of marijuana, regardless of the passage of this ballot initiative." Utahns, by a margin of 69-31, pass Initiative B, denying government agencies the LVALp)mright to seize property from individuals before they are convicted of a crime. Salt Lake County District Attorney Dave Yocom responded "Obviously we're going to re-think this and decide whether or not to work to get (the initiative) repealed during the next legislative= session." Oregonians pass a similar property seizure reform initiative, Measure 3- the Oregon Property Protection Act- by a margin of 66-34. Measure 3 diverts drug forfeiture proceeds from police treasuries into drug treatment= programs. November 27- In the case "U.S. v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative, 00-151," the U.S. Supreme Court takes on the issue of whether "medical necessity" is an acceptable defense to the federal law that makes marijuana distribution a crime. A decision is expected by June 2001. December 6- Brussels, Belgium- The Liberal Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt and the Brussels coalition of Liberals, Socialists and Greens, vote to end marijuana prohibition. As of January 1, 2001, Belgium, joining Holland in embracing tolerance, will "exempt from punishment possession, consumption and trade of up to five grams hashish or marijuana." Belgium is the host country and seat of the European Union. December 6- In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine released today, President Bill Clinton was asked if he thought "people should go to jail for using or even selling small amounts of marijuana?" Clinton replied "I think that most small amounts of marijuana have been decriminalized in some places, and should be." Clinton added, "We really need a reexamination of our entire policy on imprisonment=85 a lot of people are in prison because they have drug problems or alcohol problems and too many of them are getting out- particularly out of state systems- without treatment, without education, without skills, without serious efforts at job placement." (MarijuanaNews note: For more on the Drug War in 2000 See 2000 in Review - What MAP's Readers Were Reading The Most http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1950/a08.htmLVALr*nl ) __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake www.mapinc.org ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 06 Jan 2001 15:08:43 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Johnson to propose some drug legalization for NM Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010106150811.05631a60@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: Douglas Caddy Pubdate: Sat, 6 Jan 2001 Source: El Paso Times Website: http://www.borderlandnews.com Author: Sergio Bustos http://www.borderlandnews.com/stories/borderland/20010106-74665.shtml Johnson to propose some drug legalization for NM Sergio Bustos Washington Bureau New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson said Friday in Santa Fe that he will ask the Legislature to revamp his state's drug laws. The changes would decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana and reduce other drug-possession charges to misdemeanors for first- and second-time offenders. Johnson also said he would ask lawmakers to approve a medical marijuana proposal to replace a dormant law. New Mexico has had a law allowing medical marijuana within a formal research study, but it has not been funded since 1986. The governor's stance elicited mixed reactions. "I think he's nuts," said Sunland Park police Lt. William Padilla. "What's to keep little kids from getting hooked on marijuana and going on to other drugs?" The crime rate and the cost of treating drug addicts would skyrocket, predicted Padilla, who is president of the Fraternal Order of Police Officers in that city. But Johnson's proposal was applauded by the Washington-based National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. Keith Stroup, NORML's executive director, said the governor has "provided a useful blueprint for a more effective and humane drug policy for New Mexico." Johnson said heLVALp(o was endorsing recommendations made this week by his Drug Policy Advisory Group. "A year ago, 14 months ago when I started this dialogue, I would have thought that this had no chance, that this is a zero," Johnson said of the drug policy recommendations. "But the reason I am here is because this does have a lot of support. So I am optimistic that this might actually get accomplished." Albuquerque Mayor Jim Baca, a member of the advisory group, said more than 30 percent of the city's budget goes to fight drugs. "The war on drugs is a failure," Baca said. "Anybody who says it's not a failure is not dealing with reality." Sunland Park Mayor Jesus Ruben Segura, who isn't on the panel, urged further study before changing state drug laws. He's worried the changes might lead children to think it's OK to use drugs. "It definitely gives mixed signals," Segura said Sergio Bustos may be reached at sbustos@gns.gannett.com El Paso Times reporter Susan Church and the Associated Press contributed to this story. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 06 Jan 2001 15:10:28 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: US: America's Most Dangerous Politician Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010106150956.056332e0@mail.olywa.net> Pubdate: Thu, 04 Jan 2001 Source: Reason Magazine (US) Copyright: 2001 The Reason Foundation Contact: letters@reason.com Address: 3415 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Suite 400, Los Angeles, CA 90034-6064 Website: http://www.reason.com/ Author: Michael W. Lynch AMERICA'S MOST DANGEROUS POLITICIAN New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson Interviewed by Michael W. Lynch I've been in New Mexico less than 10 minutes when I realize that no ordinary politician rules the Land of Enchantment. After the young woman working the rental car counter discovers I need wheels to visit her very own governor, she starts talking excitedly and positively about his efforts to pass a school choice bill. One of her co-workers, a Democratic activist, tries to straighteLVAL~8pn her out, and the conversation soon grows to include other employees, all of whom are surprisingly well-informed due to the governor's high-profile efforts to pass a statewide voucher program. The Democrat wants to make something else clear about New Mexico's top pol: She doesn't appreciate his crusade for drug legalization. Struggling to come up with the worst possible epithet, she finally spits out, "I think he's a liberal," adding that as one he embarrasses her state. (Such is the New West that even Democrats think of liberals as lower than rattlesnakes.) New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson is many things-a successful businessman, a two-term governor, an Iron Man triathlete, an aspiring conqueror of Mt. Everest. He's hardly a liberal, though, unless one uses the term in its original sense of someone who believes that a minimal state is best suited for a free people. Even then, the term doesn't fully do justice to this energetic man. When pressed on his vision of the state's role, the 47-year-old Johnson speaks of "ensuring a level playing field and [making certain] that liberties and freedoms are equally available to all." He argues that the government only "needs to ensure that no one is harmful to anyone else." To be sure, Johnson's limited-government iconoclasm is more that of an accountant-or a motivational speaker-than that of a philosopher-king. When I first ask him to explain his overarching governing philosophy, he pulls from his wallet a card containing his seven-count 'em-principles of good government, which seem to be culled equally from Ben Franklin and Tony Robbins. Number 1: Become reality driven. Number 2: Always be honest and tell the truth. Number 7: Be willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done. "My overriding philosophy is the common-sense business approach to state government, period," says Johnson. "Best product, best service, lowest price." On issues ranging from health care for the poor to road construction to drug prohibition to education, he's convinced you getLVAL3q the best product at the lowest cost when private enterprise injects competition into the process. This practical approach drives his notorious attitude toward drug prohibition, which Johnson has attacked more forcefully and visibly than any other elected official in America today. He rails against the drug war mostly, though not exclusively, on the grounds that it is inefficient. In general, he is more interested in pragmatic concerns than in defending anything as abstract as inalienable rights. When I bring up prostitution, another consensual crime, he endorses decriminalization, but not on the grounds that people own their bodies or that it's not the state's business. Instead he frames his response this way: "Given that prostitution takes place, the question is, 'Are you safer engaging a prostitute in Nevada or New Mexico?' I think you are clearly safer engaging one in Nevada in a licensed prostitution establishment." Such unorthodox positions and the willingness to discuss them openly reflect the unlikely path Johnson traveled before acquiring political power. Most successful pols spend their salad days engaged in political hackery, always making sure their "future political viability" is kept safe from harm. Johnson was on another plan altogether: He spent years smoking dope a couple times a week, competing vigorously in athletics, and then, with his wife of 24 years, building a construction business called Big J Construction. (Though the rental car workers suggested the name referred to his pot smoking days, the governor denies it stems from anything but the first letter of his last name.) In the mid-1990s, Johnson decided it was time to dabble in public service, and he approached the state Republican Party about running for the top statewide office. The Republicans were polite but dismissive, telling him that as an unknown businessman he couldn't win. He thought otherwise, and he spent $500,000 of his own money to saturate the state with his message of a "common-sense business approachLVALp(r to politics." When the ballots were tallied in 1994, he'd won with 50 percent of the vote in a three-way race. He increased his share of the vote in 1998 by 5 percent, making him the first governor in New Mexico history to be elected to two consecutive four-year terms. I talked with Johnson in his Santa Fe office for about an hour in mid-August. We spoke of his accomplishments: no tax increases in six years, a major road building program, shifting Medicaid to managed care, constructing two new private prisons, canning 1,200 state employees, and vetoing a record number of bills. Says Johnson, "Every time you pass a law it is a little bite out of freedom." But we spent the majority of time focusing on the two issues that have put the governor in the national spotlight-issues on which he hasn't achieved anything close to success: drug legalization and school choice. Reason: Most politicians who admit to using drugs explain it in terms of a redemption narrative: "I did it, I ought not have done it, and no one else should do it." You tell a different story. Gary Johnson: Like a lot of other people, I've smoked marijuana. It is what goes on in this country. At the time [the early 1970s], I thought it was a mind-expanding experience, just like a lot of kids and a lot of adults do. Most peo-ple who smoke marijuana do it in a way similar to having cocktails in the evening. I don't smoke marijuana anymore. I don't drink. Marijuana is a handicap. So is alcohol. Alcohol is a terrible handicap. But in spite of being a handicap, it shouldn't be criminal. At one point in this country's history, alcohol was criminal. I think it's a bad choice. But in no way should you end up in jail for doing that. You should end up in jail for drinking and driving, drinking and doing crime, drinking and doing harm, just like you should end up in jail if you are going to smoke marijuana and drive, just like if you are going to smoke marijuana and do crime. Those are the lines that we need to draw. Reason: What proLVALp(smpted you to be so honest about your past drug use? Johnson: I personally reacted to President Clinton's statement that he didn't inhale. Come on! I needed to be honest about this, so it was something that I volunteered. Reason: You say drugs are a handicap and people shouldn't do them. But you also say that the most people who use drugs do so responsibly. So are they really a handicap? People could relax at a party by taking a hit off a joint rather than drinking to excess. Why is that a handicap and not a life-enhancing experience? Johnson: Clearly, it is a handicap. You are slowed down in your reactions. You are not as quick mentally, and you are not as quick physically. [Then again], as stoned as I have ever been on marijuana, the impairment does not compare to being drunk. Reason: Aren't there times when being "slowed down" can be both appropriate and fun-like when you're watching a Cheech & Chong movie or Austin Powers? Johnson: It is a handicap because you are not being as productive as you could be. I'm speaking for myself, but why are you watching Cheech & Chong in the first place? Why aren't you out riding a bicycle? Why aren't you reading a book? It's much harder to concentrate on a book after having smoked marijuana. Reason: If it was a handicap, why did you keep doing it? Johnson: Because it was fun. At the time I was doing it, it was not a handicap. I only came to that conclusion later. There was one particular incident where it really hit home. That's when I quit being a chronic marijuana smoker. I was out of college and pursuing a career as a professional skier. I remember setting up gates one morning at the Schweitzer ski basin in Idaho and running through the gates and checking my times. My first run was 16 seconds. My next run was 15.25 seconds. I went down again, this time in 14.5 seconds. On the lift back up the mountain, I was riding with a ski patroller who pulled out a joint. We got high and then got to the top of the course. I really smoked the next ruLVALv1tn-I figured I went through that course faster than ever before! You know what I mean. This was going to be a 13, I was thinking. Yet it took me 18 seconds. I had thought I was that much faster but I was that much slower. It was just one of those big gongs going off in your head: Wow, this is not what I thought it was. Wait a minute! Reason: But was that run fun? Johnson: Oh yeah. But was it faster? You've got to remember what my goal was. My goal was to be a professional racer. Reason: You've obviously been a big success. How about your buddies that you smoked pot with in high school and college? Have most of them been successful? Johnson: Yes. Reason: Gone on to sort of normal lives.=8A Johnson: Every one of 'em. (Laughs.) Reason: No one in jail? Johnson: I do have acquaintances, like we all do, who have overdosed and others who aren't successful. But my core group, my real close buddies, have all grown up to be successful men and women. Reason: You've said that it's an absolute political taboo for a presidential candidate today to talk about legalizing marijuana. If, as you say, 75 percent of people don't think it should be criminal, why is it such a taboo topic? Johnson: I don't have the answer. When you ask people, "How many in this room believe that smoking marijuana within the confines of your own home, doing no harm to anybody except arguably yourself, how many think someone belongs in jail for that?," 90 percent of the room raises their hand to say no, people shouldn't go to jail for that. Then you ask how many believe people should go to jail for selling marijuana. Eighty percent of the room believes people should go to jail for selling marijuana. That's the disconnect. People think it's OK to do it as long as you are not doing any harm to anyone, but it's not OK to sell it. But how are you going to get it? They don't understand who the pusher is. The pusher is just a user who sells a little bit based on their own habit. Nobody is going to the police departLVALp(ument and saying, "This person sold me drugs, and I want them arrested." Everybody is getting arrested because they sold to an undercover agent. Reason: If you feel that smoking pot-or even selling it-does not make a person a criminal, why not pardon people in New Mexico who are doing time for simple possession? Johnson: It's complex. Nobody is in jail on the basis of use. They are in jail on the basis of possession of large amounts of drugs that qualify as trafficking. They are in jail for selling drugs. And it is often attached to property crime. That is where I do draw a line. I have a chance here to change the law. I think that it is OK to launch the discussion and have the debate. But I don't think it's right to take it upon myself to pardon convicted criminals based on laws that the population has supported by electing the people that they have elected. Reason: What about other drugs? I know your model for heroin is similar to the Swiss model. Johnson: Let's think about a model that could exist in this country. You are an addict. So maybe you could go to a heroin maintenance program where you could get a prescription for heroin from a doctor. When you went to get your heroin you would have to go to a clinic and actually ingest the heroin at the clinic. I bet it would cost one-tenth of what it costs out on the street. You wouldn't have AIDS or Hepatitis C, since you wouldn't use dirty needles. You are not going to have an overdose because the quantity and the impurities are not going to kill you. Since it's so much cheaper than what's on the street, you wouldn't have to engage in crime to pay for it. You wouldn't have the motivation to recruit other heroin addicts to pay for your own habit. I think this would be a better situation than what is happening today. There are tens of thousands of heroin addicts with one thing on their mind: Where are they going to get their next fix, and how are they going to pay for it? You and I pay for that every single day. Reason: What about otheLVALp(vr drugs that are more popular than heroin? Cocaine, say? Johnson: I don't have an answer when it comes to cocaine. I've always said that. I am not advocating the legalization of cocaine. I don't know how you do that. Reason: Isn't the parallel to alcohol the same with coke as it is with pot? Johnson: I'm trying to be reality-based in this. Start off talking about marijuana, start off talking about harm reduction strategies, and start off talking about how to move away from making a cocaine user a criminal. I believe that if you made all drugs legal, just made them over-the-counter-which I'm not advocating-it would be a better situation than we have today. A much better situation than we have today. But I'm not advocating that. Reason: As you've said elsewhere, this issue is a political zero-it doesn't make you popular or win you votes. So why is it worth your energy? Johnson: I made a pledge to myself that I am not going to get out of office thinking, "Coulda, shoulda, woulda." This is definitely one of those issues that would be easy not to address because to say anything contrary to the status quo is political suicide. I had my eyes open when I went into this. Reason: What has been the reaction from other politicians here in New Mexico and elsewhere? Johnson: The responses in this office-the calls, faxes, letters, e-mails, people coming up to me on the street-is about 95 percent positive. The response from elected officials and those in law enforcement-and I am not talking about the guys on the street: I'm talking about those in charge-has been about 100 percent negative. However, I have been approached by many elected officials who say, "Way to go. This needs to be said. Your position is right. But you are not going to hear that from me in public." Reason: Why won't other elected officials speak out? Johnson: Politics is a herd mentality. Politicians don't really lead. Politicians reflect what they think is consensus opinion. I see drug policy changing. No question-noLVALk#w ifs, ands, or buts. In the early 1970s, all my friends and I looked around and thought that the law would get changed. Of course, we were smoking marijuana, and we knew that it was illegal, we knew that it was criminal, and we knew that it shouldn't be criminal. But the law hasn't been changed. Reason: Is that partly because drug laws don't cause much pain to people who can change them? When Al Gore's son gets caught smoking pot at prep school, he doesn't get arrested, he doesn't go to jail, he doesn't even wind up in the newspaper because his daddy makes a few calls. Johnson: Class plays a role. But I also know people who smoke pot regularly but don't think that marijuana should be legalized. They say, "I smoke marijuana, but you know what? I am in control, I can afford this, and I am not going to get caught if I'm careful." Reason: What do you hope to achieve by putting forward this issue of drug legalization as you have? Johnson: That we might actually move the needle in the right direction. Any movement at all in the needle is significant, given the depth of the problem. Any movement at all that reduces disease, that reduces overdoses, that reduces property crime, that reduces violent crime is good. I'm a cost-benefit analysis person: What are we spending and what are we getting? My premise is the war in drugs is a miserable failure. I don't know of a bigger problem in every single state, or a bigger expense that might actually have alternative solutions. Drugs account for half of law enforcement spending, half of prison spending, half of court spending. What are we getting for it? We are arresting 1.6 million people a year in this country on drug-related charges, and it's a failure. Reason: Let's talk about another controversial program that you have been pushing hard: school vouchers. What is your program, how have you been selling it, and what audience has been the most receptive? Johnson: What I've proposed is that every single K-12 student in the state of New Mexico, allLVALv1x 300,000 of them, get a voucher to attend whatever school they want. The value of the voucher would be about $3,500. That's my proposal. I have taken this on the stump, and I will continue to take it on the stump for the next two and a half years. I have talked to any group that will ask me to come talk about vouchers. Same, by the way, when it comes to drugs. So I think New Mexico is getting better and better educated on vouchers. After a couple of years on this issue, the needle has moved. No question about it, the needle has moved! Has it gone far enough? No. All you can do is keep going, going, going. Reason: Why is it so hard to get vouchers passed? Johnson: The biggest criticism is that it will take money away from public schools, that it will destroy the public school system. My plan would actually increase the per capita funding for kids who remain in public schools. We are actually spending about $5,500 dollars per child, and each public school district would get the $2,000 differential for each student who opted out. The example I use is this: Say that every student in Santa Fe were to opt out of public schools, which isn't possible and is not going to happen. But if it did, Santa Fe public schools would be left with about 40 percent of their budget and no students. Tell me how that takes away from public education. Reason: How do your opponents deal with that? Johnson: I don't think they do. It's one of those pins in the balloon. Go down the list of the main criticisms: Vouchers only favor the rich. Baloney! People with money live in good neighborhoods that have good schools. Give me a break. Vouchers are for the poor. Vouchers are for those that don't have money, who live in the worst neighborhoods, go to the worst schools, and can't get away from them. Keep going down the list: Vouchers are unconstitutional because you're giving money to private schools. No. If you want to start calling vouchers unconstitutional, then every single state has got a lot of unconstitutiLVAL|5yonal programs. We give low-income parents money so they can go take their child to child care. We don't tell them where to take their child. The examples go on and on. You can just go on and on with the criticisms and the rebuttals of the criticisms. Reason: Why are vouchers important? Why not just fix the public schools? Johnson: Since I have been governor, K-12 educational spending has gone from $1.1 billion a year to $1.6 billion a year. By all measurements, students are doing just a little bit worse from year to year. For all that money, shouldn't we be doing just a little bit better? All I suggest is to make K-12 like higher education. Higher education in the United States is the best in the world because these institutions compete with each other for your tuition dollar. Let's just bring competition to public education. This is not about getting rid of public education; it is about providing alternatives that public schools very, very quickly will react to. Public schools will get better if they are subject to competition. Reason: What role do charter schools play in injecting competition into the system? Johnson: This last year we passed a comprehensive charter schools act. Great! This is a way for public schools to become better. Add vouchers. Give every single student in the state of New Mexico a voucher, and charter schools will become the vehicle by which public schools compete. Pass vouchers, and every single school will become a charter school overnight. Reason: What do you consider your major accomplishments as governor of New Mexico? Johnson: Building 500 miles of four-lane highway in the state. We have reduced taxes by about $123 million annually. More significantly, before my taking office there was never a set of six years in the state of New Mexico where not a single tax had gone up. We reformed Medicaid and got Medicaid costs under control. We built a couple of new, private prisons in New Mexico. We had prisoners housed out of state, and the federal court system LVALq*zhad been running prisons in New Mexico under a consent decree since 1980. We are now out from under that consent decree. We have approximately 1,200 fewer employees in state government today than we did when I took office. Reason: What's the thinking behind your road building programs? Traditionally those are often pork projects. Johnson: Economic growth occurs only if you are connected with a four-lane highway. A lot of New Mexico is rural, and building 500 miles of four-lane highway is going to make a huge economic difference to all those communities. Basically, now we have connected every town in New Mexico with 30,000 people. To save money, we looked at private alternatives in building the roads. The highway project on Highway 44, which is Albuquerque to Farmington, is designed, financed, built, and guaranteed by a private company. This is completely unique. We are actually the first state in the United States to adopt an innovative financing program for Highway 44, by bonding federal revenues. As a result, other states are copying it, and Wall Street is embracing it. Reason: Private prisons. Why did you build them, and how did you get them through the legislature? Johnson: First off, let's go with an assumption. It doesn't have to be private prisons. It can be private roads being built, it can be private schools, it can be anything. If you are getting better goods and services and it is the same price, you go with the same price, better goods and services. If what you are getting is the same goods and services but you are paying significantly less, than you go with paying significantly less. That is the situation with private prisons in New Mexico. We are getting the same product as we have always had-I would argue we are getting a better product-and we are getting it for significantly less. That's good government. Reason: How were you able to get this through the legislature? Johnson: We weren't. This was something that we accomplished administratively. There was absolutelyLVALu0{ no cooperation whatsoever to get these things built. Reason: You've said that you have always believed that life's highest calling is to do good by others, and that politics is a way of accomplishing that. But you have spent most of your life doing good by others in the private sector. I consider building a company and providing goods and services doing good by others. Have you been able to do more good by others as a politician than as a private citizen? Johnson: No question. Being governor of a state gives you enormous ability to do just that. I think we have moved the needle in the right direction. I'll be honest with you about where I think we have moved the needle the least. It's probably in the welfare reform areas, in getting a handle on child support. I don't think I have done anything to move the needle on education in New Mexico other than funding by about $500 million more. Reason: How about tax cuts? Did you get the tax cuts you wanted to see? Johnson: No. I cut taxes to the tune of about $123 million on an annual basis. [New Mexico's budget will be $3.5 billion in fiscal year 2001.] But any citizen in the state would be hard pressed to tell you what any of those were. Every single year, I have advocated significant income tax reduction, and I will continue to do so. It's significant that we've had no tax increases in New Mexico since I've been governor. It has never happened before. But we haven't had the cuts I've wanted either. Reason: Your term's up January 1, 2003. What's next for you? More politics? Johnson: No politics in my future. I have effectively pulled the pin on my political career with my stance on drugs, and I recognize that up front. ########################### Pubdate: Fri, 05 Jan 2001 Source: Associated Press (US) Copyright: 2001 Associated Press Author: Chaka Ferguson, Associated Press Writer JOHNSON TO DISCUSS REPORT DETAILING DRUG POLICY REFORMS For the past two years, Gov. Gary Johnson has advocated reforming the nation's drug laws. LVALp(| Now, armed with the recommendations of a drug policy panel he appointed, the maverick Republican governor has the opportunity to turn that dream into a reality. The Governor's Drug Policy Advisory Group released a report Thursday outlining reforms to current state and federal drug policy. The report will be reviewed by Johnson, who has scheduled a news conference for Friday to discuss the recommendations. The report recommends allowing the use of marijuana to treat pain and suffering associated with serious illnesses and removing criminal penalties for those caught with small amounts of marijuana for personal use. It also recommends that the state develop a comprehensive drug, crime and health plan that includes increased funding for drug treatment, prevention and education; allows substance abuse treatment on request; and implements drug sentencing reform. State Health Secretary Alex Valdez, a member of the panel, said medical marijuana could be used to treat such diseases as cancer and HIV/AIDS. He said medical marijuana "is a compassionate tool which can help people alleviate pain and suffering." The report, given to Johnson on Wednesday, also recommended civil penalties instead of criminal penalties for using marijuana in public places and reducing some drug crimes from felonies to misdemeanors. For example, the panel suggested reducing first and second drug-possession offenses to misdemeanors and removing criminal penalties for possessing small amounts of marijuana for personal use. It also suggested automatic probation and substance abuse treatment rather than jail time for such offenses. The advisory board, in a letter to Johnson, said the recommendations put priorities on "the health, safety and constitutional rights of New Mexico citizens, families and communities." Law enforcement officers have mixed feelings about decriminalizing some drugs, said state Public Safety Secretary Nick Bakas, a former Albuquerque Police Department officer and member of the board. StLVALp)}ill, he said, "I'm very encouraged that my colleagues are receptive to this. They realize the obvious - that we are not going to arrest ourselves out of this problem. We can't keep drugs out of maximum security prisons. How are we going to keep them out of a free society?" The panel also suggested so-called harm reduction policies, such as the sale of clean needles to stem the transmission of diseases. And it wants state lawmakers to look at what impact federal and state drug policies have on New Mexicans' constitutional rights against unlawful search and seizure. Retired state District Judge Woody Smith, chairman of the advisory group, said that when he was on the bench, "the policies we were enforcing were failures. Nothing was getting better. When I was appointed to this panel, I found out things were even worse than I thought. We're spending up to $100 billion a year on a failed policy." Albuquerque Mayor Jim Baca, a panel member, said more than 30 percent of the city's budget goes to fight drugs. "The war on drugs is a failure," Baca said. "Anybody who says it's not a failure is not dealing with reality." The other board members are Steve Bunch, director of the New Mexico Drug Policy Foundation; Steve Jenison, a physician with the Infectious Disease Bureau of the state Health Department; Norty Kalishman a doctor with the McCune Charitable Foundation; U.S. District Judge John Kane of Denver; State Sen. Cisco McSorley, D-Albuquerque; and Angie Vachio, director of PB & J Family Services. __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 06 Jan 2001 15:12:34 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: NM: Governor To Pursue Changes In Drug Policy Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010106151203.05605720@maLVALp$~il.olywa.net> Newshawk: http://www.cannabisnews.com/ Pubdate: Sat, 06 Jan 2001 Source: Albuquerque Tribune (NM) Copyright: 2001 The Albuquerque Tribune Contact: letters@abqtrib.com Address: P.O. Drawer T, 7777 Jefferson NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109 Website: http://www.abqtrib.com/ Author: Gilbert Gallegos, Tribune Reporter Cited: Governor Gary Johnson's Home Page http://www.governor.state.nm.us/ TLC - DPF http://www.drugpolicy.org/ New Mexico Drug Policy Foundation http://www.newmexicodrugpolicy.org/ Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/johnson.htm (Johnson, Gary) GOVERNOR TO PURSUE CHANGES IN DRUG POLICY The Johnson Administration Is Drafting Eight Legislative Bills That Would Alter The State's Drug Laws -- Including Decriminalizing Marijuana. SANTA FE -- Gov. Gary Johnson said his administration is drafting eight legislative bills that deal with changing the state's drug policies -- including the decriminalization of the possession and use of marijuana. Johnson appeared upbeat during a news conference this morning about how his drug-policy agenda is shaping up now that he has solid ideas to pitch to legislators when they meet starting Jan. 16. It's clear Johnson, who is in his last two years in office, has a strategy for pushing for drug law changes. He said he will hold another news conference to release details of the bills and keep the drug issue on the "front burner. A year ago, Johnson said he wouldn't call for the Legislature to change the state drug laws. He said a lot has changed since then, and he senses growing political support for revamping drug laws. He cited specifically President Clinton's recent support for decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana. The state Senate, with strong Republican support, last year passed a resolution denouncing efforts to soften the state's drug laws. But this week the Governor's Drug Policy Advisory Group released its drug policy recommendations that range from the obvious to the controversial. "I wanted to teLVALq)ll you here today that, without exception, I think this report really just nails it on the head," Johnson, a Republican, said of the group's ideas. "I think that they have recommended a common-sense approach to drug policy," he said. Johnson said the bills he will send to the Legislature will tackle issues such as allowing needle-exchange programs at pharmacies and not just clinics; decriminalizing possession and use of small amounts of marijuana; eliminating mandatory prison sentences for certain drug convictions; and allowing some terminally ill patients to use marijuana to relieve side-effects from their treatments. None of the bills focus on expanding the state's drug treatment programs. Johnson was reluctant to say how much new money should be spent on expanding drug treatment. The governor said he has talked to both Republican and Democratic legislators about carrying his drug legislative package. But he did not release their names. Johnson acknowledged some of the ideas in the report are not new. He said he made a mistake in the past when vetoing a bill that would have changed the way the state deals with seizure of drug-dealers' assets. "I have made mistakes since I've been governor," Johnson said. "If I were given the same bill on asset forfeiture that I vetoed, . . . I would now sign that bill." One of the pitfalls Johnson foresees when the Legislature takes up his drug-policy plan is the possibility that Democratic leaders will only pass the portions that they like, while more controversial ideas are ignored. Nevertheless, Johnson said he senses that efforts to reform drug laws are gaining momentum. "I think the entire nation right now is focused on New Mexico and drug reform, and what we might accomplish," Johnson said. "And right now I sense a crack in the dam. I sense a tipping point here. And I sense everybody wants to back off of this getting-tougher concept." Not everybody. A leading legislative critic is leery about Johnson's efforts to change drug policLVALq)ies. Rep. Ron Godbey said he believes Johnson is using so-called "harm-reduction" programs as a means toward more liberal drug laws. "Decriminalization is a fancy word for legalization," Godbey, an Albuquerque Republican, said. "What it amounts to is looking the other way when it comes to marijuana." Godbey, who has promised to fight Johnson's drug-policy proposals in the Legislature, said he met with members of the advisory group to no avail. "I'll oppose most of the things they are talking about," Godbey said. Retired state District Judge Woody Smith, who chaired the drug-policy group that Johnson hand-picked, said he realizes there will be opposition to reform efforts. "It's going to take time to get people to even listen," Smith said. Smith and others in the group urged the public and legislators to consider the entire package of recommendations with an open mind. "I feel these changes, if they are taken seriously, will make things better in this state," Smith said. Aside from the legislation Johnson is pursuing, several other recommendations from the group will be dealt with administratively. Johnson said his chief of staff, Lou Gallegos, will assess all of the drug programs in the state. And Johnson has instructed the state Department of Finance and Administration to create a "global drug budget" that measures results of drug programs. The push for new drug-control strategies was born out of Johnson's controversial support, first, to decriminalize drug possession, then later to legalize some drugs. The reason for decriminalizing marijuana use -- basically removing criminal sanctions for possession of 1 ounce or less of the drug -- is to free up jail and prison space for violent criminals. However, the group did not directly address the idea of legalizing drugs, which Johnson feels is a national issue for Congress, not states, to deal with. DRUG POLICIES The Governor's Drug Policy Advisory Group made several recommendations for changes to New MexicoLVALn&'s war on drugs. The group was created by Gov. Gary Johnson to come up with ideas that he can pursue to change New Mexico's drug policies. Here are the main recommendations that Johnson will now consider as policy changes: PREVENTION AND DRUG EDUCATION Money. More cash for proven drug education and prevention programs, including programs in schools. Mental health. Encourage several state agencies and local school systems to work together to increase mental health and substance-abuse treatment services for kids. TREATMENT ON DEMAND Money. Expand voluntary substance-abuse treatment services. Medicaid. Renegotiate Medicaid contracts so that mental health and substance-abuse treatments also include methadone maintenance and other therapies. Counselors. Change state law to allow people who complete jail time and treatment to serve as substance-abuse counselors. Shifting resources. Move resources between state agencies to make voluntary treatment available to anyone who requests it. Federal dollars. Explore more sources for federal money for treatment. HARM REDUCTION POLICIES Needle exchange. Expand the 20 programs already available to exchange clean syringes for used syringes for drug users; change pharmacy laws to allow pharmacists to sell clean syringes without facing liability; change the Controlled Substances Act so that syringes are no longer considered drug paraphernalia in order to arrest people; and allow people to carry syringes any time, not just on the way back and forth to exchange sites. Methadone. Make methadone therapies more broadly available to help addicts reduce the use of illegal opiates, such as heroin. State health officials would have to seek waivers from the federal government to allow methadone therapies to be offered in physicians' offices or public health offices. Also allow methadone therapies as an option in drug treatment, prisons and Drug Court programs. Overdoses. The Department of Health should continue to make the medication naloxoLVAL^ne available to local communities. The medication is used to reverse the effects of opiates and to prevent overdose. Medical marijuana. Change the current Lynn Pierson Act, the existing medicinal marijuana law in New Mexico, so certain patients could use marijuana to help treat the effects of diseases and illnesses, such as glaucoma, and the side effects of treatments for diseases and illnesses, such as cancer chemotherapy. The current law allows medical marijuana only in research settings. SENTENCING REFORM Reduce charges. Change state law to reduce first and second drug possession offenses to misdemeanors; require automatic probation and substance-abuse treatment, rather than jail time, for those offenses. Decriminalize. Change state law to remove the criminal penalty for personal possession of 1 ounce or less of marijuana; allow for civil penalties, rather than criminal penalties, for use of marijuana in public places. Drug-related offenses. Change state law, such as the habitual offender law and mandatory minimum sentences, so that people convicted of drug-related offenses no longer get automatically increased prison sentences. Sentencing would be determined on a case-by-case basis. [sidebar] GOVERNOR'S DRUG POLICY ADVISORY GROUP The group's nine members are: Woody Smith, a retired state District Court judge from Albuquerque; Nick Bakas, secretary of the Department of Public Safety; Alex Valdez, secretary of the Department of Health; Jim Baca, mayor of Albuquerque; John Kane, senior judge with the U.S. District Court in Denver; Angie Vaccio, executive director of Peanut Butter & Jelly Family Services; Cisco McSorley, state Democrat senator from Albuquerque; Steve Bunch, executive director of the New Mexico Drug Policy Forum; Steve Jenison, of the Infectious Disease Bureau of Public Health. Staff members: Dave Miller, Gov. Gary Johnson's legislative liaison; Katharine Huffman, director of the New Mexico Drug Policy Project, the Lindesmith CeLVALhnter. __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake www.mapinc.org ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 06 Jan 2001 15:18:04 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: US: New Mexico Thumbs Its Nose At The War On Drugs Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010106151752.05604c70@mail.olywa.net> Pubdate: Thu, 04 Jan 2001 Source: Salon (US Web) Copyright: 2001 Salon Contact: salon@salonmagazine.com Address: 22 4th Street, 16th Floor San Francisco, CA 94103 Fax: (415) 645-9204 Feedback: http://www.salon.com/contact/letters/ Website: http://www.salon.com/ Forum: http://tabletalk.salon.com/ Author: Daniel Forbes NEW MEXICO THUMBS ITS NOSE AT THE WAR ON DRUGS A Panel Convened By Gov. Gary Johnson Calls For The Legalization Of Marijuana And A Shift In Focus From Penal Measures To Treatment For Drug Offenders. Jan. 5, 2001 - Maverick New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, one of the most vocal Republican critics of the war on drugs, unveiled a series of proposals Thursday calling for the radical overhaul of the state's drug policies. The recommendations of a panel convened by the New Mexico governor call for the decriminalization of "personal use" marijuana and offer comprehensive policy prescriptions aimed at education, healthcare and the penal system that emphasize prevention and treatment instead of punitive measures. "New Mexico should begin immediately to decrease its reliance on supply-reduction strategies for combating drug and alcohol abuse and focus instead on demand-reduction strategies such as prevention and treatment," the report issued Thursday by Johnson's 10-member Drug Policy Advisory Group concludes. Gov. Johnson convened the group in May to propose an overhaul of the state's drug policies. The recommendations mark a radical depLVALj"arture from the anti-drug strategies currently in vogue across the country. The proposals, for which Johnson must still find legislative sponsors, call for the decriminalization for adults of "personal use" marijuana in amounts of 1 ounce or less; passage of medical-marijuana legislation; making drug treatment available upon request throughout the state; and the reduction of charges in all first and second drug-possession offenses to misdemeanors. Under the proposals, individuals convicted of minor drug-possession offenses would be given probation and treatment rather than jail. And those still facing jail sentences would be given new opportunities for treatment and rehabilitation. The panel argues that mandatory minimum sentences for drug convictions should be eliminated, and it encourages the diversion of cases to drug courts, which tend to offer alternatives to imprisonment. It recommends that courts stop using drug offenses as a basis for longer sentencing under habitual-offender (e.g. "three strikes") laws and calls for prison-based methadone treatment. It would also make it more difficult for the government to order seizures of assets in drug cases. The reforms would make it easier for patients to seek drug treatment through physicians. Doctors would be free to prescribe methadone; federal Medicaid contracts would be adjusted to pay for that and other treatments. Johnson's drug policy advisory group is also asking the governor to implement new drug-education programs built on a "harm-reduction approach" that would teach students the relative dangers of different drugs rather than the traditional "just say no" strategy of zero-tolerance programs used by most American schools and educators. Not surprisingly, foes of Johnson's liberal stance on drug legalization were quick to criticize the proposals. "The minute you weaken the position of keeping drugs out of the hands of children, you have problems," says Republican state Rep. Ted Hobbs of Albuquerque. "It's a general reaction, an emotLVAL|:ional reaction." Of the education proposals, Hobbs says, "I like: 'Just say No!' I totally disagree with anything that weakens the position that drug use is simply bad." While elements of the New Mexico proposals have been adopted in other states, no single state has attempted such wide-ranging reform. Despite a lot of rhetoric, says Dave Fratello, political director of Campaigns for New Drug Policies, no state has shifted its drug policies from an interdiction-and-imprisonment emphasis to treatment and prevention. In fact, though the federal government trumpets its increased allocations for treatment, two-thirds of the Office of National Drug Control Policy's budget is allocated to law enforcement. In the annual report delivered by the ONDCP Thursday, as controversial drug czar Gen. Barry McCaffrey exited the agency, the White House drug office added treatment as a national strategic goal. Eleven states, including California, Oregon, Maine, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina and Ohio, have some form of decriminalization of marijuana for personal use, with civil fines ranging from $100 to $250 or even higher. New Mexico would stand alone if, as the panel advocates, it eliminated all criminal sanctions for private use. And if it resurrects its dormant medical-marijuana statute, it will join nine states with such legislation, all of which are in the West, with the exception of Maine. Many states have versions of sentencing reform on the books, and just yesterday, New York's Republican Gov. George Pataki called for revamping his state's draconian Rockefeller drug laws, which have put some 600 inmates behind bars for sentences of 15 years to life. Drug courts are also proliferating, with some 700 in operation, according to the ONDCP. The Department of Justice has been quite generous in handing out drug-court grants to the states, notes Fratello. A letter accompanying the panel's report strongly rebukes the federal government for promulgating what it describes as "patently false information"LVALp( about drugs "and the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of current drug policies." It states that 30 years of the federally driven war on drugs spurred more dangerous and addictive drugs; heavier drug use at earlier ages; an increase of death and disease; gang violence; extraordinarily long prison sentences for non-violent offenders; and the squandering of tax dollars on ineffective policies. A good deal of this criticism comes from New Mexico native son and panel member Judge John Kane, who sits on the U.S. District Court in Colorado and is an ardent critic of the federal government's drug policies. Much of it arose from such high-profile blunders as an assertion by ONDCP that Holland has a far higher murder rate than the United States, and that there is no evidence of medical marijuana's effectiveness. Citing Alexis de Tocqueville's belief that "American states, cities and towns are the laboratories of democracy," Kane says, "a national policy forced down the states' throats is no laboratory, but a march to the same drum beat. And it's a march of folly." Katharine Huffman, director of the Lindesmith Center/Drug Policy Foundation's New Mexico Drug Policy Project, who helped facilitate the panel's six-month effort, concurs. "The panel felt strongly that a big part of the reason the war on drugs continues is ... the federal government's fear mongering and over-dramatization prevent rational policy making," she says. Panelists also had harsh criticisms of current drug education programs in schools, like DARE, which often use scare tactics (a la one joint leads to perdition) to keep kids off drugs. Panel members urged consideration of a more pragmatic harm-reduction approach since, as Lindesmith Center director Marsha Rosenbaum argues, half of today's youth have already tried marijuana, and 80 percent have used alcohol. Rather than being taught zero tolerance, they say, they should be taught the importance of setting and context -- that kids should never use drugs while working, driving or engaginLVALl%g in sports, for example. Panel member Kane offers a stinging analysis of current education efforts. "It's like when the nuns told you in school that you'll go blind if you play with yourself," he says. "And you decided, just as soon as you need glasses, you'd quit." Kane, who has four children of his own, feels teachers need to discuss different drugs' relative dangers to establish credibility. Referring to zero tolerance education policies in an interview published in the January Playboy, Gov. Johnson himself said, "You hear you're going to lose your mind and go crazy and even die if you smoke marijuana." Johnson added, "You have to tell the truth. When kids realize you're lying, they will no longer listen to you. They may think the stuff you've been telling them about other drugs isn't true either ... People try pot and they don't go crazy." Though reform advocates endorse the proposals, Johnson faces an uphill struggle over some of the panel's more controversial recommendations. Some he can enact on his own initiative, such as enhanced liability protection for emergency medical personnel who administer new drugs to save overdosing heroin users. But most of the recommendations depend on passage by the Democrat-controlled state Legislature, which fought Johnson last year over his opposition to current interdiction and imprisonment policies. Not surprisingly, Johnson also faces criticism within his own party. State Rep. Ron Godbey, an Albuquerque Republican, has emerged as Johnson's most stalwart foe within the Republican Party. A career Air Force meteorologist, Godbey declares the chances of any marijuana decriminalization bill as between "zero and nil." Godbey says that the marijuana sold on the streets now is "30 times stronger than back when the governor was puffing away," and he says he doubts Johnson will find a single representative among the state's 70 to sponsor such a bill. Godbey declares the proposed medical-marijuana bill DOA since, he believes, the medical community opposesLVALp( it and only "the druggies" are in favor. Nor does Godbey support downgrading initial possession charges to a misdemeanor -- a proposal he criticizes as "another step towards decriminalization." Still, Godbey concedes that other provisions in the proposal stand a better chance in the Legislature, including the removal of drug-possession crimes from the state's "three-strikes" law, under which a small-time dealer (often someone fueling his, or increasingly her, own addiction) can get an 18-year sentence. Ironically, as drug advisory board panel member Steve Bunch, director of the New Mexico Drug Policy Foundation, points out, the state Legislature already passed asset forfeiture and sentencing reform measures in the 1990s, but both bills were vetoed by Gov. Johnson. Johnson has also vetoed a prior drug treatment funding bill because of competing financial priorities, says Bunch. New Mexico passed an unfunded provision to provide medical marijuana in research settings in 1978, but it has remained dormant since the late 1980s. That irony has not been lost on Diane Denish, chair of the New Mexico Democratic Party. "Democrats have been fighting for [sentencing reform] for a long time. We've been fighting the governor over the years, and he's called us soft on crime," she says. "Gov. Johnson has a long history of vetoing prevention, education and incarceration reform measures. Now this is his thing. But he needs to get his own party on board. Even with his national platform, he's just talked the talk. Now he needs to walk the walk." The Democratic leader does, however, extend an olive branch to Johnson: "If the governor works with us on other issues, such as increasing teacher pay and having maybe not so broad a tax cut, then we can work with him on drug policy as long as it's not outright legalization." If Johnson does push ahead with the panel's recommendations -- as he is widely expected to do during the 60-day legislative session that begins in mid-January -- he will be aided by a $50,000 prLVAL\ int and radio advertising campaign to be launched by the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws (NORML). Ads in the campaign will cite the supposed 76 million Americans who have smoked marijuana and are otherwise law-abiding citizens and call on the government to better invest its drug war money by prosecuting violent criminals, says NORML executive director Keith Stroup. A second ad will refer to the benefits of medical marijuana for chemotherapy patients. They'll build on ads NORML ran when Johnson first came out for drug reform that stated, "Gov. Johnson's right. Stop arresting responsible smokers." Stroup feels the marijuana decriminalization provision stands a good chance of success. He refers to "no arrest, no jail" personal-use laws in effect in Oregon, California, North Carolina and Ohio among other states and says, "We have private polling that indicates 58 percent of the American public opposes sending marijuana smokers to jail. That's precisely what the governor's proposal would do." Whatever the uncertain prospects for its passage by the Legislature, marijuana decriminalization is no small matter. New Mexico typically averages some 4,000 marijuana possession arrests annually. (NORML estimates that 88 percent of all marijuana arrests nationwide in 1999 were for simple possession.) No one is currently imprisoned long-term in New Mexico for simple possession. But, says panel facilitator Katharine Huffman, people often do go to jail for several days while their case is processed. And parolees and probationers are often returned to prison if they test positive for marijuana in drug tests. The very concept of marijuana decriminalization presents a Catch 22 for legislators. If you're allowed to possess the drug, then where do you get it? "We recognize the inherent conflict between this [decriminalization] recommendation and maintaining criminal penalties for distribution of marijuana," the panel's report states. But it does not offer any way to reconcile that contradiction. GLVALgov. Johnson himself told Playboy that with decriminalization "you are going to allow a person to possess and use marijuana, but not to buy it. In other words, how are people going to get the pot? They are still going to get it from illegal dealers who are buying it from bigger dealers. Decriminalization doesn't deal with the problems of street crime and organized crime ... Of course marijuana use should be decriminalized, but we also have to stop the illegal activities that support the industry." And how do you do that? Legalization of marijuana, says Johnson. But that proposal is absent from the panel's report. Judge Smith acknowledges the conundrum. "That's something we're going to have to revisit ... We didn't want to give too many things for opponents to jump on." There are also enormous financial considerations that the panel was not asked to address -- treatment and prevention is an expensive strategy. But Gov. Johnson now has something to work with besides his rousing appearances at last summer's Shadow Conventions. As one source in the New Mexico government put it, "Johnson needed to get some points up on the board. He needed to show that he's not just talking the big talk. And now that he's got a real proposal out there, he's not just answering questions in Playboy." About the writer - Daniel Forbes is a New York freelancer who writes on social policy and the media. ########################### Pubdate: Fri, 05 Jan 2001 Source: Albuquerque Tribune (NM) Copyright: 2001 The Albuquerque Tribune Contact: letters@abqtrib.com Address: P.O. Drawer T, 7777 Jefferson NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109 Website: http://www.abqtrib.com/ Author: Gilbert Gallegos DRUG PANEL WANTS MORE TREATMENT, NEW LAWS An advisory group formed by Gov. Gary Johnson unveiled a slew of ideas today aimed at cutting into New Mexico's illegal drug problem. The wish list includes several proposals to expand drug treatment and prevention programs, and to change laws to decriminalize the possession and use of smaLVALfll amounts of marijuana. The Governor's Drug Policy Advisory Group also recommended ideas like allowing for the use of marijuana as a medical treatment for some people suffering from terminal diseases, and expanding the state's needle-exchange program to help reduce drug-related diseases. The group, led by retired state District Judge Woody Smith, hopes to arm Johnson with ideas to lay a foundation for a comprehensive state drug policy. Smith admitted some ideas -- such as decriminalizing marijuana possession -- might by controversial. But he and others on the group urged the public and legislators to consider the entire package of recommendations with open minds. "I feel these changes, if they are taken seriously, will make things better in this state," Smith said during a news conference this morning. Johnson, a Republican, received the group's report Wednesday. He will sift through the recommendations and decide which ones he will pursue. Johnson will outline his thoughts about the report Friday during a news conference, an aide said. Health Secretary Alex Valdez, a member of the group, said many of the ideas can be pursued administratively. Other policy recommendations, such as changes in criminal sentencing laws and money to expand treatment programs, will require approval from the Legislature when it meets later this month. The push for new drug-control strategies was born out of Johnson's controversial support, first to decriminalize drug possession, then later to legalize some drugs. The reason for decriminalizing marijuana use -- basically removing criminal sanctions for possession of one ounce or less of the drug -- is to free up jail and prison space for violent criminals. However, the group did not tackle the idea of legalizing drugs, which Johnson feels is a national issue for Congress, not states, to deal with. Instead, Johnson asked the group to come up with more practical ideas to help reduce the effects of drug abuse. A leading legislative critic is leery about JLVALeohnson's efforts to change drug policies. Rep. Ron Godbey, an Albuquerque Republican, has said he believes Johnson is using so-called "harm-reduction" programs as a means toward more liberal drug laws. Godbey has promised to fight Johnson's drug-policy proposals in the Legislature. Mayor Jim Baca, another member of the group, urged critics not to overreact to individual recommendations. Baca said that taken as a whole, the package is a long-range plan that would eventually help the state and cities free up money for more important priorities, such as fighting violent crime and beefing up education programs. "There's nothing very radical in here," Baca said of the recommendations. "It's all pretty much common sense stuff." __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 06 Jan 2001 07:46:03 -0500 From: Richard Lake <rlake@mapinc.org> To: compassionatemoms@egroups.com, mayday@egroups.com, drctalk@drcnet.org, friends@freecannabis.org, restore@crrh.org, hemp-talk@hemp.net, DPFT-L@TAMU.EDU, ohiossdp@topica.com, U-net@drcnet.org, vettalk@vetsformeds.org, harmred@drcnet.org, nep@drcnet.org Cc: dpfco@drugsense.org, dpffl@drugsense.org, dpfoh@drugsense.org, dpfar@drugsense.org, dpfwi@drugsense.org, dpfhi@drugsense.org, dpfca@drugsense.org, udpf@drugsense.org, november-d@november.org Subject: In the New York Times - Ashcroft's WOD views Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.0.20010106071320.00a00680@mapinc.org> In the first item in the press that I have seen which talks about Ashcroft's WOD views, Ashcroft is quoted as saying: "A government which takes the resources that we would devote toward the interdiction of drugs and converts them to treatment resources, and instead of saying 'Just say no' says 'Just say maybe' oLVALq$r 'Just don't inhale' . . . is a government that accommodates us at our lowest and least." Click the URL for the entire column Newshawk: Robert Field http://www.csdp.org/ http://www.drugwarfacts.org/ URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01.n026.a08.html Pubdate: Sat, 6 Jan 2001 Source: New York Times (NY) Copyright: 2001 The New York Times Company Contact: letters@nytimes.com Address: 229 West 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036 Fax: (212) 556-3622 Website: http://www.nytimes.com/ Forum: http://forums.nytimes.com/comment/ Author: Anthony Lewis Column: Abroad At Home Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?178 (Ashcroft, John) OUT OF SIGHT BOSTON -- The district attorney of Kings County (Brooklyn), N.Y., Charles J. Hynes, has for 10 years run a program that diverts nonviolent drug offenders from prison to treatment: a tough residential regimen of up to two years. It has been a great success. Those who complete the program get into renewed trouble with the law at half the rate of other drug offenders. Congress came close last month to authorizing federal grants for drug treatment alternatives on that model. A bill sponsored by two Republicans, Orrin Hatch and Strom Thurmond, and a Democrat, Charles E. Schumer, passed the Senate; another passed the House with the support of such conservatives as Bob Barr of Georgia. But the two versions were not reconciled before Congress adjourned. [continues: 69 lines] ------------------------------ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 06 Jan 2001 09:13:27 -0800 From: "JT Barrie" <rimchamp77@zdnetonebox.com> To: restore@crrh.org Cc: jebarrie10@hotmail.com, rnagy@palm.net Subject: Review of "Traffic" Message-ID: <20010106171234.MMWX16298.mta11.onebox.com@onebox.com> After reading the review for Traffic, I was dumbstruck! How does one end the War on Drugs without decriminalization? Yet that is precisely what we must as voters and newspaper editors being asking every political candidate. Since, by definition, thatLVALg is the ONLY way to end our subsidy of crime, the conclusion of the reviewer that one can simultaneously condemn the drug war and still not support decriminalization is absurd to the nth degree. Yet.... there it was in print. My experience as a candidate was that there are NO supporters of the drug war willing to stand up and openly advocate it as policy [fewer than uncloseted gays in rural areas]. My position on the drug war too controversial?? What controversy? How do zero opponents in public debate make a controversy? Why would a newspaper editorial draw any more public opposition? Why would any politician stand up in the legislature - when they wouldnt in the campaign - on this issue [more likely they would use procedure to avoid debate]? If zero newspapers are willing to stand up for the drug war... why would advocation of decriminalization of all drugs draw drug war supporters from the national press? Write a newspaper editorial on Sunday, promise to publish all replies from people who make a serious attempt to defend the status quo on Saturday [or other slow news day]... and prepare for a very, very bare letters page. JT Barrie Philomath, OR 541-929-5392 While it is true that the drug war supporters' arguments for continuation can't stand up to even the slightest scrutiny - the fact is that the media will not pemit even the slightest scrutiny or criticism for their support of this morally bankrupt policy which has ruined millions of lives. ___________________________________________________________________ To get your own FREE ZDNet Onebox - FREE voicemail, email, and fax, all in one place - sign up today at http://www.zdnetonebox.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 6 Jan 2001 13:31:58 -0800 From: "jeri" <jeri@humboldt.net> To: "B E Smith" <besmith@snowcrest.net> Subject: Fw: Fw: Catchy little tune ( Message-ID: <000b01c07828$1c4542e0$4a02bdcc@humboldt.net> >Subject: Catchy little tune > >< Subject: a little diddy > > SuLVAL llo's Florence, Ore.= , home with a search warrant and found more than 100 marijuana plants growing in the attic along with heat lamps and other drug paraphernalia. Today, in a case that pits technology against privacy rights, the U.S. Supreme Court considers whether the warrantless use of the thermal imaging device constituted an unlawful search under the 4th Amendment of the Constitution. How the court rules in this case could shape the guidelines governing how law enforcement officials use technology to conduct searches. An Exploitative Technology? Based on the evidence seized during the search, Kyllo was indicted for manufacturing marijuana and was sentenced to 63 months in prison. But Kyllo appealed, arguing the police should have had a warrant before they used the thermal imager.=20 The imaging device intruded into activities within his home, Kyllo argues, where he has an expectation of privacy. Just because technology exists to detect what people are doing inside their homes does not mean police have the right to use it without proper constitutional protections of personal privacy, his attorney argues. "Technology that exploits invisible, sub-sensory phenomena ultimately fails to respect the traditional boundaries of society, and therefore leaves the population defenseless against such surveillance," Kyllo's attorney Kenneth Lerner wrote in court papers. In today's court session, Justice Antonin Scalia questioned Lerner's logic. "Why don't your reasonable expectations of privacy include technology? ... You know there are such things as thermal imagers," Scalia asked. "Why do w= e have to assume we live in a world without technology?" "The burden is really improperly placed on the citizen to figure out what technology the government may come up with," Lerner replied. Gov't.: This Is No X-Ray Using a different interpretation of the 4th Amendment, the government disputes Kyllo's assertion that scanning a home with a thermal imaging device in itself constitutes a seaLVALrch requiring a warrant. In court documents, government attorneys compare the thermal imaging scan t= o a ramped up version of an officer merely watching someone's home with the naked eye. The scan does not penetrate the house nor reveal private activities, but rather observes an area of the home exposed to the public =8B in this case, the roof and exterior walls. During today's session, a government lawyer played down the intrusive natur= e of the heat-seeking scan. "If the thermal imager functioned like an X-ray machine ... then we don't dispute that it would be a search," Deputy Solicitor General Michael Dreeben said. "We are not learning what activitie= s are going on or where they are going on in that house." But Justice Stephen G. Breyer seemed dubious of the government's argument. Bird watchers carry binoculars and Boy Scouts wield flashlights, he said, but "who has a heat thermal device? Nobody, except a few." A Two-Part Test A district court judge in Portland, Ore., ruled against Kyllo. On appeal, a panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals at first overturned the lower court ruling but later ruled against Kyllo, saying the search did not require a warrant and was constitutional. In its split ruling, a majority of the appellate court explained it used a two-part test to determine whether the 4th Amendment had been violated. First, the court evaluated whether Kyllo showed an "actual subjective expectation of privacy" and then whether this expectation is one society recognizes as "objectively reasonable." "Whatever the 'Star Wars' capabilities this technology may possess in the abstract, the thermal imaging device employed here intruded into nothing," reads the majority opinion. In the past, the high court has allowed law enforcement officers to fly ove= r a person's property or illuminate a person's car with a flashlight, all without warrants. But the court has required warrants when officials put microphones inside homes or place surveillance devices on public teLVALlephones= . The court should rule in the case, Kyllo vs. U.S., by summer. Court weighs 'thermal' search. LIVE NOW =A0 Intrusive Policing? =A0 Thermal Imaging =A0 Court weighs 'thermal' search. LIVE NOW =A0 =A0 Intrusive Policing? =A0 =A0 Thermal Imaging =A0 =A0SIDEBARS Complete Coverage: The Supreme Court of the United States =20 Copyright =A9 2001 ABC News Internet Ventures. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 10:07:34 -0800 From: LJ Carden <grnchflg@pacbell.net> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Re: restore V1 #773 Message-ID: <3A9403E6.BBE0F9E0@pacbell.net> reply to phillyburbs.com editorial "Reduce Penalty for Pot? Time to just say no" follows. 02/21/2001 02/21/2001 Editor: RE: Time to Just Say No, Couldn't be more wrong. What is ludicrous is this editorial comparing a teenager experimenting with marijuana and kids who rob houses, steal cars and shoot people. That is a sensationalistic and sad statement coming from someone, who one would think, has access to the facts. One fact being that D.A.R.E is going down the tubes due to total failure to accomplish their goals. People, even kids, these days are not as easily brainwashed as they were in the 1930's, when the lies began about this herb. There is a small, but vocal minority of people in this county who are so narrow-minded about cannabis/marijuana that they seem able to overlook all science and revert to that 1930's style brainwashing, while brushing off all the facts, including those about the medicinal use of cannabis/marijuana. To compare an experiment with a felony is truly ludicrous. I applaud your police department to be the first officials in your city to come to their senses regarding cannabis/marijuana. Education, meaning the truth, about this herb will go a lot further than continuing the lies. LJ Carden ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 21:02:20 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org>LVAL To: restore@crrh.org Subject: MI: End Failed Narcotics Policy Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010221210203.04e3d240@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: Sledhead Pubdate: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 Source: Detroit News (MI) Copyright: 2001, The Detroit News Contact: letters@detnews.com Feedback: http://data.detnews.com:8081/feedback/ Website: http://www.detnews.com/ END FAILED NARCOTICS POLICY U.S. President George W. Bush has promised Mexican President Vicente Fox to lobby Congress to permanently exempt his country from obtaining drug certification-- as he should. Certification has become an annual ritual that, by all accounts, does more harm than good, both within the United States and abroad. It should be abolished, not just for Mexico, but for all countries. Congress since 1986 has required the president to rate countries based on their efforts to stop the flow of drugs into the United States. A country that fails to obtain the presidential seal of approval -- to be certified -- faces a loss of U.S. aid and the imposition of trade sanctions, which include increased duties on exports and limits on air traffic. (President Bush has until March 1 to send his list of certified countries to Congress.) The dire consequences that de-certification brings has increased foreign cooperation with U.S. narcotics fighting efforts. Countries such as Colombia, Peru and Bolivia have stepped up efforts to eradicate drug crops and arrest drug traffickers. But none of this has diminished the supply nor discouraged the use of hard drugs in this nation. Cocaine and heroin are being sold in record quantities on the streets, so much so that their prices have sharply plummeted in recent years. Nor is this hard to understand. Authors Eva Bertram and Kenneth Sharpe argue that the drug war is making the problem it was supposed to solve worse because it attacks the wrong enemy. The real enemies, they note in their book, Drug War Politics: The Price of Denial, are not the peasants or low-level dealers -- the main targetsLVALd  of law enforcement officials. Rather, the enemy is the market for a product that is easy to produce, in great demand and highly lucrative. Cracking down on drug traders inflates the black-market profits from the product, Bertram and Sharpe note. This, in turn, provides an incentive for new drug suppliers to enter the market and bring prices down. "So the stick (law enforcement) that is intended to discourage black marketeers ironically creates the carrot (enormous profits) that encourages them." But if drug certification has not aided U.S. efforts to keep drugs out, it has proved downright pernicious from the standpoint of Latin American countries. For example, to obtain certification, Mexico replaced its civilian police with the military to assist in its anti-drug efforts. But the profits in the business are high enough that even high-ranking military officials are susceptible to bribes. Meanwhile, the flow of drugs from Mexico to the United States continues. The corrupting of an enforcement agency that is outside of civilian control is not something that bodes well for Mexican democracy or hemispheric stability. Mexico's story is repeated throughout Latin America. Drug certification is not accomplishing its mission. It should be dropped and new methods considered for ending the market for Latin American narcotics. The Issue Should Congress end its rule that foreign countries must be certified as fighting drug trafficking? __________________________________________________________________________ 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: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 21:10:01 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: CA:Milken Institute Review Looks At America's War On Drugs Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010221210923.04e37ec0@mail.olywa.net> New Milken Institute Review Looks At LVALAmerica's War On Drugs, Baseball's Economic Future, Global Energy Costs and the Consequences of Bush's Tax Cuts LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 21, 2001--The decades-old war on illicit drugs has little to show for it, despite the expenditure of billions of dollars on drug interdiction and law enforcement. Cocaine and heroin remain as cheap to buy and as easy to obtain as ever. Why is America losing the drug war? In the latest issue of The Milken Institute Review, University of Maryland economist Peter Reuter says it's the result of wrong policies, unreasonable expectations and unobtainable goals -- the main one being that the United States can eradicate the source of drugs and incarcerate those who sell it. Also in this issue of the Review: -- With energy shortages and higher gas prices on people's minds, Irwin Stelzer, an economist at the Hudson Institute, asks whether it's possible to take back the initiative from OPEC. -- While everybody understands that baseball would be more fun (and more lucrative) if teams were more evenly matched, Andrew Zimbalist, an economist at Smith College, says that competitive balance is likely to remain an elusive goal as long as the players and club owners fight over the spoils. -- With money bursting from the Treasury vaults and Washington poised to hand out large tax breaks, Jagadeesh Gokhale of the Cleveland Federal Reserve and Larry Kotlikoff of Boston University argue that the failure to build on near-term surpluses will condemn the next generation of workers to crushing tax burdens. -- Robert Hahn of the American Enterprise Institute asks whether antitrust policies designed to keep Big Oil and Big Steel in line can work for software and bioengineering. -- Robert Levine of RAND speculates about the fundamental sources of America's economic success -- and the weaknesses that go along. -- Ed Feige of the University of Wisconsin wants to lower the tax rate to just six-tenths LVALvcof a percent (yes, there's a catch). -- Susanne Trimbath, an economist at the Milken Institute, summarizes new insights on the forces driving corporate takeovers. This issue's book excerpt is from "Remade in America" by Jim Rohwer, a senior contributing editor at Fortune magazine, who explains how the Asian economy will bounce back stronger than ever. To view the magazine online, go to www.milkeninstitute.org. CONTACT: Milken Institute Skip Rimer, 310/998-2654 srimer@milken-inst.org KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA MARYLAND OHIO MASSACHUSETTS BW0181 FEB 21,2001 6:01 PACIFIC 9:01 EASTERN ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 21:18:06 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: OR: Grand jury briefings stir legal issue Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010221211656.04e3e8a0@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: Shannon Floyd Grand jury briefings stir legal issue Oregon defense attorneys challenge the fairness of unnamed witnesses giving information to jurors Monday, February 19, 2001 By Beth Quinn, Correspondent, The Oregonian GRANTS PASS -- Grand juries in at least six Oregon counties routinely received briefings from off-the-record witnesses about drugs before weighing evidence in specific cases. Now criminal defense attorneys across Oregon are preparing to challenge felony indictments from grand jurors who heard such "indoctrination testimony." The uproar over grand jury prejudice, which began last week when defense attorneys filed motions for dismissal of 300 criminal cases pending in Josephine County Circuit Court, has revived calls for reform of the secret process in which a handful of citizens decide who shall stand trial and for what crimes. At issue is the practice of allowing police officers and others not sworn in as witnesses and whose names did not appear as witnesses on indictments to provide general orientations about drug and sexual abuse to grand jurors. Prosecutors say the secret briefings LVAL# provide an efficient way of answering questions from grand jurors not familiar with the drug culture. "It seemed easier to answer some of these general questions in one sitting than have them come out piecemeal over the course of several weeks," said Mark Huddleston, Jackson County district attorney. "We see more drug cases than any other type, and that's the reason this was started for drug cases." But defense attorneys say however well-intentioned, the unsworn briefings can prejudice the grand jury and undercut their job of being an independent check on the power of prosecutors. "I think it was done not with an ill intent but more without thinking it through," said Bert Putney, administrator of Southern Oregon Public Defenders. "The danger is in not having seven fair and impartial grand jurors. Just like other jurors, that's what they're supposed to be. "There are specific statutory rules guiding what is done in the grand jury," Putney said, "and many people feel they're not followed if these indoctrinations are done." Defense attorneys in Jackson County plan to challenge indictments from grand juries that were briefed on drug types, packaging and terminology from drug investigators who were not sworn in as witnesses in specific cases or listed as witnesses on the indictments. Similar moves could follow in Clatsop and Marion counties, where grand jurors received unsworn briefings on drugs, and in Deschutes County, where grand jurors heard unsworn briefings on drugs, sexual abuse and domestic violence. Unsworn drug briefings to Douglas County grand juries ended 18 months ago. "We educate them (now) through the testimony of the officer, who of course is listed," said Rick Wesenberg, Douglas County assistant district attorney. "We have simply done it on a case-by-case basis with an officer." Prosecutors in Josephine County, where grand jurors also heard presentations on sexual abuse, and Jackson County have stopped the grand jury briefings. But the district attorneys of DeschutLVALes and Clatsop counties plan to continue. "I don't believe it is an illegal practice," said Mike Dugan, Deschutes County district attorney. "Grand juries have been going through orientations not only from prosecutors but from presiding judges." "I absolutely intend to continue," said Josh Marquis, district attorney of Clatsop County and president of the Oregon District Attorneys Association. "This is a very common practice all over the state." Jury orientation is standard procedure in most Oregon jurisdictions. Washington County District Attorney Bob Hermann's orientation topics are typical: when jurors meet and how often, what is expected of jurors, the laws governing grand juries, courthouse procedures and what kinds of cases jurors may hear. An informal poll of district attorneys in 24 of Oregon's 36 counties found that few state's prosecutors provide grand juries with briefings by unsworn experts. Counties that do not include the unsworn briefs are Benton, Clackamas, Coos, Curry, Harney, Jefferson, Klamath, Lake, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Multnomah, Polk, Tillamook, Union, Umatilla, Wallowa and Washington. "We do a real similar thing. We just do it through utilization of officers and other witnesses who appear on those cases," said Tim Colahan, Harney County district attorney. "It's done through a witness who is named." "They get whatever they need in the course of sworn testimony," said Doug Harcleroad, Lane County district attorney. Oregon law requires prosecutors to test their criminal cases before a grand jury or at a preliminary hearing. In a grand jury, seven citizens meet in sessions closed to the public to hear only the prosecutor's case before deciding whether sufficient evidence exists to continue with the criminal charges. In a preliminary hearing, evidence of a crime is presented to a judge who also hears testimony from the accused's defense attorney. However, Oregon law doesn't require that the grand jury's secret proceedings be recorded, which helps explain why JoLVALsephine County's unsworn drug briefings, which began as early as 1989, weren't discovered by defense attorneys until last month. "It may have been entirely above board," said Wayne T. Westling, University of Oregon law professor. "But nobody can honestly answer that question -- were they stacking the deck? I don't know. I don't know what was said." "It's so rare for a grand jury to say, 'Wait a moment. Isn't there another side of this story?' They don't say that, and they don't know they can say that," said Ingrid Swenson, a Portland public defender and legislative lobbyist for the Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyer's Association. "They've become a rubber stamp, and I don't think anybody would disagree with that. That's exactly what they are." Oregon's defense lawyers have introduced grand jury legislation that would require recordings of all proceedings; inform grand jurors of their rights to call witnesses, see evidence and indict on lesser charges; notify subpoenaed witnesses who are investigatory targets; and prohibit prosecutors from introducing unconstitutionally obtained evidence. In the meantime, upholding the independence of the grand jury falls to Oregon's 36 elected district attorneys. "It's our responsibility to make sure it's a fair and equitable process. It's up to the district attorney," said Ed Caleb, Klamath County district attorney. "We're very careful of the grand jury process because we're worried about those types of issues." ------------------------------ End of restore V1 #774 ********************** * ------ 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. ------ To subscribe, unsubscribe or switch to immediate or digest mode, please send your instructions to <restore-owner@crrh.org>. ------ *Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp* mail: CRRH ; P.O. Box 86741 ; Portland, OR 97286 USA email: c8LVALHgannabis hemp for years in his columns in the St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press. Andrew Graves, founding and former board member, was party to a lawsuit to permit the growing of industrial cannabis hemp. The two lead lawyers in that suit Michael Kennedy of New York and Burl McCoy of Kentucky are on the roster of the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws, an aggressive pro-marijuana legalization advocate. Actor Woody Harrelson, an admitted pot smoker, marijuana and hemp advocate, hired Joe Hickey, executive director of the Kentucky Hemp Growers Association, as a consultant, allowing Hickey to leave his former job and devote all his time to hemp. Harrelson has sponsored many Kentucky hemp events, including a hemp essay contest for Kentucky schoolchildren, some of whom received a list of hemp facts intermingled with marijuana facts, such as, "smoking marijuana can be beneficial for emphysema, and can be used as a handy way to induce dry mouth before dental operations." John Howell, former hemp editor of High Times magazine, was in Kentucky in 1998 to help Graves, Kennedy and McCoy publicize the message that there is a hemp market. Howell recently represented the cannabis hemp industry at the National Conference of State Legislatures, without disclosing his ties to High Times. High Times, one of the oldest and most militant pro-drug/marijuana publications in the United States, announced in its March 1990 edition an "extraordinary plan" to legalize marijuana: "The way to legalize marijuana is to sell marijuana legally. When you can buy marijuana in your neighborhood shopping mall, it's legal ... Anything and everything you can think of will be made from hemp ... Supporters of the hemp legalization movement will be able to buy shares in hemp manufacturing. ... Legal and financial recognition of hemp's industrial value will mean legal marijuana, whether our government likes it or not! Pot willrrh@crrh.org phone: (503) 235-4606 fax: (503) 235-0120 web: http://www.crrh.org/ LVALQrestore Wed, 21 Feb 2001 Volume 9 : Number 50 In this issue: OR: US Supreme Court Hears Marijuana Case KY: KY Gov. - We Can Differentiate Between Hemp, Marijuana PA: Reduce Penalty For Pot? Time To Just Say No CA: Erin Brockovich To Speak At LATF Swiss Committee For Drug Legalization (Droleg) Still Needed Supreme Court Hears Marijuana Case (washingtonpost.com) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 13:02:05 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: OR: US Supreme Court Hears Marijuana Case Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010220130132.04dba8f0@mail.olywa.net> Supreme Court Hears Marijuana Case By KATHERINE PFLEGER .c The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) - An Oregon man says narcotics agents invaded his privacy and trampled on his Fourth Amendment rights when they used a device to detect excessive heat coming from his house - without a search warrant. The ``thermal imager,'' a camera-like device that depicts infrared radiation, gave law enforcement officials a piece of evidence that led to a search warrant for Danny Lee Kyllo's home in Florence, Ore. Inside, agents found drug paraphernalia and more than 100 marijuana plants, and arrested him. Kyllo has appealed his case to the Supreme Court, which on Tuesday was considering whether law enforcement officials violated a constitutional ban on unreasonable searches when they used the heat-sensing device. The nine-year-old case pits technology against personal privacy. ``Technology that exploits invisible, sub-sensory phenomena ultimately fails to respect the traditional boundaries of society, and therefore leaves the population defenseless against such surveillance,'' Kyllo's attorney Kenneth Lerner wrote in court papers. Lerner said the government downplays the fact that an experienced operator of the device can glean a wealth of information from tLVAL>he thermal imaging scans, including ``fairly precise'' images through some glass windows. The government argues that law enforcement officials were within constitutional limitations when they utilized the scan, which sensed heat patterns emanating from Kyllo's home indicative of lights used to grow marijuana. They used the images - along with a tip from an informant and electricity records - to obtain a search warrant. In court papers, government attorneys compared the thermal imaging scan to an officer observing someone's home. They argued that the scan does not penetrate the house and reveal private activities, and is not a constitutional violation. The ``government investigator stationed in a public place used a thermal imager to observe an area exposed to the public - the roof and exterior walls of a house - and did not observe private activities,'' they wrote. In 1991, a narcotics task force was investigating whether Kyllo's neighbors were growing marijuana at a triplex house. But when officers used a thermal imager on Kyllo's residence, they found unusual amounts of heat coming from his home's side wall and garage roof. After obtaining a warrant and searching the house in January 1992, Kyllo was arrested. He was sentenced to 63 months in prison, but the high court's decision could lead to important new guidelines on how law enforcement officials use technology while conducting searches. In the past, the high court has allowed law enforcement agencies - without warrants - to fly over a person's property or use a flashlight to illuminate a person's car. However, the justices have required warrants when officials put microphones inside a person's home or listening devices on public telephones, among other surveillance methods. A district court judge in Portland originally ruled against Kyllo, who pleaded guilty on the condition that he could appeal the legality of the search. After an initial ruling in his favor, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later upheld thLVALe use of the thermal imaging device, saying its use did not constitute an illegal search. The case is Kyllo v. U.S., 99-8508. On the Net: For the Supreme Court Web site: http://www.supremecourtus.gov AP-NY-02-20-01 0927EST Copyright 2001 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 13:03:40 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: KY: KY Gov. - We Can Differentiate Between Hemp, Marijuana Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010220130304.04dc1320@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: Sledhead Pubdate: Mon, 19 Feb 2001 Source: Lexington Herald-Leader (KY) Copyright: 2001 Lexington Herald-Leader Contact: hleditorial@herald-leader.com Address: 100 Midland Avenue, Lexington, Ky. 40508 Fax: 606-255-7236 Website: http://www.kentuckyconnect.com/heraldleader/ Forum: http://krwebx.infi.net/webxmulti/cgi-bin/WebX?lexingtn Author: Louie B. Nunn KENTUCKY VOICES: WE CAN DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN HEMP, MARIJUANA It is time to separate reality from rhetoric. When I was governor, I listened to all sides of the issues, carefully considered all opinions before me and tried to be fair in my responses. Being actively involved in public service, I am often asked for my opinion on various matters affecting our state. One of the most recent, the industrial hemp issue, has also proven to be one of the most important. Although Kentucky has long been known for its historical hemp industry, it wasn't until about a year ago that I became educated about industrial hemp. Frankly, I was opposed to the legalization of hemp for years because I had been of the opinion that hemp was marijuana. I was shortsighted in my thinking, and I was wrong. Last year, as our farmers struggled with the loss of 65 percent of their tobacco inLVALcome, I was asked to examine information on hemp. What I learned was that hemp is not a drug, and never was. After studying the facts, I believe hemp cultivation has the potential to make a positive impact on our faltering agricultural economy and to create economic opportunities for Kentucky farmers and local industries. I am concerned with all the misleading and intimidating rhetoric being offered to politicians as facts. We Kentuckians have been so mired in misinformation about industrial hemp that it has become difficult to distinguish reality from rhetoric. They say politics makes strange bedfellows, but none stranger than marijuana growers and law enforcement. Like preachers and bootleggers, they oppose legislation for different self-serving reasons. Law enforcement opposes legalizing hemp production because officers get paid to destroy it, while marijuana growers oppose legalization because hemp cross-pollinates and destroys marijuana's potency. And neither side talks about Orincon, a company with the technology to differentiate marijuana and hemp from up to 5,000 feet in the air, and other simple in-field tests that accomplish the same results. But despite these diametrically opposing sides, there is a middle ground where common sense and rational people exist together. For instance, the North American Industrial Hemp Council is so adamantly opposed to ``mixing the message,'' it will not accept pro-marijuana members. Its membership includes James Woolsey, former head of the CIA; Jeff Gain, former director of the National Corn Growers Association; Erwin Sholts, former head of the Wisconsin Department of Agricultural Diversification; Raymond Berard, vice president of Interface Carpets (a billion dollar industry); Curtis Koster, formerly of International Paper; and Shelby Thames, a distinguished professor of polymer science at University of Southern Mississippi. The list goes on to include farmers, businessmen, legislators and 16 other states in the process of passing legislatiLVAL on encouraging the growth of industrial hemp. Is it rational to say all of these folks are involved with the effort to legalize marijuana? Should we listen when Canada's Royal Mounted Police report no problems regulating hemp, or is that force also working to legalize marijuana? I know Kentucky State Police are as well educated as their Canadian counterparts and could as easily understand and incorporate industrial hemp regulations. As difficult issues are analyzed with just, unbiased and sensible minds, solutions reached are usually fair and beneficial to all. Why should the industrial hemp issue be treated any differently? We should be looking forward to the time when intelligence and truth overshadow rhetoric and lack of knowledge. Remember, we can't distinguish between Kentucky white moonshine and spring water by looking, but we haven't seen fit to outlaw spring water. __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. --- MAP posted-by: Andrew ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 13:04:18 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: PA: Reduce Penalty For Pot? Time To Just Say No Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010220130402.04dc9850@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: Sledhead Pubdate: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 Source: Bucks County Courier Times (PA) Copyright: 2001 Calkins Newspapers. Inc. Address: 8400 Route 13, Levittown, PA Feedback: http://www.phillyburbs.com/feedback/content_cti.shtml Website: http://www.phillyburbs.com/couriertimes/index.shtml Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) REDUCE PENALTY FOR POT? TIME TO JUST SAY NO Our View: Tullytown Council Must Vote Down An Ordinance That Would Allow Cops To Effectively Reduce The Penalty For Possession Of Marijuana. Tullytown police say that giving them discretion to effectively reduce the penalLVALty for possession of marijuana is a crime-fighting tool. Bucks County District Attorney Diane Gibbons says that adoption of such an ordinance might allow someone's first drug offense to go undetected on subsequent offenses. Nonetheless, the council will consider adopting a disorderly practices ordinance that would allow police to issue a nontraffic citation to suspects holding a small amount of marijuana. This should go down as the easiest vote in borough history, a unanimous thumbs down. Law enforcement officials have long complained that all too often drug offenders receive light sentences and are back on the street seemingly before the ink is dry on the arrest report. Now Tullytown apparently wants to add to the problem. Tullytown police Chief Patrick Priore said the ordinance would be "geared toward kids. It gives them a chance to go straight." While we're at it, let's give kids a traffic ticket the first time they steal a car or rob a house. What about the first time they shoot someone? Shouldn't we give these kids a chance to get straight, too? And aren't those tens of thousands of dollars spent on programs such as DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) supposed to give kids a chance to go straight? After pounding into our kids' heads that drugs are dangerous and just possessing them a serious crime? How are kids supposed to reconcile that message with police issuing what amounts to a traffic ticket for possession of marijuana? Trying to call the ordinance a crime-fighting tool borders on ludicrous. Lowering the penalty for committing a crime hardly seems the most effective method for convincing people it's not worth committing the crime. The ordinance will not make Tullytown a haven for pot peddlers, but will leave a lasting impression. In a time when drugs are eroding the very fabric of our country, Tullytown wants to handle some drug offenders with kid gloves. And, of course, Gibbons is right. The ordinance would complicate countywide drug enforcement efforts bLVAL^ y making it more difficult to identify repeat offenders. The council must do the right thing and squash the ordinance. There is nothing to be gained and far too much to lose. __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. --- MAP posted-by: GD ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 13:08:50 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: CA: Erin Brockovich To Speak At LATF Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010220130830.04dbcec0@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: Lynnette Shaw Pubdate: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 Source: National, The (New Guinea) Copyright: 2000, The National Contact: national@thenational.com.pg Address: PO Box 6817, Boroko, NCD, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea Website: http://www.zipworld.com.au/~national/ ERIN BROCKVOVICH SCHEDULED TO SPEAK AT LEGAL ABUSE TASK FORCE PRESS CONFERENCE Set for Monday, February 26, 11:00 Am -- at Marin County Civic Center (directions) N.101 to N.San Pedro Road, exit first left turn, park immediately by fountain. `Broom Marchers' arrive at Noon to Rally for D.A. Recall -- Medical Cannabis Patients to join Marchers `We are meeting outside of the Civic Center this Monday because we are locked out of the public process ` said Rev. Lynnette Shaw, speaking on behalf of the Legal Abuse Task Force .The LATF is composed of the various groups that came together in a coalition to recall DA Kamena. `We have three unfair cases in court on February 26, two medical marijuana cases going to trial,and a legal abuse court case where Kamena is prosecuting a woman for looking at public records. How much tax money is being spent on these and other make-work, inappropriate prosecutions?' asked Rev. Shaw, founding director of the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana. Terri Lynn Day, chair of the LATF, stated `The principles of law and juLVAL4stice are too important to be left in the hands of corrupt DAs.' Ms. Day continued, `D.A.Kamena - No Justice, No Job!' Several speakers are scheduled to meet with the press, including Erin Brockovich, the well-known activist for social justice, Terri Lynn Day, LATF chair, Tom Van Zandt, esq., brother of Carol Mardeusz, Dr. Jay Cavanaugh and Dr. Michael Baldwin, medical board members of the American Medical Marijuana Association and physicians in strong support of patients' medical cannabis rights, Rev.Lynnette Shaw, who plans to publically release financial information, Venetta Babich, age 75, medical cannabis patient victimized by Kamena's policies and Cindy Ross, Calif. Director of the National Alliance for Family Court Justice. __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. --- MAP posted-by: Kirk Bauer ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 07:28:02 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Swiss Committee For Drug Legalization (Droleg) Still Needed Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010220072742.04daab70@mail.olywa.net> [forward] Why is the Swiss Committee for Drug Legalization (DroLeg) still needed? In 1994 DroLeg has filed the popular initiative 'For a Reasonable Drug Policy' aiming at modifying the Swiss Constitution. In 1998 the Swiss people rejected it in a national referendum. Although Swiss drug policy has changed in some respects since then, it still emphasizes repression instead of prevention, harm reduction and therapy: =B7 Even today, addiction is mostly dealt with by police und judges. =B7 Even today, local police raid hemp shops and report innumerable hemp consumers just as they please. =B7 It is true that the Swiss Heroin Distribution Program (offizieller Name???) is internationally considered very successful indeed, but only one ouLVALt of ten addicts in Switzerland has access to it. =B7 The currently discussed revision of the Federal Law on Narcotic Drugs (BtmG) is about to be reduced to a farce by the quarrelling political parties. DroLeg keeps reminding people that the prohibition policy =85 =B7 has failed because the ban cannot be enforced. =B7 is unfair because it creates an enormous gap between consumers of legal addictive substances, who are tolerated, and consumers of illegal ones, who are considered criminals. =B7 creates major health risks because consumers of illegal drugs never know what they are consuming and have to do so under adverse conditions. =B7 marginalizes addicts socially and ruins them financially. The international ban on drugs has disastrous consequences =B7 It grants organized crime enormous global profits (500 billion US$ per year). =B7 It turns small producers in third world countries into criminals and fights their plantations (poppy, coca, hemp) instead of fighting poverty. =B7 It is responsible for brutal actions in a failed drug war such as violations of human rights and ecological damage (use of chemical weapons). ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 08:04:05 -0800 (PST) From: DDKARD@webtv.net (Don Burkard) To: webmaster@drugsense.org, restore@crrh.org Subject: Supreme Court Hears Marijuana Case (washingtonpost.com) Message-ID: <847-3A929575-8775@storefull-267.iap.bryant.webtv.net> --WebTV-Mail-29396-4629 Content-Type: Text/Plain; Charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7Bit HAPPY TRAIL"S!!!!!!! DON --WebTV-Mail-29396-4629 X-URL-Title: Supreme Court Hears Marijuana Case (washingtonpost.com) Content-Disposition: Inline Content-Type: Text/Plain; Charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7Bit http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/nation/courts/A29016-2001Feb20.html --WebTV-Mail-29396-4629-- ------------------------------ End of restore V1 #773 ********************** * ------ CRRH is working to regulate and t LVAL    ( _ w  8Ld~ .6<'Yax)M6 WBMK-260WBSQ BN SLOWJET #CS011032CSIMTR FACT VALVE SPRING KIT,BIGTWINS 81-84 INCLUDES SPRINGS,COLLARS & KEEPERSSTsF+P@nfb CS011031CSIMTR FACT VALVE SPRING KIT BIGTWINS 80-81 INCLUDES SPRINGS,COLLARS & KEEPERSSTsF+P@nfb CS011030CSIMTR FACT VALVE SPRING KIT,BIGTWINS 48-79 INCLUDES SPRINGS,COLLARS & KEEPERSSTsF+P@nfb CS011029CSIANDREWS HIGH LIFT TITANIUM UPPER SPRING COLLARS (4) FITS ALL EVOLUTIONS 84-93STmxz,{G@qie CS011028CSIANDREWS HIGH LIFT SPRING SET EVOLUTIONS (4) FITS EVOLUTIONS ALL 84-93STQ,:@ia] CS011027CSIANDREWS HIGH LIFT SPRING SET FOR S/HEADS (4) FITS SHOVELHEADS 70-84ST4@R6@f^Z CS011026CSIANDREWS HIGH LIFT UPPER SPRING COLLARS SENT 23 TO REPACK 12/08/94STec5@f^Z CS011025CSIANDREWS MEDIUM LIFT UPPER SPRING COLLARS (4) FITS SHOVELHEADS 70-84STec5@f^Z CS011024CSIANDREWS LOW PROFILE LOWER VALVE SPRING COLLARS(4) LATE STYLE 80-UP S/HEADSTec5@nfb CS010987CSIEVOLUTION BIG TWIN PISTONS 84-PRES 10.0:1 COMP RATIO .010EAޓZIb@e]Y CS010986CSIEVOLUTION BIG TWIN PISTONS .020 84-PRES 10.0:1 COMP RATIOEAޓZIb@e]Y CS010983CSIEVOLUTION BIG TWIN 88in+.020 84-PRES. 10.0:1 COMP. RATIOEAޓZIb@c[W CS010982CSI1340cc EVOLUTION STANDARD .020 FL,FX 9.5:1 COMP RATIO 84-PRESEAVN^@e]Y CS010981CSI1340cc EVOLUTION PISTONS .020 FL,FX 84-PRES 9.5:1 COMP RATIOEAVN^@e]Y CS010980CSI1340cc EVOLUTION PISTONS .020 FL,FX 84- PRESENT 8.5:1 COMP RATIOEAׁ\@ia] CS010979CSI1200CC EVOLUTION PISTONS .020 XL 88-PRESENT 9.0:1 COMP.RATIOEA c\@e]Y CS010978CSI883CC TO 1200CC PISTON .020 XL 86-PRESENT 9.0:1 COMP RATIOEAVN^@e]Y CS010977CSIEVOLUTION BIG TWIN PISTONS 84-PRES 10.0:1 COMP RATIO .010EAޓZIb@e]Y CS010976CSI1340cc EVOLUTION PISTONS .010 FL,FX 84-PRESENT 10.5:1CREAVN^@`XT CS010975CSI1340cc EVOLUTION PISTONS .010 FL,FX 84-PRES 9.5:1 COMP RATIOEAVN^@e]Y CS010974CSI1340cc EVOLUTION PISTON .010 FL,FX 84-PRES 8.5:1 COMP RATIOEAׁ\@e]Y CS010973CSI1200CC EVOLUTION PISTONS .010 XL 88-PRESENT 9.0:1 COMP RATIOEA c\@g_[ CS010972CSI883CC TO 1200CC PISTON .010 86- PRESENT 9.0:1 COMP RATIOEAVN^@c[W CS010950CSIJIMS RLLR ROCKERARMS, EV 84-UP SET OF 4STB,u@OGC CS010948CSIJIMS ROCKERSHAFT, EVO 1984-UP ax the sale of cannabis to adults like alcohol, allow doctors to recommend cannabis through pharmacies and restore the unregulated production of industrial hemp. ------ To subscribe, unsubscribe or switch to immediate or digest mode, please send your instructions to <restore-owner@crrh.org>. ------ *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/ LVAL restore Tue, 20 Feb 2001 Volume 9 : Number 49 In this issue: Switzerland: Survey: Majority Of Swiss Want Cannabis Laws Canada: 517 kilos of pot found in beans CA: Mendo MJ Petitioner Sues Walmart UK: Why Didn't The Police Charge This Pot-Smoker? Fwd: Federal and State Prison Populations Soared Northern California radio broadcast IA: Law-enforcement Agents Raid Hemp Cat Californians to recall anti-marijuana DAs UK: Cannabis Party Plan Barney Frank to Introduce federal Medical MJ Bill ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 18 Feb 2001 13:36:26 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Switzerland: Survey: Majority Of Swiss Want Cannabis Laws Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010218133610.04d96030@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: larry@mapinc.org Pubdate: Fri, 16 Feb 2001 Source: State Journal-Register (IL) Copyright: 2001 The State Journal-Register Contact: letters@sj-r.com Address: P.O. Box 219, Springfield, IL 62705-0219 Fax: (217) 788-1551 Website: http://www.sj-r.com/ SURVEY: MAJORITY OF SWISS WANT CANNABIS LAWS LIBERALIZED [Sidebar] "Cannabis consumption is becoming normal." -- Richard Mueller, Director Swiss Institute for Alcohol and Drug Problems Bern, Switzerland (Associated Press) -- More than half of the Swiss support loosening the laws banning marijuana, according to a survey by a drug and alcohol agency. The figures, released Thursday by the private Swiss Institute for Alcohol and Drug Problems following a study in November, say that 54 percent favor a softening of penalties for smoking, possessing and selling the drug. "Cannabis comsumption is becoming normal," institute director Richard Mueller said. In the survey of 1,600 people between the ages of 15 and 74, more than a quarter said they had smoked a marijuana cigarette at least once in their life, with the figLVALHk ure rising to 50 percent among teenagers and young adults. Nor margin of error was given for the poll. The study suggests that around 87,000 out of the 7 million Swiss smoke a marijuana cigarette daily. The institute supposrts legalizing possession and use of cannabis and also wants to allow the sale of small quantities of the drug. Its thinking is not out of tune with that of the Swiss government. Last year, the government proposed parliament decriminalize marijuana use, though other drugs would remain illegal. Parliament is due to consider it by June. Penalties for use of so-called soft durgs rarely are imposed, and Switzerland is rated as having one of the world's most liberal drug policies. The Study said that there still should be controls on use of soft drugs in public places, and that any moves toward liberalizing the law should be accompanied by a health education campaign similar to that aimed at tobacco smokers. __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 18 Feb 2001 13:40:57 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Canada: 517 kilos of pot found in beans Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010218134044.04da5020@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: creator@mapinc.org Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON) Copyright: 2001, Canoe Limited Partnership. Contact: editor@sunpub.com Website: http://www.canoe.ca/TorontoSun/ Author: Kevin Masterman Pubdate: February 18, 2001 517 kilos of pot found in beans 2 busted in warehouse A half tonne of marijuana stashed in a shipment of string beans was seized at the Windsor-Detroit border, leading to charges against two men yesterday. The bust is the culmination of a 10-month Canada Customs and RCMP investigation that led them to a Toronto- area produce LVAL> importer, police said yesterday. Customs officers at the Ambassador Bridge, which sees up to 7,500 tractor-trailers cross each day, searched the truck Thursday after it fit the profile of an expected drug shipment. Police then followed the truck to a warehouse and arrested eight men. They later released six. "Most of the people in the warehouse were hired by the company to off-load the trailer," RCMP Const. Howard Adams said. "The trucking company and the drivers have nothing to do with the drugs that were found." FROM U.S. SOUTHWEST The 517 kilos of pot, with an estimated street value of $7.7 million, were hidden in 76 boxes of string beans in the nose of the trailer, which carried more than a thousand crates of Mexican produce. The compressed bricks of cannabis, which police believe was grown in the southwestern U.S., were wrapped in layers of plastic and masking tape. Customs originally alerted the RCMP of possible drug shipments entering Canada via produce importers when it stopped two Mexican men with criminal records who tried entering at Niagara Falls last April. The men, who were investigated after failing to produce ownership for the car, had links to a prior U.S. drug seizure and to vegetable importing and exporting. Adams said the investigation boiled down to co-operation between the different agencies ranging from Canada and U.S. Customs to Toronto Police. Wayne David Yee, of River St., Toronto, and Pablo Nabor Gomez Juarez, 31, of Mexico, are charged with drug-trafficking. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 18 Feb 2001 18:30:16 -0800 From: Dale Gieringer <canorml@igc.org> (by way of "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org>) To: restore@crrh.org Subject: CA: Mendo MJ Petitioner Sues Walmart Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010218183001.04d9c560@mail.olywa.net> Release be: Richard Johnson <mcenviro@pacific.net> Subject: POT PETITIONER SUES WALMART MARIJUANA PETITIONER SUES WALMART OVER ARREST On February 13, the publisher of a small newspaper in northernLVAL g California sued WalMart Stores Inc. and a manager of its Ukiah branch for false arrest, false imprisonment and violations of civil and constitutional rights. A year ago, local police took Green Party organizer Richard Johnson to county jail where he was held for five hours over a local marijuana decriminalization initiative petition he was circulating outside the store. Johnson is the publisher of the MENDOCINO COUNTRY Environmentalist, as well as co-author and campaign manager for the personal use of cannabis initiative. Approved by 58% of the voters in November's election, Measure G requires county supervisors to lobby against marijuana prohibition, forbids the sheriff or DA from using public funds to investigate or prosecute for any garden smaller than 25 plants, requires them to make marijuana their lowest enforcement priority, and to report once a year on their marijuana enforcement activities. Local officials contend that federal and state laws prevent them from observing its provisions. Because he could find no lawyer willing to take his case to superior court, Johnson was forced to file in Mendocino County's small claims court. Nevertheless, he is demanding $50,000 in general damages from both WalMart and the assistant manager who ordered police to arrest him. A major signature gatherer for Measure G, Johnson had been petitioning alone in the same spot for some six weeks when WalMart finally ordered police to arrest him for trespass. But he says he never interfered with the flow of customers into or out of the store. The following week, eight others were ritually arrested and released in a free speech protest at the site. In a formal legal opinion on this case published on March 2 of that year, Mendocino County district attorney Norman Vroman refused to file charges against Johnson or the protesters writing, "it is determined that the alleged acts do not rise to the level of a criminal offense. Therefore, criminal charges are not merited. "The basis of this decision rests upLVAL on the legal principles set forth in the case of Robin vs. The Pruneyard Shopping Center. That case upheld that under the California Constitution the public has the right to engage in free speech and petitioning on public property when that location has the characteristics of a public forum. If the commercial property becomes a place where people congregate, the owner's property rights must yield to the public's right to engage in expressive activity." In ordering the arrest, the assistant manager declared to police that the content of the Measure G petition was contrary to WalMart's "family atmosphere." This established WalMart's intent to interfere with Johnson's petitioning and if possible to chill others from similarly gathering signatures for Measure G. This intent belies management insistence on WalMart's restrictive rules for petitioning insofar as those rules include prior review of materials to be shown to the public. Johnson maintains that those rules compromise political rights of petitioners far beyond any legally necessary protection of property and commerce. A hearing is set for April 11. Johnson expects that if he prevails in small claims, WalMart will appeal to higher courts where its legal muscle has lately been severely circumscribing the reach of the Pruneyard decision. For more information, call 800-464-0559. -- ---- Dale Gieringer (415) 563-5858 // canorml@igc.org 2215-R Market St. #278, San Francisco CA 94114 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 18 Feb 2001 18:32:08 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: UK: Why Didn't The Police Charge This Pot-Smoker? Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010218183157.04da0970@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: M Gibson MarkGibson@lca-uk.org http://www.lca-uk.org Pubdate: Sun, 18 Feb 2001 Source: News & Star (UK) Copyright: 2001 News & Star Contact: letters@cumbrian-newspapers.co.uk Address: Newspaper House, Dalston Road, Carlisle CA2 5UA Fax: 594088 Website: http://www.news-and-star.co.uLVAL  k/ Cited: Legalise Cannabis Alliance http://www.lca-uk.org Lezley Gibson: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00.n1445.a04.html Alan Mason: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00.n1629.a02.html Mark Gibson: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01.n247.a04.html WHY DIDN'T THE POLICE CHARGE THIS POT-SMOKER? A Cumbrian campaigning to legalise cannabis who freely admitted smoking the drug in a national newspaper is unlikely to be prosecuted. Mark Gibson, a prospective parliamentary candidate for the Legalise Cannabis Alliance for Penrith and the Border, was pictured smoking the drug. He appeared to be goading the police into arresting him by saying: "If the police want to arrest me they can but they don't pay any attention to me anymore." But despite his frank admission Mr Gibson, of Alston, is unlikely to face any charges. A spokesman for Cumbria Constabulary said: "We generally concentrate on suppliers rather than users. But if someone is committing an offence and seen to commit an offence, we would take action against them." The spokesman added that police wouldn't bring a prosecution on the strength of a newspaper article. Mr Gibson, a recreational cannabis smoker, said he was misrepresented in the article in The Observer. "I'm certainly not goading the police to come and arrest me," he said. "It's common knowledge that I smoke cannabis. It is at their discretion and if they want to come and arrest me they can. But I certainly wouldn't want them to come to my door and arrest me. "I am not inciting anybody to break the law. It's down to personal choice. "I think that if somebody is doing something in their own home and it isn't harming anyone there is no reason why not." He added that he wasn't worried by the publication of the picture, a partially out-of-focus shot showing him smoking a reefer. Mr Gibson's wife Lezley hit the headlines last year when she was cleared of a charge of possession of cannabis after a jury found she was entitled to use the drug to help ease the LVAL@_ symptoms of multiple sclerosis. Like his wife, Mr Gibson would be willing to fight any charges brought against him for cannabis use. "I would not be willing to plead guilty," he said. "I would fight to the bitter end for my beliefs." Across the country the police and Crown Prosecution Service are becoming increasingly unwilling to prosecute for the possession of cannabis. Last year, in an exclusive interview with the News & Star and The Cumberland News, Cumbria's Chief Constable Colin Phillips said he would not do anything if he was at a friend's house and someone lit up a joint. Juries often acquit users such as Lezley Gibson who use the drug for pain relief, and many first-time users escape with a caution. But some activists are playing the law at its own game and pushing to be prosecuted to allow them to plead their innocence under the new Human Rights Act. There are at least half a dozen court cases around the country where activists have refused cautions and deliberately admitted using the drug in order to test the Act which prevents public bodies such as the police from unduly interfering in an individual's private life. A Carlisle man will use the Human Rights Act to defend himself against drugs charges soon. Alan Mason, 40, of Stonegarth, is accused of producing cannabis, possessing the drug with intent to supply and possessing the drug. All three offences are said to have occurred last summer. A pre-trial review will be held at Carlisle Crown Court next week. What do you think about cannabis and the law? Call our Talkback line on 01228 612300 __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. --- MAP posted-by: Josh Sutcliffe ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2001 09:10:14 -0800 (PST) From: DDKARD@webtv.net (Don Burkard) To: webmaster@drugsense.org, restore@crrh.oLVALR{ rg Subject: Fwd: Federal and State Prison Populations Soared Under Clinton, Report Finds Message-ID: <29557-3A915376-7307@storefull-264.iap.bryant.webtv.net> --WebTV-Mail-19444-3739 Content-Type: Text/Plain; Charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7Bit HAPPY TRAIL"S!!!!!!! DON --WebTV-Mail-19444-3739 Content-Disposition: Inline Content-Type: Message/RFC822 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7Bit Received: from mailsorter-103-2.bryant.webtv.net (209.240.198.103) by storefull-264.iap.bryant.webtv.net with WTV-SMTP; Mon, 19 Feb 2001 09:06:32 -0800 (PST) Received: by mailsorter-103-2.bryant.webtv.net (WebTV_Postfix) id 4053666; Mon, 19 Feb 2001 09:06:32 -0800 (PST) Delivered-To: ddkard@mailsorter-bryant.bryant.webtv.net Received: from storefull-264.iap.bryant.webtv.net (storefull-264.iap.bryant.webtv.net [209.240.199.236]) by mailsorter-103-2.bryant.webtv.net (WebTV_Postfix) with ESMTP id 2A2924E for <ddkard@mailsorter-bryant.bryant.webtv.net>; Mon, 19 Feb 2001 09:06:32 -0800 (PST) Received: (from production@localhost) by storefull-264.iap.bryant.webtv.net (8.8.8-wtv-e/mt.gso.26Feb98) id JAA05579; Mon, 19 Feb 2001 09:06:32 -0800 (PST) X-WebTV-Signature: 1 ETAuAhUAon5W+mclyeHwVsEgY/9e3zCCTpACFQDCdkOwRrTMYexIccr5/4H5qcSLAg== From: DDKARD@webtv.net (Don Burkard) Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2001 09:06:31 -0800 (PST) To: DDKARD@webtv.net Subject: Federal and State Prison Populations Soared Under Clinton, Report Finds Message-ID: <29562-3A915297-3233@storefull-264.iap.bryant.webtv.net> Content-Disposition: Inline Content-Type: Multipart/Mixed; Boundary=WebTV-Mail-795-1630 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7Bit MIME-Version: 1.0 (WebTV) --WebTV-Mail-795-1630 Content-Type: Text/Plain; Charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7Bit HAPPY TRAIL"S!!!!!!! DON --WebTV-Mail-795-1630 X-URL-Title: Federal and State Prison Populations Soared Under Clinton, Report Finds Content-Disposition: Inline Content-Type: Text/Plain; Charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BitLVALR http://www.latimes.com/print/asection/20010219/t000015042.html --WebTV-Mail-795-1630-- --WebTV-Mail-19444-3739-- ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2001 19:48:47 -0500 From: "Ann" <amccormick@home.com> To: "list November a" <november-l@november.org>, "list Moms a" <compassionatemoms@egroups.com>, "list MayDay a" <mayday@egroups.com>, "list crrh a" <restore@crrh.org>, "list AMMA a" <amma-talk@drugsense.org> Subject: Northern California radio broadcast Message-ID: <004e01c09ad6$e2a7cae0$9df50018@pwtkt1.ri.home.com> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_004B_01C09AAC.F954A3A0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable I will be a telephone guest tonight on Shattered Lives with Sharon = North. It airs from 5:30-6:00, Mondays, on KZFR 90.1 Public Radio in = California. Unfortuneately, it is not available on the 'net. love ann xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx "...These are the times that try men's souls: The summer=20 soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink=20 from the service of his country: but he that stands it=20 NOW deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.=20 Tyranny, like Hell, is not easily conquered. Yet we have=20 this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the=20 more glorious the triumph." Thomas Paine Dec. 11, 1776 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx=20 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 07:26:33 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: IA: Law-enforcement Agents Raid Hemp Cat Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010220072621.04dc39c0@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: Bob Dobbs Pubdate: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 Source: Daily Iowan, The (IA) Copyright: 2001 The Daily Iowan Contact: daily-iowan@uiowa.edu Address: Attn: Viewpoints Editor, 201N Communications Center, Iowa City IA 52242 Page and Section: 2 A, Metro Website: http://www.dailyiowanLVAL' .com/ Author: Chao Xiong, Peter Rugg Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hemp.htm (Hemp) LAW-ENFORCEMENT AGENTS RAID HEMP CAT Law-enforcement Agents Seize Records, Computers And Smoking Accessories. An undisclosed amount of merchandise, financial records and four computers were taken from a local hemp store and the owner's Iowa City home during a search by approximately 40 officers from the Drug Enforcement Agency Sunday. Hemp Cat owner Adam Engelby said the DEA served him with two search warrants early Sunday, one for his home and another for his business, which is located at 114 1/2 E. College St. Engelby said law-enforcement agents took two computers from his home and two from the Hemp Cat store, financial records from both locations and smoking accessories from the store during the raids. The searches lasted about three hours each, he said. Approximately 10 officers searched his home while 30 others searched his business simultaneously, he said. "They were courteous and polite, very professional," Engelby said. "There were a million things running through my mind. I was in a state of shock more than anything." The Hemp Cat stopped business for the day after Sunday's raid and closed its doors four hours early Monday evening. "I don't plan to sell any of the stuff that was seized in the future," Engelby said, refusing to elaborate on the smoking accessories the DEA confiscated. He plans to keep the store open and is optimistic it will survive without the seized merchandise. Engelby has hired an attorney and the "wheels are in motion," he said. Engelby said he was never arrested during the raids and has not been charged with anything relating to Sunday's search. DEA spokesman Al Overbough said he could not confirm or deny the raid on the Hemp Cat. However, Des Moines police Lt. Clarence Jobe confirmed that the DEA searched the store Sunday and that two Des Moines police officers were on the task force. Jobe said he could not comment on the case because it is under fLVAL,A ederal jurisdiction. Despite his initial shock, Engelby said the search was not a complete surprise. "I guess, in the back of your mind, you always have an idea something like that could happen when you're selling questionable smoking accessories," he said. Hemp Cat employee Paula Balkenende said that, to the best of her knowledge, all the merchandise was legal. Iowa City police officers made it a habit to visit the store once a month, chat with customers, and visit the back room, where smoking accessories were displayed, she said. Balkenende said she watched as plain-clothes DEA officers collected boxes of evidence Sunday. "It just truly made me sick, and I thought how unfair it was to (Engelby) and the employees because we haven't done anything wrong," she said. "I don't think the Hemp Cat's going to do the business it's done now that it's been harassed repeatedly." __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. --- MAP posted-by: GD ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 07:29:10 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Californians to recall anti-marijuana DAs Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010220072832.04dccbd0@mail.olywa.net> CALIFORNIANS OUT TO RECALL ANTI-POT DAS Thomas D. Elias SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES ----------------------------------------------------------- SAN RAFAEL, Calif. =97 Advocates of medical marijuana use who won public approval of their cause in a 1996 ballot initiative are now using recall campaigns against county prosecutors around California in an attempt to muscle law enforcement into accepting legalization of medipot. Already, activists for the American Medical Marijuana Association (AMMA) in Orange County's Dana Point have qualified a recall of Marin County District Attorney Pamela Kamena fLVAL or a May 22 special election vote. The special election will cost the county an estimated $500,000. They group has also "warned" a half-dozen other district attorneys to cease prosecuting patients who smoke marijuana to ease the pain and nausea of some illnesses or face a recall. To force a special election, petitioners must collect valid signatures of 15 percent of voters who cast ballots in the last general election. "We see recall actions as a means of convincing local prosecutors to comply with Proposition 215," said Steve Kubby, founder and director of the AMMA. "This isn't a vindictive thing on the part of patients. It's a matter of survival." Proposition 215 legalized the use of pot for medical purposes with a physician's recommendation. The initiative passed by a 56 percent to 44 percent margin and has produced confusion and controversy ever since as U.S. attorneys, judges and some local sheriffs and prosecutors refused to recognize it as a defense in marijuana possession cases. Statewide, defendants in 23 criminal cases have used it as a defense since the initiative was passed. Of those, 16 persons have been acquitted of possession charges. A jury in the Sierra Nevada Mountain town of Auburn voted 11-1 to acquit Mr. Kubby of most drug-possession charges last month stemming from a 1999 raid on his home near Lake Tahoe. Mr. Kubby, who ran in 1998 as the Libertarian Party's candidate for governor of California, and his wife were tried on a variety of drug-possession charges after police netted more than 100 small marijuana plants in that raid. Mr. Kubby says he has used marijuana since 1976 to combat a rare form of adrenal cancer. His physician testified that he needs the pot to survive. Mr. Kubby was convicted only of one count of possession of a hallucinogenic mushroom but has appealed that verdict on grounds the mushroom was a souvenir that had long since lost its potency. One of the district attorneys who has been warned of impenLVAL ding recall is Bradford Fenocchio, who supervised the Kubby prosecution. The recall in leafy Marin County, just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, comes despite what its district attorney, Ms. Kamena, calls her "progressive view" about medipot. Her office has issued guidelines exempting from prosecutions anyone with fewer than seven mature cannabis plants and less than half a pound of dried marijuana. "These people want you to believe this is about medical marijuana," Ms. Kamena told a news conference last week. "It is not. This process is about the rule of law and the entire legal process." Lynette Shaw, director of the AMMA's Marin County branch, argued that even when medipot patients are not prosecuted, authorities in the county frequently confiscate their supplies. "We're looking at 300 people who lost their pot," she said. "After they get arrested and lose their pot and go through all these hoops, only then are they let go. They're harassing these poor patients to death." Opponents of the Marin County recall say the petition signature drive that qualified the issue for a vote was misleading. The petitions, they note, did not mention medipot and instead attacked Ms. Kamena for prosecuting a woman convicted of falsifying a court document in a child-custody case. Retired county Judge William Stephens told the San Francisco Chronicle he believes the recall effort is "a fraud being perpetrated on the citizens of this county. The primary interest of those seeking to advance the petition is to have the district attorney look away when marijuana is used." Meanwhile, most prosecutors say they will not allow themselves to be pressured by any recall efforts. "We're not going to react to someone wanting to put some type of political pressure on us to make a decision on how we should apply the law," said Edward Berberian, assistant district attorney of Sonoma County. ----------------------------------------------------LVAL M ------- This article was mailed from The Washington Times (http://www.washtimes.com). For more great articles, visit us at http://www.washtimes.com Copyright (c) 2001 News World Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 07:29:44 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: UK: Cannabis Party Plan Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010220072930.04dcaa10@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: WebBooks http://www.paston.co.uk/users/webbooks/webhome.html Pubdate: Sat, 17 Feb 2001 Source: Eastern Daily Press (UK) Copyright: 2001 Eastern Counties Newspapers Group Ltd Contact: EDPLetters@ecn.co.uk Address: Prospect House, Rouen Road, Norwich NR1 1RE, UK Website: http://www.ecn.co.uk/ Cited: Legalise Cannabis Alliance http://www.lca-uk.org CANNABIS PARTY PLAN NORWICH: Former cannabis smuggler Howard Marks and an ex-head of Scotland Yard's drug squad will be among the speakers at a conference at the University of East Anglia next month. The Legalise Cannabis Alliance (LCA), which is holding its second annual party conference, hopes to field up to 100 candidates at the general election, Mr Marks having stood in both Norwich constituencies in 1997. __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 07:36:55 -0800 From: Dale Gieringer <canorml@igc.org> (by way of "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org>) To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Barney Frank to Introduce federal Medical MJ Bill Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010220073638.045030c0@mail.olywa.net> NORML Director Keith Stroup reports: Rep. Barney Frank will be reintroducing his federal bill to let states regulate medical marijuana. The bill, which would lift DEA and FDA restrictions in states that cNLVAL^8`?p8%uɏF. ------ *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/ LVAL's,restore Sun, 18 Feb 2001 Volume 9 : Number 48 In this issue: 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to hear sacramental marijuana case State Rights. Re: State Rights. UPI News Article EU to issue identity number for every citizen KUB: Taxpayers League Blasts Placer D.A. and Sheriff for violating 215 Re: State Rights. The Week Online with DRCNet, Issue #173 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 17 Feb 2001 09:11:45 -0800 From: "Carl E. Olsen" <iowanorml@HOME.COM> (by way of "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org>) To: restore@crrh.org Subject: 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to hear sacramental marijuana case Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010217091133.04dc8890@mail.olywa.net> I apologize for sending this again. AT&T's cable e-mail has been horrible for the past two weeks. Someone must have given them an email virus attack. I didn't get any confirmation the first time I sent this, but when I tried to send it again I got a message saying I had already sent it once. -----Original Message----- From: Ras Makahna [mailto:rasiya37@hotmail.com] Sent: Thursday, February 15, 2001 12:48 AM To: carl@commonlink.net Subject: Greetings from Guam! (follow-up) Greetings Carl, Give Thanks! This is to let you know that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the government's petition for review. The briefing schedule goes the government of guam has until April 9, 2001 to submit their brief. We have until May 9, to submit our response brief. The government then has fourteen day to submit an optional brief. The three justices hearing the case will be Beezer, O'Scannlain, and Kleinfeld. I am hoping you will know some one or can access some information on how these justices have ruled in past decision liberal/conservative. Also do you know of any organization that might be willing to submit an amicus for my case. (The ACLU and the Lindesmith Center presentlLVALx4y providing counsel through the Ninth Circuit.)Keith Stroup of NORML said they will be unable to due to the fact that Jeff the former ligitagation director is no longer with them and that they are presently in the process of replacing him. JAH RASTAFARI Guide and Protect! One Love! Ras Iyah Ben http://www.commonlink.com/~olsen/RASTAFARI/guerrero.html http://www.commonlink.com/~olsen/RASTAFARI/guerrero-002.html http://www.commonlink.com/~olsen/RASTAFARI/op2000Guam26.html http://mojo.calyx.net/~olsen/RASTAFARI/guerrero.html http://mojo.calyx.net/~olsen/RASTAFARI/guerrero-002.html http://mojo.calyx.net/~olsen/RASTAFARI/op2000Guam26.html http://www.druglibrary.org/olsen/RASTAFARI/guerrero.html http://www.druglibrary.org/olsen/RASTAFARI/guerrero-002.html http://www.druglibrary.org/olsen/RASTAFARI/op2000Guam26.html Carl E. Olsen, MCSE Post Office Box 4091 Des Moines, Iowa 50333 (515) 288-5798 carl@commonlink.net ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 17 Feb 2001 09:20:02 -0800 From: "Fat Freddy" <realfatfreddy@home.com> To: "restore Hemp" <restore@crrh.org>, "Church of The Universe" <church-of-the-universe@eGroups.com>, "CJUST-L: Criminal Justice Discussion List" <CJUST-L@LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU>, <compassionatemoms@egroups.com> Cc: "Ann McCormick" <amccormick@home.com> Subject: State Rights. Message-ID: <001e01c09906$8bf4bea0$be7db018@tcma1.wa.home.com> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0011_01C098C2.CF210920 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="----=_NextPart_001_0012_01C098C2.CF210920" ------=_NextPart_001_0012_01C098C2.CF210920 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I was asked some questions that I cannot answer. So I will ask you all to let me know your answers. The truth will be heard by those that look for it. #1. Do the mmj laws work the same way abortion laws did?--After enough states vote for it LVALu.would federal laws be required to change? If so, is it based on simple majority (over 50%)? #2. Can a state have the right to make its own law, governing only its own state? #3. Does a State have the right to override the Federal law in their own States boarders? #4. Do we have any human rights left? #5 Is prohibition what we wish to have? Did the 1930's teach us anything? Does history repeat its self? #6 Does regulation work better than prohibition? If you can answer these Questions It would be appreciated a lot. I am sending this to my address book not a list. If you would like to be removed from it just let me know. Love Jess/Fat Freddy ---~ http://go.to/fatfreddy ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 17 Feb 2001 13:08:26 -0500 From: Elmer Elevator <bobmer@javanet.com> To: Fat Freddy <realfatfreddyjay@worldnet.att.net> Cc: restore Hemp <restore@crrh.org>, Church of The Universe <church-of-the-universe@eGroups.com>, CJUST-L: Criminal Justice Discussion List <CJUST-L@LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU>, compassionatemoms@eGroups.com, Ann McCormick <amccormick@home.com> Subject: Re: State Rights. Message-ID: <3A8EBE1A.8BF34665@javanet.com> --------------1018D1DE696259603FD07078 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Dear Fat, Here are some fairly factual answers; I'm not a lawyer, just a journalist and obsessive reader, but I think these are pretty accurate. 1. The current legality of abortion in the United States doesn't come from any states' actions. Rather it overrides and almost completely trumps the actions of individual states to ban or limit abortion rights. The right of a woman to have an abortion in the USA comes from the Supreme Court case "Roe vs. Wade." That made it the law of the land, and left only a very little "wiggle room" for conservative state legislatures to limit or interfere with the right to abortion. Not that they haven't been trying. 2. Unfortunately, this is what the CLVALn%ivil War was all about. The Northern anti-slavery states believed if they could ban slavery in Congress, the Constitution clearly said this meant no Southern state could thereafter continue to have slavery. The Southern states preached the gospel of "States' Rights" -- and there's a lot of Constitutional language that suggests the drafters of the Constitution were very afraid of giving the new federal government too much power over the affairs of individual states. But not only did the Civil War end slavery, it also pretty much settled this question of federal vs. state rights. Once, by act of Congress or US Supreme Court decision, the federal government settles a question, individual states don't really have the legal right to defy it. The nine states that have passed MMJ laws are technically in defiance of federal laws which permit no lawful medical (or recreational) use of cannabis. But once a state passes a MMJ law, and puts it into place effectively enough that local and state cops start respecting it and stop busting MMJ users and growers, to enforce the federal ban, the federal government would have to send its own DEA thugs into the state to bust MMJ growers and users (patients with AIDS and cancer, etc.). This so far the feds are somewhat reluctant to do, because if they did, it would generate howls of anger from lots of people who don't care much about MMJ, but would be outraged at the federal interference and police invasion of what they fairly (even though without legal support) believe is their state's business and none of the federal government's. So that might push things to a new Civil War between the feds and the maverick MMJ states ... and is MMJ worth sending federal troops into California? Slavery and school desegregation, yes ... pot for AIDS and cancer sufferers? Hmmmm ... So far, local and state cops have been very happy to do all the feds' MMJ dirty work for them. When local and state cops stop doing that because state law clearly tells LVALIthem to stop, the DEA will have to decide whether to step into the vacuum. And that will catapult MMJ from fairly boring and routine local news items to the front-page NY Times headlines and the CBS Nightly News. 3. See above ... no. That's what the Civil War settled. 4. A few, if you hire a good lawyer and fight like hell for them. Civil Rights and Human Rights are never guarantees. You have to fight and scream bloody murder to demand them. Sometimes you have to go to jail for them. In Tienamen Square and the struggle for Civil Rights in the American South, a lot of people got shot for them. Sorry about that, but that's just the way it always is everywhere. 5. Prohibition 1 sucked. Now it's almost completely disappeared from living memory. Prohibition 2 sucks. But we've forgotten all the damage that P1 did. The Vietnam War (I'm a vet) sucked. Now it's almost completely disappeared from living memory. Plan Colombia sucks. But we've forgotten all the damage that Vietnam did. 6. There's a brand new study by the RAND Corporation and a bunch of MD psychiatrists that flat-out says that if we decriminalize pot, not very many more people will want to smoke it. Now tell that to Nixon/Reagan/Bush/Clinton/Bush. Droog4 I was asked some questions that I cannot answer. So I will ask you all to let me know your answers. The truth will be heard by those that look for it. #1. Do the mmj laws work the same way abortion laws did?--After enough states vote for it would federal laws be required to change? If so, is it based on simple majority (over 50%)? #2. Can a state have the right to make its own law, governing only its own snip ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 17 Feb 2001 15:54:03 -0500 From: "Loey Glover, Publisher / Terry Mitchell, Exec. Ed." <panthers@eos.net> To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:@alpha.eos.net;> Subject: UPI News Article EU to issue identity number for every citizen Message-LVALr+ID: <000e01c09923$c81fb480$c89585cd@eos.net.eos.net> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_000A_01C098F9.D9E33A40 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="----=_NextPart_001_000B_01C098F9.D9E33A40" ------=_NextPart_001_000B_01C098F9.D9E33A40 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable In case you missed this: http://www.vny.com/cf/News/upidetail.cfm?QID=3D157470 ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 17 Feb 2001 13:58:04 -0800 From: Steve Kubby <steve@kubby.org> To: undisclosed-recipients:; Subject: KUB: Taxpayers League Blasts Placer D.A. and Sheriff for violating 215 Message-ID: <B6B433EC.B38F%steve@kubby.org> ******************************************************** THE AMERICAN MEDICAL MARIJUANA ASSOCIATION 15 Monarch Bay Plaza, Box 375, Dana Point, Ca 92629 Web site: http://americanmarijuana.org/ E-mail: amma@americanmarijuana.org Join our List: http://americanmarijuana.org/ ******************************************************** Pubdate: February 2001 Source: Tax Talk Bulletin (CA) Copyright: League of Placer County Taxpayers Contact: info@placertaxpayers.org Address: PO BOX 4899, Auburn, CA 95604-4899 Website: http://www.placertaxpayers.org/ Phone: 916-763-1015 Author: Wally Reemelin, Taxpayers League President Note: The 1,200 member League of Placer County Taxpayers is one of the mos= t influential organizations in Placer County. WAR ON DRUGS -- in Sacramento! For the past two years a Special Operations Drug Unit of Placer County Sheriff Edward Bonner=B9s department has been conducting operations, as many as 30 of them, in Sacramento County. The recent outcome of this activity has resulted in a handful of civil lawsuits against Placer County claiming unwarranted searches and violation of constitutional rights of individuals whose homes were raided. The subjects of the drug raids were aLVALx3ccused of cultivating and using marijuana despite the Medical Marijuana Act (Prop. 215) enacted by California and Placer County voters in 1996. What is going on here and why are Placer County agents working in Sacramento? The interests here are why are Placer taxpayers subsidizing police work in another county, using our jails to house and feed arrestees, and prosecuting cases at county expense for another jurisdiction? Also, under Proposition 215 persons with a doctor=B9s approval or prescription may possess and use marijuana for treatment of health conditions they may have. Federal law does not permit distribution of marijuana. Were sheriff agents breaking one law (215) in order to enforce the federal law? The taxpayers=B9 interest in this matter is the liability judgments that may arise from these lawsuits. The county is self-insured for $1million with an insurance umbrella above that amount. But each lawsuit pertains to a first million. It=B9s not cumulative. The Medical Marijuana Act (215) did not specify any prescribed amount of marijuana or plant cultivation limits. Some counties and cities have determined and publicized the amounts they accept under 215. Nevada County allows 10 plants. Sierra County permits 6 indoor plants and 3 outdoor plants. City of Oakland approves of 148 plants. There is no general agreement on an acceptable number, but if counties set and publicize the medically acceptable number of plants, or pounds, that an individual may have, then at least medical marijuana users will know when they will be fre= e of unreasonable searches and arrest. Such an agreement will have no legal basis since 215 set no such number, but this arrangement would provide a temporary issue settlement until the state legislature provides an answer. Last year a legislative bill by John Vasconcellos to establish a program to register medical marijuana users and provide them with an identity card suc= h as handicapped persons now have available. The program was voluntary, but i= t dieLVALr+d in committee and for good reason. No citizen desires to give public notice of an illness they may have and no one is ready to sign up that they may be in violation of the federal law regarding marijuana use. One Placer Drug Unit raid occurred in Roseville at the home of Lyman Sanbor= n and his wife, Grace, that they share with their mature son. Mr. Sanborn was childhood chum of President Ronald Reagan. No evidence of any marijuana was found at the home. This was also the case in several of the other drug raids. Most medical marijuana users grow their own plants indoors. The Sanborns have filed a one million lawsuit against Placer County. The drug squad had been observing patrons of a nursery shop in Sacramento called Green Fire. The store specializes in materials for hydroponics and culture of orchids and other exotic plants. The younger Sanborn was observe= d attending the Green Fire store and the drug squad traced the residence through Department of Motor Vehicles registration. Also, the Sanborn utilit= y energy use records were obtained to verify higher than normal electric use, possibly for marijuana plant cultivation. It appears that a federal narcotics agent, Richard Adams, of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, assisted with a federal subpoena to obtain the electric power data. So, apparently the federal drug agency was working with Placer detectives. Recently a medical marijuana case in neighboring El Dorado County ended wit= h a jury acquittal of the defendants, the Whitakers. Apparently their run-in with El Dorado officials was because that sheriff considered the Whitakers 4.2 pounds of marijuana was more than necessary for personal use and that they were probably selling it. This, generally, is the basis for drug enforcement activities of Placer and Sacramento Counties as well. At the Whitaker trial, it was noted that an on-going federal government study allows patients 6.5 pounds of the drug per year. The League interviewed Placer District Attorney Bradford FenocchioLVALp* and Sheriff Edward Bonner regarding Placer County=B9s drug activities. Bonner indicated that he and Sacramento deputy DA, Dale Kitching, had originally engaged in a mutual aid pact but that Sacramento did not follow through due to other commitments. Bonner indicated that his drug unit in no longer working outside the county. The League suggested that Mr. Fenocchio work with other law enforcement units in Placer and establish a medical marijuana use amount that would not be subject to house raids, and to publish the same. Fenocchio indicated tha= t he was already exploring this avenue and that some agreed upon amount would be established in a few months. Fenocchio also agreed and indicated that he would continue to consult with State Attorney General Lockyer and the legislature to come up with a more formal response. The League suggested that the DA and the sheriff=B9s department should reconsider their aggressive medical marijuana program. For those readers that are skeptical of medical marijuana uses, there is substantial evidence of its efficacy for a number of medical problems. A University of Vermont College of Medicine study indicates marijuana compounds increase cerebral blood flow, enhance cirtrial activity (brain), and kill respiratory pathogens, and provide inflammatory relief (arthritis)= . A Medical College of Virginia study provides evidence that marijuana is beneficial to the cardiovascular system and a report of the Farmacologia Departments, Naples, Italy, indicates that marijuana can be helpful in the control of pain. Other studies have found that marijuana can have a beneficial effect in overcoming the motor control (tics-etc.) problems foun= d with Tourette Syndrome. Marijuana is a handed down legacy of the Beat Generation of the 50=B9s and th= e Hippies 60=B9s culture. Their guru, Timothy Leary and his motif, "Tune in, turn on, drop out," established the drug as a pleasure, mind-expanding experience. It got a bad rap. For medical users it can be a salvation. The peoplLVALp(e of California have spoken. Let it be. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 17 Feb 2001 19:42:54 -0700 From: Sparrow <meretrix@realm-of-shade.com> To: "Fat Freddy" <realfatfreddyjay@worldnet.att.net>, "restore Hemp" <restore@crrh.org>, "Church of The Universe" <church-of-the-universe@eGroups.com>, "CJUST-L: Criminal Justice Discussion List" <CJUST-L@LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU>, <compassionatemoms@eGroups.com> Cc: "Ann McCormick" <amccormick@home.com> Subject: Re: State Rights. Message-ID: <3.0.6.32.20010217194254.010d8320@63.227.242.56> I don't know the answers to the other questions, but this one: >#2. Can a state have the right to make its own law, governing only its own state? would obviously be "yes." Otherwise you wouldn't have the discrepancy between: Alaska, where certain amounts of marijuana under certain conditions is legal; Michigan, where small amounts of marijuana in certain cities nets only a small fine; and Nevada where any amount of marijuana, even a single seed, is a felony level crime. This is the case for other 'victimless crimes' as well. Take prostitution, for example. There is no national prostitution law (the Mann Act addresses to interstate commerce, not sex-for-hire) and each state, county and city is allowed to create and maintain their own laws governing prostitution and other sex work. Also, as far as I know, >#1. Do the mmj laws work the same way abortion laws did?--After enough states >vote for it would federal laws be required to change? If so, is it based on >simple majority (over 50%)? To the best of my knowledge, there are no abortion laws on a federal level. It is state-by-state. There is no amendment to the constitution concerning abortion. Roe vs. Wade is not a federal law, it is a Supreme Court *precedent* which is a different animal altogether. Any state could challenge Roe vs Wade at any time but it would be a long uphill battle since a Supreme Court precedent (coupled with the length of time thaLVAL8t abortion has been legal in that state) would require opposing lawyers to provide a serious amount of evidence indicating harm as a result of legalized abortions. Since that evidence cannot be produced (all one has to do is compare post-legal abortion health statistics with pre-legal statistics to see that, regardless of one's moral convictions, legalized abortion is safer and healthier than leaving desperate women to induce abortion using amateur home methods) it would be very difficult for a state to outlaw abortion. caveat: I am not a lawyer. Sparrow ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2001 14:32:28 -0500 From: DRCNet <drcnet@drcnet.org> To: drc-natl@drcnet.org Subject: The Week Online with DRCNet, Issue #173 Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010216143157.05a4cdb0@drcnet.org> The Week Online with DRCNet, Issue #173 - Feb. 16, 2001 A Publication of the Drug Reform Coordination Network "Raising Awareness of the Consequences of Drug Prohibition" Phillip S. Smith, Editor, psmith@drcnet.org David Borden, Executive Director, borden@drcnet.org Subscribe: http://www.drcnet.org/signup.html Unsubscribe or change address: mailto:listhelp@drcnet.org Make a donation: http://www.drcnet.org/drcreg.html This issue on the web: http://www.drcnet.org/wol/173.html TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Incarceration Fever About to Break? Prison Populations Leveling Off in Some Big States http://www.drcnet.org/wol/173.html#feverbreaking 2. California's "Three Strikes" Law Continues to Snare Mainly Drug and Nonviolent Offenders http://www.drcnet.org/wol/173.html#cal3strikes 3. John Ashcroft's Drug War http://www.drcnet.org/wol/173.html#ashcroft 4. Oklahoma Meth Mess http://www.drcnet.org/wol/173.html#oklahomameth 5. One Third of Indigenous Prisoners in Mexico Imprisoned on Drug Charges http://www.drcnet.org/wol/173.html#theindigenous 6. New StopTheWar.com Site Uses "Traffic" Movie to RaisLVALr-e Awareness, Free Daily DVD or Video Give-Away for Participants http://www.drcnet.org/wol/173.html#trafficstop 7. Book Review: The Politics of Medical Marijuana http://www.drcnet.org/wol/173.html#alanbock 8. Errata: Ecstasy Conference Article http://www.drcnet.org/wol/173.html#clarifications 9. The Reformer's Calendar http://www.drcnet.org/wol/173.html#eventcalendar 10. Editorial: A Postcard from Mexico http://www.drcnet.org/wol/173.html#postcard ================ 1. Incarceration Fever About to Break? Prison Populations Leveling Off in Some Big States http://www.drcnet.org/wol/173.html#feverbreaking For nearly 30 years, the United States has been on an imprisonment binge, largely propelled by drug prohibition. The number of Americans (and foreigners) behind bars broke the two million mark last year. Now, however, come signs that the nation's appetite for incarceration may be sated. New York State this year saw its first decline in prisoners in decades. Although the decline is small -- from 71,750 prisoners on February 1, 2000, to 70,293 on February 1 this year -- it marks a startling change of direction for the state. State officials project that the number of prisoners will decline to 65,200 by next February, which would constitute a 9% decline since 1999. Those projections do not factor in any additional decreases that could result from changes in the state's harsh drug laws. Gov. Pataki earlier this year introduced a 10-point proposal to do just that, and it appears likely that some sort of reform package will be signed into law this year. In Texas, home of the nation's second largest prison system, the state's Criminal Justice Policy Council reports that the number of inmates has remained essentially unchanged since last fall. According to the agency's executive director, Tony Fabelo, an increase in prisoners receiving parole was the primary reason for the stagnation. Texas legislators, not noted for coddling crimLVALl#inals, have in recent years also begun to notice the huge costs of building and maintaining the state's massive incarceration industry. Some legislators are calling on the state parole board to expedite releases and tread more softly in revoking parole for minor administrative violations. In Pennsylvania, a spokesman for the state corrections department told the New York Times that the department expected an increase of only 234 prisoners per year through 2006. The spokesman attributed the slow-down in the rate of increase to a larger number of halfway houses where prisoners can be paroled. In California, with the nation's largest state prison system, the electorate last fall sent a strong message to the state's political class with Prop. 36, which will divert an estimated 25,000 drug offenders from prison into treatment. According to the latest figures from the California Department of Corrections, the prison population was already leveling-off. The 162,533 prisoners at the end of the third quarter of 2000 were only 152 more than a year earlier, a change of 0.0%, the department noted. The trend is not uniform. In Illinois, the number of adult male prisoners has stabilized, but an increase in female and juvenile offenders has caused a 12% increase in total prison population since 1998, to 45,275, said Illinois Department of Corrections spokesman Sergio Molina. And Florida, too, continues to see increases, up from 68,599 in 1999 to 71,233 last year. Debbie Buchanan, a state prison spokeswoman, told the New York Times the increase was attributable to laws enacted in the mid-1990s that required prisoners to serve longer portions of their sentences. [The Florida increase may also be partially explained by the state's reflexive response to cases such as that of the author's alcoholic brother, who served time in Florida in the early 1990s. He then returned to his home state of South Dakota, where he continued his career as a repeat DWI offender. After each DWI arrest and punishment byLVALn& the state of South Dakota, the state of Florida then demanded he be returned as a probation violator. He is currently serving a seven-year Florida sentence for probation violation after having served a two-year sentence in South Dakota for the DWI.] DRCNet spoke with Marc Mauer, executive director of the Sentencing Project (http://www.sentencingproject.org) about the apparent change of direction in prison populations. "This is possibly the beginning of the end of the incarceration mania," Mauer told DRCNet. "With the exception of a few lawmakers on Capitol Hill and in the state legislatures, I don't hear those same old demands for more prisons -- not from criminal justice practitioners, not from other leaders." "Some noted conservatives, such as John DiIulio [just appointed to head Resident Bush's faith-based services initiative] are now saying we have enough prisons," Mauer pointed out. "If you took a cross section of criminal justice leaders, you would find a great sentiment for a more balanced approach, with great interest in community-based prevention and sentencing reform." Although Mauer cautioned that not all the evidence was in, he said he is "cautiously optimistic" that the rate of increase in imprisonment is slowing nationally and that the incarceration rate itself is beginning to decline in some states. When pressed for explanations for the slow-down, Mauer expressed some uncertainty. "We don't know exactly why this is happening now," he said, "although if I had to rank the factors, I would put the eight-year decrease in crime first, of course, followed by sentencing reform." "Some states say their diversion programs are having an impact and they are making better use of sentencing options," Mauer added. "I think this is encouraging, but the real challenge is to convince policymakers and the public that if we're leveling off at two million prisoners, that's still a disaster," Mauer emphasized. "We shouldn't forget that we've almost doubled the prison population inLVALq* the last dozen years, that we have almost half a million drug offenders behind bars, and that a majority of prisoners are serving time for nonviolent crimes." "We still need to push very aggressively for sharp reductions in the use of incarceration and make use of other options for nonviolent offenders," concluded Mauer. ================ 2. California's "Three Strikes" Law Continues to Snare Mainly Drug and Nonviolent Offenders http://www.drcnet.org/wol/173.html#cal3strikes If, as recent figures indicate, California's record-breaking prison population is leveling-off, it isn't because of the state's harsh "Three Strikes" law. Under that law, which took effect in March, 1994, anyone convicted of a felony who had previously been convicted of a "violent" or "serious" felony (which includes most drug charges as well as burglary of an unoccupied dwelling) is subject to enhanced punishment. Persons with one previous conviction are sentenced to twice the term prescribed by law, and must serve 80% of it. Persons with two prior felony convictions are sentenced to life in prison, with no possibility of parole for at least 25 years. According to figures from the California Department of Corrections, at the end of last year, there were 5,887 persons serving "Three Strikes" sentences. More than 1100, or 19%, of them had been sentenced for drug crimes, including 32 persons sentenced to life for marijuana violations. A clear majority of "Three Strikes" defendants were not sentenced for crimes of violence. For people serving "two strikes" sentences, the number doing so for other than violent crimes climbed to 75%. The human stories behind some of those sentences shock the conscience. The following are taken from Families to Amend California's Three-Strikes (FACT), http://www.facts1.com on the web: * Luciano Orozco, San Diego County, sentenced to 25-to-life upon a third felony conviction, for possession of 1/20 of a gram of heroin. His previous convictions were for burglary inLVAL8 1988 and 1981. He is married. * Doug Rash, Orange County, sentenced to 25-to-life upon a third felony conviction, for possession of 0.4 grams of cocaine. His previous convictions were for burglary (in both cases involving domestic disputes) in 1987 and 1985. * Rene Landa, Los Angeles County, sentenced to 27-years-to-life upon a third felony conviction, for stealing a spare tire. His previous convictions were for burglary in 1986 and 1972. He has a history of substance abuse. His victim was a Huntington Beach deputy. * Louis Donald Frank, San Bernadino County, sentenced to 25-to- life upon a fifth felony conviction, for possession of paraphernalia by a prisoner. He entered guilty pleas to three burglary charges on one day in 1988 and was serving time for a 1990 conviction for stealing a bicycle from a garage when charged on the paraphernalia count. * Kelly Lee Scherer, Shasta County, sentenced to 28-to-life upon a third felony conviction, for possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell. His previous convictions for burglary were both more than a decade old when he was convicted in 1997. Despite the apparent inhumanity of such sentences -- aimed overwhelmingly at drug offenders or persons with histories of substance abuse -- a growing opposition coalition has so far been unable to get the "Three Strikes" laws amended. Efforts to do so in the California legislature have repeatedly failed under veto threats from law-and-order Democratic Gov. Gray Davis. A petition drive to put reforms on the ballot failed last year. Proposition 36, the "treatment not jail" initiative passed into law by California voters in November, does, however, amend the law. It allows people charged with simple possession of drugs to go into treatment programs -- rather than suffer a "Three-Strikes penalty -- if the drug possession occurred more than five years after the defendant's release from prison or last felony or violent misdemeanor conviction. There are also signs that local prosecuLVALn%tors are amenable to political persuasion. In Los Angeles County, Steve Cooley defeated incumbent Gil Garcetti in the District Attorney's race at least in part because he promised to not try nonviolent or minor drug offenders under the "Three Strikes" provisions. (Instead he offered to only try them as "two-strikers," merely doubling their sentences.) Early this month, Cooley was forced to live up to his campaign promise after his office first moved to prosecute two men, one charged with receiving two stolen cans of ArmorAll and the other with cocaine possession, as third-strikers. The reversal came only after public defenders complained publicly, the Los Angeles Times reported. But that is not nearly enough for opponents, who call for comprehensive reforms of the law. FACT has posted a multi-point reform plan (http://www.facts1.com/forms/amend.pdf) calling for the law to apply exclusively to new violent crimes; no applicability for crimes committed before its enactment in 1994; no counting multiple felonies during a single act as multiple strikes; a 10-year limit on offenses that would count as strikes, removing burglary of an uninhabited dwelling from the list of serious felonies; and retroactivity, so prisoners already sentenced under old provisions could appeal for reductions. While the coalition to reform the "Three Strikes" bill is broad- based -- an alphabetical listing of endorsers finds the editorial board of the Los Angeles Times, the League of Revolutionaries for a New America and the Libertarian Party listed consecutively -- it is still small. But the activists vow to continue until justice is done. ================ 3. John Ashcroft's Drug War http://www.drcnet.org/wol/173.html#ashcroft One of the people who has stood in the way of drug policy and sentencing reform is the new Attorney General, John Ashcroft. As a Senator, Ashcroft was one of the most enthusiastic proponents of harsh mandatory minimum sentences for low level, nonviolent drug offenders. While tLVALl"he new president himself has actually voiced the need to reconsider certain drug war excesses such as lengthy mandatory minimums for first time possessors and the crack/powder cocaine sentencing disparity, John Ashcroft has advocated an escalation of the drug war that if enacted could launch the nation's incarcerated population even further above the two million mark than it stands at already. In an interview given to Larry King Live on February 7th, Ashcroft stated, "I want to escalate the war on drugs. I want to renew it... refresh it, re-launch it..." Pressed by King for specifics, however, the Attorney General declined to provide them, other than a "Parent Drug Corps" idea proposed by the new administration. When asked by King if the drug war was a failure, Ashcroft seemed to be stuck in the 1990s, oddly citing early Clinton-era events as an explanation for subsequent increases in teenage drug use. For example, Ashcroft pointed out that the Clinton administration reduced the staff size of the drug czar's office from 140 to a little over 20 in 1993, implying that that represented a backing off in the drug war that was responsible for the drug war's subsequent eight years of failure. Ashcroft also cited candidate Clinton's famous "didn't inhale" remark from the '92 campaign, and Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders' remarks on the drug legalization issue as factors. The Attorney General failed to mention, however, that ONDCP staffing was increased to 150 almost five years ago, nor did the small-government Republican explain why he believes that downsizing a Washington-DC bureaucracy would encourage young people in all corners of our vast nation to use drugs. Most seriously, Ashcroft failed to acknowledge that the overall federal anti-drug budget increased by more than 60% under Clinton, from $11.9 billion in 1992 to $19.2 billion (requested) for 2001; nor did he mention the near doubling of the US incarcerated population and the record level drug arrest rates, 700,000 annually for marijuaLVALl"na alone. The Attorney General also seems to have made some numbers up entirely. According to Ashcroft, past 30-day usage of marijuana by high school seniors "increased by 700% between '92 and '97." Drug use statistics are notoriously unreliable, due to the self- reporting nature of the surveys and their consequent vulnerability to the prevailing social and rhetorical climate: An apparent rise or drop in teen drug use may reflect changes in the willingness of young people to confess to illegal drug use on a government survey, even if filled out anonymously. Still, the usual source for such estimates is the annual Monitoring the Future survey, conducted at the University of Michigan under contract with the National Institute on Drug Abuse. According to Monitoring the Future data (available at http://www.monitoringthefuture.org on the web), the percentage of high school seniors reporting having used marijuana within the previous 30 days increased from 11.9% in 1992 to 23.7% in 1997 -- a 99% increase in the percentage -- or, more meaningfully, an additional 11.8% of youth -- significant, if one chooses to believe the self-reported results, but nothing to justify Ashcroft's 700% figure. Ashcroft also claimed that "the number of high school seniors who have tried drugs is at its highest level in over a decade." An examination of Monitoring the Future again paints a different picture. According to MTF, reported lifetime prevalence of past drug use by high school seniors is higher than during the early 1990s, but was lower in 2000 than during 1997, 1998 or 1999, though not significantly so (54.0%, vs. 54.3%, 54.1% or 54.7%). Ashcroft's one specific proposal on drug policy fell under the guise of an anti-gun violence initiative. Ashcroft has proposed that the state of Virginia's "Exile" program be adopted as a national model for reducing gun violence. Exile was the brainchild of the National Rifle Association, but was also endorsed by an organization on the "other side" of the gun debate,LVALp& Handgun Control, Inc., according to the state's Exile web site (http://www.virginiaexile.com). An examination of Exile, however, shows that the mandatory minimum penalties and bail denials mandated under its provisions often have less to do with gun violence than with drugs. For example, a defendant who is caught possessing any quantity of a drug such as cocaine or heroin is automatically subject to a five year mandatory minimum sentence, no parole, if he or she also was in possession of a gun -- even if the gun was legally owned, registered and safely stored. The only exception made is for marijuana, for which a pound or more is required to invoke the mandatory minimum. No one is known to have been selected for the Office of National Drug Control Policy ("drug czar") position as of this writing. This apparent de-emphasis of that office -- again, conflicting with Ashcroft's rhetoric about the importance of the office -- suggests that Attorney General Ashcroft may turn out to be the leading drug warrior of the Bush administration. ================ 4. Oklahoma Meth Mess http://www.drcnet.org/wol/173.html#oklahomameth "We don't smoke marijuana in Muskogee," sang country music legend Merle Haggard in his Vietnam-era poke at the counterculture, "Okie from Muskogee." They may not have been tokin' in Oklahoma City back then, but they were tweekin' in Tulsa. Although law enforcement officials treat the current methamphetamine vogue as if it were a new menace, Oklahoma was the scene of one of the nation's earliest amphetamine subcultures more than thirty years ago. Back when Haggard was extolling the virtues of traditional values, Oklahoma truck drivers, farm boys and oil patch workers were speeding merrily down the path from "poppin' little white pills" to injecting crystal meth. And they never went away. Amphetamines may have been eclipsed by the more glamorous cocaine in the 1970s and 1980s, and even today they are used by only a fraction of the population. According to the LVALq)1999 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, however, 9.4 million Americans have used methamphetamine, up from 3.8 million in 1994. Speed is definitely back, and its revival has been driven by two factors. First, Mexican entrepreneurs have supplanted the biker gangs -- the Bandidos, the Hell's Angels, the Outlaws, and others -- who dominated the trade in the 1970s and 1980s. The Mexicans, led by the Amezcua brothers of Guadalajara, rationalized the industry by bringing modern, large-scale techniques to the production process and tapping into already existing smuggling networks. Second, the widespread availability of recipes for manufacturing meth in print and on the Internet have enabled kitchen-sink chemists across the land to do it themselves. Oklahoma is one of the places where they like to do it the most. Oklahoma authorities dismantled 897 clandestine labs in FY 2000, more than any other state except California, according to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI). The state medical examiner reports that meth has passed cocaine as the leading cause of fatal drug overdoses. The state has been fighting back with draconian new laws that could send a meth user to prison for 20 years for stealing $5 worth of anhydrous ammonia and by the creation of specialized task forces aimed at meth users and producers. Such responses have caused the state's methamphetamine arrest rate to increase a shocking 8,000% since 1994. And therein lies the problem. "In Oklahoma, we have stronger penalties than anyplace else in the country for manufacturing drugs," OSBI spokesman John Duncan told the Daily Oklahoman, "but in 1998, with 300 labs busted, we only had 42 people convicted. The courts are swamped with cases. If we're lucky, we're maybe getting one out of ten." OSBI isn't the only one complaining. Eastern Oklahoma prosecutors can't get their cases processed because of pile-ups in the courts and in the OSBI's state crime labs, a situation the Tulsa World called "an incredible expaLVALp&nding black hole of backlogged cases." OSBI's Tahlequah crime lab, which serves Eastern Oklahoma, has more than 1,200 meth cases pending. The logjam at the crime labs has led to long court delays and dismissals, Sequoyah County Assistant District Attorney told the World. "I have cases here that are sometimes 2 1/2 years old, and I have no lab report back from the OSBI," he complained. "I've had the judge throw out cases right and left because OSBI cannot process the drugs in a timely fashion." In rural Adair County alone, the number of backlogged drug cases includes two from 1997, five from 1998, 44 from 1999, and 53 from last year. The District 27 Task Force deserves some credit for the morass; its members made 577 drug arrests in 1999, more than 350 of them for methamphetamine offenses. In Adair county, prosecutors have charged more than 400 people with drug offenses over the past ten years, but only one case has gone to trial. District Judge John Garrett, who presides over the Adair County cases has vowed to remove the backlog, but remains hampered by the crime labs' inability to return test results. "On some of the cases, we're waiting to get results back from the state labs before we schedule a preliminary hearing," he told the Tulsa World. OSBI officials say they are hiring more chemists and "rushing" certain cases at prosecutors' requests, but are making little headway. "For every case we rush, we're pushing another one back on the shelf," said OSBI spokeswoman Kim Koch. US Attorneys are taking up some of the slack by prosecuting some offenders on federal charges. "We've welcomed the feds' involvement in Adair County," said District Attorney Diane Barker Harrold, who presides over the District 27 Task Force's four- county domain. "Because of their involvement, repeat drug offenders get more time." But when all the finger-pointing is done, Oklahoma law enforcement circles all agree that the answer is... a drumroll, please... more money. But while law enforcement's aLVALm$ppetite is insatiable, the citizens of Oklahoma are not an endless well of cash. According to Trent Baggett, assistant executive coordinator for the state District Attorneys' Council, the legislature may balk at more spending increases. "There's a concern by the public, as well as the legislature, that government is too big," he told the Tulsa World. Ron DuBois, a co-founder of the Drug Policy Forum of Oklahoma (http://members.aol.com/dpfok/) told DRCNet that throwing more money at methamphetamine enforcement was not the answer. "Meth is the bathtub gin of our time," DuBois argued, "only in Prohibition, they didn't go after the users like they are now. We are on a monumentally wrong course here; any attempt to cure addiction through punishment is worthless." "The root of the problem is the culture itself," DuBois said, "people are so miserable they'll do anything to alter their mood. "Society is trying to escape its own illness by scapegoating those sick people, which is precisely the wrong thing to do. You have to do something to help people, and throwing them in prison for 20 years is not the answer." DuBois told DRCNet that Oklahoma drug reformers are working to educate the public and the legislature. "We've got to make legislators part of our circle of friends," he said. "Let them know the war on drugs is insane folly, that punishment for use or addiction is useless, that the use and abuse of drugs is a public health issue, not a criminal one." DuBois, a Unitarian, told DRCNet that in Oklahoma, Unitarians are an important element of the drug reform movement. "The Unitarians are going great guns in Tulsa, where we have one of the largest congregations in the country," he said, "and are in the midst of a national review of drug policy." Visit Unitarian Universalists for Drug Policy Reform at http://www.uudpr.org online. ================ 5. One Third of Indigenous Prisoners in Mexico Imprisoned on Drug Charges http://www.drcnet.org/wol/173.html#theindigenouLVALp&s (by Al Giordano, reprinted from the Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation, http://www.drugpolicy.org) Mexico's National Commission on Human Rights, a quasi-independent governmental agency, shined a spotlight this week on indigenous prisoners and concluded: one third of all indigenous prisoners in the nation are held on drug charges. The finding comes as Mexico's indigenous movement occupies center stage in the nation's press and the Zapatista peace caravan from Chiapas readies to begin its trek to Mexico City on February 24th. The national daily La Jornada of Mexico City, in a page-one story on February 12th, cited a new report by the human rights agency - - commonly known in Mexico as "the ombudsman" -- that counted 7,809 indigenous prisoners in the country, of which 2,319 (one third) are held on federal drug or arms possession charges. "The majority of these indigenous prisoners are used by organized crime to transport drugs," the report stated. "Suffering from hunger, with poor-quality lands, without resources to plant and forgotten by development, the indigenous either accept or are obligated to transport drugs. They have to survive somehow." The human rights ombudsman has proposed the release of 1,327 of these indigenous prisoners "because the crimes they are accused of are not serious." Noting the economic pressures to transport drugs, and the fact that authorities regularly arrest indigenous peasants for possession of rifles used to hunt food, the ombudsman office told La Jornada, "We have recommended to the authorities that when these cases come to us, that they review them with caution." The human rights office said it had reached a collaboration agreement with the offices of the attorney general, the public defenders and the National Indigenous Institute to "promote fair treatment of indigenous prisoners." Noting that Mexico's population of 10 million indigenous people is "very vulnerable" to abuse of its human rights, the commission reported that "they live in iLVALq(solated places, without communications, where many times they don't know how to speak Spanish and don't have money to come to Mexico City and file a complaint." The commission added that it would study the problems of "protection of sacred sites" and "the regulation of peyote use in indigenous regions." The most common complaints by indigenous populations against authorities, reports La Jornada, are against the Armed Forces: "arbitrary detentions, being held incomunicado, and planted evidence." Meanwhile, last week the most globally-known indigenous political prisoner, peasant farmer and environmental activist Rudolfo Montiel, received a visit from Ethel Kennedy, widow of Robert F. Kennedy, to present him with the Sierra Club's "Chico Mendez Prize" in his prison cell in Iguala, Guerrero. Montiel, with his imprisoned co-defendant Teodoro Cabrera, had been active against strip logging by Boise Idaho in his region. The two men were detained by the Mexican military, brutally tortured for days, and accused of growing marijuana. Mexican President Vicente Fox recently ordered a review of their cases. Indigenous rights is the issue that most dominates the front pages in Mexico this winter. Increasingly, the Mexican indigenous question intersects with drug policy and the injustices committed in the name of the drug war. (Al Giordano also publishes the NarcoNews service, http://www.narconews.com online. NarcoNews has published other coverage of other issues facing Mexico's indigenous. DRCNet is strictly devoted to drug policy reform and doesn't take positions on other issues, but we provide links to them here for readers' information: http://www.narconews.com/zapatistacaravan.html http://www.narconews.com/cni.html http://www.narconews.com/zdelegation.html http://www.narconews.com/mextransition2.html -- this last one includes some drug policy information.) ================ 6. New StopTheWar.com Site Uses "Traffic" Movie to Raise Awareness, Free Daily DVD or Video Give-Away fLVALn&or Participants http://www.drcnet.org/wol/173.html#trafficstop Coinciding with this year's Academy Awards, in which the film "Traffic" has been nominated for five Oscars, the Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation has launched an online campaign to raise awareness of the movie's drug policy reform message. "Millions of people who have seen the movie Traffic are suddenly questioning the futility and destructiveness of our nation's drug war," said Ethan Nadelmann, Executive Director of Lindesmith-DPF. We wanted to give people something they could do when they got out of Traffic. The movie got people stirred up and got them thinking -- we hope to inspire them to get involved." Visitors to StopTheWar.com can play an online game in which they select strategies to try to "win" the war on drugs. The site also features a daily drawing to win a free Traffic DVD or video. Visit http://www.StopTheWar.com to check it out. ================ 7. Book Review: The Politics of Medical Marijuana http://www.drcnet.org/wol/173.html#alanbock "Waiting to Inhale: The Politics of Medical Marijuana" by Alan Bock ($18.95 pb, Seven Locks Press) With "Waiting to Inhale," journalist Alan Bock provides the most definitive treatment yet of California's five-year experiment with medical marijuana -- and much more. An essayist and editorial writer for the Orange County Register, Bock has been covering the issue for more than a decade, and he brings a well- informed perspective to bear on this complex and contradictory subject. Bock also goes beyond California, surveying medical marijuana initiatives and legislation in other states and describing how they have learned from California's experience. He details the grassroots activism of scruffy radicals and the big-money campaigns of George Soros and his fellow millionaire reformers. Bock has talked to everyone from intensely skeptical cops and prosecutors to patients, doctors, growers, and activists, and he skillfully paints portraits of the soLVALm%metimes clashing personalities involved. In so doing, Bock opens a window on the cultural and political differences in the reform movement -- the divide between "suits" and "hippies" -- or "ties" and "tye-dyes" for lack of better terms -- represented most classically, if not entirely cleanly, by the Soros-funded Americans for Medical Rights (AMR) and the local-level grassroots activists who want to push far beyond AMR's limited agenda and who accuse the "suits" of kowtowing to law enforcement concerns at the expense of suffering patients. Five years after California voters passed the Compassionate Use Act (CUA), access to medical marijuana remains problematic in large parts of the state. In fact, it would be fair to say that the state is in effect a patchwork quilt of medical marijuana laws negotiated at the city or county level among reformers, elected officials, law enforcement, and other stake-holders. Bock does readers a great service in disentangling the snarled web of court cases through which medical marijuana law in California is actually being created. He also points out how the intentional ambiguities in the wording of the CUA -- over, for examples, the medical conditions to which it might apply, the amount of marijuana allowed, and the means of obtaining it -- provided openings for recalcitrant officials, ranging from then Attorney General Dan Lundgren to local cops and prosecutors, to override the clearly expressed will of the voters. Bock also delves into the science of medical marijuana, providing a concise synopsis of the state of research. And in one of his more provocative chapters, he dissects the rigid resistance to medical marijuana in the state and federal drug war bureaucracies. Here Bock echoes Dan Baum and Mike Gray in their argument that marijuana prohibition is the linchpin of the drug war, and any easing of the marijuana laws would call the entire enterprise into question. But he also recognizes the institutional imperatives behind such opposition. There are,LVALr3 after all, jobs on the line. While some may complain that the book has, for instance, too much Dennis Peron and not enough Chris Conrad, or too much Bill Zimmerman and not enough Steve Kubby, or vice versa, those plaints are mild. Bock has produced a remarkably comprehensive and even-handed, although clearly sympathetic, portrait of an increasingly powerful social movement. It should be read by all concerned with the workings of political and social change, not only, but especially for drug policy. For those university professors who wish to teach Medical Marijuana Politics 101, the textbook has been written. (Ask for "Waiting to Inhale" in your local bookstore, or click to http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0929765826/drcnet/ to buy it online and DRCNet will earn a royalty on your purchase.) ================ 8. Errata: Ecstasy Conference, Calendar http://www.drcnet.org/wol/173.html#clarifications Last week's recap of the San Francisco ecstasy conference (http://www.drcnet.org/wol/172.html#ecstasyconference) stated that the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had representation at the conference. There was a speaker at the conference who presented general information on the FDA's drug approval process, and who was identified in the program as working at the FDA. However, this speaker attended only as a knowledgeable individual on her own time, not as an FDA representative. Previous versions of the Reformer's Calendar incorrectly listed the April "Gathering of the Tribes" event as being primarily focused on mobilizing grassroots opposition to the drug war. Gathering of the Tribes is actually a conference and festival aimed at supporting the tribal dance movement; it focuses on creating events with positive intention and building the communities that grow from dance collectives. While the drug war impacts dance collectives and is an important topic being discussed at the Gathering, it is one topic among many and is not the event's main focus. ==============LVALr,== 9. The Reformer's Calendar http://www.drcnet.org/wol/173.html#eventcalendar (Please submit listings of events related to drug policy and related areas to calendar@drcnet.org.) February 16-18, Raleigh, NC, "Youth Seeking Justice Now: A Southern Regional Conference on the Progressive Reform of the Criminal Justice System." At North Carolina State University, contact smileye@email.unc.edu for further information. February 18, 7:30pm, Philadelphia, PA, "Emperor of Hemp," the story of activist Jack Herer. Movie Night at the White Dog Cafe, 3420 Sansom St., free, seating limited. RSVP to (215) 386-9224 or visit http://www.whitedog.com for further info; restaurant service available before, during and after movie. February 20, 6:30-8:30pm, Seattle, WA, "Reforming the Criminal Justice System: A Community Forum and Call to Action." Event discussing activist strategies for reforming criminal justice and drug policy, including a possible ballot initiative. At Seattle Vocational Institute, 2120 S. Jackson St. For further information, contact Jen Yogi, (206) 992-4696 or jmyogi@yahoo.com, or Dustin Washington, (206) 632-0500. February 22-24, New York, NY, "Altered States of Consciousness" conference. At the New School, e-mail SocRes@newschool.edu for further information. February 23, noon-6:00pm, Syracuse, NY, forum on Racism and the Criminal Justice System. Sponsored by the SU Law School chapter of the ACLU, location to be determined. February 24, noon-7:00pm, Tampa, FL, FORML's 4th Annual Washington's Birthday Hemp Festival. Live music, speakers, vendors and information booths, free admission and parking. At Lowry Park Band Shell, call (813) 779-2551, visit http://www.geocities.com/forml_2000/ or e-mail forml_2000@yahoo.com for further information. February 24, 6:00-7:00pm, Richmond, VA, Drug War Vigil at the city jail, corner of 17th St. and Fairfield Way. Held the last Saturday of every month, e-mail miguet@november.org for further information. February 26, 6:00pm,LVALn& Spirit of ReconsiDer Award Dinner, honoring John Dunne and H. Douglas Barclay. At La Serre, 14 Green St., tickets $125/person, RSVP by Feb. 10 to eyle@reconsider.org. February 28, noon, Queens, NY, Press Conference/Vigil held by the Queens chapter of "Mothers of the Disappeared," organization opposing the Rockefeller Drug Laws. At the Supreme Court, Queens Blvd., call (212) 539-8441 for further information. March 5, 5:00pm, Syracuse, NY, "Is the War on Drugs Working?" Debate at SU School of Law with Michael Roona, ReconsiDer and Prof. Levitsky, Maxwell School of Public Policy. For further information e-mail eyle@reconsider.org. March 5, 6:00pm, Philadelphia, PA, "The Quagmire in Colombia: Addressing the Drug War Habit." Table Talk with Prof. Ken Sharpe of Swarthmore College, at the White Dog Cafe, 3420 Sansom St., $30 includes three-course dinner and discussion, $25 for full- time students registering in advance. For further information visit http://www.whitedog.com or call (215) 386-9224; students may call between for 4:00 and 5:30pm on event days for standby registration, $15 (dinner) or free (discussion only, 7:30). March 6, 7:00pm, New York, NY, "Drugs and the Courts: A Debate." Discussing the Report to Judge Kaye by the Commission on Drugs and the Courts. At the House of the Bar Association of New York City, 42 West 44th St. For further info, call (212) 382-6600. March 7, 10:00am, Philadelphia, PA, Philadelphia Prison System Tour and Lunch. At the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center, 8301 State Road, will include discussion with inmates and drug treatment staff. Lunch provided by the Hard Time Cafe, a culinary arts training program for prisoners. Reservations required, call (215) 386-9224, $6/person for lunch and tour, carpooling available. March 8, 5:00-7:00pm, San Francisco, CA, "Women and the Drug War," forum sponsored by The Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation. Featuring Amy Ralston (Pofahl), former drug war prisoner granted clemency by President CliLVAL-nton; as well as Ellen Barry, Legal Services for Women with Children; Barbara Owen, CSU Fresno Dept. of Criminology; and Andrea Shorter of the Center for Juvenile and Criminal Justice. At the San Francisco Medical Society, 1409 Sutter (at Franklin), call (415) 921-4987 or e-mail sf@drugpolicy.org to reserve a space. March 9-11, New York, NY, Critical Resistance: Beyond the Prison Industrial Complex. Northeast regional conference, following on the large national gathering in 1998, to focus on the impacts of the prison industrial complex in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Washington, DC. Visit http://www.criticalresistance.org for further information, or call (212) 561-0912 or e-mail critresisteast@aol.com. March 11, 7:30pm, Philadelphia, PA, "The Drug Dilemma: War or Peace," with Walter Cronkite, and "War Zone," film examining police state tactics in the drug war. Movie Night at the White Dog Cafe, 3420 Sansom St., free, seating limited. RSVP to (215) 386-9224 or visit http://www.whitedog.com for further info; restaurant service available before, during and after movie. March 14, 7:00pm, New York, NY. Retired police captain Peter Christ, spokesman for ReconsiDer: Forum on Drug Policy, speaks at the Manhattan Libertarian Party meeting. For further information, e-mail lpmanhattan@yahoo.com or visit http://www.geocities.com/lpmanhattan/ on the web. March 15-18, Miami, FL, "Reason Weekend," sponsored by the Reason Foundation. For information, call Amber Trudgeon at (310) 391- 2245 or e-mail ambert@reason.org. March 16 & 17, 8:00pm, Philadelphia, PA, "Outside the Walls," interdisciplinary dance performance reflecting on the lives of families of prisoners. At the Conwell Theater, 5th floor Conwell Hall, Temple University, corner of Montgomery and Broad Streets. Advance ticket sales available through Temple University box office, (215) 204-1122. March 18, 10:30am-1:00pm, Winston-SalLVALn%em, NC, sermon and discussion marking Drug War Awareness Month, at the W-S Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship, displays and information available every Sunday all month. For further information, call (336) 659-0331 or e-mail jimcampbell@ieee.org. March 23-24, New York, NY, "Widening Destruction: A Teach-In on the Drug War and Colombia." Four panel, two-day seminar sponsored by NACLA and Colombia Students for Enacting Humane Drug Policies, at Columbia University Law School, 435 West 116th Street (at Amsterdam Avenue). Pre-register online at http://www.nacla.org for $8 through 5:00pm, 3/21, or register on site for $10. Contact Anne Glatz at aeg43@columbia.edu for further information. March 26, 6:00pm, Philadelphia, PA, Hemp Dinner with Richard Rose, of Hempnut, Inc. and author of "The HempNut Health and Cookbook." Book and the Cook night at the White Dog Cafe, 3420 Sansom St., $45, includes three-course dinner and discussion. Reservations required, RSVP to (215) 386-9224, visit http://www.whitedog.com for further information. April 1-5, New Delhi, India, 12th International Conference on the Reduction of Drug Related Harm. Sponsored by the International Harm Reduction Coalition, for information visit http://www.ihrc- india2001.org on the web, e-mail showtime@vsnl.com, call 91-11- 6237417-18, fax 91-11-6217493 or write to Showtime Events Pvt. Ltd., S-567, Greater Kailash - II, New Delhi 110 048, India. April 9, 7:30pm, Philadelphia, PA, Storytelling Night with Families Against Mandatory Minimums Communications Director Monica Pratt and members of families affected by mandatory minimum sentencing. At the White Dog Cafe, 3420 Sansom St., optional a la carte dinner at 6:00pm. Call (215) 386-9224 or visit http://www.whitedog.com for further information. April 19-21, Washington, DC, 2001 NORML Conference. Visit http://www.norml.org/calendar/conf2001intro.shtml to register or for further information, or call (202) 483-5500. April 20, 10:00am, Oklahoma City, annual marijuana law reforLVALn%m event, at the State Capitol. Visit information table in 1st floor rotunda to prep for meeting your state legislators, speakers and entertainment on the south side steps at noon. For further information contact Norma Sapp at (405) 321-4619 or ekco@swbell.net. April 25-28, Minneapolis, MN, North American Syringe Exchange Convention. Sponsored by the North American Syringe Exchange Network, for further information call (253) 272-4857, e-mail nasen@seanet.com or visit http://www.nasen.org on the web. At the Marriott City Center Hotel, 30 South Seventh Street. May 20-27, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Study Tour of Dutch Drug Policy, organized by the White Dog Cafe. Particularly for persons with a background in health and social services, legislation, activism, drug law or policy. Call (215) 386-9224 or visit http://www.whitedog.com for further information. May 30-June 2, Albuquerque, NM, "Drug Policies for the New Millennium." First annual conference of The Lindesmith Center- Drug Policy Foundation, following in the footsteps of the 13 years of the International Conference on Drug Policy Reform. For further information, call (202) 537-5005 or visit http://www.drugpolicy.org/conference/ on the web. ================ 10. Editorial: A Postcard from Mexico http://www.drcnet.org/wol/173.html#postcard Phillip S. Smith, The Week Online with DRCNet, psmith@drcnet.org (Week Online editor Phil Smith shares a little of his Mexico vacation with readers for this week's editorial. The beach of Oaxaca provides a different perspective on the drug war.) It's hard to remember that the rest of the world exists when one is sitting under palm fronds and watching the endless waves rolling in at a remote beach way down Mexico's Pacific coast. The sun beats down on cloudless skies as mostly youthful travelers from Europe, Canada, South America, and, to a lesser extent, the United States revel in paradise and feed their sensual appetites. The cost of lodgings is dirt cheap -- starting at 50 LVALn&cents per night to hang a hammock; primitive rooms might cost you $5; I splurged on a room with fan and private bath for $10 -- and if you go to the dirt streets behind the beach, a bellyful of tacos al pastor or rice, beans, and tortillas can be had for a buck. The local folks are more than happy to provide the travelers with everything they want, and among other things, many of the travelers here want drugs. They, too, are cheap. Grams of quite pure cocaine go for $25 -- although the price is variable. In touristy Cancun, it can be as much as $80; in off the beaten path places, I've heard as low as $7 a gram. Marijuana grown in the mountains behind the beaches can be had for as little as $10 an ounce, although in a "carrying coals to Newcastle" phenomenon, an increasing number of travelers are bringing their own, high- quality smoke that is much stronger than the commercial Mexican. The cocaine never used to be here, not until about five or six years ago, when the smugglers shifted their lanes from the Caribbean to the Yucatan peninsula and thence overland through Mexico to the border. The stuff has been falling off the back of the truck ever since and is available everywhere in Mexico. Wherever there are travelers, coke is there; in the toney Mexico City suburb of Coyoacan, coke is there; in little no-name villages along major highways, coke is there. It enriches some Mexicans, ensnarls others, but for Mexico, the drug problem remains primarily one of suppressing (or more accurately, regulating) the traffic rather than dealing with legions of addicts. In that sense, this sleepy little beach town is a synecdoche for the role Mexico plays in the United States' crusade against drugs. The gringos demand and the Mexicans supply. But other gringos, powerful ones, demand that Mexico not supply the demand. Hence the drug war gets played out south of the border as well as in the streets of the US. Here at the beach, the drug war means federales occasionally cruising the beach or the baLVALp(ck streets, snagging unwary or just plain stupid travelers, and robbing them of cash and valuables in the name of enforcing the drug laws. Corrupt and informal, yes, but perhaps better than the heavy-handed legalism of the US. Better to pay what is in effect a scary on-the-spot fine than to end up under official control for years over a bag of weed. But these are trivial aspects of the US drug war in Mexico. It is a harsh and nasty affair, with hundreds of murders in the drug trade in recent years as entrepreneurs hungry for black market profits settle accounts with the only tools available to them. If the trade were legalized and regulated, disputes that now end with bullets flying could instead be settled by lawyers. And the drug war is the stuff of daily life as the US inflicts its misery on Mexico. It is high on the agenda as new presidents Bush and Fox meet this week. Sadly, but not unexpectedly, new Mexican Foreign Minister Castaneda, who has been a strong advocate of legalization, is singing a different tune now that he is in power, promising to be a staunch ally in the war against narcotraffickers. Fox himself has promised to end corruption and wipe out the cartels. If, against all odds, he actually accomplishes something like that, Mexico could then become as successful as the US in its 100-years war on certain substances. In the meantime, the drugs flow, the violence continues, the cops get rich (the honest ones get dead), and Mexico's prisons fill up. But of course, it's usually not the big shots who are doing time; just this week the national human rights commission noted with despair that more than 2,000 Indians are being held as low- level traffickers. In reality, they are little more than beasts of burden for the smugglers, but the indigenous are Mexico's oppressed minority and they play a social role similar to blacks and Latinos in the US. And, oh yes, a few more meth labs busted in Mexicali this week, and a few more truckloads of weed popped on the highways, andLVALp) lots of soldiers and federales on those highway checkpoints. (Some of those checkpoints, left over from the old "permanent campaign against narcotrafficking -- thanks for your cooperation" era have been in the same place for twenty years, leading one to wonder just what their purpose is. Clearly, local smugglers know the checkpoints are there and duly circumvent them. It looks good to foreign officials, though, and Mexico does want to be certified even as it rails against the process.) The drug war is depressing, even viewed from paradise. But, at least here I can go back to the beach. Next week, I'll get back to being part of the solution. ----------------------------------------------------------- DRCNet needs your support! Donations can be sent to P.O. Box 18402, Washington, DC 20036-8402, or made by credit card at <http://www.drcnet.org/drcreg.html>. Donations to the Drug Reform Coordination Network are not tax-deductible. Deductible contributions supporting our educational work can be made by check to the DRCNet Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, same address. PERMISSION to reprint or redistribute any or all of the contents of The Week Online is hereby granted. We ask that any use of these materials include proper credit and, where appropriate, a link to one or more of our web sites. If your publication customarily pays for publication, DRCNet requests checks payable to the organization. If your publication does not pay for materials, you are free to use the materials gratis. In all cases, we request notification for our records, including physical copies where material has appeared in print. Contact: Drug Reform Coordination Network, 2000 P St., NW, Suite 210, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 293-8340 (voice), (202) 293-8344 (fax), e-mail drcnet@drcnet.org. Thank you. Articles of a purely educational nature in The Week Online appear courtesy of the DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted. *********************************************************** DLVALp'O x 0 Y   6 `  C k#In$Eg>aSDS192380DRAG9/16in SAE WASHER25PKp= ׃.@4,& DS192379DRAG1/2in SAE WASHER100P*\@B@3+% DS192378DRAG7/16in SAE WASHER100PQ<@4,& DS192374DRAG3/8in A N WASHER50PK](A@3+% DS192373DRAG5/16in A N WASHER50PK](A@4,& DS192372DRAG1/4in A N WASHER50PK](A@3+% DS192371DRAG1/2 CHRM SOCKET ASSORT.SET= ףp3f@80+ DS192370DRAG7/16 CHRM SOCKET ASSORT.SETq= ף>e@91, DS192369DRAG5/16X24X1in CHR FLAT HEAD10PKQ0@<4. DS192368DRAG5/16X24X3/4 CHR FLAT HEAD10PKQ0@;3- DS192367DRAG5/16X24X1-5/8 CHR FLTHEAD10PKQ0@;3- DS192366DRAG5/16X18X1-1/4 CHR FLTHEAD10PKp= ׃.@;3- DS192365DRAG5/16X18X1in CHR FLAT HEAD10PKq= ף,@<4. DS192364DRAG5/16X18X3/4 CHR FLAT HEAD10PKq= ף,@;3- DS192363DRAG5/16X18X5/8 CHR FLAT HEAD10PKq= ף,@;3- DS192362DRAG5/16X18X1/2 CHR FLAT HEAD10PKq= ף,@;3- DS192361DRAG1/4X20X1.2 CHRM FLAT HEAD10PKQ0@;3- DS192360DRAG1/4X20X1in CHRM FLAT HEAD10PK= ףp+@<4. DS192359DRAG1/4X20X3/4 CHRM FLAT HEAD10PK ףp=j)@;3- DS192358DRAG1/4X20X5/8 CHRM FLAT HEAD10PK ףp=j)@;3- DS192357DRAG1/4X20X1/2 CHRM FLAT HEAD10PK ףp=j)@;3- DS192356DRAG10X32X3/4 CHRM FLAT HEAD10PK ףp=j)@:2, DS192355DRAG10X32X1/2 CHRM FLAT HEAD10PK ףp=j)@:2, DS192354DRAG10X32X3/8 CHRM FLAT HEAD10PK ףp=j)@:2, DS192353DRAG10X24X3/4 CHRM FLAT HEAD10PK ףp=j)@:2, DS192352DRAG10X24X1/2 CHRM FLAT HEAD10PK ףp=j)@:2, DS192351RCNet DRCNet DRCNet DRCNet DRCNet DRCNet DRCNet DRCNet *********************************************************** JOIN/MAKE A DONATION http://www.drcnet.org/drcreg.html SUBSCRIBE TO THIS LIST http://www.drcnet.org/signup.html DRUG POLICY LIBRARY http://www.druglibrary.org DRCNET HOME PAGE http://www.drcnet.org GATEWAY TO REFORM PAGE http://www.stopthedrugwar.org ------------------------------ End of restore V1 #771 ********************** * ------ 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. ------ To subscribe, unsubscribe or switch to immediate or digest mode, please send your instructions to <restore-owner@crrh.org>. ------ *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/ LVAL{d restore Sat, 17 Feb 2001 Volume 9 : Number 47 In this issue: NM: Medical-Pot Bill Waits On Details MI: Medicinal Marijuana Unlikely in Michigan CA: Pot Payback Re: Swiss Want Cannabis Laws Lightened Re: Canada: Drug-Buster Apologizes For `Uncleared' US Pot Sting 2001 Space Odyssey!!! KUB: "The Kubby Files" premieres on Pot-TV North Island Compassion Club THE MOST HEINOUS DRUG CRIME OF THE CENTURY DrugSense Weekly, February 16, 2001, #187 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2001 11:29:37 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: NM: Medical-Pot Bill Waits On Details Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010216112928.04da7630@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: http://www.cannabisnews.com/ Pubdate: Fri, 16 Feb 2001 Source: Albuquerque Journal (NM) Copyright: 2001 Albuquerque Journal Contact: opinion@abqjournal.com Address: P.O. Drawer J, Albuquerque, N.M. 87103 Website: http://www.abqjournal.com/ Author: S.U. Mahesh, Journal Capitol Bureau MEDICAL-POT BILL WAITS ON DETAILS SANTA FE -- A bill to legalize marijuana for medical use was put on hold Thursday after lawmakers raised concerns over who would cultivate and distribute the drug. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Joe Thompson, R-Albuquerque, would allow patients suffering from certain chronic and debilitating diseases to use marijuana to relieve their pain. However, the measure does not specify who would cultivate, distribute or sell marijuana for those patients. "I don't want an 80-year-old grandmother growing her own marijuana," Rep. Alfred Park, D-Albuquerque, said at a hearing of the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee. Park, a committee member, said the language in the bill needed to be more specific before the committee could act on it. The committee tabled the measure until Tuesday. Thompson said after theLVALV hearing that he would clarify the language to specify that the state Department of Health would dispense the drug. Rep. Patsy Trujillo Knauer, a Santa Fe Democrat and chairwoman of the committee, said she expects the bill to clear her committee and move to the full House for consideration. The new bill would update the Lynn Pierson Act, passed by the Legislature in 1978. Under that act, patients could receive medical marijuana as part of a medical research program. Thompson's bill would make a qualified patient and his or her physician immune from prosecution on drug charges if the amount of marijuana were within prescribed limits. However, the bill would not relieve the patient from liability for damages or criminal prosecution arising out of driving while intoxicated on marijuana. The patient also could be prosecuted for smoking pot on a school bus or school property or in public vehicles and public places. __________________________________________________________________________ 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: Fri, 16 Feb 2001 20:09:30 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: MI: Medicinal Marijuana Unlikely in Michigan Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010216200918.04d7d380@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: http://www.cannabisnews.com/ Pubdate: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 Source: Michigan Daily (MI) Copyright: 2001 The Michigan Daily Contact: daily.letters@umich.edu Address: 420 Maynard Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1327 Website: http://www.michigandaily.com/ Author: Courtney Crimmins, Daily News Writer MEDICINAL MARIJUANA UNLIKELY IN MICHIGAN A report released yesterday by the Washington-based Marijuana Policy Project found that medical marijuana laws, currently instituted in 30 states, have been unaffected by federal threats. These laws protect the thousands of LVALvcpatients who grow, possess and use marijuana with the permission of a doctor. The medicinal use laws have raised great debate concerning their legitimacy and whether legalization will encourage recreational use of the drug. Michigan is one of 20 states that have not legalized marijuana for medical purposes. State Sen. Bill Bullard Jr. (R-Highland) said he is opposed to legalizing any use of marijuana in Michigan. "It is like the camel under the tent, it is being used to promote general recreational use," Bullard said. "I will feel more confident in it if they do more research that proves that it substantially augments our medical arsenal in healing patients," said Rep. Paul DeWeese (R-Williamston). "If this research shows a quantum leap of added value, it will push the tide to allow it." While proponents of legalization for medical uses are lobbying for the legality of marijuana cigarettes, some critics claim a current prescription tablet containing marijuana extracts is sufficient for patients. The pill provides the medical benefits of marijuana without the added chemicals inhaled when smoked. "I don't favor legalizing marijuana itself, because it is already in tablet form," said Sen. John Schwarz (R-Battle Creek). According to the MPP report, 60 percent of Americans support legal access to medicinal marijuana use. The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan also supports the legalization of marijuana in Michigan and nationwide. "We support decriminalization because we don't believe criminalization accomplishes its objectives. It is counterproductive and creates a black market, no different than prohibition," said Kary Moss, executive director of the Michigan ACLU. This decriminalization is supported by some senators but not when it is under the guise of medicine. "I think the question is more should marijuana usage be a criminal offense, and I believe it shouldn't. But to try and sell decriminalization because of medical use is a bit clever," said Schwarz, a longtLVALime physician. While there is some support for legalization of marijuana for medicinal use, the likelihood that the Michigan Legislature would agree is slim. "I don't think the Legislature will take it up. It will only get on the ballot if there is a petition and that takes a lot of money and organization to propose an initiative," Bullard said. A drive to put a marijuana legalization measure on the state ballot last year failed after proponents missed the deadline to turn in a sufficient number of signatures. __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2001 20:12:29 -0800 From: Doc-Hawk <doc-hawk@mapinc.org> (by way of "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org>) To: restore@crrh.org Subject: CA: Pot Payback Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010216201210.04d717a0@mail.olywa.net> Pot payback CALIFORNIA MEDICAL POT ACTIVISTS SEEK BALLOT-BOX REVENGE AGAINST DRUG WARRIORS http://civilliberty.about.com/newsissues/civilliberty/library/weekly/aa021301a.htm Dateline: 2/13/01 It wasn't too many years ago that California voters approved Proposition 215, sending an unequivocal message to law-and-order types: If folks can demonstrate a medical reason for using marijuana, leave 'em alone already. But drug warriors are true believers, if nothing else. The war on drugs may be collapsing under the weight of public disgust, but that hasn't stopped a committed coterie of cops and prosecutors from gunning for any pot smoker who strays their way. Now medical marijuana advocates are taking to the ballot box in a quest for sweet revenge. Not all officials have pursued private wars against medicinal pot. As the Los Angeles Times put it in a recent article, "[p]olice and prosecutors in some parts of the state have given medical marijuana usLVALers a wide berth." Oakland, in particular, is often pointed to as a jurisdiction where law enforcement has done its best to abide by Proposition 215 and allow for the distribution and consumption of marijuana by those with a reasonable claim to medical need. The same goes for San Francisco, just across the bay, which has also worked out guidelines for abiding by the partial legalization of marijuana. But several county district attorneys have been less cooperative. Claiming that federal law automatically supersedes state law (not necessarily true, and hardly relevant for a local official) or that Proposition 215 is too vague (but not overly so for Oakland, apparently), these herbal inquisitors have enthusiastically picked some targets seemingly for no reason other than their high profiles. Prominent among those on the receiving end of the wrath of the drug warriors have been Peter McWilliams and Steve and Michele Kubby. Best-selling author Peter McWilliams was an AIDS patient who used grass to control nausea so that he could hold down his medication. He was also a very prominent non-fan of intrusive government and a public promoter of the medical marijuana movement - which seemed to have been the spur behind the raids on his home and publishing business. Forbidden to use marijuana during his trial under threat of the seizure of the homes of his mother and brother, McWilliams rapidly sickened. He pled guilty when he was forbidden to raise Prop. 215 as a defense, then died before sentencing. The Kubbys had better luck, though no thanks to the authorities. Steve Kubby uses marijuana as a treatment for his adrenal cancer, while his wife, Michele, uses pot to alleviate a case of spastic colon. But, like McWilliams, Steve Kubby wasn't shy about his political leanings and played a public role as a promoter of Prop. 215. At the conclusion of their well-covered trial, Michele was found "not guilty" on all counts, while the jury deadlocked 11-1 in favor of acquittal on the major charges againstLVAL Steve. Not surprisingly, the Kubbys are playing a role in the medical marijuana movement's counterstrike against drug warrior prosecutors. For starters, pot activists took over a flagging recall effort against Marin County District Attorney Paula Kamena. According to the Los Angeles Times, in the past "police made it a point to call the [Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana] to check its registry of 1,300 patients before making a pot arrest. But that practice ebbed ... after Kamena won her seat in 1998." So local activists struck back. They gathered 20,000-plus signatures - enough to put the future of the DA's political career before voters on May 22 of this year. In typical prohibitionist fashion, Kamena countered with suggestions that her opponents - those 20,000 petition-signers, presumably - are all a bunch of drug dealers. Before a ready audience of reporters, she asked: "Are these the people who sell drugs to our kids?" Kamena may be fighting the wrong battle, considering that Marin County is among those jurisdictions that approved Proposition 215 by a healthy margin. Paula Kamena isn't the only one of the drug warriors to face payback for their prohibitionist ways. With the Marin vote set, similar efforts are developing in other counties where modern-day Elliott Nesses hold sway, including Sonoma, Placer, Shasta and El Dorado. Placer County, incidentally, is the jurisdiction that went after the Kubbys (McWilliams was tried in federal court). It's an especially tempting target for pot-law reformers since, says the San Francisco Bay Guardian, "most notoriously in Placer County local law enforcement officials have adopted a hard-line, throw-'em-all-in-jail approach similar to that of the federal government." Now, apologists for the hard-line prosecutors say that the recall efforts are moves to punish elected officials for enforcing the law - as they see it, anyway. It's just plain old mean, they say, to give officials a hard time for doing their jobs - especially when the fateLVAL of efforts like Proposition 215 is set to be determined this year by the U.S. Supreme Court. Well, so what? Whether Prop. 215 survives or not, recall efforts are proving to be an effective means of targeting authoritarian public officials. No matter if the law sides with the authorities or the legalizers, the recall movement provides pro-liberty activists with a tool for undermining the enforcement of restrictions that don't enjoy popular support. Think about that. Medical marijuana supporters have put District Attorney Paula Kamena's career on the ballot. Whatever the outcome of the vote, she will have to expend time, effort and political capital to hold on to her office - these are resources that might otherwise be used to produce more victims of prohibition. And each recall effort, successful or not, is a shot across the bow to other public officials - a warning to exercise a little discretion when bucking grassroots sentiment for an easing of the war on drugs. Short of an actual repeal of the drug laws, that's a pretty positive development. And it will be more positive yet if one or more of the drug-warrior DAs goes down in flames at the ballot box. In the war against government busybodies, victories are measured in holding actions and small increments. Marijuana activists in California deserve a vote of thanks for getting a bit of payback against the drug warriors. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2001 21:45:58 +0900 From: "Joe Wein" <joewein@pobox.com> To: <restore@crrh.org> Subject: Re: Swiss Want Cannabis Laws Lightened Message-ID: <00b601c09816$6a23afc0$b00411ac@c6sc.catv.ne.jp> Some interesting data from the survey of the Swiss Institute for Alcohol and Drug Problems: Drug enforcement in Switzerland is a matter of the cantons (provinces, states). While cantons in French-speaking western Switzerland still imposed fines on users, German speaking Eastern Switzerland and Italian-speaking Tessin have been fairly tolerant of cannabis already, withLVAL3 cannabis flowers sewn into so-called "scent cushions" being openly sold from small stores. According to the representative survey, the repression in the francophone parts of Switzerland has not resulted in a lower rate of cannabis compared to the rest of the country. While in francophone cantons 39 percent of males aged 15 through 74 have used cannabis, the rates for German- and Italian-speaking cantons is only 32 and 28 percent respectively. What's more, while 22 percent of cannabis users in francophone cantons report psychological, physical or social problems in connection with cannabis use, the rate in German- and Italian-speaking cantons is only 10 percent! The study indicates that repression not only causes additional problems to society, it is also ineffective if not counterproductive for reducing use. Joe Wein http://www.taima.org ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2001 08:36:32 -0700 (MST) From: Bryan Krumm <krummb@unm.edu> To: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org>, CRRH mailing list <restore@crrh.org> Subject: Re: Canada: Drug-Buster Apologizes For `Uncleared' US Pot Sting Message-ID: <Pine.A41.4.33.0102160835230.48106-100000@aix06.unm.edu> It makes you wonder if the US got clearance before going into Panama to kidnap Manuel Noriega. Bryan ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2001 11:43:11 EST From: Aimhigh6@aol.com To: <dana@cures-not-wars.org>, <greenpartydrugsgroup@gn.apc.org> Cc: <marijuanamarch@yahoo.com>, <globalpeas@email.com>, <roadsend@aol.com>, <god@hemprock.com>, <tcw@genesis-computer.com>, <iowanorml@home.com>, <pdxnorml@pdxnorml.org>, <fiddlefoot420@hotmail.com>, <torml@weedmail.com>, <fearless_420@hotmail.com>, <mmm@drugpeace.org>, <hempfest@hemp.net>, <melacs42x60@hotmail.com>, <rebelart@gasgroup.com>, <pcornwell@earthlink.net>, <blocpot@blocpot.qc.ca>, <torontomarch@hotmail.com>, <girouxp@globetrotter.qc.ca>, <rappa@casema.net>, <arsec@pangea.org>, LVALR/ <martin@africandance.de>, <hanfparade@hanflobby.de>, <hanf-tv@karo4tel.de>, <amec@ctv.es>, <mayday@onelist.com>, <freddiefreak@c2i.net>, <sokrates@arachne.cz>, <restore@crrh.org> Subject: 2001 Space Odyssey!!! Message-ID: <5b.11fccf8d.27beb2a0@aol.com> Absolutely Marvelous, GentlePeople! I would hope to see 1000 cities march. It is overwhelming to see so much participation. Thanx to all fighters of peace and of course, thanx to the millions of fallen heros and heroines. The March is our tribute and living monument to...them. Cannabem Liberemus Reverend Jeff Saint Louis ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2001 15:19:37 -0800 From: Steve Kubby <steve@kubby.org> To: undisclosed-recipients:; Subject: KUB: "The Kubby Files" premieres on Pot-TV Message-ID: <B6B2F585.B35F%steve@kubby.org> > This message is in MIME format. Since your mail reader does not understand this format, some or all of this message may not be legible. --MS_Mac_OE_3065181577_29151_MIME_Part Content-type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, February 16, 2001 CONTACT: Chris Bennett Program Director, Pot-TV Pot-TV Studios, B.C. Canada (604) 886-1489 <Info@pot-tv.net> "THE KUBBY FILES" PREMIERES ON POT-TV VANCOUVER -- Canadian television was at the Pot-TV studios today, filming the premiere of "The Kubby Files," as it was being produced for broadcast on Internet TV. Hosted by Steve and Michele Kubby, the evening talk show will run on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, starting this evening, on the Internet. (URL: http://www.pot-tv.net/) Next week's shows will include interviews with several important and fascinating people: --On Monday, Steve and Michele will interview Dr. Jay Cavanaugh, a former Commissioner for the California State Pharmacy Board, who used to participate in DEA raids and now heads up recall elections against district attorneys who violate the rights of medical marijLVALuana patients. --Wednesday's show will feature world cannabis authority and legal expert, Chris Conrad who will be discussing key information regarding medical marijuana law. --Friday's show, will be shot today, and will feature a fascinating interview with Richard Cowan, the editor of the Pot-TV 4:20 news and former head of NORML. (URL: http://www.marijuananews.com/) Steve Kubby is the National Director for the American Medical Marijuana Association. Steve was the Libertarian candidate for governor in California, where he received over 70,000 votes. Both Steve and Michele played key roles in the passage of Prop. 215 and are internationally recognized for their work in protecting the rights of bona fide medical marijuana patients. Stories about Pot-TV have appeared in USA Today and Canadian Television. Check Pot-TV for a replay of the Canadian TV segment that was filmed today. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2001 15:56:48 -0800 From: "Leslie Schentag" <gremlin@mars.ark.com> To: "restore Hemp" <restore@crrh.org>, <compassionatemoms@egroups.com>, <church-of-the-universe@yahoogroups.com>, <WNSP@yahoogroups.com>, <StonerTimes@yahoogroups.com>, <narconews@yahoogroups.com>, <marijuan-growing@yahoogroups.com>, <DAWEEDKING@yahoogroups.com> Cc: "Will Vanderweide" <wvdweide@home.com>, "Thomas Wagner, The Travelling Writer" <traveler@islandnet.com>, "Psy Ber Punk" <psyche@tinymaze.com>, "NIAC" <niac9@home.com>, "Kitten" <sasssy9560@aol.com>, "Fernando" <flcosta@mars.ark.com>, "Donald Bohun" <amicus@islandnet.com>, "Brad Cummings" <hepcvic@pacificcoast.net> Subject: North Island Compassion Club Message-ID: <03b801c09874$27fa0960$dcd835d1@ark.com> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_03B4_01C09831.11DA1BE0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hello! This is to announce the opening of the North Island CompasLVALsion Club in = Courtenay, B.C., Canada. http://ca.geocities.com/n_i_compassion/index.html=20 We plan to supply medical patients living on North Vancouver Island = with Medical Marijuana. We are just starting out and still have alot of work to do. I have Hepatitis C and have been diagnosed since 1997. I found out = during a general physical exam. In the 4 years since my health has remained constant and all my liver = functions are normal. Cannabis has been a big part of my lifestyle, I injest cannabis almost = everyday. And it does help But that is not all, I maintain a healthy diet doing most of my own = cooking. I use alot of garlic, cayenne, paprika, cajun spice and some = curry in my meals. They are all anti-oxidents which help keep my blood clean, I exercise = daily. I started this club to help patients living on the north island the = ability to get their medicine locally, as the nearest one is in = Victoria, B.C. and most patients can't afford the travel costs living on = the current pension. I need all the help I can get.. Thank you for your ear ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 23:30:30 -0700 From: "Brian Downing Quig" <quig@dcia.com> To: "Dana Beal" <dana@cures-not-wars.org> Cc: greenpartydrugsgroup@gn.apc.org, chwren@nytimes.com, marijuanamarch@yahoo.com, globalpeas@email.com, RoadsEnd@aol.com, god@hemprock.com, " Chris Wright" <TCW@genesis-computer.com>, iowanorml@home.com, pdxnorml@pdxnorml.org, "Melody Karr" <fiddlefoot420@hotmail.com>, " Howie Hempalot" <torml@weedmail.com>, fearless_420@hotmail.com, mmm@drugpeace.org, hempfest@hemp.net, melacs42x60@hotmail.com, rebelart@gasgroup.com, pcornwell@earthlink.net, Blocpot@blocpot.qc.ca, torontomarch@hotmail.com, girouxp@globetrotter.qc.ca, rappa@casema.net, arsec@pangea.org, martin@africandance.de, " Hanfparaden Center Berlin" <hanfparade@hanflobby.de>, Hanf-tv@karo4tel.de, amec@ctv.es, mayday@onelist.com, freddiefreak@c2i.net, sokrates@arachne.cz, restore@LVALcrrh.org, hempstor@ihug.co.nz, rastapeace@yahoo.com, " justin ballot" <j_thang@hotmail.com>, "Razor" <rzr@powertech.no>, " Carl Olsen" <carl@commonlink.net>, "Bonnie" <rabbit@cownow.com>, theherbalist@newmarijuana.org, Prohibition.X@aol.com, " alun" <webbooks@paston.co.uk>, " Colo. Hemp Init. Project" <cohip@levellers.org>, " Roy B. Scherer" <rscherer@richmond.infi.net>, " helmut holtzheimer" <movemus@gmx.de>, "ben masel" <bmasel@tds.net>, " jude joseph" <acididea@hotmail.com>, " Michael Palmieri" <forml_2000@yahoo.com>, info@damnsam.com, PROBER13@aol.com, Aimhigh6@aol.com, StewMO1941@aol.com, rmelamed@zoo.uvm.edu, chris@schmoo.co.uk, pakaloha@gte.net, writch@writch.com, cia-drugs@yahoogroups.com Subject: THE MOST HEINOUS DRUG CRIME OF THE CENTURY Message-ID: <3A8CC906.CA263FE4@dcia.com> Being acquainted with the dynamism and brilliance of Dana Beal I can well imagine that this list comprises the greatest Armada of hemp activists that the world has ever known. I want to impress upon you the nobility of your cause. Perhaps there are some compelling reasons for extra effort that you have not considered. When I traveled to Watts to confront the CIA Director, and was rejected by the staffs of the two black shill congresswomen Waters and Milieter-McDonald, I interviewed some of the local residents of this war torn ghetto. They told me if marijuana was legal there would be no market for crack. As a business journalist who has specifically covered the black markets of weapons and narcotics, together about 25% of the gross world product, I know that grouping pot in with narcotics creates confusion that conceals the narcotics trade. The draconian assault upon pot smokers makes the police look like they are doing something. All this collapses when marijuana is made legal. This phony drug war can not be addressed until we confront the raw ugliness of it all. That is why I have for 5 years posted a web site that presents the MOST HEINOUS DRUG CRIME OF THE LVALCENTURY http://www.dcia.com which happened right here in America yet I doubt that a single person on this list will know about it. It, like a majority of the big drug crimes, has been blacked out of major media. Our TV brainwashed countrymen can not believe what they have not seen of TV so this atrocity is all but forgotten. I can tell you this is all real, as real as the three innocent teenagers who are doing life sentences for what was an obvious professional rub out motivated by $10 billion dollars of heroin. I know this does not seem like pot activism but broadening your perspective on this phony drug war may help you to win. I invite you to join an internet e-mail discussion group http://www.yahoogroups.com/cia-drugs.html of 200 journalists who track the involvement of the federal government in the major share of narcotics trafficking. It seems to me that knowing these things would make everyone reading this post a more effective activist. Brian Downing Quig ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2001 11:27:27 -0800 From: webmaster@drugsense.org (DrugSense) To: newsletter@drugsense.org Subject: DrugSense Weekly, February 16, 2001, #187 Message-ID: <f8Xj6giA87NS092yn@drugsense.org> ********************************************************************** DRUGSENSE WEEKLY ********************************************************************** DrugSense Weekly, February 16, 2001 #187 Read This Publication On-line at: http://www.drugsense.org/current.htm ------------------ TABLE OF CONTENTS: This Just In- (1) Four Key Topics That Define US-Mexico Agenda (2) Drug-Law Reform (3) Film Spurs Fight Against Drug Laws (4) DARE Drug-Resistance Campaign, Called Ineffective * Weekly News in Review Drug Policy- (5) Frontline Report - We're Still Losing (6) Colombia's Drug War Must be Won in The U.S. (7) Relaxed Ashcroft Outlines Priorities on `Larry King' (8) System's Stance on IlleLVALv1gal Drugs Filling Texas Prisons (9) A Bright and Shining Lie (10) Choosing the New Drug Czar: Through a Glass Darkly (11) Ritalin High Attracts Adults in Wisconsin (12) Cancer Drug Spawns Abuse (13) Who Owns Ecstasy? Law Enforcement & Prisons- (14) USA Has Gone Prison Crazy (15) The DAs Are Wrong (16) Will Robert Downey Jr.'s Case Spark a Change in Drug Sentencing? (17) Ex-Cop a Drug Dealer, Jury Told (18) Casualties of 'War' Cannabis & Hemp- (19) Sick Canadians to Smoke 'Sub-Standard Marijuana' (20) Fast Response Promised on Medicinal Cannabis (21) Why Are They so Afraid? Wise Advice on Cannabis is Being Ignored (22) Medical Marijuana Backers Target DAs With Recalls International News- (23) Why 'Law And Order' is a Racial Issue Too (24) UN Says Peace Needed to Wage Fight Against Drugs (25) Mired in 'Traffic' (26) Both Sides Suggest Changes in Mexico Drug Certification * Hot Off The 'Net DrugSense Launches 'Net Radio Station Marijuana Legislation by State with Contact Info CBS News : 60 Minutes II : Patton Of Pot Students for Sensible Drug Policy Launches New Website Ask Dr. Shuglin Online * Feature Article A brief look at Heroin in Australia * Quote of the Week Thomas Brackett Reed ************************************************************************ This Just In- ---------------------------------- (1) FOUR KEY TOPICS THAT DEFINE US-MEXICO AGENDA The new presidents of Mexico and the United States are simultaneously beginning their administrations. It is worth noting that Mexican President Vicente Fox has a clear, popular mandate, while George W. Bush occupies the White House under a cloud of suspicion, having lost the popular vote but having won the election, thanks to five U.S. Supreme Court justices. [snip] Pubdate: Wed, 14 Feb 2001 Source: Houston Chronicle (TX) Copyright: 2001 Houston Chronicle Contact: viewpoints@chrLVALon.com Website: http://www.chron.com/ Author: Carlos Fuentes URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n268/a09.html === (2) DRUG-LAW REFORM ...Mustn't Be Stalled By Prosecutors. Rockefeller Rules Distort Justice And Should Be Repealed. It is no surprise that the group most opposed to changes in the Rockefeller drug laws are prosecutors. Reform would curtail their power, and no one relinquishes power gladly. [snip] Pubdate: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 Source: Newsday (NY) Copyright: 2001 Newsday Inc. Contact: letters@newsday.com Website: http://www.newsday.com/homepage.htm URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n268/a04.html === (3) FILM SPURS FIGHT AGAINST DRUG LAWS Steven Soderbergh's film Traffic may be more than a good bet as an Oscar winner. A new Internet campaign launched this week hopes to use the movie as a starting point in a fresh discussion about narcotics legislation in North America. With hopes of dealing the real dope on the war on drugs, the Lindesmith Center -- a U.S.-based organization fighting for the rationalization of drug laws -- created stopthewar.com, a Vancouver-built Web site that deals specifically with the film and its inherent message that the current "war on drugs" is an expensive exercise in futility. [snip] Pubdate: Wed, 14 Feb 2001 Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Copyright: 2001 The Vancouver Sun Contact: sunletters@pacpress.southam.ca Website: http://www.vancouversun.com/ Author: Katherine Monk, The Vancouver Sun Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/traffic.htm (Traffic) Cited: http://www.StopTheWar.com/ === (4) DARE DRUG-RESISTANCE CAMPAIGN, CALLED INEFFECTIVE, IS BEING RETOOLED Studies Disparage National Program For Schoolchildren In a striking shift, leaders of the nation's most widely used program to discourage drug use among schoolchildren have acknowledged that their strategy has not had sufficient impact and say they are developing a new approach to spreading their message. [snip] Pubdate: ThLVALu, 15 Feb 2001 Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA) Copyright: 2001 San Jose Mercury News Contact: letters@sjmercury.com Website: http://www.sjmercury.com/ Author: Kate Zernike URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n277/a07.html Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/dare.htm ************************************************************************ WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW ===================================================== Domestic News- Policy ---------------------------------- COMMENT: (5-10) We're clearly at a drug policy watershed; demands for business as usual are bumping into pleas for significant change; meanwhile, if Dubya has either a plan or a drug czar in mind, he's keeping them to himself. While Sunday's Chicago Sun-Times reviewed conflicting evidence of his intentions; veteran pundit Willaim Ratliffe, writing from Colombia for the LAT, urged consideration of heretofore unthinkable changes. A different opinion from newly confirmed AG Ashcroft, who used a Larry King interview with him to call for an even more aggressive drug war. Is he familiar with arrest figures under Clinton? Editorial writers in both Ashcroft's home state of Missouri- and the president's home state of Texas- disagreed sharply; and reformer Kevin Zeese speculated on the various possibilities in an interview with White House Weekly. === (5) FRONTLINE REPORT - WE'RE STILL LOSING In the movie "Traffic," Michael Douglas, portraying the new national drug czar, is met with stares and shrugs when he urges aides to "think outside the box." & "Let's have some new ideas, now," implores the impatient Douglas character. But there is no courage among his staff to acknowledge that victory is not at hand in this war on drugs. [snip] For the last six weeks, the Sunday Sun-Times has published excerpts from a special report examining the war on drugs. Ottawa Citizen editorial writer Dan Gardner paints a picture of a well-intentioned effort--to keep Americans drug-free--that has LVAL spawned a host of unwanted consequences, including fomentation of a $400 billion criminal industry, violence in some of our poorest communities and official corruption. In an interview on CNN last week, Attorney General John Ashcroft listed "reinvigorating the war on drugs" as one of his top priorities. If that means devoting more resources solely to intercepting drugs, his plan has been invalidated. More encouraging are President Bush's remarks that indicate a willingness to re-examine certain aspects of the drug war. [snip] Pubdate: Sun, 11 Feb 2001 Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL) Copyright: 2001 The Sun-Times Co. Contact: letters@suntimes.com Website: http://www.suntimes.com/ URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n250/a05.html Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/traffic.htm (Traffic) === (6) COLOMBIA'S DRUG WAR MUST BE WON IN THE U.S. Here in Colombia, the new U.S. film "Traffic" comes alive with a vengeance. While the movie is based on the Mexican drug trade, the corruption, kidnappings, terror and frustration of the U.S. war on drugs are even greater here. [snip] Even as U.S.-trained and supported Colombian military forces swept into cocaine-producing areas guarded by so-called Marxist FARC guerrillas in the south, President Andres Pastrana was trying to resuscitate stalled peace negotiations by meeting the top guerrilla leader,& if time proves otherwise, however Pastrana will likely become the Ehud Barak of South Americathe reformer whose failures opened the door to more right-wing forces. In a perverse way this nightmare will be good if it forces the new Bush foreign policy team to step outside the psychological lock-box of previous administrations. A comprehensive new policy on drugs in particular is essential immediately. [snip] Pubdate: Mon, 02 Jul 2001 Source: Kansas City Star (MO) Copyright: 2001 The Kansas City Star Contact: letters@kcstar.com Website: http://www.kcstar.com/ Author: Kevin Murphy, The Kansas City Star URL: http://www.mapinc.org/dLVAL/rugnews/v01/n250/a05.html Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/colombia.htm (Colombia) === (7) RELAXED ASHCROFT OUTLINES PRIORITIES ON `LARRY KING' WASHINGTON -- In his first interview since being confirmed as attorney general, John Ashcroft called Wednesday for a new war on drugs and the aggressive prosecution of gun crimes and civil rights violations. [snip] Ashcroft said one of his priorities would be cracking down on drug crimes. Another is reversing what he said is a disturbing rise in drug use. One way to do that is to involve parents in the problem of drug abuse by youths, he said. "I want to escalate the war on drugs," Ashcroft said. "We haven't done what we have to do. The war on drugs requires leadership." [snip] Pubdate: Mon, 02 Jul 2001 Source: Kansas City Star (MO) Copyright: 2001 The Kansas City Star Contact: letters@kcstar.com Website: http://www.kcstar.com/ Author: Kevin Murphy, The Kansas City Star URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n233/a02.html Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/ashcroft.htm (Ashcroft, John) === (8) SYSTEM'S STANCE ON ILLEGAL DRUGS FILLING TEXAS PRISONS Before Texas lawmakers get too far down the road during this session expanding our prison system and enacting tough new laws for drug violations, they should consider the possibility that public opinion is moving in another direction. In other parts of the country, America's commitment to zero tolerance for drugs is unraveling. [snip] There's got to be a better way, and other states are taking the time to look for it. Texas ranks No. 30 among the states in spending per pupil, and No. 36 in teacher salaries. Texas ranks No. 1 in total adults in the criminal justice system and No. 2 in total number of prisoners. Let's hope Texas legislators are paying attention. Pubdate: Tue, 06 Feb 2001 Source: Times Record News (TX) Copyright: 2001 The E.W. Scripps Co. Contact: wilsonc@wtr.com Website: http://www.trnonline.com/ URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n222/LVAL+a06.html === (9) A BRIGHT AND SHINING LIE The War On Drugs The parallels between America's war in Vietnam and its war on drugs become clearer every day. In both conflicts, political considerations forced the adoption of a strategy that could not succeed. And in both, politics and inertia prevented a reassessment of that strategy even as evidence of failure mounted. This week, in his first interview since taking office, U.S. Attorney General John D. Ashcroft said one of this top priorities would be to "reinvigorate the war on drugs." Reconsidering it would be a better idea. [snip] The United States should treat drug addiction as a public health problem, not a law-and-order problem. Spending money on prevention and treatment works. Chasing down "drug kingpins" doesn't. Pubdate: Sat, 10 Feb 2001 Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO) Copyright: 2001 St. Louis Post-Dispatch Contact: letters@post-dispatch.com Website: http://www.postnet.com/ URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n240/a09.html === (10) CHOOSING THE NEW DRUG CZAR: THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY The next U.S. drug czar won't be a general and will probably take his orders from a host of Bush Cabinet members, including Attorney General John Ashcroft and Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson. That's the expectation of Kevin B. Zeese, president of Common Sense for Drug Policy, a Washington-based drug policy reform organization. "In fact, President Bush has reduced the importance of the drug czar by making it a sub-Cabinet-level job. Drug-policy power will in the hands of the attorney general and the secretary of health and human services," said Zeese, whose group is affiliated with the George Soros-backed Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation in New York. [snip] Source: White House Weekly Section: Volume 29, Number 25 Copyright: 2001 King Communications Group Website: www.whitehouseweekly.com Email: whitehse@kingpublishing.com DC 20045 Phone: 202-638-4260 Author: Linda Gasparello ULVALRL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n243/a05.html Cited: http://www.csdp.org/ === COMMENT: (11-13) Even though there are no models of its long term success, " demand reduction" has become the fashionable new drug policy buzzword. Be that as it may, last week's news suggest that it may be unrealistic to expect any spontaneous reduction in America's urge to self-medicate in the near future. In addition to regional reports of the increasing diversion of Ritalin and OxyContin to the illegal market, ecstasy continues to surge despite dire "it rots your brain" warnings from NIDA. === (11) RITALIN HIGH ATTRACTS ADULTS IN WISCONSIN Tracking Abusers Difficult, Officials Say Ritalin was once considered a wonder drug for hyperactive children, but there is growing evidence that adults are becoming hooked on its caffeine-like jolt and breaking the law to obtain it. Take the case of Jennifer McNeil, a 33-year-old mother of two from Ozaukee County who is suspected of robbing eight pharmacies to obtain it. She described to authorities an addiction so out of control that she fashioned toy weapons and hogtied clerks while apologetically robbing pharmacies. [snip] Pubdate: Wed, 07 Feb 2001 Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI) Copyright: 2001 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Contact: jsedit@onwis.com Website: http://www.jsonline.com/ Author: Peter Maller, Lauria Lynch-German, Journal Sentinel staff URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n228/a08.html === (12) CANCER DRUG SPAWNS ABUSE Prescription Medicine Being Used Like Heroin Blamed For 59 Deaths In Kentucky Pikeville, Ky. --- The robber asked for only one thing when he walked into a pharmacy with a mask on and an automatic rifle in his hands: OxyContin. The prescription drug is meant to be a painkiller for cancer patients but it is being abused throughout the East as users go to great lengths to feed their addictions, authorities say. About 200 people in Kentucky were arrested on OxyContin charges this week inLVAL what police say was the largest drug raid in state history. ''They'll kick a bag of cocaine out of the way to get to 'Oxy,''' Detective Roger Hall of the Harlan County sheriff's department in Kentucky said this [snip] Pubdate: Fri, 09 Feb 2001 Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (GA) Copyright: 2001 Cox Interactive Media. Contact: insideajc@ajc.com Website: http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/ Author: Roger Alford - Associated Press URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n244/a01.html Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?186 (Oxycontin) === (13) WHO OWNS ECSTASY? Studying MDMA Is Shaping Up To Be The Latest Battle In The Drug War Dr. George Ricaurte's slides illustrating the effects of MDMA on the brain look, well, psychedelic. Swirling green cross-sections of monkey brains are followed by human PET scans, billowing shapes bathed in purple and yellow. One brain burns bright orange with swirls of the chemical analog for happiness, serotonin; another, serotonin-short, is a muted, lava red. [snip] As sponsor of more than 85 percent of the world's research on the health effects of drug use, NIDA has funded only three research centers to test MDMA in humans, and none to look at therapeutic use of the drug or how the context in which it is used might change the risks. Like the government's DARE program, which claims to help kids with drug decision making and then says the only choice is to "say no," NIDA's Ecstasy research purports to be driven by science but offers an anemic range of options. [snip] The number of MDMA users in America--customs seizures, arrests, and scare campaigns notwithstanding--continues to rise. "Right now," says Grob, "the only ones being controlled are the researchers." [snip] Pubdate: Wed, 07 Feb 2001 Source: Village Voice (NY) Copyright: 2001 Village Voice Media, Inc Contact: editor@villagevoice.com Website: http://www.villagevoice.com/ Authors: Richard Elovich & Daniel Wolfe URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n225/a02.htmLVALl Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy) ===================================================== Law Enforcement & Prisons ---------------------------------------- COMMENT: (14-18) Sebastian Malaby of the Washington Post opines that despite the enormous social consequences attending the nation's new role as the world's leading incarcerator, change will be difficult, and- at least in the short term- the nation's prison rolls will probably increase. An example of the dynamic at work can be seen in the New York prosecutors' objections to even the mild reforms proposed by Pataki. Even though most agree that Robert Downey Jr. could be the poster boy for incarceration's failure to rehabilitate drug users, don't expect him to get off without more prison or jail time. As for the nation's police, it was business as usual. === (14) USA HAS GONE PRISON CRAZY TWO million Americans will be locked up behind bars by the end of 2001: the biggest civilian incarceration in history. This means that America, with 5 percent of the world's population, will have 25 percent of its prisoners; its rate of incarceration will exceed that of every other country that keeps statistics, with the possible exception of miserable Russia. The question is whether the 2 million milestone will prompt the rethink that America's penal policy deserves, or whether it will slip by unnoticed. [snip] Even if the passing of the 2 million mark does cause the penal system to break the surface of public debate in 2001, don't expect much change. America has committed itself to a strange policy from which it will be hard pressed to back down, however grim the consequences of its continuation. Pubdate: Sat, 10 Feb 2001 Source: Alameda Times-Star (CA) Copyright: 2001 MediaNews Group, Inc. and ANG Newspapers Contact: triblet@angnewspapers.com Website: http://www.timesstar.com/ Author: Sebastian Mallaby URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n240/a08.html === (15) THE DAs ARELVALDFrestore Mon, 8 Jan 2001 Volume 9 : Number 8 In this issue: POLL: Should New Mexico decriminalize marijuana? Canada: Debating the recreational use of pot Caribbean: Rasta Attack Points To 'Lethal' Mix Of Religion, Rebellion, Drugs Re: Oh, this is FUNNY KUB: State Pharmacy Commissioner to head up Recall Campaign What unintended consequences?? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 07 Jan 2001 14:49:26 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: POLL: Should New Mexico decriminalize marijuana? Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010107144848.04dd5410@mail.olywa.net> POLL: Should New Mexico decriminalize marijuana? http://www.abqtrib.com/ Yes - 63% No - 37% current total ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 07 Jan 2001 14:55:36 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Canada: Debating the recreational use of pot Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010107145447.04de2ec0@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: creator@mapinc.org Source: Province, The (CN BC) Website: http://www.vancouverprovince.com/ Address: 200 Granville Street, Ste. #1, Vancouver, BC V6C 3N3 Canada Email: provedpg@pacpress.southam.ca Copyright: 2001 The Province Fax: (604) 605-2323 Pubdate: Sun, 07 Jan 2001 Author: Karen Selick, a family law lawyer practising in Ontario. Debating the recreational use of pot An Ontario top court made headlines when it decided a few months ago that epileptic Terry Parker has a constitutional right to use marijuana as medicine. Now an Alberta court has decided the same for Grant Krieger, who has multiple sclerosis. While these have been big steps forward, they have been undermined by the simultaneous taking of two steps back. What most news reports barely mentioned was that on the same day the Ontario Court of Appeal released its decision re Parker, it also released anLVALother decision, R. v. Clay, which had a dismayingly different outcome: The court held that the ban on pot violated the Charter guarantees of liberty and security of the person for Parker, a medical marijuana user, but not for Clay, a recreational user. Two months earlier, B.C.'s Court of Appeal reached a similar conclusion re recreational users in R. v. Malmo-Levine. I have long been puzzled by the peculiar interpretation that Canadian courts have placed on the word "liberty" in section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Among other things, they have said that "(liberty does not extend) to an unconstrained right to transact business whenever one wishes." And "the rights protected by s. 7 do not include a right to engage in a particular type of professional activity." Why not? Here's the wording: "Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice." The word "liberty" stands naked and unadorned. It's not embellished by qualifiers or exceptions. There's no footnote saying that only epileptics or victims of multiple sclerosis are entitled to it. It doesn't say we have liberty in our homes but not our businesses. It doesn't say we have the liberty of making wise decisions but not foolish ones. It just says liberty. Why is that word so hard for our politicians and judges to understand? Christopher Clay argued that the Charter right to liberty must surely include the right to intoxicate oneself with marijuana in the privacy of one's own home. Sounds pretty logical to me. But, this reasoning drove him into the brick wall of previous Supreme Court of Canada judgments. According to Canada's top court; "In a free and democratic society, the individual must be left room for personal autonomy and to make decisions that are of fundamental personal importance." The conclusions drawn by the Ontario and B.C. appeal courts, after considering these passages, were thatLVAL the non-medicinal use of marijuana is not a decision of fundamental importance, that the criminalization of pot for recreational purposes is an insignificant or trivial limitation on liberty, and that toking up is not the sort of thing the Charter guarantee of liberty was designed to protect. These conclusions are all highly subjective and debatable. Maybe they'll be overturned on some future appeal. But I'm not optimistic. Not much can be expected from jurists whose mindset is that the constitution guarantees us liberty for those rare, momentous decisions in our lives, but not for the day-to-day stuff. Does this mean that if the state decides to dictate what time we rise in the morning, the colour of our clothing, how many times we must chew our food and how often we clip our toenails, we're still living in a free country? How many trivial violations of liberty can they heap on us before we're forced to admit that this is stifling authoritarianism, not freedom? Besides, what's the logic of having different rules for decisions of fundamental importance and those of trivial importance? If citizens are so stupid or irresponsible that we can't handle the little stuff without direction from the state, where will we suddenly acquire the wisdom and character to handle the big stuff? Both courts tried to do a balancing act, weighing the harm to the recreational pot user of keeping marijuana illegal against the harm to "society" of legalizing it. But they omitted something from the equation: The harm a society suffers when its members become so used to having the minutiae of their lives governed for them that they consider it right and normal. Nevertheless, thanks to Parker's epilepsy, the prohibition on possessing marijuana has been struck down, effective in August. Now, the government has to decide whether to re-enact a law outlawing marijuana but exempting medicinal use, or do nothing and effectively legalize pot. Although I've never touched the stuff and don't plan to even if it'LVALBs legalized, I'm voting for option two. Every little bit of liberty helps. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 07 Jan 2001 14:54:03 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Caribbean: Rasta Attack Points To 'Lethal' Mix Of Religion, Rebellion, Drugs Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010107145324.04de1ad0@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: Terry Liittschwager Pubdate: Sun, 07 Jan 2001 Source: Los Angeles Times (CA) Copyright: 2000 Los Angeles Times Contact: letters@latimes.com Address: Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053 Fax: (213) 237-7679 Website: http://www.latimes.com/ Forum: http://www.latimes.com/discuss/ Author: Mark Fineman, Times Staff Writer ATTACK POINTS TO 'LETHAL' MIX OF RELIGION, REBELLION, DRUGS Caribbean: The Recent Assault At A Church In St. Lucia Raises Concerns About Rastafarianism's Radical Youths. CASTRIES, St. Lucia--It was in a cave near the Soufriere volcano at the heart of this Caribbean island that Kim John says he first heard the voice of God. It was Haile Selassie, the late Ethiopian emperor worshiped by Rastafarians worldwide, who spoke to him sometime last year, John told police inspectors last week. The voice anointed the 20-year-old as "the chosen one" and commanded him to free his people from bondage and destroy the "system of Babylon," John said. And so it was that, according to witnesses and investigators, John and at least one accomplice burst into the Roman Catholic cathedral--this island's icon of unity and culture for 101 years--just after dawn last Sunday. Clad in flowing robes and armed with clubs, flaming torches and gasoline cans, the attackers charged up the aisle, randomly dousing and torching a dozen parishioners--a carpenter, a clerk, a retiree, a grandmother. One attacker set fire to the priest and the altar. Another bludgeoned to death Sister Theresa Egan, an Irish nun who had worked on the island for 42 years, because "he saw the devil" in her pale blue eyes, police InspectorLVALvc Gregory Montoute later explained. The carnage left behind what Prime Minister Kenny Anthony called "lacerations of the spirit that deeply scar the identity of our nation and a common cross that we all must bear." "This atrocious act has profoundly affected us at home and abroad," Anthony conceded in an address to his nation's 150,000 people--about 80% Catholic--who survive largely on a tourism industry that draws about 70,000 Americans a year to the island's extraordinary beauty. "At home, the sense of trauma is tangible and the horror will take some time to fade. Abroad, our image as a civilized, peace-loving and tolerant nation has been severely harmed." But the impact of the attack by self-proclaimed Rastafarians at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception here goes far beyond St. Lucia's traditionally peaceful shores. It comes at a time when Rastafarians throughout the Caribbean are becoming a more vocal, visible and, some rival religious leaders say, potentially violent political and social force. Bolstered by thousands of new believers from a rebellious younger generation plagued by poverty and joblessness on small island states, Rastafarians have begun to contest elections, protest policies that have discriminated against them for decades and lobby for decriminalizing marijuana, which adherents smoke as a religious sacrament. The religion was founded in the 1930s by the descendants of African slaves in Jamaica. Its believers worship Haile Selassie as the living god of the black race. They follow as their sacred text parts of the Bible, except where they believe changes were made by "Babylon," which they equate with a white power structure that includes the pope and the Vatican. As Anthony put it in an interview here Friday, the attack targeted just one major symbol of Babylon; it could easily have targeted the state. "The question is, if the church is the first victim, who is the next." Anthony said. "The Caribbean is going through a very, very, very difficult period. LVAL|,We are all troubled, troubled because we are witnessing the increasing marginalization of young males at an uncontrollable rate. We are troubled by rising poverty and crime. And we are troubled by an increasingly unfriendly global [economic] environment." Against that backdrop, he added, Rastafarianism is reinventing itself among disenfranchised youth. "What is apparent is that there is an unholy alliance of this religious theology laced with this rebellion and to some extent complicated by the drugs. It is a real lethal combination. And what has happened here can find similar manifestations in each and every island of the Caribbean." For much of this young generation, the religion is also grounded in music. The lyrics have evolved from reggae Rasta star Bob Marley's "One Love" and his metaphoric references to "bombing the church" to the incendiary incantations of more recent Jamaican Rastafarian stars such as Sizzler. "In a lot of Sizzler's songs you hear things like 'Burn down Babylon; Burn down the Vatican; Burn down the pope,' " said Peter "Ras Ipa" Isaac, who heads St. Lucia's Imperial Ethiopian World Federation and is among the Rastafarians' old guard here--a group that is deeply concerned about the religion's younger members and its future direction. "It's not literal," Isaac said. "But in the young minds, like these two guys perhaps, maybe they are influenced in a literal way by these lyrics." Added Msgr. Theophilius Joseph, administrator of the cathedral: "There's a new era--a new kind of protest song that is more violent than the Bob Marley era. It's a very violent message that no doubt is influenced by the American negative rap." St. Lucia's Rastafarian leaders condemned the church attack and disowned the two men in custody. Ras Wisely, chairman of the island's National Council of the Advancement of Rastafarians, read a televised statement expressing sympathy for the victims and castigating those responsible. "Rastafarians are not really militant in any way," explained LVALvb Isaac, who co-founded the island's Rastafarian council in 1997 and sells Haile Selassie bumper stickers and Bob Marley T-shirts at Castries' cruise-ship mall. "Rastafarians have been discriminated against for so long," he added. "Young boys are shot and killed by police chasing them for smoking a spliff [marijuana cigarette]. Their dreadlocks are chopped off in prison. They can't get jobs because employers fear them. We have to become a political force." Rastafarian political blocs have formed in Jamaica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Caribbean neighbors that are among the region's biggest marijuana producers and exporters. Others are forming elsewhere in the region, causing growing consternation among the political and religious leaders of Caribbean cultures that are traditionally Christian and conservative. As last Sunday's attack resonates through the region, Rastafarian leaders worry that it may cause a backlash against their religion. Young adherents here have expressed fears of police crackdowns and further discrimination. Non-Rastafarians privately have voiced their own fears that the violence on the last day of the second millennium was not, as police and commentators say, an apparently isolated attack by deranged individuals. "We certainly have no evidence these guys were connected with a sect or a cult, or that there's someone out there planning something similar," said St. Lucia Police Supt. Albert Fregis. "But certainly one cannot rule out the possibility that something like this can happen again." Added Inspector Montoute, who has interrogated John and 34-year-old alleged accomplice Francis Phillip daily since the attack: "Kim John said that there are two of them now but there are new ones coming up. What he meant by that, we don't know. But there is a whole team investigating this." John was captured by parishioners inside the cathedral and held for police. Phillip was arrested in a banana grove near this capital the next day. Police say both men have confessed LVAL and were arraigned Friday on charges of murder and arson, pleading guilty to arson and putting off their plea to murder charges until trial. But it is the attitude of the two men, described by police and government officials here as "utterly without compunction or remorse," that has thrust this nation into a painful period of self-assessment after a crime the prime minister told the nation was "a wake-up call that among our youth are those . . . whose spirituality has degenerated to satanic debasement." Joseph, the cathedral administrator, set the tone of national self-criticism at a midnight Mass he celebrated the same day of the attack, after work crews had scrubbed away the bloodstains and burn marks. He titled his remarks: "St. Lucia, where are we going." In an interview after the prime minister's speech, though, Joseph said: "We've had a lot of wake-up calls already. All these calls, and we're still asleep." In fact, during the past several months, this once-serene island has seen a series of rapes, murders and robberies, a pattern repeated throughout the eastern Caribbean amid increased drug trafficking and unemployment. Those ills are largely the result of a banana industry that is dying, locals argue, after America successfully fought to eliminate preferential European trade tariffs that had supported it. St. Lucia has lost half of its banana-export income in the past 10 years. Today, nearly a fifth of its work force is unemployed--in a country that had the highest birthrate in the Western Hemisphere 16 years ago, mostly attributed to teenage mothers. "This has made the younger generation more rebellious against all of society's institutions," said Joseph, who vowed to redouble the Catholic Church's efforts to bridge the yawning gap between the island's Christian communities, as well as between them and the Rastafarians. "My main thing now is to try to reach out--especially to the young Rastafarian, the marginalized youth who have been placed in what we call ghettos. I'll tryLVALB to teach them that Jah--their God--is love. What I would like to see come out of this is the churches all coming together, working together as one force to bring redemption to a lot of the problems we have." Asked whether the outrage, the sorrow and the pain after the attack hasn't made that task all the more difficult, Joseph shook his head. "No church has gloated over what has happened to us here," he said, "because now they all realize it can happen to them too." __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. --- MAP posted-by: Olafur www.mapinc.org ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 07 Jan 2001 01:40:38 -0500 From: ltneidow@voyager.net (Lee T. Neidow) To: =?iso-8859-1?q?sandy=20hay?= <environsand@yahoo.com.au>, Ashley Kennedy <ashleyk@avn.com>, CRRH mailing list <restore@crrh.org> Subject: Re: Oh, this is FUNNY Message-ID: <200101070539.f075dMW09189@mail1.mx.voyager.net> At 11:19 1/7/2001 +1100, CRRH mailing list wrote: "...Unless someone wanted to slip George W. some exlax and LSD..." Based upon what I've heard from him, I thought someone had. Lee ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 07 Jan 2001 06:58:15 -0800 From: Steve Kubby <steve@kubby.org> To: undisclosed-recipients:; Subject: KUB: State Pharmacy Commissioner to head up Recall Campaign Message-ID: <B67DC407.A78E%steve@kubby.org> ******************************************************** THE AMERICAN MEDICAL MARIJUANA ASSOCIATION 15 Monarch Bay Plaza, Box 375, Dana Point, Ca 92629 Web site: http://www.drugsense.org/amma/ E-mail: amma@drugsense.org Join our List: http://www.drugsense.org/amma/ ******************************************************** 7 Jan 2001 Dear Friends, Jay R. Cavanaugh, Ph.D. <Jcavana857@aol.com>, a former CommLVALissioner of the California State Pharmacy Board, has agreed to head up THE CITIZENS COMMITTEE TO RECALL PLACER COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY BRADFORD FENOCCHIO. Dr. Cavenaugh has even donated $1,000 for our recall effort, but asks that we find someone to match that donation, before we spend it. Will you be kind enough to help us out so we can get started? Your pledge to cover all or part of this donation will help us force officials to stop arresting sick people and destroying their medicine. We have even been joined in our recall effort by the president of the local taxpayers association, with over 1,200 members and 3 successful recalls under their belt. Our immediate goal is to raise the $25,000 we will need to train locals and gather 20,000 signatures -- we need 15,550 signatures to qualify for a recall election. A similar effort by Marin AMMA Director, Rev. Lynnette Shaw <revshaw@hotmail.com>, was successful in forcing the Marin County D.A. into a special recall elections which is now scheduled for this May. As you may already know, the Placer D.A. has a terrible record and is very vulnerable. Recalling Placer County's anti-215 D.A. would send the loudest possible message to prosecutors statewide to stop persecuting medical marijuana patients and start obeying the law. Please help us. Let freedom grow, Steve ====== Web sites: * Official California State Recall Handbook http://www.ss.ca.gov/elections/recall.pdf * Warren Recall http://www.geocities.com/warecall * Recall Ryan- http://www.recallryan.com * Committee to Recall Councilman John M. Gullixson http://www.yorbalinda.recall.org ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 07 Jan 2001 14:58:47 -0800 From: "JT Barrie" <rimchamp77@zdnetonebox.com> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: What unintended consequences?? Message-ID: <20010107225848.ZSIZ9335.mta08.onebox.com@onebox.com> When my 6 year old destroys something when doing something LVALirresponsible like painting in the dining room she replies "but it was an ACCIDENT". Any time you do something irresponsible like try driving after downing a carafe of wine or pitcher of beer, something not so nice is much more likely to happen. Nobody who drives intentionally tries to kill people; none of the politicians who support the drug war [without ever having to defend it - thanks to our lap dog media] really intend to ruin millions of lives by their action..... but it is inevitable. One can't "sanitize" or "reform" bureaucracies to filter out the harmful effects. That would be the equivalent of not allowing the drunk driver to drive tanks [some drug warrior drunks do precisely that in some gross abuses]. How do you only punish the "evil" drug users/dealers and keep government officials from "abusing" their power [and still give them enough power to "get the bad guy"]. The fact is that what we have been getting are NATURAL consequences - there is nothing "unintended" about them. While it is true that the drug war supporters' arguments for continuation can't stand up to even the slightest scrutiny - the fact is that the media will not pemit even the slightest scrutiny or criticism for their support of this morally bankrupt policy which has ruined millions of lives. ___________________________________________________________________ To get your own FREE ZDNet Onebox - FREE voicemail, email, and fax, all in one place - sign up today at http://www.zdnetonebox.com ------------------------------ End of restore V1 #730 ********************** * ------ 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. ------ To subscribe, unsubscribe or switch to immediate or digest mode, please send your instructions to <restore-owner@crrh.org>. ------ *Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp* mail: LVAL)  I will be talking about drug policy. PETE Peter J. Christ 5532 East Lake Road Cazenovia NY 13035 Phone: 315 655 4037 Fax: 315 655 0374 Cell: 315 420 2393 Email: christ@reconsider.org Web: www.reconsider.org " Legalization simply means the elimination of Schedule 1. All other discussion is about regulation." .......Christ 5/20/00 ------------------------------------------------ Forwarded by Richard Lake Join us for a discussion of the week's news and activities tonight in the DrugSense chat room Starts at 9 p.m. Eastern, 6 p.m. Pacific http://www.drugsense.org/chat/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 6 Jan 2001 11:36:24 -0800 From: "byrds" <byrds@mail.rvi.net> To: <restore@crrh.org> Subject: felony? Message-ID: <200101061136.AA2510291554@mail.rvi.net> Here are a couple questions that have come up here.... Does one have to have been "tried" to be "convicted" ? In other words if one plead "guilty" does it constitute a "conviction"? Can felons vote? SueB ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 06 Jan 2001 15:06:48 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: 2000- A Year in the Life of Marijuana Prohibition Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010106150551.056068a0@mail.olywa.net> Pubdate: Tues, 2 Jan 2001 Source: MarijuanaNews Copyright: 2001 MarijuanaNews Website: http://www.marijuananews.com/ Author: Kevin Christopher Nelson Note: Nelson kcnelson@premier1.net is a writer living in Bellingham, WA. Also: MAP is providing this review as an exception to our announced policy on web only items. 2000- A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF MARIJUANA PROHIBITION "One of the problems that the marijuana reform movement consistently faces is that everyone wants to talk about what marijuana does, but no one ever wants to look at what marijuana prohibition does. MarijuanCRRH ; 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/ LVALCG-restore Tue, 9 Jan 2001 Volume 9 : Number 9 In this issue: NM cannabis legalization poll tightening. MJ Vaporization Demonstrated in NORML/MAPS Study St Lucia: Catholics and Rastafarians in St Lucia Worship ALERT: #194 NM Governor Johnson Ready To Back Talk With Action Governor Johnson's Drug Committee Battle Creek Joins 94 other Cities for May 5, 2001 Space Odyssey US: Retiring Drug Warrior Would Rather Treat Than Fight My genius kid Camaroon To Import Cannabis POLL: Should New Mexico decriminalize marijuana? Death of an Activist RIDDLE: WHAT'S WORSE THAN YOUR CHILD DOING DRUGS? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 8 Jan 2001 16:41:52 EST From: ConradBACH@aol.com To: restore@crrh.org, friends@freecannabis.org, aro@drugsense.org Subject: NM cannabis legalization poll tightening. Message-ID: <c1.a7e2b5b.278b8e20@aol.com> The online poll is tightening up. Earlier today it was 28 - 72%. Now it is: Should New Mexico decriminalize marijuana? Yes 62% No 38% Total: 2280 Have you voted yet? Here's where: http://www.abqtrib.com -- Chris Conrad=20 <www.chrisconrad.com> court-qualified cannabis expert director of Business Alliance for Commerce in Hemp=20 <www.potpride.com> director of Family Council on Drug Awareness <www.fcda.org> art director of Human Rights and the Drug War <www.hr95.org> owner of Creative Xpressions PO Box 1716, El Cerrito CA 94530 USA =E2=80=A2 ph/fax 1-510-215-8326 author of _Hemp: Lifeline to the Future_,=20 author of _Hemp for Health_.=20 co-author of _Shattered Lives: Portraits from America's Drug War_ (with Mikki Norris and Virginia Resner), and=20 co-author of _Human Rights and the US Drug War_=20 (with Mikki Norris and Virginia Resner)=20 Member and past president: Hemp Industries Association (HIA)=20 Member, HIALVALvc Advisory Board <www.thehia.org>=20 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 08 Jan 2001 12:25:36 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: MJ Vaporization Demonstrated in NORML/MAPS Study Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010108122515.04de2d50@mail.olywa.net> - California NORML Press Release - Jan 7, 2001 - NORML -MAPS Study Shows Vaporizers Reduce Toxins in Marijuana Smoke Medical marijuana patients may be able to protect themselves from harmful toxins in marijuana smoke by inhaling their medicine using an electric vaporizer, according to initial results of a study by California NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) and MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies). The study showed that it is possible to vaporize medically active THC by heating marijuana to a temperature short of the point of combustion, thereby eliminating or substantially reducing harmful smoke toxins that are normally present in marijuana smoke. Vaporizers may therefore substantially reduce what is widely regarded as the leading health hazard of marijuana, namely respiratory harm due to smoking. NORML and MAPS sponsored the study in the hopes of helping medical marijuana patients and others reduce the health risks of smoking. The hazards of smoking were cited as a major obstacle to approval of natural cannabis by the Institute of Medicine in its 1999 report, Marijuana and Medicine. However, the IOM report failed to note the possibility of vaporization. The NORML-MAPS study tested a device called the M1 Volatizer=AE, an aromatherapy vaporizer developed by Alternative Delivery Systems, Inc. It consisted of an electric heating element in a chamber that radiates heat downwards over a sample of marijuana sitting in a standard pipe or "bong" bowl. Output from the vaporizer was analyzed and compared to smoke produced by combusting the sample with a flame. The vaporizer produced THC at a temperature of 185=B0 C. (365=B0 F.) wLVAL DBhile completely eliminating three measured toxins - benzene, a known carcinogen, plus toluene and naphthalene. Carbon monoxide and smoke tars were both qualitatively reduced by the vaporizer, but additional testing is needed to quantify the extent of the decrease. Although the study was not designed to detect the highly carcinogenic tars known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are thought to be a leading culprit in smoking-related cancers, there was good reason to believe that they were suppressed, since they normally form at much higher temperatures of combustion. When vaporized, the marijuana emitted a thin gray vapor and was left with a green to greenish-brown "toasted" appearance, whereas the combusted sample produced thick smoke and turned to ash. Significant amounts of benzene began to appear at temperatures of 200=B0 C. (392=B0 F), while combustion occurred around 230=B0 (446=B0F) or above. = Traces of THC were in evidence as low as 140=B0 C. (284=B0 F). The vaporizer study was undertaken as a follow-up to a previous NORML-MAPS marijuana smoking device study, which concluded that vaporizers offered the best prospects for smoke harm reduction (http://www.maps.org/news-letters/v06n3/06359mj1.html). The study found that neither waterpipes nor solid filters were effective at reducing exposure to smoke tars, due to the fact that they filtered out even more THC, thus forcing patients to inhale more to achieve the same effective dose. A recent Australian study also found that waterpipes failed to reduce tars or carbon monoxide (Linda Gowing et al.,. "Respiratory Harms of Smoked Cannabis," Research Monograph No. 8. Adelaide: Drug and Alcohol Services Council of South Australia (2000).) Other methods of marijuana smoke harm reduction include oral ingestion and potential new delivery systems, such as inhalers and patches, that are still under development. Smokers may also reduce their respiratory risks by using higher-potency marijuana, allowing them to inhale leLVALvss smoke to obtain a given effective dose of THC. The medical marijuana popularly used in cannabis patients' clubs is several times more potent than that commonly provided to researchers by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, according to a survey by NORML and MAPS (http://www.maps.org/news-letters/v09n3/09320gie.html). However, the Australian study found that higher potency marijuana does not always deliver more THC, apparently because THC output is highly sensitive to variations in the burning properties of different samples. A wide variety of vaporizers are presently available on the underground market. Many medical marijuana patients say they prefer vaporizers because they deliver smoother, less irritating medication. However, there have been no published scientific studies of their effectiveness heretofore. NORML and MAPS are currently seeking support for further research and development of vaporizers. Research is presently underway to explore the optimal temperature and conditions for vaporization. An additional $85,000 is needed to provide accurate measurement of carbon monoxide and other toxins, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Further studies may be needed to explore alternative device designs and the effects of different sample consistency, potency and preparation. Release by: Dale Gieringer, CA NORML: (415) 563-5858; canorml@igc.org. Additional contacts: Rick Doblin, MAPS: (617) 484-8711 rickmaps@aol.com; Alternative Delivery Systems: http://www.volatizer.com. --=20 ---- Dale Gieringer (415) 563-5858 // canorml@igc.org 2215-R Market St. #278, San Francisco CA 94114 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 08 Jan 2001 16:35:49 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: St Lucia: Catholics and Rastafarians in St Lucia Worship Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010108163536.04dfdc60@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: Darcy Erickson Pubdate: Sun, 07 Jan 2001 Source: Boston Globe (MA) Copyright: 2001 Globe Newspaper CompLVALany Contact: letter@globe.com Address: P.O. Box 2378, Boston, MA 02107-2378 Feedback: http://extranet.globe.com/LettersEditor/default.asp Website: http://www.boston.com/globe Author: Ian James, Associated Press CATHOLICS AND RASTAFARIANS IN ST. LUCIA WORSHIP SEPARATELY AFTER ATTACK VIEUX FORT, St. Lucia -- Roman Catholics lined up for Holy Communion while Rastafarians smoked marijuana in separate worship Sunday, both groups urging peace and tolerance in St. Lucia one week after two men claiming to be Rastas killed a nun and attacked worshippers during Mass. To the beat of African drums, dozens of Rastafarians gathered at a small camp of wooden shelters in the town of Vieux Fort, on the Caribbean island's southern tip, to celebrate what they call Ethiopian Christmas, recognizing the birth of Christ according to a non-European calendar. "We're a peaceful gathering," said Ras Imani, a man with a graying beard who described himself as a Rasta priest. "We all sing and chant and dance, and praise Haile Selassie the most high." Rastafarians worship Haile Selassie, the late Ethiopian emperor, as a manifestation of God. But despite differences with Christians over theology, Imani said true Rastafarians wouldn't beat worshippers or set them on fire, as two men allegedly did in the Dec. 31 attack. The two suspects arrested allegedly told police they were Rasta "prophets" on a mission to combat corruption in the Roman Catholic Church, heightening tensions between the Roman Catholic majority and Rastafarians on this tiny island of 156,000 people. But the Rastafarians have denounced the violence, saying it violates their belief in peaceful coexistence. "Humanity must love one another, for we are the same people," Imani said, while other men with dreadlocks lay in hammocks nearby, chatting and smoking fat joints. One of the central tenets of Rastafarianism -- which emerged in Jamaica in the 1930s out of anger among blacks over colonial powers' oppression -- is that marijuana encourages the LVAL:calm necessary for religious meditation. One man at the Rastafarian tabernacle, Yeakin Alban Herman, likened marijuana to a radio. "When you smoke marijuana, you tune into the most high," he said. Across the island in the port city of Castries, more than 500 people attended Sunday Mass in the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, where the attack occurred. One parishioner, 25-year-old David McLennon, asked the worshippers to remember in their prayers the slain Irish nun, Sister Theresa Egan, who was buried Saturday, and the 13 people injured. McLennon urged the Catholics to forgive. "We have every right to be angry, but we are Christian people," he said. "We must not allow our anger to lead us to sin." __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. --- MAP posted-by: Kirk Bauer ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 07 Jan 2001 20:33:59 -0800 From: webmaster@drugsense.org (DrugSense) To: alerts@drugsense.org Subject: ALERT: #194 NM Governor Johnson Ready To Back Talk With Action Message-ID: <3MUW6giA8v9H092yn@drugsense.org> NM Governor Johnson Ready To Back Talk With Action ------- PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE ------- DrugSense FOCUS Alert #(XX) (DATE) (Mark will insert this info) New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson took an important step toward bringing reason to drug policy when he started criticizing the drug war. Now, he says he is going to move beyond rhetoric by attempting to work with the state legislature to propose drug law reform. Naturally, traditional drug war supporters are expressing dismay over the challenge to absolute drug prohibition without even waiting to see the nature of the reform. But some media in the state seem to be swayed by Johnson's ideas. As a good editorial from the Albuquerque Journal this week noted, "What is needed next is for the Legislature to objectLVALively consider the drug-related bills Johnson has promised to present, including a bill to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana." Please write a letter to the Albuquerque Journal and other newspapers that have covered the story to show that people around the world support Johnson's brave stand. WRITE A LETTER TODAY It's not what others do it's what YOU do *************************************************************************** PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID ( Letter, Phone, fax etc.) Please post a copy your letter or report your action to the sent letter list (sentlte@mapinc.org) if you are subscribed, or by E-mailing a copy directly to MGreer@mapinc.org Your letter will then be forwarded to the list with so others can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit This is VERY IMPORTANT as it is the only way we have of gauging our impact and effectiveness. ************************************************************************** CONTACT INFO: Source: Albuquerque Journal (NM) Contact: opinion@abqjournal.com EXTRA CREDIT: These newspapers have also covered the latest developments in the Gary Johnson story. Please also send a copy of your letter to them. Title: US NM: Johnson Bill Would Legalize Small Amounts of Pot URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n027/a05.html Pubdate: Sat, 06 Jan 2001 Copyright: 2001 Albuquerque Journal Contact: opinion@abqjournal.com Title: US NM: Governor To Pursue Changes In Drug Policy URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n027/a08.html Pubdate: Sat, 06 Jan 2001 Source: Albuquerque Tribune (NM) Contact: letters@abqtrib.com Title: US NM: Johnson To Propose Some Drug Legalization For NM URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n028/a10.html Pubdate: Sat, 06 Jan 2001 Source: El Paso Times (TX) Contact: opinion@elpasotimes.com Title: US NM: Johnson's Staff To Draft Eight Drug Bills URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n029/a01.html Pubdate: Sat, 06 Jan 2001LVAL Source: Santa Fe New Mexican (NM) Contact: letters@sfnewmexican.com Title: US NM: Local Political Leaders Blast Johnson's Plans URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n033/a02.html Pubdate: Sat, 06 Jan 2001 Source: Farmington Daily Times (NM) Contact: markl@daily-times.com *************************************************************************** ARTICLE US NM: Editorial: Let Serious Drug Policy Reform Begin URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01.n035.a02.html Newshawk: Sledhead Pubdate: Sat, 06 Jan 2001 Source: Albuquerque Journal (NM) Copyright: 2001 Albuquerque Journal Contact: opinion@abqjournal.com Address: P.O. Drawer J, Albuquerque, N.M. 87103 Website: http://www.abqjournal.com/ LET SERIOUS DRUG POLICY REFORM BEGIN As America's drug czar, Barry McCaffrey, leaves office, we find the use of steroids, ecstasy and other drugs is up nationally, despite a federal drug-fighting budget in the billions. We find Rio Arriba leads New Mexico counties in per-capita drug overdose fatalities, with 16 deaths last year. Since the beginning of 1999, 70 have died in Rio Arriba and Santa Fe counties alone. Per capita, New Mexico is the worst in the nation in drug overdose deaths. People are dying, prisons are filling up and treatment facilities are inadequate. It is time to seek "common sense" drug policy reform. That is what Gov. Gary Johnson asked for in creating a special committee last summer; that is what he has received in its recommendations to him this week. What is needed next is for the Legislature to objectively consider the drug-related bills Johnson has promised to present, including a bill to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. To some, the proposals will be anathema. But it is important to note, as the committee points out in its letter to Johnson, that much of current drug policy -- and public perception -- "is based on misleading and even patently false information about illegal drugs. ... Even more disturbing, ( we ) determined thaLVALv1t false information frequently comes from sources that we expect to be reliable, including our own federal government." Johnson has been criticized, with reason, for shooting from the hip in advocating radical drug policy changes, without details and underlying analysis. That criticism loses validity with the work of this committee. Comprised of New Mexicans familiar with the state, its 10 members have extensive and varied expertise in health, community issues, law enforcement and the courts. Current drug policy, the committee found, is "expensive, harmful to families, wasting taxpayer money, filling prisons and is not letting the Legislature prioritize its resources," in the words of chairman W. C. "Woody" Smith, a retired state court judge. "What we've been doing for decades is make things worse." The committee approached its task, as Johnson requested, in terms of "harm reduction." What could the state do with drug policy to decrease death, disease, crime and suffering, and at the same time exercise fiscal responsibility with taxpayer dollars? The state Department of Health has already acted to reduce harm in northern New Mexico: On Wednesday it delivered to Espanola Valley doctors 100 syringes of naloxone ( cost to the state: $1.50 each ), a drug which reverses the deadly effects of overdosing on heroin, morphine or methadone. Dr. Steve Jenison, of the state Public Health Division, and Alex Valdez, state health secretary, helped facilitate the action; both are members of the drug policy committee. State Police would like to train officers in administering naloxone, but first want the Legislature to pass a law protecting them from possible lawsuits. The panel also recommends amending laws to allow the sale of sterile syringes in pharmacies and to allow doctor-prescribed medical use of marijuana. It recommends amendment of criminal statutes on drug possession to reduce first and second offenses to misdemeanors, as is done in Arizona and California, and require treatment ratheLVALr than jail time. It suggests a number of ways to make effective treatment available and to enhance drug education. It points out that particular attention should be paid to the needs of children and teen-agers suffering from mental illnesses who are self-medicating with alcohol and other drugs. It is time for a re-examination of thinking about drugs. It is time to shift focus from imprisonment to treatment and prevention, from fear and ignorance to education. It is imperative that this panel continue in some form. It behooves the Legislature to develop a comprehensive statewide drug policy. For starters, lawmakers should conduct a meaningful impact analysis of what current laws, incarceration and lack of treatment cost the state, not only in actual dollars, but in terms of lost wages, broken families, school dropout rates and lost lives. ****************************************************************************** SAMPLE LETTER To the editor: While the upper levels of government often leave me dismayed, my faith that there are some politicians who really do care about the people they govern is always bolstered when I hear Gov. Gary Johnson promoting ideas about drug policy reform. Now that he is talking about getting some legislation on the issue into the statehouse, I am even more impressed. I'm not surprised that there are many other politicians and drug war beneficiaries who are decrying even the discussion Johnson has raised. When drug policy is reformed even slightly, the remaining vestiges of drug prohibition are further exposed as disastrous and counterproductive. This fading illusion of a successful drug war, not the problems associated with drugs, is the true concern of the drug warrior. Stephen Young IMPORTANT: Always include your address and telephone number Please note: If you choose to use this letter as a model please modify it at least somewhat so that the paper does not receive numerous copies of the same letter and so that the original author receivesLVAL credit for his/her work. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts 3 Tips for Letter Writers http://www.mapinc.org/3tips.htm Letter Writers Style Guide http://www.mapinc.org/style.htm **************************************************************************** TO SUBSCRIBE, DONATE, VOLUNTEER TO HELP, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL SEE http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm TO UNSUBSCRIBE SEE http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm *************************************************************************** Prepared by Stephen Young - http://home.att.net/~theyoungfamily Focus Alert Specialist === Please help us help reform. Send drug-related news to editor@mapinc.org See http://www.mapinc.org/hawk.htm for details === NOW YOU CAN DONATE TO DRUGSENSE ONLINE AND IT'S TAX DEDUCTIBLE DrugSense provides many services to at no charge BUT THEY ARE NOT FREE TO PRODUCE. We incur many costs in creating our many and varied services. If you are able to help by contributing to the DrugSense effort visit our convenient donation web site at http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm ********************* Just DO It!! ********************************** Mark Greer Executive Director DrugSense MGreer@mapinc.org http://www.drugsense.org/ http://www.mapinc.org/ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 08 Jan 2001 16:47:32 -0000 From: "Diane R. Fornbacher" <siamgemini@hotmail.com> To: opinion@abqjournal.com Subject: Governor Johnson's Drug Committee Message-ID: <F194DtXGJlBPLPBO7Cb0000fe12@hotmail.com> To the Editor: I am pleasantly shocked that a governor has acted to move toward a more compassionate and realistic drug policy. Providing heroin addicts with clean needles is a responsible and common sense way to prevent the spread of disease. Teaching law enforcement how to prevent an overdose in action is even more of a compassionate action and the utmost in social responsibility. LVALDrug War advocates need to understand the importance of Johnson's plans to thumb his nose at current strategies set forth by our federal government. Federal policy does not take under consideration that human beings are not addicted to drugs simply because it is their desire. Moreover, these addicts do not belong in jail if their only crime is the use of hard drugs. They need treatment! I also agree with the plan to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana. Pot smokers pose little to no threat to other human beings and it seems only appropriate to allow them to possess their drug of choice without much interference from the state. Now I support full legalization of marijuana from medicinal to recreational but Johnson's committee recommendation is still encouraging. I wish Gov. Johnson the best of luck with his courageous stand against the War on Drugs. Diane R. Fornbacher Philadelphia, Pa (215) 633-9812 _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 08 Jan 2001 12:18:23 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Battle Creek Joins 94 other Cities for May 5, 2001 Space Odyssey Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010108121521.04df2180@mail.olywa.net> ******!!!MAY 5, 2001 SPACE ODYSSEY: 95 MARIJUANA MARCHES!!!********* IMPORTANT: IF YOU WANT YOUR MARCH LISTED ON 1,000,000 PALM CARDS, GIVE US=20 YR CONTACT PHONE NUMBER & GET YRSELF THE INSIDE TRACK! .....EMAIL IT TODAY! Adelaide: "Charlene Grainger" <charbono@hotmail.com> Albuquerque: "Richard E. Haley, Jr." <writch@writch.com> home phone=20 (505)268-5694. Main NORML phone: (505)281-6277 Amsterdam: Has=A9 <has.cornelissen@planet.nl> or <alliance@legalize.org>=20 phone: 0031-616314682=20 <http://www.legalize.org>http://www<http://www.legalize.org>.legalize.org=20 [Note: this event is June 2.] Anchorage: Fryderyk Frontier <fredfrontier@excite.com> or E-mail ALVALl=20 at: imfree2b3a@aol.com Atlanta: Paul 404 522-2267 <pcornwell@earthlink.net> Auckland: Chris Fowlie norml@apc.org.nz ph 09 302-5255 Austin: <mmmtexas@hotmail.com> "Tracey Hayes" 512-493-7357 Bakersfield: Chris Colazzo <ccolazzo@hotmail.com> 661-321-1336 Batesville:=20 <<mailto:nfn@watervalley.net>mailto:nfn@watervalley<mailto:nfn@watervalley.n= et>.net>nfn@watervalley.net=20 Gary or Kira (662) 578-8343 Battle Creek: Harry Goddard (616)731-2807 or Beau Denolf (616)963-8475 Berlin: <martin@africandance.de> 0049-30-24720233 Boston: Bill Downing MASSCAN (781)944-2266 Boulder: Fred (303)449-2390. Buffalo: Donald Powell 716-353-4807 Burlington: "Robert J. Melamede" <rmelamed@zoo.uvm.edu>=20 <http://www.uvm.edu/~rmelamed/>http://www.uvm.edu<http://www.uvm.edu/~rmelam= ed/>/~rmelamed/=20 (802) 658-2059 Carbondale: Dave Thayer (618)536-7419 <stinkygreens@yahoo.com> 110=20 kellogg,carbondale, il 62901 Charleston: jim payne <StalkForrest@aol.com> 304-343-7496 Charlotte: Mike (704)321-1421<CAMPNC@hotmail.com> Chicago: Windy 773-363-6354 or 363-2942 Chico: MP Jimmy Ogle <mpogle@usparliament.org>=20 <http://www.pot-party.com>http://www<http://www.pot-party.com>.pot-party.com= =20 (530)876.1012 or adrian aguilar ode2thewalls@aol.com (530)898-2150 or=20 voicemail pgr 530-571-2071 Christchurch: Terry McKersey <tjm85@student.canterbury.ac.nz> or Blair=20 Anderson <blair@technologist.com> 03 389-4065 Cleveland: John <NCNorml@aol.com> (216)521-9333 www.timesoft.com/ncnorml Columbus: Kenneth Schweickart 614-265-VOTE <forabetterohio@hotmail.com> Colorado Springs: joey herrmann <rainbowproductions1@yahoo.com> Denver: Jack Woehr (303)277-9574 DesMoines: <iowanorml@home.com> (515)288-5798=20 <http://www.commonlink.com/~olsen/>http://www.commonlink<http://www.commonli= nk.com/~olsen/>.com/~olsen/=20 , http://mojo.calyx.net/~olsen/ ,=20 <http://www.druglibrary.org/olsen/index.html>http://www.druglibrary.org/olse= n<http://www.druglibrary.org/olLVALsen/index.html>/index.html=20 ; or Terry Mitchell (515) 789-4442; 608 Dallas St., Dexter, Iowa 50070. Detroit: "jude joseph" <acididea@hotmail.com>=20 <http://www.geocities.com/legalizemichigan/>http://www.geocities.com/legaliz= emichigan<http://www.geocities.com/legalizemichigan/>/=20 or Adrienne C. e-mail: <daisymae421@excite.com> phone: (517)872-8005. Duesseldorf: Marlon Werkhausen <marlon@gesellschaftsprobleme.de>=20 www.gesellschaftsprobleme.de Dunedin: Duncan Eddy <duncaneddy@hotmail.com> Otago University NORML phone:= =20 025 719 139 Durban: <ezpz.co.za> or <ezpz@telkomsa.net> +27 31 2016 359 PHONE AND FAX.= =20 Post net Suite 136, Private Bag X 04, DALBRIDGE, 4014, SOUTH AFRICA Edinburgh: "Linda Hendry"<linda@anamika.freeserve.co.uk> Eugene: Kris Millegan <Hempsters@aol.com> 541-935-6276 or 800-556-2012 Fairbanks, Alaska - contact Chuck Rollins Jr. at chuck@mosquitonet.com Frankenthal: helmut holtzheimer <movemus@gmx.de> Garberville : "Paul Encimer" <encimer@hotmail.com> Halifax: Danielle D'Aoust, e-mail: <daoust_girl@hotmail.com> 3923 Kencrest= =20 Ave. app. 307, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, B3K3L4 Tel: 902-454-9317;=20 Also Jimmy Dorey <jdorey@stfx.ca>HALIFAX: Hamburg: Martina Katzsch <Hanf-tv@karo4tel.de> Hilo: Roger Christie <pakaloha@gte.net> (808) 961-0488=20 <http://www.thc-ministry.org>http://www.thc<http://www.thc-ministry.org>-min= istry.org=20 Homer, Alaska - contact Julie Cesarini, P.O. Box 812, Homer AK 99603, 907=20 235-6040. Houston: Dean Farrell <fdb@mail.ev1.net> (281)752-9198.=20 <http://www.cultural-baggage.com>http://www<http://www.cultural-baggage.com>= .cultural-baggage.com=20 Hull: Carl Wagner <Upyoursjackstraw@aol.com> phone: +44 01482 494789 5=20 Victoria Square, Ella Street, Hull HU5 3AL, England Indianapolis: <Skywolf@yahooka.com> Neal (317)882-1904 Ithaca: Adam Hirsch <ah222@cornell.edu> 522 Stewart Ave. (Apt # 2), Ithaca,= =20 NY 14850 Jerusalem: Joseph (011-972) 050-494-447 Juneau, AlaskaLVAL - contact Brad Parfitt at latebrad@hotmail.com Kansas City: Global Peace Cafeneh <globalpeas@email.com>globalpeas, 1518 s.= =20 18th st., KC KS 66101 or <mohemp@hotmail.com> (816)931-6169. Kelowna, B.C.: Teresa Taylor, CCC <luna@sunshinecable.com>=20 <http://taylor1.virtualave.net>http://taylor1.virtualave<http://taylor1.virt= ualave.net>.net=20 (250) 442-2741 or (250) 442-5166 Fax (250) 442-5167 Kent:=20 <http://mjmarch.webhop.org/>http://mjmarch.webhop<http://mjmarch.webhop.org/= >.org/=20 <mjmarch@cannabismail.com> (330)672-4263 Krakow: Marek Warmuz (+48)501-468-018 "quepassa" <quepassa@poczta.fm> Ladysmith: Terry & Wendy, (250)-245-3595, <tandwp1@home.com> Lansing: Kathy Kennedy 517-628-3915 or e-mail: <Prohibition X @ aol.com>=20 <http://www.cures-not-wars.micronpcweb.com>http://www.cures-not-wars.micronp= cweb<http://www.cures-not-wars.micronpcweb.com>.com=20 Liverpool: Will Graham <willg@marijuana.com> tel (inc. international code):= =20 0044 151 727 1458 London: Chris 01144-207-637-7467 <ICC@schmoo.co.uk> Los Angeles: Sister Somayah 323-232-0935 Macon Ga: <BunnieGurl420@aol.com> 912 755 9660 Madison: Ben Masel <bmasel@tds.net> 608-257-5456 Minneapolis Grassroots Party, temp. 952-884-5009, or Chris Wright=20 <TCW@genesis-computer.com> 612-522-5374. March @ High Noon from Loring=20 Park to Washburn Fair-Oaks Park. Mobile: <Ravetripper19@aol.com> (334) 649- 0193 Montpelier: Rama Schneider <2001@ramabahama.net> (802) 433-5441 address:=20 1614 Gilbert Road, Williamstown, VT 05679=20 <http://www.ramabahama.net>http://www.ramabahama<http://www.ramabahama.net>.= net=20 Montreal: Marc-Boris St-Maurice <blocpot@blocpot.qc.ca> (514)528.1768 Nashville: "Howie & Marivuana Leinoff" <torml@weedmail.com> (615)ACT-HIGH. New Orleans: "Ashley The Fearless" <fearless_420@hotmail.com>= (818)762-1368. New York City: Dana 212-677-7180 <dana@cures-not-wars.org> Nimbin: "rebelart" <rebelart@gasgroup.com> contact ph: 61-266890413=20 <http:LVAL //www.nimbinaustralia.com/mardigrass2001>http://www.nimbinaustralia<ht= tp://www.nimbinaustralia.com/mardigrass2001>.com/mardigrass2001=20 Olympia: "miriam white" <miriamwhite420@hotmail.com> pager/voice=20 mail 360-415-2011 Omaha: Paul Tripp <paultrip@home.com> 1-(402)-330-8736 Orlando: Rudi703@aol.com (407)415-2091 Oslo: <rzr@powertech.no> /=20 <http://www.home.powertech.no/belkjekk/mmm/2001/>http://www.home.powertech.n= o/belkjekk/mmm<http://www.home.powertech.no/belkjekk/mmm/2001/>/2001/=20 Paducah: Paula (270)362-9849 Email: Cher <bitchcrafts@webtv.net> Palm Springs: Lanny Swerdlow <marijuanamarch@yahoo.com> pager:760-836-8166;= =20 ph: 760-799-2055 Paris: <farid@globenet.org> FARId GHEHIOUECHE Home phone : 01 42 51 50 85;= =20 Mobile: 06 14 81 56 79 or "Dalila AKROUR" <dalilaa@free.fr> Philadelphia: Bob Hemp (beep) 215-422-6055 Portland: (503)777-9088 <pdxnorml@pdxnorml.org> MMM 2001 Committee c/o Pdx= =20 NORML, P.O. Box 11694, Portland, OR, 97211. Assemble at Pioneer Square,=20 10am - March at High Noon; Rally at 2pm, music & speakers til 5pm (close up= =20 and out by 7pm) Prague: Michail Polack <sokrates@arachne.cz> Tel: +420-603-872631,=20 +420-2-33355668,=20 +420-603-228948=20 <http://www.legalizace.cz>http://www.legalizace.<http://www.legalizace.cz>cz PEI (Prince Edward Island): Deanne Kimball <cdkimball@athi.pe.ca>=20 (902)628-9012 Redding: "Byron Stephens" <neuromancer420@yahoo.com> Richmond: "Roy B. Scherer" <rscherer@richmond.infi.net> (804) 355-7612,=20 zariela dread <zariela069@yahoo.com> San Francisco:=20 <http://www.drugpeace.org/mmm>http://www.drugpeace.org/<http://www.drugpeace= .org/mmm>mmm=20 "Adrian Mim" <age420@drugpeace.org> 510-444-3207 San Marcos: Bryan Anderson: 512.396.3223 Email: earthfirstswt@hotmail.com Santa Cruz: DdC <dendecannabist@yahoo.com> or Jason Brodsky=20 <theherbalist@newmarijuana.com> Springfield: Mike Roader <heavymettle@usa.net> St. Louis: Rev Jeff <Aimhigh6@aol.com> or St Louis LVALd  NORML=20 <StL_norml@theheadoffice.com> St. Petersburg: Kevin Aplin FL CAN 321-255-9790. Jodi James - Coalition=20 Advocating Medical Marijuana 321-253-3673. Brian Palmer - Golden Boy=20 Productions 407-493-2346. Seattle to Olympia Journey for Justice: Jess "Fat Freddy" Williams=20 <realfatfreddyjay@worldnet.att.net> (253) 573-9862 Tampa: (813)779-2551. Michael Palmieri <forml420@marijuana.com> or=20 <forml_2000@yahoo.com>; (FORML ). P.O. Box 2061, Zephyrhills, Florida=20 33539.=20 <http://www.geocities.com/forml_2000>http://www.geocities<http://www.geociti= es.com/forml_2000>.com/forml_2000=20 ; or <bquail420@aol.com> ph: (727)347-6245 Tel Aviv: Boaz Wachtel -- wachtel@shani.net Tel:972-54-573679 Toronto: "Terry Parker Jr." <terryparkerjr@better.net> 416-533-7756 Traverse City: Melody Karr <fiddlefoot420@hotmail.com> (231)885-2993 Tucson: "mary mackenzie (formerly crow)" <mmackenzie@prodigy.net>= 520-323-2947 Vancouver: David Malmo-Levine, <dagreenmachine@excite.com> (604)874-0790 Washington, D.C.: "Stinky BoBo" <ooshasta@hotmail.com> (870) 862-9806 Wellington Ben Knight <legalise@tradeshall.org.nz> ph 04 801-6636 Winnepeg: Chris Buors, 204-663-3485, mail to 430 Winterton ave, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R2K 1K4 Yarmuth: (902)742-6213 "Ryan Taylor" <wi1dman@hotmail.com> Zagreb: "Sergio Stifanic" <fine_time909@hotmail.com> GALOVICEVA 10, 10000=20 ZAGREB ********** How many of your friends want info on the World Cannabis Protest next May=20 5th? The 2001 Space Odyssey: Parades, Rallies & Teach-ins in 900 cities!=20 Act now and they can put on their own marijuana march in the city or=20 location where they live. All we need to list them is a name, email address= =20 and/or phone number. Send us their email addresses, & we'll get them up to speed. Dana/cnw REMEMBER TO TELL EVERYONE: BUSH STOLE THE ELECTION! ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 08 Jan 2001 16:36:37 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crLVAL rh.org Subject: US: Retiring Drug Warrior Would Rather Treat Than Fight Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010108163622.04df7ec0@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: Sledhead Pubdate: Mon, 08 Jan 2001 Source: Duluth News-Tribune (MN) Copyright: 2001 Duluth News-Tribune Contact: newstrib@duluth.infi.net Address: 424 W. First St., Duluth, MN 55802 Website: http://www.duluthnews.com/ Forum: http://krwebx.infi.net/webxmulti/cgi-bin/WebX?duluth Author: Christopher S. Wren, New York Times Bookmark: Barry McCaffrey http://www.mapinc.org/mccaffrey.htm RETIRING DRUG WARRIOR WOULD RATHER TREAT THAN FIGHT "I doubt that I've ever seen in combat the misery such as I've encountered through watching what drug abuse does to people." Gen. Barry McCaffrey, who prepared Saturday to step down as the White House director of national drug control policy WASHINGTON -- Reflecting upon nearly five years as the Clinton administration's top drug policy official, Gen. Barry McCaffrey looks back even further, to 31 years in the Army, where he became its most highly decorated general after fighting in Vietnam and the Persian Gulf War. "I doubt that I've ever seen in combat the misery such as I've encountered through watching what drug abuse does to people," McCaffrey said Saturday as he prepared to step down as the White House director of national drug control policy. "They're doing things which they know to be morally and physically repulsive," he said. "They're ashamed of themselves. They're fearful, they're sick, they're driven." And they are fellow Americans, added McCaffrey, a professional soldier who refuses to accept the metaphor of a war on drugs. Beginning with his Senate confirmation hearings in early 1996, the retired four-star general has likened America's drug problem to a cancer that must be treated. In an interview, he said that treatment for addiction and mental illness should be covered by the same health insurance that recognizes physical illnesses. McCaffrey was instrumental in persuading President CLVAL linton to extend such parity in health coverage to 9 million federal employees. McCaffrey called it "silly" for federal law to impose harsher penalties for selling or possessing crack cocaine than for powder cocaine because they are the same drug pharmacologically. He criticized predetermined prison sentences for drug felons. "I am unalterably opposed to the system of mandatory minimums," he said. "I think we need to give this authority back to the judges." And most nonviolent addicts behind bars, he said, belong in treatment centers, not in prison, where they learn to become better criminals. The solution to drug abuse and its $110 billion annual consequences, he said, is "to engage in a more coherent, rational way the chronically addicted as we encounter them in our communities. And we find them in the criminal justice system, in the health-care system and the welfare system." "At that point, it seems to me," McCaffrey said, "if you want to save taxpayer dollars, and you want to reduce violence in your communities, if you want to accomplish all of these larger social goals, you have to draw them into effective drug treatment." McCaffrey conceded that appropriating money to treat every addict had been a hard sell, on Capitol Hill and elsewhere. "That's the argument that has to be made to state legislatures and county councils," he said. "Then we've got to tell the health insurance industry: `Look, you're going to pay for it one way or another. You can pay for it in the emergency room, you can pay for it with a lot less dollars in drug treatment centers. You can wait till they're HIV-infected and then pay a quarter of a million dollars to deal with AIDS as a medical condition.' " But he acknowledged that drug abuse elicited more revulsion than sympathy from the majority of Americans. "They get a better feel for it when it's their son or daughter, or their mother," McCaffrey said. Even as he leaves the White House, McCaffrey continued to challenge the perception of a loLVAL st war on drugs, which he said was fueled by "a very deliberate, well-thought-out strategy by drug legalization forces" seeking public resignation to drug use. __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. --- MAP posted-by: Kirk Bauer ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 7 Jan 2001 17:47:12 -0500 (EST) From: CaptBongwater@webtv.net (Joe Mama) To: sintaxcollector@webtv.net Cc: restore@crrh.org Subject: My genius kid Message-ID: <10243-3A58F1F0-588@storefull-101.private.bryant.webtv.net> --WebTV-Mail-1697-331 Content-Type: Text/Plain; Charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7Bit He's 13 and created this logo/signature from free internet sources on web tv. I think he is on drugs. Question is, what drug? http://files.flamingtext.com/files/01/01/07/flamingtext_com.163624373.gif ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 08 Jan 2001 16:46:31 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Camaroon To Import Cannabis Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010108164552.04df95b0@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: http://www.cannabisnews.com/ Pubdate: Mon, 08 Jan 2001 Source: BBC News (UK Web) Copyright: 2001 BBC Feedback: http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/talking_point/ Website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/ Forum: http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/talking_point/forum/ CAMEROON TO IMPORT CANNABIS Cameroon, a major cannabis grower, is to allow people suffering from HIV/Aids and cancer to use the drug as a form of pain relief. Local growers are very angry about the government's decision. The move comes as a shock to many people, especially unemployed young. Dzeka Edwin Fon, a young graduate who is spearheading a group fighting for the legalisation of cannabis cultivation in north-west province, says the growing of the plant could be a lucrative business for unemployed LVALzyoung people. "Cannabis is already being grown in Cameroon - though illegally - so it is unwise for the government to import it," he says. He suggests that officials at the Health Ministry should supervise the cultivation of the drug in Cameroon - and so control the amount grown and provided to the hospitals. Crime Fears: Many people in the north-west of the country know and accept that cannabis is grown there. It is already being used in the production of a hair lotion popular with Cameroonian women. According to one doctor there is no special medicinal trace element in the Canadian-grown plant that is not found in the Cameroonian variety. He said that if the government adopted controlled cultivation it could easily supply all provincial and divisional hospitals in the country. But law enforcement officers believe the cultivation of cannabis promotes uncontrolled consumption, which leads to an increase in crime. Last year, hundreds of young people were arrested and jailed in the north-west when police and gendarmes destroyed their cannabis farms. Note: The drug is grown illegally in north-west Cameroon. But the drug is to be imported, in large quantities, from 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: Keith Brilhart ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 9 Jan 2001 11:27:30 +0900 From: "Joe Wein" <joewein@pobox.com> To: "CRRH mailing list" <restore@crrh.org> Subject: POLL: Should New Mexico decriminalize marijuana? Message-ID: <007e01c079e3$b8c79ac0$7d0711ac@c6sc.catv.ne.jp> fyi POLL: Should New Mexico decriminalize marijuana? http://www.abqtrib.com/ Yes - 63% No - 37% Total Votes - 2427 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 09 Jan 2001 03:15:57 -0000 From: "Diane R. Fornbacher" <siamgemini@hotmail.com> To: restore@crrLVALv1h.org Subject: Death of an Activist Message-ID: <F96p3eEHJtfob7bOsPT00004c7c@hotmail.com> State College marijuana activist Ron Taylor died Dec. 20 after a long battle with emphysema. Ron attended the Penn State University Marijuana Smokeouts (organized by Dr. Heicklen and I) faithfully once a week for almost 2 1/2 years. It was very hard for Ron to attend our protests, as he had to pull an oxygen tank on wheels or in a backpack to get to the protest area. Ron, an older gentleman aged approximately 67 when he passed on Dec. 20, was a kind-hearted and spirited man who taught at universities throughout the United States, taught English to Mexicans while a migrant worker, participated in protests to improve the quality of life for women, children, the disenfranchised. Even a month before his death, he campaigned against the death penalty. Not only was Ron Taylor an inspiration to me as an activist but as a poet and writer as well. Ron Taylor attended nearly every poetry open mike I had in State College for about 3 years. He always came with a smile, beautiful prose and an energetic spirit. And even though many of you never met him, if you could take a moment to thank him for being such a human's human, I would appreciate it. R.I.P. Ron Taylor I offer this poem to all of you in memory of Ron Taylor: Journey by diane r. fornbacher 'Tis better to have lived free than to have run from your soul an entire lifetime. The fight for continued justice is ever-present, never safe and so very fulfilling. To have lived in Love and Courage is the better choice than to have died, Wondering if one had ever lived at all.... _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 8 Jan 2001 22:39:29 -0500 From: "Kay Lee" <kaylee1@charter.net> To: "Denise Tucker: Argus Leader SD" <dtucker@argusleader.com> Subject: RLVALIDDLE: WHAT'S WORSE THAN YOUR CHILD DOING DRUGS? Message-ID: <0a2c01c079ee$68e52940$cd41d818@charter.net> ANSWER: Allowing them to put your child in a state run institution for doing drugs! And God forbid your loved one should be incarcerated with a mental illness. Even though 1/4 of our current prisoners are mentally ill, the prisons and their keepers have no real treatment. Too many are just sedated, way too many are mistreated. Remember, Santa Rosa's Insp. Russo told me that they used more pepperspray at that prison than any other in Florida. Why? "Because we have so many of the mentally ill here." To be fair, the assistant warden later amended that statement to include "also the worst" of the Florida inmates. This is the way the prisons operate. . .Even for the youngest. It's our choices, but our children's future. Kay Lee Video reveals prison tactics By DENISE D. TUCKER Argus Leader published: 1/3/01 A CBS program showing graphic footage of South Dakota guards pepper-spraying and four-pointing a mentally ill teen-age inmate illustrates the problems within the state's juvenile corrections programs, critics of the system say. "60 Minutes II" aired a segment Tuesday night on 17-year-old Dean Honomichl of Wagner, who has been in state custody for three years. The CBS report questioned why a juvenile with documented mental disorders was locked up in state prisons without receiving psychological treatment. "This is the story of an emotionally troubled young man and others like him who ended up in a juvenile justice program that critics have called inhumane and abusive," CBS correspondent Vicki Mabrey reported. The program aired videotape obtained by CBS and shot by correctional officers at the Plankinton juvenile prison that showed guards dressed in riot gear with helmets and shields pepper-spraying and taLVALckling Honomichl, then cuffing his ankles and wrists to a board. They left him there an hour because he tore up a foam mattress and refused to comply with a guard's orders. The videotape, which hasn't been made public before Tuesday's airing, demonstrates what's wrong with the state's juvenile corrections system, critics contend. "If the people of South Dakota had seen tapes like the one on '60 Minutes II,' they would have understood more quickly than they did the behavior of the Department of Corrections," said outgoing Rep. Pat Haley, D-Huron, a vocal opponent of the state's juvenile corrections system. "You can't deny what's on those tapes." But others called the CBS report sensationalized and said the state already had made significant changes to improve juvenile corrections. "What they had was valid information, but they didn't have a complete picture," said outgoing Rep. Roger Hunt, R-Brandon, said. "They were taking one exceptional situation and making it the general rule for South Dakota." Gov. Bill Janklow couldn't be reached for comment late Tuesday on the CBS report. In 1997, Honomichl's parents, frustrated by their son's disruptive behavior at school and at home, asked a judge to make him a ward of the state. Honomichl has been diagnosed as suffering from Tourette's syndrome, attention-deficit disorder and a bipolar condition. When the teen-ager broke into the Wagner school and stole $100, a judge turned him over to the Department of Corrections, with instructions Honomichl receive counseling. Instead, the state sent Honomichl to the South Dakota's boys boot camp in Custer. There, he was subjected to the same rigorous physical activity and strict regimen as other inmates. One drill instructor who oversaw Honomichl at the boot camp said he didn't know LVALz the teen suffered from mental disorders. "This kid probably would not have went through all this with a lot of the staff members, had the staff known that this kid had those disorders," said former boot camp instructor Tony Assid. Honomichl's father, Dennis, said he is proud of his son. "He stood up, and now he's paying," Dennis Honomichl said. "Other kids down the line will benefit from it." CBS didn't air all of the videotaped footage it had access to, he said. "I've seen them all," Dennis Honomichl said of the videotapes obtained by CBS. "Some are more graphic than that. I'm glad they didn't show all of it. They still got the point across. "It's just the tip of the iceberg on all of the different things they did to the kids -- it's not just the four-pointing." Mark Soler, president of the Youth Law Center, which successfully sued the state to instituted better conditions for juveniles, said many teen inmates suffer from mental disorders, just like Dean Honomichl. "Fifty percent of the children at the facility are on psychotropic medication," he said. Honomichl is one of three teen-agers convicted of felony vandalism in an Oct. 26, 1999, uprising at the juvenile prison that caused $30,000 damage. A SWAT team was called in after Honomichl and two other boys used a fire extinguisher to crack wire-reinforced windows, threw clothing and garbage on the floor and flooded the cell block with water. Negotiators persuaded the juveniles to return to their cells. Honomichl now is in the South Dakota State Penitentiary. "I still have hope for him," said his lawyer, Stan Whiting of Winner. "If we can get him into Boys and Girls Town down in Omaha, I think he'll succeed there." Reach Denise D. Tucker at 331-2335 or dtucker@argusleader.com ===== Forwarded by LVALisibly than any other elected official in America today. He rails against the drug war mostly, though not exclusively, on the grounds that it is inefficient. In general, he is more interested in pragmatic concerns than in defending anything as abstract as inalienable rights. When I bring up prostitution, another consensual crime, he endorses decriminalization, but not on the grounds that people own their bodies or that it's not the state's business. Instead he frames his response this way: "Given thatPaul Pureau to subscribe to ndn-aim send a blank mail to: ndn-aim-subscribe@egroups.com ndn-aim is now archived on line at Http://www.escribe.com/life/ndn-aim/ Shared by Kay Lee 2613 Larry Court Eau Gallie, Florida 32935 MAKING THE WALLS TRANSPARENT http://www.zyworld.com/kay~lee/garywaid.htm ****************************************** A Project of the Journey for Justice http://www.journeyforjustice.org ************************************** In 1555, Nostradamus wrote: "Come the millennium, month 12, In the home of greatest power, The village idiot will come forth To be acclaimed the leader." ------------------------------ End of restore V1 #731 ********************** * ------ 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. ------ To subscribe, unsubscribe or switch to immediate or digest mode, please send your instructions to <restore-owner@crrh.org>. ------ *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/ LVAL WRONG Their Pleas To Retain The State's Harsh Drug Laws Do Not Stand Up Under Scrutiny With the prospect of Rockefeller drug law reform more promising than ever, the state's district attorneys are pleading with Gov. Pataki to retain the status quo. But the governor should resist that plea. So should Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, R-Brunswick, and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan. The prosecutors simply have not made a sound case for retaining these outdated and ineffective statues. [snip] Pubdate: Sun, 11 Feb 2001 Source: Albany Times Union (NY) Copyright: 2001 Capital Newspapers Contact: tuletters@timesunion.com Website: http://www.timesunion.com/ URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n249/a06.html Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?140 (Rockefeller Drug Laws) === (16) WILL ROBERT DOWNEY JR.'S CASE SPARK A CHANGE IN DRUG SENTENCING? After Years Of Treating Addicts Like Criminals, Reports Time.com's Jessica Reaves, There's Increasing Public Pressure To Give Them Treatment Rather Than Jail It's a familiar scene: A man in his mid-30s waits outside a courtroom, his eyes dull, his posture slack. An attorney sits nearby, trying to ignite some optimism in his client - maybe it won't be so bad - but the man knows better. He knows because he's already tested the system so many times [snip] We should probably be grateful to Downey, - high-profile cases like his can serve only to heighten awareness of drug laws, directing a nation's focus on the inequities inherent in sentencing and parole procedures. Is addiction a criminal activity? Our laws say yes. Do our laws treat some addicts more equally than others? Certainly. Will those same addicts achieve useful lives without intensive treatment? Probably not. [snip] Pubdate: Wed, 07 Feb 2001 Source: Time.com (US Web) Copyright: 2001 Time Inc Contact: letters@time.com Website: http://www.time.com/time/ Author: Jessica Reaves URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n238/a09.html === (17) LVALEX-COP A DRUG DEALER, JURY TOLD Defense Counters - He Lived His Job In Anti-Gang Unit A federal prosecutor told a jury Tuesday that former Chicago policeman Joseph Miedzianowski was "nothing but a drug dealer" and promised to guide jurors into a world in which the ex-cop's close friends were gang members with names like the Ghost and Baby Face Nelson. Assistant U.S. Atty. Brian Netols laid a broad framework in which he said the government's evidence would prove that Miedzianowski used his police powers to protect his drug ring, not just from rival drug dealers, but also from legitimate law enforcement. [snip] Pubdate: Wed, 07 Feb 2001 Source: Chicago Tribune (IL) Copyright: 2001 Chicago Tribune Company Contact: ctc-TribLetter@Tribune.com Website: http://www.chicagotribune.com/ Author: Todd Lighty URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n231/a09.html === (18) CASUALTIES OF 'WAR' ANNETTE GREEN was a casualty of the nation's "war" on drugs -- and her own bad judgment in getting involved with them. When a nation fights a war on its streets and sends a small platoon of heavily armed and armored officers into people's homes, there are going to be casualties. In this week's shooting in Wellston, the casualty was "Nette" Green, the 37-year-old mother of six boys. [snip] Drugs are a serious problem in this country. They ruin lives and rob people of their potential. But the literal mindset of "war" on drugs is dangerous to both sides. Tuesday, a mother paid for her bad judgment with her life. Police found a small amount of marijuana and crack, as well as a number of weapons in her apartment. The question we have to ask as a nation is whether it is worth it to use the tactics of war to fight our own people. [snip] Pubdate: Fri, 09 Feb 2001 Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO) Copyright: 2001 St. Louis Post-Dispatch Contact: letters@post-dispatch.com Website: http://www.postnet.com/ URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n236/a05.html ========================LVAL=============================== Cannabis & Hemp- --------------------------- COMMENT: (19-22) As usual, medical use dominated the news; the Canadian government maintained both its glacial pace and its penchant for bizarre decisions (but hey, what right do Americans have to complain?). In Great Britain, the story was similar and the Guardian expressed a frustration felt by many. Here in the U.S., the hot issue has become a DA recall campaign launched in California. On this subject, Eric Bailey of the LAT was the only mainstream writer to produce an accurate and unbiased report. === (19) SICK CANADIANS TO SMOKE 'SUB-STANDARD MARIJUANA' Drug Produced For Health Canada Five Times Less Potent Than Home-Grown Health Canada will provide researchers with a weakened grade of medical marijuana that could force test subjects to ingest more toxic smoke to gain any benefit from the drug. [snip] But in tendering the contract, Health Canada specified an allowable concentration of the active ingredient, THC, between five and six per cent --lower than the concentration typically found in the home-grown variety which can be more than five times as potent. [snip] Pubdate: Sat, 10 Feb 2001 Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON) Copyright: 2001 The Ottawa Citizen Contact: letters@thecitizen.southam.ca Website: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/ Author: Glen McGregor URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n239/a10.html === (20) FAST RESPONSE PROMISED ON MEDICINAL CANNABIS The government will move quickly to legalise cannabis for medical uses such as relieving post-operative pain endured by multiple sclerosis sufferers if it passes current clinical trials, the Home Office minister, Charles Clarke, promised yesterday. [snip] Mr Clarke said: "If the clinical trials into cannabis are successful, the government is clear that we are willing to amend the misuse of drugs act to allow prescribing. [snip] Pubdate: Thu, 08 Feb 2001 Source: Guardian, The (UK) Copyright:LVAL  2001 Guardian Newspapers Limited Contact: letters@guardian.co.uk Website: http://www.newsunlimited.co.uk/guardian/ Source: The Guardian Author: Alan Travis URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n252/a09.html ==== (21) WHY ARE THEY SO AFRAID? WISE ADVICE ON CANNABIS IS BEING IGNORED Who says this is a populist government? Almost half the public believes cannabis should not be illegal and 99% of us think it should have the lowest policing priority. Yet pot continues to dominate the policing of drugs: more than 90% of all offences are for possession, of which 75% involve cannabis. It drives police stop and search operations - more than 1 m in four years - with 90,000 people a year nicked for possession of pot. And yet this week ministers have once again refused to reclassify the drug. [snip] Pubdate: Fri, 09 Feb 2001 Source: Guardian, The (UK) Copyright: 2001 Guardian Newspapers Limited Contact: letters@guardian.co.uk Website: http://www.newsunlimited.co.uk/guardian/ URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n243/a07.html === (22) MEDICAL MARIJUANA BACKERS TARGET DAs WITH RECALLS Voting: Activists Are Considering Campaigns In Six Counties Where They Say Prosecutors Are Not Sympathetic To Patients And Are Not Upholding Prop. 215 SAN RAFAEL Paula Kamena would prefer to be a prosecutor, plain and simple, tackling any crime that dares to rear its head in tony Marin County. But these days, the district attorney of this famously liberal Bay Area enclave is finding herself a target. Advocates of medical marijuana are irate over what they consider Kamena's unsympathetic approach to patients on pot, and they want to oust the first-term district attorney from office. [snip] Pubdate: Mon, 12 Feb 2001 Source: Los Angeles Times (CA) Copyright: 2001 Los Angeles Times Contact: letters@latimes.com Website: http://www.latimes.com/ Author: Eric Bailey, Times Staff Writer URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n255/a13.html Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?187 (RecallLVAL Initiatives (CA)) Related: http://www.americanmarijuana.org/ (AMMA) ====================================================== International News -------------------------- COMMENT: (23-26) The Australian press usually focuses on addiction and overdoses; incarceration is rarely mentioned; that's exactly why this column looking at the incarceration rates of indigenous people is so interesting. Elsewhere, a UN official, speaking from Colombia, alluded to the fact that the criminal markets created by drug prohibition as policy is threatening political stability all over the world; now if someone would only connect the dots& . As for Colombia, a short editorial in Newsday described that dilemma that well as any; it also expressed an impatience to hear what Bush plans. A similar impatience from the El Paso Times; who will be the new drug czar? And what about the thorny issue of certification (the March 1 deadline is fast approaching)? === (23) WHY 'LAW AND ORDER' IS A RACIAL ISSUE TOO OF THE Australian states, Queensland and Western Australia have by far the highest rate of incarceration. And yet, despite the huge cost of keeping convicted criminals in prison, if the emphasis on law and order in the election campaigns in both states is any guide, the electorate's hunger for retribution is far from satiated in either state. [snip] So are Victorians more civilised than the rest of Australia? I fear not. The Productivity Commission's 2001 report on government services has a graph of indigenous and non-indigenous imprisonment rates, which shows a remarkably constant non-indigenous imprisonment rate of just under 100 per 100,000 adults. The large variation is in the indigenous rate, which varied from just under 1000 per 100,000 population in Victoria to about 1700 in Queensland and 3000 in Western Australia. [snip] Pubdate: Mon, 12 Feb 2001 Source: Age, The (Australia) Copyright: 2001 The Age Company Ltd Contact: letters@theage.fairfax.com.au Website:LVAL^  http://www.theage.com.au/ Author: Kenneth Davidson URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n249/a09.html === (24) UN SAYS PEACE NEEDED TO WAGE FIGHT AGAINST DRUGS Peace is needed to eradicate drugs in Colombia, according to Klaus Nyholm, head of the UN Drug Control Program in Colombia and Ecuador. In an interview with the Cali El Pais, he said alternative programs to improve the lives of farmers are more effective in the fight against drugs than fumigation and repression of coca crops. "The guerrillas here have what [others] in Central America do not have, a way to finance themselves," Nyholm said. "It is no coincidence that in the three countries where the greatest amount of illicit drugs are cultivated in the world -- Colombia, Afghanistan and Burma [officially known as Myanmar] -- there is also armed conflict." [snip] Pubdate: Tue, 06 Feb 2001 Source: El Pais (Spain) Contact: cartasdirector@elpais.es (Spanish language LTEs only) Website: http://www.elpais.es URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n222/a07.html === (25) MIRED IN 'TRAFFIC' As The Film Shows, The War On Foreign Drug Producers Is Becoming A Quagmire For The U.S. One of the thorniest foreign-policy quandaries President George W. Bush must confront is the potential quagmire in Colombia he has inherited from the Clinton administration. Colombia has become the foreign front line in the war on drugs that this nation has waged for years with not much success. But it is also the scene of a fierce civil conflict deeply tied to the drug trade. With $1.3 billion in mainly military assistance last year, Colombia is now the third-largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid. And though much of the aid was predicated on fighting the war on drugs in the coca fields, much of it is likely to go to fight quite another war-the widening conflict between insurgent leftist guerrillas who finance themselves through the drug trade and the embattled government of Colombian President Andres Pastrana. [snip] The questioLVAL4n that Bush must ask himself is whether it's worth winning a battle in the drug war but getting mired in a military debacle not of his own making. And, as is shown in the powerful new movie "Traffic," the war on the production of drugs, with all its contradictions and dilemmas, may not be won easily, if at all. [snip] Source: El Paso Times (TX) Copyright: 2001 El Paso Times Contact: opinion@elpasotimes.com Website: http://www.elpasotimes.com/ Author: Diana Washington Valdez URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n245/a04.html Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/traffic.htm (Traffic) === (26) BOTH SIDES SUGGEST CHANGES IN MEXICO DRUG CERTIFICATION With the U.S. drug certification of Mexico due March 1, officials from both countries are calling for changes in the process that generates bilateral tensions each year. "The United States should drop the ( certification ) process," said Jose Garcia, director of the Latin America Studies Center at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. He said the Bush administration needs to take a good look at the drug issue before deciding what it wants to do next in the nation's "war on drugs." [snip] Pubdate: Sat, 10 Feb 2001 Source: El Paso Times (TX) Copyright: 2001 El Paso Times Contact: opinion@elpasotimes.com Website: http://www.elpasotimes.com/ Author: Diana Washington Valdez URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n245/a04.html ************************************************************************ HOT OFF THE 'NET ----------------------------- DrugSense Launches 'Net Radio Station Tom and Jo-D Dunbar have been burning the midnight oil to prepare and launch a drug policy related Internet-based radio station. It is a great way to keep up on day-to-day drug policy news and covers the "DrugSense Weekly Newsletter" highlights in RealAudio format as well. Plans are to add interviews, a "stump speech" section and more as this new feature develops. Check it out. http://www.drugpolicycentral.com/dsnews/ =LVAL== Marijuana Legislation by State with Contact Info The page below is an exhaustive list of all legislation currently pending in every state's legislative body which deals principally with marijuana laws. It also provides contact information for the legislators involved with the laws so that citizens can make their opinions known their representatives. http://www.yossman.net/~rebrane/legislation.html === CBS News : 60 Minutes II Patton Of Pot Vicki Mabrey accompanies Sonya Barna on a search for the illegal weed. http://cbsnews.com/now/story/0,1597,269478-412,00.shtml === Students for Sensible Drug Policy Launches New Website Please check it out at http://www.ssdp.org/ Also, look for SSDP in the next two editions of Rolling Stone magazine. === Ask Dr. Shuglin Online CALIFORNIA - Stating that the Government has abdicated its responsibility to provide unbiased and accurate drug education and is thereby increasing the individual and social harms that may be associated with drug use, a nonprofit organization focused on 'cognitive liberty' has unveiled a new online service aimed at providing real drug education. A project of the Alchemind Society: The International Association for Cognitive Liberty, ASK DR. SHULGIN ONLINE allows any person with Internet access to ask word-famous chemist and writer Alexander Shulgin, Ph.D. a question regarding psychoactive drugs such as mescaline, LSD, and MDMA (Ecstasy). Read the current question and answer, browse the archive, or ask your own question using a simple online form. Asking a question is free, easy, and private. http://www.alchemind.org/shulgin/ ************************************************************************ FEATURE ARTICLE ------------------------------- A brief look at Heroin in Australia By Matt J Santangelo Australia's drug policy has, fortunately, moved forward from its' previous "Zero Tolerance" standard and certain politicians continue to press for further change in legislatiLVALon, especially with regard to the controversial "Heroin Trials" which began to gain ground, surprisingly enough, with the previous Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett (a quite conservative Liberal). The program however, which calls for controlled heroin dosing of a limited number of "registered addicts", has not yet been implemented in any state or territory. The churches have shown much interest recently in the growing drug problem "on our streets", and have set up what are known as "Shooting Galleries" in some of the more affected areas, where I.V. users can go to inject their drugs, in a `safe' environment with clean needles and health professionals present. Australia has a Needle Syringe Exchange Program, which, while stopping short of condoning illicit I.V. drug use, has made a huge contribution to stopping the spread of infectious diseases among drug using communities; most notably HIV and Hepatitis C. Having worked for 12 months as an "Outreach Worker" for the N.S.E.P. in my home state of NSW, I was able to see first hand the benefits of this program, especially with regards to Hep. C. which had been a source of great worry to both the Health Department and users alike. I would like to add that as an Outreach worker I possessed a NSW Health Dept. I.D. card which contained an authority for me to request that any police personnel who found themselves in the vicinity of our mobile unit, whilst being visited by users, should move away from the area immediately, and that this power, which I had occasion to make use of several times, was effective in that it enhanced the client's feeling of security in our service, which was essential to the success of the program. It was an unofficial understanding that known drug dealers would not seek refuge around these areas - there is a limit to the understanding and cooperation of the police! All these initiatives have encountered mixed public reactions, as is to be expected, and often it is the intervention of Local Government, through Municipal andLVAL Shire Councils, who prevent much expansion from taking place. This was very apparent two years ago when a private methadone clinic, run by two doctors and staffed by registered nurses and a representative from a medical laboratory, was closed down by the Wyong Shire Council in NSW, despite appeals from many quarters including the Health Dept. itself; this was simply achieved by refusing to renew the lease on the premises, which the Council had contrived to purchase! The overstretched public system, which has a waiting list of 2 years in many districts, was forced to assimilate the clients displaced by the closure, which inevitably pushed people in the waiting list back by a further indefinite period. I heard so many people who wished to stop using around that time say, "They're basically telling us to go and rob someone to get a fix!"(or similar), after being told they could not enter the methadone program for "at least 2 years". The continued push for a "Heroin Trial" will hopefully bring results in the not too distant future, though in my opinion the outcome of such a trial will, in the beginning, be to spur the expansion of the current methadone program, inducing users to stop using illicit drugs rather than decriminalising their use. Time, as they say, will tell! === Matt Santangelo is an author, poet, musician and songwriter, currently working in Administration and Website Design in his home country, Australia. More about Matt can be found at his personal website: http://home.iprimus.com.au/magnet03/ or he can be contacted at mattysant@hotmail.com. ************************************************************************ QUOTE OF THE WEEK ------------------------------------ "One of the greatest delusions in the world is the hope that the evils in this world are to be cured by legislation." - Thomas Brackett Reed *********************************************************************** DS Weekly is one of the many free educational services DrugSense offers our members. WLVAL- Q  / m 0 y*1g2QigcOCS011197CSIEDELBROCK PERFORMER RPM CNC PORTED HEADS 88CC COMBUSTION CHAMBERS 84 & UP, BLACKKT~:y@tlh CS011195CSIEDELBROCK PERFORMER RPM HEAD KIT FITS 90-UP EVO 1200 SPORTSTERS, BLACKKTr7C@rjf CS011194CSIEDELBROCK PERFORMER RPM HEAD KIT FITS 86-atch this feature to learn more about what DrugSense can do for you. TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS: Please utilize the following URLs http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm News/COMMENTS-Editor: Tom O'Connell (tjeffoc@drugsense.org) Senior-Editor: Mark Greer (mgreer@drugsense.org) We wish to thank all our contributors, editors, NewsHawks and letter writing activists. NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. REMINDER: Please help us help reform. Become a NewsHawk See http://www.mapinc.org/hawk.htm for info on contributing clippings. === MAKE A TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO DRUGSENSE ONLINE http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm -OR- Mail in your contribution. Make checks payable to MAP Inc. send your contribution to: The Media Awareness Project (MAP) Inc. D/B/a DrugSense PO Box 651 Porterville, CA 93258 (800) 266 5759 MGreer@mapinc.org http://www.mapinc.org/ http://www.drugsense.org/ ------------------------------ End of restore V1 #770 ********************** * ------ 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. ------ To subscribe, unsubscribe or switch to immediate or digest mode, please send your instructions to <restore-owner@crrh.org>. ------ *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/ LVAL restore Fri, 16 Feb 2001 Volume 9 : Number 46 In this issue: Swiss Want Cannabis Laws Lightened Uruguayan leader urges legalizing drugs WA: Redrawing the battle lines in a 'failed' war on drugs Netherlands: Netherlands Tests Its Drug Tolerance NV: Medical Marijuana Attached To Bill Canada: Drug-Buster Apologizes For `Uncleared' US Pot Sting UK: Spliff Decision KY: Gov. Nunn Talks Hemp Online <www.whas.com> (fwd) US: Which States Have Decriminalized Marijuana Possession? Canada: Seized marijuana valued at $500,000 US: Hey, Wanna Smoke Some Muggles? Canada: Teens nabbed outside grow-op UT: Legalizing of Medical Marijuana is Urged Visit November Coalition Website Re: CA: Customs Seizes Tons Of Pot JAX HEMPFEST 2000 Lawsuit NORML WPR 2/15/01 (II) Ashville, Athens, Copenhagen & Stockholm Join 2001 Space Odyssey! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 21:49:06 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Swiss Want Cannabis Laws Lightened Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010215214805.04d8e650@mail.olywa.net> Swiss Want Cannabis Laws Lightened .c The Associated Press BERN, Switzerland (AP) - More than half of the Swiss support loosening the laws banning marijuana, according to a survey by a drug and alcohol agency. The figures, released Thursday by the private Swiss Institute for Alcohol and Drug Problems following a study in November, say that 54 percent favor a softening of penalties for smoking, possessing and selling the drug. ``Cannabis consumption is becoming normal,'' institute director Richard Mueller said. In the survey of 1,600 people between the ages of 15 and 74, more than a quarter said they had smoked a marijuana cigarette at least once in their life, with the figure rising to 50 peLVAL/ rcent among teen-agers and young adults. No margin of error was given for the poll. The study suggests that around 87,000 out of the 7 million Swiss smoke a marijuana cigarette daily. The institute supports legalizing possession and use of cannabis, and also wants to allow the sale of small quantities of the drug. However, its thinking is not out of tune with that of the Swiss government. Last year, the government proposed parliament decriminalize marijuana use, though other drugs would remain illegal. Parliament is due to consider it by June. Penalties for use of so-called soft drugs are rarely imposed, and Switzerland is rated as having one of the world's most liberal drug policies. The study said that there should still be controls on use of soft drugs in public places, and that any moves toward liberalizing the law should be accompanied by a health education campaign similar to that aimed at tobacco smokers. AP-NY-02-15-01 1603EST Copyright 2001 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 11:50:49 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Uruguayan leader urges legalizing drugs Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010215115018.04d3d530@mail.olywa.net> Sunday, February 11, 2001 Uruguayan leader urges legalizing drugs By Sebastian Rotella LOS ANGELES TIMES MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay - This small, quiet, slow-moving nation does not make much news. But Uruguayan President Jorge Batlle has figured out a way to get headlines. He has become the first head of state in the region - and one of the few anywhere - to call for the decriminalization of illicit drugs. Batlle, a blunt free-market reformer, questions the costs and effectiveness of a drug war whose primary theater of battle iLVAL !s Latin America. "During the past 30 years this has grown, grown, grown and grown, every day more problems, every day more violence, every day more militarization," the 73-year-old president told a radio audience recently. "This has not gotten people off drugs. And what's more, if you remove the economic incentive of the [drug trade] it loses strength, it loses size, it loses people who participate." If this were Colombia, Mexico, or another nation locked in mortal combat with the drug cartels, the reaction would be fast and furious. The president would be pilloried by rivals and the security forces. He probably would win cheers from some leftists and people who survive on the drug trade. The U.S. Embassy would no doubt express concern. But this is Uruguay. The debate over Batlle's endorsement of legalization has been measured and civilized. The drug problem is growing but not monstrous, so some Uruguayans have not paid much attention. And because the president insists that his "philosophical initiative" will not affect antidrug enforcement, U.S. diplomats have kept quiet. Breaking ranks with U.S. Nonetheless, a line has been crossed. Although Batlle's voice may be small, the verve with which he speaks out on the issue at regional meetings of presidents and journalists probably will contribute to a growing debate. A Latin American leader has broken ranks - at a crucial and difficult time - with the hard-line antidrug campaign led by the United States. These days, the term "drug war" is more appropriate than ever. Bolivian troops are approaching their goal of eradicating the coca crop used in cocaine production from a key jungle area - at the cost of deadly riots and economic hardship. Plan Colombia, the high-stakes, U.S.-funded attack on the cocaine trade linked to Colombian guerrillas, is cranking into gear. The plan makes the leaders of Brazil, Ecuador and other nations nervous. They fear that violence, anarchy and displaced drug traffickers from Colombia will spread througLVAL "h the region. Batlle has expressed similar misgivings; he suggests that it would make more sense to decriminalize drugs and deprive narco-guerrillas of a multibillion-dollar business. Concern over Colombia "Look at the mess there is with Plan Colombia, where everyone thinks we are going to end up in a war like Vietnam and there is a kind of global psychosis," Batlle said recently. "And what are they going to do with Plan Colombia: give [billions of dollars] to Colombia to build schools and roads. What does 'Sureshot' [aging Colombian guerrilla leader Manuel Marulanda] care about that? Sureshot is not going to go to school; he's my age." As the effort against drugs heats up in Colombia, the hemisphere's antidrug strategy is in flux. The United States has acceded to pressure from foreign leaders and has proposed phasing out its much-resented yearly certifications of countries' antidrug efforts; U.S. and Latin American leaders want to replace the certification process with a multilateral evaluation developed by the Organization of American States. U.S. officials have increasingly accepted the Latin American argument that they must reduce demand for drugs, noting that the United States has cut use almost in half. By espousing a far more radical change of direction, the Uruguayan president joins an assortment of public figures in favor of legalization, including billionaire philanthropist George Soros, former Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke and Gary Becker, an economist at the University of Chicago and Nobel laureate whom Batlle knows and admires. After winning a narrow election in late 1999, Batlle cultivated a reputation for speaking his mind and stirring up Uruguay's staid political culture. He declared war on a contraband business that he says relies on well-placed allies in government. He criticized the cushy salaries of public servants. Most notably, he pushed forward - with initial success - an uphill effort to deregulate and open up the economy in a country of 3.1 million thatLVAL-# is a bastion of old-fashioned leftist statism. His 48 percent approval rating is remarkable, according to political consultant Juan Carlos Doyenart, because Uruguayans are not enamored of bold change and split their allegiances equally among three political blocs. The talk about decriminalizing drugs is part of a plain-spoken, irreverent style that serves Batlle well at home and draws attention overseas, said Doyenart, an occasional presidential adviser. "He enjoys himself, and he knows that with these things he wins popularity," Doyenart said. "This gives him a space to enact his neoliberal economic policy. He is a sincere neoliberal; he believes in free markets." The president's critics generally accept his argument that he wants to provoke an intellectual debate rather than dismantle current laws. But Congressman Alberto Scaravelli, Uruguay's former drug czar and its current emissary to the antidrug council of the OAS, thinks Batlle is playing with fire. "The debate is fine, but I hope no one is going to get confused and think we encourage drug consumption here," said Scaravelli, an ardent opponent of legalization. "This was not part of the president's electoral platform. I have been assured that there will be no softening of the laws. If there is, I will be the first to stand and oppose it." ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 11:55:40 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: WA: Redrawing the battle lines in a 'failed' war on drugs Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010215115455.04d31020@mail.olywa.net> Thursday, February 15, 2001, 12:00 a.m. Pacific Redrawing the battle lines in a 'failed' war on drugs by Ralph Thomas Seattle Times Olympia bureau Betty Udesen / The Seattle Times Rep. Christopher Hurst, D-Enumclaw, is a Black Diamond police officer. OLYMPIA - For much of the past two decades, state Rep. Christopher Hurst was a soldier in the nation's so-called war on drugs. As a Seattle-area narcotics invesLVALvc$tigator, Hurst chased drug dealers all over the country. Once, using his skill as a certified pilot, he posed as a drug runner and flew loads of cocaine from Los Angeles to Seattle. He handled thousands of cases and took part in hundreds of drug busts. He can recount specific raids in down-to-the-kilo detail. Hurst feels good about putting so many drug offenders behind bars. But, like numerous public officials across America today, he is convinced the war on drugs has failed. "The failure is this: We did not deal with demand reduction," said Hurst, who is serving his second term in the House but still works as a commander in the Black Diamond Police Department. "Until we reduce demand, we will never make progress." The push is on to do just that. Right now, there are four bills afoot in the Legislature that would reduce the penalties for drug crimes and put more emphasis on treatment and prevention programs. A state sentencing commission is expected to propose similar changes later this year. The King County Bar Association has a task force studying the issue. Meanwhile, there are indications Washington could be next in line for a ballot initiative filled with the sweeping reforms approved by California voters last fall. The call for reform is coming from Republicans and Democrats, public defenders and prosecutors, judges and jailers. Some of the state's most prominent law-enforcement officials, including King County Prosecuting Attorney Norm Maleng, are pushing for changes. Perhaps the clearest signal of a shift in public sentiment is the fact that so many elected officials, ever fearful of being labeled "soft on crime," now feel safe talking about easing drug laws. "People are saying, 'Enough is enough. This war on drugs is nuts,' " Hurst said. "Even in the most conservative areas, people are saying we've gone down the wrong road." A preference for prison As in other states, prison has long been the weapon of choice in Washington's assault on drugs. In past 15 years, thLVAL DB%e number of people sent to state prisons for drug crimes increased 15-fold, and the effect on county jails has been even greater. The average prison stay for people convicted of drug crimes has nearly doubled. Yet the drug problem persists, and the costs continue to mount. More addicts. More arrests. More inmates. A study released last month showed the state spends $1.5 billion a year cleaning up problems stemming from substance abuse. Still, there are some people who are not ready for major changes in the state's drug policies. They are leery of softening tough drug laws that they say have benefited communities. And they are skeptical whether substance-abuse treatment works as well as proponents claim. "I'm one of those who believe tougher sentencing laws helped us clean up the streets, and I'm not willing to retreat from them," said Yakima County Prosecutor Jeff Sullivan. But such voices are rapidly being pushed aside by those calling for a new approach. Ken Stark, director of the state Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse, uses three measures to illustrate what he calls the failings of the lock-'em-up strategies of the past 20 years. "Drugs are more available than they've ever been before; they're more potent than they've ever been before. And they're cheaper than they've ever been before," Stark said. "We need a more balanced approach." Reversing - or at least rethinking - drug policies has become a hot topic from coast to coast. In recent months, Republican governors in at least seven states - including New York's George Pataki, New Mexico's Gary Johnson and Idaho's Dirk Kempthorne - have called for putting more drug offenders into treatment and fewer behind bars. But the most sweeping changes so far resulted from the "treatment instead of incarceration" citizens initiatives approved overwhelmingly in Arizona and California. Here and elsewhere, the movement is being driven as much by economics as by social policy. With so many low-level drug offenders being lockedLVALN& up, states are feeling the pinch of soaring prison budgets. More than a fifth of Washington's inmates are locked up primarily on drug charges. Some drug-war critics also contend that most drug and property crimes are committed by addicts who are trying to support their habit - and that it makes more sense to treat those people than to imprison them. During a recent study in King County, about 70 percent of people arrested on all crimes tested positive for some type of illegal drug. Treatment gains momentum Meanwhile, more and more people in the criminal-justice system are becoming convinced that drug treatment works, even when it is forced on offenders. The statistics vary, but a number of studies show that addicts who get treatment are less likely to commit crimes. "We know more today than we did 10 or 15 years ago," said state Corrections Secretary Joseph Lehman. "The research is much more definitive." While Washington has already made some revisions to its drug sentences and taken steps to boost treatment for drug offenders, there is a growing consensus that more reforms are needed. But there is disagreement over the details: how far to go in easing sentences, what drug crimes to include and how to cover the increased treatment costs. Hurst, the police officer and lawmaker from South King County, is helping the state Sentencing Guidelines Commission review drug sentences and said lawmakers should wait for that report in December before overhauling the drug laws. "We need to do this right," Hurst said. Others, however, don't want to wait. Maleng and some lawmakers are worried that if they don't act soon on some sort of reforms, the door will be left open for a ballot initiative like California's Proposition 36. Under the California initiative, which goes into effect this summer, nonviolent drug offenders will be sentenced to treatment instead of prison. Already, the new law is facing a barrage of criticism from prosecutors, police, judges and others in California who sLVAL'ay it does not give them enough of a hammer to force offenders into treatment. They also say the state does not have the resources and programs in place to handle the estimated 36,000 drug-addicted offenders who would be steered to treatment instead of prison. One of the proposals pending in Olympia is fashioned after the California initiative. Though it will be the first of the drug-reform measures to get a hearing when it comes up tomorrow in the House Criminal Justice and Corrections Committee, the bill's sponsor says chances of passage are slim. "I realize something this drastic is not going to pass," said Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson, D-Seattle. "I'm just trying to jump-start the discussion." Maleng will push a different approach Monday, when he and an entourage of people involved in Washington's criminal justice system are scheduled to appear in Olympia. Maleng's plan Maleng's proposal, which has been introduced in the House and the Senate, would lop six months off the current 21- to 27-month minimum sentence for first-time offenders charged with manufacture or "delivery" of cocaine or heroin, but not methamphetamine. The plan would free up an estimated 2,300 prison beds and more than $50 million over six years. The savings from unused prison beds would be funneled to counties so they could expand drug-offender treatment programs. The state Department of Corrections analyzed a proposal similar to Maleng's and estimated it could provide treatment to an additional 30,000 drug offenders over six years. Counties could use the new money to start or expand drug courts, which give some drug offenders a choice between treatment or incarceration. If an offender succeeds at treatment, the charges are dismissed. If he fails, he goes to jail. But supporters of a ballot initiative say Maleng's proposal doesn't go far enough, and they aren't confident the savings in prison beds would generate enough to cover the expense of treatment. Bellevue attorney Jeff Haley and others favor reducingLVALL( sentences for first time offenders to 12 to 14 months, which would free nearly twice as much money as Maleng's plan. If Haley's group decides to go ahead with an initiative, it will likely have some high-powered backing. Investment billionaire George Soros, who helped finance the California initiative, has given an undisclosed sum of money to the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington to help push for drug-law reforms. ACLU lobbyist Gerard Sheehan said Maleng's plan does not go far enough to head off an initiative. "Norm is just seeking to keep control of the thing," Sheehan said. "But he and others are way behind the national curve on this thing." Ralph Thomas can be reached at 360-943-9882 or by e-mail at rthomas@seattletimes.com. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 21:36:37 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Netherlands: Netherlands Tests Its Drug Tolerance Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010215213610.04d9a130@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: DrugSense http://www.drugsense.org/ Pubdate: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 Source: USA Today (US) Copyright: 2001 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc Contact: editor@usatoday.com Address: 1000 Wilson Blvd., Arlington VA 22229 Fax: (703) 247-3108 Website: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nfront.htm Author: Steven Komarow NETHERLANDS TESTS ITS DRUG TOLERANCE Ecstasy Is Just The Latest Fad In A Nation Where Lenience Is Rule AMSTERDAM, Netherlands -- Jaro Renout is looking for drugs. A bouncer at the dance club Milky Way, Renout frisks patrons nightly and pulls plenty of drugs from their pockets, including Ecstasy, the feel-good pill that's the rage in Europe and the USA. Then he gets out the club's enforcement device: a jar of water. Dumping pills into water ruins them, and it serves other purposes: It keeps away dealers who might annoy customers, and it shows that the bouncers don't confiscate drugs for themselves. It also, of course, makes it pointless to call police. Drugs aLVAL)re illegal here, but they have been tolerated. While the United States considers Ecstasy a scourge, it's just the latest fad here. While America rushes to toughen penalties and U.S. police sweep through rave clubs, the Dutch government sees use as a health issue. America offers jail, while Amsterdam offers Ecstasy users chemical tests to make sure their pills are free of dangerous impurities. The next few years will tell whether the Dutch can maintain that permissive approach. The Ministry of Justice is struggling to control illegal manufacturing and smuggling operations that have made the Netherlands the world's leading Ecstasy supplier. In 1999, the last full year for which data are available, Dutch authorities carried out 150 major operations, closed 36 Ecstasy labs and seized 3.6 million pills. Figures for 2000 and 2001 are expected to climb, and seizures represent only a fraction of the Ecstasy trade. "The unremitting efforts to tackle Ecstasy production and trafficking will be sustained," the Ministry of Justice said in a statement announcing a budget increase for 2001. "The Dutch are extremely aggressive," says Dean Boyd, a spokesman on drug interdiction for the U.S. Customs Service. Dutch authorities have cooperated closely with the Customs Service, he says, but the huge profits make it hard to stop the traffickers. A pill costs only a few cents to make and often sells for $ 25 or more. Demand is growing, especially in the USA. In the year ended Sept. 30, U.S. Customs seized 9.3 million pills, up from 400,000 in 1997. About 80% of the Ecstasy imported to the USA comes from or through the Netherlands. Ecstasy is a synthetic stimulant and hallucinogen widely popular at "raves," parties where people dance all night to techno and club music. Also known by teens as "E," "X" and the "love drug," it causes feelings of euphoria. Although not considered addictive like cocaine or heroin, Ecstasy use is a habit of many young people and can be dangerous. Side effects include severe dehyLVAL*dration. Medical studies have shown that heavy use can cause brain damage. In the Netherlands, although Ecstasy sales are illegal, the permissive policy lessens the risk to individuals. Former U.S. drug policy chief Barry McCaffrey, who made an official visit to Amsterdam in 1998, called the policy an "unmitigated disaster." Dutch "coffee shops" feature menus of marijuana products and other herbal concoctions. "Dutch tolerance of drug use has created a climate that drug manufacturers and traffickers have seized upon," McCaffrey said. President Bush has not yet appointed a new drug "czar," but his administration is expected to take a similar stance. The Dutch are unyielding. "The policy on coffee shops will remain unchanged," the Ministry of Justice says. Rien Maas, police chief in Oosterhout, south of Amsterdam, says the policy is not a panacea. Despite the availability of treatment, there are about 70,000 hard-drug addicts in Holland, and there's still drug-related violence, especially between rival smugglers. Even so, he supports tolerance as the most practical approach, especially compared with U.S. laws. "It is impossible to have enough police to eliminate drug dealing and use," he says. To crack down on dealers, the Netherlands is looking to regulate sales of pill-making machines and block import of the chemical ingredients for Ecstasy. It also is working with neighboring countries to better track illegal drugs. Border controls have largely disappeared with the advent of the European Union. Although most of Europe has strict anti-drug policies similar to those in the USA, a few nations are moving toward the Dutch approach. Belgium and Switzerland have tentatively approved measures to decriminalize marijuana this year. Portugal and Luxembourg are considering similar action. At Amsterdam's clubs, patrons say the Dutch policy works and the impact of the crackdowns is not entirely positive. Ecstasy pills are more frequently spiked with unwanted amphetamines and other substitutesLVALv1+, they say. "When I came here for the first time, pills were a lot better," says Anke Bertems, 25, a sociology student at the University of Amsterdam. "Police began to interfere a lot more with it, so the quality went down." Officials say a wide variety of substances have been mixed into the pills. Sometimes other stimulants are included, which can be dangerous, especially if the use of the pills is combined with alcohol or other drugs. Bertems says her friends are careful about their drug use. And because drugs are legally tolerated, she says, they don't take drugs to rebel or show off, only to feel good. "We're not judging each other," she says. Nearby, at the club Paradiso, in an old church, powerful bass speakers rumble and dancers shake where pews once stood. Marijuana smoke scents the air. Though many are high, this is not a "drug party." Almost everyone is dancing. Clubgoers who don't take drugs say they are comfortable dancing alongside those who do. "I can see what it does to people, and I don't want it," says Bo van Brommel, 20. However, she says outlawing drugs is wrong. "We've got a lot of education about it, and you just make your own choice." She also says the country's liberal policies don't create an underworld of drug criminals. As a result, "Amsterdam, it's quite safe," she says. The murder rate in the Netherlands is a fourth of that in the USA. Tineke Edink, 22, says she has never tried drugs. She works one day a week at a treatment facility and knows the downside. "But I have friends who use drugs. They can handle it. They are not addicts at all," she says. "Because it's legal here, I think more people use it like my friends without problems. When things are illegal, for some people, it is more exciting." Even in the clubs, the Dutch say that tolerance is not the same as "anything goes." The society expects people to be responsible, they say. Renski Bronk, 22, who works at the Van Gogh Museum, disapproves of Americans there who show up for work stoned. "They caLVAL,n't use it in America, so they are using it here" to excess, she says. Joris de Ryk, 25, another Milky Way bouncer, says he's glad he grew up with the Dutch policy of "allowing." "By the time I was 21, I had pretty much stopped smoking dope. I was kind of bored with it. It was exciting when I was 16 or 17," he says. He spent some time in Northern California, and by contrast, "they don't seem to handle it too well." __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. --- MAP posted-by: Derek ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 21:37:07 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: NV: Medical Marijuana Attached To Bill Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010215213657.04d9c630@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: Sledhead Pubdate: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal (NV) Copyright: 2001 Las Vegas Review-Journal Contact: letters@lvrj.com Address: P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125 Fax: (702)383-4676 Website: http://www.lvrj.com/ Forum: http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/feedback/ Author: Ed Vogel MEDICAL MARIJUANA ATTACHED TO BILL Assemblywoman Piggybacks Voter-Approved Amendment To Her Legislation Reducing Penalties CARSON CITY -- When no other legislator would introduce the voter-approved amendment allowing medical marijuana, an assemblywoman decided to piggyback the plan on her bill reducing penalties for possession of marijuana. "No legislator was bothering to implement what the voters passed," said Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas. "A legislator has to do it and nothing was coming." She said Wednesday she has asked legislative lawyers to add the medical marijuana initiative to her own bill that makes possession of small amounts of marijuana a misdemeanor. Nevada law now makes possession of any amount of marijuana a felony offense, thoLVAL-ugh generally offenders bargain the crime down to a lesser penalty. Although 65 percent of the voters last November approved the ballot question to allow doctors to order marijuana for cancer, AIDS and other patients, the state laws do not include a way to automatically implement their wishes. The constitutional amendment calls for the Legislature to come up with a registry of people authorized to use marijuana and to provide a way for them to acquire marijuana. Giunchigliani wants to set up a state registry of marijuana users similar to the registry operated by state health official in Oregon. Unlike Oregon, which lets authorized users grow marijuana plants, she wants the state to provide marijuana, probably through a state-run farm. She added that she does not favor a proposal backed by an ad hoc committee of doctors and pharmacists to have the University of Nevada Medical School carry out an experimental program on the benefits of medical marijuana. "The state possibly would grow it," she said. "I think grow-your-own gets you in too much trouble." Dan Hart, the leader of Nevada for Medical Rights, met with Giunchigliani this week and backs her medical marijuana plan. His organization, a branch of Americans for Medical Rights, lobbied for Nevada to allow sick people to use marijuana. Nine states now have medical marijuana laws. Eventually, Hart predicts the Legislature will sever the misdemeanor marijuana proposal from the medical marijuana initiative. "If the committee wants to separate the issues, that's fine with me," Giunchigliani said. "This is just a vehicle to get it going." She tried unsuccessfully two years ago to induce the Legislature to lower marijuana possession penalties. Her proposal passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee, but never received a hearing in the Ways and Means Committee. Giunchigliani is more confident about passage this legislative session. "No one wants the felony law," she said. Under her bill, people with small amounts of marijuLVAL.ana would have to pay $500 penalties. When convicted a second time, they also must attend a course on drug usage. She does not know when her bill will be ready for introduction in the Assembly. __________________________________________________________________________ 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, 15 Feb 2001 21:37:34 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Canada: Drug-Buster Apologizes For `Uncleared' US Pot Sting Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010215213722.04d9e7d0@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: creator@mapinc.org Pubdate: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 Source: Province, The (CN BC) Copyright: 2001 The Province Contact: provedpg@pacpress.southam.ca Address: 200 Granville Street, Ste. #1, Vancouver, BC V6C 3N3 Canada Fax: (604) 605-2323 Website: http://www.vancouverprovince.com/ DRUG-BUSTER APOLOGIZES FOR 'UNCLEARED' US POT STING An international furore has erupted after a member of the Organized Crime Agency of B.C. tried to conduct a drug investigation south of the border without U.S. authorization. A red-faced OCA director, Dave Douglas, was forced to apologize personally to the U.S. consul-general in Vancouver. He vowed that the ``administrative error'' that led to the uproar would never happen again. Douglas admitted the blunder to The Province only after three days of OCA denials and obfuscation. A letter was also sent to the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa explaining that OCA has launched an internal investigation. Douglas said U.S. authorities were briefed about the OCA operation before the B.C. officer headed south. When he stepped on the plane two weeks ago, the officer believed he had the proper ``country clearance'' to conduct an operation on U.S. soil, said Douglas. But in fact a phone call, used in ``emergent situations'' to obtain the clearance, LVAL/had not been made and when the officer arrived at his destination, he was pulled into a ``briefing session'' with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. Several hours later, the clearance was finally obtained. U.S. government sources said the OCA member was detained and the DEA even considered the possibility of criminal charges. ``This went all the way up to the top,'' the source said. ``The DEA fired off a protest to our embassy in Ottawa.'' The OCA director was reluctant to discuss any other specifics, such as the exact nature of the operation and the U.S. destination, citing security concerns. Sources told The Province that between 22 and 32 kilograms of marijuana was involved in the sting operation. It's believed that Denver may have been the ultimate destination of the operation. ``Somebody basically dropped the ball on this,'' Douglas said yesterday. ``We've gone back to look at these procedures so it won't happen again.'' He added: ``It's embarrassing from my perspective that this happened. We've done some excellent work down south.'' As late as Monday, agency spokesman Sgt. Randy Elliott flatly denied that there was any incident involving OCA officers in the U.S. Douglas contacted The Province yesterday after a reporter called Attorney-General Graeme Bowbrick's office. The apology from Douglas was delivered to Hugo Llorenz, U.S. consul-general in Vancouver, who couldn't be reached yesterday. An official with the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa declined to comment pending the outcome of OCA's internal investigation. A DEA spokesman in Denver said he knew about the incident but added his agency was not involved. He referred inquiries to Canadian authorities. Normal OCA procedure for investigations in the U.S. is to go through Canadian attaches of either the FBI or the DEA in Ottawa. The attaches go to the U.S. state department to get the final OK and a document approving the operation is sent back. CRIME AGENTS STILL NEW KIDS ON BLOCK The Organized Crime Agency of LVAL0B.C. is a new kid on the block with the daunting task of busting heavily armed and well-heeled drug gangsters. OCA was formed in 1999 to try to sink B.C.'s drug-dealing gangs which are doing business worth billions of dollars. It replaced the Co-ordinated Law Enforcement Agency, which had been infiltrated by organized-crime members. In its first year of operation, OCA charged 170 people with 650 offences, including possession of weapons, drug trafficking, counterfeiting credit cards and cultivating marijuana. The agency has frozen bank accounts totalling $10 million in its effort to seize the proceeds of crime, and has helped the federal government recover $1.5 million in unpaid taxes. At its headquarters on Annacis Island, OCA has a staff of 70 -- including clerical workers, six permanent, sworn officers and a force mainly seconded from local police and RCMP. It has an annual budget of $15 million to battle the drug trade. Some critics say OCA duplicates the work already done by the RCMP's drug force and Vancouver City police. __________________________________________________________________________ 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 F ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 21:38:39 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: UK: Spliff Decision Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010215213826.04d9fb90@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: Jane Marcus Pubdate: Wed, 14 Feb 2001 Source: Guardian, The (UK) Copyright: 2001 Guardian Newspapers Limited Contact: letters@guardian.co.uk Address: 75 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3ER, England Fax: +44-171-837 4530 Website: http://www.newsunlimited.co.uk/guardian/ Forum: http://www.newsunlimited.co.uk/BBS/News/0,2161,Latest|Topics|3,00.html Author: Isabel Loxley SPLIFF DECISION Just before her son's 16th birthday, Isabel Loxley discovered that he was sLVAL1moking cannabis. She confiscated his supply. But what to do next, as a liberal parent - ground him, or just hand the joints back? It was his ghostly pallor and refusal to eat supper that gave him away. Adam thought he was sick and suggested he lie down while the others ate. Later, after clearing up, Adam went up to his room - two flights, to the top of the house - to see if he was OK. Forgetting to knock, Adam opened the door to find Joe on his bed, joint alight. A few days short of his 16th birthday, we were having to deal with our son's cannabis use. It came as a surprise, despite the fact that we know the statistics on teenagers and drugs. There had been no telltale signs: no mood swings, no secretive behaviour, no cash shortages, no enlarged pupils - not even a whiff of smoke. Of course, we had talked about our attitude towards drugs and how we might deal with the issue when it arose. We just hadn't expected it to arise yet. A few weeks earlier, I had confidently, smugly told a colleague that my son was sailing through a trouble-free adolescence. Of course, we were not alone. Surveys in the 1990s showed that between a quarter and a third of 14- and 15-year-olds had tried drugs; and the number rose steeply after 16. Jack Straw's teenage son was caught offering it for sale. When Ann Widdecombe proposed a crackdown on users, seven shadow cabinet members said they had tried it. Last week, the government announced that police cautions for possession would no longer be part of a criminal record - a sign of changing attitudes to cannabis use. Adam called me as I was driving home. "There's something you should know," he announced - words guaranteed to sink the heart at the end of a long day at work. Briefly, he told me what had happened. "I've had a mellow chat to him already," Adam joked, making me giggle down the mobile, "but I said we'd talk to him properly together when you get home." We agreed to discuss it alone first to establish a united front. I had half an hour in the car to worLVALd 2k out my response. Adam and I had both smoked dope in the past, and had tried different drugs. But it was mostly in pre-parenthood days. Since that cloak of responsibility had settled on us, we had shared a joint at a party on less than a handful of occasions. We support decriminalisation of cannabis, and we both believe it is less harmful than tobacco or alcohol. We know that almost every teenager will try it, and we don't buy the argument that it leads inevitably to harder, more dangerous drugs. But this was our son, our baby. Surely that was different? Whenever I had ventured a liberal line on teenagers and dope with family or friends, I had been warned that I would feel a lot less liberal when it came to my own children. In that half-hour in the car, I first waited for an instinctive gut reaction to the news. When none came, I tried out various responses on myself. It felt like testing for pain, prodding and poking at myself, waiting for a sharp jolt that I could label. Was I shocked? Not really. I knew too much about the prevalence of cannabis smoking among teenagers. Was I angry? Not really. I remembered too much of my own teenage years for that. Alarmed? Sad? Trust betrayed? Not really. Curiously, I felt almost nothing. When I arrived home, I found Joe lying on the sofa, looking sheepish, with anxious eyes that betrayed his expectation of trouble. Adam was in the kitchen, sitting at the table with five - five! - joints in front of him. On being caught with a lit joint and an open bedroom window, Joe had quickly confessed: he had been smoking for about four months; he bought dope from a friend's older brother; he never smoked anywhere near school. The five spliffs were inside a cassette case lying on a chair next to his bed. Adam spotted them straight away and had brought the evidence to show me. We looked at the joints, then looked at each other. "He rolls quite a good joint for a 15-year-old," said Adam wryly. "What are we going to say?" Within minutes, we established common grounLVALV3d. Neither of us thought this was a heinous crime, yet we didn't feel that we could give Joe our blessing. As Adam split open one of the joints to see how much dope was inside, I felt - at last - a proper parental response. It was, of course, mostly tobacco - the substance to which Joe had been consistently opposed throughout his adolescence, and one which I felt was far more dangerous and addictive than cannabis. We agreed a number of points to put to Joe, and called him in. It's a strange thing, being a parent. You remember your own teenage years all too clearly - the injustices, the humiliations, the rows, the bollockings, the slammed doors, the fury - and yet, inevitably, you find yourself 25 years down the line adopting the role of prosecutor, judge, executioner. You ask the same questions - "What time will you be home? Where are you going? Who with?" - that your parents asked you. And you hear your own teenage voice reply - "Don't know. Why do you need to know? Leave me alone." As Joe came in the room, my mind went straight back to similar painful sessions with my own parents, when the last thing you want to do is "talk it through", but you know that is the minimum price you must pay for your transgression. So the three of us sat round the spliffs and talked it through. Actually, Adam and I did most of the talking. First, it's illegal, we said. You may not agree with that, and we may not either, but that's a fact: if you get caught, you'll be in trouble with the law. Second, if you smoke at school, or have it with you, and get caught, you will be expelled. Third, if you are buying dope from someone, sooner or later that person will offer you something different to try - and that's the point where we might be less tolerant. Fourth, you are more likely to come to harm from the tobacco in the joints than from the dope. Fifth, it's expensive and you have to decide what you want to spend your money on. Sixth, if you ever offer it to your little sister, we will break your legs. And so on. JLVAL4oe said little, apart from telling us that "everybody" at his leafy-suburb school smoked dope. Really everybody? He qualified the figure to 90% of his friends and contemporaries. After 20 minutes of trying to ram home the dangers of harder drugs and tobacco, we asked Joe to go away and think long and hard about what we had said. We stared at each other, and at the spliffs on the table. Had we handled it right? Impossible to say. After about three minutes, the door opened and Joe's face poked round. "Are you going to give me my dope back?" he asked, tilting his head at the joints. We handed them over. Did we do the right thing? What is "the right thing", anyway? It's hard to navigate your way through parenthood, to know how much space to give; how protective or how tough to be. For something that so many people do, and so many have done down the years, parenthood has no definitive rules. The compass-points that guided my parents' generation are not necessarily relevant today, but neither does the experience of one's peer group always accurately reflect one's own rational views on a particular issue. So we muddle through, try not to be hypocritical, and hope for the best. Two weeks after our discovery, Joe doesn't seem any different from the loving, happy, intelligent, well-balanced teenager he was before. That said, when he burst through the door at the weekend, enveloped me then Adam in giant bear hugs, ate two bananas in quick succession, and launched into a long and rambling account of his plans to travel the world in a camper van, Adam caught my eye behind Joe's back. "He's stoned," he mouthed. __________________________________________________________________________ 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, 15 Feb 2001 21:40:22 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.oLVAL $ 5rg Subject: KY: Gov. Nunn Talks Hemp Online <www.whas.com> (fwd) Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010215213950.04d9cec0@mail.olywa.net> Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 19:19:14 -0800 From: agfuture@earthlink.net Subject: Gov. Nunn Talks Hemp Online <www.whas.com> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Gov. Nunn Talks Hemp Online <www.whas.com> On Monday, February 19, 2001 former republician Governor Louie B. Nunn will be on the Jane Norris Show (WHAS radio 840 AM) from 10am to 11am (Eastern Time) discussing the current status of Kentucky's hemp bill and the DEA's opposition against similar legislation in other states across America. Joining Gov. Nunn will be Rep. Cynthia Thielen who sponsored legislation that established a hemp research program in Hawaii last year. The Jane Norris Show can also be heard this Monday by going online to <www.whas.com> and clicking "Listen Live." ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 21:40:48 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: US: Which States Have Decriminalized Marijuana Possession? Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010215214035.04d98ec0@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: http://www.cannabisnews.com/ Pubdate: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 Source: Slate (US Web) Copyright: 2001 Microsoft Corporation Website: http://slate.msn.com/ Forum: http://slate.msn.com/code/fray/theFray.asp Author: Chris Suellentrop Click here for a state-by-state guide to marijuana penalties.) http://www.natlnorml.org/legal/state_laws1.shtml WHICH STATES HAVE DECRIMINALIZED MARIJUANA POSSESSION? New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, a Republican, has sent to the state legislature a bill that would decriminalize possession of 1 ounce of marijuana. The New York Times reported today that 10 other states have already done that. Which states are they? And what does it mean to "decriminalize possession"? The states are Alaska, California, Colorado, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Maine, Minnesota, Ohio, and Oregon. These state legislatures (except Alaska's) decrimiLVAL6nalized marijuana possession in the 1970s. Oregon was the first, in 1973, following the recommendations of the Nixon administration's National Commission on Marijuana Use (also known as the Shafer Commission). Nebraska was the last, in 1979. Another state, Mississippi, decriminalized marijuana possession in the '70s but later recriminalized it as a misdemeanor offense. The state of decriminalization in Alaska is unclear. A 1975 state Supreme Court decision decriminalized marijuana possession, but voters approved a state referendum in 1990 that recriminalized all possession. Subsequent court rulings have upheld the 1975 decision, but the state's high court hasn't ruled on the matter, so the law remains ambiguous. What does it mean to decriminalize possession? Decriminalization treats the possession of small amounts of marijuana (such as 1 ounce) as a civil, rather than a criminal, offense. Offenders are given a citation and fined, and their marijuana is confiscated. Possession of larger amounts is still a criminal offense because it implies an intent to sell. (The laws differ from state to state. Ohio, for example, decriminalizes possession of up to 100 grams, or 3.5 ounces. Click here for a state-by-state guide to marijuana penalties.) http://www.natlnorml.org/legal/state_laws1.shtml Legalization, as opposed to decriminalization, would create a legal, regulated market for marijuana, presumably with age limits and quality controls similar to those placed on alcohol. Decriminalizing possession is also different from the decriminalization of "medical marijuana," which allows patients to use and sometimes cultivate marijuana for therapeutic purposes, with the permission of a doctor. Explainer thanks Keith Stroup, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and LVAL7educational purposes. --- MAP posted-by: Terry F ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 21:41:10 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Canada: Seized marijuana valued at $500,000 Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010215214056.04d80090@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: Herb Pubdate: February 15, 2001 Source: Trail Daily Times (CN BC) Contact: trailtimes@netidea.com Address: 1163 Cedar Ave. Trail, BC V1R 4B8 Fax: 250-368-8550 Website: http://www.canada.com/britishcolumbia/trail/ Seized marijuana valued at $500,000 The U.S. border patrol and Rossland RCMP have teamed up on one of the largest marijuana busts ever made locally. The police seized about 100 pounds of the drug valued at up to $500,000 US during a a raid last week on a rural residence in Sheep Creek Valley, southwest of Rossland. Local police were alerted of a possible smuggling operation by the U.S. border patrol, who observed a man cross the boundary into the U.S. on a snowmobile and then return to B.C. A search warrant was executed on the residence, located adjacent to the border, where enough marijuana to fill four large hockey bags was seized. The drug was vacuum-sealed in one-pound packages and is believed to have originated from an organized crime ring. "With the large quantity involved, and the way it was packaged and sealed, indicates some kind of organized crime group," said RCMP Const. Hugo Desrochers. A 43-year-old Kelowna man is facing charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking. A snowmobile was seized during the search and other charges under the Customs Act are being considered. The man arrested did not own the property where the drugs were seized, but knew the owner, according to the police. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 21:42:46 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: US: Hey, Wanna Smoke Some Muggles? Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.2001021521423LVAL84.04d81a20@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: http://www.cannabisnews.com/ Pubdate: Wed, 14 Feb 2001 Source: Salon (US Web) Copyright: 2001 Salon Contact: salon@salonmagazine.com Address: 22 4th Street, 16th Floor San Francisco, CA 94103 Fax: (415) 645-9204 Feedback: http://www.salon.com/about/letters/index.html Website: http://www.salon.com/ Forum: http://tabletalk.salon.com/ Author: Tom McNichol HEY, WANNA SMOKE SOME MUGGLES? Whoever Came Up With The "Street" Drug Names In The White House Drug Office Must Have Scored Some Radical Dinkie Dow. Feb. 15, 2001 | The drug culture has a language all its own, an underground dialect of slang and idiom familiar only to those in the know. But don't take my word for it. The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, the nation's chief anti-drug agency, has compiled an exhaustive, and thoroughly exhausting, database of more than 2,300 street terms for drugs or drug-related activity, like, say, taking drugs. "The ability to understand current drug-related street terms is an invaluable tool for law enforcement," intones the introduction, sounding like a cop with mirrored sunglasses giving a lecture about drugs, which may in fact be the original source. "A single term or similar terms may refer to various drugs or have different meanings, reflecting geographic and demographic variations in slang." No wonder we haven't won the war on drugs -- the drug side has a different word for everything! Often, there are dozens of terms for the same substance. For example, marijuana, a popular "gateway" drug derived from the flowers, buds and leaves of the cannabis plant, is variously known on the street as pot, dope, grass, ganga and killer green bud. Already familiar with those names? How about baby, chocolate, Muggles, Dinkie Dow or Pretendo? Still with us? Try putting sezz, snop or splim in your pipe and smoking it. According to the database, another street term for marijuana is "broccoli." Who knew? But it does throw an interesting light on fLVAL9ormer President George Bush's stated dislike of the green vegetable. Street-savvy druggies are also said to refer to marijuana as the "assassin of youth," not coincidentally the title of a 1936 anti-marijuana film (although back then, the enemy was "marihuana"). Already, discerning lexicographers will discern the promised geographic and demographic variations in slang starting to make themselves known. The assassin of youth is also known as "laughing weed" and "crying weed," suggesting a wide range of possible effects on the user, and as "Texas tea," which casts a sinister light on the true source of Jed Clampett's fortune. The green stuff also goes by the street names "indica" and "sativa," hinting at a subculture of dope-smoking botanists in white lab coats roaming our nation's broccoli-strewn streets. Marijuana, of all illegal drugs, has inspired by far the greatest number of street terms, according to the database. Perhaps that's because the laughing weed is the most commonly used recreational drug. Or maybe it's because regular users have impaired short-term memories and have to keep making up new terms for their drug of choice. But while Muggles assumes many disguises, so, too, does "the big C," or cocaine. The white powder goes by more than two dozen street aliases, including coke, blow, flake, nose candy, Carrie Nation, teenager and glad stuff. Another term for cocaine is "all-American drug," which sounds like the term a newspaper doing a five-part series on drugs would use to refer to the glad stuff. Cocaine is also called "gift of the sun god" by some clearly overexuberant users, and supposedly has been known to trade under the name "Bolivian marching powder." Somewhere in the White House, there's a dog-eared copy of Jay McInerney's "Bright Lights, Big City" under lock and key. From the glad stuff, the list quickly veers into the hard stuff. Heroin, the database informs us, is known on the street as "sh*t," although it's not clear whether the White House deleted the letter or hLVALR/:eroin users are unusually fastidious. (If heroin addicts won't clean up their lives, at least they may be cleaning up their language.) Heroin is also known on the street as the "hero of the underworld," although it's hard to imagine where that particular street might be. Phencyclidine, a drug developed in the 1950s as an animal tranquilizer, goes by the shorthand PCP, probably because none of its users can pronounce the full name. PCP is also known as "aurora borealis," a curiously florid term for such a mind-numbing drug. Geographic variations in slang being what they are, it's reasonable to assume that south of the equator, PCP is known as "aurora australis." With thousands of drug terms out there, it seems odd that some names purportedly apply to two or more drugs. The White House list defines "blotter" as being cocaine or LSD, a not-insignificant distinction. "Chocolate" is alternately marijuana, opium or amphetamines. "Black beauties" are defined as amphetamines or barbiturates. "Bad seed" is variously described as marijuana, heroin and peyote, while "Christmas tree" refers to marijuana, amphetamines or depressants. No wonder so many drug users have a "bummer trip" (an "unsettling and threatening experience"). After doing up a few Christmas trees and chasing them with some black beauties and bad seeds, even an experienced drug user may have no idea what he's just consumed. Why do people do drugs in the first place? The goal of many appears to be to "get off" ("to inject a drug; get 'high'"). Drugs are often found at raves, "parties designed to enhance a hallucinogenic experience through music and behavior." At a rave, participants might use code phrases such as "Are you anywhere?" -- which means "Do you use marijuana?" -- or "How do you like me now?" -- meaning cocaine. (Sample rave drug transaction: "Are you anywhere?" "No, how do you like me now?") The deal might involve a "broker," or "go-between in a drug deal." Unlike a stockbroker, it is customary for the drug broker to actualLVAL;ly deliver something of value. The buyer hands over some "lettuce" (money) and the deal is done. If the dealer happens to be a "body-stuffer" -- an "individual who ingests crack vials to avoid prosecution" -- the transaction could be delayed an hour or more. There's no indication of how long it has taken law enforcers to gather the more than 2,300 street terms, but the list is clearly the work of many decades. "No attempt was made to determine which usage is most frequent or widespread," the list says. Indeed, some of the street slang may be a tad dated. Marijuana is unlikely to be called "Mary Jane" or "Acapulco red" all that often anymore. Open-air drug markets these days aren't dispensing many "Abes," defined as "$5 worth of drugs." Terms like "yellow submarine" (marijuana), "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" (LSD), "Rainy Day Woman" (marijuana again) are rarely heard outside of Beatles conventions and Bob Dylan concerts. And "a used match cut in half to hold a partially smoked marijuana cigarette" is no longer called a "Jefferson Airplane." I'm pretty sure that device is now known as a "Jefferson Starship." But maybe I'm just out of touch with current drug lingo. Perhaps the frontline soldiers at the Office of National Drug Control Policy have their finger on the pulse of the street. To put the White House street terms list to the test, I took it with me on a recent walk in San Francisco's famed Haight-Ashbury District. What better place to "get a gift" (obtain drugs) than the historic ground zero of recreational drug use. Almost immediately, a scruffy youth approached me, his unkempt appearance readily identifying him as a candyman (drug supplier). "Kind bud?" he asked, which I knew from the list is a street term for marijuana. (Actually, the list renders it as "king bud," but that's close enough.) Making sure the area was free of heat (police or narcotics officers), I coolly slipped into my own street patois. "Yeah, I'll take an Abe," I said casually. "You want the lettuce now?" TheLVAL< youth seemed confused; perhaps he was under the influence of laughing weed or was shaking off a bummer trip on Christmas trees. "Are you a cop?" he asked warily. That had me stumped. I quickly paged through the list and found the entry: "Cop" means "obtain drugs." "You better believe I'm a cop," I replied. The youth quickly turned and walked away, no doubt to find his big man (drug supplier). I left before he could return, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of a sale. So, hats off to the folks who compiled this impressive compendium of drug terms. Not even a streetwise drug dealer could tell I was cribbing from a government list to speak the secret language of the streets. With this invaluable tool in the hands of law enforcement, the war on drugs is as good as won. Soon, parents will once again be able to tell their children to "eat your broccoli" without prompting knowing smirks from the kids. About the writer Tom McNichol is a San Francisco writer whose work has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, the Washington Post, Spy, Punch and other publications. His radio commentaries have aired on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered." __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. --- MAP posted-by: GD ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 21:51:49 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Canada: Teens nabbed outside grow-op Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010215215131.0453ed40@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: Herb Pubdate: February 15, 2001 Source: Richmond Review (CN BC) Contact: news@richmondreview.com Address: Unit 140 5671 No. 3 Road, Richmond, B.C. Fax: (604) 606-8752 Website: http://www.rpl.richmond.bc.ca/community/RichmondReview/ Author: Martin van den Hemel Teens nabbed outside grow-op Local teens apparently arenLVAL='t getting the message that marijuana growing operations shouldn't be toyed with. Last Tuesday, a Maple Road resident contacted police after spotting a couple of teens at the back of a home that contained a suspected marijuana growing operation. At the scene, police spoke to the teens and learned that they were in fact planning to break into the home, and were waiting for three other teens to bring house-breaking tools. Police later obtained a search warrant to the home and dismantled the marijuana grow operation discovered inside. "They are going to, in blunt terms, get themselves killed," Richmond RCMP Const. Peter Thiessen warned teenagers. This is the second such warning issued by police in less than four months. The first warning came in late October when three 16-year-old boys were nabbed as they were trying to break into a house on the 5500 block of Granville Road. The teens were carrying a long knife and several garbage bags. The house contained around 400 marijuana plants. Thiessen reiterated that larger marijuana operations are fraught with danger because they are generally the handiwork of organized crime, which will take whatever steps are necessary-even murder-to protect their investments. The October incident was particularly disturbing because of its brazen nature. The teens were willing to break into the home even though they knew someone was inside. Thiessen said in October that police intelligence indicates that some youth seem to think that they are doing the police a favour by breaking into marijuana growing operations. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 13:35:10 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: UT: Legalizing of Medical Marijuana is Urged Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010215133458.04d42b30@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: http://www.cannabisnews.com/ Pubdate: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 Source: Deseret News (UT) Copyright: 2001 Deseret News Publishing Corp Contact: letters@desnews.com AddressLVAL>: 30 East 100 South., P.O. Box 1257, Salt Lake City, UT 84110 Website: http://www.desnews.com/ Author: Kersten Swinyard, Deseret News Staff Writer LEGALIZING OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA IS URGED It was no coincidence the Therapeutic Humane Cannabis Political Issues Committee chose Valentine's Day to launch its petition drive for legalizing medicinal marijuana use. "We chose Valentine's Day because this issue demands compassion," committee member Ben Valdez Jr. said. "It's a higher calling to love those we don't know." The organization, abbreviated simply as THC (which is also the acronym for the most active ingredient in marijuana), views legalized marijuana use as a humanity issue because some cancer and terminally ill patients have found the main component of marijuana eases their nausea and sparks hunger. If the group got its way, doctors would be allowed to write prescriptions for marijuana for patients in serious pain without fear of prosecution. It's no different from a physician prescribing a bottle of Lortab or morphine, said THC Chairman Ken Larsen. "Just about every chemical on the planet has medical application," Larsen said. "I don't think it's government's or society's job to second-guess a doctor who we presume is a professional." In order to get its proposal on the November 2002 general election, THC must garner 76,000 signatures from registered Utah voters -- a hefty task considering it has only about 240 so far and a little more than a year before the June 1, 2002, deadline. THC was heartened by the passage of ballot proposition 215 in 1996 by California voters, but the Utah Attorney General's office said THC shouldn't expect any TLC from Utah voters. "The predominant philosophy towards marijuana is that there's not enough data to support medical applications. No one in state government is ready to accept marijuana as medicine," said Scott Reed, consumer rights division chief and former narcotics enforcement specialist for the attorney general. "There's not any gLVALv1?reat excitement or anticipation for this (petition drive)." In 1999, the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice recorded 1,188 arrests for marijuana possession. Although the ballot initiative would only provide for prescription marijuana and not completely legalize the drug, it would make it more difficult to prosecute charges of possession, Larsen conceded. __________________________________________________________________________ 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, 15 Feb 2001 05:18:35 -0000 From: "Diane R. Fornbacher" <siamgemini@hotmail.com> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Visit November Coalition Website Message-ID: <F723gVBYJmczY4YhwfU00009691@hotmail.com> High all: My friends, Todd McCormick and Ed Forchion are both in prison for marijuana-related charges. Both will be getting well-deserved snail mail from compatriots who admire and support them. But I would like all of you to consider going to The November Coalition ( www.november.org ) website and check out "The Wall," a way to become more acquainted with lesser-known but equally important prisoners of the drug war. These people need to know their fellow humans care that they are kept away from their families, friends and freedom because of the Drug War. Thank you for your time and efforts, Diane R. Fornbacher Liberty Protest Organizer http://www.ronintek.com/libertyprotest "Maintain freedom and strive for more." _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 01:13:18 EST From: Phillizy@aol.com To: stanford@crrh.org, restore@crrh.org Cc: DRCTalk@drcnet.org Subject: Re: CA: Customs Seizes Tons Of Pot Message-ID: <98.10957a30.27bccd7e@aol.com> --part1_98.10957a30.27bccd7e_boundary LVAL@Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 02/14/2001 5:54:53 PM Pacific Standard Time, stanford@crrh.org writes: Los Angeles Times: > SAN DIEGO--A tractor-trailer entering the United States from Mexico was > found to be hauling nearly 9,000 pounds of marijuana, a Customs Service > spokesman said Monday. > > Street value $4,000,000 divided by 9000 lbs = $ 444 per lb The LA Times is right on target, as usual. Lizy ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 04:37:59 -0500 From: cowboy@jug-or-not.com To: restore@crrh.org, U-net@drcnet.org, dpffl@drugsense.org Cc: ricksda498@aol.com, gscott@iglss.org, tiffywiff2@aol.com, Jodi@journeyforjustice.org, Kay Lee <klee@vitel.tzo.com>, tlatino@gate.net Subject: JAX HEMPFEST 2000 Lawsuit Message-ID: <3.0.5.32.20010215043759.0098fda0@jug-or-not.com> On Tuesday February 20th, Florida Cannabis Action Network will appear in Federal Court in Jacksonville for Summary Judgement in the lawsuit filed against the city of jacksonville for failing to issue a permit for last year's event. The event occured without a permit, with no official interference. Although a bill for $2000 showed up including the cost of police, paramedics and park staff, after the event. Florida Can was denied a preliminary injunction in June of 2000 just before the event, citing the judges, confusion over whether the special festival ordinances even applied to the hempfest. The city made it clear that it does, but now contends that our case is moot because we were able to have the event. FLcan's argument is, that we should not have to engage in civil disobedience in order to exercise our free speech rights. The 2001 event has gotten off to a shaky start already having been given unconstitutional requirments and burdens by the city that are prohibitive of free speech political organizing. We will be meeting with city attorney's after court on tuesday to try aLVALAnd head off litigation. In case you are keeping track, the jacksonville hempfest has resulted in litigation in federal court 2 out of the last 3 years...... Peace Scott "gone to mardi gras with a bullhorn" Bledsoe ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 19:22:57 EST From: NORMLFNDTN@aol.com To: undisclosed-recipients:; Subject: NORML WPR 2/15/01 (II) Message-ID: <a5.11a0862e.27bdcce1@aol.com> NORML Foundation 1001 Connecticut Ave., NW Ste. 710 Washington, DC 20036 202-483-8751 (p) 202-483-0057 (f) www.norml.org foundation@norml.org February 15, 2001 Researchers Find Marijuana Prohibition Plays No Role in Deterring Pot Use London, United Kingdom: Data from the United States and abroad indicates that removing criminal penalties for marijuana possession will not lead to increased drug use, according to findings published this month by the British Journal of Psychiatry. "The available evidence suggests that ... removal of criminal prohibitions on cannabis possession (decriminalization) will not increase the prevalence of marijuana or any other illicit drug," authors found. Their study noted that a far greater percentage of Americans age 12 and older (33 percent) report having tried marijuana as do their Dutch counterparts (16 percent), despite the fact that open sale and possession of pot is permitted in the Netherlands. Dutch figures also indicated that decriminalization appears to have had "some success" separating pot from the hard drug market, thereby reducing the number of marijuana users who try other illicit drugs. The study is one of the first to draw cross-sectional comparisons of drug use among Americans and non-Americans of identical age groups. Similar findings were noted in countries with alternate versions of marijuana decriminalization. Empirical data from Italy and Spain, which decriminalized possession of all psychoactive drugs, indicate that their citizens use marijuana at rates comparable to neighboring countries that maLVAL Bintain strict prohibition. The authors concluded: "Our judgment, based on review of the research literature, is that at present the primary harms of marijuana use (including those borne by non-users) come from criminalization. ... This prohibition inflicts harms directly and is costly. Unless it can be shown that the removal of penalties will increase use of other more harmful drugs, ... it is difficult to see what society gains [from prohibition.]" NORML Executive Director R. Keith Stroup, Esq. praised the study's findings, noting that it joins a long list of prestigious commissions and study groups that have reached the same conclusion. "The U.S. National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse (the Shafer Commission), the LeDain Commission in Canada, and the Wooten Report in England all agreed that we should stop arresting responsible marijuana smokers. The data today, just as it did then, overwhelmingly supports the removal of criminal penalties for the personal possession and use of marijuana." The study, which was sponsored by the RAND Drug Policy Research Center, appears in volume 178 of the British Journal of Psychiatry. For more information, please contact R. Keith Stroup, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500. Bill Allowing for Medical Use of Marijuana Introduced in Maryland Annapolis, MD: For the second straight year the Maryland Legislature will debate whether to legalize marijuana for medical purposes. Maryland House Bill 940, introduced by Del. Donald Murphy (R-Baltimore County), allows qualified patients to possess and cultivate marijuana for medicinal purposes. The proposed law would also establish a state-run registry for qualified patients, and allow patients and their primary caregivers to raise medical necessity as an affirmative defense to any marijuana prosecution. Twenty-nine delegates, including nine Republicans, have signed on to the bill, which has a hearing scheduled for March 1. A companion bill, SB 750, is pending in the SLVALCenate and will be heard on February 28. Further information on HB 940 and SB 750 is available at: http://capwiz.com/norml2/md/officials/state/?state=md&lvl=L. To read about other pending marijuana legislation, visit: http://capwiz.com/norml2/issues/. DARE Program Admits Failings Washington, DC: At a press conference today, proponents of the student anti-drug education program DARE admitted that its current approach is ineffective at persuading graduates to resist experimenting with illicit drugs. The group announced that it will begin controlled studies this fall on a new DARE curriculum targeting older students. More than 30 studies have been conducted evaluating DARE, almost all of which have concluded that DARE graduates go on to use drugs at similar or higher rates than those students not exposed to the program. Recently, both the U.S. Surgeon General and the National Academy of Sciences issued reports concluding DARE's approach is ineffective. Nevertheless, the program continues to be taught in nearly 80 percent of the nation's school districts, and receives over $230 million in federal and corporate funding. For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Foundation Executive Director at (202) 483-8751. Colorado Health Board Proposes Rules for State Medical Marijuana Program Denver, CO: Draft regulations to establish a state-run, medical marijuana patient registry were released this week by the Colorado Board of Health. Voters approved legislation last year legalizing the medical use of marijuana for qualified patients. The proposed regulations establish a confidential patient registry similar to those in other states, and authorize the health department to issue serially numbered identification cards to qualified patients. Cards shall include the patient's name, address, birth-date and social security number, as well as the name and address of the patient's primary caregiver. Only authorized state employees or local law enforceLVAL/Dment agencies shall have access to the registry. A $140 fee is due upon application for the card. A public hearing on the draft rules will be held on March 21. Written comments may be submitted to: Colorado Board of Health C/O Linda Shearman, Program Assistant, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, 4300 Cherry Creek Drive South EDO-A5, Denver, CO 80246-1530. -end- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 21:44:22 -0800 From: Dana Beal <dana@cures-not-wars.org> (by way of "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org>) To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Ashville, Athens, Copenhagen & Stockholm Join 2001 Space Odyssey! Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010215214306.04d82ec0@mail.olywa.net> ******!!! May 5, 2001 SPACE ODYSSEY: Updates, New Listings!!!****** From: Jason Klein <aragorn@hightec.com> To: dana@cures-not-wars.org Subject: MMM in Asheville, NC Status: YES! Hiya. Please send info. I think we'll be interested in hosting a rally, but wait a bit for confirmation. My phone # is (828) 277-6876. Thanks. _________________________________________ From: Michael Polak <xchaos@arachne.cz> Subject: just small MMM update from Prague I just visited=20 <http://www.cures-not-wars.org/mmm/index.html>http://www.cures-not-wars.org/= mmm<http://www.cures-not-wars.org/mmm/index.html>/index.html=20 My name is not "Michail Polack" (I am not relative of Mikhail Gorbatshev ;-), but as it can be useful to confuse DEA and possible other international sniffers, you can keep it as it is. If you want to change it anyway, my name "Michael Polak" But please update phone numbers. You can keep 1st two phone numbers, but please change the 3rd one to +420-602-178012. And please change e-mail address to xchaos@arachne.cz.=20 sokrates@legalizace.cz still exists, but I am not reading this mailbox very often (in fact, almost never... in fact, today that I have noticed, that this e-mail still exists, after long time ;) I can confirm, that some kind of party/gathering/LVAL+Edemonstration will happen on 5th May 2001, as part of 2001: The Space Odyssey. Additionaly, there will be probably separate event in Brno, the 2nd largest Czech city (up to 400 000 inhabitants, so few hundered people can be expected to gather). I will tell Brno organizer to contact you when he is sure he will manage it... _____________________________ Athens: John Spofforth <af542@seorf.ohiou.edu> 740-592-3649 _______________ Austin: Contact: Tracey Hayes / "M5 coalition"=20 <texasm5@hotmail.com> Phone: 512-493-7357 Paducah: Contact: Paula / Phone: 270-362-9849 or Cher Ford-McCullough=20 <bitchcrafts@whynotsmokepot.com> also Brian McCullough=20 <bud_jamesbud2yahoo.com> Phone: 270-362-8186 ________________ Raleigh-Durham: Bryan T. Moore <btm42@hotmail.com> 919-835-9889 ******!!!MAY 5, 2001 SPACE ODYSSEY: 105 MARIJUANA MARCHES!!!********* IMPORTANT: IF YOU WANT YOUR MARCH LISTED ON 1,000,000 PALM CARDS, GIVE US=20 YR CONTACT PHONE NUMBER & GET YRSELF THE INSIDE TRACK! .....EMAIL IT TODAY! Adelaide: "Charlene Grainger" <charbono@hotmail.com> Albuquerque: "Richard E. Haley, Jr." <writch@writch.com> home phone=20 (505)268-5694. Main NORML phone: (505)281-6277 Amsterdam: Has=A9 <has.cornelissen@planet.nl> or <alliance@legalize.org>=20 phone: 0031-616314682=20 <http://www.legalize.org>http://www<http://www.legalize.org>.legalize.org=20 [Note: this event is June 2.] Anchorage: Free Hemp In Alaska, Contact: Lincoln Swan=20 <freedomfighter49@alaska.com> or <freehempinak@gci.net> Address: 2603=20 Spenard Road, Anchorage, AK 99503. Phone: 907 278-4367 TOLL FREE=20 1-866-242-HEMP (4367) Asheville: Jason Klein <aragorn@hightec.com> (828) 277-6876. Athens: John Spofforth <af542@seorf.ohiou.edu> 740-592-3649 Atlanta: Paul Cornwell <info@worldcamp.org> Phone: 404-522-2267 Address:= =20 CAMP, PO Box 5718, Atlanta, GA. 31107-5718=20 <http://www.worldcamp.org>http://www.worldcamp<http://www.worldcamp.org>.org Auckland: Chris Fowlie norml@apc.org.nz ph 09 302LVALF-5255 Austin: "M5 coalition" <texasm5@hotmail.com> Phone: 512-493-7357 Bakersfield: Chris Colazzo <ccolazzo@hotmail.com> 661-321-1336 address:=20 5310 Summer Cypress Bakersfield, CA 93313 Batesville: <nfn@watervalley.net> Gary or Kira (662) 578-8343 NFN=20 Enterprises, 1509 Orwood Road, Batesville, MS, 38606 Battle Creek: Harry Goddard petalpusher1@ameritech.net (616)731-2807=20 address: P.O. Box 32, Richland, MI 49083 Berlin: <martin@africandance.de> 0049-30-24720233 Boston: Bill Downing MASSCAN (781)944-2266 Boulder: Fred (303)449-2390. Buffalo: Rebecca Powell 716-353-4807 Burlington: "Robert J. Melamede" <rmelamed@zoo.uvm.edu>=20 <http://www.uvm.edu/~rmelamed/>http://www.uvm.edu<http://www.uvm.edu/~rmelam= ed/>/~rmelamed/=20 (802) 658-2059 Capetown: Henn <godfreehenn@usa.net> Carbondale: Dave Thayer (618)536-7419 <stinkygreens@yahoo.com> 110=20 kellogg,carbondale, il 62901 Charleston: jim payne <StalkForrest@aol.com> Charlotte: Mike (704)321-1421<CAMPNC@hotmail.com> Chicago: IMI (773)381-9330 Chico: MP Jimmy Ogle <mpogle@usparliament.org>=20 <http://www.pot-party.com>http://www<http://www.pot-party.com>.pot-party.com= =20 (530)876.1012 or adrian aguilar ode2thewalls@aol.com (530)898-2150 or=20 voicemail pgr 530-571-2071 Christchurch: Terry McKersey <tjm85@student.canterbury.ac.nz> or Blair=20 Anderson <blair@technologist.com> 03 389-4065 Cleveland: John <NCNorml@aol.com> (216)521-9333 www.timesoft.com/ncnorml Columbus: Kenneth Schweickart 614-265-VOTE <forabetterohio@hotmail.com> 319= =20 E. Hudson St. Columbus, Ohio 43202 Colorado Springs: joey herrmann <rainbowproductions1@yahoo.com> Denver: Jack Woehr (303)277-9574 jwoehr@attglobal.net DesMoines: <iowanorml@home.com> (515)288-5798=20 <http://www.commonlink.com/~olsen/>http://www.commonlink<http://www.commonli= nk.com/~olsen/>.com/~olsen/=20 , http://mojo.calyx.net/~olsen/ ,=20 <http://www.druglibrary.org/olsen/index.html>http://www.druglibrary.org/olse= n<http://www.druLVALGglibrary.org/olsen/index.html>/index.html=20 ; or Terry Mitchell (515) 789-4442; 608 Dallas St., Dexter, Iowa 50070. Detroit: "jude joseph" <acididea@hotmail.com>=20 <http://www.geocities.com/legalizemichigan/>http://www.geocities.com/legaliz= emichigan<http://www.geocities.com/legalizemichigan/>/=20 or Adrienne C. e-mail: <daisymae421@excite.com> phone: (517)872-8005. Duesseldorf: Marlon Werkhausen <marlon@gesellschaftsprobleme.de>=20 www.gesellschaftsprobleme.de mobile ph: 01727591795 Dunedin: Duncan Eddy <duncaneddy@hotmail.com> Otago University NORML phone:= =20 025 719 139 Durban: <ezpz.co.za> or <ezpz@telkomsa.net> +27 31 2016 359 PHONE AND FAX.= =20 Post net Suite 136, Private Bag X 04, DALBRIDGE, 4014, SOUTH AFRICA Edinburgh: "Linda Hendry"<linda@anamika.freeserve.co.uk> Eugene: Kris Millegan <Hempsters@aol.com> 541-935-6276 or 800-556-2012 Fairbanks, Alaska: Frank Turney 907-452-3777 or Chuck Rollins Jr.=20 <chuck@mosquitonet.com> Frankenthal: helmut holtzheimer <movemus@gmx.de> Garberville : "Paul Encimer" <encimer@hotmail.com> Box 162, Piercy CA 95587 Halifax: Danielle D'Aoust, e-mail: <daoust_girl@hotmail.com> 3923 Kencrest= =20 Ave. app. 307, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, B3K3L4 Tel: 902-454-9317;=20 Also Jimmy Dorey <jdorey@stfx.ca> Hamburg: Martina Katzsch <Hanf-tv@karo4tel.de> Hilo: Roger Christie <pakaloha@gte.net> (808) 961-0488=20 <http://www.thc-ministry.org>http://www.thc<http://www.thc-ministry.org>-min= istry.org=20 Ho Chi Minh City: "Bartlett Ridge" <bridgeviet@hotmail.com>=20 <http://www.BartlettRidge.com>http://www.BartlettRidge<http://www.BartlettRi= dge.com>.com=20 Homer, Alaska - contact Julie Cesarini, P.O. Box 812, Homer AK 99603, 907=20 235-6040. Houston: Dean Farrell <fdb@mail.ev1.net> (281)752-9198.=20 <http://www.cultural-baggage.com>http://www<http://www.cultural-baggage.com>= .cultural-baggage.com=20 Hull: Carl Wagner <Upyoursjackstraw@aol.com> phone: +44 01482 494789 5=20 Victoria Square, Ella SLVALHtreet, Hull HU5 3AL, England Huntsville: Bill Gallagher (256) 536 9967 <luxefaire@yahoo.com> 3210=20 Clopton St, Huntsville, AL 35805 Indianapolis: <Skywolf@yahooka.com> Neal (317)882-1904 Ithaca: Adam Hirsch <ah222@cornell.edu> 522 Stewart Ave. (Apt # 2), Ithaca,= =20 NY 14850 Jefferson City: Al Minta (417)866-3999 address: 1653 N. Patterson (Apt A),= =20 Springfield, MO 65803 Jerusalem: Joseph (011-972) 050-494-447 Johannesburg: Gordon Maene <Gordon@pyramid.co.za> work: ( 011)805=20 6763 cell phone: 082 552 6393 Juneau, Alaska - contact Brad Parfitt at latebrad@hotmail.com Kansas City: Global Peace Cafeneh <globalpeas@email.com>globalpeas, 1518 s.= =20 18th st., KC KS 66101 or <mohemp@hotmail.com> (816)931-6169. Kelowna, B.C.: Teresa Taylor, CCC <luna@sunshinecable.com>=20 <http://taylor1.virtualave.net>http://taylor1.virtualave<http://taylor1.virt= ualave.net>.net=20 (250) 442-2741 or (250) 442-5166 Fax (250) 442-5167 Kent:=20 <http://mjmarch.webhop.org/>http://mjmarch.webhop<http://mjmarch.webhop.org/= >.org/=20 <mjmarch@cannabismail.com> (330)672-4263 Krakow: Marek Warmuz (+48)501-468-018 "quepassa" <quepassa@poczta.fm> Ladysmith: Terry & Wendy, (250)-245-3595, <tandwp1@home.com> Lansing: Kathy Kennedy 517-628-3915 or e-mail: <ProhibitionX @ aol.com>=20 <http://www.cures-not-wars.micronpcweb.com>http://www.cures-not-wars.micronp= cweb<http://www.cures-not-wars.micronpcweb.com>.com=20 Lima, Peru: 889-2728 "Jedi Master" <the_last_jedi_master@hotmail.com> Liverpool: Will Graham <willg@marijuana.com> tel (inc. international code):= =20 0044 151 727 1458 London: International Cannabis Coalition (UK), PO Box 2243, London, W1A=20 1YF, UK. Chris: 020 7637 7467. Fax: 0870 0548646. E Mail:=20 may2001@schmoo.co.uk=20 <http://www.schmoo.co.uk/may2001.htm>http://www.schmoo.co.uk/may2001.<http:/= /www.schmoo.co.uk/may2001.htm>htm=20 Los Angeles: Sister Somayah 323-232-0935 Macon Ga: <BunnieGurl420@aol.com> 912 755 9660 Madison: BeLVALIn Masel <bmasel@tds.net> 608-257-5456 Miami: temporary contact Steve Jacobsen 561-706-1670 {chefjake01@aol.com} Milwaukee: Dominic Salmaan 1525 E, Royall Pl # 14, Milwaukee, WI 53202 ph:= =20 414-289-9501 or 339-9377 Minneapolis Grassroots Party, temp. 952-884-5009, or Chris Wright=20 <TCW@genesis-computer.com> 612-522-5374. March @ High Noon from Loring=20 Park to Washburn Fair-Oaks Park. Mobile: <Ravetripper19@aol.com> (334) 649- 0193 Montpelier: Rama Schneider <2001@ramabahama.net> (802) 433-5441 address:=20 1614 Gilbert Road, Williamstown, VT 05679=20 <http://www.ramabahama.net>http://www.ramabahama<http://www.ramabahama.net>.= net=20 Montreal: Marc-Boris St-Maurice <blocpot@blocpot.qc.ca> (514)528.1768 Nashville: "Howie & Marivuana Leinoff" <torml@weedmail.com> (615)ACT-HIGH. New Orleans: "Ashley The Fearless" <fearless_420@hotmail.com> 818-754-0069. New York City: Dana 212-677-7180 <dana@cures-not-wars.org> Nimbin: "rebelart" <rebelart@gasgroup.com> contact ph: 61-266890413=20 <http://www.nimbinaustralia.com/mardigrass2001>http://www.nimbinaustralia<ht= tp://www.nimbinaustralia.com/mardigrass2001>.com/mardigrass2001=20 Nuernberg: Emanuel Kotzian ("Green Party") <emanuel@kotzian.de> phone:=20 0049-911-535433 Oberlin: Jesse Kanson-Benanav <Jesse.Kanson-Benanav@oberlin.edu>= (440)775-6607 Olympia: "miriam white" <miriamwhite420@hotmail.com> pager/voice mail=20 360-415-2011 Omaha: Paul Tripp <paultrip@home.com> 1-(402)-330-8736 Orlando: Rudi703@aol.com (407)415-2091 Oslo: <rzr@powertech.no> /=20 <http://home.powertech.no/belkjekk/mmm/2001/>http://home.powertech.no/belkje= kk/mmm<http://home.powertech.no/belkjekk/mmm/2001/>/2001/=20 Paducah: Paula (270)362-9849 Cher Ford-McCullough <bitchcrafts@webtv.net>=20 65 Cabin Lane, Gilbertsvile, Ky. 42044 or Brian McCullough=20 <bud_jamesbud@yahoo.com> (270) 362-8186 Palm Springs: Lanny Swerdlow <marijuanamarch@yahoo.com> pager:760-836-8166;= =20 ph: 760-799-2055 Paris: <farid@globeneLVALlt.org> FARId GHEHIOUECHE Home phone : 01 42 51 50 85;= =20 Mobile: 06 14 81 56 79 or "Dalila AKROUR" <dalilaa@free.fr> Philadelphia: Bob Hemp (beep) 215-422-6055 Portland: (503)777-9088 <pdxnorml@pdxnorml.org> MMM 2001 Committee c/o Pdx= =20 NORML, P.O. Box 11694, Portland, OR, 97211. Assemble at Pioneer Square,=20 10am - March at High Noon; Rally at 2pm, music & speakers til 5pm (close up= =20 and out by 7pm) Prague: Michail Polack <xchaos@arachne.cz.> Tel: +420-603-872631,=20 +420-2-33355668, +420-602-178012=20 <http://www.legalizace.cz>http://www.legalizace.<http://www.legalizace.cz>cz PEI (Prince Edward Island): Deanne Kimball <cdkimball@athi.pe.ca>=20 (902)628-9012 Raleigh-Durham: Bryan T. Moore <btm42@hotmail.com> 919-835-9889 Redding: "Byron Stephens" <neuromancer420@yahoo.com> Richmond: "Roy B. Scherer" <rscherer@richmond.infi.net> (804) 355-7612, or= =20 campus libs at <Huclberie1@aol.com.> San Francisco:=20 <http://www.drugpeace.org/mmm>http://www.drugpeace.org/<http://www.drugpeace= .org/mmm>mmm=20 Age <age420@drugpeace.org> ph: (510)444-3207 San Marcos: Bryan Anderson: 512.396.3223 Email: earthfirstswt@hotmail.com Santa Cruz: DdC <dendecannabist@yahoo.com> or Jason Brodsky=20 <theherbalist@newmarijuana.com> Springfield: Mike Roader <heavymettle@usa.net> St. Louis: Rev Jeff <Aimhigh6@aol.com> also The Cannabis Commandos or St.= =20 Louis Area NORML , PO Box 220243, St. Louis, MO 63122, Phone: 314-995-1392= =20 Email: <StL_norml@theheadoffice.com> www.mo-norml.org St. Petersburg: Kevin Aplin FL CAN (321)-255-9790. Jodi James - Coalition=20 Advocating Medical Marijuana 321-253-3673. Brian Palmer - Golden Boy=20 Productions 407-493-2346. Seattle to Olympia Journey for Justice: Jess "Fat Freddy" Williams=20 <realfatfreddyjay@worldnet.att.net> (253) 573-9862 Tampa: (813)779-2551. Michael Palmieri <forml420@marijuana.com> or=20 <forml_2000@yahoo.com>; (FORML ). P.O. Box 2061, Zephyrhills, Florida=20 33539.=20 <http://www.geocitLVALDKrestore Sat, 1 Jan 2000 Volume 8 : Number 1 In this issue: Our New Year 2YK is OK Re: restore V1 #359 Pee tests declared unconstitutional!! re: Strategy Cannabis in subpsychotropic dosage DrugSense Weekly, January 31, 1999, #130, Special Y2K Edition MN: Ventura Applauds Call to Legalize Marijuana ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 31 Dec 1999 06:41:20 -0800 From: "RLRoot" <rlroot@prodigy.net> To: <Undisclosed.Recipients@pimout7-int.prodigy.net> Subject: Our New Year Message-ID: <001401bf539d$954410a0$6afffcd1@oemcomputer> As we experience the world's odometer rolling over to mark a significant milestone in the history of mankind, I want to take this opportunity to wish you, all the people I share thoughts with over this wonder of our age, the internet, the very best in the coming years. My wish for all the individuals and communities of the world; Life, Liberty, and Happiness! In Liberty, Rick ======================================= My personal thought on Y2K: Fears and concerns that machines will not comply to our commands and deny us our modern conveniences are misplaced. Our fears and concerns should be over the mechanization of the human, which regardless of or with indifference to programming, denies us the ability to choose our own destinies. ======================================= This message was sent to all that I have communicated with over the past year via email. Please accept my apologies for any duplicates you have received. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 31 Dec 1999 08:41:27 -0900 From: Charles Rollins Jr <chuck@mosquitonet.com> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: 2YK is OK Message-ID: <386CEAC7.ECB@mosquitonet.com> On the eve of 2yk I am still skeptical that anything major will happen like. 1.rioting 2. everyone's toilets backing up. 3. A world take over bLVALNLy space gerbils or whoever. "Anything" related to computers that is, their maybe a few who try to bring back the messiah. Isn't this the height of arrogance? That some followers of a God believe that they can make that God do anything? Maybe he'll give them a new mind for the new millennium. Since the one they have seem to be warped. But I could be wrong maybe all the computer will crash. If so I have a few requests 1. A big screen TV!!!!! 2. replace all the programing on the DEA and IRS computers with old games like "pacman," and pong SEE US Chuck ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 31 Dec 1999 12:39:39 -0400 From: Dana Beal <dana@cures-not-wars.org> To: <restore@crrh.org> Subject: Re: restore V1 #359 Message-ID: <v04220830b4928ca00d86@[209.51.173.246]> TAKE PROFIT OUT OF SELLING DRUGS The first time I sent the following letter was in 1979. It wasn't printed then. The second time was 1988. It wasn't printed then. I was 63 at the time of the first letter. I am now 83. As long as I can remember, we have had a drug problem, and in all those years the drug-enforcing people never admitted to stopping more than 5 percent or 10 percent of the drugs that were used in this country. It is time, after all these years of failure, to try a new approach to solving the problem. The first thing we have to do is to take the profit out of selling drugs and thus put the pushers out of business. This can be done without bloodshed or violence. All we have to do is let the government take over the drug business. To completely do away with any profit, the drugs should be given away. This would be far less expensive for the government than this war on drugs . The drug addicts would have to turn themselves in to the government to get drugs. They could then be treated for their aLVALTMddictions. Since they wouldn't have to steal or go into prostitution to afford drugs, we would have a lot less trouble with crime. We should still have strong jail sentences for selling drugs or giving them away, especially for anyone in the government program. As long as the money to be made is so tempting and the customers are there, we will have a drug problem. JOE HAMM North Portland Dear Oregonian Perhaps Joe's lament was not published the first couple of times around because it omits a few, key points. The government has already legalized drugs--in the form methadone, LAMM, and buprenex. But in the typical fashion of large bureaucracies everywhere, they've come up with things drug users can't get at without wading thru thickets of red-tape--and don't want in any event compared to the coke and dope they're supposed to replace! Moreover, in terms of sheer numbers of people doing something to get themselves arrested, the Drug War is being waged on marijuana. 85% of "drug users" basically just use pot, because it's less carcinogenic than tobacco, less intoxicating that liquor. Cannabis is also the one category where Oregon is a major producer of an illegal plant, with much local income riding on whether law enforcement "overlooks" local grows. Also, government marijuana given to the 8 legal patients in the U.S. is notoriously bad--and we couldn't expect any better were they to open up legal access a bit. Private plots would continue thrive, leaving only one scenario: to move in and and seize everything, in typical Stalinist fashion, from the kulak who labored so long and hard to produce something of quality. And then it would be kulaks to the GULAG! But wait a minute! Except for giving the farmer's produce away instead of destroying it, isn't that the system we have now? It certainly isn't calculated to produce future harvests. Joe's system didn't work in Russia, LVALDNeither. Dana Beal Cures not Wars New York City ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 31 Dec 1999 08:23:33 -0800 From: "Roger Dodger" <proteus@wwdb.org> To: "Floyd F Landrath" <AAL@InetArena.com>, "CRRH mailing list" <restore@crrh.org> Subject: Pee tests declared unconstitutional!! Message-ID: <000301bf53b6$c2e36920$27893ea6@proteus> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0018_01BF5368.53CE5AC0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable FM: NORML Weekly Press Release www.norml.org foundation@norml.org December 30, 1999 Federal Court Of Appeals Halts Drug Testing Plan For Elected Officials =20 New Orleans, LA: The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld this = past=20 Tuesday a 1998 federal district judge's ruling that a Louisiana law=20 requiring random drug tests for elected officials was unconstitutional. The Circuit's three-judge panel affirmed U.S. District Judge Eldon=20 Fallon's decision that the drug-testing law violates the U.S.=20 Constitution's Fourth Amendment protection against illegal search and=20 seizure.=20 -----------------<snip>----------------- "Case law is clear that the act of urination is a private act, and = the=20 act of requiring somebody to give a urine sample is a search," = Rittenberg=20 said. "Only in exceptional circumstances can you conduct warrantless=20 searches." ------------------<end>----------------- If random drug tests are unconstitutional for elected officials, then = random drug tests are unconstitutional for everyone! The law applies to = ALL THE PEOPLE. Laws do not pertain to ONLY elected officials. Also, = since warrantless searches are unconstitutional and violate the Fourth = Amendment, then pre-employment drug tests are just as unconstitutional = since they are a warrantless search without probable cause. Since when = are applicants for a job subject to an unconstitutional warrantless = seaLVALVOrch of the private act of urinating? Roger Dodger ____________________________________ "The people are masters of both Congress and courts, not to overthrow = the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert it!" -> Abraham Lincoln <- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 31 Dec 1999 07:44:29 -0800 From: "Roger Dodger" <proteus@wwdb.org> To: <wricgl1@email.msn.com> Cc: "Floyd F Landrath" <AAL@InetArena.com>, "CRRH mailing list" <restore@crrh.org> Subject: re: Strategy Message-ID: <000101bf53b6$beba58e0$27893ea6@proteus> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0008_01BF5362.DEB3F7E0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Ralph, You are right, and you are wrong. =20 No doubt about Industrial Hemp being 'one' of the important things to = fight for. I don't really need to list the 30-60,000 different uses for = this most versitile of plants. As a matter of fact, Industrial Hemp is = NOT ILLEGAL to grow in this country. What's happened is the Drug = Warriors in their zeal to eradicate 'The Devil's Weed' can't tell the = difference between marijuana and Hemp. To them, three plants growing in = someone's basement are the same thing as 50 acres of a row crop = Industrial Hemp. The DEA has either deliberatly misinterpreted or unilaterally re-written = the drug laws to include Industrial Hemp. The only reasonable answer to = this problem is to write laws that will take marijuana out of the = 'scheduling' process altogether, in other words, make marijuana legal, = and Industrial Hemp automatically becomes legal too. What kind of message does this send our kids? How about the TRUTH for a = change? Roger Dodger Date: Wed, 29 Dec 1999 09:38:18 -0800 From: "Ralph Romano" <wricgl1@email.msn.com> To: <restore@crrh.org> Subject: Strategy The push is always to legalize pot instead of concentrating on=20 Industrial Hemp. IH is the important thing to fight fLVAL8Por. You fuel the = fire because wanting pot legal is saying to the establishment, "Let's=20 get high, drop out and be irresponsible." Industrial Hemp is the true=20 value. RR ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 31 Dec 1999 13:10:40 -0500 From: "ERIC E. SKIDMORE" <104413.3573@compuserve.com> To: Dave West <davewest@pressenter.com> Subject: Cannabis in subpsychotropic dosage Message-ID: <199912311311_MC2-92F0-8600@compuserve.com> --------------- Forwarded Message --------------- From: "Association for Cannabis as Medicine", INTERNET:info@acmed.org = -------------------------------------------------------------------------= -- --- ACM-Bulletin of 26 December 1999 -------------------------------------------------------------------------= -- * Switzerland: Cannabis in subpsychotropic dosage may be used . Responding to questions of a pharmacist about the possibility to = use cannabis medicinally the 'Bundesamt fur Gesundheit' (BAG, = Health Ministry) said, that a medical use was possible, if a = psychotrpic effect could be excluded. In a letter the BAG noticed that cannabis was defined in the law = on narcotics as a narcotic, but that the use for other purposes, for = example for industrial purposes, was possible. This would "be the = same in regard to medical use". "(...) If the content of psychotropic substances in preparations of = the hemp plant is that low that such effects can be excluded, one = cannot speak of production of narcotics. If a psychotropic effect = occurs and thus it is a preparation for the production of narcotics, = it has to be noted, that the international conventions on the use of = narcotics and psychotropic substances do not exclude the use for = medical research but prohibit every other use (...)" "National and international research with hemp and THC- containing preparations is becoming manifold and more funded. = First results indicate, that such preparations can be effective LVALQfor = some indications as for example spasticity, without causing = psychotropic effects in the corresponding dose range. In this case = such a drug for a certain indication would not be banned, because = where there is no psychotropic effect, a production of narcotics = cannot be assumed." The Swiss firm Spagomed AG in Burgdorf (address: Bachweg 3, = 3400 Burgdorf) is manufacturing a cannabis tincture "Cannabis = sativa TM" with a THC content of 0.06 percent and supplies = physicians and pharmacists (no private persons) with this = preparation. Delta-9-THC (dronabinol, Marinol) is not a prescribable drug in = Switzerland. But there it is possible to get a special permission for = the use of THC from the BAG. Applications have to be directed = to: Paul J. Dietschy, Leiter Facheinheit Heilmittel, Bundesamt fur = Gesundheit, 3003 Bern, Postfach. (Sources: Letter of the BAG to Dr. M.F. of 26 August 1999; = Certificate of Analysis "Cannabis sativa TM of 1 July 1997; = Provisional leaflet for physicians that get permissions according to = Art. 8 (5) BetmG for delta-9-THC) = Association for Cannabis as Medicine (ACM) Maybachstrasse 14 D-50670 Cologne Germany Phone: +49-221-912 30 33 Fax: +49-221-130 05 91 Email: info@acmed.org Internet: http://www.acmed.org If you want to be deleted from or added to the ACM-Bulletin = mailing list please send a message to: info@acmed.org ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 31 Dec 1999 10:01:43 -0800 From: webmaster@drugsense.org (DrugSense) To: newsletter@drugsense.org Subject: DrugSense Weekly, January 31, 1999, #130, Special Y2K Edition Message-ID: <H+Ob4giA8HUb092yn@drugsense.org> ********************************************************************** DRUGSENSE WEEKLY SPECIAL Y2K EDITION ********************************************************************** DrugSense Weekly, January 31, 1999 #130 LVALR A ten minute read that will keep you abreast of the latest in drug news and policy A DrugSense publication http://www.drugsense.org/ Read This Publication On-line at: http://www.drugsense.org/current.htm Please consider writing a letter to the editor using the email addresses on any of the articles below. Send a copy of your LTE to MGreer@mapinc.org. ------------------ TABLE OF CONTENTS: * A Note From The Editor * Feature Article The End of a Century - The Beginning of Sanity? By Mark Greer * The Year's Drug Policy News in Review: 1999's Top Stories (1) Drug Prohibition and Public Health (2) Medicinal Marijuana Advocate, Wife Busted (3) Crack's Legacy (4) Senators Join Outcry To Halt New Bank Rules (5) Gov. Wants To Discuss Legalizing Drug Use (6) Colombia Is Reeling, Hurt By Rebels And Economy (7) Drug Use: A Campaign Issue In The Making (8) The Next Step In The War On Crime (9) LA Corruption Probe Indicates Vast Scandal (10) Television Judge Judy Sheindlin Visits Brisbane (11) Mass Graves Found In Mexico (12) Editorial: Drug Treatment Gets A Boost (13) A Fraction Of Globe's People, A Quarter Of Its Prisoners * In Memoriam Constable Gil Puder Jim Rosenfield Rufus King, Sr. * Hot Off The 'Net A Correction CERD Web Site Announced Global Peace Walk * Quote of the Century Upton Sinclair ************************************************************************ A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR After accumulating the week's articles and deciding they were less newsworthy than usual, Tom O'Connell succumbed to temptation by emulating most other publications and selecting the year's top stories. They are listed chronologically, along with URLs for the Weekly item as well as the full text of the article. Comments made at the time are repeated in quotes. Selecting the dozen or so most important articles or events out iLVAL Sf more than 10,000 archived in the last year is no easy task. I would be quite surprised if we didn't miss a few important items and of course the relative importance of any given article is a matter of the perspective of the individual. We welcome your feedback on items that you would have included. ************************************************************************ FEATURE ARTICLE The End of a Century - The Beginning of Sanity? / By Mark Greer This is the last edition of the DrugSense Weekly this Century (assuming you consider this and not 2001 as the beginning of the new century.) Personally I enter the new decade and century with a profound sense of hope and optimism. If anyone would have told me four years ago what amazing strides we would make toward a sane drug policy by the turn of the century I might have been a bit dubious but by virtually any criteria the indicators that reform is fast becoming a reality seem incontrovertible. Everything from the perfect record of state initiatives, to the overwhelming sea change in media attitude and coverage, to the burgeoning tendency of politicians to take a stand on discussing sensible drug policy reform all indicate that the first decade of the new century could well be the last decade for prohibition. In my opinion it is the Internet and electronic communication which , more than any other factor, bodes so well for the future of reform. For the first time in history thousands of disparate activists and factions can meet, cross educate, discuss, plan, share information, and most importantly *take action* all with the aim of achieving common objectives. DrugSense and MAP will continue to grow and develop in it's quest to provide quality information resources, Internet support, and a vehicle for taking meaningful action. We will continue to encourage cooperation and increased effectiveness among the wide array of diverse groups that comprise the reform movement. As always we are interested in heariLVALwTng your ideas for ways we can help you help to bring about sound, effective, logical and reasonable drug policies. We would like to take this once in a lifetime opportunity to sincerely thank the DrugSense board of directors, staff, and all the hundreds of volunteer editors, NewsHawks, letter writers, Focus Alert Specialists and all the others who have worked so selflessly and tirelessly to create a truly unique integrated, effective, and valuable support organization for the drug policy reform effort. We hope DrugSense will become a model of efficiency cooperation and synergy in the coming years. We would also like to direct your attention to an excellent article by Richard Cowan who kindly mentions MAP in the following article by saying "Mapinc ( www.mapinc.org ) will increasingly be recognized as being more than just "anti-prohibitionist" and will be seen as a model for future social change in the Internet age." The full article can be read at: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n1397/a03.html The best and happiest of news years to you all. Mark Greer ************************************************************************ THE YEAR'S DRUG POLICY NEWS IN REVIEW: 1999's TOP STORIES (1) DRUG PROHIBITION AND PUBLIC HEALTH http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/1999/ds99.n82.html#art1 (Jan 20) Ernie Drucker's demolition of the drug war uses its own statistics to take away any rational claim that it represents responsible public policy; It's still being ignored. "One potential landmark was publication of Ernest Drucker's brilliant paper which uses the government's own statistics to show the damage done by prohibition. Although the article was noted by both Reuters and UPI, the wire stories were (predictably) slighted by major US media; fortunately, Drucker's article, as part of the medical literature can't be ignored indefinitely." URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n047.a07.html URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n048.a01.html ****LVALZU******************************************************************** (2) MEDICINAL MARIJUANA ADVOCATE, WIFE BUSTED http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/1999/ds99.n83.html#art1 (Jan 27) The arrest of the Kubby's and their subsequent treatment demonstrates how implacably law enforcement resists reasonable drug policy. The much delayed trial is expected to take place in February and will be a watershed. "These events have national implications; it was no accident that California, long the birthplace of new national trends, passed the first medical marijuana initiative. Police in states with their own newly passed initiatives will take their lead from events here. So far the Golden State has not proven a very good model, unless you are against patients and all for cops and prisons." URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n079.a03.html RELATED: http://www.mapinc.org/kubby.htm ************************************************************************ (3) CRACK'S LEGACY The War on Drugs Retreats, Still Taking Prisoners Soldiers of the Drug War Remain on Duty http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/1999/ds99.n88.html#art1 (March 5) Tim Egan's analysis of how the crack scare of the Eighties permanently altered the structure and function of law enforcement and corrections stands up very well and helps explain our modern dilemma. "The New York Times published Tim Egan's critical 2 part analysis of the lingering effects of the crack 'epidemic.' The first part looked at changes which ill-considered laws had wrought in our criminal justice system to reshape and enlarge prison populations; the second focused on special police units, which in many cities (and some towns), have persisted as permanent paramilitary units giving a quite literal meaning to "drug war." The tone of the articles, although not strident, is remarkably unlike the usual deferential Times coverage of drug policy. " URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n221.a09.html URL: http://www.mapinc.oLVALVVrg/drugnews/v99.n228.a09.html RELATED: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm ************************************************************************ (4) SENATORS JOIN OUTCRY TO HALT NEW BANK RULES http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/1999/ds99.n89.html#art5 (March 12) Their quick about face of both House and Senate on what was originally considered to be an obligatory perk for law enforcement remains an important lesson; the story was leaked on the Internet. "... the quick Senate abandonment of "know your customer" is a development we should note; it's explicit evidence that "tough on drugs" is easily trumped by opposition from middle class (contributing) voters. Compare this response to the way Congress treated the (valid) idea that ejection of entire families of individual drug users from public housing is blatantly unfair. URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n252.a07.html ************************************************************************ (5) GOV. WANTS TO DISCUSS LEGALIZING DRUG USE http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/1999/ds99.n104.html#art3 (July 2) The amount of coverage still being generated by a single high ranking politician who broke ranks on the drug war is a good candidate for story of the year. We clearly underestimated its significance in our original comment, lumping his announcement in with 2 newspaper editorials. "In a delayed comment on the Mica Subcommittee hearings, the Salt Lake Tribune delivered an unequivocal and devastating verdict; similar sentiments were expressed by the governor of New Mexico and endorsed by the Albuquerque Journal." URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n670.a06.html RELATED: http://www.mapinc.org/johnson.htm ************************************************************************ (6) COLOMBIA IS REELING, HURT BY REBELS AND ECONOMY http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/1999/ds99.n107.html#art16 (July 23) Unlike the other stories, the evolution of Colombia into our most pressing overseas drug pLVALWroblem didn't have a crisp beginning. The first suggestion of a billion dollar "solution" didn't emerge until after McCzar made an emergency visit in July, in the wake of a mysterious plane crash. "Colombia is the country most jeopardized by American unreality in the area of drug policy; recent guerrilla attacks and economic setbacks have combined to make a bad situation far worse. One searches in vain for any sense of restraint in American pronouncements on Colombia; McCzar seems ready to recommend pouring unlimited assets into a hopeless cause- could that ultimately include American troops?" URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n739.a09.html RELATED: http://www.mapinc.org/latin.htm ************************************************************************ (7) DRUG USE: A CAMPAIGN ISSUE IN THE MAKING http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/1999/ds99.n111.html#art4 (August 20) Even though George W. Bush was cut a lot of slack by the media over his refusal to discuss his possible cocaine use in the distant past, we can expect this issue to come up again. "Another Southwestern governor under pressure on drug issues was much less forthcoming- and it could cost him. The refusal of George W. Bush to address allegations that he once used cocaine could not only jeopardize his quest for the nomination; once nominated, it could raise the drug war as a campaign issue in 2000, no matter what the candidates or their parties might prefer." URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n842.a09.html RELATED: http://www.mapinc.org/bush.htm ************************************************************************ (8) THE NEXT STEP IN THE WAR ON CRIME http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/1999/ds99.n112.html#art7 (August 27) DiIulio's second editorial signalled a further shift in focus toward drug courts, testing, and "treatment; " a shift drug policy planners have probably had up their sleeves for a while. "John DiIulio, who might properly be called an incarcerationLVAL X intellectual, created ripples a few months ago by announcing that "2 million prisoners are enough" in the Wall street Journal. On Monday he offered a peek at another card: increased use of probation and enforced drug and alcohol "treatment." A kinder, gentler police state? URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n897.a06.html ************************************************************************ (9) LA CORRUPTION PROBE INDICATES VAST SCANDAL http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/1999/ds99.n116.html#art6 (September 24) The headline writer simply could not have know how "vast" it really was; as of now, three thousand potentially tainted convictions and still counting. "Arrest of a veteran narc when eight pounds of cocaine disappeared from an evidence room ultimately triggered revelations of past misconduct which now are rocking an embattled LAPD to its foundations. Coverage by the Times has been extensive- but has so far has minimized connections to the drug war." URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n1021.a01.html RELATED: http://www.mapinc.org/corrupt.htm ************************************************************************ (10) TELEVISION JUDGE JUDY SHEINDLIN VISITS BRISBANE http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n1245/a07.html (Nov 26) The acerbic TV Judge didn't realize the size of her audience when she made hateful remarks about HIV/AIDS victims in Australia. This item is unique in that MAP was the mechanism which transmitted it to the rest of the world. URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n1245/a07.html RELATED: http://www.mapinc.org/judy.htm ************************************************************************ (11) MASS GRAVES FOUND IN MEXICO http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/1999/ds99.n126.html#art2 (Dec 3) Only nine sets of remains were found, but the search still isn't over; the response of both Mexican and US governments confirm that a lot of people have disappeared. "On Tuesday the 30th, both the Post anLVALYd the New York Times reported that US and Mexican officials were exhuming between 100 and 300 corpses from two mass graves near Ciudad Juarez; its still to early to gauge the impact of these revelations; they will at least spoil ONDCP's Holiday season; perhaps even worse." URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n1293/a04.html RELATED: http://www.mapinc.org/latin.htm ************************************************************************ (12) EDITORIAL: DRUG TREATMENT GETS A BOOST http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/1999/ds99.n128.html#art1 (Dec 17) Clearly concerned by the press focus on our rapidly growing population of prison inmates, the upper echelons of policy planners have been casting about for alternatives. Changes advocated by DiIulio and others now seem to be coming into their own. How well the police and prison guards will accept more "treatment" remains to be seen. "In an amazing confirmation of current official schizophrenia toward the human psyche, the NYT's editorial page clucked approvingly over McCzar's announcement that our prison-based drug war would be (somewhat) "medicalized," even as its front page published the US Surgeon General's report on the shameful neglect of mental illness." URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n1346/a04.html RELATED: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm ************************************************************************ (13) A FRACTION OF GLOBE'S PEOPLE, A QUARTER OF ITS PRISONERS Op-Ed of the Year http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/1999/ds99.n128.html#art13 (Dec 17) William Raspberry's crushing indictment of our national incarceration binge was more widely reprinted than any other ever archived by MAP. It's title in the Washington Post was: TWO MILLION and COUNTING "Nationally syndicated columnist William Raspberry of the WP wrote provocatively about the US incarceration binge; his last paragraph asks a very logical question." URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n1352/a01.html LVALZRELATED: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm ************************************************************************ IN MEMORIAM ----------- The latter months of 1999 also witnessed the deaths of three esteemed reformers: Memoriam Gil Puder - Only the Good Die Young by Ethan Nadelmann and Eugene Oscapella http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/1999/ds99.n124.html (November 19) Eulogy for Jim Rosenfield by Tim Perkins, Chris Conrad, and Tom O'Connell http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/1999/ds99.n129.html (December 24) Just prior to publication we also learned that Rufus King, Sr., age 82, died of cancer at his home here in Washington, DC. He was a friend of reform who traveled in the most establishment of circles. ************************************************************************ HOT OFF THE 'NET ---------------- CORRECTION In our last issue we posted a URL to an article entitled: "Jim Rosenfield's Rabbi Opposes Reform" To anyone who read the article or the title it was likely obvious that it should have read "Jim Rosenfield's Rabbi *Endorses* Reform" Our apologies for this error which was compounded by the fact of Jim's untimely death on Dec. 14 The 'War On Drugs' And The Death Of Compassion. http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n1386.a03.html === CERD WEB SITE ANNOUNCED The Center for Educational Research and Development (CERD) A new web site and organization has been announced. Its goal to assist children and families are best described at their website: http://www.cerd.org/ The group is headed up by Dr. Joel Brown. Best of luck in the coming century to this new group. === GLOBAL PEACE WALK The Global Peace Walk 2000 begins on January 15 in San Francisco and wraps up in NYC October 24. More info and links at http://members.home.net/amccormick/Globalpeace.html ************************************************************************ QUOTE OF THE CENTURY -------------------- From a Molly Ivins column, September 8, 1998, inLVAL[ the Anchorage Daily News. The quote is attributed to Upton Sinclair, a turn of the century muckracker, famous for "The Jungle" exposing the Chicago meat packing industry. "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it." -- Upton Sinclair This obviously has implications for the drug warriors, law enforcement, treatment counselors, urine testers, media parasites, forfeiture benefactors, etc. The list is endless. Thanks to Eric Skidmore for submitting this quote. *********************************************************************** DS Weekly is one of the many free educational services DrugSense offers our members. Watch this feature to learn more about what DrugSense can do for you. TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS: Please utilize the following URLs http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm News/COMMENTS-Editor: Tom O'Connell (tjeffoc@drugsense.org) Senior-Editor: Mark Greer (mgreer@drugsense.org) We wish to thank all our contributors, editors, NewsHawks and letter writing activists. NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. REMINDER: Please help us help reform. Send any news articles you find on any drug related issue to editor@mapinc.org === NOW YOU CAN DONATE TO DRUGSENSE ON LINE AND IT'S TAX DEDUCTIBLE DrugSense provides many services to at no charge BUT THEY ARE NOT FREE TO PRODUCE. We incur many costs in creating our many and varied services. If you are able to help by contributing to the DrugSense effort visit our convenient donation web site at http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm -OR- Mail in your contribution. Make checks payable to MAP Inc. send your contribution to: The Media Awareness Project (MAP) Inc. d/b/a DrugSensLVAL \e PO Box 651 Porterville, CA 93258 (800) 266 5759 MGreer@mapinc.org http://www.mapinc.org/ http://www.drugsense.org/ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 31 Dec 1999 15:38:11 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: MN: Ventura Applauds Call to Legalize Marijuana Message-ID: <4.2.0.58.19991231153748.00bb5700@olywa.net> Newshawk: Martha G. http://www.cannabisnews.com/ Pubdate: Wed, 29 Dec 1999 Source: Duluth News-Tribune (MN) Copyright: 1999 Duluth News-Tribune Contact: newstrib@duluth.infi.net Address: 424 W. First St., Duluth, MN 55802 Website: http://www.duluthnews.com/ Forum: http://krwebx.infi.net/webxmulti/cgi-bin/WebX?duluth Author: Jim Ragsdale, Saint Paul Pioneer Press VENTURA APPLAUDS CALL TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA ST. PAUL -- Gov. Jesse Ventura, who has long questioned whether laws against marijuana make sense, had words of praise Tuesday for a fellow governor who has called for the legalization of all drugs. In an interview on Minnesota Public Radio, Ventura talked about the failures of laws against prostitution and marijuana use, and then added a boost for New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson. Johnson provoked outrage from fellow politicians and police officers this summer when he said the legalization and regulation of heroin, cocaine, marijuana and other illegal drugs would be a better alternative than the failures of the current war on drugs. ``I'm very pleased that Gov. Johnson of New Mexico has come out very strongly in support of stopping the war on drugs and going after it a different way,'' Ventura said in the interview. Elaborating on his views on drugs and prostitution, Ventura said, ``Prohibition doesn't mean something's going to go away.'' He added that he thinks it is not good policy to arrest prostitutes. ``In light of our situation, where we have an overflow of prisoners right now, and our beds are full in all our prisons, I don't see where it does any good to arrest people for prostitLVAL ]ution and put them in jail for that,'' Ventura said. Asked about marijuana, he said, ``I view that as no different than alcohol, or tobacco, for that matter.'' He said alcohol and tobacco ``buy their legality'' by producing tax revenues. ``You've got two very deadly drugs that buy their legality, simply by paying taxes,'' Ventura said. ``They pay the government tobacco pays the government, and alcohol pays the government, and therefore they are legal where all the other ones are not allowed that flexibility, to pay for legality.'' While Ventura has mused off and on about whether marijuana and prostitution should be legalized, his statement in support of the New Mexico governor takes his libertarian approach a step further. Johnson, a Republican in his second and last term, crystallized his views in a speech to the Cato Institute in Washington in October. He said the war on drugs, costing $50 billion for police, courts and jails, has been ``an absolute failure,'' and added, ``Should you go to jail simply for doing drugs? I say no.'' Johnson said ``by legalizing drugs, we can control them, regulate them and tax them. If we legalize drugs, we might have a healthier society.'' He added, ``We need to make drugs a controlled substance just like alcohol. Perhaps we ought to let the government regulate it; let the government grow it; let the government manufacture it, distribute it, market it; and if that doesn't lead to decreased drug use, I don't know what would!'' John Wodele, a spokesman for Ventura, said he does not think Ventura and Johnson have spoken about the issue, although the two have met at national gatherings of governors. He said he is unsure if Ventura would go as far as Johnson has gone but said Ventura appreciates that Johnson is raising the issues. ``The governor has always been very receptive to ideas that take issues to the edge,'' Wodele said. He said Ventura thinks ``a huge amount of our tax dollars are misdirected'' in the fight against illegLVAL n ( } * ~ 0-5Qkuryakynhypercharger.jpg[ms] KA8412CHROME HYPERCHARGER 91-UP EVO XL W/ S&S, E OR G, INS - NUGGET YELLOW199.95KURY AKYNKURYAKUN HYPERCHARGERSwo)?kuryakynhypercharger.jpg[ms] KA8410CHROME HYPERCHARGER 93-99 EVO BIG TWIN W/ STK CARB - USE W/ SCR EGL BREATHER, INS - NUGGET YELLOW159.95KURY AKYNKURYAKUN HYPERCHARGERS)?kuryakynhypercharger.jpg[ms] KA8409CHROME HYPERCHARGER 93-99 EVO BIG TWIN W/ STK CARB INCL KA BREATHER, INS - NUGGET al drugs but added that he expects no legislative proposals in this area from the governor this year. Public Safety Commissioner Charlie Weaver, a Ventura appointee and former legislator and prosecutor, declined to comment on Ventura's remarks. He did say that despite Ventura's libertarian leanings, the governor has been sensitive to law enforcement concerns about the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes and the growing of industrial hemp as a cash crop. Sen. Allan Spear, DFL-Minneapolis, chairman of the Senate Crime Prevention Committee and a veteran of drug-policy debates, said after years of increasing sentences for drug crimes, no one in the Minnesota Legislature is talking about legalization. But he said he thinks marijuana should not be ``lumped together with the harder drugs,'' and added that there has been some discussion about reducing sentences for lesser drug offenders. __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake ------------------------------ End of restore V1 #360 ********************** ------ CRRH's Oregon petition now has over 30,000 signatures and needs 66,748 voters' signatures by July to qualify for a 11/7/2000 vote. ------ To subscribe, unsubscribe or switch to immediate or digest mode, please send your instructions to <restore-owner@crrh.org>. ------ *Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp* CRRH ; P.O. Box 86741 ; Portland, OR 97286 Phone:(503) 235-4606 Fax:(503) 235-0120 Web: http://www.crrh.org/ LVALD_restore Sun, 2 Jan 2000 Volume 8 : Number 2 In this issue: ALERT!!!!!!!! ALERT!!!!!!!! Intercepted radio report Re: Our New Year Re: Strategy Re: restore V1 #359 Re: restore V1 #360 [Fwd: Cannabis and cancer well kind of] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 31 Dec 1999 17:00:56 -0900 From: Charles Rollins Jr <chuck@mosquitonet.com> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: ALERT!!!!!!!! ALERT!!!!!!!! Message-ID: <386D5FD8.1C7@mosquitonet.com> World: As revelers celebrated the dawn of the year 2000, the doom sayers where proved right. A rocket ship filled with rodents storm the capital. A clickity clickity noise filled the sky as the power by exercise wheel power filled the sky. The rodents demanded to be taken to the drug Czar who they believe is the ruler of this plant because of his unmistakably resemblance to a weasel. The Czar couldn't be reached for comment because he was still trying to win a bet that he really could find his butt with both hands. After two weeks he's still trying. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 31 Dec 1999 17:17:42 -0900 From: Charles Rollins Jr <chuck@mosquitonet.com> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Intercepted radio report Message-ID: <386D63C6.3EA8@mosquitonet.com> "Guy smily reporting for ABC NEWS!!! Its true Rodents have landed in the capitol. At first the appearance was dismissed as a convention of "earth weasels" such as the DEA, politicians, or bureaucrats." (Static) "The people of earth have nothing to fear! We have the biggest and best weasels in the universe! Just look at the last elections!!! A further update the drug Czar still hasn't found his Butt." ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 31 Dec 1999 18:49:25 -0500 From: LEON C GOLDEN <tigger2333@juno.com> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Re: Our New Year Message-ID: <20000101.004619.-258091.0.TIGGER2333@juno.com> LVALNSame to U, your Family and Friends!! L8r Leon On Fri, 31 Dec 1999 06:41:20 -0800 "CRRH mailing list" <restore@crrh.org> writes: > As we experience the world's odometer rolling over to mark a > significant > milestone in the history of mankind, I want to take this opportunity > to wish > you, all the people I share thoughts with over this wonder of our > age, > the internet, the very best in the coming years. > > My wish for all the individuals and communities of the world; Life, > Liberty, and Happiness! > > In Liberty, > > Rick > > snip ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 31 Dec 1999 22:57:32 -0800 (PST) From: Oregonians for Personal Privacy <opp@efn.org> To: Ralph Romano <wricgl1@email.msn.com>, CRRH mailing list <restore@crrh.org> Subject: Re: Strategy Message-ID: <Pine.GSU.4.05.9912312239230.26637-100000@garcia.efn.org> Only corporate ag business will be able to afford the security necessary to grow hemp without at least personal use for adults being legal. As for IH being the most important; maybe to Soros and friends who have brought us restricted, Photo ID with the special disease tax, and soon to be sold to you Medical Marijuana "LEGALIZATION". It (legalization) has nothing to do with wanting to get high and party. It's about individual liberty and societal freedom- i.e. Privacy. About stopping the police state, denying the prison industry and pacified long term and stable work force without which Prison "INDUSTRY" is not possible nor profitable. The War on drugs is but an excuse to wage war for societal control. __end__ On Wed, 29 Dec 1999, Ralph Romano wrote: > The push is always to legalize pot instead of concentrating on Industrial Hemp. IH is the important thing to fight for. You fuel the fire because wanting pot legal is saying to the establishment, "Let's get high, drop out and be irresponsible." Industrial Hemp is tLVAL{d arestore Wed, 21 Mar 2001 Volume 9 : Number 70 In this issue: Resigned from FLCAN KUB: Auburn Journal: County faces lawsuits over pot raids KUB: Auburn Journal: Kubby says he won't accept terms of sentencing KY: Hemp A Cover For Legalizing Pot Canada: BC Marijuana Party opens HQ Mexico: President Fox Talks Drug Legalization New Zealand: Progress On Hemp Trial Planting New Zealand: Hemp: Support Urged For Industry Canada: Ex-Londoner (Ontario) taking pot crusade to top court CA: Case For Medical Marijuana IL: Bill To Study Hemp Farming Crops Up Again In Legislature CA: Landmark day for Shasta med mj patients! KUB: KCRA (NBC): Kubby Refuses To Wear Electronic Monitoring Device A little breakthrough - or thanks for small mercies! X guidelines MAP Letter Writing Volunteer Update ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 01:18:29 -0500 From: cowboy@jug-or-not.com To: cowboy@jug-or-not.com Subject: Resigned from FLCAN Message-ID: <3.0.5.32.20010320011829.0095c700@jug-or-not.com> Due to Personal Problems I have with the leadership, management style, and handling of finances by Jodi James and her unwarranted seizure of power within the organization, I have chosen to resign Immediately as Vice President of Florida CAN and have also resigned from the Board. I will pursue starting my own non profit perhaps a regional CAN or just a CAN chapter in Jax. I have also chosen to seek employment in a law office or journalistic type setting as I am having financial troubles at this time. Instead of seeking a job months ago I had instead counted on money from Florida CAN as a salary which had been promised since December. A very small percentage of which has actually materialized. This will not effect my membership or participation on the boards of FMR or CAMM. It may LVALbeven promote Me to be more active with these groups. I personally do not trust Jodi, her direction, or authority and refuse to submit myself to it. (no, I am not Glenn Allen and I dissed him as well). I also have concerns about the Save our families project and feel that it has little if any direct bearing on changing the policy of prohibition for medical marijuana patients or anyone else. Very few of the cases I reviewed actually included drugs and fewer even (maybe 2 or 3) have had anything to do with marijuana much less medical marijuana. I feel it is derailing time, energy, and attention from the petition and our goal to get this on the ballot one way or another. I also feel that personal reasons more than the goal of changing policy currently motivate this project and its director (jodi) and I refuse to be a part of it. Just my take Peace Scott Bledsoe ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 01:06:38 -0800 From: AMMA <amma@americanmarijuana.org> To: undisclosed-recipients:; Subject: KUB: Auburn Journal: County faces lawsuits over pot raids Message-ID: <B6DC5D9E.BCE8%amma@americanmarijuana.org> Pubdate: 20 Mar, 2001 Source: Auburn Journal (CA) Copyright: 2001 The Auburn Journal Contact: ajournal@foothill.net Address: 1030 High St., Auburn, CA 95603 Website: http://www.auburnjournal.com/ Author: Gus Thomson, Journal Staff Writer Phone: (530) 885-6585 COUNTY FACES LAWSUITS OVER POT RAIDS Counsel argues officers acted legally By Gus Thomson, Journal Staff Writer Marijuana raids in 1998 and 1999 have enmeshed Placer County in a series of lawsuits alleging that Sheriff's Department members overstepped their legal authority. Three lawsuits have been filed in federal District Court in Sacramento County, with Santa Cruz attorney Kate Wells representing plaintiffs Robert DeArkland, Chris Miller and Lyman Sanborn. But the Placer County County Counsel's Office is arguing that the raids wer= e conducted legally. Deputy County Counsel David HusLVALvcckey said Monday that the county has already rejected financial claims connected with the three suits and that led to civil suits in Sacramento County. A fourth suit has been filed in Sacramento Superior Court, with Steve Kubby attorney David Nick serving as legal representative. Kubby and former Rocklin dentist Steven Baldwin have also threatened civil action. Both Kubby and Baldwin were arrested after drug raids by the Placer County Sheriff's Department. Arguing that the marijuana seized from their homes wa= s for their personal medicinal use under Proposition 215, their cases went to trial but went unresolved after juries stalemated on whether they were guilty of possession of marijuana for sale. Last month, the Placer County District Attorney's Office decided not to pursue a second trial with either the Kubby or Baldwin case. Wells and Nick could not be reached for comment Monday. Huskey said the three cases handled by Wells will be heard one after another in 2003. Huskey said the main allegation against the county is that search warrants were obtained with false statements in affidavits. "We're saying it's simply not true and makes no sense," he said. Huskey said marijuana found in garbage cans formed a basis for a search and there is no reason to believe any marijuana was planted in the trash to facilitate granting a warrant. "Given the number of garbage searches undertaken there are far more misses than hits," he said. "It's a factual dispute that boils down to their word against the word of an officer." DeArkland, Miller and Nick's client also claim false arrest because of thei= r status as medical marijuana patients under Prop. 215, Huskey said. Under th= e Compassionate Use Act passed by voters in 1996, California residents can grow and possess marijuana for medical use if they have a doctor's recommendation. "The problem is that the officers are investigating whether they could be selling marijuana illegally," Huskey said. "A person could be a legitimate medicinLVAL# dal marijuana user but also selling. The officers proceeded in good faith." Under the concept of qualified immunity, officers can proceed without liability if the law is unclear, Huskey said. Prop. 215 doesn't provide law enforcement with guidelines on reasonable amounts of cannabis for medical marijuana patients. The amount of marijuana allowed to be grown by a patien= t became a key issue in the Kubby case. A total of 265 marijuana plants were confiscated from Kubby's home but he contended the crop was for personal us= e because he needed all of it to keep a rare form of adrenal cancer in check. Jurors deadlocked 11-1 in favor of acquittal. The lawsuits also claim excessive force by law enforcement during the raids= , Huskey said. "There was no physical harm," Huskey said. "Our response is that investigators went in with their guns drawn and shouting orders but that's typical. They're in a potentially dangerous situation and they holstered their guns as soon as the site was secured." A fifth suit against the county =AD also in federal court =8B has been launched by Joseph Sandbank. His suit has been filed without an attorney. Huskey sai= d Sandbank does not claim to be a medicinal marijuana patient. His claim is that investigators made a false statement to obtain a warrant, Huskey said. The total damage claim amounts are in the millions of dollars. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 01:13:49 -0800 From: AMMA <amma@americanmarijuana.org> To: undisclosed-recipients:; Subject: KUB: Auburn Journal: Kubby says he won't accept terms of sentencing Message-ID: <B6DC5F4C.BCED%amma@americanmarijuana.org> ******************************************************** THE AMERICAN MEDICAL MARIJUANA ASSOCIATION 15 Monarch Bay Plaza, Box 375, Dana Point, Ca 92629 Web site: http://americanmarijuana.org/ E-mail: amma@americanmarijuana.org Join our List: http://americanmarijuana.org/ *******************LVALe************************************* Pubdate: 20 Mar, 2001 Source: Auburn Journal (CA) Copyright: 2001 The Auburn Journal Contact: ajournal@foothill.net Address: 1030 High St., Auburn, CA 95603 Website: http://www.auburnjournal.com/ Author: Mike Fitch, Journal Staff Writer Phone: (530) 885-6585 KUBBY SAYS HE WON'T ACCEPT TERMS OF SENTENCING By Mike Fitch, Journal Staff Writer Steve Kubby announced this week he's unwilling to subject himself to electronic monitoring at home, acknowledging that his decision may mean he will have to spend time in jail. Kubby was a central figure in a recently-concluded trial that was one of the most contentious cases in Placer County history. Kubby and wife Michele initially faced felony charges arising from a raid on their Olympic Valley home that netted 265 marijuana plants, but those charges were dropped recently after a mistrial was declared in the case. At that point, the jury was leaning 11-1 in favor of acquittal. Steve Kubby, however, was sentenced on misdemeanor changes of possessing a psychedelic mushroom stem and peyote buttons. His sentence was 120 days of house arrest and three years of formal probation. In a letter to friends Sunday, Kubby said he intends to notify authorities that he won't accept electronic monitoring and probation, reporting that he and his wife will announce their decision at today's meeting of the county Board of Supervisors. "After becoming aware of the incredibly strict limitations of house arrest, we have concluded that the 120 days of house arrest, as well as the three years formal probation ordered by Judge John Cosgrove is a real and direct threat to my life," Kubby said. "Furthermore, we believe that sentencing me, when I am medically disabled and suffering from terminal cancer, to conditions that threaten my life for misdemeanor possession of a mushroom stem and some tiny cactus buttons is a violation of my Eighth Amendment protection against cruel and unusual punishment." In his letter, LVALfKubby acknowledged that he may face jail time as a result of his decision. Dave Peden, the county's deputy chief probation officer, declined to discuss the Kubby case in particular, but noted that people sentenced to house arrest as an alternative to jail time can wound up in jail if they refuse to cooperate. "Alternative sentencing is not a right," he said. "I mean everybody doesn't just get it." Typically, anyone sentenced to house arrest in Placer County wears an ankle bracelet that allows authorities to keep track of their whereabouts. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 08:04:18 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: KY: Hemp A Cover For Legalizing Pot Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010320080356.0477e930@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: Sledhead Pubdate: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 Source: Lexington Herald-Leader (KY) Copyright: 2001 Lexington Herald-Leader Contact: hleditorial@herald-leader.com Address: 100 Midland Avenue, Lexington, Ky. 40508 Fax: 606-255-7236 Website: http://www.kentuckyconnect.com/heraldleader/ Forum: http://krwebx.infi.net/webxmulti/cgi-bin/WebX?lexingtn Author: Jeanette McDougal Note: Jeanette McDougal, a St. Paul, Minn., schoolteacher, is chairwoman of Drug Watch International's hemp committee. HEMP A COVER FOR LEGALIZING POT Separating hemp reality from hemp rhetoric is like separating fleas from dogs: It's hard to do, and it's temporary. When one hemp fact is established, pro-hemp advocates rush in with another of their own facts. Should we really turn for facts to former CIA Director James Woolsey, who bragged about his client the North American Industrial Hemp Council, by saying there was not a tie-dyed shirt owner among the members? He neglected to check their boxers. Several of the board members were either vigorous pro-drug advocates or their close associates. David Morris, former vice-president of the council, pushed legalization of marijuana, marijuana cigarettes for medicine and industrial cLVALgannabis hemp for years in his columns in the St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press. Andrew Graves, founding and former board member, was party to a lawsuit to permit the growing of industrial cannabis hemp. The two lead lawyers in that suit Michael Kennedy of New York and Burl McCoy of Kentucky are on the roster of the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws, an aggressive pro-marijuana legalization advocate. Actor Woody Harrelson, an admitted pot smoker, marijuana and hemp advocate, hired Joe Hickey, executive director of the Kentucky Hemp Growers Association, as a consultant, allowing Hickey to leave his former job and devote all his time to hemp. Harrelson has sponsored many Kentucky hemp events, including a hemp essay contest for Kentucky schoolchildren, some of whom received a list of hemp facts intermingled with marijuana facts, such as, "smoking marijuana can be beneficial for emphysema, and can be used as a handy way to induce dry mouth before dental operations." John Howell, former hemp editor of High Times magazine, was in Kentucky in 1998 to help Graves, Kennedy and McCoy publicize the message that there is a hemp market. Howell recently represented the cannabis hemp industry at the National Conference of State Legislatures, without disclosing his ties to High Times. High Times, one of the oldest and most militant pro-drug/marijuana publications in the United States, announced in its March 1990 edition an "extraordinary plan" to legalize marijuana: "The way to legalize marijuana is to sell marijuana legally. When you can buy marijuana in your neighborhood shopping mall, it's legal ... Anything and everything you can think of will be made from hemp ... Supporters of the hemp legalization movement will be able to buy shares in hemp manufacturing. ... Legal and financial recognition of hemp's industrial value will mean legal marijuana, whether our government likes it or not! Pot will be legal! ... So invest in our future. Buy some legal marijuana. Buy a hemp shirt and wearLVALHh it proudly!" As to the economics of cannabis hemp, in 1999 about 540 Canadian farmers planted 35,000 acres of hemp. About 18,700 of those acres were contracted to a company called Consolidated Growers, which went bankrupt (Chapter 7) in February 2000, leaving 232 Canadian farmers (almost half of those who planted hemp that year) holding the hemp bag for $5 million to $6 million. Much of the 1999 crop is still being stored by Canadian farmers. In 2000, in all of Canada, a mere 13,500 acres were planted, down from 35,000 the year before. Ontario, the only province to do a costs/return per acre analysis, discovered that for fiber only, there was a $107 loss; for grain only, a $24 loss; and for grain and fiber, a $48 profit. An agriculture ministry official also warned farmers to have a contract with a reputable company before planting hemp, or they could lose $600 an acre. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the market for hemp fibers "will likely remain a small, thin market." The report calculates that U.S. imports of hemp fiber, yarn, fabric and seed in 1999 could have been produced on less than 5,000 acres. The hemp liability list goes on and on and on. At issue Feb. 19 commentary by former Kentucky Gov. Louie B. Nunn, "We can differentiate between hemp, marijuana" __________________________________________________________________________ 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: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 16:55:07 -0800 From: creator@drugsense.org (Cannabis Culture) (by way of "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org>) To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Canada: BC Marijuana Party opens HQ Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010320165437.051835f0@mail.olywa.net> BC MARIJUANA PARTY OPENS HEADQUARTERS, BOOKSHOP AND POT-TV MEDIA CENTRE Full-page ads in both Vancouver Sun and Province to promote the opening of new location LVALniBy Dana Larsen On Thursday, March 22, full-page ads in the Vancouver Sun and Province newspapers will announce the Saturday, March 24 grand opening of the BC Marijuana Party Bookshop, Headquarters and POT-TV Media Centre, at 307 West Hastings. This is the same location as the once great Hemp BC Superstore. All of the BC Marijuana Party candidates will be in attendance for this party convention and media conference, including Party Leader Brian Taylor, past Mayor of Grand Forks. With over 55 candidates already confirmed, the BC Marijuana Party is on track to run a complete slate in the upcoming provincial election. The party convention begins at 10am until 1pm.There will be a press conference at 1pm for media to meet the candidates and witness the historic grand opening of the BC Marijuana Party Headquarters, Bookshop and POT-TV Media Centre. The new party headquarters will sell marijuana related books, bongs, rolling papers, vaporizers, Personal Grow Units, hemp clothing, plus BC Marijuana Party t-shirts, stickers, buttons, ashtrays, roach clips, Cannabis Culture magazine, and much more. The location will also become home to the POT-TV studios, with the public able to watch the daily 4:20 Marijuana News and other features being filmed and produced in the back of the facility. Store patrons are invited to share their views at the VOX POT corner, and see themselves speaking to the world on POT-TV. BC Marijuana Party Bookshop: 682-1172 BC Marijuana Party Headquarters: 684-7076 - info@bcmarijuanaparty.ca - http://www.bcmarijuanaparty.ca POT-TV Internetwork: 682-0039 - info@pot-tv.net - http://www.pot-tv.net - - - - - * This is part of what will appear in the full-page ad in the March 22 Sun and Province: MARIJUANA AS A SYMBOL We are called the BC Marijuana Party because we see marijuana as a symbol for the many ways in which our governments fail to serve us, and for some of the new solutions to the problems which we currently face. Marijuana prohibition is a symbLVALv$ jol for government excess. The Canadian and BC governments spend hundreds of millions of tax-payer dollars each year in their unpopular and futile quest against cannabis. In a real democracy the war on pot would have ended long ago. Marijuana legalization is a symbol for the environmental solutions made possible by cannabis hemp, and for other renewable sources of fuel and fibre which need to be explored and developed for our future. Marijuana prohibition is a symbol for all medicinal herbs and alternative therapies which are being banned and restricted by the government. If we allow marijuana to be prohibited, then how can we expect easy access to other medicinal herbs? Marijuana legalization is a symbol for better policing. BC cops should direct their precious resources against real crime, not targeting pot use and other private behaviours. Marijuana prohibition is a symbol for the entire war on drugs. It is the drug war itself which creates crime, prostitution, violence and police corruption. Legalizing marijuana is the first step to a sane drug policy and a safer, more peaceful society. Marijuana legalization is a symbol of prosperity for all British Columbians. Marijuana is one of BC's strongest economic engines. Legalized marijuana would create many jobs, generate billions in tax revenues, and allow BC to cash in on the expanding global market for medicinal and industrial cannabis products. Marijuana prohibition is a symbol for the undue influence that the US has over Canadian laws and policies. BC does not want the US drug war, nor do we want their nuclear weapons in our waters. Unless we are willing to speak out now, we will be forced to accept both, and more. This election, vote for better laws, better police, more democracy and new solutions. Vote BC MARIJUANA PARTY! - - CClist, the electronic news and information service of Cannabis Culture To unsubscribe, send a message to cclist-request@drugsense.org containing the command "unsubscribe". - Subscribe to Cannabis CLVAL2kulture Magazine! Write to: Box 15, 199 West Hastings, Vancouver BC, CANADA, V6B 1H4 Call us at: (604) 669-9069, or fax (604) 669-9038. Visit Cannabis Culture online at http://www.cannabisculture.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 16:56:09 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Mexico: President Fox Talks Drug Legalization Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010320165605.0477eb80@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: M & M Family Pubdate: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 Source: Associated Press Copyright: 2001 Associated Press Author: John Rice, Associated Press Writer Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization) FOX TALKS DRUG LEGALIZATION MEXICO CITY (AP) - Struggling with the corruption and violence caused by drug trafficking, President Vicente Fox (news - web sites) says the solution might be to eventually legalize drug use. In an interview published by two newspapers Sunday, Fox indicated agreement with a police official who suggested last week that the only way to win the war on drugs was to legalize drugs - eliminating the profits and violence caused by illegal trafficking. "That's right, that's true, that's true," the newspaper Unomasuno quoted Fox as saying. But the president quickly qualified that statement, saying Mexico could not move alone and indicating he did not expect such a step soon. "When the day comes that it is time to adopt the alternative of lifting punishment for consumption of drugs, it would have to come all over the world because we would gain nothing if Mexico did it but the production and traffic of drugs ... continued here," he said. "So humanity some day will see that it is best in that sense," he said in remarks also reported by El Sol de Mexico. On Monday, Fox spokeswoman Martha Sahagun was asked to elaborate. "The president was very clear in what he said, that drugs and drug smuggling is a serious affair not only for Mexico, it is an affair that affects many countries in the wLVALlorld," she said. "...We have to follow this problem closely, in a joint and global manner, taking solutions at the appropriate times." Fox has vowed to cooperate closely with the United States against traffickers who have used Mexico both as a transit route and production site for narcotics. On Jan. 24, the new president announced a "great crusade" against drugs, saying, "I pledge a war without mercy." Fox promised to overhaul the nation's corrupt prison system and to follow a Mexican Supreme Court ruling last week that removed barriers to extradition of Mexicans for trial in the United States. His government has announced record seizures of drugs since Fox took office Dec. 1. Yet some Mexican experts - including Fox's Foreign Secretary Jorge Castaneda - have long suggested that the drug war is being lost and that some drugs should be decriminalized. "One thing is (Fox's) personal attitude and another is pragmatism faced with the United States," said Luis Astorga, a sociologist at the National Autonomous University who studies the drug trade. He said "Fox has gone further than previous governments" in accepting U.S. demands to fight drugs. A U.S. expert, Frank Cilluffo of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said that suggesting legalizing drugs "sends the wrong message to our children." "While some of the gang violence may be mitigated, the bad consequences of drug use would not," said Cilluffo, who heads a task force on the narcotics industry for the center. __________________________________________________________________________ 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: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 17:03:53 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: New Zealand: Progress On Hemp Trial Planting Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.2001032LVALm0170350.051957f0@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: http://www.hempstore.co.nz Pubdate: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 Source: New Zealand Herald (New Zealand) Copyright: 2001 New Zealand Herald Contact: letters@herald.co.nz Address: PO Box 32, Auckland, New Zealand Fax: (09) 373-6421 Website: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/ Forum: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/forums/ PROGRESS ON HEMP TRIAL PLANTING Recommendations on plans for a trial planting of hemp are expected to go to the Government shortly. Several Government departments are developing a regulatory framework for the industrial growth of hemp, used overseas for paper, curtains, clothes and cosmetics. __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. --- MAP posted-by: Andrew ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 17:04:26 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: New Zealand: Hemp: Support Urged For Industry Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010320170422.051967f0@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: http://www.hempstore.co.nz Pubdate: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 Source: Timaru Herald (New Zealand) Copyright: 2001 Timaru Herald Contact: adman@hcl.co.nz Address: PO Box 46 Timaru New Zealand Fax: 64 3 688 1042 Author: Helen Pickering HEMP: SUPPORT URGED FOR INDUSTRY Hemp farming could boost the South Canterbury and New Zealand economy if trials, expected to get the go-ahead next month, are successful, Woodbury organic farmer David Musgrave said on Monday. He is calling on regional leaders and farmers to get behind the hemp industry to ensure that local opportunities are harnessed. Growing hemp has been illegal in New Zealand because of its relationship with cannabis, but the Government is next month expected to give the all-clear for the trials to go ahead. If that is the case, Mr Musgrave said he would have his first crop planted at LVAL6nhis Woodbury farm in spring. He is also trying to arrange trials at other venues around Canterbury. "You can virtually trial as big an area as you can justify and I would be looking at, probably, one to two hectares. "We would be cold pressing the seeds for hemp oil, which has great health benefits. It contains a lot of essential fatty acids that other vegetable oils do not." Mr Musgrave said he was in the unique position that pressing hemp oil would complement his existing business, organic flax seed oil. He said the hemp seed cake - the part of the seed left when most of the oil had been removed - would be used to make hemp seed butter. "It is yummier than peanut butter and has more health benefits. It is full of quality protein as well as fibre. "And there is a Nelson manufacturer who has the international patent for hemp fibre insulation. He uses everything that is left after we take the seeds, which gives farmers a double whammy. "I think regional leaders need to get to work to ensure these benefits are kept in the region. "Leaders in Motueka and Taihape are already lobbying to get the business there." Mr Musgrave's said his flax oil business was growing and he was always looking for other organic farmers to grow for him. __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. --- MAP posted-by: Josh Sutcliffe ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 17:04:47 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Canada: Ex-Londoner (Ontario) taking pot crusade to top court Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010320170443.05190080@mail.olywa.net> Source: London Free Press (CN ON) Copyright: 2001 The London Free Press a division of Sun Media Corporation. Contact: letters@lfpress.com Website: http://www.canoe.ca/LondonFreePress/home.html Pubdate: Tue, 20 Mar LVALo2001 Author: Ian Gillespie, Free Press Columnist Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/clay.htm (Clay, Chris) Ex-Londoner taking pot crusade to top court Chris Clay says our marijuana laws "don't make any sense." He should know. After all, this is the guy who got a government loan to help finance a shop where he sold pot pipes, rolling papers and other paraphernalia. Not only did the Youth Venture program lend him money for his cannabis shop (Clay says a federal official told him the store "looked like it would do well"), but the police helped him out, too. "There was a break-in at my store once," recalls the former Londoner. "The police came and they actually caught the thieves and (the police) returned everything. It was an interesting sight, seeing police carrying all these big (pipes) and putting them back on the shelf." It's been almost six years since police raided Clay's Hemp Nation store on Richmond Street, shortly after he started selling tiny marijuana plants to customers. Clay, who was later convicted on trafficking and possession charges, did it because he wanted to change Canada's marijuana laws. Now, it looks like he'll get his chance. Last week, the Supreme Court of Canada agreed to hear three test cases that could result in the decriminalization of marijuana. One of those cases, which should be heard early next year, belongs to Clay. The 30-year-old London native, who moved to B.C. three years ago and now runs a Web design company in Victoria, is an unlikely activist. A soft-spoken father who doesn't pretend pot will solve the world's problems, Clay says he now tokes about once a month. And he doesn't think teenagers should be allowed to smoke pot until they're 18 or 19 years old. "It's illegal now, but a lot of teenagers smoke it anyway," he says. "So if they're going to do it, we can at least teach them to do it sensibly." Sensible is a word, however, that seems missing from this law. It's a law that, according to the Addiction Research Foundation, morLVALVpe than a quarter of Canadians admit to having broken. It's a law that has saddled more than 600,000 Canadians with criminal records that restrict their careers and travel. It's a law that, back in 1972, Canada's LeDain commission concluded should be phased out, and marijuana decriminalized. And it's a substance many observers, including most of the lower court judges who ruled on the three cases, conclude is relatively harmless -- apart from chronic use, which may lead to bronchitis. "You can still find some police officers who say it's a gateway drug that leads to other drugs, but they're lone voices out there that are saying this," says Clay, who was placed on probation for three years after his 1997 trial. "Most people think it should be decriminalized. Anybody who's looked into the issue at all comes to the same conclusion." But won't decriminalizing pot send the wrong message to young people? "Just because something is legal does not mean society condones it," he says. "Potato chips are legal and they're bad for you. But that doesn't mean society condones or promotes the use of junk food." Clay would like to see marijuana decriminalized, regulated and taxed. That would create revenue for the government, pull profits away from the black market and organized crime, and remove the stain of a criminal record from hundreds of thousands of otherwise law-abiding Canadians. Of course, Clay isn't overly optimistic. He has a 30-year-old newspaper clipping advocating the same things. "This should've been done long before I was born," he says. "And now, my son is growing up and it's still illegal. I certainly hope that someday he doesn't get a criminal record from smoking a joint. It's ridiculous." - - CClist, the electronic news and information service of Cannabis Culture To unsubscribe, send a message to cclist-request@drugsense.org containing the command "unsubscribe". - Subscribe to Cannabis Culture Magazine! Write to: Box 15, 199 West Hastings, Vancouver BC, CANADA, V6B 1H4 CaLVALJqll us at: (604) 669-9069, or fax (604) 669-9038. Visit Cannabis Culture online at http://www.cannabisculture.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 19:20:38 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: CA: Case For Medical Marijuana Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010320192022.0507cae0@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: Sledhead Pubdate: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 Source: Santa Barbara News-Press (CA) Copyright: 2001 Santa Barbara News-Press Contact: jlankford@newspress.com Address: P.O. Box 1359, Santa Barbara, CA 93102 Website: http://www.newspress.com/ CASE FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA It's been nearly five years since California voters approved a ballot measure allowing the medical use of marijuana, yet needy patients as well as those who try to distribute the drug to them still face harassment and potential prosecution. Here in Santa Barbara, the nonprofit Compassionate Cannabis Center was recently booted from its Carrillo Street offices after the landlord grew uneasy about possible legal difficulties. As a result, the group's future is now up in the air -- along with the help it provided more than 100 local patients. The center's Carrillo Street landlord wasn't necessarily overreacting. There are legal ambiguities surrounding the issue of dispensing medical marijuana. Fortunately, there is a relatively simple way to clear a path through the confusion. The city could adopt a local ordinance that sets out procedures and guidelines for legitimate medical distribution of the drug. As it happens, the Santa Barbara City Council has been considering just such an ordinance since September, and at 1 p.m. today its three-member Ordinance Committee will be holding a hearing on the subject. The main item on the committee's agenda will be testimony by medical marijuana advocates in favor of a medical marijuana ordinance. We hope the committee -- along with the council as a whole -- listens carefully. Numerous anti-drug crusaders, led by federal drug LVALNrczar Barry McCaffrey, insist that the medical benefits of marijuana are exaggerated at best and nonexistent at worst. That's nonsense. Research has clearly shown that marijuana can help ease the severe nausea that makes chemotherapy an intolerable ordeal for many cancer patients. Marijuana has also been shown to be similarly effective in treating the chronic pain and appetite loss associated with AIDS and multiple sclerosis. Based on these findings, California advocates of medical marijuana drafted what became known as Proposition 215, an eminently modest ballot measure designed to legalize the medical use of marijuana by seriously or terminally ill patients with the approval of a licensed physician. In 1996, Proposition 215 received 55 percent of the vote. The outcome may have seemed straightforward enough, but the result has been anything but. Federal law continues to outlaw marijuana -- medical or otherwise -- and in the absence of clear state or local guidelines implementing Prop. 215, the threat of arrest or other repercussions continues to hang over patients who use medical marijuana, distributors who provide it to them, and physicians who recommend its use. Across the state, a number of cities, including Arcata, Berkeley, San Jose and Santa Cruz, have attempted to clear the air by adopting sensible ordinances that establish guidelines for legitimate distribution networks such as co-ops -- and at the same time provide for the kind of police supervision necessary to prevent abuses. While they have been studying these approaches, Santa Barbara officials have delayed taking any such action themselves, saying they want to see how the U.S. Supreme Court rules on a case currently before it involving a medical-marijuana distribution program supported by the city of Oakland. That's all well and good, but there's no telling when a decision in the Oakland case may come. There will undoubtedly be other legal challenges and delaying technicalities. In the meantime, hundreds of Santa BarbLVAL6sara cancer, AIDS and MS patients who could legitimately use medical marijuana languish in legal limbo. As Westside activist and likely mayoral candidate Bruce Rittenhouse has noted, there is nothing stopping the city from quickly adopting an ordinance to protect medical-marijuana users and distributors from arrest, while leaving the details -- about things such as what constitutes a proper distribution scheme -- for later. According to David Pryor, the founder of the Compassionate Cannabis Center, this sort of action is precisely what he and other legitimate distributors need to be able to serve their patients properly. In fact, working distribution systems are already in place for pharmaceuticals used every day for legitimate medical purposes. For the sake of those whose suffering could so easily be relieved, we hope council members consider the advocates' arguments -- and act accordingly, without delay. __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 17:04:10 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: IL: Bill To Study Hemp Farming Crops Up Again In Legislature Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010320170407.05190ec0@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: larry@mapinc.org Pubdate: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 Source: State Journal-Register (IL) Copyright: 2001 The State Journal-Register Contact: letters@sj-r.com Address: P.O. Box 219, Springfield, IL 62705-0219 Fax: (217) 788-1551 Website: http://www.sj-r.com/ Section: Opinion Author: Adriana Colindres, Statehouse Reporter BILL TO STUDY HEMP FARMING CROPS UP AGAIN IN LEGISLATURE Persistence and patience often pay off. Rep. Ron Lawfer, R-Stockton, hopes that's the case with his latest proposal to study the feasibility of industrial hemp production in thLVAL\te Land of Lincoln. House Bill 3377 is a revised version of an idea that Lawfer and Sen. Evelyn Bowles, D-Edwardsville, have been pushing for more than a year. Lawfer recently introduced the bill, and the House Higher Education Committee approved it 10-3 on Wednesday, sending the measure to the full House. A similar bill previously cleared the General Assembly, but Gov. George Ryan vetoed it last month. It is illegal to grow industrial hemp in the United States without permission. In other countries, the plant's seeds and fibers are used to manufacture clothing, shampoo and a variety of other products. Lawfer and Bowles believe industrial hemp eventually could become a cash crop for Illinois farmers who have been grappling with low commodity prices for their stalwart crops, corn and soybeans. "I think there's a lot of positives in it for agriculture," says Lawfer, a dairy farmer. Opponents, however, criticize the notion because they say industrial hemp (like marijuana, its biological relative) contains THC, which induces a "high." They say farmers should turn to other alternative cash crops and that approving the industrial hemp proposal would send the wrong message to young people about drug use. Ryan raised those and other concerns when he rejected the earlier version of the industrial hemp bill. But supporters of the plan aren't giving up easily. They know that some pieces of legislation - like wine or cheese - simply need to "age" before winning widespread acceptance under the dome of the Capitol. Whether the industrial hemp bill falls under that category isn't clear, but history reveals other examples. One is dockside gambling, an idea that used to pop up in the General Assembly about as often as the fake moles in a "Whack-a-Mole" arcade game. Dockside gambling finally became law in mid-1999, enabling the state's riverboat casinos to stop cruising on the water and permitting patrons to come and go as they please. For years before that, though, dockside gambling legislLVALuation had a lot in common with the plastic moles that "Whack-a-Mole" players smack with a mallet. It would retreat into the shadows for a while, then emerge again later. Another piece of legislation that managed to become law after years of effort was the measure lowering the legal threshold for drunken driving in Illinois. Then-Secretary of State George Ryan and others scored a victory in 1997 when the General Assembly agreed to drop the 0.10 percent standard to 0.08 percent. But it took them six years to bust through the logjam that had kept the proposal in legislative limbo. Lawfer says his new industrial hemp bill is an attempt to address the governor's worries about the earlier version. The previous bill, for instance, called for the University of Illinois and Southern Illinois University to study the feasibility of industrial hemp production. The new bill excludes SIU because the U of I campus already has a "semi-secure" area where test plots of industrial hemp could be grown, Lawfer says. Making that change in the legislation likely would mean spending less public money on the study, Lawfer says. Ryan also had objected to its potential $1 million cost. Even with the revisions to his bill, Lawfer seems keenly aware of the uphill battle ahead. "The one issue that's hard to address, and is part of the educational process, is the belief (that approval of this bill) sends a wrong message," Lawfer says. "That's extremely hard to overcome." Adriana Colindres is a Statehouse reporter for Copley Illinois newspapers. __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 17:05:44 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: CA: Landmark day for Shasta med mj patients! Message-ID: <LVALDv5.0.2.1.2.20010320170531.051830e0@mail.olywa.net> Monday March 19, 2000 Today in Redding (Shasta County) medical marijuana patient Craig Bateman was returned his 37 grams of seized medicine and all personal property. The $11,000.00 real estate proceeds that was also seized has not been returned, yet. The return from the Shasta county sheriff's evidence locker was without incident with many supporters present. This is the first medical marijuana patient in Shasta County to be returned their medicine. Truly a landmark day for all patients/caregivers in Shasta county ! _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 13:50:16 -0800 From: AMMA <amma@americanmarijuana.org> To: undisclosed-recipients:; Subject: KUB: KCRA (NBC): Kubby Refuses To Wear Electronic Monitoring Device Message-ID: <B6DD1097.BD14%amma@americanmarijuana.org> > This message is in MIME format. Since your mail reader does not understand this format, some or all of this message may not be legible. --MS_Mac_OE_3067941016_897759_MIME_Part Content-type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit ******************************************************** THE AMERICAN MEDICAL MARIJUANA ASSOCIATION 15 Monarch Bay Plaza, Box 375, Dana Point, Ca 92629 Web site: http://americanmarijuana.org/ E-mail: amma@americanmarijuana.org Join our List: http://americanmarijuana.org/ ******************************************************** Source: KCRA-TV (NBC) Pubdate: Tues, March 20 2001 Website: http://www.thekcrachannel.com Contact: http://www.thekcrachannel.com/feedback/ Address: 3 Television Circle, Sacramento, CA 95814 Phone: (916) 444-7316 Note: This is a summary transcript of a story aired on NBC Sacramento affiliate, KCRA, the largest television station in Northern California. KLVALNwUBBY REFUSES TO WEAR ELECTRONIC MONITORING DEVICE ROSEVILLE, Calif., 12:41 p.m. PST March 20, 2001 -- A former gubernatorial candidate convicted of possessing a small amount of a psychedelic mushroom said that he would not wear an electronic monitoring bracelet, even if it means going to jail. A mistrial was declared last year against Steve Kubby and his wife, who were charged with growing marijuana for sale. The couple said that they were growing the pot in their Squaw Valley home because they use the drug to control chronic ailments. Kubby went before the Placer County Board of Supervisors Tuesday, saying that he is innocent of all drug charges against him. "I stand vindicated of all marijuana charges. I can tell you the convictions against me for two minor charges, for a mushroom stem and tiny peyote buttons, will be overturned," Kubby said. Kubby was sentenced to 120 days of house arrest that would entail wearing the electronic monitoring device. Previous Stories: * March 2, 2001: Charges Reduced In Kubby Drug Case * December 21, 2000: Mistrial Declared In Kubby Case * December 21, 2000: Jury Battling Over Kubby Case * December 15, 2000: Closing Arguments Made In Kubby Case * December 1, 2000: Kubby Takes Stand For First Time ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 09:07:05 +1100 (EST) From: =?iso-8859-1?q?sandy=20hay?= <environsand@yahoo.com.au> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: A little breakthrough - or thanks for small mercies! Message-ID: <20010320220705.20353.qmail@web6302.mail.yahoo.com> At last there is a little progression in the state of Queensland,Australia. Our Premier has announced that first time offenders for marjuana possesion will be given an option.Instead of a fine,they will be offered the choice of free rehabilitation. While it is only a small step and although the laws have not changed as yet,there is recognission that marjuana is a soft or recreational drug.Even taking it a step down from being a hard drug is an imLVALTxprovement,especially when the message is being sent to "mainstream straights"! Battle on ,batttle on, battle on! _____________________________________________________________________________ http://calendar.yahoo.com.au - Yahoo! Calendar - Access your appointments and meetings online. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 14:58:24 -0800 From: "Ashley Kennedy" <ashleyk@avn.com> To: "Bill Weinberg" <billw@echonyc.com> Cc: "Dana Beal" <dana@cures-not-wars.org>, "CRRH mailing list" <restore@crrh.org>, "news hawk" <editor@mapinc.org> Subject: X guidelines Message-ID: <005d01c0b191$47db42e0$9f00a8c0@ashleykennedy> Scientists Oppose Punishing 'Ecstasy' More Harshly Than Heroin U.S. Newswire 18 Mar 11:21 Top Scientists Oppose Move to Punish 'Ecstasy' More Harshly Than Heroin To: National Desk Contact: Mark Kleiman for the Federation of American Scientists, 818 995-6776 or 310 206-3234; e-mail: kleiman@ucla.edu WASHINGTON, March 18 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following was released today by the Federation of American Scientists (F.A.S.): Fourteen leading neuroscientists and drug policy experts are calling on the U.S. Sentencing Commission to reject a proposal to treat MDMA ("ecstasy") more severely than heroin. The Commission will hold a hearing on the proposal on Monday, March 19, at 9:30 a.m. and is expected to vote Tuesday on the punishment increase. See http://www.ussc.gov/AGENDAS/not3_19_01.htm. In a strongly worded statement, bristling with statistical comparisons, the group of experts said that there was "no justification, either pharmacologically or in policy terms" for the proposed increased penalties. "If the Commission were to ratify the published proposal, the...change in sentencing would...divert enforcement resources away from heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine toward MDMA. The result of such a diversion would be to make the overall drug abuse problem worse." The statement was issued on behalf of the Federation of American ScienLVALDytists by Prof. Charles R. Schuster, director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse in the Reagan Administration. Signers included Dr. Jerome Jaffe, who was "drug czar" in the Nixon Administration. For the full statement and list of signers, see http://www.fas.org/drugs/MDMAsentencing.pdf. The U.S. Sentencing Commission establishes binding guidelines that control sentencing in all Federal criminal cases. In a bill passed late last year, Congress instructed the Commission to increase the sentences handed out to dealers in "ecstasy," the most popular of the "club drugs" whose use has been rising among young people in recent years. Sentencing for drug offenses is based primarily on the weight of the drugs involved in a transaction. "Offense levels" have been established for various quantities of marijuana, and every other drug is given an "equivalency" that equates, for sentencing purposes, one gram of that drug to some number of grams of marijuana. Each gram of mescaline is treated as ten grams of marijuana, each gram of cocaine as 500 grams, each gram of heroin as 1000 grams (one kilogram), and each gram of methamphetamine as two kilograms. The offense level, combined with the criminal history of the offender, yields the sentencing range. Some drugs, including MDMA, are further subject to a minimum offense level, even for small quantities. Someone with no prior offenses who sold or gave even a single tablet of MDMA would, under the current rule, would face ten to 16 months in prison. Currently, one gram of MDMA has an equivalency of 35 grams of marijuana. The Commission has proposed an equivalency of 1000 grams, the same as heroin. Since the weight of a typical MDMA tablet is about ten times the weight of a typical dose of heroin, that means that each dose of MDMA would have the same sentencing value as ten doses of heroin. By a similar calculation, the Commission's proposal would effectively equate for sentencing purposes each dose of MDMA to about 800 marijuana cigarettes. The FederaLVALVztion of American Scientists' statement calls that equivalency "grossly disproportionate" to the harms involved. Based on comparisons between the death, addiction, disease, crime, and other damage created by heroin and MDMA, the drug expert group suggests that a ten-gram equivalency would be more consistent with the data. That would treat each dose of MDMA as the equivalent of one-tenth of a dose of heroin, or about eight marijuana cigarettes. "We're still finding out about the risks of MDMA use, especially possible long-term changes in certain brain regions," said Dr. Schuster, a leading neuroscientist. "No one would say the drug is safe. But treating it as worse than heroin is irrational. Heroin is far more addictive, leads to far more overdose deaths, causes enormous amounts of crime, and helps spread HIV/AIDS. On any one of those dimensions, MDMA is much less of a threat to public health and safety." Alfred Blumstein, former Dean of the Heinz School at Carnegie Mellon University and for ten years a member of the Pennsylvania Sentencing Commission, urged the U.S. Sentencing Commission to resist Congressional pressure to escalate MDMA penalties. "Setting an extreme sentence for the latest drug-of-the-year destroys the coherent sentencing structure reflecting the seriousness of the underlying crime. Creating coherence is the basic mission of a sentencing commission. It may be hard for legislators to resist the political pressure, but sentencing commissions don't have to run for re-election. Their job is to try to bring order out of the political chaos." The F.A.S. statement points out that the effect of the proposed change would go beyond sentencing to influence the distribution of law enforcement resources, because enforcement agencies and prosecutors take sentencing as a sign of the relative importance of cases against different drugs. from the dildo-infested cubicle of Ashley "The Fearless" Kennedy ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 14:27:03 -0800 FrLVAL{om: Mark Greer <Mgreer@mapinc.org> To: writers@drugsense.org Subject: MAP Letter Writing Volunteer Update Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010320135358.03cfb770@mapinc.org> --=====================_11540389==_.ALT Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Friends: You are receiving this message because you have previously signed up to receive Media Awareness Project (MAP) Focus Alerts. This is a new low volume one way list designed to help provide support, suggestions, ideas and encouragement for our entire list of active and effective members which currently numbers in the thousands of MAP letter writing volunteers. You should already be receiving MAP Focus Alerts once or twice a week. If not please see http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm These Focus Alerts are designed to use our combined efforts to focus on a single important drug policy related issue or article and, utilizing the power of our numbers, we hope to exert influence on these publications and help educate the newspaper being focused upon as well as the public on a wide array of drug policy issues. Over time we hope to use this list to provide a number of helpful hints to enable you to be more aware and involved in this powerful group effort. As you probably know, the Media Awareness Project (MAP) of the DrugSense organization has combined to generate tens of thousands of letters to the editor nation and worldwide. All of which have been archived on the Internet. See: http://www.mapinc.org/lists/sentlte/index.htm More than 5,600 of our letters to the editor (LTEs) have been published to date resulting in an advertising value of more than $5.5 million dollars. See http://www.mapinc.org/lte/ The LTEs have been very effective at educating and influencing both the media and public opinion on drug policy issues over time. We have archived the largest collection of drug policy news articles ever assembled. Currently more than 55,000 drug policy news articles are housed in the DrugNews archive. All are fully LVAL |searchable on any drug policy subject thus providing one of the most popular and valuable drug policy information resources available anywhere. Combined the DrugSense/MAP web pages receive nearly 3 million hits per month. This outstrips the ONDCP, PDFA, CASA, and DARE Combined. See http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/ I would also like to make you aware of the MAP "Writers Resources." it is a large collection of links designed to help you be more effective at your letter writing efforts. It also provides a number of links to valuable activism resources. See http://www.mapinc.org/resource/ If you would like to join other enthusiastic MAP members in interesting discussions on drug policy issues and activism please join the MAPTalk chat list or any of a wide array of other discussion groups and information resources. See http://www.mapinc.org/lists/maplists.htm Please consider taking this opportunity to renew your commitment to our letter writing efforts. Together We ARE making a difference. "A Letter a Week - That's All We Ask" We hope you find the information provided via this list valuable and that it helps keep you in the loop on our many joint efforts. Many thanks for all your past, present and future support, hard work, and impressive results. Mark Greer Executive Director DrugSense MGreer@mapinc.org DrugSense is working to encourage accuracy, honesty, and common sense in matters involving the failed, expensive, and destructive "War on Drugs." Get Involved - Learn about the Issues http://www.drugsense.org Contribute - Help us Help Reform http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm Find Information - Learn how to Make a Difference http://www.mapinc.org ------------------------------ End of restore V1 #5 ******************** * ------ 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 industria@ LVALP w ; i  B q $KJ m=edelbrockheads.jpg[ms] #1603Edelbrock performer heads for 84-91 BT models (evo)-black739.95EDELEDELBROCK HEADS||ke]"?edelbrockheads.jpg[ms] #1602Edelbrock performer heads for 92-99 BT models (evo)-black739.95EDELEDELBROCK HEADS||ke]"?dynajetthunderslide.jpg[ms] 81-9371Dynojet thunderslide kit for 99-00 BT models (twin cam)94.50LVPDYNOJET THUNDERSLIDE W/JET KITnib)?dynajetthunderslide.jpg[ms] 81-8112Dynojet thunderslide kit for 98-00 XL 1200S models94.50LVPDYNOJET THUNDERSLIDE W/JET KITid])?dynajetthunderslide.jpg[ms] 81-8109Dynojet thunderslide kit for 89-00 XL models (except 1200S)94.50LVPDYNOJET THUNDERSLIDE W/JET KITrmf)?dynajetthunderslide.jpg[ms] 81-8108Dynojet thunderslide kit for 89-99 BT models (evo)94.50LVPDYNOJET THUNDERSLIDE W/JET KITid])?dynaig.jpg[ms] 17624 & 16070Dyna 2000i single fire ignition w/dyna single fire coil for 83-99 XL/BT carbureted models (evo)294.95MID-USADYNA 2000i IGNITION"?dynaig.jpg[ms] 17624Dyna 2000i single fire ignition for 83-99 XL/BT carbureted models (evo)-module only189.95MID-USADYNA 2000i IGNITIONwo?dyna2000.jpg[ms] 17-961Dyna 2000TC single fire ignition for 99-00 BT models (twin cam)-module only219.95WBDYNA 2000 IGNITIONvrj?dyna2000.jpg[ms] 17505 & 16070Dyna 2000 single fire ignition w/dyna single fire coil for 94-95 XL, FLH, FLT / 96-99 XL/BT carbureted models (evo) (8-pin)294.50MID-USADYNA 2000 IGNITION$?dyna2000.jpg[ms] 17505Dyna 2000 single fire ignition for 94-95 XL, FLH, FLT / 96-99 XL/BT carbureted models (evo)-module only (8-pin)169.95MID-USADYNA 2000 IGNITION?dyna2000.jpg[ms] 16042 & 16070Dyna 2000 single fire ignition w/dyna single fire coil for 91-93 XL/BT / 94-95 FXR, Dyna, Softail models (7-pin)294.50MID-USADYNA 2000 IGNITION$?dyna2000.jpg[ms] 16042Dyna 2000 single fire ignition for 91-93 XL/BT / 94-95 FXR, Dyna, Softail models-module only (7-pin)169.95MID-USADYNA 2000 IGNITION?d402.jpg[ms] 410463Dunlop MH90H-21 D-402 Elite 2 Fr.Blk.68.50DRAGDUNLOPUUMG@ ?d402.jpg[ms] 409091Dunlop MT90HB-16 D-402 Elite 2 Rr.WWW113.50DRAGDUNLOPVVNH@ ?d401.jpg[ms] 408825Dunlop 100/90H-19 D-401 Fr.Blk.63.50DRAGDUNLOPOOGA: ?d401.jpg[ms] 408819Dunlop 90/90H-19 D-401 Fr. 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Box 86741 ; Portland, OR 97286 USA phone: (503) 235-4606 fax: (503) 235-0120 web: http://www.crrh.org/ LVAL ~d ~restore Thu, 22 Mar 2001 Volume 9 : Number 71 In this issue: AR: Marijuana Bill Altered, On Hold WA: Fight To Limit Property Seizures Continues CA: Editorial: Let Smoke Clear For Interpretation Of TX: Medicinal Marijuana? FL: Plant Growing Near Courthouse Was Marijuana CA: Medical Marijuana Ordinance Delayed Palm Springs, CA May 6 rally Press Release Supreme Court: Searching & Arresting Pregnant Women at Hospital Violates US Constitution KUB: URGENT: California Libertarian to defy probation conditions! KUB: Auburn Journal: Kubby asks supes to stop pot raids Got Crack ??? FL: Judge backs Hempfest over law KUB: NOTICE OF REFUSAL TO ACCEPT PROBATION Fwd: Hemp Dinner Canada: Pot party candidate lights into campaign increase in X penalty rave OD... Chicago crackdown coming More people on Restore mailing list. Strike on may 6th ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 09:25:39 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: AR: Marijuana Bill Altered, On Hold Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010321092528.04e3fec0@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: Jo-D and Tom-E Pubdate: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (AR) Copyright: 2001 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. Contact: voices@ardemgaz.com Address: 121 East Capitol Avenue, Little Rock, Arkansas, 72201 Website: http://www.ardemgaz.com/ Forum: http://www.ardemgaz.com/info/voices.html Author: Chris Osher, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette MARIJUANA BILL ALTERED, ON HOLD A provision that would have allowed for the expungement of any felony or misdemeanor originating from simple possession of marijuana after 1968 appeared headed for defeat Monday. But the rest of Senate Bill 861 by Sen. John Riggs, D-Little Rock, that would prohibit future felony convictLVALions for possession of an ounce or less of marijuana, remains alive. The Senate Judiciary Committee took up the bill Monday, and Riggs said he agreed with criticism that the section dealing with past arrests was confusing. An amendment by the committee deleted the retroactive portion of the bill, but the committee took no final vote. Riggs told the committee he drafted the legislation because he believes criminally prosecuting for possession of an ounce or less of marijuana takes a toll on the state's prison system and strains the budgets of prosecutors and courts. Laura Shue of Little Rock, staff attorney for the office of the prosecutor coordinator, said a poll of prosecuting attorneys throughout the state found opposition to the bill. Prosecutors fear that expunging past criminal records would burden staff and the bill is confusing as to what charges could be expunged. She said in an interview that the prosecuting attorneys will be polled again if the bill is changed to apply to future arrests. A revised bill will come before the committee Wednesday. Glen Schwarz, president of the Arkansas chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said in an interview that he'll still support the bill even if it doesn't apply to past convictions. He said that 8,000 people are arrested annually in Arkansas for possession of marijuana, about 68 percent of the drug possession arrests in the state. Shue said that Arkansas Code Annotated 5-64-401 (C) makes it a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to 1 year in jail and up to a $1,000 fine, to possess an ounce or less of marijuana. That law makes a second offense for such possession a Class D felony, punishable by up to six years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine. A third offense is a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine. Under the bill, anybody possessing one ounce or less of marijuana would be "guilty of a violation, punishable by a fine of not more than $200." ScLVALvchwarz said that 11 other states -- Alaska, Oregon, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio, North Carolina, New York and Maine -- enacted similar legislation in the 1970s. __________________________________________________________________________ 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: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 09:26:19 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: WA: Fight To Limit Property Seizures Continues Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010321092607.04e3ac50@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: Jo-D and Tom-E Pubdate: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer (WA) Copyright: 2001 Seattle Post-Intelligencer Contact: editpage@seattle-pi.com Address: P.O. Box 1909, Seattle, WA 98111-1909 Website: http://www.seattle-pi.com/ Author: Candace Heckman, Seattle Post-intelligencer Reporter FIGHT TO LIMIT PROPERTY SEIZURES CONTINUES Would-be Reformers, Law Enforcement Square Off Over Civil-forfeiture Laws When state senators last week failed to vote on legislation making it harder for police to confiscate private property, law enforcement agencies across Washington cheered. But others, on both a national and local level, insist the fight for civil-forfeiture reform is far from over. They think the climate in Washington may be ripe for a citizens initiative, such as the ones voters in Oregon and Utah overwhelmingly passed last November. The bill, introduced by Sen. Dow Constantine, D-King, would have changed the state's civil forfeiture laws by requiring that suspects be convicted before police and prosecutors take away their homes, cars or cash. Because most of their forfeited property comes from narcotics dealers, local authorities contend the new law would have crippled their offensive strategy in the war on drugs. The legislation would have hit the BellevuLVAL# e-based Eastside Narcotics Task Force particularly hard. Last year, the task force led the state in forfeiture, taking nearly $700,000, according to state records. Officers seized $2.6 million in assets; prosecutors say agencies typically keep about one-third of what they take. In Washington, most of the proceeds go back to the law enforcement agency that seized the property. The American Civil Liberties Union calls the practice an egregious conflict of interest. "To get your stuff back, you have to either hire a lawyer who knows what he's doing or go plead your case in front of another police officer," said Seattle lawyer Richard Troberman, a national expert in civil forfeiture law. "It's like letting the fox guard the hen house," Troberman said. "They say they're protecting the public from drug dealers, but more and more often, they're profiting from small-time drug users and people who grow medical marijuana." Last year, the Eastside Narcotics Task Force seized $4.5 million worth of illegal drugs, $3.29 million of which was of marijuana. Authorities, however, say marijuana trafficking from British Columbia is a particular problem, and they scoff at accusations that agencies are targeting petty possession cases. "They're making people think that if you get caught smoking a joint at home, the police are going to come and take your house," said Sheila Weirth, the King County deputy prosecutor assigned to the Eastside Narcotics Task Force. "I think it's a big misconception." The Eastside task force has been operating for 20 years and includes 10 officers from Bellevue, Redmond, Issaquah, Kirkland and Mercer Island, as well as Weirth, a DEA agent and a drug-sniffing black Labrador retriever named Dollar. In most instances, the task force seizes personal property, not real estate, although real estate is always worth more. Last year, the team seized $1.6 million in real estate, in addition to 41 vehicles, 24 guns and $437,471 in cash. While authorities acknowledge thatLVAL revenue from the forfeitures helps their departments, taking property seems to punish criminals more than prison terms. "You tell people that they're going to jail for 24 months and they're like, 'no big deal.' But you take their car away, and it doesn't even have to be a nice car, they get really, really upset," Weirth said. Seizing assets right away prevents criminals from transferring their property while they await trial, Weirth said. But Troberman said he's seen too many innocent clients spend thousands of dollars to settle cases or defend themselves. And that is only if it's worth hiring a lawyer. "If they take a car and it's worth $1,000," Troberman said, "you can't effectively hire a lawyer to get it back." 'People despise this' In the case of forfeiture, rarely has an issue made such strange bedfellows. Reform supporters range from the ACLU to the National Rifle Association. And while drug-law reform is traditionally a liberal issue, conservative Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., who has pushed federal reform for years, called the world of civil forfeiture "Kafka-esque." Congress moved last summer to curb forfeiture by federal authorities, whom defense lawyers say tend to be the biggest foxes of all. But by the time the bill hit the Senate floor, it was so diluted that some wondered whether it actually did anything. Nonetheless, the bill generated a lot of publicity, said Scott Ehlers, director of research for the Campaign for New Drug Policies in California. It was Ehlers' group -- a well-funded organization backed by a trio of investors, including billionaire financier George Soros -- that successfully pushed the Oregon and Utah initiatives. The group hasn't yet decided where it will focus its attention next. But its sights could be set on Washington. Ehlers said activists in the state support a drive to restrict civil forfeiture. "I tell people that this issue is like racial profiling one and a half years ago," said Gerard Sheehan, the ACLU's OlymLVALpia lobbyist. "People really despise this practice." Similar efforts to control forfeiture abuses are being made in at least a dozen other states, from Nevada to New Jersey. Most states, including Washington, have provisions in their statutes that protect innocent property owners, such as an oblivious spouse. But those provisions don't go far enough in making the forfeiture laws fair, Troberman said. 'Fry the big fish' Oregon's Measure 3 -- calling for a conviction before confiscation -- took effect in December. A short time later, the district attorney in Multnomah County, the county in which Portland is located, dissolved the forfeiture unit. The office could no longer afford to run it. The state had a 94 percent conviction rate of people whose property was taken, said John Bradley, Multnomah County's first assistant district attorney, and officials saw forfeiture as a way of taxing criminals. Although prosecutors in Oregon will try to "fry the big fish," the measure passed by voters was too broad, Bradley said. "It virtually eliminated all civil forfeiture in Oregon," he said. Weirth, of the Eastside Narcotics Task Force, fears the same thing could happen here. Any changes Washington makes to it current laws, she said, could signal the end to her agency's success in keeping drugs out of Eastside schools and neighborhoods. "People can differ about the law," Weirth said. "But what worries me is a lot of people who are trying to change the law don't understand the law." __________________________________________________________________________ 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: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 09:26:49 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: CA: Editorial: Let Smoke Clear For Interpretation Of Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010321092639.04e37LVAL480@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: Jo-D and Tom-E Pubdate: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 Source: Redding Record Searchlight (CA) Copyright: 2001 Redding Record Searchlight - E.W. Scripps Contact: letters@redding.com Address: PO Box 492397, Redding, CA 96049-2397 Website: http://www.redding.com/ Forum: http://www.redding.com/disc2_frm.htm LET SMOKE CLEAR FOR INTERPRETATION OF PROPOSITION 215 Finally, more than four years after voters approved the Compassionate Use Act, there's hope of defining the medical use of marijuana in California. Maybe. It couldn't come none too soon. Proposition 215 was intended to allow sick people use marijuana to ease their illnesses, but the measure as written and passed is so vague that the people who are supposed to benefit are more likely to end up in handcuffs and in court. Some comfort. The law is so confusing that we have law enforcement and prosecutors handling things differently from county to county and making their own rules of enforcement. This must stop. The state Supreme Court last week agreed to consider establishing standards for the use of medical pot. And at the Capitol last month, Sen. John Vasconcellos revived legislation that would do two things: Specify how many plants a patient would be permitted to grow for personal use and set up a statewide system for the registration of qualified users. To say these measures are long overdue is an understatement. Proposition 215 was the product of California's maddening initiative process, which allows measures to go on the ballot that lack precise language for their implementation. Letting law enforcement authorities interpret the proposition as they see fit has proved disastrous in Shasta County. The treatment of medical marijuana users by the Sheriff's Department and district attorney's office has bordered on harassment. Defendants have responded by filing suits against the county alleging abuse and unwarranted searches. It's gotten to the point where Shasta County law enforcement and the district attLVALHorney's office - and all law enforcement - need to step back and wait for clarification from the courts and Legislature. The Sheriff's Department and district attorney's office are wasting a lot of their time and resources plus the time of people who derive medical benefits from marijuana. Certainly there are higher priorities for arrests and prosecution. Let's get this clarified and stand down on the enforcement until such clarification comes. __________________________________________________________________________ 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: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 09:27:42 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: TX: Medicinal Marijuana? Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010321092731.04e3dec0@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: M & M Family Pubdate: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 Source: Battalion, The (TX) Copyright: 2001 The Battalion Contact: battletters@hotmail.com Address: 013 Reed McDonald Building, Texas A&M University, College Station TX 77843-1111 Fax: (409) 845-2647 Website: http://www.thebatt.com/ Forum: http://venus.beseen.com/boardroom/g/49212/ Author: George Deutsch Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal) MEDICINAL MARIJUANA? (U-WIRE) COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Last month, a bill that would lessen the penalties on chronically ill patients using marijuana as a pain reliever was introduced to the Criminal Jurisprudence Committee of the Texas House of Representatives. A bill that partially decriminalizes the medical use of marijuana in Texas is long overdue. The medicinal use of marijuana has been proven to sufficiently combat the effects of terminal illnesses while reducing side effects and requiring fewer prescriptions. "Under current law, patients may not be acquitted for marijuana possession in Texas courts even if they can show they have cancLVALner, marijuana reduces their nausea and vomiting, and they are using marijuana with their doctors' approval," said Chuck Thomas of the Marijuana Policy Project, a group that helps states form practical medical marijuana laws. "If enacted, this bill will allow Texas courts to make a distinction between the medical use of marijuana and the recreational use of marijuana." The idea behind this bill is that no one has the right to deny the chronically ill any type of effective medication, regardless of the social stigma surrounding it. Similar laws have already proven beneficial in California and Oregon, states traditionally more liberal than Texas. Marijuana has been written off for too long as the drug of choice for stoners. When assessing its worth, critics often fail to acknowledge its many positive, pain-relieving qualities. The new bill would not officially legalize possession or consumption of marijuana. Instead, it would provide a legitimate defense in court for those using the drug under a doctor's recommendation. Although this is a step in the right direction, the bill would not fully shield the ill Texans from their own government. Unlike current laws in eight other states, the new bill would not protect doctor-approved marijuana users from arrest if discovered. "If this bill passes, seriously ill people will still be arrested in Texas for using medical marijuana, but they would then at least have a fighting chance in court to explain their medical need," Thomas said. Currently, state legislation is the only way to legalize the medical use of marijuana; federal law still prohibits it. If the bill fails to pass, the terminally ill of Texas who rely on marijuana for medical treatment must continue to do so in secret. Ideally, the new bill will lead to further legislation to loosen restrictions on marijuana's use in Texas, a state whose drug policy is generally very conservative. "People have long dismissed Texas as a wasteland of ignorance and intolerance," said Rick DLVALv$ ay, the Texas state coordinator of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Legislation. "With this bill, the Legislature shows great clarity, compassion and maturity in addressing this medical issue." Day vows to rally support for the bill. "Texas NORML ... supports this first step in ending the 80-year war against responsible Texas consumers of cannabis. We ... urge fence-sitting legislators to ask themselves one question: 'Am I for, or against, cancer patients?'" __________________________________________________________________________ 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 F ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 09:32:27 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: FL: Plant Growing Near Courthouse Was Marijuana Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010321093217.04e3ab10@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: M & M Family Pubdate: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 Source: St. Petersburg Times (FL) Copyright: 2001 St. Petersburg Times Contact: letters@sptimes.com Address: 490 First Ave. S, St. Petersburg, FL 33701 Website: http://www.sptimes.com/ Forum: http://www.sptimes.com/Forums/ubb/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi Author: Chase Squires PLANT GROWING NEAR COURTHOUSE WAS MARIJUANA DADE CITY -- Jim Dome is no dope. The Pasco County courtroom bailiff recognized an unusual plant growing outside the Pasco County courthouse Monday as marijuana. The plant, about a foot tall, was growing in a parking lot median on the north side of the courthouse, Dome said. He plucked it out of the ground and called Dade City police to investigate. Police Department Capt. Linda Fox said tests showed the plant was indeed marijuana and confiscated it. Fox said it was not clear how the plant got its start on courthouse grounds, and there are no suspects. __________________________________________________________________________ DistLVAL2ributed 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: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 09:32:50 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: CA: Medical Marijuana Ordinance Delayed Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010321093239.04e3d760@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: Jo-D and Tom-E Pubdate: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 Source: Santa Barbara News-Press (CA) Copyright: 2001 Santa Barbara News-Press Contact: jlankford@newspress.com Address: P.O. Box 1359, Santa Barbara, CA 93102 Website: http://www.newspress.com/ Author: Rhonda Parks Manville, News-press Staff Writer Related: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n489/a03.html MEDICAL MARIJUANA ORDINANCE DELAYED Officials on Tuesday postponed an ordinance on the medicinal use of marijuana in Santa Barbara, pending clarification on the issue by the U.S. Supreme Court. "It seems to me that to wait is the prudent course," said City Councilman Gregg Hart, a member of the ordinance committee. Committee members Gil Garcia and Marty Blum agreed. An ordinance would clarify how the city keeps track of people who use the drug to alleviate medical problems, with a physician's approval, and it would dictate how the police respond when questions over medical use arise. The ordinance would decriminalize doctor-advised marijuana use, while using the drug to get high would remain a misdemeanor. Though the local ordinance has been postponed, council members lauded efforts by police and medical marijuana use advocates to meet and share ideas on policy. "We want to make sure that the right people are protected, and the wrong people aren't," Hart said. Californians voted to legalize marijuana use for medical reasons in 1996 with the passage of Proposition 215, also known as the California Compassionate Use Act. Proponents say marijuana helps alleviate nausea in AIDS and cancer patients, andLVAL that it reduces pain from conditions ranging from headaches to arthritis. But problems have arisen in implementing the proposition because of clashes between state and federal laws. Since federal law prohibits medical use of marijuana, some doctors are afraid that prescribing it for patients could result in the loss of their medical licenses. At Tuesday's City Hall hearing, Hart, Blum and Garcia said they support the city's efforts to decriminalize medical use of marijuana. But they don't see the point in taking steps to frame an ordinance when it could later be proven indefensible when the Supreme Court issues a ruling in United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative on March 28. The Supreme Court will be asked to decide if "medical necessity" can justify giving marijuana, in violation of federal law, to people who use it to relieve pain that cannot be alleviated with conventional treatment. Justice Stephen G. Breyer has recused himself from the case, an appeal from the former Clinton administration of a federal ruling in California establishing the medical necessity defense, because his brother, U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer, initially granted an injunction against the cooperative. Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon and Sheriff Jim Thomas have said they don't approve of moving forward until the Supreme Court case is resolved. They also want to wait for pending clarification on Proposition 215 from state officials. Several proponents of a Santa Barbara ordinance said the Oakland case is irrelevant because it deals with pot distribution rather than use. Community activist Bruce Rittenhouse, who is running for mayor, criticized the council for delays on the issue. "Sixty percent of the people in Santa Barbara voted for this," he said. "People should be able to use (marijuana) if they need it, and their doctor recommends it." Santa Barbara resident David Pryor, who uses marijuana for arthritis and depression and grows it for 125 local patients,LVAL said he is pleased with the dialogue that has developed between himself, medical officials and law enforcement officers. He said he wants to see the meetings continue so that a fair and effective ordinance can be crafted. __________________________________________________________________________ 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: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 11:09:12 -0800 From: PROBER13@aol.com (by way of "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org>) To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Palm Springs, CA May 6 rally Press Release Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010321110817.04db40b0@mail.olywa.net> MARIJUANA ANTI-PROHIBITION PROJECT of Palm Springs/Coachella Valley Compassion and Common Sense PO Box 739, Palm Springs CA 92265-0739 Phone ~ 760-799-2055 FAX ~ 760-418-9131 Email ~ mappnow@hotmail.com Press release MARIJUANA ANTI-PROHIBTION PROJECT MEETING TO DISCUSS MARIJUANA IN EUROPE AND MAY 6 RALLY INFORMATION Meeting set for Sunday, April 1 at 4:30 p.m. at Cathedral City Library Contact: Lanny Swerdlow at 799-2055 or page at 836-8166. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 20, 2001 The changing face of marijuana in Europe will be the focus of the April 1 meeting of the Marijuana Anti-Prohibition Project. Laws in the Netherlands, Belgium and soon Switzerland will allow for personal use of marijuana. Information on why this countries are following this course and how they are doing it will be presented. In addition, the latest information on the May 6 Alternatives to Prohibition Community Forum including the list of speakers and performers will be presented. The meeting will be held on Sunday, April 1, 2001 at 4:30 p.m. in the Community Room at the Cathedral City Library, 33-520 Date Palm Drive. There is no charge to attend and anyone seeking information on marijuana is invited to the meeting. AdditionaLVAL6l information may be obtained by calling 799-2055. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 11:32:00 -0800 From: Jeanette Irwin <jirwin@drugpolicy.org> (by way of "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org>) To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Supreme Court: Searching & Arresting Pregnant Women at Hospital Violates US Constitution Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010321113103.04dc2090@mail.olywa.net> THE LINDESMITH CENTER - DRUG POLICY FOUNDATION www.drugpolicy.org __________________________________________________ Breaking News: March 21, 2001 * U.S. Supreme Court Agrees That Searching and Arresting Pregnant Women at Hospital Violates United States Constitution * Statement of Lynn Paltrow, Esq., on Ferguson v. City of Charleston, 99-936 Today, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed Americans have the right to expect that when they seek medical help, their doctor will examine them to provide a diagnosis and treatment, not search them to facilitate their arrest. The opinion can be found at: http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/99-936.ZS.html For nearly five years, a state hospital in Charleston, South Carolina, collaborated with the local police department to search pregnant women and new mothers for evidence of drug use - without a warrant or their consent. Instead of using this information to provide appropriate medical care and treatment, medical staff gave it to the police who arrested women right out of their hospital beds. They were shackled and chained, some of them still pregnant, others weak and bleeding from just giving birth. Ten women, however, had the courage to stand up and say that this was unacceptable and unconstitutional. Today the United States Supreme Court agreed. The decision affirms that the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects every American - even those who are pregnant, even those with substance abuse problems - from warrantless, unreasonable searches. This case represented the intersection of the war on abortion and tLVALhe war on drugs -- using claims of fetal rights and false and alarmist assertions about drug use to justify unprecedented violations of patients rights to the detriment of women and children. "This is a major victory for patient-doctor confidentiality," said Dan Abrahamson, Director of Legal Affairs at The Lindesmith Center - Drug Policy Foundation who worked with the American Public Health Association and other major medical organizations involved in the case. After more than a decade, a court has finally given these women a measure of Justice, and reached the conclusion that the policy of testing and arresting was not only unconstitutional, it was also bad medicine. The Court's decision is in keeping with the recommendations of every leading medical group. More than seventy leading medical, public health and civil rights organizations, as well as leading researchers, joined amicus briefs opposing the hospital's policy. Not a single organization defended the hospital's blatant departures from basic standards of medical care and ethical practice. Organizations ranging from the conservative Rutherford Institute to the American Civil Liberties Union and medical groups including the American Medical Association, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Public Health Association opposed the policy. In addition, more than 140 leading researchers and organizations joined in a public letter to the US Surgeon General urging him, regardless of the outcome of this case, to oppose punitive approaches to substance abuse during pregnancy because they deter women from seeking critical pre- and post- natal care and drug treatment that can help them and their babies be healthy. Lynn Paltrow, Executive Director of the National Advocates for Pregnant Women, conceived of the Ferguson case, the first civil rights law suit to challenge a policy of arrest and the first to be decided by any federal court. National Advocates for Pregnant Women is the only national organizatioLVALVn devoted to addressing the intersection of the war on abortion and the war on drugs. NAPW acts as a national clearing house on information regarding maternal-state conflicts, and legal issues concerning drug using pregnant women and new mothers. Susan K. Dunn, The Women's Law Project and the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy are co-counsel in this case. #### * Statement of South Carolina Advocates for Pregnant Women * 171 Church Street, Suite 160, Charleston, SC 29401 scapw@scapw.org Contact: Wyndi Anderson, 843-579-0637 or 202-234-2812 Susan K. Dunn, 843-722-6337 Today the United States Supreme Court announced that the Medical University of South Carolina's Hospital policy of searching certain pregnant for evidence of drug use -- without a warrant or consent violates the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against unlawful searches. This decision makes clear that there is no drug or pregnancy exception to the 4th amendment - it protects all people who seek health care at public hospitals, reinforces and upholds the constitution as guarantor of personal privacy. "This decision vindicates years of courageous work by 10 of the women who challenged outrageous and dangerous policy of arresting and jailing obstetrical patients rather than providing need treatment. This decisions should send a loud message to the state of South Carolina - focus on treatment not punishment," said Susan K. Dunn, SCAPW's general counsel and attorney for the ten women who filed the civil rights action. Over seventy organizations and individual medical researchers joined amicus briefs condemning the policy, from the conservative Rutherford Institute to the American Civil Liberties Union, including women's rights, children's rights, leading medical organizations and leading scientific researchers in the field. Leading national and local medical, public health, and children's groups - including the American Medical Association, the South Carolina Medical AsLVALJsociation, The American Nurses Association, The South Carolina Nurses Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists - uniformly oppose South Carolina's policies of arrest and punishment, which attempted to use the criminal justice system to address the problem of drug use during pregnancy. They assert that a punitive approach such as threatening women with arrest and jail time is counterproductive: it deters women from seeking critical pre- and post- natal care as well as drug treatment. Wyndi Anderson, Director of the South Carolina Advocates for Pregnant Women said "Today's decision reinforces the idea that the constitution protects the rights of all citizens including pregnant women and people with drug problems. We know that treatment works and is the best thing for families children and the tax payers' pocketbook. It is an outrage that the state chose to spend millions of dollars defending this dangerous, inhumane and unconstitutional policy rather than desperately needed drug treatment programs in South Carolina." In July of last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that the hospital's policy did not violate the constitutional right to be free from warrantless, unreasonable searches of one's person. The appellate court reasoned that the policy fell within the legal doctrine allowing an exception in cases in which government officials conduct searches for "special needs." In this case the special need to deter drug use and promote health. In asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn this finding, the South Carolina women noted that the federal courts had never before sanctioned such an exception when the search was being conducted for the purpose of gathering criminal evidence. The search and arrest policy was implemented in October, 1989, at MUSC, the only hospital in Charleston that serves mostly low-income and African American patients. It was jointly crafted by hospital staff, the local police department, and the prosecutor's LVALNoffice. Pregnant women and new mothers who met certain criteria were subject to searches through urine drug screens carried out without a warrant or consent. The urine tests, were used to identify women who used cocaine so that the police could arrest them. All but one of the 30 women reported and arrested were African American. Until the spring of 1990, no woman who tested positive was given the chance to seek treatment before being arrested. Trial testimony established that there was no treatment designed for pregnant or parenting women anywhere in the state at the time the policy was implemented. Although the policy was eventually revised to create the appearance of a treatment alternative, in actuality, the policy merely gave untrained medical staff the authority to arrest women who failed to obey immediately referrals to treatment that were inappropriate and those who failed to overcome their addictions instantaneously. Wyndi Anderson commented:" It is an outrage that the state has defended a policy that frightens women away from what treatment might be available and in spite of the fact that today, there is still far too little treatment available for all of the women in South Carolina who need and want it." MUSC temporarily terminated its policy in 1994 after investigations by two federal agencies. The National Institutes of Health placed the hospital on "probation" after finding that its "research" tracking the policy violated federal law on "experimentation" on human subjects. The Office of Civil Rights also began investigating whether the policy was racially discriminatory. MUSC agreed to stop the arrests to avoid a full-blown inquiry. Susan Dunn explained, "Now that the constitutional issues have been resolved, we can revisit the question of damages and focus on what the hospital should have done in terms of providing proper medical care." Punitive policies, however, have been in force statewide. Recently the state proceeded with a homicide trial against a 22-year-oLVAL6ld woman who suffered a stillbirth. For more information on these polices and related cases in South Carolina, see http://www.SCAPW.org Contact: Lynn M. Paltrow, Nat'l Advocates for Pregnant Women, 212-475-4218 or 917-921-7421 Wyndi Anderson, South Carolina Advocates for Pregnant Women, 843-579-0637 or 202-234-2812 Susan K. Dunn, 843-722-6337 Dan Abrahamson, Director of Legal Affairs, The Lindesmith Center - Drug Policy Foundation, Counsel of Record for American Public Health Assn. and other major medical organizations involved in the case, 415-554-1900 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 23:59:29 -0800 From: AMMA <amma@americanmarijuana.org> To: undisclosed-recipients:; Subject: KUB: URGENT: California Libertarian to defy probation conditions! Message-ID: <B6DD9F61.BD43%amma@americanmarijuana.org> Dear Friend of Liberty, The following is an amazing article about Steve Kubby, California's Libertarian Party gubernatorial candidate, and his fight against the state. In the article, Steve quotes great minds like Ayn Rand and Patrick Henry. He is a noble man, whose fight for, and love of, liberty will earn him the respect of any freedom fighter. Steve needs our moral and financial support. If, after reading the article you realise you love liberty, and want to help, you can contribute online: http://www.kubby.com/00-contribute.html. Michael Cust <mikecust@powersurfr.com> Edmonton, Alberta ------------------------- Pubdate: March 20, 2001 Source: Cannabis Culture Online Copyright: 2001 Cannabis Culture Contact: muggles@cannabisculture.com Author: Pete Brady Address: 324 West Hastings, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6B 1K6 Fax: (604) 669-9038 Website: http://www.cannabisculture.com/ CALIFORNIA LIBERTARIAN TO DEFY PROBATION CONDITIONS by Pete Brady In January 1999, Libertarian politician and medpot cLVAL\ancer patient Steve Kubby and his wife Michele watched police invade their California home. The Kubbys were arrested and charged with nearly two dozen drug crimes, including cultivation of marijuana. They were each facing at least five years in prison. Their arrest and subsequent prosecutorial actions caused the Kubbys and their two small children to endure significant financial, physical and emotional difficulty. After a lengthy trial that ended in December 2000, Steve Kubby was found guilty of two felony charges. The felonies consisted of alleged possession of a one-inch mushroom stem and four tiny cacti buttons. While awaiting sentencing, Kubby visited Canadian Marijuana party founder and candidate Marc Emery, also known as a pioneering cannabis seedmeister who has inseminated the world with the finest cannabis genetics. Emery and Kubby, who share freedom-loving political views, agreed to have Kubby and his wife Michele produce hard-hitting news shows for Emery's Pot-TV Internetwork. Kubby recorded some of those shows in America, and sent them back to Emery's studio via US mail, but the tapes never made it through Canadian Customs. Kubby speculates that Customs seized them as subversive materials. Kubby returned from Canada to face sentencing in March. Judge John Cosgrove, pressured by Placer County district attorney Chris Cattran's refusal to disclose before sentencing whether he would re-try Kubby on the marijuana charges, granted Kubby's request that the felonies be reduced to misdemeanors, but sentenced Kubby to 120 days house arrest, three years probation, and several thousand dollars in fines. Kubby told Cannabis Culture that after examining sentencing terms, he concluded that abiding by them would violate his constitutional and human rights. He delivered the following letter to Placer authorities on the first day of spring, March 20th: "The real power of the state does lies not in its guns or jail cells but in tLVALhe confused willingness of individuals to subordinate their legitimate rights and voluntarily give up their property, their money and their liberty. The threat of danger is their means of coercion. The greater the threat, the less the objection to giving up liberties. Ayn Rand characterized this phenomenon as the 'Sanction of the Victim,' a process by which the state coerces citizens to sanction the very injustice that is perpetrated upon them. After becoming aware of the incredibly strict limitations of house arrest, we have concluded that 120 days of house arrest, as well as three years formal probation ordered by Judge Cosgrove, is a real and direct threat to my life. "Furthermore, we believe that sentencing me, when I am medically disabled and suffering from terminal cancer, to conditions that threaten my life, for misdemeanour possession of a mushroom stem and some tiny cactus buttons, is a violation of my Eighth Amendment protection against cruel and unusual punishment. As a result, I am notifying the probation department and other authorities that I cannot agree to the terms of electronic monitoring, probation, or the payment of any fines." After Kubby delivered the letter, he heard from the head of Placer County's probation department. Instead of being angry and dictatorial, Kubby said, the bureaucrat was pleasant and open-minded. "He told me that the probation department didn't want me to go to jail," Kubby said. "I told him I couldn't comply with the terms of probation because the state had so damaged my family that we were left without enough money to supply myself with the house in which to serve out my house arrest term. I couldn't pay the fine or probation fines that had been ordered, because the police and prosecutors bankrupted my family by falsely arresting me for growing medical marijuana. I couldn't serve three years of formal probation because a person on probation has no rights, and it would only be a matter of time before a medical pot patient like me wLVALDould be visited by police exercising their right to a warrantless probation search. The entire sentence would have been like living in a prison." Kubby, who sees California's near-apocalyptic energy crisis as an opportunity to make political history as the Libertarian candidate for governor in 2002, said that the terms of the probation were more severe than if he had been convicted for marijuana felonies, and that they would prevent him from running for political office. Michele Kubby told Cannabis Culture that she realizes her husband could be thrown in jail, and possibly die, due to his refusal to cooperate with sentencing commandments. "The police stole two years of our life," she said. "They owe us more than an apology. At sentencing, everyone should have said to us, 'We're sorry we ruined your life. We will compensate you for what we did. We won't ever treat anybody else the way we treated you.' Instead, we were given a three year leash to choke on. Steve and I agreed it was better to get this settled right away." Kubby has until April 10th to comply with sentencing instructions. After that, he is subject to immediate arrest and imprisonment. "I wrote a book called 'The Politics of Consciousness,' and part of it discussed courageous people who helped fight tyranny during the early days of the American Revolution," Kubby said. "My final statement about this situation is best summed up by words uttered centuries ago by one of those early Americans who gave their life to defeat tyrants: 'Give me liberty, or give me death.'" ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 01:21:05 -0800 From: AMMA <amma@americanmarijuana.org> To: undisclosed-recipients:; Subject: KUB: Auburn Journal: Kubby asks supes to stop pot raids Message-ID: <B6DDB281.BD4B%amma@americanmarijuana.org> ******************************************************** THE AMERICAN MEDICAL MARIJUANA ASSOCIATION 15 Monarch Bay Plaza, Box 375, DanLVALNa Point, Ca 92629 Web site: http://americanmarijuana.org/ E-mail: amma@americanmarijuana.org Join our List: http://americanmarijuana.org/ ******************************************************** Pubdate: 21 Mar, 2001 Source: Auburn Journal (CA) Copyright: 2001 The Auburn Journal Contact: ajournal@foothill.net Address: 1030 High St., Auburn, CA 95603 Website: http://www.auburnjournal.com/ Author: Mike Fitch, Journal Staff Writer Phone: (530) 885-6585 KUBBY ASKS SUPES TO STOP POT RAIDS By Mike Fitch, Journal Staff Writer Steve Kubby made an unusual appearance before the Placer County Board of Supervisors Tuesday, seeking its help in ending a contentious legal battle over medical use of marijuana. Wife Michele also addressed the board, calling for a negotiated end to the battle. The couple spoke during a part of the meeting set aside for public comments on topics not already on the board agenda. Supervisors listened attentively to the Kubbys, but didn't say anything in response. Legally, the board can't act on topics brought up during public comments, but can schedule them for discussion at later meetings. "I was not surprised they didn't respond," Steve Kubby said afterward. "We had no right to expect any response." At the heart of the controversy is confusion over Proposition 215, a law passed by the state's voters in 1996 that allows people to possess marijuana for medical use if they have the blessing of doctors. On one hand, the Kubbys and their supporters charge the county Sheriff's Department frequently ignores the law, saying deputies are in the habit of sometimes mounting overzealous raids against people who are legally growing marijuana for medical purposes. "These raids are wrong. They're immoral," Michele Kubby told supervisors. "I understood that in the United States of America, if you passed a law, it was followed." Department officials say they are just doing their jobs as best they can, noting they havLVALTe no state or local guidelines on how to carry out Proposition 215. "We are, in fact, pursing that very issue," said Sheriff's Lt. Rick Armstrong Tuesday, emphasizing that local and state authorities are working to develop the needed guidelines. A lingering hard-to-answer question is: What is the dividing line between the amount of marijuana a person needs to grow for medical uses and the amount that signals a person is cultivating marijuana for sale. "That's a difficult issue," Armstrong said, reporting his department walks away from raids when it's convinced people are legitimately cultivating marijuana for medical use, as allowed by Proposition 215. The medical marijuana controversy has dominated the Kubbys' lives since a January 1999 raid on their Olympic Valley home netted 265 marijuana plants. Steve Kubby says he needs marijuana to help battle a rare form of adrenal cancer. The couple faced felony charges arising from the raid, but those charges were dropped recently after a mistrial was declared in the case. At that point, the jury was leaning 11-1 in favor of acquittal. At Tuesday's meeting, Steve Kubby said he feels vindicated by the decision to drop the felony charges. "But that really doesn't affect you," he told supervisors. Kubby said he also believes his convictions on misdemeanor charges of possessing a psychedelic mushroom stem and peyote buttons ultimately will be reversed. Judge John L. Cosgrove sentenced Kubby on March 2 to 120 days of house arrest and three years of probation on those charges. On Sunday, Kubby said in a letter to friends that he's unwilling to subject himself to electronic monitoring and other conditions of house arrest, acknowledging his decision may mean he will have to spend time in jail. After Tuesday's meeting, Kubby said house arrest would threaten his health and impose a financial burden his family can't bear. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 10:45:15 -0500 From: Andrew Seidenfeld <noprob@mindspringLVALD.com> To: restore <restore@crrh.org>, Dana Beal <dana@cures-not-wars.org> Subject: Got Crack ??? Message-ID: <B6DE36BB.46F%noprob@mindspring.com> I don't mean to waste your time, but if you have a little time to waste, I busted a gut reading this parody of a gentlemen's magazine for men who love crack. That's right. Friggin' hilarious, tons of articles, good writing too= . =20 http://www.thethirdrail.com/crack/ This month's issue of Crack Aficionado: =20 Looking for the nearest place to get crack? Just type in your 5 digit zip code: Find Me Crack! Crack Ratings: Think all crack is the same? What are you smoking? Crack Recipes: Get the low down on the best ways to make crack. Crack Chat: This month, we ask: What makes you choose crack? Crack Lifestyle: All about the good life that comes with being a Crack Aficionado=20 Fight the Crack Ban: How many times have you been to your favorite fine dining establishment only to be told they don't allow crack smoking? Legalize it! The CA survey results are in!=A0 A stunning 100% of American adults surveyed favor the immediate and complete legalization of crack cocaine and crack-cocaine-related merchandise. =20 Robert Downey, Jr. talks to CA about his favorite crack; crack in pro football; Darryl Strawberry; Crack in the Midwest; Where's Marion? -- the ex-mayor's favorite spots in DC; and much more. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 12:00:39 -0500 From: cowboy@jug-or-not.com To: editor@mapinc.org Subject: FL: Judge backs Hempfest over law Message-ID: <3.0.5.32.20010321120039.00974650@jug-or-not.com> Newshawk: Scott Bledsoe Pubdate: Wednesday, March 21, 2001 Source: Florida Times-Union (FL) Copyright: 2001 The Florida Times-Union Contact: jaxstaff@jacksonville.com Website: http://www.times-union.com/ Forum: http://www.times-union.com/tu-online/voices/ Author: David DeCamp and Dan Scanlan Times-Union staff writers Judge backLVALVs Hempfest over law Free speech violated, Schlesinger rules By David DeCamp and Dan Scanlan Times-Union staff writers Jacksonville can't enforce a local law requiring organizers to pay for insurance and police protection at outdoor festivals because it is unconstitutional, a federal judge has ruled. The ruling, spurred by a lawsuit filed by promoters of last year's Hempfest, called the city's permitting process for such events an improper restriction on the right to freedom of speech. Until the city fixes the law, which means including the option to appeal a denied permit, U.S. District Judge Harvey Schlesinger ruled it can't be enforced. "The permitting scheme ... is a classic example of a prior restraint," Schlesinger said in his March 8 ruling. He also said it is unconstitutional to disqualify permit requests because of a promoter's criminal drug record, as called for in the current law. Even though the city can't enforce its law, a previous executive order from Mayor John Delaney already required security at large events, and city risk management rules require insurance by event promoters, Jacksonville officials said. So the city is protected from those costs, they said, and no pending events have been stopped by the ruling, although a permit application for this year's Hempfest is treading water. WJCT's Spring Fest, which is going on at Alltel Stadium, already had hired security and acquired insurance for the event, which began this week. So the practical effect is city administrators are working to put a new process iLVALn the city code book this spring. The city General Counsel's Office also is studying whether to appeal the judge's ruling, and a report is expected to the mayor's staff next week, said Sharon Ashton, Delaney's press secretary. The city already had been working on a new law, and the ruling just further pointed out where improvements were needed, she said. "It's in everybody's best interests that these events go safely," Ashton said. The rejected law required festival promoters to provide detailed plans to the city for events predicted to draw more than 5,000 people. Last June, the sponsor of Hempfest -- Florida Cannabis Action Network, which promotes medical uses for marijuana -- alleged the city discriminated against it by forcing it to pay for an insurance policy and $4,000 in city services to host the June 17 event at Metropolitan Park. Schlesinger ruled that the city ordinance puts too much discretion in the hands of city officials to set pricing and policing of any festival on city property, and it could be used to discriminate against the applicant. The law incorrectly provided no appeals process, he found. "There is no even-handed way to apply these fees. If the person applying for the permit wants to dispute them, there is no mechanism for them to respond to why the application is denied," said Kevin Aplin, president of Florida Cannabis Action Network. "They have to put something in the ordinance saying whoever has the authority has to answer the applicant within a few days. And if the permit is denied, there is no provision in the ordinance for judicial review." LVALv  Aplin said the group has been billed about $3,600 for on-site security, medical assistance and electricity, which it has not paid. The group has applied for a permit for this year's Hempfest, set for June 2 at Hemming Plaza. Theresa O'Donnell Price, the city's special events chief, said the permit request is essentially on hold as the city sorts out its legal path, although the date is approved. While attorneys review the ruling, Price said a new ordinance should be introduced to the City Council within six weeks. It would create an appeals process for applicants if the city rejects their requests, meeting the judge's ruling, Price said. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 14:28:46 -0800 From: Steve Kubby <steve@kubby.org> To: "Placer County Probation Dept." <prodept@placer.ca.gov> Cc: Sheriff Ed Bonner <ebonner@placer.ca.gov>, *Media <steve@kubby.org>, Placer County Board of Supervisors <bos@placer.ca.gov> Subject: KUB: NOTICE OF REFUSAL TO ACCEPT PROBATION Message-ID: <B6DE6B1D.BD86%steve@kubby.org> Steve and Michele Kubby Meadow Vista, California Email: steve@kubby.com Phone: 888-492-0070 March 21, 2001 Norma Suzuki Chief Probation Officer 11564 C Avenue, DeWitt Center Auburn, CA 95603 Phone: 530-889-7900 Fax: 530-889-7950 Email (prodept@placer.ca.gov) RE: Refusal to agree to terms of probation Dear Ms. Suzuki, After several weeks of attempting to qualify for alternative sentencing, I find that I am unable to physically, financially, or morally complete electronic monitoring, probation, or payment of any fines assessed against me. At the time I was offered probation, I believed I could comply. However, as I found out the extent of the restrictions and the cost, my wife and I came to the decision that our family could LVALnot survive and I would be under even more threat than before, if I were to accept the terms of probation. This letter is to inform you that if I do not find judicial relief, I intend to show up for my jail date April 10th, 2001. Below are the details of the reasons for my decision: I refuse to pay the fine or probation fines that have been ordered, because the police and prosecutors bankrupted my family by falsely arresting me for growing medical marijuana. Because I cannot grow marijuana, I am forced to spend thousands of dollars each month on the black market, just to stay alive. I refuse to agree to house arrest, because I cannot find a house in which to serve my arrest. My wife and I were forced into bankruptcy by this raid, after a lifetime of excellent credit. Now, nobody wants to rent to us since we are unemployed and have bad credit. This leaves us no alternative but to send my wife and the two small children, back to British Columbia, where we have a home, business and friends. Thus, I would be forced to serve out my home detention on my own, without my family or caretaker/wife. Under the terms of electronic monitoring, I would only be allowed 2 hours a week to go out and shop. Without a caregiver and car, I can't do that, because I need such a specialized diet. Also, I would be unable to exercise each day, as required by my illness in order to avoid dangerous or lethal buildups of adrenaline. (My doctors have testified under oath that I could drop dead at any time from a stroke or heart attack, so these heath concerns are no small matter.) I refuse to serve three years of formal probation, because I've learned that a person on probation has no rights, and it would only be a matter of time before a medical pot patient like me would be visited by police exercising their "right" to a warrantless probation search. Despite proving myself innocent of all marijuana charges, I believe that my wife and I have never received justice or protection for lawfully asserting rights LVALwe helped to win in an open democratic election. Instead, probation would place a suffocating layer of hoops and threats upon us, which further endangers me and my family. I believe that sentencing me, when I am medically disabled and suffering from terminal cancer, two conditions that threaten my life, for misdemeanor possession of a mushroom stem and some tiny cactus buttons, not only needlessly endangers me and burdens my family, such a sentence is a violation of my Eighth Amendment protection against cruel and unusual punishment. As a result of my decision, I am hereby notifying the Placer County Probation Department that I refuse to agree to any of the terms for my probation electronic monitoring, or the payment of any fines. I have spoken to Terry Franchimone, your Probation Manager regarding these issues. Mr. Franchimone was actually very understanding and helpful. After some discussion of the matter, I told Mr. Franchimone that I intend to bring a motion in front of Judge John L. Cosgrove to spell out these issues. Because we are broke, I will have to write and present the motion myself. However, I am optimistic. In fairness to Judge Cosgrove, the prosecutors in our case withheld their decision to request a full dismissal of all marijuana charges until after the judge gave his sentence. If the Placer County District Attorney is now saying that the marijuana charges cannot be prosecuted, I'm going to ask the judge to throw out my convictions, because the police had no business being in my house to begin with. It seems to me that if we were lawfully asserting rights, for a law we helped to pass, and the District Attorney has failed to show any marijuana crime ever took place, accepting any form of probation would be a violation of everything we and this country stands for. Finally, I refuse to comply with the terms of probation, because of my profound belief that the threat of jail is being held over my head to coerce me into "voluntary compliance" with a criminal justiceLVAL system that is broken. The law that my wife and I helped pass was easy enough for the voters of California and the jurors of Placer County to understand. Only narcotics officers, prosecutors, and others who benefit from the drug war have difficulty understanding a law that grants new rights. I find it amazing how difficult it is for people to understand something when their careers depend upon them NOT understanding it. I understand that I have until April 10th to comply with sentencing instructions and that after that, I will be "subject to immediate arrest, imprisonment and denial of any medical marijuana." Naturally my wife and I find such prospects distressing, especially since my life is on the line, but we will continue to stand on our principles and Constitutional rights. I wrote a book called 'The Politics of Consciousness,' that salutes the courageous people who helped fight tyranny during the early days of the American Revolution. My final statement about refusing probation is best summed up by words uttered centuries ago by one of those early Americans who gave their life to defeat tyrants: "Give me liberty, or give me death." Let freedom grow, Steve Kubby Cc: Sheriff Ed Bonner Frank Wolff, KCRA Sacramento Matt Robinson, FOX News Eric Baily, Los Angeles Times Alan Bock, Orange County Register Wayne Wilson, Sacramento Bee Henri Lee, San Francisco Chronicle Tom Elias, Washington Times Deric Roth, Auburn Journal Joel Miller, WorldNetDaily And other distinguished members of the media. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2001 00:06:15 -0000 From: "Diane R. Fornbacher" <siamgemini@hotmail.com> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Fwd: Hemp Dinner Message-ID: <F109HFdB52jK0AyTs8w00009c95@hotmail.com> >From: "D. Fornbacher" <liberty_action@hotmail.com> >To: siamgemini@hotmail.com >Subject: Fwd: Hemp Dinner >Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 23:45:54 -0000 > > > > >>From: "Debbie" <debbie@whitedog.com> >>To: debbie@whitedog.com Subject: Hemp DiLVAL nner >>Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 14:38:08 -0400 >> >>Hello. Just a reminder of our next event that may be of interest. >> >>******************************************** >>A Hemp Dinner with HempNut Health & Cookbook author Richard Rose >>Monday, March 26, 6pm at The White Dog Cafe (an activism restaurant in >>Philadelphia, Pa) >> >>As one of the oldest & most versatile plants known to man, hemp (Cannabis >>sativa) has been used in the production of rope, canvas, paper, oil and, >>as >>we will highlight in this dinner, hemp is also a delicious, nutty addition >>to a variety of cuisines. >> >>A complete protein high in essential fatty acids, hempseed can be toasted, >>hulled, ground into flour or pressed into oil and used to make any number >>of >>products including hemp cheese, tofu, ice cream, butter & margarine, or >>used >>in soda, coffee, brewing beer and more. >> >>As part of The Book and the Cook, Chef/partner Kevin von Klause will use >>recipes from The HempNut Health and Cookbook and some of his own creations >>to highlight this unique ingredient. The menu for the gourmet dinner will >>include dishes such as: Hemp and Rosemary Crusted Rack of Lamb with Hemp >>stuffed artichokes; Stir-fried Alaskan Spot Prawns and Asparagus with Hemp >>Oil and Ginger; Baked Goat Cheese with Organic Greens with Hempseed >>Crackers >>and French Dressing; and Chocolate Mousse Tart with Hempnut Crust. >> >>Following dinner, we will hear from Richard Rose, founder, president, and >>Chief Hemp Nutof HempNut, Inc., the leading food company specializing in >>researching, developing and marketing hempseed foods since 1994. Richard >>is >>also the founder of the Hemp Food Association and past Director of the >>Hemp >>Industries Association. He will explore with us the environmental and >>health >>benefits of hemp and the latest in hemp food. >> >>Three-course dinner and discussion, $45 per person, plus tax & gratuity. >>Reservations required. (215) 386-9224 >> >>(UnLVALVder US federal law, hemp cultivation is illegal, while sterilized hemp >>seed, hemp seed oil and hemp seed cake are legal for import and use.) >>-- >>Debbie Eisenberg >>White Dog Cafe >>3420 Sansom Street >>Philadelphia, PA 19104 >>http://www.whitedog.com >>debbie@whitedog.com >>215-386-9224 ext.118 >>fax: 215-386-1185 > _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 16:52:34 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Canada: Pot party candidate lights into campaign Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010321165218.047a8d40@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: Herb Pubdate: March 20, 2001 Source: Kamloops Daily News (CN BC) Contact: kamnews@ocis.net Address: 393 Seymour Street, Kamloops, B.C. V2C 6P6 Fax: (250) 372-0823 Website: http://www.southam.com/kamloopsdailynews/ Pot party candidate lights into campaign In the stale air of politics, Vern Falk is a breath of sweet-smelling smoke. "Bear with me," he says, sticking out his left hand in an introduction. Bending his knuckles into a hook, he locks them to an outstretched hand. "It's the Mayan handshake. What do you think?" Falk will introduce himself to voters as the Kamloops-North Thompson candidate for the B.C. Marijuana Party in the coming provincial election against Liberal MLA Kevin Krueger and NDP candidate Dwayne Hartle. "I think people will take me very seriously," he said. "I have roots in the community and know lots of people in the community." The 50-year-old construction and demolition worker said he found the party through travels on the Internet. He is in the midst of gathering signatures needed to satisfy Elections B.C. requirements to become a candidate and will attend a party conference in Vancouver on the weekend. "I just wanted to get the platform out there," he said. "There needs to be an alternative.LVAL There's credible people in the party. Some have run federally for the NDP in past. The leader, Brian Taylor, was mayor of Grand Forks." B.C. Marijuana Party policies include passing on savings from reduced prison and policing costs from legalized marijuana by cutting taxes; citizen-led referenda; a voucher system for schools and legalizing licensed brothels. Falk said his main focus in the campaign will be on the theme of personal freedoms. "If people want to (smoke pot) it's up to them. That's not my focus. It's the personal freedom part." Falk said 70,000 people in B.C. smoke marijuana for medicinal purposes and they are branded criminals. He also said the justice system wastes millions of dollars a year policing and prosecuting marijuana cases. He said he favours decriminalization of marijuana as a start. He also believes people should be allowed to grow pot plants like they would any produce. "Five to six per cent of people are addicted to anything, gambling or drugs. Some people smoke pot. Some don't. It should be their choice whether they do it." The Marijuana Party, which has yet to attract a potential candidate in the Kamloops riding, hopes to field a candidate in each of B.C.'s 79 constituencies. CRRH is working to regulate and tax the sale of cannabis to adults like alcohol, allow doctors to recommend cannabis through pharmacies and restore the unregulated production of industrial hemp. *Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp* mail: CRRH ; P.O. Box 86741 ; Portland, OR 97286 USA email: crrh@crrh.org phone: (503) 235-4606 fax: (503) 235-0120 web: http://www.crrh.org/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 13:47:11 -0800 From: "Ashley Kennedy" <ashleyk@avn.com> To: "Bill Weinberg" <billw@echonyc.com> Cc: "Dana Beal" <dana@cures-not-wars.org>, "CRRH mailing list" <restore@crrh.org>, "news hawk" <editor@mapinc.org>, <cowboy@joug-or-not.com> Subject: increase in X penalty Message-ID: <006501c0b250$7c851c40LVAL $9f00a8c0@ashleykennedy> http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010321/hl/ecstacy_1.html Wednesday March 21 10:36 AM ET White House Drug Report: Ecstasy Use Spreading By Todd Zwillich WASHINGTON (Reuters Health) - Use of the club drug Ecstasy appears to be moving out of its traditional home in dance clubs and spreading to a wider variety of places frequented by adolescents and young adults, a White House drug official is scheduled to tell Senators on Wednesday. Increasing popularity of Ecstasy among teens and adolescents also seems to have driven use of the drug beyond whites to African Americans and Hispanics. ``The sale and use of club drugs has expanded from nightclubs and raves to high schools, the streets, neighborhoods and open venues,'' Dr. Donald Vereen, deputy director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), will testify before a Senate committee on Capitol Hill. A biannual survey released by ONDCP on Wednesday shows that Ecstasy, known to researchers as MDMA, is becoming more prevalent in nearly every region of the country. Ninety percent of communities in the survey reported that Ecstasy and other club drugs like ketamine were somewhat available or highly available. Eighty percent reported that club drugs were more available in 2000 than in 1999. The survey was conducted among drug treatment providers, health researchers and law enforcement officials in 20 US cities. It is designed to give policy makers a current 'snapshot' of drug use patterns across the country, and authors warned that the survey is not scientifically controlled or translatable to the nation as a whole. Ecstasy remains most popular among whites, though reports from El Paso, Texas, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and New York City suggest that the drug has recently gained popularity in other ethnic groups as well. The spread of Ecstasy largely reflects a sharp rises in use among teenagers in the last couple of years. A government survey released earlier this year documented a 46LVAL-% rise in past-year Ecstasy use among high school seniors. Taking the drug causes profound changes in the brain's levels of serotonin, accounting for its euphoric effects. Researchers suspect that repeated use of Ecstasy can lead to depression, learning deficits and memory loss. ``It's not surprising that Ecstasy is moving out of the rave clubs into broader social use,'' Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.), a member of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control told Reuters Health in an interview. Seven deaths were attributed to the drug in Florida last year, ``a harbinger of what we can expect as this becomes a national drug of choice,'' he said. The rising popularity of the drug caused lawmakers to pass legislation last year calling for stricter sentencing for Ecstasy trafficking and giving $10 million in federal money to aid in Ecstasy educational and media campaigns aimed at young people and health professionals. The legislation calls for prison sentences for dealing Ecstasy that are on par with those for selling equal amounts of heroin. In response, the US Sentencing Commission voted on Tuesday to increase the minimum federal penalty for possession of 8,000 Ecstasy pills from 40 months to 120 months. Some experts oppose this because Ecstasy is less dangerous than heroin or cocaine. The government's latest survey also suggests that heroin may be increasing in popularity among suburban youth, who prefer to snort the drug rather than shoot it. Treatment officials in Boston, New York, El Paso, Chicago and other cities reported that the narcotic is beginning to move out of urban centers in their communities. The purity of heroin available on the street also increased between 1999 and 2000 in several cities, according to the survey. Health - Reuters - updated 1:45 PM ET Mar 21 from the dildo-infested cubicle of Ashley "The Fearless" Kennedy ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 13:52:49 -0800 From: "Ashley Kennedy" <ashleyk@avn.com> To: "Bill Weinberg" <billw@echLVALonyc.com> Cc: <susan@emdef.org>, "news hawk" <editor@mapinc.org>, "Dana Beal" <dana@cures-not-wars.org>, "CRRH mailing list" <restore@crrh.org> Subject: rave OD... Chicago crackdown coming Message-ID: <008201c0b251$48dfde60$9f00a8c0@ashleykennedy> http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/party20.html Man dies after OD at party March 20, 2001 BY FRANK MAIN CRIME REPORTER Cook County sheriff's officers were baffled when youngsters pulled up to their roadside safety check Saturday and asked for directions "to the rave at the Rosemont convention center." It turned out that more than 6,500 revelers from across the Midwest--including 20-year-old James C. Roberts III of Dayton, Ohio--were headed to "Live on the Decks 4," a dance party at the center. Roberts, who bought drugs at the party, died of an apparent overdose Sunday morning after collapsing in a Best Western hotel room in Burbank, police said. "We have preached to our kids about what drugs can do," said his father, James C. Roberts II. "Obviously, I am upset my son is dead, but he has responsibility because he was there." Roberts, a security manager at a store in a Dayton suburb, learned of the party on the Internet and showed up with three friends. He took Ecstasy and Ketamine, an animal tranquilizer known on the street as "Special K." Roberts started shaking and hallucinating after returning to a Burbank hotel where he and his friends were staying, Burbank police Chief W.M. Kujawa said. His friends called 911 and he was taken to Christ Hospital Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he died at 9:55 a.m. Sunday. The Cook County medical examiner's office is waiting for results of a toxicology test before determining a cause of death, a spokeswoman said. Kujawa said he did not expect criminal charges. The chance of finding the seller of the drugs is remote because so many people attended the party, he said. After his death, Roberts' friends told his father that he would surf the Internet for information on how many drLVALУugs he could take without getting sick. He once went to a friend's parents in high school to let them know their son was taking cocaine, his father said. Burbank police described Saturday's party as a "rave." And an Internet search for "Chicago raves" displayed an Electronic Music Inc./Boogie Tribe Web site that advertised the party. But the party was booked as a "young dance, not a rave," said Jim Freeman, executive director of the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. He called it a "college break-type function" and said his staff monitored Internet traffic to make sure the event was not advertised as a rave. "First and foremost, we are not rave promoters," said the Boogie Tribe site. "Our goals, ideologies and event production attempt to defy the `rave' stereotype of a drug-infested, illegal warehouse party." The site warned partygoers not to bring weapons, drugs and pacifiers. Ecstasy users sometimes chew on pacifiers to keep their teeth from grinding. Rosemont police said about 6,500 people attended the event. They checked the partygoers at the door, finding 18 false IDs and arresting one man on a robbery warrant, Rosemont police Lt. Kieran J. Mackey said. Bobby Benkowsky, 24, owner of EQ, a North Side clothing store, said the dangers of raves have been overblown. Benkowsky sold tickets to the party and was there Saturday. "There's really no difference between a rave and a concert," he said. "The majority of the people go there for the music and not for a drug experience." Benkowsky said he did not see any drug-dealing at the event, although people were caught with contraband at the door and asked to leave. Last week, Mayor Daley announced a crackdown on Chicago building owners and managers who allow rave parties where illegal drugs are used. "It is very sad this young person had to die to illustrate the point the mayor made last week that it appears, at least, that adults look the other way when illegal activities are taking place at these parties," sLVAL,2 aid Jacquelyn Heard, spokeswoman for the mayor. from the dildo-infested cubicle of Ashley "The Fearless" Kennedy ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 14:17:28 -0800 From: Ron <mama@island.net> To: Restore@crrh.org Subject: More people on Restore mailing list. Message-ID: <3AB92878.CD375B49@island.net> Hi Paul: I've just added about 25 new names to the Restore mailing list. I have a question on my website asking people requesting a catalog if they want to be on the list. About 10 or 20 every month. Do you know if I can put the request directly on my site, but keeps the link within my site. -- Yours in hemp, Ron Northern Lights Hemp Co. Makers of Mama Indica's Fine Hemp Products Call or email for a wholesale or Retail Catalog. 1-800-880-3699 Ph/fax 250-725-4288 * Hemp Seed Treats * Raw Hemp Seeds * Spiced Hemp Seeds * Hemp Oil * Posters * Tee Shirts * Artcards * Body Care * Hemp Soap * Hemp Shampoo * Goddess Moons Feminine pads * Hemp Paper Pads * Hemp Rolling Papers * The Benefits of Marijuana by Joan Bello * mailto:mama@island.net http://www.island.net/~mama ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 23:48:26 -0500 (EST) From: Global Peace Cafeneh <globalpeas@email.com> To: Dana Beal <dana@cures-not-wars.org>, greenpartydrugsgroup@gn.apc.org Cc: "Colo. Hemp Init. Project" <cohip@levellers.org>, alun <webbooks@paston.co.uk>, "Roy B. Scherer" <rscherer@richmond.infi.net>, helmut holtzheimer <movemus@gmx.de>, ben masel <bmasel@tds.net>, jude joseph <acididea@hotmail.com>, Michael Palmieri <forml_2000@yahoo.com>, info@damnsam.com, PROBER13@aol.com, Aimhigh6@aol.com, StewMO1941@aol.com, rmelamed@zoo.uvm.edu, chris@schmoo.co.uk, pakaloha@gte.net, SpaceOdyssey@GlobalUplift.Org, writch@writch.com, "M. Werkhausen" <werkhausen@mail.isis.de>, mayday@onelist.com, freddiefreak@c2i.net, sokrates@arachne.cz, restore@crrh.org, Carl Olsen <carl@commonlinkLVAL.net>, Bonnie <rabbit@cownow.com>, theherbalist@newmarijuana.org, Prohibition.X@aol.com, hempstor@ihug.co.nz, rastapeace@yahoo.com, justin ballot <j_thang@hotmail.com>, Razor <rzr@powertech.no>, chwren@nytimes.com, marijuanamarch@yahoo.com, RoadsEnd@aol.com, god@hemprock.com, Chris Wright <TCW@genesis-computer.com>, iowanorml@home.com, pdxnorml@pdxnorml.org, hempSA@va.com.au, Melody Karr <fiddlefoot420@hotmail.com>, Howie Hempalot <torml@weedmail.com>, fearless_420@hotmail.com, mmm@drugpeace.org, hempfest@hemp.net, melacs42x60@hotmail.com, rebelart@gasgroup.com, pcornwell@earthlink.net, Blocpot@blocpot.qc.ca, torontomarch@hotmail.com, girouxp@globetrotter.qc.ca, rappa@casema.net, arsec@pangea.org, Hanfparaden Center Berlin <hanfparade@hanflobby.de>, amec@ctv.es Subject: Strike on may 6th Message-ID: <389747111.985236507859.JavaMail.root@web585-ec> Ho! freedom fighters, Thanks to all for everything. i have an idea that we might not be using fully yet. Now i know that the March is an important way for folks to show support, and i know not everyone can afford to take the day off, but follow me for a moment... If 1 million folks gather in parks around the world, the authorities have the option of pretending it didn't happen, or arresting a bunch of folks, all of which cost US money. But if 1 million folks called in to work the next day, THEY WONT BE ABLE TO IGNORE THAT TOO LONG ..... It cost THEM money. CALL IN TO WORK ON MAY 6TH WITH 'GREEN FEVER' AND CELEBRATE 'GREEN MONDAY' PATCH# ----------------------------------------------- FREE! The World's Best Email Address @email.com Reserve your name now at http://www.email.com ------------------------------ End of restore V1 #6 ******************** * ------ CRRH is working to regulate and tax the sale of cannabis to adults like alcohol, allow doctors to recommend cannabis  LVAL d  c  Y  `ond kuryakynhypercharger.jpgKURY[vs] KA8465Cjims5sp.jpg[ms] 871RSix-Speed Overdrive 98-99 Softail w/Raw BAKER case (3.24 1st, .80 6th)2695.50BAKERJIMS / BAKER 6 SPEED TRANSMISSIONSrkb?jims5sp.jpg[ms] 871PSix-Speed Overdrive 98-99 Softail w/Polished BAKER case (3.24 1st, .80 6th)2925.00BAKERJIMS / BAKER 6 SPEED TRANSMISSIONSwpg?jims5sp.jpg[ms] 871CSix-Speed Overdrive 98-99 Softail w/Chrome BAKER case (3.24 1st, .80 6th)3015.00BAKERJIMS / BAKER 6 SPEED TRANSMISSIONSune?jims5sp.jpg[ms] 871BPSix-Speed Overdrive 98-99 Softail w/Polished Billet case (3.24 1st, .80 6th)3235.50BAKERJIMS / BAKER 6 SPEED TRANSMISSIONSyri?jims5sp.jpg[ms] 871BCSix-Speed Overdrive 98-99 Softail w/Chrome Billet case (3.24 1st, .80 6th)3235.50BAKERJIMS / BAKER 6 SPEED TRANSMISSIONSwpg?jims5sp.jpg[ms] 871BSix-Speed Overdrive 98-99 Softail w/Wrinkle Black BAKER case (3.24 1st, .80 6th)2695.50BAKERJIMS / BAKER 6 SPEED TRANSMISSIONS|ul?jims5sp.jpg[ms] 864RSix-Speed Overdrive 98 FLT w/Raw H-D case (2.94 1st, .80 6th)2965.50BAKERJIMS / BAKER 6 SPEED TRANSMISSIONSibY?jims5sp.jpg[ms] 864BSix-Speed Overdrive 98 FLT w/Wrinkle Black H-D case (2.94 1st, .80 6th)2965.50BAKERJIMS / BAKER 6 SPEED TRANSMISSIONSslc?jims5sp.jpg[ms] 863RSix-Speed Overdrive 98 Dyna w/Raw H-D case (2.94 1st, .80 6th)2965.50BAKERJIMS / BAKER 6 SPEED TRANSMISSIONSjcZ?jims5sp.jpg[ms] 863PSix-Speed Overdrive 98 Dyna w/Polished H-D case (2.94 1st, .80 6th)3235.50BAKERJIMS / BAKER 6 SPEED TRANSMISSIONSoh_?jims5sp.jpg[ms] 863BSix-Speed Overdrive 98 Dyna w/Wrinkle Black H-D case (2.94 1st, .80 6th)2965.50BAKERJIMS / BAKER 6 SPEED TRANSMISSIONStmd?jims5sp.jpg[ms] 862PSix-Speed Overdrive 98 FLT w/Polished H-D case (2.94 1st, .80 6th)3235.50BAKERJIMS / BAKER 6 SPEED TRANSMISSIONSng^?jims5sp.jpg[ms] 861RSix-Speed Overdrive 98-99 Softail w/Raw BAKER case (2.94 1st, .80 6th)2695.50BAKERJIMS / BAKER 6 SPEED TRANSMISSIONSrkb?jims5sp.jpg[ms] 861PSix-Speed Overdrive 98-99 Softail w/Polished BAKER case (2.94 1st, .80 6th)2925.00BAKERJIMS / BAKER 6 SPEED TRANSMISSIONSwpg?jims5sp.jpg[ms] 861CSix-Speed Overdrive 98-99 Softail w/Chrome BAKER case (2.94 1st, .80 6th)3015.00BAKERJIMS / BAKER 6 SPEED TRANSMISSIONSune?jims5sp.jpg[ms] 861BPSix-Speed Overdrive 98-99 Softail w/Polished Billet case (2.94 1st, .80 6th)3235.50BAKERJIMS / BAKER 6 SPEED TRANSMISSIONSyri?jims5sp.jpg[ms] 861BCSix-Speed Overdrive 98-99 Softail w/Chrome Billet case (2.94 1st, .80 6th)3235.50BAKERJIMS / BAKER 6 SPEED TRANSMISSIONSwpg?jims5sp.jpg[ms] 861BSix-Speed Overdrive 98-99 Softail w/Wrinkle Black BAKER case (2.94 1st, .80 6th)2695.50BAKERJIMS / BAKER 6 SPEED TRANSMISSIONS|ul?through pharmacies and restore the unregulated production of industrial hemp. ------ To subscribe, unsubscribe or switch to immediate or digest mode, please send your instructions to <restore-owner@crrh.org>. ------ *Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp* mail: CRRH ; P.O. Box 86741 ; Portland, OR 97286 USA phone: (503) 235-4606 fax: (503) 235-0120 web: http://www.crrh.org/ LVAL> b restore Tue, 20 Mar 2001 Volume 9 : Number 69 In this issue: US: Feds And State-Approved Medical Marijuana US: "Traffic" Moves Propaganda Into Drug-policy CO: Officials Hazy On Medical-Marijuana Law TX: Medical Marijuana Has New Friends In The Legislature (Part 1) CA: Medical Marijuana Ordinance Urged DC: Quayle Accuser Loses Appeal Shasta,CA: Medical Marijuana Use Tangles Courts Fwd: Tim Wise article - school shootings and white denial Fw: IACM-Bulletin of 18 March 2001 Re: DND: MN:ANN LANDERS: Pleas to legalize marijuana make her boil (fwd) KUB: Sanction of the Victim: Kubby to Refuse Probation 2001SpaceOdyssey Needs Help NOW 2001 Mj March: Helsinki, Turku, Brno & Upper Lake; May 5 to 122 Cities! NM: Drug Reform Goes To Pot ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 09:44:19 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: US: Feds And State-Approved Medical Marijuana Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010319094405.0476fec0@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: DrugSense Net Radio http://www.drugsense.org/radio/ Pubdate: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 Source: MSNBC (US Web) Copyright: 2001 MSNBC Contact: letters@msnbc.com Address: 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112 Feedback: http://bbs.msnbc.com/bbs/msnbc-oped/ Website: http://msnbc.com/news/ Forum: http://www.msnbc.com/bbs/ NOTE: Legal Documents from United States of America V. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative and Jeffrey Jones are at http://www.druglibrary.org/ocbc/ Cited: Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Co-op http://www.rxcbc.org/ Department of Justice http://www.usdoj.gov/ Family Research Council http://www.frc.org/ California Medical Association http://www.cmanet.org/ Referenced: NEJM Editorial: 'Federal Foolishness and Marijuana' http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97/n000/a014.html Bookmarks: http://www.mapiLVAL\ 0nc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal) http://www.mapinc.org/ocbc.htm (Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative) FEDS AND STATE-APPROVED MEDICAL MARIJUANA U.S. vs. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Co-op U.S. Supreme Court Case #: 00-151 Argument date: Wednesday, March 28, 2001 CASE: U.S. vs. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative and Jeffrey Jones ISSUE: Does the federal law against selling and possessing marijuana trump recently enacted state laws that allow the use of marijuana when it's deemed medically necessary? BACKGROUND: American public attitudes toward marijuana took a new direction in November 1996, when California voters approved, with 56 percent of the vote, a change in state law to legalize the use of marijuana for medical treatment. Since then, eight other states -- Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington -- have adopted similar laws. While none of the new state laws legalize marijuana outright or change the criminal penalties for possessing, growing, or selling marijuana for recreational use, they do provide an exemption from criminal penalties for seriously ill patents who can demonstrate a medical need for it. Under the California law, a doctor must determine that "the person's health would benefit from the use of marijuana in the treatment of cancer, anorexia, AIDS, chronic pain, spasticity, glaucoma, arthritis, migraine, or any other illness for which marijuana provides relief." Even so, the advocates of the laws face a sobering obstacle. Federal law continues to ban the use of marijuana for any purpose. More than a year after the California law was adopted by initiative, the Justice Department took legal action to close down six Northern California "cannabis clubs." The one involved in this case, the Oakland Cannabis Buyer's Cooperative, operated downtown in cooperation with the city government and the police department. A federal judge, Charles Breyer -- the brother of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer -- ruled that LVALunder the Constitution's Supremacy Clause, federal law supersedes state law when the two conflict. While saying he was expressing no view on the legality of California's medical marijuana law, the judge nonetheless ruled that the federal government was well within its rights to shut the cannabis clubs down. The judge rejected arguments from some patients that they faced a choice of evils: they could either obey federal law that denied them relief from debilitating pain, loss of sight, or serious illness, or they could use marijuana and thereby violate federal law. But a federal appeals court saw the case differently. In September of 1999, a three judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said Judge Breyer failed to consider "the strong public interest in the availability of a doctor-prescribed treatment that would help ameliorate the condition and relieve the pain and suffering of a large group of persons with serious or fatal illnesses." The panel sent the case back for the judge to revise his order. And in July 2000, Judge Breyer did just that. The cannabis clubs were still legally barred from growing, selling, or possessing marijuana. But he said his order would not apply to club members who suffer from serious medical conditions, need marijuana to treat their conditions, and have no reasonable legal alternatives that would afford the same degree of relief as marijuana. The Justice Department now appeals to the US Supreme Court, which has stopped any sale of marijuana by the cannabis clubs, for any reason, until it rules on the case. Justice Stephen Breyer has decided not to participate. ARGUMENT: THE U.S. GOVERNMENT Department of Justice By passing the federal Controlled Substances Act, Congress imposed a system for determining the safety and effectiveness of drugs. Under that scheme, marijuana has been found to be a substance with high potential for abuse but with no currently accepted medical use for treatment in the U.S. No court, therefore, can exempt certain peopLVAL le from the federal law simply on the view of judges that marijuana has some medical utility. Congress recently renewed its earlier findings about marijuana, declaring in 1988 legislation that it continues to "oppose efforts to circumvent this process by legalizing marijuana without valid scientific evidence and without the approval of the Food and Drug Administration." Congress has expressly rejected the idea that an individual who claims a medical necessity for marijuana is exempted from the provisions of the law. Federal lawmakers have furthermore declined to leave the determination of any drug's safety and utility to individual courts, much less to private organizations like the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative. What's more, the 9th Circuit's ruling threatens to undermine the enforcement of federal drug laws, opening the door for producers, distributors, and users of other drugs not approved by the FDA to invoke medical necessity as a defense to the enforcement of the nation's health and safety laws. The appeals court ruling cannot be reconciled with a key U.S. Supreme Court case. In 1979, the court held (in U.S. vs. Rutherford, 442 U.S. 544) that a claim of medical need cannot override Congress's judgment that a drug should be distributed only with a finding by FDA that it's safe and effective. The case involved a class of terminally ill cancer patients who sued to stop the government from interfering with sales of Laetrile, a drug that the FDA had not approved. The Supreme Court ruled that the federal drug laws make no special provision for drugs used to treat terminally ill patients. While there is a common law defense of necessity, which permits a court to acquit a defendant of a criminal offense based on a finding that the defendant acted to prevent an evil that is greater than the one intended to be avoided by a law, that defense is not available if the law itself reflects the legislature's resolution of the conflicting values at stake. Here, Congress has specifically declinLVAL-ed to permit an exception from the laws for medical uses of marijuana. FOR THE OAKLAND CANNABIS COOPERATIVE AND JEFFREY JONES Annette Carnegie, San Francisco; James Broshahan, Robert Raich, Oakland; Gerald Uelmen, Santa Clara University Law School; Randy Barnett, Boston University Law School While the Justice Department uses heated rhetoric to argue that the appeals court ruling in this case would significantly impair its ability to enforce the law against drug traffickers who act under the guise of medical necessity, the government failed to present any evidence of any potential threat. And the trial judge has declared those fears to be "exaggerated and without evidentiary support." The citizens of the states that have passed these measures, and the thousands of doctors who have concluded that scientific evidence supports the notion that marijuana has legitimate therapeutic value, are not drug traffickers or renegades. Even the New England Journal of Medicine has said that "a federal policy that prohibits physicians from alleviating suffering by prescribing marijuana for seriously ill patients is misguided, heavy handed, and inhumane." (New Eng. J. of Medicine, Jan. 30, 1977, p 366). The limited exception to federal drug laws crafted by the trial judge in this case would allow a small group of patients who need medical cannabis to avert imminent harm such a death, starvation, or blindness. The federal law does not foreclose the defense of medical necessity. In placing marijuana on the list of controlled substances, Congress did not find that it had no medical use or that it could never serve any legitimate medical purpose. Furthermore, interpreting federal drug laws as foreclosing a defense of medical necessity would run afoul of the Constitution in two ways. First, Congress does not have the power to regulate commerce within a state. And second, adopting the government's position would deprive patients of their fundamental liberty to have access to drugs they need. FRIEND OF COULVALvcRT BRIEFS FOR THE UNITED STATES Family Research Council, Washington, D.C., Janet LaRue The harm of a medical necessity exemption for marijuana will outweigh any benefits. The active ingredient in marijuana, THC, is available in a pill called Marinol or as a suppository. Crude marijuana, by contrast, is had medicine with such a variable mixture of compounds that its effect cannot be precisely defined. Marijuana itself harms the brain, heart, and lungs, limits learning and memory and clouds judgment. Permitting "medicalization" of crude marijuana would change public attitudes, especially the attitude of children, toward the perceived dangerousness of of illicit drug use. And it would make marijuana much more available for illegal use. FOR THE CANNABIS BUYERS COOPERATIVE California Medical Association and the National Pain Foundation, Catherine Hanson, Alice Mead, CMA, San Francisco These groups would not support any undermining of federal drug laws. However, in passing general laws to protect public health and safety, Congress cannot have intended to prevent the courts from accommodating the desperate needs of individual patients. Doctors and their patients must be free to explore all possible avenues of medical treatment when standard therapies fail, and no governmental body should punish that effort. __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 09:46:11 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: US: "Traffic" Moves Propaganda Into Drug-policy Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010319094558.047681c0@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: Jo-D and Tom-E Pubdate: Fri, 16 Mar 2001 Source: Washington Times (DC) Copyright: 2001 News World Communications, Inc. Contact: letters@washtimes.com FLVAL DBax: 202-832-8285 Website: http://www.washtimes.com/ Author: Jonah Goldberg Note: Goldberg is the editor of National Review Online, (http://www.nationalreview.com). Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/traffic.htm (Traffic) "TRAFFIC" MOVES PROPAGANDA INTO DRUG-POLICY DEBATE Whether or not the movie "Traffic" wins the Oscar for best picture, it still qualifies as the movie of the year, at least in Washington. Senators and policy wonks are invoking it as the motivation for new hearings - and a new focus on drug treatment. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. If the movie helps drug-use prevention and treatment efforts, that's great. But before we start basing our drug policies on the message of a single movie, we should be clear about what that message is. Stephen Gaghan, the Oscar-nominated script writer for "Traffic," told The New York Times last month that "If there is a message to the movie, I guess it's that drugs should be considered a health-care issue, rather than a criminal issue." He told ABC's George Stephanopoulos: "It's easier to raise your hand and say, 'Hey, I have a health-care problem. I need some help,' than to say, 'Hey, I'm a criminal. I need some jail.' After all, he says: "We've just filled up our prisons. I mean, they're just full. We build more, and we fill them up." This all sounds perfectly reasonable and humane. But it's actually very misleading and very dangerous. First of all, while it may make Gaghan feel good to say so, you are not a "revolutionary" for saying legalization out loud. William F. Buckley's National Review, the flagship magazine of the conservative movement and my employer, has been in favor of legalization for years. Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman is pro-legalization. Kurt Schmoke, the former mayor of Baltimore and current chairman of Yale's board of trustees, has been arguing in favor of decriminalization for more than a decade. In short, this is not a "revolutionary" topic only spoken about in hushed whispers by a few brLVALvave souls willing to speak the truth to the powerful. Second, legalizing drugs in a "small place" has been tried. In Switzerland, for example, they tried it in a park that quickly became known as needle park. They had to shut it down because it became a petri dish of scummy addicts, petty criminals and prostitutes. After that experience, the Swiss voted by 73 percent to reject drug legalization. If they had noted what a sewer Amsterdam turned into because of legalized drugs, they could have saved some hassles. Lastly, and most importantly, it's simply disingenuous to say that addicts fear getting help because they're afraid of being called "criminals." Nobody ever gets arrested for admitting to past drug use, and most addicted criminals are criminals not for using drugs but for robbing or stealing to pay for them. (Indeed, it's a myth that our prisons are "full" of nonviolent drug offenders.) Serious addicts are simply afraid of admitting they're serious addicts. It's humiliating to admit to a drug problem, but that's an inevitable byproduct of our society's reasonable effort to stigmatize drug use. Which is really the crux of the issue. It's amazing how many people can say with a straight face that we vitally need "hate crimes" laws to "send a message" about what is and is not acceptable in this country but at the same time reject the notion that our drug laws discourage people from doing drugs. More importantly, even if our drug laws don't do a great job discouraging drug users, they do have a hampering effect on drug dealers. Gaghan was a heroin and cocaine addict until his three primary dealers were arrested. "My dealer, my backup dealer and my backup-backup dealer. I was left alone, and I just hit that place, that total incomprehensible demoralization," he told The New York Times. Indeed, it was because his supply of drugs was cut off by our draconian drug laws that he was able to demand treatment. You can write to Jonah Goldberg in care of this newspaper or by e-mail at JoLVALnahsColumn@aol.com. Goldberg is the editor of National Review Online, (http://www.nationalreview.com). __________________________________________________________________________ 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: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 09:46:48 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Cc: dpfco@drugsense.org Subject: CO: Officials Hazy On Medical-Marijuana Law Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010319094619.047696d0@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: http://www.cannabisnews.com/ Pubdate: Sun, 18 Mar 2001 Source: Denver Post (CO) Copyright: 2001 The Denver Post Corp Contact: letters@denverpost.com Address: 1560 Broadway, Denver, CO 80202 Fax: (303) 820.1502 Website: http://www.denverpost.com/ Forum: http://www.denverpost.com/voice/voice.htm Author: Allison Sherry, Denver Post Staff Writer Bookmarks: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal) http://www.mapinc.org/find?161 (Amendment 20) OFFICIALS HAZY ON MEDICAL-MARIJUANA LAW Twelve weeks before marijuana is legally recognized as a medicine for chronic pain, state officials, doctors and patients don't know how the new law will be implemented, whether there will be a federal crackdown or even how patients will get the drug. The branch of the state health department that will deal with medicinal marijuana is not yet up and running, though state officials say it will be by June 1. And when it is, state officials say, they won't have any advice on sources for the drug. Doctors fear they could lose their medical licenses for violating federal law, which supersedes state statute and still prohibits marijuana use. Patients worry that with all the ambiguities, something they need and are legally prescribed will not be easily obtained. "There's been a lot to do, that's for sure," said Cindy Parmenter, spokeswoman at the state's DeLVAL:partment of Public Health and Environment. As soon as voters approved Amendment 20 last November, state officials and medical advocates came together to hammer out the particulars. They closely copied how Oregon implemented its law a little over a year ago, because the statutes have similar wording. Come June 1, the health department will issue laminated cards for $140 to those who have a written prescription from a doctor. The cards will allow patients to possess 2 ounces of pot and six plants, only three of which can be flowering. But that's where things get sticky. A year into Oregon's program, a handful of patient advocacy groups were created to grow the marijuana. At Oregon's medicinal marijuana program, manager Kelly Paige gives out informational pamphlets to patients so they can obtain the drug. Nothing like that exists in Colorado. "When I opposed this initiative, a lot of it was based on the distribution," said Dr. Joel Karlin, a Lakewood allergist. "There are a lot of different impurities. Marijuana can have everything from carcinogens to fungi and bacteria. One may not know where they're getting their marijuana." Limit on plants questioned Even in Oregon, some patientusers and medical advocates think limiting the number of plants is unfair given the finicky climate. To grow a plant indoors, a cultivator has to buy a light apparatus that runs $2,000 to $5,000, said Kevin Neely, spokesman for the Oregon attorney general. Despite the potential cost, it's still illegal to receive any money for the drug. Julie Roche, a political consultant who was the campaign manager for Coloradans for Medical Rights, said she's glad the law passed, even though it isn't perfect. The Colorado Law: Patient must have a debilitating medical condition, such as cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, or chronic pain, severe nausea, epilepsy or muscle spasms. Patient must pay $140 a year for a state registration card. A written prescription from a licensed physician is requirLVALed. Patient can possess only six plants, three of which can be flowering, and 2 usable ounces at any time. No governmental, private or any health insurance provider shall be required to be liable for any claim for reimbursement, nor will any employers be required to provide accommodation for marijuana in the workplace. Source: Colorado Statute 0-4-287 "I hope some of these people are worried, and they want to come forward to help people get access to (marijuana)," she said. "I think supply needs to come in at some point. People shouldn't be going out and getting it illegally, because it's really not safe." Karlin won't prescribe the drug until the courts clear a few things up, including where the drug will come from and whether immunity from federal prosecution exists for doctors. Based on what has happened in other states, he probably has nothing to worry about, though officials at the state Board of Medical Examiners said if someone lodged a complaint against a doctor for prescribing marijuana, they wouldn't know what to do. "I wouldn't even want to predict what would happen," said Susan Miller, an administrator for the board. "Conviction of a federal felony is grounds for the board to take action, but it's not an automatic revocation. We're venturing into murky waters here." Feds prosecute few At least eight states have passed medicinal marijuana laws, and only a handful of people have been prosecuted under federal law. The people charged were accused of handing marijuana out to kids or growing it on federal land as was the case in California, according to U.S. attorneys' offices. One duo in Los Angeles used medical marijuana as a defense when federal drug agents found 6,000 plants in their house, said Thom Marzek, spokesman for the Los Angeles district of the U.S. attorney's office. "We're looking at large quantities. We don't prosecute guys with nickel bags on the corner," Marzek said. That philosophy has been reiterated by Colorado's outgoing U.S. attorney, Tom LVALStrickland, who said that although he opposed the measure, sentencing guidelines usually lead officials to prosecute those allegedly in possession of 220 pounds of drugs or more. The law has caused horrendous headaches for California federal drug officials since its 1996 implementation. California has no licensing program to monitor who's legally allowed to use marijuana and who's not. Nor does the state have any stipulations about how much is too much for patient-users. Ror Poliac, 44, of Denver uses marijuana to assuage pain from multiple sclerosis. He said the glaring contradiction between state and federal law makes people who rightfully deserve a prescription afraid of what could happen to them. Poliac pleaded guilty in Arapahoe County Court in December of possessing less than an ounce of marijuana. He received a $25 fine. "It's really gray, and there is a lot of question from our side as to what's really going on," Poliac said. "At this point, it's almost like every person for themselves. And that's not really a good thing because it's not always there, sometimes it's more expensive than it should be, and there is always so much paranoia. It's not always pure, either." State health department officials asked the legislature's Joint Budget Committee for $20,000 to start the medicinal marijuana program, and an additional $129,000 to fund it for the first year. They hope after that the $140 license fee will cover administrative costs, but they're not quite sure what to do about patients who can't pay that. They expect about 900 people will come through the program in the first year, and close to 2,000 in the second. "In our state, there's a lot of confusion around the law," said Neely, at the Oregon attorney general's office. "It'd be nice to see it come to the higher courts. There could be some additional and needed clarity, which would be really nice." Public Hearing: A public hearing on the specifics of the medical marijuana law is scheduled for 10:15 a.m. WednesdaLVALv1y at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, 4300 Cherry Creek Drive. Testimony will be taken in order of the sign-up sheet at the hearing. For more information, call 303-692-2000. __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 09:47:28 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: TX: Medical Marijuana Has New Friends In The Legislature (Part 1) Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010319094714.0474a470@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: Harvey Ginsburg Pubdate: Sun, 18 Mar 2001 Source: San Marcos Daily Record (TX) Copyright: 2001 San Marcos Daily Record Contact: smdrnews@centuryinter.net Address: 1910 IH35 South, San Marcos TX 78666 Fax: 512-392-1514 Website: http://www.sanmarcosrecord.com/ Author: Frank Levine Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal) MEDICAL MARIJUANA HAS NEW FRIENDS IN THE LEGISLATURE Editor's note: This is the first in a two-part series on the history and current use of marijuana as a medicinal remedy. With new legislation being contemplated by the Texas Legislature allowing the medical use of marijuana supported by a physician's recommendation as an allowable defense in criminal cases, there remains some debate as to the merits and efficacy of marijuana as a remedy. "We, the five-fingered beings are related to the four leggeds, the winged beings, the spiritual beings, Father Sky, Mother Earth, and Nature. We are all relatives. We cannot leave our relatives behind." Betty Tso: Traditional Navajo Once she walked among the Navajo, her world illuminated magically with spirits and power. Her delicate hands, once nimble and strong, clutched beauty innocent to her breast. Her body once swayed and danced to love. Her heart once beat inLVAL passion. ... Joanne Park Williams can dance no more, she can walk no more. The 53-year-old former music teacher and social worker lies in her bed day after day, week after week, in a small duplex in South Austin. As the world's roar filters through the walls, she stares at the ceiling until her vision loses focus and her mind wanders through memories when the world extended far beyond her feeble grasp. And while her body is trapped, her mind is boundless. She is alert. She cracks jokes at the every opportunity. She listens to Bob Dylan: "When you're standing at the crossroads that you cannot comprehend Just remember that death is not the end. . ." Joanne is in the final stages of Multiple Sclerosis. If she sat up in her bed she would die within minutes, as her internal muscles cannot stop the blood in her upper body from rushing to her legs, starving her heart and brain. For nearly 18 years, she has been ravaged by a relentless disease that offers no mercy, no escape -- only unbearable pain and isolation, as her body shudders in uncontrollable spasms. "She has already been declared dead twice," says her nurse Melanie Wimberly. "The hospitals and most doctors just gave up. That's why I am with her to support her to the end." Joanne remembers her school days in Dallas, and when her class was interrupted with the news of the Kennedy assassination; she remembers graduating from Texas Tech with a teaching degree in music Melanie Wimberly and she remembers her time in southern Utah when she worked among the Navajo, helping, giving and teaching, living in a tribal "Hogun," or home. "I loved teaching kids of all ages," she says. "I loved my career and especially the time I spent among the Navajo in southern Utah." Once it was determined that she would be bedridden with MS, just a few weeks after delivering her second child, her husband left. Her children left. The world left. It is only recently her children have returned to her life, bringing her much joy. Melanie is by her side constantlyLVAL, helping, laughing, giving care and attention Joanne so desperately needs. But in the eyes of the law, both women are criminals. Each day Joanne smokes marijuana, and each day Joanne and her nurse Melanie are partners in crime. But for each day Joanne smokes the illicit drug, her life as a functioning human being is extended. Not because the marijuana can cure her, but because it is the only remedy she knows that eliminates her terrible spasms and teeth grinding pain without the devastating side effects associated with prescription medications. In the next few days, the Texas Legislature is expected to consider HB 513 sponsored by Rep. Terry Keel, R-Austin, and co-sponsored by Rick Green, R-Hays, among others, that will allow the use of physician supported marijuana use in a criminal defense. Three weeks ago, the Criminal Jurisprudence Committee debated the issue, and is expected to soon pass it on to the House floor for a vote. Many see the bill passing the House, only to enter uncharted waters in the Senate. Both Melanie and Joanne testified at the hearings. Under the current bill, which appeared to have the support of a majority of committee members, those arrested on marijuana possession charges could argue in court that they were suffering from a serious ailment and that they had a physician's support. If the court believed the evidence, the offenders would be found not guilty. Keel said he polled almost 10,000 constituents in his conservative district and found that support for the measure was widespread, and although some colleagues expressed shock that he had filed the bill, none of the prosecutors or police officers he had worked with were in the least bit surprised. Although it appeared the committee would easily pass a positive recommendation on to the floor of the House, some legislators cling to the belief that synthetic drugs containing THC, the main chemical component of marijuana, is already available under a doctor's prescription and any new legislation is just an aLVALttempt by certain groups to eventually legalize the use of marijuana. But Keel, a former prosecutor and Travis County sheriff, is adamant that his proposal would not legalize marijuana but serve as a "careful, prudent step," allowing those suffering from disease an alternative treatment in alleviating pain and other symptoms in seriously ill persons. Many in law enforcement already use some discretion in dismissing medical marijuana cases they might encounter, "but this bill provides direction for those who do not," Keel said. Committee member Rep. Robert E. Talton, R-Pasadena, said he thinks the bill is backed by an organized effort to legalize marijuana. He told the hearing that the federal Drug Enforcement Administration "does not think there is a valid medicinal benefit from smoking marijuana." Addressing the panel was Dr. Dick Evans, director of the Texas Cancer Center in Houston, who said "sick Texans deserve better treatment," as there are "numerous benefits from inhaled marijuana for those undergoing chemotherapy or suffering from AIDS, terminal cancer, muscle spasms, paralysis, glaucoma and chronic pain. He said that it is effective medicine for the following: *- Relief of chemotherapy nausea. *- Increased appetite in patients with terminal cancer, AIDS or other wasting diseases. *- Relief of chronic pain *- Reduction of muscle spasms in patients with paralysis and multiple sclerosis *- Reduction of intraocular pressure in patients with glaucoma "For example, patients with back ache are familiar with muscle drugs like Soma, Flexeril, even Valium," he said. "The sedation, and other side effects caused by these prescription drugs are often stronger and have more side effects of marijuana. Yes, for many patients the "psychoactive' effects of marijuana is actually less than the "psychoactive effects' of prescription medicine." He cited a national survey of oncologists in which 44 percent said they would recommend marijuana to patients. "Thousands of patients and tLVALheir doctors have found marijuana to be effective medicine for treating patients with cancer, AIDS, epilepsy, paralysis and other illnesses. . .For many, marijuana is the most effective medicine available, often more effective than traditional prescription drugs." He then asked the panel. "Should the state of Texas arrest, prosecute and imprison patients with cancer and other serious illnesses?. . Under existing state and federal law, this is not only possible, but it also occurs on a regular basis." He stated that because of the nature of marijuana and its role as target in the drug war, there are no accurate statistics indicating how many severely ill patients are currently using the drug. "During the last eight years 400 to 500 patients have been arrested for marijuana possession," he said. "Criminal penalties have ranged from one year for one cigarette and five years for growing a single plant." Joanne and Melanie have already been arrested for possession of marijuana. "Someone called the authorities a few years ago and although the charges were eventually dismissed, because of a letter from her doctor, there was a tremendous problem with the federal government as they were going to suspend aid because of the marijuana use." Had the case been pursued, Joanne would have been homeless and without health coverage and other government support. Dr. Alan Robison, meanwhile, distinguished professor of pharmacology at the University of Texas Health Science Center and MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, told the panel that marijuana in pill form is hard for many patients to ingest, and that the commonly prescribed Marinol is often toxic and "is erratically absorbed in the bloodstream." He said that with just a few puffs of a marijuana cigarette, there is an immediate controlled effect, with little or no side effects. You don't have to look far in the San Marcos area to find supporters of the legislation. Dr. Harvey J. Ginsburg, psychology professor at Southwest Texas State UniversitLVALy, has long supported the legalization of marijuana as a drug to improve the lives of severely ill patients, especially those suffering from the effects of chemotherapy, spasms or AIDS treatments . Ginsburg, who backed the failed 1997 San Marcos proposition to allow for the medicinal use of marijuana, sees resistance to any such proposal as short-sighted and often based on emotion. "The drug was perfectly legal until 1937," he said. "It is as if when prohibition ended, the government needed something to attack other than alcohol with all their resources." Rep. Rick Green, one of the bill's co-sponsors strongly supports the Keel legislation. "I was originally 100 percent against the bill," he said. "But after hearing the testimony from witness and experts, I now support it as an affirmative defense." He said that "If the medication can help, the patients should be allowed to use it. We are not sending a message that it is a good thing to use marijuana or that they should use it. But I know what pain and suffering is, having watched my grandfather die slowly. . .I wonder if things might have been easier if doctors would have allowed the use of marijuana." He said his main concern is that the new law would be applied to just about any illness and could be open to misinterpretation. "I am amending it to make sure it applied to only those with serious pain or terminally ill patients," he said. PART II on Tuesday. The War Against Pain. __________________________________________________________________________ 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: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 09:51:09 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: CA: Medical Marijuana Ordinance Urged Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010319095057.0474b510@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: Jo-D and Tom-E Pubdate: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 LVAL Source: Santa Barbara News-Press (CA) Copyright: 2001 Santa Barbara News-Press Contact: jlankford@newspress.com Address: P.O. Box 1359, Santa Barbara, CA 93102 Website: http://www.newspress.com/ Author: Thomas Schultz, News-Press Staff Writer Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal) MEDICAL MARIJUANA ORDINANCE URGED Government: Advocates Say City Guidelines Are Needed To Assure The Legality Of Helping Patients Medical marijuana advocates plan a return to Santa Barbara City Hall on Tuesday to urge elected leaders to craft an ordinance enacting Proposition 215, the California law passed in 1996 to legalize pot with a doctor's recommendation. The 1 p.m. hearing before the city Ordinance Committee -- City Council members Marty Blum, Gregg Hart and Gil Garcia -- follows the recent eviction of prominent local medical-marijuana distributors from a Carrillo Street office space. The individual who rented the space to the nonprofit Compassionate Cannabis Center grew uneasy about legalities following a front-page newspaper story about the operation, according to center administrators. Now, the organization's leadership has splintered and the group's future is unclear. Founder David Pryor said the breakdown points to a need for local guidelines governing the distribution of medical marijuana. An ordinance, he said, would make it easier for distributors like himself to rise from a murk of secrecy or confusion and succeed under the watchful eye of law enforcement. "My friends are dying, and we need to get this ordinance passed," said Pryor, who plans to continue helping 125 patients through a new nonprofit, called the California Medical Marijuana Cooperative. Medical-marijuana advocates say a city ordinance would protect the dozens of patients across the county known to use and often grow the substance for health reasons. Westside activist Bruce Rittenhouse, a likely mayoral candidate, said he proposed an ordinance last summer. Rittenhouse said Friday that he LVALd prefers the city take quick action to protect medical-marijuana users from arrest, and if necessary worry about figuring out proper distribution schemes later. "My argument is we should move ahead," Rittenhouse said. "It will stop the criminalizing of individuals who are abiding by state law." Whether an ordinance is drafted in Santa Barbara, however, remains to be seen. Since September, city officials have studied strategies used by other communities, particularly Mendocino and Sonoma counties. Each jurisdiction established guidelines late last year for law enforcement authorities to follow when dealing with authorized medical-marijuana users. Residents can obtain papers to prove their right to the drug. But if officials do decide to take similar action in Santa Barbara, it appears that the plan would not unfold before a U.S. Supreme Court decision on a case out of Oakland. The legality of Oakland's city-supported "Medical Cannabis Distribution Program" is in question, and Santa Barbara city attorneys have said that the decision in that case could impact the direction of a similar program here. "It's kind of a wait-and-see," City Attorney Dan Wallace said Friday. Further, Wallace said he and other city staff members believe state officials, not local leaders, should ultimately implement California's medical-marijuana law. Medical-marijuana supporters say the ingestion or smoking of the leafy green plant helps cancer and AIDS patients to ward off nausea or induce an appetite. They say the drug can combat anorexia, relieve chronic pain and control spasticity, glaucoma, arthritis, headaches and other ailments. __________________________________________________________________________ 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: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 09:52:44 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org>LVAL  To: restore@crrh.org Subject: DC: Quayle Accuser Loses Appeal Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010319095231.0474a0d0@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: Sledhead Pubdate: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 Source: Las Vegas Sun (NV) Copyright: 2001 Las Vegas Sun, Inc Contact: letters@lasvegassun.com Address: P.O. Box 4275, Las Vegas, NV 89127 Fax: (702) 383-7264 Website: http://www.lasvegassun.com/ Forum: http://www.vegas.com/ubbcgi/Ultimate.cgi Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) QUAYLE ACCUSER LOSES APPEAL WASHINGTON (AP) - A convicted bomber who once claimed he sold marijuana to Dan Quayle lost his appeal to the Supreme Court in an unrelated case. The court on Monday turned down Brett Kimberlin's claim that federal parole officials railroaded him when they canceled his scheduled release two years ago. The court did not comment on the case. Kimberlin claimed, days before the 1988 presidential election, that then-vice presidential candidate Quayle bought small amounts of drugs from him in the 1970s. Quayle denied it, and the Drug Enforcement Administration later concluded the allegation was false. Kimberlin has been in the news, and in the courts, frequently since then. In the case acted on Monday, Kimberlin claims parole officials used flimsy evidence and violated his constitutional rights when they concluded that he did not deserve parole in 1999. Federal courts then signed off on that decision. Kimberlin asked the high court to follow up on a ruling it made last year in another prisoner's case. That ruling, which has had a ripple effect in the Supreme Court and lower courts, said that judges cannot decide to lengthen a convict's sentence unilaterally - a jury must consider questions that would extend someone's sentence. The U.S. Parole Commission said Kimberlin lied and hid assets while going through bankruptcy, and rescheduled Kimberlin's release for June of this year. Kimberlin had filed for bankruptcy amid a tussle over proceeds from a 1996 book about his Quayle allegations. LVAL Kimberlin claims he was upfront about how much money the book publisher owed him and never tried to hide the money, while federal investigators claimed he used a "sham" company headed by his sister and other ruses to avoid paying a court settlement to a woman injured by one of his bombs. The case is Kimberlin v. DeWalt, 00-8564. __________________________________________________________________________ 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: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 09:57:51 -0800 From: "Shasta Patient's Alliance" <shapatall@hotmail.com> (by way of "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org>) To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Shasta,CA: Medical Marijuana Use Tangles Courts Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010319095736.0474db90@mail.olywa.net> Front Page - Again! Source: Redding Record Searchlight Pub Date: March 19, 2001 Contact: letters@redding.com Author: Maline Hazle Online: www.redding.com Medical marijuana use tangles courts Licensed users battle often with law enforcement Lawsuits and legal actions alleging abuses under California's Compassionate= =20 Use Act are becoming more common as medical marijuana users continue to=20 balk at what they say are arbitrary rules enforced by local anti-drug= warriors. At the same time, more medical marijuana users appear to be fighting=20 against criminal charges, rather then settling for reduced charges. Already one district attorney, Paula Kamena of Marin County, faces a May 22= =20 recall election over her allegedly "inhumane" interpretation of Proposition= =20 215, approved by voters in 1996. At least three other district attorneys, including Shasta County's McGregor= =20 Scott, are unofficial recall targets named by the American Medical=20 Marijuana Association, which helped get the Kamena recall onto the ballot. Jay Cavanaugh, the nonprofit LVALgroup's Los Angeles coordinator, helped=20 orchestrate the Kamena recall vote =97 and helped target Scott and district= =20 attorneys in Placer, El Dorado, Sonoma and Calavaras counties. Sonoma and Calavaras have, at least temporarily, been dropped from the list= =20 because "opportunities have arisen for productive talks, we hope,"=20 Cavanaugh said. "We don't want to spend the money unless their behavior=20 can't be changed any other way." In Shasta County, Scott, Sheriff Jim Pope and other county officials face=20 two lawsuits. Tehama County Sheriff Clay Parker and that county were sued=20 last year on behalf of seven medical marijuana patients whose crops were=20 confiscated and destroyed in 1999. Even more suits =97 at least nine =97 are pending in Placer County, where= drug=20 agents allegedly planned raids after staking out the parking lot of a=20 Sacramento gardening supply store that specializes in hydroponics and= organics. Placer County drug agents are accused of recording license plates belonging= =20 to store customers, then tracing their owners through the state Department= =20 of Motor Vehicles. Armed with addresses, the investigators checked power usage records; and=20 armed with warrants based on allegedly fabricated evidence, raided at least= =20 70 homes suspected of housing secret marijuana gardens or stashes. Among those busted were Michael Baldwin, a Rocklin dentist, and his wife,=20 both of whom had recommendations for medical marijuana use. In 1999 a jury deadlocked on the charges against the couple, but Placer=20 County District Attorney Bradford Fenocchio said they would be prosecuted=20 again. Then a highly publicized trial against former Libertarian gubernatorial=20 candidate Steve Kubby and his wife resulted in a jury that hung 11-1=20 against conviction on marijuana-growing charges, but convicted Steve Kubby= =20 on possession of minute amounts of psilocybin and mescaline found during a= =20 1999 search of his home. On March 2, a PlaceLVALr County Superior Court judge reduced those charges to=20 misdemeanors and dismissed remaining pot charges at the district attorney's= =20 request. At the same time, Fenocchio filed a motion to block the Baldwins' retrial. Those actions prompted the American Medical Marijuana Association to scale= =20 back their recall push, Cavanaugh said. The Shasta Patients' Alliance touted criminal court victories last week,=20 too, after Superior Court Judge Richard McEachen issued a tentative=20 dismissal of charges against Josh Bushey and Thomas Ladewig, both of= Anderson. Last year Ladewig was the driver of a van carrying Frank Port, an Anderson= =20 medical marijuana user disabled by skeletal birth defects, and Port's=20 caregiver, Bushey. When stopped by Redding police the three were carrying 24 marijuana plants= =20 that they said they intended to plant for Port and another patient. Marijuana possession charges against Port, who is confined to a wheelchair,= =20 were dismissed last summer; but Ladewig and Bushey, charged with marijuana= =20 trafficking, were to be tried separately. McEachen ordered the charges dropped if the men are not arrested during the= =20 next year. Wednesday, Craig Bateman of Redding agreed to plead guilty to driving under= =20 the influence of marijuana. Superior Court Judge Gregory Caskey ordered=20 that 37 grams of marijuana and $11,000 seized from Bateman last year be=20 returned. Bateman, who carried an Oregon medical marijuana recommendation, was moving= =20 to California and carrying proceeds from a real estate sale when stopped by= =20 the California Highway Patrol. Charges of possession and transportation of marijuana for sale were dropped= =20 after Bateman's Oregon doctor testified that he is a legitimate medical=20 marijuana user. District attorneys, police and deputies blame Proposition 215's "vagueness"= =20 for their enforcement problems. The law set no limits on the number of=20 plants a patient can grow or possess, nor onLVAL the size of the plants. On Feb. 7 state Sen. John Vasconcellos, D-Santa Clara, reintroduced a bill= =20 that would specify amounts allowed and establish a statewide registration=20 system for medical marijuana users. Similar proposed legislation died last year. On Wednesday, the California Supreme Court agreed to decide whether=20 Proposition 215 creates automatic immunity from prosecution or can only be= =20 offered as a defense once a person is charged. The justices also will consider standards for determining how many plants a= =20 patient can have before felony cultivation charges can be filed. Reporter Maline Hazle can be reached at 225-8266 or at mhazle@redding.com. Monday, March 19, 2001 _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2001 17:29:39 EST From: CGaryWainwright@aol.com To: wyliebgood@yahoo.com (wylie ALLEN), aro@drugsense.org, charles@dcameron.com, donnie@dcameron.com, restore@crrh.org, flcan@vitel.tzo.com, freematt@coil.com, Jolly8994@aol.com, kevzeese@laser.net, ariecrown@earthlink.net (Kathleen Lehnen), enadelmann@sorosny.org (Ethan Nadelmann), pcohen@barlaeus.ic.uva.nl, Slkapster@aol.com, esterling@cjpf.org, chad@cjpf.org, velte@io.com Subject: Fwd: Tim Wise article - school shootings and white denial Message-ID: <9d.12bbbf27.27e690d3@aol.com> --part1_9d.12bbbf27.27e690d3_boundary Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit --part1_9d.12bbbf27.27e690d3_boundary Content-Type: message/rfc822 Content-Disposition: inline Return-path: <FOURWAKES@aol.com> From: FOURWAKES@aol.com Full-name: FOURWAKES Message-ID: <12.a400626.27e59a08@aol.com> Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2001 23:56:40 EST Subject: Fwd: Tim Wise article - school shootings and white denial To: DEEDEE1464@aol.com, CGaryWainwright@aol.com, Dmajsnead@aol.com, Dpanepinto@aoLVALv1l.com, eserrano@quanlaw.com, creole@optonline.net, KSurgi@aol.com, nulife@quixnet.net, pbanks69@hotmail.com, gmratlef@loyno.edu (Gail Ratleff), ruff@palm.net, sreimonenq@lawla.com, Swiizzbis88@aol.com, wivory@earthlink.net, ALIVESTILL@aol.com, LAZENT@aol.com, Nails22196@aol.com MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="part2_9d.12bbbf27.27e59a08_boundary" X-Mailer: AOL 5.0 for Windows sub 130 --part2_9d.12bbbf27.27e59a08_boundary Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit --part2_9d.12bbbf27.27e59a08_boundary Content-Type: message/rfc822 Content-Disposition: inline Return-path: <Bstapert@aol.com> From: Bstapert@aol.com Full-name: Bstapert Message-ID: <34.1255f2f1.27e51981@aol.com> Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2001 14:48:17 EST Subject: Tim Wise article - school shootings and white denial To: almonte@loyno.edu, mccnola@bellsouth.net, bbell@hano.org (Ben Bell (E-mail), Revbillinz@aol.com, Embolton@aol.com, jbouma@freeler.nl, bbreaux@hano.org, sbright@schr.org, SCBUNDY@aol.com, Dbuntonesq@aol.com, melaniec@thejusticecenter.org, GabriellaC@aol.com, vrc204@is9.nyu.edu, ChGroenUSA@aol.com, benc@thejusticecenter.org, kcutno@hano.org, sdanzey@hrihci.com, cmdelbaum@nolac.org, daderbig@loyno.edu, legalone@bellsouth.net, DuclouxIII@aol.com, DianaD50@aol.com, ebrinav@thejusticecenter.org, EVvanZanten@aol.com, HHI@bellsouth.net, deverard@bellsouth.net, earlyewing@yahoo.com, DFarve1727@aol.com, pfoxwort@hano.org, cgisel@moratorium2000.org, Gretchen@cdpl.org, mgroome@bellsouth.net, Meh316@aol.com, JAMESLE@co.mecklenburg.nc.us, FOURWAKES@aol.com, ShannonJohnson@cs.com, SarahbethKaufman@aol.com, mjkegel@nolac.org, carolk@thejusticecenter.org, MarisaLago@aol.com, dennyle@bellsouth.net, slewis@hano.org, clearlight108@hotmail.com, MDMACLA@aol.com, danmac@thejusticecenter.org, STHSnNOLA@aol.com, FlwrsNBlum@aol.com, JulieMcc_1999@yahoo.com, mmoreau@kingsleyhouse.org, smozartm@hotmail.com, mwalimu@thejusticecenter.org, CLVALvapjacque@aol.com, fnicoter@hano.org, Slottinger@aol.com, BrinkerC@aol.com, itwdpatel@yahoo.com, duprestars@msn.com, quigley@loyno.edu, sriley@law.tulane.edu, drobinso@hano.org, jrose@gbls.org, mail@matthewrubenstein.com, Stacyfhac@aol.com, RESnedeker@aol.com, CliveSS@aol.com, estevens@hano.org (Evelyn Stevens (E-mail), tomtarnow@lawyer.com, JDARGUE@aol.com, atodd@kingsleyhouse.org, nicktr@bellsouth.net, latuggle@nolac.org, dutter@jjpl.org, kimw@thejusticecenter.org, Rose6000@aol.com, jweil@law.tulane.edu, SEWight@aol.com, gwomack@jjpl.org MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Language: en X-Mailer: AOL 5.0 for Windows sub 130 In today's Times Picayune there was a report about the stir created by an=20 article written in the AlterNet.org concerning the school shootings and whit= e=20 denial. I wanted to send this as an attachment but it might be hard for some= =20 to download. So, I am incorporating it into the body of the AOL message (I=20 hope). Some of you may remember Tim from when he was working at Agenda for= =20 Children here in New Orleans. School Shootings and White Denial Tim Wise, AlterNet March 6, 2001Viewed on March 17, 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------- I can think of no other way to say this, so here goes: white people need to=20 pull our heads out of our collective ass.=20 Two more white children are dead and thirteen are injured, and another "nice= "=20 community is scratching its blonde head, utterly perplexed at how a school=20 shooting the likes of the one yesterday in Santee, California could happen.=20 After all, as the Mayor of the town said in an interview with CNN: "We're a= =20 solid town, a good town, with good kids, a good church-going town=E2=80=A6an= =20 All-American town." Yeah, well maybe that's the problem.=20 I said this after Columbine and no one listened so I'll say it again: white=20 people live in an utter state oLVALf self-delusion. We think danger is black,=20 brown and poor, and if we can just move far enough away from " those people"= =20 in the cities we'll be safe. If we can just find an " all-American " town,=20 life will be better, because " things like this just don't happen here".=20 Well bullshit on that. In case you hadn't noticed, " here" is about the only= =20 place these kinds of things do happen. Oh sure, there is plenty of violence=20 in urban communities and schools. But mass murder; wholesale slaughter;=20 take-a-gun-and-see-how-many-youcan-kill kinda craziness seems made for those= =20 safe places: the white suburbs or rural communities.=20 And yet once again, we hear the FBI insist there is no " profile" of a schoo= l=20 shooter. Come again? White boy after white boy after white boy, with very fe= w=20 exceptions to that rule (and none in the mass shooting category), decides to= =20 use their classmates for target practice, and yet there is no profile?=20 Imagine if all these killers had been black: would we still hesitate to put=20= a=20 racial face on the perpetrators? Doubtful. Indeed, if any black child in America -- especially in the mostly white=20 suburbs of Littleton, or Santee --were to openly discuss their plans to=20 murder fellow students, as happened both at Columbine and now Santana High,=20 you can bet your ass that somebody would have turned them in, and the cops=20 would have beat a path to their doorstep. But when whites discuss their=20 murderous intentions, our stereotypes of what dangerlooks like cause us to=20 ignore it -- they're just " talking" and won't really do anything. How many=20 kids have to die before we rethink that nonsense? How many dazed and confuse= d=20 parents, Mayors and Sheriffs do we have to listen to, describing how "normal= "=20 and safe their community is, and how they just can't understand what went=20 wrong?=20 I'll tell you what went wrong and it's not TV, rap music, video games or a=20 lack of prayer in school. What went wrong is thatLVALn white Americans decided to= =20 ignore dysfunction and violence when it only affected other communities, and= =20 thereby blinded themselves to the inevitable creeping of chaos which never=20 remains isolated too long. What affects the urban " ghetto" today will be=20 coming to a Wal-Mart near you tomorrow, and unless you address the emptiness= ,=20 pain, isolation and lack of hope felt by children of color and the poor, the= n=20 don't be shocked when the support systems aren't there for your kids either.= =20 What went wrong is that we allowed ourselves to be lulled into a false sense= =20 of security by media representations of crime and violence that portray both= =20 as the province of those who are anything but white like us. We ignore the=20 warning signs, because in our minds the warning signs don't live in our=20 neighborhood, but across town, in that place where we lock our car doors on=20 the rare occasion we have to drive there.That false sense of security -- the= =20 result of racist and classist stereotypes-- then gets people killed. And=20 still we act amazed.=20 But listen up my fellow whiteAmericans: your children are no better, no=20 nicer, no more moral, no more decent than anyone else. Dysfunction is all=20 around you, whether you choose to recognize it or not.=20 According to the Centers for Disease Control, and Department of Health and=20 Human Services, it is your children, and not those of the urban ghetto, who=20 are most likely to use drugs. That's right: white high school students are=20 seven times more likely than blacks to have used cocaine; eight times more=20 likely to have smoked crack; ten times more likely to have used LSD and seve= n=20 times more likely to have used heroin. In fact, there are more white high=20 school students who have used crystal methamphetamine (the most addictive=20 drug on the streets) than there are black students who smoke cigarettes.=20 What's more, white youth ages 12-17are more likely to sell drugs: 34% more=20 likely, in fact LVALthan their black counterparts. And it is white youth who are= =20 twice as likely to binge drink, and nearly twice as likely as blacks to driv= e=20 drunk. And white males are twice as likely to bring a weapon to school as ar= e=20 black males.=20 And yet I would bet a valued body part that there aren't 100 white people in= =20 Santee, California, or most anyother "nice" community who have ever heard a=20 single one of the statistics above. Even though they were collected by=20 government agencies using these folks' tax money for the purpose. Because th= e=20 media doesn't report on white dysfunction=20 A few years ago, U.S. News ran astory entitled: " A Shocking look at blacks=20 and crime." Yet never have they or any other news outlet discussed the=20 "shocking" whiteness of these shoot-em-ups. Indeed, every time media=20 commentators discuss the similarities in these crimes they mention that the=20 shooters were boys, they were loners, they got picked on, but never do they=20 seem to notice a certain highly visible melanin deficiency. Color-blind, I=20 guess.=20 White-blind is more like it, as I figure these folks would spot color mighty= =20 damn quick were some of it to stroll into their community. Santee's whitenes= s=20 is so taken for granted by its residents that the Mayor, in that CNN=20 interview, thought nothing of saying on the one hand that the town was 82=20 percent white, but on the other hand that " this is America." Well that=20 isn't America, and it especially isn't California, where whites are only hal= f=20 of the population. This is a town that is removed from America, and yet its=20 Mayor thinks they are the normal ones --so much so that when asked about=20 racial diversity, he replied that there weren't many of different=20 "ethni-tis-tities." Not a word. Not even close.=20 I'd like to think that after this one, people would wake up. Take note.=20 Rethink their stereotypes of who the dangerous ones are. But deep down, I=20 know better. The folks hitting the snooze bLVALutton on this none-too-subtle=20 alarm are my own people, after all, and I know their blindness like the back= =20 of my hand.=20 Tim Wise is a Nashville-based writer and activist andcan be reached at <A=20 HREF=3D"mailto:tjwise@mindspring.com">tjwise@mindspring.com</A>=20 --part2_9d.12bbbf27.27e59a08_boundary-- --part1_9d.12bbbf27.27e690d3_boundary-- ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2001 14:40:39 -0800 From: "RLRoot" <rlroot@prodigy.net> To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:@pimout4-int.prodigy.net;> Subject: Fw: IACM-Bulletin of 18 March 2001 Message-ID: <004901c0affc$7971e2a0$ca37ff3f@oemcomputer> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Int. Association for Cannabis as Medicine" <info@cannabis-med.org> Sent: Sunday, March 18, 2001 2:26 PM Subject: IACM-Bulletin of 18 March 2001 -------------------------------------------------------- IACM-Bulletin of 18 March 2001 -------------------------------------------------------- * Switzerland: Government wants to legalize the use of cannabis 1. Switzerland: Government wants to legalize the use of cannabis The Swiss government on 9 March endorsed a draft law that would legalize the consumption of cannabis and allow a limited number of shops where the drug could be sold, similar to the Dutch coffee shop model. Production and sale would be heavily regulated. Only Swiss-grown marijuana would be legal, exporting marijuana would remain a crime, purchases of marijuana would be limited to Swiss residents only, and sales to minors would be still prohibited. "Decriminalizing the consumption of cannabis and the acts leading up to this takes account of social reality and unburdens police and the courts," the government said in a statement. The cabinet agreed in principle in October 2000 to legalize cannabis use.It has now recommended that police be allowed to turn a blind eye to people growing and trading small amounts of soft drugs. The Swiss parliament still needs to approve reform later this year, but authorities LVALbelieve the legislation will be approved in some form. (Sources: Press release of the Swiss government of 9 March 2001, Reuters of 9 March 2001, Time Magazine of 16 March 2001) 2. News in brief ***Science: Researchers at the Bayer AG, a German pharmaceutical company, found that cannabinoid CB(1) receptors were upregulated in a rat model of chronic neuropathic pain. They write in the March issue of the European Journal of Pharmacology that this increase of cannabinoid receptors following nerve damage may be the reason for the increased pain-relieving effect of cannabinoids in chronic pain conditions compared to their low efficacy in acute pain. (Source: Siegling A, et al. Eur J Pharmacol 2001;415(1):R5-R7) ***USA: 78 percent of the citizens of New Mexico support Governor Gary Johnson's proposal to legalize the medical use of marijuana, according to a poll released on 3 March. The poll also found generally broad support across the political spectrum for Johnson's proposal to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of cannabis. On 6 March the medical use of cannabis was approved by the Senate of New Mexico with a 29-12 vote. The bill now heads to the House of Representatives. (Sources: Associated Press of 3 March 2001, Albuquerque Tribune of 7 March 2001) ***Science: Young people with high self-esteem are more likely to take illicit drugs than those whose self-confidence is low, a survey of 15,000 British children aged 14 and 15 revealed. The results contradict the concept that drug use is most prevalent among anxious or insecure youth looking for an escape from poor conditions or a way to feel better about themselves. Heather Ashton, a professor of pharmacology at Newcastle University, said last week that the results of the survey did not surprise her: "Students all report they take drugs for pleasure and that it has nothing to do with anxiety or stress.Years ago young people who take drugs were seen as psychotic or low or risk-takers.Now that is not the case." (Source: ObsLVALerver of 11 February 2001) ***Science: The Endocannabinoid system may be involved in the cardioprotection triggered by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The cardioprotective effects of LPS treatment, in terms of infarction and functional recovery after ischemia in rat hearts, were abolished by a CB(2) receptor antagonist. A CB(1) receptor antagonist had no effect. "Our results suggest an involvement of endocannabinoids, acting through the CB(2) receptors, in the cardioprotection triggered by LPS against myocardial ischemia," researchers of the University of Montreal (Canada) write in the European Journal of Pharmacology. (Source: Lagneux C, et al. Eur J Pharmacol. 2001 Mar 9;415(1):R5-R7.) 3. ONE YEAR AGO: - Foundation of the International Association for Cannabis as Medicine - Germany: Experts discussion on cannabis as medicine TWO YEARS AGO: - USA: Government-funded report proposes access to medical marijuana within clinical trials as interim solution - Science: Treatment of Tourette's syndrome with marijuana and THC ( More at the IACM-Bulletin archives: http://www.cannabis-med.org ) International Association for Cannabis as Medicine (IACM) Arnimstrasse 1A D-50825 Cologne Germany Phone: +49-221-9543 9229 Fax: +49-221-130 05 91 Email: info@cannabis-med.org http://www.cannabis-med.org If you want to be deleted from or added to the IACM-Bulletin mailing list or if you want to change your e-mail address please visit www.cannabis-med.org. You may choose between different languages (English, German, French, Dutch, Italian and Spanish). ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 01:31:17 EST From: LawBerger@aol.com To: majordomo@mapinc.org, restore@crrh.org Subject: Re: DND: MN:ANN LANDERS: Pleas to legalize marijuana make her boil (fwd) Message-ID: <a.a59f0d6.27e701b5@aol.com> there is, of course, no Jersey Shore, PA Lee Berger Portland, OR (But Cheltenham HS '74 and Dickinson College, '78, both in PA) PS 'Jan had told him many times It was you to LVAL,me who taught In Jersey, everythings legal As long as you don't get caught' Bob Dylan, Travelling Willburys, 'Tweeter and the Monkey Man' ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 02:41:48 -0800 From: Steve Kubby <steve@kubby.org> To: undisclosed-recipients:; Subject: KUB: Sanction of the Victim: Kubby to Refuse Probation Message-ID: <B6DB226C.BC7D%steve@kubby.org> ******************************************************** THE AMERICAN MEDICAL MARIJUANA ASSOCIATION 15 Monarch Bay Plaza, Box 375, Dana Point, Ca 92629 Web site: http://americanmarijuana.org/ E-mail: amma@americanmarijuana.org Join our List: http://americanmarijuana.org/ ******************************************************** Dear Friends, The real power of the state does not lie in its guns or jail cells but in the confused willingness of individuals to subordinate their legitimate rights to voluntarily give up their property, their money and their liberty. The threat of danger is a good tool. The greater the threat, the less the objection to giving up liberties. Ayn Rand characterized this phenomenon as the "Sanction of the Victim," a process by which the state coerces citizens to sanction the very injustice that is perpetrated upon them. After becoming aware of the incredibly strict limitations of house arrest, we have concluded that the 120 days of house arrest, as well as the 3 years formal probation ordered by Judge Cosgrove, is a real and direct threat to my life. Furthermore, we believe that sentencing me, when I am medically disabled and suffering from terminal cancer, to conditions that threaten my life, for misdemeanor possession of a mushroom stem and some tiny cactus buttons, is a violation of my Eighth Amendment protection against cruel and unusual punishment. As a result, I will be notifying the Placer Authorities that I cannot agree to the terms of electronic monitoring, probation, or the payment of any fines.LVAL, In addition, Michele and I will be announcing this in public, when we appear before the County Supervisors on Tuesday at 9 a.m. If Placer County insists on jailing me, they will have to do it publicly and without the sanction of my cooperation. Let freedom grow, Steve ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2001 20:07:41 -0500 From: ARON KAY <pieman@pieman.org> Subject: 2001SpaceOdyssey Needs Help NOW Message-ID: <3AB55BDD.37C2DA2D@pieman.org> Dear Comrades: The May 5, 2001 Space Odyssey in NYC needs your support.....I happen to be a veteran participant going back to the 70's when I first moved to NYC.....Therefore I am pleading with you folks on behalf of those who are serving time in AmeriKKKa's concentration camps and on behalf of our sister and brother AIDS and cancer patients who need the herb as part of their treatment to act now!!!!In fact, my physical ailments require that I smoke some pot in order to enable me to walk.Of course this puts me in a position against Dumbiya and Mayor Ghouliani who are heavy hitters in the drug war which must be stopped. If you are interested, visit http://2001thespaceodyssey.com, contact dana via dana@cures-not-wars.org or call 1-212-677-7180 to receive flyers that can be posted and distributed at clubs, concerts, etc.The time is short.......our pot patients and pot prisoners cant wait for a solution to a problem being perpetrated by the George Dumbiya Bushes of this era. Lets Act Now!!!! -- ARON KAY(http://www.pieman.org) Support the Million Marijuana March (http://2001thespaceodyssey.com/) GLOBAL PASTRY UPRISING Check out Giuliani Toilet Paper (http://www.pieman.org/rottenrudy.htm) -- ARON KAY(http://www.pieman.org) Support the Million Marijuana March (http://2001thespaceodyssey.com/) GLOBAL PASTRY UPRISING Check out Giuliani Toilet Paper (http://www.pieman.org/rottenrudy.htm) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 10:01:04 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@cLVALrrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: 2001 Mj March: Helsinki, Turku, Brno & Upper Lake; May 5 to 122 Cities! Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010319095909.04762d50@mail.olywa.net> ********!!!MAY 5, 2001 SPACE ODYSSEY: 122 MARIJUANA MARCHES!!!******** IMPORTANT: IF YOU WANT YOUR MARCH LISTED ON 1,000,000 PALM CARDS, GIVE US=20 YR CONTACT PHONE NUMBER & GET YRSELF THE INSIDE TRACK! .....EMAIL IT TODAY! Adelaide: Jamnes +61 (08) 8297 9442 <hempSA@va.com.au> HEMP SA: Help End=20 Marijuana Prohibition South Australia, PO Box 1019, Kent Town South=20 Australia 507. Website:=20 <<http://www.hemp.on.net.>http://www<http://www.hemp.on.net.>.hemp.on.net.> Albuquerque: "Richard E. Haley, Jr." <writch@writch.com> home phone=20 (505)268-5694. Main NORML phone: (505)281-6277 Amsterdam: Has=A9 <has.cornelissen@planet.nl> or <alliance@legalize.org>=20 phone: 0031-616314682=20 <http://www.legalize.org>http://www<http://www.legalize.org>.legalize.org=20 [Note: this event is June 2.] Anchorage: Free Hemp In Alaska, Contact: Lincoln Swan=20 <freedomfighter49@alaska.com> or <freehempinak@gci.net> Address: 2603=20 Spenard Road, Anchorage, AK 99503. Phone: 907 278-4367 www.freehempinak.org {TOLL FREE ? 1-866-242-HEMP (4367)} Asheville: Jason Klein <aragorn@hightec.com> (828) 277-6876. Athens: John Spofforth <af542@seorf.ohiou.edu> 740-592-3649 Atlanta: Paul Cornwell <info@worldcamp.org> Phone: 404-522-2267 Address:= =20 CAMP, PO Box 5718, Atlanta, GA. 31107-5718=20 <http://www.worldcamp.org>http://www.worldcamp<http://www.worldcamp.org>.org Auckland: Chris Fowlie norml@apc.org.nz ph 09 302-5255 Austin: "M5 coalition" <texasm5@hotmail.com> www. m5coalition.org Phone:=20 512-493-7357 Bakersfield: Chris Colazzo <ccolazzo@hotmail.com> 661-321-1336 address:=20 5310 Summer Cypress Bakersfield, CA 93313 Batesville: <nfn@watervalley.net> Gary or Kira (662) 578-8343 NFN=20 Enterprises, 1509 Orwood Road, Batesville, MS, 38606 Battle Creek: Harry Goddard petalpusher1@ameritech.netLVALd  (616)731-2807=20 address: P.O. Box 32, Richland, MI 49083 Berlin: <martin@africandance.de> 0049-30-24720233 hanflobby.de/hanfparade Boston: Bill Downing MASSCAN (781)944-2266 Boulder: Fred (303)449-2390. Brno: +420-737811107 www.legalizace.cz Buffalo: LOCMAN420@aol.com Phil Beavers 716-895-1987 or 716-353-4807=20 Rebecca Powell 716-353-4807 Burlington: "Robert J. Melamede" <rmelamed@zoo.uvm.edu>=20 <http://www.uvm.edu/~rmelamed/>http://www.uvm.edu<http://www.uvm.edu/~rmelam= ed/>/~rmelamed/=20 (802) 658-2059 Capetown: Henn <godfreehenn@usa.net> Carbondale: Dave Thayer (618)536-7419 <stinkygreens@yahoo.com> 110=20 kellogg,carbondale, il 62901 Charleston: jim payne <StalkForrest@aol.com> Charlotte: Mike (704)321-1421<CAMPNC@hotmail.com> Chicago: IMI (773)381-9330 Chico: MP Jimmy Ogle <mpogle@usparliament.org>=20 <http://www.pot-party.com>http://www<http://www.pot-party.com>.pot-party.com= =20 (530)876.1012 or adrian aguilar ode2thewalls@aol.com (530)898-2150 or=20 voicemail pgr 530-571-2071 Christchurch: Blair Anderson <blair@technologist.com>=20 <http://www.alcp.org.nz>http://www.alcp<http://www.alcp.org.nz>.org.nz 03= =20 389-4065 Cleveland: John <NCNorml@aol.com> (216)521-9333 www.timesoft.com/ncnorml Columbus: Kenneth Schweickart 614-265-VOTE <forabetterohio@hotmail.com> 319= =20 E. Hudson St. Columbus, Ohio 43202 Colorado Springs: joey herrmann <rainbowproductions1@yahoo.com> Denver: Jack Woehr (303)277-9574 jwoehr@attglobal.net Des Moines: <iowanorml@home.com>=20 (515)288-5798 >http://members.home.net/iowanorml/=20 <http://www.commonlink.com/~olsen/>http://www.commonlink<http://www.commonli= nk.com/~olsen/>.com/~olsen/=20 , http://mojo.calyx.net/~olsen/ ,=20 <http://www.druglibrary.org/olsen/index.html>http://www.druglibrary.org/olse= n<http://www.druglibrary.org/olsen/index.html>/index.html=20 ; or Terry Mitchell (515) 789-4442; 608 Dallas St., Dexter, Iowa 50070. Detroit: "jude joseph" acididea@hotmail.com 313 438 1668=20 <hLVALttp://www.geocities.com/legalizemichigan/>http://www.geocities.com/legaliz= emichigan<http://www.geocities.com/legalizemichigan/>/=20 or Adrienne C. e-mail: <daisymae421@excite.com> phone: (517)872-8005. Duesseldorf: Marlon Werkhausen <marlon@gesellschaftsprobleme.de>=20 www.gesellschaftsprobleme.de phone: 049-172-7591795. Dunedin: Duncan Eddy <duncaneddy@hotmail.com> Otago University NORML phone:= =20 025 719 139 Durban: <ezpz.co.za> or <ezpz@telkomsa.net> +27 31 2016 359 PHONE AND FAX.= =20 Post net Suite 136, Private Bag X 04, DALBRIDGE, 4014, SOUTH AFRICA Edinburgh: "Linda Hendry"<linda@anamika.freeserve.co.uk> UK - 0131 667-6488 Eugene: Kris Millegan <Hempsters@aol.com> 541-935-6276 or 800-556-2012 Fairbanks, Alaska: Frank Turney 907-452-3777 or Chuck Rollins Jr.=20 <chuck@mosquitonet.com> Frankenthal: helmut holtzheimer <movemus@gmx.de> Garberville : "Paul Encimer" <encimer@hotmail.com> Box 162, Piercy CA 95587 Halifax: 902 865-8606 M Patriquin <mpat@accesswave.ca> HempWorks, 93=20 Orchard Dr, Sackville, Nova Scotia Hamburg: Martina Katzsch <Hanf-tv@karo4tel.de> Hartford: (860) 285-8831 efficacy@msn.com Helsinki : Finnish Cannabis Association=20 <http://www.sky.org>http://www<http://www.sky.org>.sky.org sky@sky.org 5.5.= =20 demonstration begins at 2 PM Hilo: Roger Christie <pakaloha@gte.net> (808) 961-0488=20 <http://www.thc-ministry.org>http://www.thc<http://www.thc-ministry.org>-min= istry.org=20 Ho Chi Minh City: "Bartlett Ridge" <bridgeviet@hotmail.com>=20 <http://www.BartlettRidge.com>http://www.BartlettRidge<http://www.BartlettRi= dge.com>.com=20 Homer, Alaska - contact Julie Cesarini, P.O. Box 812, Homer AK 99603, 907=20 235-6040. Houston: Dean Farrell <fdb@mail.ev1.net> (281)752-9198.=20 <http://www.cultural-baggage.com>http://www<http://www.cultural-baggage.com>= .cultural-baggage.com=20 Hull: Carl Wagner <Upyoursjackstraw@aol.com> phone: +44 01482 494789 5=20 Victoria Square, Ella Street, Hull HU5 3AL, England LVALvcHuntsville: Bill Gallagher (256) 536 9967 <luxefaire@yahoo.com> 3210=20 Clopton St, Huntsville, AL 35805 Indianapolis: <Skywolf@yahooka.com> Neal (317)882-1904 Innsbruck: "Egger" <florian.egger@chello.at> Ithaca: Adam Hirsch <ah222@cornell.edu> 522 Stewart Ave. (Apt # 2), Ithaca,= =20 NY 14850 Jefferson City: Al Minta (417)866-3999 address: 1653 N. Patterson (Apt A),= =20 Springfield, MO 65803 Jerusalem: Joseph (011-972) 050-494-447 Johannesburg: Gordon Maene <Gordon@pyramid.co.za> work: ( 011)805=20 6763 cell phone: 082 552 6393 Juneau, Alaska - contact Brad Parfitt at latebrad@hotmail.com Kansas City: Global Peace Cafeneh <globalpeas@email.com>globalpeas, 1518 s.= =20 18th st., KC KS 66101 or <mohemp@hotmail.com> (816)931-6169. Kelowna, B.C.: Teresa Taylor, CCC <luna@sunshinecable.com>=20 <http://taylor1.virtualave.net>http://taylor1.virtualave<http://taylor1.virt= ualave.net>.net=20 (250) 442-2741 or (250) 442-5166 Fax (250) 442-5167 Kent:=20 <http://mjmarch.webhop.org/>http://mjmarch.webhop<http://mjmarch.webhop.org/= >.org/=20 <mjmarch@cannabismail.com> (330)672-4263 Krakow: Marek Warmuz (+48)501-468-018 "quepassa" <quepassa@poczta.fm> Ladysmith: Terry & Wendy, (250)-245-3595, <tandwp1@home.com> Lansing: Kathy Kennedy 517-628-3915 or e-mail: <ProhibitionX @ aol.com>=20 <http://www.cures-not-wars.micronpcweb.com>http://www.cures-not-wars.micronp= cweb<http://www.cures-not-wars.micronpcweb.com>.com=20 Lethbridge, Alberta: Shannon Gasparetto <smokeaphatty@hotmail.com>=20 (403)328-8901 Lima, Peru: 889-2728 "Jedi Master" <the_last_jedi_master@hotmail.com> Liverpool: Will Graham <willg@marijuana.com> tel (inc. international code):= =20 0044 151 727 1458 London: International Cannabis Coalition (UK), PO Box 2243, London, W1A=20 1YF, UK. Chris: 020 7637 7467. Fax: 0870 0548646. E Mail:=20 may2001@schmoo.co.uk=20 <http://www.schmoo.co.uk/may2001.htm>http://www.schmoo.co.uk/may2001.<http:/= /www.schmoo.co.uk/may2001.htm>htm=20 LosLVALn Angeles: Sister Somayah 323-232-0935 Macon Ga: <BunnieGurl420@aol.com> 912 755 9660 Madison: Ben Masel <bmasel@tds.net> 608-257-5456 Miami: temporary contact Steve Jacobsen 561-706-1670 {chefjake01@aol.com} Milwaukee: Dominic Salmaan 1525 E, Royall Pl # 14, Milwaukee, WI 53202 ph:= =20 414-289-9501 or 339-9377 Minneapolis Grassroots Party or Chris Wright <TCW@genesis-computer.com>=20 612-522-5374. March @ High Noon from Loring Park to Washburn Fair-Oaks= Park. Missoula: Angela Goodhope (406) 549-8389 <sisterearth420@hotmail.com> Mobile: <Ravetripper19@aol.com> (334) 649- 0193 Montpelier: Rama Schneider <2001@ramabahama.net> (802) 433-5441 address:=20 1614 Gilbert Road, Williamstown, VT 05679=20 <http://www.ramabahama.net>http://www.ramabahama<http://www.ramabahama.net>.= net=20 Montreal: Marc-Boris St-Maurice <blocpot@blocpot.qc.ca> (514)528.1768 Naples: "Fatti di Canapa" <fattidicanapa@fattidicanapa.it> Nashville: "Howie & Marivuana Leinoff" <torml@weedmail.com> (615)ACT-HIGH. New Orleans: "Ashley The Fearless" <fearless_420@hotmail.com> 818-754-0069. New York City: Dana 212-677-7180 <dana@cures-not-wars.org> Nimbin: "rebelart" <rebelart@gasgroup.com> contact ph: 61 0266 891842=20 <http://www.nimbinaustralia.com/mardigrass2001>http://www.nimbinaustralia<ht= tp://www.nimbinaustralia.com/mardigrass2001>.com/mardigrass2001=20 Nuernberg: Emanuel Kotzian ("Green Party") <emanuel@kotzian.de> phone:=20 0049-911-535433 Oberlin: Jesse Kanson-Benanav <Jesse.Kanson-Benanav@oberlin.edu>=20 (440)775-6607 c/o Stitch by Stitch and Curiosities, 31 South Main Street,=20 Oberlin, OH 44074 Olympia: "miriam white" <miriamwhite420@hotmail.com> pager/voice mail=20 360-415-2011 Omaha: Paul Tripp <paultrip@home.com> 1-(402)-330-8736 Orlando: Rudi703@aol.com (407)415-2091 Oslo: < mmm2001@normal.no>=20 <http://www.normal.no/mmm2001.html>http://www<http://www.normal.no/mmm2001.h= tml>.normal.no/mmm2001.html=20 Paducah: Paula (270)362-9849 Cher LVALv$ Ford-McCullough <bitchcrafts@webtv.net>=20 65 Cabin Lane, Gilbertsvile, Ky. 42044 or Brian McCullough=20 <bud_jamesbud@yahoo.com> (270) 362-8186 Palm Springs: Lanny Swerdlow <marijuanamarch@yahoo.com> pager:760-836-8166;= =20 ph: 760-799-2055. Paris: <farid@globenet.org> FARId GHEHIOUECHE Home phone : 01 42 51 50 85;= =20 Mobile: 06 14 81 56 79 or "Dalila AKROUR" <dalilaa@free.fr> Philadelphia: emily petry <phillyweed420@hotmail.com> 215/563 3030. Pomona: Mark Hornaday/Hemp Shak <hempshak@earthlink.net> (909)JAH-HEMP. 119= =20 West 2nd St., Pomona, CA 91766. Portland: (503)777-9088 <pdxnorml@pdxnorml.org> MMM 2001 Committee c/o Pdx= =20 NORML, P.O. Box 11694, Portland, OR, 97211. Assemble at Pioneer Square,=20 10am - March at High Noon; Rally at 2pm, music & speakers til 5pm (close up= =20 and out by 7pm) Prague: Michail Polack <xchaos@arachne.cz> Tel: +420-603-872631,=20 +420-2-33355668, +420-602-178012=20 <http://www.legalizace.cz>http://www.legalizace.<http://www.legalizace.cz>cz PEI (Prince Edward Island): Deanne Kimball <cdkimball@athi.pe.ca>=20 (902)628-9012 Providence: Ann McCormick <amccormick@home.com> 401-724-8628 Raleigh-Durham: Bryan T. Moore <btm42@hotmail.com> 919-835-9889 Redding: "Byron Stephens" <neuromancer420@yahoo.com> Regina: Daniel Johnson <amduscias@accesscom.ca>=20 <http://normlsask.cjb.net/>http://normlsask.cjb<http://normlsask.cjb.net/>.n= et/=20 Richmond: "Roy B. Scherer" <rscherer@richmond.infi.net> (804) 355-7612, or= =20 campus libs at <Huclberie1@aol.com.> San Diego: San Diego A.C.T. (Association for Cannabis Therapeutics) c/o=20 T.Villodas,901"F"street#413,San Diego, Ca.92101 email: Ed zepplin=20 <edzepp@yahoo.com> San Francisco:=20 <http://www.drugpeace.org/mmm>http://www.drugpeace.org/<http://www.drugpeace= .org/mmm>mmm=20 Age <age420@drugpeace.org> ph: (510)444-3207 San Marcos: Bryan Anderson: 512.396.3223 Email: earthfirstswt@hotmail.com= =20 Postal: 213 Ramsay St.; #107, San Marcos, TX; 78666 Santa LVAL2Cruz: DdC <dendecannabist@yahoo.com> or Jason Brodsky=20 <theherbalist@newmarijuana.com> St. Louis: Rev Jeff <Aimhigh6@aol.com> also The Cannabis Commandos or St.= =20 Louis Area NORML , PO Box 220243, St. Louis, MO 63122, Phone: 314-995-1395= =20 Email: <StL_norml@theheadoffice.com> www.mo-norml.org St. Petersburg: Kevin Aplin FL CAN (321)-255-9790. Jodi James - Coalition=20 Advocating Medical Marijuana 321-253-3673. Brian Palmer - Golden Boy=20 Productions 407-493-2346. Saskatoon: Daniel Johnson <amduscias@accesscom.ca>=20 <http://normlsask.cjb.net/>http://normlsask.cjb<http://normlsask.cjb.net/>.n= et/=20 Seattle to Olympia Journey for Justice: Jess "Fat Freddy" Williams=20 <realfatfreddyjay@worldnet.att.net> (253) 573-9862 Tampa: (813)779-2551. Michael Palmieri <forml420@marijuana.com> or=20 <forml_2000@yahoo.com>; (FORML ). P.O. Box 2061, Zephyrhills, Florida=20 33539.=20 <http://www.geocities.com/forml_2000>http://www.geocities<http://www.geociti= es.com/forml_2000>.com/forml_2000=20 ; or <bquail420@aol.com> ph: (727)347-6245 Tel Aviv: Boaz Wachtel -- wachtel@shani.net Tel:972-54-573679 Toronto: "Terry Parker Jr." <terryparkerjr@better.net> 416-533-7756 Traverse City: Melody Karr <fiddlefoot420@hotmail.com> (231)885-2993 Tucson: "mary mackenzie (formerly crow)" <mmackenzie@prodigy.net>=20 (520)323-2947 www.geocities.com/sativa2001us/420.html 3400 east speedway,= =20 #118, tucson, arizona 85716 Turku : Vihreet Pantterit=20 <http://come.to/MMMTku>http://come.to/<http://come.to/MMMTku>MMMTku=20 smuuthc11@hotmail.com 5.5. demo begins at 2 PM Vancouver: David Malmo-Levine, <dagreenmachine@excite.com> BC Marijuana=20 Party Bookstore and Internet Broadcasting Center, 307 West Hastings Tel.=20 604 682-1172=20 <http://www.cannabisculture.com>http://www.cannabisculture<http://www.cannab= isculture.com>.com=20 Washington, D.C.: John=20 Pylka, <fjhc@hotmail> www.fourthofjuly.org Phone: 202-887-5770 Wellington Ben Knight <legalise@tradeshLVALall.org.nz> ph 04 801-6636 Winnepeg: Chris Buors, 204-663-3485, mail to 430 Winterton ave, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R2K 1K4 Woodstock: Ed zepplin <edzepp@yahoo.com> Woodstock Association for Medical= =20 Marijuana. Postal: T. Villodas 6 orchird lane, Woodstock, N.Y.12498. Yarmuth: (902)742-6213 "Ryan Taylor" <wi1dman@hotmail.com> Zagreb: "Sergio Stifanic" <fine_time909@hotmail.com> GALOVICEVA 10, 10000=20 ZAGREB Phone: ++385 1 2330667 ******************** How many of your friends want info on the World Cannabis Protest next May=20 5th? The 2001 Space Odyssey: Parades, Rallies & Teach-ins in 900 cities!=20 Act now and they can put on their own marijuana march in the city or=20 location where they live. All we need to list them is a name, email address= =20 and/or phone number. Send us their email addresses, & we'll get them up to speed. Dana/cnw REMEMBER TO TELL EVERYONE: BUSH STOLE THE ELECTION!=20 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 18:07:20 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: NM: Drug Reform Goes To Pot Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010319180643.04772ec0@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: http://www.cannabisnews.com/n Pubdate: Sun, 18 Mar 2001 Source: Dallas Morning News (TX) Copyright: 2001 The Dallas Morning News Contact: letterstoeditor@dallasnews.com Address: P.O. Box 655237, Dallas, Texas 75265 Fax: (972) 263-0456 Feedback: http://dmnweb.dallasnews.com/letters/ Website: http://www.dallasnews.com/ Forum: http://forums.dallasnews.com/cgi-bin/wwwthreads.pl NM DRUG REFORM GOES TO POT Legislature Adjourns Without Approving Governor's Proposals For nearly two years, Gov. Gary Johnson has spread his gospel of drug reform, calling the war on drugs a failure and urging New Mexico to become a laboratory for what he termed "harm reduction" policies. The Republican governor's crusade propelled him into the national spotlight -- and into direct opposition with his own party. But now, after tLVALwo months of intense lobbying, late-night negotiations and heated debate, Mr. Johnson's most ambitious proposals to reform New Mexico's drug laws lay dead in the Capitol. The Legislature adjourned its 60-day session Saturday without legalizing the medical use of marijuana and decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana. Mr. Johnson, in a news conference after lawmakers broke for the year, said he was not "disheartened" by the outcome. "Arguably, what happened during this session advanced a set of bills that have never advanced this far in any legislature in the country," he said. "So on one hand, gosh, I wish a few more of them would have been heard or voted on and passed. On the other hand, as far as they went, they went a long way." Mr. Johnson, who admitted using marijuana and cocaine in his youth, is an avid athlete who doesn't drink alcohol or use drugs. He always prefaced his speeches about drugs with the disclaimer "drugs are bad." But he argues that the nation's current drug policies infringe on individual liberty, clog the criminal justice system with nonviolent drug offenders, and focus on incarceration rather than treatment. The news wasn't all bad for Mr. Johnson. Three of his "harm reduction" proposals were passed and await his signature. Those measures would allow police and others to administer a drug that can help prevent deaths from heroin overdoses; allow pharmacists to sell hypodermic needles without fear of criminal prosecution; and fund expanded drug treatment in New Mexico. __________________________________________________________________________ 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 ------------------------------ End of restore V1 #4 ******************** * ------ CRRH is working to regulate and tax the sale of cannabis to adults like alcohol, allow doctors to recommend cannabis through pharm LVAL 6nhis Woodbury farm in spring. He is also trying to arrange trials at other venues around Canterbury. "You can virtually trial as big an area as you can justify and I would be looking at, probably, one to two hectares. "We would be cold pressing the seeds for hemp oil, which has great health benefits. It contains a lot of essential fatty acids that other vegetable oils do not." Mr Musgrave said he was in the unique position that pressing hemp oil would complement his existing business, organic flax seed oil. He said the hemp seed cake - the part of the seed left when most of the oil had been removed - would be used to make hemp seed butter. "It is yummier than peanut butter and has more health benefits. It is full of quality protein as well as fibre. "And there is a Nelson manufacturer who has the international patent for hemp fibre insulation. He uses everything that is left after we take the seeds, which gives farmers a double whammy. "I think regional leaders need to get to work to ensure these benefits are kept in the region. "Leaders in Motueka and Taihape are already lobbying to get the business there." Mr Musgrave's said his flax oil business was growing and he was always looking for other organic farmers to grow for him. __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. --- MAP posted-by: Josh Sutcliffe ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2001 17:04:47 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanfacies and restore the unregulated production of industrial hemp. ------ To subscribe, unsubscribe or switch to immediate or digest mode, please send your instructions to <restore-owner@crrh.org>. ------ *Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp* mail: CRRH ; P.O. Box 86741 ; Portland, OR 97286 USA phone: (503) 235-4606 fax: (503) 235-0120 web: http://www.crrh.org/ LVALr DBrestore Mon, 19 Mar 2001 Volume 9 : Number 68 In this issue: AR: Don't Review 'Pot' Case, Magistrate Recommends ABC News Nightline with Ted Koppel : TRAFFIC Canada: Weed letter valueless DND: Canada: Affidavit Of Dr Lester Grinspoon - Re: Chris Clay DND: MN:ANN LANDERS: Pleas to legalize marijuana make her boil (fwd) DrugSense Weekly, March 16, 2001, #191 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2001 11:47:25 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: AR: Don't Review 'Pot' Case, Magistrate Recommends Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010318114714.04749770@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: M & M Family Pubdate: Sat, 17 Mar 2001 Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (AR) Copyright: 2001 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. Contact: voices@ardemgaz.com Address: 121 East Capitol Avenue, Little Rock, Arkansas, 72201 Website: http://www.ardemgaz.com/ Forum: http://www.ardemgaz.com/info/voices.html Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/spirit.htm (Spiritual or Sacramental) DON'T REVIEW 'POT' CASE, MAGISTRATE RECOMMENDS FAYETTEVILLE -- A U.S. magistrate recommended Friday that a federal judge dismiss a request to review the case of a man who grew marijuana for what he said were religious purposes. Tom Brown was sentenced in federal court in 1995 to 10 years in prison for growing marijuana and peyote on 40 acres of Antioch woodlands where he once presided over a collection of tents he called "Our Church." A change in sentencing laws later reduced the sentence to five years. He is now serving two years of supervised release. Brown argued in his request for review that he should have been allowed to argue that the First Amendment protected his right to grow marijuana and smoke it during religious ceremonies. He also said that the jury never determined the number of plants seized by police and that the government has no "compelling interestLVALv" to enforce drug laws. In a report filed Thursday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Beverly S. Jones noted that Brown made similar arguments in his appeal, which was rejected by the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in St. Louis in December 1995. __________________________________________________________________________ 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: Sun, 18 Mar 2001 11:50:06 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: ABC News Nightline with Ted Koppel : TRAFFIC Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010318114927.047468e0@mail.olywa.net> Archerd: Koppel Hooked on Drugs Posted by FoM on March 16, 2001 at 17:14:43 PT By Army Archerd, Daily Variety Senior Columnist Source: Reuters Ted Koppel went to see ''Traffic'' twice -- and now ABC's ''Nightline'' will air five segments on the picture, starting March 19, ''examining the issues behind this Academy Award-nominated film.'' Koppel said. ''We ('Nightline') have done over 5,000 shows and I don't think a movie has ever prompted us to do ONE show. But I went to see 'Traffic' twice and was so impressed by it and the honesty with which they showed it.'' Koppel was accompanied, on his first viewing of ''Traffic,'' by son Andrew who is a legal aide, ''and most of his clients are related to drugs.'' Koppel said his wife was afraid to see it. But she did on his second viewing -- and she, too, loved it. Koppel reminded us that ''Nightline'' episodes on crime and punishment revealed that seven out of 10 women in prisons are there because of drug-related crimes. ''Nightline'' executive producer Leroy Sievers admitted, ''We've all covered drug stories for years, but we saw this movie and thought it terrific and we read your column.'' On Feb. 28, I wrote: ''Is life imitating art or -- ? Steven Soderbergh's 'Traffic' has gone where polLVALiticians fear to tread.'' I went on to write about the effect the picture had begun to generate in D.C., Colombia, Mexico, editorial pages of the N.Y. Times, two forums by the New Republic, etc. Koppel said, ''We made contact with Steven Soderbergh who couldn't have been more pleased.'' The TV troupe duplicated the scene at the U.S.-Mexico border where drug czar Michael Douglas was shown the ropes by the U.S. Border Patrol's Rudy Camacho -- with Koppel acting exactly as Douglas did. Koppel was told that, for the movie's scene, Camacho was told by director Soderbergh to ''ad lib it.'' He and Douglas did -- and it played perfectly. Koppel allowed of his appearance with Camacho, ''We matched it (the movie) pretty well!'' Producer Sievers said they were also shown (Mexican) rooftop sites from which drug dealers ''spot'' cars being checked by the patrols, then re-route their drug-carrying vehicles. The TV reality continues with an interview between Koppel and Mexico's President Vicente Fox. The consensus of those on the show is that the cartel won't go after the president but cabinet members may not be so lucky. A Mexico newspaperman who was targeted now wears a bullet-proof vest to work. Soderbergh gave his OK for use of some film clips -- but ''Nightline'' has footage of (other) real people -- including a Mexican general and a tortured suspect. Source: Reuters Author: Army Archerd, Daily Variety Senior Columnist Published: March 16, 2001 Copyright: 2001 Reuters Unlimited Website: http://www.reuters.com/ ABC News Nightline with Ted Koppel http://abcnews.go.com/sections/nightline/index.html Traffic Official Web Site http://www.traffic-movie.com/ CannabisNews Articles - Traffic http://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=traffic ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2001 11:51:02 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Canada: Weed letter valueless Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.200103181150LVAL:50.047462e0@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: creator@mapinc.org Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB) Copyright: 2001, Canoe Limited Partnership. Contact: sun.letters@ccinet.ab.ca Website: http://www.canoe.ca/EdmontonSun/ Pubdate: Sunday, March 18, 2001 Author: Philip Lee-Shanok Weed letter valueless Crusader arrested again TORONTO -- A letter allowing a man suffering from AIDS to grow and smoke pot for medicinal reasons isn't worth the paper it's printed on, says his lawyer. Jim Wakeford, 56, who has had AIDS for eight years, was granted an exemption in 1999 to cultivate, possess and smoke marijuana to counteract severe nausea and spasms caused by his medication. Although Wakeford is one of 170 Canadians who have letters of exemption under Section 56 of the Controlled Substances Act, police have arrested and charged him twice in the past two weeks. "The exemption is an illusion. It makes you wonder if it's worth the paper it's printed on," said Wakeford's lawyer, Prof. Alan Young, who teaches law at York University. Wakeford was charged March 2 with possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking. Four York Region police officers removed 150-200 marijuana plants from a farm in the village of Udora, near Uxbridge. On March 13, Ontario Provincial Police stopped Wakeford on his way to Toronto and allegedly found him in possession of a pound of marijuana. Young said police should have used their discretion and turned a blind eye. "This isn't what the narcotics laws are about. Whatever (purpose) they are meant to serve, they are clearly not (intended) for the harassment of sick people," Young said. Coincidently, the day Wakeford was charged by York cops he had just gone before the Ontario Court of Appeal to ask that caregivers also be granted immunity from prosecution. "This is exactly why we went to court. The exemptions are not adequate protection," Young said. "Maybe they're retaliating because he is outspoken. Whatever the reasons may be, it was a poor exercise of police LVALdiscretion to charge this sick man." Wakeford's letter only entitles him to be in possession of 30 grams of pot for his own use. But without a safe legal source for medicinal marijuana, Wakeford has had to grow it himself in larger quantities. "There are so many flaws and shortcomings - it's going to take more than this," Young said. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2001 06:59:26 -0800 From: majordomo@mapinc.org To: restore@crrh.org Subject: DND: Canada: Affidavit Of Dr Lester Grinspoon - Re: Chris Clay Message-ID: <200103181459.GAA27165@americium.baremetal.com> Someone, possibly you, using usr54-dialup185.mix1.sacramento.cw.net requested this message be sent to you from http://www.mapinc.org/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- FWD by: Roger Dodger --------------------------------------------------------------------------- URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97/n000/a005.html Newshawk: Richard Lake rlake@mapinc.org Pubdate: 26 Mar 1997 Source: Chris Clay Author: Dr. Lester Grinspoon Note: MAP is archiving each of the affidavits filed in the Chris Clay Constitutional Challenge to preserve these important documents. Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/clay.htm (Clay, Chris) ONTARIO COURT (GENERAL DIVISION) (Southwest Region) B E T W E E N: HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN Respondent -and- CHRISTOPHER CLAY Applicant AFFIDAVIT OF DR LESTER GRINSPOON I, LESTER GRINSPOON M.D., of the City of Boston in the State of Massachusetts, MAKE OATH AND SAY AS FOLLOWS: 1. I am currently an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School in Boston and have been a professor at Harvard since 1973. I have written approximately 29 articles on various aspects of the use of cannabis, and I have been studying the social and medical aspects of cannabis use since 1967. In addition, I have authored two books on cannabis; namely, Marihuana Reconsidered (1971, Harvard University Press. 1st ed.; 1977, 2nd ed.; classic LVALed. 1994) and Marihuana.. The Forbidden Medicine (1993, Yale University Press). My book, Marihuana: The Forbidden Medicine has been translated into eight languages. In 1990, I was awarded the Alfred Lindesmith Award for Achievement in the Field of Scholarship. Attached hereto as Exhibit "A" is a true copy of my curriculum vitae. Attached hereto as Exhibit "B" are copies of the two books noted in this paragraph. 2 In addition to my publications on the use of cannabis, I have had occasion to testify before the National Marihuana Commission (1972), the House Select Commission on Narcotics (1977, 1978, 1979), the Controlled Substances Advisory Committee and the Drug Abuse Research Advisory Committee (1978). Additionally, in 1975, I testified before the Alaska Supreme Court in Ravin v. State 537 P.2d 494 (1975). In that case, the Alaska Supreme Court concluded that possession of marihuana by adults for personal use is constitutionally protected. In making its decision, the Court took into consideration the information provided in my book, Marihuana Reconsidered. 3. It is believed that Cannabis sativa has been cultivated for over 10,000 years. There is definitive proof that it was cultivated in China by 4,000 B.C. and in Turkestan by 3,000 B.C. It has long been used as a medicine in India, China, the Middle-East, South-East Asia, South-East Africa and South America. The first evidence of medicinal use is in a document entitled Herbal (an ancient equivalent of the US. Pharmacopoeia) that was published during the reign of the Chinese Emperor Chen Nung five thousand years ago. Herbal recommended cannabis sativa for malaria, constipation, rheumatic pains, absent-mindedness and female disorders. Another Chinese Herbal recommended a mixture of hemp, resin and wine as an analgesic during surgery. In India, cannabis was recommended to quicken the mind, lower fevers, induce sleep, cure dysentery, stimulate appetite, improve digestion, relieve headaches and cure venereal disease. In Africa, it was used foLVALv1r dysentery, malaria and other fevers. Cannabis was also considered to be a remedy by Galen and other physicians of the classical and Hellenistic eras. It was also highly valued in medieval Europe. 4. Definitively labeled Cannabis Sativa by Linnaeus in 1753, the plant is in most parts of the world better known by its popular name, Indian Hemp. This plant, and its fibre, were widely used in Europe for industrial purposes. The pharmacological properties of the plant were largely unknown in Western medicine until various physicians started to recommend its use for medicinal purposes in the 19th century. These physicians had taken note of its medicinal use in other parts of the world. Eventually, it appeared as a reliable therapeutic in the US. Pharmacopoeia and the National Formulary and, until 1937, tincture of cannabis could be prescribed by physicians as a remedy for a variety of ailments. It was ultimately removed from the US. Pharmacopoeia in 1941. 5. It was during this century that cannabis lost its appeal as a medicinal product. This was largely a result of the development of apparently suitable alternatives, such as the hypodermic needle, water-soluble analgesics and synthetic hypnotics. In addition, after the passage of the Marihuana Tax Act in 1937, it became increasingly difficult for physicians to prescribe cannabis. 6. Through the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century, cannabis was primarily used for medicinal purposes. In the 19th century, cannabis was the subject of experimentation among the literary giants of France and England, including Baudelaire, Gautier, Balzac and Hugo. In the 1840s, these writers founded Le Club de Hachichins in which these writers would ingest hashish brought from Egypt and then record their observations on how this substance affected their literary muse. In America, its recreational use was limited to a small group of jazz musicians and itinerant Mexican workers crossing the border from Mexico into Texas. By the 1930's, national newspapers LVALcarried horror-filled stories of the "Marihuana Menace" - this caused a great deal of consternation because the substance was being used almost exclusively by minority groups (i.e. Mexican immigrants and African-American jazz musicians). As a result, cannabis became the subject of criminal sanction in most states through the 1920's and 1930's. 7. When cannabis became the subject of criminal sanction in the 1920's and 1930's, there were little or no clinical studies indicating that cannabis was harmful to the body or mind. I have reviewed and analyzed the various studies conducted in the intervening years, and, in my opinion, there is no sound scientific evidence that chronic use of cannabis does any serious damage to the body or the mind. Among the psychoactive drugs available, cannabis seems to be the least dangerous. The only well-documented adverse effects common to the prolonged use of marihuana are related to residual substances in the smoke and not to the drug itself. The question remains whether some pathology has been ignored either because it is too subtle to be detected, even with modern laboratory techniques, or because it is too rare to be uncovered without full-scale epidemiological analysis. In my opinion, the search for damaging effects of marihuana has been more of a fishing expedition and less of an attempt to scientifically validate a causal connection with an observed clinical abnormality. A summary of my review of the existing clinical studies on medical harm is found in Chapter 14 of my book, Marihuana Reconsidered. 8. With respect to the claim that marihuana is addictive, there is no longer any doubt that marihuana is not a drug of addiction. Studies have indicated that the use of cannabis does not give rise to biological or physiological dependence and that the discontinuance of the drug does not result in withdrawal symptoms. The World Health Organization's Expert Committee of Drugs Liable to Produce Addiction, has revised its views on addiction and has re-written its defLVALinition in terms of "drug dependence". According to the W.H.O., the characteristics of an addictive substance are : 1) an overpowering desire or need (compulsion) to continue taking the drug and to obtain it by any means; 2) a tendency to increase the dose; and 3) a psychological, and sometime a physical, dependence on the effects of the drug. Cannabis does not exhibit any of these characteristics; however, the claim has been made that cannabis, although not physically addictive, can result in a psychological dependency. In my view, the concept of psychological dependence is so vague and ill defined that it is as applicable to the consumption of a psychoactive substance as it is to a person's strong attachment to a car, a pair of trousers or a spouse. A summary of my review of the existing clinical studies on addiction is found in Chapter 9 of my book, Marihuana Reconsidered. 9. In regards to the claim that marihuana is a "stepping stone" or "gateway" drug leading to the use of more dangerous psychoactive substances, there is absolutely no evidence that any property of marihuana produces a particular susceptibility to heroin addiction or that marihuana users tend to graduate to heroin abuse. There is simply no valid evidence of anything inherent in cannabis, or in cannabis use, which would make the marihuana user more likely to become a heroin or other opiate user. Marihuana is, so far as has been determined, only a precursor of further marihuana use. A summary of my review of the existing clinical studies on the "gateway" theory is found in Chapter 9 of my book, Marihuana Reconsidered. 10. With respect to the claim that marihuana use is criminogenic, the contention that marihuana use causes crime has now been thoroughly discredited, presumably beyond hope of revival. There is no convincing evidence that the pharmacological properties of marihuana incite or enhance human aggression. In fact, the pharmacological properties of marihuana tend to manifest itself in passive behaviour, introspectiLVALon, tendency to hilarity and sensory enhancement. The notion that marihuana leads to aggressive and violent behaviour was largely a product of misinformation disseminated by law enforcement agencies given responsibility to enforce the prohibition in the 1930's and 1940's. A summary of my review of the existing clinical studies on the relationship between marihuana use and crime is found in Chapters 11 and 14 of my book, Marihuana Reconsidered. 11. With respect to the claim that marihuana can induce psychoses, there is no convincing evidence that marihuana use is causally related to the development of mental disorder. In the few studies in which marihuana use appeared to result in psychotic behaviour, it is apparent that many of these individuals who demonstrated psychotic behaviour were suffering from a pre-existing mental disorder. It seems clear that among populations of illicit drug users there will be found more psychopathology than among nonusers. However, the critical questions are (1) whether the drug use comes before the psychopathology and, if it does, whether it is causally related to the development of the psychopathology (either as a precipitating factor or a synergistic one), and (2) whether the drug use is completely independent of the psychopathology or, at the most, an expression of it. In fact, there is evidence that marihuana use is not psychologically destructive, but rather restitutive; that is, individuals have consumed marihuana as a mechanism for dealing with conflict, anxiety and depression. A summary of the existing clinical studies on the relationship between marihuana use and psychoses is found in Chapter 10 of my book, Marihuana Reconsidered. 12. There has never been a death directly attributable to the consumption of marihuana. After five thousand years of cannabis use by hundreds of millions of people throughout the world, there is no credible evidence that this drug has caused a single death. The lethality of drugs is ordinarily measured by a value called the "LD50LVAL", the dose that will cause 50 percent of animals or human beings taking it to die. The LD50 for cannabis in human beings is not known, because there are no data from which it can be derived. 13. It appears that for the most part of this century the medical dangers of marihuana have been vastly overstated, while the medical value of this substance has been grossly understated and ignored. There is now a growing body of evidence indicating that consumption of marihuana is a medically valuable treatment: 1) as an anti-emetic to control nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy; 2) as an anti-emetic to control nausea and vomiting associated with the use of drugs employed to control the spread of the AIDS virus (marihuana allows AIDS patients to take these drugs without the fear that these nausea-inducing drugs will be regurgitated prior to being absorbed by the body. It also retards or reverses the weight reduction syndrome of AIDS); 3) to control seizures in patients suffering from epilepsy; 4) to reduce intra-ocular pressure (i.e. pressure within the eyes) associated with glaucoma; 5) which alleviates muscle spasms associated with multiple sclerosis; and 6) which alleviates pain and muscle spasms for paraplegics and quadriplegics; In addition, there is some evidence that marihuana may be medically useful as a bronchodilator in the treatment of asthma, as a hypnotic to combat insomnia, and as a antibacterial agent resistant to conventional antibiotics in the treatment of staphylococcus. There is also evidence that marihuana has tumour-reducing properties and that patients with idiopathic dystonia (a disorder characterized by spasms and abnormal muscle contractions) have improved their condition when smoking marihuana. A summary of the existing clinical studies and anecdotal evidence relating to the therapeutic value of marihuana can be found in my book, Marihuana: The Forbidden Medicine. 14. Although there is a growing body of evidence indicating that marihuana hLVALas multi-faceted use , as medicine, it is difficult to make definitive statements as a result of the fact that there is paucity of funding for research on the medicinal value of cannabis. The government is not likely to fund many studies as this may be perceived as inconsistent with the policy of prohibition. Pharmaceutical companies are not likely to fund these studies because marihuana, as an organic plant substance, cannot be the subject of a pharmaceutical patent. This lack of funding is most regrettable because marihuana as an effective treatment agent would not trigger the same deleterious side-effects associated with the use of conventional, synthetic drugs that patients would otherwise be forced to rely upon. 15. Despite the lack of funded medical research, in 1988 administrative law judge Francis J. Young reviewed the existing evidence and concluded that approval by a "significant minority" of physicians was enough to meet the standard of "currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States" required by the Controlled Substances Act for a Schedule II drug. He added that marihuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. One must reasonably conclude that there is accepted safety for use of marihuana under medical supervision. To conclude otherwise, on the record would be unreasonable, arbitrary, and capricious." Young went on to recommend "that the Administrator [of the DEA] conclude that the marihuana plant considered as a whole has currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, that there is no lack of accepted safety for use of it under medical supervision and that it may lawfully be transferred from Schedule I [ a drug with no medical use] to Schedule II [ a drug with recognized medical use]." The DEA, however, disregarded the opinion of its own administrative law judge and refused to re-schedule cannabis. In 1991, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals ordered the DEA to re-examine its standards for LVAL-reclassifying a drug as having medicinal value. The DEA issued a final rejection of all pleas for reclassification in March of 1992. 16. Since 1985, oncologists in the U.S. have been legally permitted to administer synthetic THC (the active ingredient in marihuana) orally in capsule form. The trade name is "Marinol". However, it is apparent that inhaled cannabis maybe preferable for a number of reasons. Oral THC is absorbed erratically and slowly into the bloodstream. Furthermore, a patient who is severely nauseated and constantly vomiting may find it almost impossible to keep the capsule digested until it activates. In addition, the effectiveness of THC is dependent on how much is absorbed into the blood stream; investigators have shown that smoked THC is absorbed more effectively. Most patients also prefer smoking marihuana to taking THC orally, as the latter makes them anxious and uncomfortable. One reason that the oral ingestion of THC makes patients anxious and uncomfortable is the difficulty of titrating the dose of oral THC to control the amount that reaches the blood and brain. In 1990, a survey of over 2,000 members of the American Society of Clinical Oncology found that only 43% were satisfied that the available legal anti-emetic drugs (including oral THC) provided adequate relief to all or most of their patients. On average, they considered smoked marihuana more effective than oral synthetic THC and roughly as safe. 17. While there can be no question that the use of psychoactive drugs may be harmful to the social fabric, the harm resulting from the use of marihuana is of a far lower order of magnitude than the harm caused by abuse of narcotics, alcohol, and other drugs. Marihuana itself is not criminogenic: it does not lead to sexual debauchery, it is not addictive, there is no evidence that it leads to the use of narcotics. It does not, under ordinary circumstances, leads to psychoses, and there is no convincing ,evidence that it causes personality deterioration. Even with respect toLVALv automobile driving, evidence exists that marijuana is less detrimental to this skill than alcohol. Marihuana use, even over a considerable period of time, does not lead to malnutrition or to any known organic illness. There is no evidence that mortality rates are any higher among users of marijuana than nonusers. In fact, relative to other psychoactive drugs, it is remarkably safe. SWORN BEFORE ME ) at the City of Boston ) in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, USA ) this 26th day ) of March, 1997 ) DR. LESTER GRINSPOON ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2001 07:02:00 -0800 From: majordomo@mapinc.org To: restore@crrh.org Subject: DND: MN:ANN LANDERS: Pleas to legalize marijuana make her boil (fwd) Message-ID: <200103181502.HAA27414@americium.baremetal.com> Someone, possibly you, using usr54-dialup185.mix1.sacramento.cw.net requested this message be sent to you from http://www.mapinc.org/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- FWD by: Roger Dodger --------------------------------------------------------------------------- URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97/n040/a01.html Subject: MN:ANN LANDERS: Pleas to legalize marijuana make her boil (fwd) Newshawk: Richard Lake <rlake@mapinc.org> This is in today's Washington Post and Philidelphia Inquirer, and I assume, everywhere. Responses can be sent to: Ann Landers P.O. Box 11562 Chicago, IL, 606110562 Lifestyle Wednesday, March 26, 1997 Pleas to legalize marijuana make her boil Dear Ann Landers: I was interested in the letters from readers who want to decriminalize marijuana. How nice it would be, they said, if we would just make the wacky weed legal: People would be free of tension, and the world would be a better place. I am glad you didn't agree with them. Studies show that marijuana is stronger than it used to be. Even 20 years ago, that ``harmless'' stuff helped transfoLVALrm a lovely, brightspirited teenage family friend into a manicdepressive, frightened girl who wound up not knowing who or where she was. My exhusband tried pot when he was 10 it was given to him by his 12yearold sister, no less. I married him 20 years later, believing him when he told me he would never touch it again. I was wrong. I couldn't figure out why we never had any money, even though we both worked. I found out the answer when I caught him sniffing cocaine in the garage. Soon after, when I discovered 15 marijuana plants growing in our yard, I left him. I knew he'd rather give me up than get rid of the stuff. Don't tell the relatives of those who were killed by someone driving under the influence of drugs that marijuana is harmless. Don't tell the teachers whose lethargic students are blowing their minds on the stuff and flunking out of school that they will give it up when the novelty wears off. Don't tell parents crying over their dead children who threw their lives away on drugs that the dangers of pot have been exaggerated. Don't tell suicide hotline workers that their data is wrong about most suicides being drug and alcohol related. It is a known fact that many who smoke pot graduate to harder stuff like cocaine, speed and LSD. My message to those who think marijuana is harmless is this: Get out from under the cloud you're in, and wake up and smell the coffee. Hearing people say we should legalize pot makes me boil. Jersey Shore, Pa. Dear J.S., Pa.: Thank you for the voice of truth. I am in favor of decriminalization (decreasing penalties for possession) and medicinal use, but not legalization. I took that position years ago and have stayed with it. ___ ___ _ _ _ _ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2001 11:59:39 -0800 From: webmaster@drugsense.org (DrugSense) To: newsletter@drugsense.org Subject: DrugSense Weekly, March 16, 2001, #191 Message-ID: <rCns6giA8TyH092yn@drugsense.org> *********************************************************LVALd ************* DRUGSENSE WEEKLY ********************************************************************** DrugSense Weekly, March 16, 2001 #191 Read This Publication On-line at: http://www.drugsense.org/current.htm ------------------ TABLE OF CONTENTS: * This Just In (1) In Senate Debate On Drugs, 'Traffic' Moves Minds (2) Talking With Alan I. Leshner, PhD, NIDA Director (3) Switzerland: Just Say Yes (4) Canada: Highest Court To Hear Pot Law Challenge * Weekly News in Review Drug Policy- (5) Bush Deserts Post in the War on Drugs (6) Bush: Scrap Public Housing Drug Push (7) USG Supports Drug Provision Repeal (8) Into the Mainstream (9) Drug Testing (10) War on Drugs Not Yielding Much Fruit (11) A Turning Point on Drugs (12) Hastert Urged Meeting Between Bush and Daley Law Enforcement & Prisons- (13) Pataki Proposes Changes in Drug Sentencing (14) Thugs Set Free to Strike Again (15) Drug War Impacts Attitude of Police (16) Pitting Drugs Against Rights (17) Kansas Law Enforcement Officials Oppose Reform Cannabis & Hemp- (18) Swiss Move to Legalise Cannabis (19) Hemp-Legalization Bill Dies in House (20) Medical Marijuana Bill Squeaks by House (21) Kamena Recall Hot Button Issue (22) Cannabis Club Pot-Growing Trial Begins International News- (23) Addicts Resort to Other Drugs During Heroin Shortage (24) Living Hope in St Kilda (25) Fiji a Pacific Paradise for Organised Crime - Police (26) Caribbean Hampered on Drug Flow (27) Cops Losing Fight to Shut Drug Dens (28) Plan Colombia * Hot Off The 'Net MAP's Writer's Resources - A Wealth of Useful Information The Flow Magazine - The Hemp Internet * Feature Article Announcing DrugSense NET RADIO - Hear Here! * Quote of the Week Justice Louis D. Brandeis **************************************************************LVAL ********* THIS JUST IN ---------------- (1) IN SENATE DEBATE ON DRUGS, 'TRAFFIC' MOVES MINDS As depicted in the critically acclaimed movie "Traffic," the national crusade against drugs is a well-intentioned flop that squanders billions on efforts to disrupt supplies while doing little to curb demand through programs such as drug treatment and education. It is a message, apparently, that has not gone unheeded on Capitol Hill. In a case of policy imitating art, or at least echoing it, a Senate hearing room yesterday resounded with pleas for a "balanced" and "holistic" approach to fighting drugs in which treatment and education programs are elevated to the same importance as law enforcement agencies charged with targeting drug producers and importers. [snip] Pubdate: Wed, 14 Mar 2001 Source: Washington Post (DC) Copyright: 2001 The Washington Post Company Contact: letters@washpost.com Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ Author: John Lancaster URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n454/a09.html Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/traffic.htm (Traffic) === (2) TALKING WITH ALAN I. LESHNER, PHD, NIDA DIRECTOR Bethesda, MD -- Since Alan I. Leshner, PhD, took the helm of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) in 1994, the agency's annual budget has nearly doubled, to $781 million, supporting much of the world's research on the biology of addiction, genetic and environmental risk factors, and addiction prevention and treatment. Of the two dozen institutes that comprise the National Institutes of Health (NIH), NIDA is in a unique position. Addiction is, arguably, more politicized than any other medical issue, putting Leshner and his views under a spotlight. He is quoted almost weekly in major newspaper and magazine articles as the authority on the subject. Such visibility comes with a price, though, as Leshner has been attacked on all fronts -- for being both too soft and too harsh on drug issues. [snip] Pubdate: Wed, 07 Mar 2001 Source: Journal of the AmericanLVAL Medical Association (US) Copyright: 2001 American Medical Association. Contact: JAMA-letters@ama-assn.org Website: http://jama.ama-assn.org/ Interviewer: Brian Vastag Note: Published in Vol. 285, No. 9 URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01.n451.a06.html === (3) SWITZERLAND: JUST SAY YES The Swiss Move To Legalize The Cultivation, Sale And Consumption Of Marijuana Switzerland may no longer be known just as the land of chocolate and cheese; marijuana could soon become as much a part of the Alpine landscape as edelweiss. Last week the Swiss government approved a law, still to be endorsed by the Parliament, that legalizes the production, sale and use of marijuana, making Switzerland's policy toward the drug one of the most liberal in Europe. Sale of hard drugs such as heroin and cocaine will remain illegal. "No research shows that marijuana is more harmful or addictive than alcohol and tobacco," says Georg Amstutz, spokesman for the Federal Office of Public Health. [snip] Pubdate: Fri, 16 Mar 2001 Source: Time Magazine (US) Copyright: 2001 Time Inc Contact: letters@time.com Website: http://www.time.com/time/ Author: Helena Bachmann Geneva URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01.n461.a07.html === (4) CANADA: HIGHEST COURT TO HEAR POT LAW CHALLENGE Hemp Shop Owner Says Marijuana Is Harmless OTTAWA (CP) - Canada's highest court agreed today to hear a convicted pot smoker's claims that federal marijuana laws are unconstitutional because the drug is harmless. Chris Clay, 30, the former operator of a hemp boutique in London, Ont., was convicted in 1997 of drug possession and trafficking charges for selling cannabis to an undercover police officer. In Clay's original trial, Ontario Superior Court Justice John McCart admitted he was convinced marijuana was harmless and caused no serious mental or physical damage. But the judge ruled it would be up to Parliament to determine what's illegal and said the drug charges didn't infringe on Clay's constitutionalLVAL rights. [snip] Newshawk: Tim Meehan Pubdate: Thu, 15 Mar 2001 Source: Canadian Press (Canada) Copyright: 2001 The Canadian Press (CP) URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01.n456.a02.html Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/clay.htm (Clay, Chris) ====================================================================== WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW ======================================== Domestic News- Policy ----------------- COMMENT: (5-12) We're still czarless and an almost eerie silence cloaks the whole subject of drug policy; against that background, the complaints of a hawkish Boston columnist sounded almost strident. Whatever drug policy statements have emanated from Washington have been peripheral: the cutback in security for Federal Housing was for fiscal - not Fourth Amendment - reasons, as the President made clear. Although the administration is keeping mum on drug law enforcement, voices of opposition and skepticism are being raised in the hinterland - some are predictable, others less so. That College students rebel at additional penalties isn't surprising, but a medical marijuana bill in Texas and a scornful editorial on drug testing city employees in West Virginia were, to say the least, unexpected. Even the normally hawkish Tulsa World called for "demand reduction." Prodding the Bushies to cut treatment and prevention a bigger slice of the federal budget was Joe Califano, who seems to be redefining the war on drugs as a war on dopamine. Whatever they decide, the new administration still has to deal with Congress; a quote from Speaker Hastert suggests that selling them any appearance of "softer on drugs" won't be easy; although even he did endorse "more treatment." === (5) BUSH DESERTS POST IN THE WAR ON DRUGS Almost seven weeks into his administration, President George Bush has yet to appoint a drug czar. For a nation in which addiction has become a chronic problem and drugs take a devastating toll, that does not inspire confidenLVALce. There are three names on the short list for director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy: former Rep. Bill McCollum (R-Fla.), Florida drug czar James McDonough and Maricopa County, Ariz., prosecutor Rick Romley. [snip] In the meantime, a decade of neglect has taken its toll. Eight states and the District of Columbia have passed medicinal pot measures, a significant step toward legalization. Billionaires like George Soros have poured millions into these initiatives, with no one except mom-and-pop anti-drug groups to oppose them. [snip] Pubdate: Wed, 07 Mar 2001 Source: Boston Herald (MA) Copyright: 2001 The Boston Herald, Inc Contact: letterstoeditor@bostonherald.com Website: http://www.bostonherald.com/ Author: Don Feder URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n439/a11.html Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/bush.htm (Bush, George) === (6) BUSH: SCRAP PUBLIC HOUSING DRUG PUSH WASHINGTON (AP) - Since the First Bush administration, federal dollars have paid for security officers, alarm systems and after-school activities for youngsters in poor public housing projects. President Bush, however, has proposed scrapping the Public Housing Drug Elimination Program, saying it has had "limited impact" and that "regulatory tools such as eviction are more effective at reducing drug activity in public housing." [snip] Pubdate: Sun, 11 Mar 2001 Source: Associated Press Copyright: 2001 Associated Press Author: Gina Holland, Associated Press Writer URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n432/a09.html === (7) USG SUPPORTS DRUG PROVISION REPEAL Ohio State joined the list of schools across the country fighting the government's war on drugs when USG passed a resolution at its Wednesday meeting to support the repeal of the drug provision attached to the Higher Education Act, which denies students federal aid if they have been convicted of a drug-related offense. The vote, passed unanimously, was in stark contrast to the decision made last spring to supporLVALv1t the drug provision by a vote of 15 to 1. [snip] Also on hand was Shawn Heller, George Washington University graduate and national director of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy, which has groups at over 80 campuses. Heller said he doesn't expect the legislation to pass through in this congress but hopes to drum up enough support so that in 2002 he and supporters will see an easier chance in removing the drug provision. [snip] Pubdate: Sat, 10 Mar 2001 Source: Lantern, The (OH) Copyright: 2001 The Lantern Contact: lantern@osu.edu Website: http://www.thelantern.com Author: Jeff Vari URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n427/a05.html === (8) INTO THE MAINSTREAM A Battle Waged For Decades, The Legalization Of Marijuana Has Recently Reappeared On State Legislative Agendas Across The Nation. The medicinal use of marijuana in Texas may soon stand up to the judicial gavel if a bill proposed by representative Terry Keel gains approval. The bill was introduced Feb. 27 to the Criminal Jurisprudence Committee of the Texas House of Representatives to allow offenders to use the defense that possessing the illegal drug was recommended by their physician. [snip] Pubdate: Fri, 09 Mar 2001 Source: TCU Daily Skiff (TX) Copyright: 2001 The TCU Daily Skiff Contact: skiffletters@tcu.edu Website: http://www.skiff.tcu.edu/ Author: Alisha Brown URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n427/a09.html === (9) DRUG TESTING Start With Goldman ONE question comes to mind when listening to Charleston Mayor Jay Goldman propose testing every city employee from garbage collectors to every member of City Council for drugs: What, exactly, has he been smoking? [snip] Pubdate: Wed, 07 Mar 2001 Source: Charleston Gazette (WV) Copyright: 2001 Charleston Gazette Contact: letters@wvgazette.com Website: http://www.wvgazette.com/ URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n412/a07.html Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing) === (10) WAR ON DRUGSLVAL NOT YIELDING MUCH FRUIT The State Department's annual report on the war on drugs says the international effort faced "serious challenges" in 2000 but "continued to bear fruit." The fine print reveals a much more discouraging picture: Plenty of challenge, but very little fruit. [snip] But the real bad news is that even if, by some miracle, the war on drugs could drastically reduce the supplies of cocaine and heroin, the users would find handy, easy-to-buy homemade substitutes. The answer to the drug problem is not to cut off the supply. It is, somehow, to reduce demand. That means rehabilitation of problem users and preventing young people from taking up the habit in the first place. [snip] Pubdate: Sun, 11 Mar 2001 Source: Tulsa World (OK) Copyright: 2001 World Publishing Co. Contact: letters@tulsaworld.com Website: http://www.tulsaworld.com/ Author: Alex Adwan, World Senior Editor URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n435/a09.html === (11) A TURNING POINT ON DRUGS President Bush has an opportunity to lead a budding revolution in the nation's policy on substance abuse. For the First time in the nation's many wars on drugs, the forces are there to balance and strengthen all four legs of the effort against abuse and addiction: research, prevention, treatment and law enforcement. [snip] Recently scientists have found that all substances - nicotine, alcohol, cocaine, heroin, marijuana - similarly affect brain levels of dopamine (the substance that gives pleasure). Coupled with CASA's finding that an individual who gets through age 21 without smoking, abusing alcohol or using illegal drugs is virtually certain never to do so, these scientific discoveries point to more effective ways to battle substance abuse and addiction. [snip] Pubdate: Tue, 13 Mar 2001 Source: Washington Post (DC) Copyright: 2001 The Washington Post Company Contact: letters@washpost.com Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ Author: Joseph A. Califano Jr. URL: http://www.mapinLVALnc.org/drugnews/v01/n441/a09.html === (12) HASTERT URGED MEETING BETWEEN BUSH AND DALEY House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert said Monday he urged President Bush to sit down for a private, one-on-one lunch with Mayor Daley today during the Republican president's First official visit to Chicago. [snip] War on drugs: Hastert said he believes the federal government must do a better job stopping drugs from entering the country, stopping drug dealers from "laundering" their profits through banks and legitimate business and providing treatment for drug addicts. [snip] Pubdate: Tue, 06 Mar 2001 Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL) Copyright: 2001 The Sun-Times Co. Contact: letters@suntimes.com Website: http://www.suntimes.com/ Author: Scott Fornek, Political Reporter URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n408/a04.html ======================================================= Law Enforcement & Prisons ---------------------------------------- COMMENT: ( 13-14) Governor Pataki finally unveiled his proposal for softening the infamous Rockefeller laws. Unsurprisingly, they are accompanied by proposals toughening parole and probation. A (coordinated?) article in the hard line Post trumpeted lurid tales of crime committed by parole violators and also offered a hint at the real issue: keeping prison cells full by one means or another. === (13) PATAKI PROPOSES CHANGES IN DRUG SENTENCING Nearly two months after he pledged to loosen the state's strict mandatory sentencing laws for drug offenders, Gov. George E. Pataki released a detailed bill yesterday that would reduce prison sentences in some instances but would also add new penalties for marijuana convictions. He also wants to reduce the state parole board's authority to grant early release from prison. [snip] Under his proposal, those who are arrested repeatedly on charges of marijuana sales and possession would face felony charges, instead of misdemeanor charges as they do now. His bill would also stiffen penaltiesLVAL for possession and sale of large quantities of marijuana, and impose tougher sentences on those arrested on drug charges in parks. [snip] Pubdate: Sat, 10 Mar 2001 Source: New York Times (NY) Copyright: 2001 The New York Times Company Contact: letters@nytimes.com Website: http://www.nytimes.com/ Author: Somini Sengupta URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n424/a03.html Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?140 (Rockefeller Drug Laws) === (14) THUGS SET FREE TO STRIKE AGAIN Thousands of ex-cons are allowed to roam the city's streets after committing parole violations, many of them ending up back behind bars only after going on violent new crime sprees, a Post probe has found. In the past few months alone, dozens of paroled thugs, including killers, sex offenders and armed robbers, have terrorized people in their homes, on subways and on the street, when they should have been sent back to prison for violating parole. [snip] According to state officials, the state prison population recently dropped for the First time in 27 years. The Pataki administration attributes the drop to new policies granting early release to larger numbers of nonviolent felons, which has left about 2,000 prison slots open. These empty cells could easily be filled by parolees who violate the terms of their release, cops and prosecutors told The Post. [snip] Pubdate: Thu, 08 Mar 2001 Source: New York Post (NY) Copyright: 2001 NYP Holdings, Inc Contact: letters@nypost.com Website: http://nypostonline.com/ Author: Murray Weiss URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n418/a04.html === COMMENT: (15-17) Two thoughtful items focused on how a militant drug policy affects basic police attitudes; the Houston Chronicle's Thom Marshall found reason to agree with Joe McNamara that it's detrimental, while a thoughtful Ohio editorial agreed with Justice Steven's lonely dissent, agreeing that the social harm inflicted often exceeds the questionable benefit gained. At a TopekaLVAL hearing, the police argument could be paraphrased as, "why should we go to the trouble of stealing if we can't keep the loot?" === (15) DRUG WAR IMPACTS ATTITUDE OF POLICE A couple of our Houston police officers E-mailed harsh criticisms following the recent account here of a woman who was found by a jury to be mentally incompetent to stand trial. [snip] Joseph McNamara knows a great deal about the effects the drug war has had on police. At a citizens' commission on U.S. drug policy, McNamara testified: "We have created a kind of culture within American police departments with the war on drugs that has produced not only gangster cops in thousands of cases across America, but we have also corrupted the rank-and-file cops. They have forgotten what their mission is. "They are not soldiers in a war; they're peace officers with a fundamental duty to protect human life." Pubdate: Sun, 11 Mar 2001 Source: Houston Chronicle (TX) Copyright: 2001 Houston Chronicle Contact: viewpoints@chron.com Website: http://www.chron.com/ Author: Thom Marshall URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n435/a10.html Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mcnamara.htm (McNamara, Joseph D.) === (16) PITTING DRUGS AGAINST RIGHTS Last month the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a ruling that said it's OK for police to keep you out of your home if they reasonably believe you would destroy evidence of criminal wrongdoing that might be inside. You might ask, isn't a man's home his castle? Well, since the vote was 8-1, with Justice John Paul Stevens dissenting, the foremost constitutional lawyers in the country said that the case boiled down to a "probable cause" issue. [snip] Stevens dissented on this point. He didn't believe that the circumstances - a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge - rose to the level of urgency needed to detain McArthur. For our money, that could be said for much of our nation's war on drugs. The government went to a lot of trouble and expense - testing our cLVALivil rights along the way - in prosecuting a man for a tiny amount of pot. [snip] Pubdate: Wed, 07 Mar 2001 Source: Lima News (OH) Copyright: 2001 Freedom Newspapers Inc. Contact: letters@limanews.com Website: http://www.limanews.com URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n409/a06.html === (17) KANSAS LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS OPPOSE REFORM FORFEITURE BILL TOPEKA - Kansas law enforcement officials on Monday strongly opposed a reform forfeiture bill that would send money seized in drug cases to education. Currently, law enforcement agencies can keep most of the money once it is legally confiscated. Law enforcement officials told the House Judiciary Committee that if their agencies were not allowed to keep drug money, forfeitures could become extinct in Kansas. "The question becomes, why would a local law enforcement agency seize property for forfeiture, subject themselves to additional investigations, hearings, and possible civil liability when they do not receive any of the proceeds?" asked Dan Dunbar, Douglas County assistant district attorney. "The answer is, they will not." [snip] Pubdate: Mon, 12 Mar 2001 Source: Kansas City Star (MO) Copyright: 2001 The Kansas City Star Contact: letters@kcstar.com Website: http://www.kcstar.com/ Author: Karen Dillon, The Kansas City Star URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n441/a08.html Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/af.htm (Asset Forfeiture) ========================================================= Cannabis & Hemp- ---------------------------- COMMENT: (18-20) In Switzerland, the government's plan to legalize production and sale of small amounts of cannabis moved closer to reality, although the right wing opposition has promised a close vote. In the US, where hemp and medical marijuana bills continued their two pronged assault on conservative state legislature legislatures, a major advance was scored in New Mexico: although a hemp bill died on the floor of the House, the medical marijuana bilLVALl was narrowly approved. That means Governor Johnson will sign a compromise version into law in the near future. === (18) SWISS MOVE TO LEGALISE CANNABIS The Swiss Government is recommending to parliament the legalisation of cannabis, as well as the sale and production of small amounts of soft drugs. The government argues that the move brings the law into line with reality. Surveys have shown that one in four young people smoke cannabis and it is widely available in big towns. [snip] The cabinet also proposed a flexible approach to prosecuting use of other illegal drugs while still adhering to international treaties to fight drug abuse. But this liberal approach is likely to meet tough opposition in parliament. Our correspondent says there are fears that decriminalising cannabis could turn Switzerland into a haven for drug tourists. [snip] Pubdate: Sat, 10 Mar 2001 Source: BBC News (UK Web) Copyright: 2001 BBC Website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/ URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n425/a08.html Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/area/Switzerland === (19) HEMP-LEGALIZATION BILL DIES IN HOUSE SANTA FE - A proposal to legalize the production of industrial hemp, a relative of the marijuana plant, failed in the House on Sunday amid criticism that it would be the First step in drug legalization. The measure would have allowed New Mexico farmers to grow hemp that was certified by the state Department of Agriculture, said Rep. Pauline Gubbels, R-Albuquerque. [snip] Opponents of the measure, which failed 37-26, said growing hemp is prohibited by the federal government. They also said the crop wasn't economically viable and could be tinkered with to produce enough THC to produce a high if the plant was smoked. [snip] Pubdate: Sun, 11 Mar 2001 Source: Albuquerque Journal (NM) Copyright: 2001 Albuquerque Journal Contact: opinion@abqjournal.com Website: http://www.abqjournal.com/ Author: Chaka Ferguson, The Associated Press URL: http://www.mapincLVAL,.org/drugnews/v01/n440/a08.html Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hemp.htm (Hemp) === (20) MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL SQUEAKS BY HOUSE Those who want to allow patients to use marijuana to treat certain medical conditions won a slim but significant victory Monday when the state House of Representatives approved a "medical marijuana" bill. Supporters call it the "Compassionate Use of Marijuana Act," but opponents insist the bill is a "smokescreen" for legalizing drugs. [snip] Because both the House and Senate passed their own bill on medical marijuana, it is not clear what will happen next. If the House passes the Senate bill - or if the Senate passes the House version - that bill would go to Johnson to sign. [snip] Pubdate: Tue, 13 Mar 2001 Source: Santa Fe New Mexican (NM) Copyright: 2001 The Santa Fe New Mexican Contact: letters@sfnewmexican.com Website: http://www.sfnewmexican.com/ Author: Steve Terrell, The New Mexican URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n443/a07.html === COMMENT: (21-22) A small Bay Area newspaper provided the complex details in the recall election faced by Marin County DA Paula Kamena; the case took on added significance as neighboring Sonoma County, which also voted heavily in favor of 215, prepares to try two operators of a San Francisco buyers' club on felony charges of growing for sale. === (21) KAMENA RECALL HOT BUTTON ISSUE Paula Kamena would like everyone to please stick to the subject. District Attorney Kamena is quick to remind anyone who will listen that the petition to put her recall election on the ballot had only to do with family law court issues stemming from the Carole Mardeusz case, and nothing to do with her stance on medical use of marijuana or anything else. [snip] Pubdate: Sat, 10 Mar 2001 Source: Coastal Post, The (CA) Copyright: 2001 The Coastal Post Contact: editor@coastalpost.com Website: http://www.coastalpost.com/ Author: Louis Nuyens URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n434/a05.html LVAL, === (22) CANNABIS CLUB POT-GROWING TRIAL BEGINS The state's first jury trial on suppliers to cannabis clubs got under way yesterday, pitting Sonoma County's vigorous prosecution of pot growers against the more tolerant views in San Francisco. While San Francisco District Attorney Terence Hallinan openly supports medical marijuana clubs, Sonoma County District Attorney Mike Mullins said he doesn't want his county to be transformed into a pot garden for the Bay Area. [snip] Pubdate: Wed, 14 Mar 2001 Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA) Copyright: 2001 San Francisco Chronicle Contact: letters@sfchronicle.com Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/ Author: Pamela J. Podger, Chronicle Staff Writer URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01.n452.a04.html ======================================================== International News --------------------------- COMMENT: (23-24) Australia's prolonged heroin glut, which had produced record overdose deaths has apparently been succeeded by scarcity for which reasons aren't clear yet. Rather than relief, fears over new health risks have arisen. Despite- or perhaps because of- the scarcity, there's a large backlog of candidates for detoxification with Naltrexone. === (23) ADDICTS RESORT TO OTHER DRUGS DURING HEROIN SHORTAGE The current national heroin shortage is being felt among users, with some injecting other drugs such as cocaine and painkillers to help them through withdrawal. The National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre questioned 200 users about the shortage. The shortage is forcing some users off heroin and on to drugs such as cocaine and benzodiazepines, to alleviate the symptoms of withdrawal. [snip] Pubdate: Sun, 11 Mar 2001 Source: Age, The (Australia) Copyright: 2001 The Age Company Ltd Contact: letters@theage.fairfax.com.au Website: http://www.theage.com.au/ Author: Paul Heinrichs URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n430/a07.html === (24) LIVING HOPE IN ST KILDA Simon RLVALvose has no doubt it's true. After all, the printed warning they issue patients at his clinic, The First Step, in Carlisle Street, St Kilda, spells out the danger in capital letters: "THIS IS NOT A THEORETICAL SITUATION. PEOPLE DIE WHEN THEY CEASE NALTREXONE AND USE HEROIN." [snip] Pubdate: Sun, 11 Mar 2001 Source: Age, The (Australia) Copyright: 2001 The Age Company Ltd Contact: letters@theage.fairfax.com.au Website: http://www.theage.com.au/ Author: Paul Heinrichs URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n430/a07.html === COMMENT: (25-27) One might conclude (correctly) from the next two reports, that illegal drug markets exploit poor countries with weak or unstable governments; however, a report from Canada confirms that the same forces are capable of overwhelming law enforcement on a regional basis, even within affluent Western democracies. === (25) FIJI A PACIFIC PARADISE FOR ORGANISED CRIME - POLICE Organised crime groups are targeting South Pacific nations such as Fiji to aid in the trafficking of drugs and people, the International Policing Conference was told yesterday. The Australian Federal Police Commissioner, Mr Mick Palmer, said sophisticated criminals were looking to work through nations where there was "internal disruption or disharmony" and weaker drug laws to maximise their chances of success and lower their chances of being caught. [snip] Pubdate: Thu, 08 Mar 2001 Source: Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) Copyright: 2001 The Sydney Morning Herald Contact: letters@smh.fairfax.com.au Website: http://www.smh.com.au/ Author: Neil Mercer, Adelaide URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n410/a06.html === (26) CARIBBEAN HAMPERED ON DRUG FLOW SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - Caribbean authorities said Friday they are hampered by limited resources as they try to stem the drug flow that accounts for an estimated one-third of U.S.-bound cocaine shipments. [snip] While the flow of cocaine through Haiti has decreased, Jamaica has becLVALd ome the region's leading transshipment point, the report said. It estimated 79 tons of cocaine moved through Jamaica in 2000, compared to 34 tons in 1999. [snip] Pubdate: Fri, 09 Mar 2001 Source: Associated Press Copyright: 2001 Associated Press URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n423/a13.html === (27) COPS LOSING FIGHT TO SHUT DRUG DENS If you run a drug house in Calgary, the odds are you'll get a speeding ticket before you'll be busted for dope. Calgary citizens have given the addresses of more than 200 suspected crack houses, pot-growing operations and meth-amphetamine labs to city police. But most of those tips have yet to be acted on. "We can't get to them," Calgary Police Service Insp. Joan McCallum of the organized crime unit told the Sun. [snip] Pubdate: Thu, 08 Mar 2001 Source: Calgary Sun, The (CN AB) Copyright: 2001 The Calgary Sun Contact: callet@sunpub.com Website: http://www.canoe.ca/OttawaSun/home.html Author: Mike D'Amour URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n417/a07.html === COMMENT: (28) From the US point of view, Colombia remains the major focus of international attention; a detailed article in Reason magazine makes clear just how noxious an debilitating our efforts have been. === (28) PLAN COLOMBIA As the United States becomes ever more deeply enmeshed in Colombia, individual Americans here, conscious of the threat of kidnapping or guerrilla attack, are rarely seen in public. Equally difficult to Find is any concrete effect of the $2.2 million-a-day US aid program. With the country now into the third year of a crushing recession, factories remain shuttered while the unemployed sell tangerines, shoelaces, cookies and bootleg CDs on the clogged streets. [snip] Against this backdrop, the US plan to put four-fifths of its mammoth aid program into a Colombian military buildup seems to many the precise opposite of what is needed. [snip] Pubdate: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 Source: Nation, The (US) Website: http:LVAL//www.thenation.com/ Contact: letters@thenation.com Copyright: 2001, The Nation Company Author: Marc Cooper URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n444/a03.html Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/area/Colombia ************************************************************************ HOT OFF THE 'NET -------------------------------- MAP's Writer's Resources - A Wealth of Useful Information Any activist that isn't familiar with MAP's Writer's Resources web page should definitely review it regularly. It has a wealth of information from activism training material to letter writing tips. Check it out: http://www.mapinc.org/resource/ === The Flow Magazine - The Hemp Internet The Flow's purpose is to Create a Powerful Presence for Hemp in Cyberspace. To Gather in large numbers people of Like Mind, so that we may be able to Smoke, Grow, Wear or Use Hemp products in PEACE and HARMONY, together on The Flow. http://www.theflow.nl/ ************************************************************************ FEATURE ARTICLE ------------------------------- Announcing DrugSense NET RADIO - Hear Here! YES! You heard it here first!! DrugSense is now broadcasting drug news via the net. A 15 minute daily summary of news from the Media Awareness Project (MAP) and a reading of the DrugSense Weekly newsletter is presented in Real Audio format. The possibilities are endless as DrugSense takes the plunge into the next level of Internet media production. A few weeks ago our radio station was announced in our February 16th newsletter, http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2001/ds01.n187.html#sec2. We have polished our production schedule since that time and are successfully landing the daily slot before most folks on the east coast start their morning coffee-surfing session. The weekly newsletter is up and ready by Friday mornings. Our ultimate goal is to become a 24-7 Internet media center which accentuates our mission to provide accurate drug policy information in order to heighten awareneLVALvcss of the extreme damage being caused by the "War on Drugs." To this end, we will be adding interviews with drug policy leaders, advising of upcoming events, alerting activists of current media coverage and methods of reacting to them (such as our group letter writing efforts or Focus Alerts) and more. We also hope to eventually add important and/or timely video clips to enable activists to be aware of broadcast media coverage on drug policy issues. This will provide an easy vehicle for responding to this coverage thereby beginning to influence and educate the broadcast media much in the way the Media Awareness Project (MAP) has helped to influence and educate the print media. The format will be very similar to any other news station. 15 minutes of daily news will play at the top of every hour. The rest of the hour will be filled with rotating field interviews, expose, guest speakers, and public access/talk radio type programs. Please visit and use this new Drug policy information service. We hope you will find it yet another convenient method of keeping abreast of drug policy developments among the array of services provided by DrugSense. http://www.drugsense.org/radio/ ************************************************************************ QUOTE OF THE WEEK -------------------------------------- "The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding." -- Justice Louis D. Brandeis *********************************************************************** DS Weekly is one of the many free educational services DrugSense offers our members. Watch this feature to learn more about what DrugSense can do for you. TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS: Please utilize the following URLs http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm News/COMMENTS-Editor: Tom O'Connell (tjeffoc@drugsense.org) Senior-Editor: Mark Greer (mgreer@drugsense.org) We wish to thank LVALn Angeles: Sister Somayah 323-232-0935 Macon Ga: <BunnieGurl420@aol.com> 912 755 9660 Madison: Ben Masel <bmasel@tds.net> 608-257-5456 Miami: temporary contact Steve Jacobsen 561-706-1670 {chefjake01@aol.com} Milwaukee: Dominic Salmaan 1525 E, Royall Pl # 14, Milwaukee, WI 53202 ph:= =20 414-289-9501 or 339-9377 Minneapolis Grassroots Party or Chris Wright <TCW@genesis-computer.com>=20 612-522-5374. March @ High Noon from Loring Park to Washburn Fair-Oaks= Park. Missoula: Angela Goodhope (406) 549-8389 <sisterearth420@hotmail.com> Mobile: <Ravetripper19@aol.com> (334) 649- 01all our contributors, editors, NewsHawks and letter writing activists. NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. REMINDER: Please help us help reform. Become a NewsHawk See http://www.mapinc.org/hawk.htm for info on contributing clippings. MAKE A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO DRUGSENSE ON LINE http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm -OR- Mail in your contribution. Make checks payable to MAP Inc. send your contribution to: The Media Awareness Project (MAP) Inc. D/B/a DrugSense PO Box 651 Porterville, CA 93258 (800) 266 5759 MGreer@mapinc.org http://www.mapinc.org/ http://www.drugsense.org/ ------------------------------ End of restore V1 #3 ******************** * ------ 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. ------ To subscribe, unsubscribe or switch to immediate or digest mode, please send your instructions to <restore-owner@crrh.org>. ------ *Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp* mail: CRRH ; P.O. Box 86741 ; Portland, OR 97286 USA phone: (503) 235-4606 fax: (503) 235-0120 web: http://www.crrh.org/ LVAL?v1restore Sun, 18 Mar 2001 Volume 9 : Number 67 In this issue: Canada: Pot Case In Supreme Court (plus a review of the case history) Du cannabis chez les Mitterand.. US: Is Paul McCartney One Toke Over The Line? MA: Federal Financial Aid Takes A Hit Canada: Pot Crusader's trial delayed CA: Medical User Says Sheriff, DA Have Arbitrary Rules Restore Cannabis to the Formulary where it belongs! The Week Online with DRCNet, Issue #177 Numbering? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2001 09:56:41 -0500 From: Richard Lake <rlake@mapinc.org> To: U-net@drcnet.org, global@legalize.org, drugtalk@adca.org.au, compassionatemoms@egroups.com, drctalk@drcnet.org, friends@freecannabis.org, restore@crrh.org, hemp-talk@hemp.net, DPFT-L@TAMU.EDU, mayday@yahoogroups.com Subject: Canada: Pot Case In Supreme Court (plus a review of the case history) Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.0.20010317095143.034b9de0@mapinc.org> URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n467/a08.html Newshawk: Richard Lake rlake@mapinc.org Pubdate: Fri, 16 Mar 2001 Source: National Post (Canada) Copyright: 2001 Southam Inc. Page: A4 Contact: letters@nationalpost.com Address: 300 - 1450 Don Mills Road, Don Mills, Ontario M3B 3R5 Fax: (416) 442-2209 Website: http://www.nationalpost.com/ Forum: http://forums.canada.com/~nationalpost Note: Following this short article on this epic case is a history, with links. Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/clay.htm (Clay, Chris) POT CASE IN SUPREME COURT OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada agreed yesterday to hear a convicted pot smoker's claims that federal marijuana laws are unconstitutional because the drug is harmless. Chris Clay, 31, was convicted in 1997 of drug possession and trafficking for selling cannabis to an undercover police officer. At his original trial, an Ontario Superior Court judgLVALe said he was convinced marijuana was harmless and carried no serious mental or physical damage, but ruled it was up to Parliament to determine what is legal. _____________________________________________________________________ A SHORT HISTORY OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGE OF CHRIS CLAY by Richard Lake, Sr. Editor, DrugNews May, 1997 In a major story on the trial the London Free Press wrote: Store owner Admits He Pushed His Luck In Efforts To Test Canadian Drug Laws Chris Clay said he openly sold small packages of marijuana and placed advertisements in his store window listing types of seeds as police looked on. Chris Clay agreed with Crown prosecutor Kevin Wilson that he "pushed the envelope" leading up to the drug squad raid on his hemp store in London two years ago. Clay, proprietor of Hemp Nation store at 343 Richmond St., testified in his own defence on several charges of possessing and trafficking in marijuana that he was on a single minded campaign to change marijuana drug laws when he was arrested. He and employee Jordan Prentice have pleaded not guilty to all charges. Clay, 26, told Ontario court Justice John McCart he "decided to take a risk" by opening his hemp products store, hoping it would help finance his lobbying for drug law changes. [snip] The rest of the story is at http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97/n117/a06.html - ----- See also: Drug 'Bonds' Fund Court Fight http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97/n124/a01.html The Trial of the Century http://www.cannabisculture.com/backissues/cc09/hemphunt/oppresion/claytrial/index.html _____________________________________________________________________ Perhaps the largest group of experts on marijuana ever to testify were gathered together for this trial. Following are links to many of the superb affidavits filed in this case, part of the record to be reviewed by the Supreme Court. Hans-Jorg Albrecht http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97/n000/a001.html Bruce Alexander http://www.mapinc.orgLVAL/drugnews/v97/n000/a002.html Marie Andree Bertrand http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97/n000/a003.html Neil Boyd http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97/n000/a004.html Patricia G. Erickson http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97/n000/a008.html Dr Lester Grinspoon http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97/n000/a005.html John P. Morgan M.D. http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97/n000/a006.html Eugene Oscapella http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97/n000/a007.html Robert Randall http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97/n000/a009.html Diane Riley http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97/n000/a010.html Neev Tapiero http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97/n000/a011.html _____________________________________________________________________ August, 1997 Justice J.F. McCart gave his ruling, and the Ottawa Citizen wrote: Marijuana 'Harmless But Still Illegal' While agreeing that marijuana is relatively harmless, an Ontario Court judge has rejected a constitutional challenge to Canada's prohibition of the drug. Justice John McCart said elected politicians not the courts must lead the way in establishing public policy on such issues. The judge yesterday convicted Chris Clay, the former owner of a London hemp shop, of trafficking and possession charges. Mr. Clay, 26, mounted an ambitious challenge under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms during his threeweek trial this spring, enlisting the aid of an Osgoode Hall law professor and raising $25,000 through an Internet web page after being charged in May 1995 with selling cloned marijuana plants from his London store. In his 27page ruling, Judge McCart accepted as fact the evidence of many of Mr. Clay's nine expert witnesses. [snip] His lawyer, Osgoode Hall law professor Alan Young, said the case will be appealed, likely to the Supreme Court, but that another $50,000 to $100,000 would have to be raised to finance the appeal. "The judge's position was, 'This was not for me to review, this was for a legislature to review.' "My question to the juLVALdge of course is, 'We've been trying to do that for 30 years, why would the judge think we're going to have any better luck now?'" Mr. Young said. [snip] The entire article is at http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97/n317/a06.html - ----- See also: Bid To Make Marijuana Legal Gets Rejected http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97/n000/a011.html Justice Denied http://www.cannabisculture.com/backissues/cc10/Justice.html _____________________________________________________________________ Judge McCart's ruling is archived at http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97/n000/a012.html And the Judge included an Addendum To The Judgment authored by Chris Clay http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v97/n000/a013.html _____________________________________________________________________ October, 1999 Ontario's Court of Appeal hears appeal: Pot Too Mild To Be Criminal, London Case Lawyer Argues http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n1091/a05.html _____________________________________________________________________ July, 2000 Ontario's Court of Appeal rules and a Globe and Mail columnst writes: The three judges of the Ontario Court of Appeal showed the wisdom of Daniel on Monday when they unanimously struck down as unconstitutional the law making the possession of marijuana a crime. They declared it unjust and unacceptable in a free and democratic society. It continues to be operative for 12 months so as to avoid a legislative vacuum, but the judgment will have far-reaching consequences beyond the issue of marijuana-as-medicine, on which the decision was based. The judges have invited the government to rewrite the law. They've given our society an opportunity to rethink a blanket prohibition against marijuana that was first imposed in 1923 from ignorance and superstition. [snip] Moreover, the court recognized that the prohibition of marijuana in our legal system was based, from the start, on false perceptions. "That history shows that, unlike the regulation of assisted suicide, LVALfor example, regulation of marijuana has a very short history and lacks a significant foundation in our legal tradition. It is, in fact, an embarrassing history based on misinformation and racism." The court cited the origins of the law governing marijuana as established by Mr. Justice J. F. McCart in his 1997 judgment in the case of R. v. Clay. "Although there was no evidence of a problem of marijuana use in Canada in 1923, its inclusion in the Opium and Drug Act may have been influenced by the writings of Emily Murphy, a crusading Edmonton, Alberta, magistrate. In 1920, she published a series of sensational and racist articles in Maclean's magazine on the horrible effects of drug use and the deliberate debauching of the young by evil, often alien, traffickers. The articles were later expanded into a book, The Black Candle,published in 1922." Judge McCart gave a sample of her prose that led, a year after the publication of her book, to the inclusion of marijuana under the same strictures as opium: "Persons using this narcotic [marijuana] smoke the dried leaves of the plant, which has the effect of driving them completely insane. The addict loses all sense of moral responsibility. Addicts to this drug, while under its influence, are immune to pain, and could be injured without having any realization of their condition. While in this condition they become raving maniacs and are liable to kill or indulge in any form of violence to other persons, using the most savage methods of cruelty without, as said before, any sense of moral responsibility. . . . If this drug is indulged in to any great extent, it ends in the untimely death of its addict." Judge McCart then added: "There was absolutely no truth to any of those wild and outlandish claims. It was in this climate of irrational fear that the criminal sanctions against marijuana were enacted." Recent judgments have established the absurdity of all those superstitious fears about marijuana. Judge McCart concluded, for exLVALample: "Consumption of marijuana is relatively harmless compared to the so-called hard drugs and including tobacco and alcohol. . . . Cannabis is not an addictive substance. . . . Less than 1 per cent of marijuana consumers are daily users." He also noted that consumption of marijuana is no greater in countries that have ceased to enforce criminal laws against marijuana, such as the Netherlands, than it is in countries that prohibit it. [snip] The entire column is at http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1098/a11.html - ----- See also: Anti-Marijuana Law Violates Rights Of The Sick, Judge Rules http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1087/a06.html The Clay appeal ruling is on line at http://www.ontariocourts.on.ca/decisions/2000/july/clay.htm _____________________________________________________________________ March, 2001 The Supreme Court agrees to hear the appeal: Wire: Highest Court To Hear Pot Law Challenge http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n456/a02.html Supreme Court To Rule If Pot Law Constitutional http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n463/a04.html - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2001 11:59:03 EST From: Echosduchanvre@aol.com To: eric.poupinot@freesbee.fr Subject: Du cannabis chez les Mitterand.. Message-ID: <cb.f09ba4b.27e4f1d7@aol.com> Trafic de cannabis dans les Landes : saisie dans la propri=E9t=E9 des Mitter= rand DAX - Six personnes ont =E9t=E9 =E9crou=E9es et mises en examen cette semain= e apr=E8s=20 la saisie de 75 kilos de r=E9sine de cannabis dans le d=E9partement des Land= es et=20 notamment la d=E9couverte mardi d'un kilo de r=E9sine dans l'enceinte de la=20 propri=E9t=E9 de l'ancien pr=E9sident de la R=E9publique Fran=E7ois Mitterra= nd =E0=20 Latch=E9, a-t-on appris de source judiciaire. Trois personnes, Patrick Quillev=E8re, 51 ans, sa femme Christiane, et leur=20 fils Nicolas, ont d'abord =E9t=E9 interpell=E9es dimanche, =E0 leur domicile= d'Orx.=20 Interpellation loLVAL-rs de laquelle ont =E9t=E9 saisis 74 kilos de r=E9sine de=20 cannabis, une faible quantit=E9 de coca=EFne, une arme =E0 feu et d'une gros= se=20 somme d'argent, a-t-on appris de m=EAme source. (AFP 16 03 2001) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2001 10:53:01 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: US: Is Paul McCartney One Toke Over The Line? Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010317105245.04737030@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: M & M Family Pubdate: Fri, 16 Mar 2001 Source: Salon (US Web) Copyright: 2001 Salon Contact: salon@salonmagazine.com Address: 22 4th Street, 16th Floor San Francisco, CA 94103 Fax: (415) 645-9204 Feedback: http://www.salon.com/about/letters/index.html Website: http://www.salon.com/ Forum: http://tabletalk.salon.com/ Author: Amy Reiter IS MCCARTNEY ONE TOKE OVER THE LINE? Steven Tyler says Paul's hittin' the hemp too hard; will Keith Richards and Charlie Watts do business with Tony Soprano? Plus: Gwyneth Paltrow to play 300-pound woman. March 14, 2001 | Attention: Paul McCartney. Steven Tyler thinks you should lay off the weed, step away from the bong, drop the joint ... pronto. "He smokes too much pot," the Aerosmith frontman says of the ex-Beatle in Gear magazine. "It's none of my business and he can do what he wants, but that's just my opinion." How much is too much is anyone's guess. But Tyler thinks the amount that he himself did in his feckless youth was just enough to save his life. "I'm grateful for doing those drugs [in the '70s], because they kept me from getting laid and I would have gotten AIDS," Tyler says. Then again, the drugs also allowed him to justify sleeping with underage women, like the real-life Penny Lane -- when she was just 15. "I've always been 15 in my mind," the 52-year-old rocker explains. "I've had a non-adult, juvenile mentality for a long time. I always thought it was because -- when you start taking drugs and then you stop -- you subtract those years in-betLVALvween. It's really like I'm 26 right now." Clearly, those drugs have had no effect whatsoever on his reasoning skills ... - - - - - - - - - - - - SOMEONE NEEDS A GOOD TALKING-TO FROM STEVEN TYLER ... "You should be proud of whatever you do. If you're not, you really shouldn't be doing it at all. I'm a very pro-choice pot smoker, and I wouldn't dream of telling my children that I didn't smoke pot. In fact, I wouldn't care if the whole world knew." -- Jade Jagger on toking up before the world in the upcoming issue of Tatler. __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. --- MAP posted-by: Kirk Bauer ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2001 10:51:03 -0800 From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org> To: restore@crrh.org Subject: MA: Federal Financial Aid Takes A Hit Message-ID: <5.0.2.1.2.20010317105048.04734010@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: M & M Family Pubdate: Fri, 16 Mar 2001 Source: The Justice Copyright: 2001 The Justice Feedback: justice@brandeis.edu website: http://www.unet.brandeis.edu/~justice/main.html Address: Brandeis University MS U14, PO Box 9110, Waltham, MA 02454-9110 Telephone: (781)736-3755 Facsimile: (781) 736-3756 Author: David Dagan FEDERAL FINANCIAL AID TAKES A HIT Students Nationwide React WALTHAM, Mass. -- Highs that lasted for moments have ended in years of lost education and opportunities for thousands of young people penalized under a law that has come under increasing assault from legislators, advocacy groups and dozens of student governments, including the Brandeis University Union Senate. Now, some opponents of the law say their efforts to repeal it may be the first step to developing a broader movement against what they believe is a failing war on drugs. A provision in the 1998 Higher Education Act (HEA), which establishes federal financiaLVALl aid programs and must be renewed every four years, restricts such assistance to applicants who admit to drug-related convictions under state or federal law. A nationwide campaign is under way to repeal that provision, which was introduced by Representative Mark Souder (R-Ind.) in the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. Representative Barney Frank (D-Mass.), whose congressional district includes Brandeis, has proposed legislation in the House that would repeal the drug provision. His bill has been officially endorsed by 43 student governments, most recently the Brandeis Union Senate, which passed a resolution to that effect on Sunday night. "It's economically discriminatory by definition," Frank said of the drug provision. "It hurts lower-income people, not upper-income people. "It's this whole mistaken approach that we can just terrorize people out of drugs," Frank added. More than 8,100 students have been denied federal aid for the 2000-2001 school year under the rule, but opponents fear this number is likely to rise next year because the Education Department is stepping up its enforcement effort. Last year, the department found that approximately 20 percent of applicants had left blank the question on the Family Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) that inquires into previous drug convictions. Swamped with such incomplete applications, officials decided not to force students to answer the question and granted aid even to those who had left it blank. The question has been reworded for this year's FAFSA, and applicants are being advised that they must answer it in order to be considered for aid. In another development, Republicans have introduced legislation that would limit the scope of the 1998 rule in order to ease its enforcement. Under the proposed amendment, only students convicted of drug offenses while they are already in college would be denied aid. "Federally subsidized student aid is a privilege, not a right," Souder wrote in an article published inLVALd  USA Today last June. "It is reasonable for taxpayers to expect a certain amount of accountability from students who receive financial aid to pursue an education." Opponents of the 1998 measure have accused it of unfairly discriminating against lower-income and minority students, however. "This is something that only affects low-income students," Shawn Heller, the national coordinator of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), said. "It's unprecedented, and it's had a discriminating impact." SSDP is a student organization that was founded at the University of Rochester two years ago and urges a reform of American drug policy. Opponents also point out that African-Americans make up 13 percent of American drug users, and a similar percentage of the overall population, but account for 55 percent of drug convictions; given these figures, many argue that Souder's measure unfairly targets minorities. The rule does allow students who have completed rehabilitation programs to receive aid. But, opponents argue that precisely those students who are in need of federal financial aid are least likely to be able to afford such treatments. Some have argued that the exclusive nature of the rule, which penalizes students only for drug convictions, is also unfair. "It's a dumb way to deal with drugs," Frank said. "It's singling drugs out for excessive punishment." Onlookers, Frank said, could ask whether "'smoking marijuana is worse than aggravated assault.'" "You can axe-murder your grandmother and get financial aid," Eileen O'Leary, the president of the Massachusetts Association of Financial Aid Administrators and the director of financial aid at Stonehill College, said. "It doesn't seem like a rational response." Activists who are urging a repeal of the measure have emphasized that student involvement is indispensable to their cause. Dozens of organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Organization fLVAL or Women and American Public Health Association have formed a "Coalition for HEA Reform" that calls upon students to pressure their representatives in Congress to act against the drug provision. The Union Senate's resolution, which claims that the drug provision is "discriminatory" and that it targets low-income students, was approved unanimously and with little discussion. The resolution will be forwarded to SSDP, according to Senator-at-Large Jesse Richman '01, its sponsor. "I think most of the student body would support (it). "When you put it all together," Richman said of the similar actions of other student government groups, "I think it really leaves an impression." That sentiment was echoed by O'Leary. "Students have more power than they might think," O'Leary said. "When students step up to the plate and say, 'I vote and I care,' they can make a very big impact." O'Leary's organization brought the drug provision to Frank's attention two years ago and asked him to act against it. Heller said the law has managed to galvanize an unusual number of people into action, and expressed hopes that it would establish momentum for a re-consideration of the drug war. "The student movement has really blown up over this," he said. Heller said SSDP does not expect Frank's legislation to pass in this Congress, but added that a concerted effort to build support for a repeal now could make it "that much easier" to abolish the drug provision when the HEA is renewed once more in 2002. Students are uniquely positioned to comment not just on the HEA drug provision, but on American drug policy in general, Heller said. "We were the first generation to grow up with these harsh laws," he said. Students can legitimately claim, he added, that "we haven't been protected. The children are saying, 'We're not protected under this policy.'" Richman agre