Conservative California Readership Strongly Supports Medical Marijuana Initiative

"The results of the Orange County Register poll are quite significant because of the widely acknowledged conservative political slant of the paper's readership," announced NORML Deputy Director Allen St. Pierre. "These findings, coupled with the results of similar polls conducted both in California and nationally, demonstrate that there is ample support for the legalization of medical marijuana among both political conservatives and the general public."

The results of the Orange County Register poll are the latest in a series of polls indicating strong support for medical marijuana. A 1995 survey conducted by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) demonstrated that 83 percent of the American public agreed that patients who find marijuana an effective therapeutic agent should be able to use it legally. In addition, six California polls - including one conducted by the Binder Research Group - have shown that a strong majority of Californians support medical marijuana.

For more information please contact either Dave Fratello of Californians for Medical Rights at (310) 394-2952 or Allen St. Pierre of NORML at (202) 483-5500.

The amendment proposed by Gramm would deny for five years all "means-tested" federal benefits, including programs such as welfare, Medicaid, food stamps, and student loans, to any individual who is found guilty of a minor drug offense. Those found guilty of drug felonies would be ineligible for life.

"If we're serious about our [anti-]drug laws, we ought not to give people welfare benefits who are violating the nation's drug laws," said Gramm.

Gramm's amendment struck a chord with some congressmen, including Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) who voiced strong opposition to the measure. "Under this amendment, if you are a murderer, a rapist, or a robber, you can get federal funds; but if you are convicted even for possession of marijuana, you cannot," he said. "[This amendment] would undermine the whole notion of providing drug treatment as an alternative sentence to a first-time drug offender if the individual requires federal assistance to obtain the treatment. ... It is overly broad and is strongly opposed by [both] the [Conference of] Mayors and the National League of Cities."

"Over 10 million individuals have been arrested on marijuana-related charges since 1965 with nearly one-half million arrested in 1994 alone," stated NORML Deputy Director Allen St. Pierre. "This amendment could potentially make millions of otherwise law abiding Americans ineligible for federal benefits and is yet one more example of how our nation's alleged 'War on Drugs' is nothing more than a war on marijuana smokers."

The amendment passed by a 75 to 25 vote.

For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre of NORML at (202) 483-5500.

"We are aware that in the current political climate, you can't even discuss [the] issue [of marijuana law reform] publicly or privately without being singled out in the media as ... 'pro-drug,'" stated event organizer Gideon Israel. "We must use this opportunity to open up a forum for truth and free expression on this matter. ... Hemp Education Day will provide a soapbox for the people of Washington state, lawmakers, and other citizens to educate and be educated [about] marijuana."

Activists scheduled to speak at the rally include NORML Legal Committee member Jeffrey Steinborn, Esq., Hemp BC owner Marc Emery, author Jack Herer, Don Wirtshafter of the Ohio Hempery, medical marijuana patient Ralph Seeley, and others. The gathering is planned to take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

For more information on Hemp Education Day, please call (360) 459-9107.

Body Count

Date                     Time               Channel

Aug.   5                 1 pm                   11
Aug.  20                 7 pm                   33
Aug.  25                 1 pm                   27
Sept.  2                11 pm                   11
Sept. 17                 7 pm                   33
Sept. 22                 1 pm                   27
Oct.   7                11 pm                   11

* Despite a substantial investment of time and money, drug task forces produce mixed results

More than 700 federally funded drug task forces cover most of the nation. Last year, they arrested 337,000 people, confiscated almost 200 tons of marijuana and seized more than 40 tons of cocaine.

But did they make a dent in the nation's drug problem?

The few evaluations of their success over the last seven years don't provide many answers.

'It is not clear ... whether task forces have been an effective deterrent to either the street- or mid-level dealers," a Justice Department survey of a third of the nation's drug task forces stated. "It is clear that task forces have not eliminated the drug problem.'

They've spent a lot of money trying. Since 1989, the federal government has spent more than $1 billion to train and equip task forces all over the country. The task forces, however, have mostly stuffed prisons with street-level dealers and users while raking in tons of marijuana.

Just 19 percent of the 3,215 arrests in 1994 by Michigan's 25 regional task forces were classified as major drug dealers. Half of the arrests involved first-time drug offenders.

Researchers in Indiana in 1991 found that 40 percent of 982 defendants initially charged with felonies were convicted of misdemeanors. Another 36 percent were convicted of the lowest-level felony.

Those findings were similar to those found by the Dayton Daily News in its survey of cases by the Greene County Drug Task Force for 1993 and 1994.

Only two cases ended as first-degree felonies, a prosecutor's most serious charge. And nearly 90 percent of the 179 cases ended as low-level felonies or misdemeanors or were dismissed entirely.

In only about one-fourth of the cases did somebody go to prison.

The mixed results come despite a massive investment of taxpayer money into the nation's key frontline drug program. Last year, 731 drug task forces in 43 states got $146.8 million in federal dollars and four times that amount in local funds.

The federal money has been funneled to the states through the Justice Department's Edward Byrne Memorial Fund, first established in 1989. This year, $550 million will be channeled through the Byrne Fund to go for drug task forces and startup costs of other anti-drug programs, and another $500 million will go directly to local governments.

That money was never intended to last forever. The federal funds were supposed to get the task forces off the ground, which they have. Property acquired from big-time drug dealers through legal forfeitures would then keep the program afloat.

None of that happened.

A Justice Department report published in February showed two out of three task force commanders believed they would shut down without federal funds.

"The vast majority of task forces are small, comprised of 10 or fewer personnel," the report said. "These small organizations are more dependent (sometimes totally dependent) on federal funding than the mid- to large- size task forces."

The funding is about to become tighter.

In January, the Office of Criminal Justice Services, the Ohio agency that disperses the federal funds, sent down orders that the state's 33 drug task forces must become self-sufficient within three years - a move that could pressure the task forces to pull in more money through forfeitures.

Seizing even more property may prove difficult. According to a U.S. Justice Department report scheduled for release this year, the nation's task forces last year obtained $37.4 million in forfeitures of cash and property - barely a quarter of the federal funds funneled to them through the states in 1995.

For the most part, those funds have gone to the states with few strings attached. Robert A. Kirchner, chief of program development for the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Justice Department's arm that oversees the Byrne program, said his office doesn't look closely into how well the money is spent. BJA asked the states to report on the number of arrests and convictions and the quantities of seizures and forfeitures the task forces made. "But we don't go further because that isn't in our funds," Kirchner said.

Michael J. Sabath, one of the leading experts in criminal justice who has attempted to research drug task forces since the mid-1960s, said governments have been reluctant to evaluate the success of the drug teams.

"It's a real can of worms both politically and with the methodology," he said. "Not all task forces have the same objectives. Some are set up to go after the mid- and upper-level dealers. Some are to build relationships with local law enforcement agencies...."

Most task force commanders in Ohio believe their efforts are having an impact on the nation's drug problem, judging by a 1992 University of Cincinnati survey.

The survey queried 17 of the state's 33 task force commanders, and all but two gave the task forces high marks.

Cameron Holmes, an assistant attorney general in Arizona and one of the government's leading authorities on forfeiture law, said the country's drug enforcement efforts are hampered by a patchwork of law enforcement agencies that simply cannot cope with the multistate or international drug operations.

Other nations have border-to-border law enforcement agencies better able to match wits with the drug lords, he said.

"We have got to have more organizational advantages and task forces are an important step that doesn't undermine the existing political establishment," he said. "Without task forces, you have totally disparate and totally uncoordinated events....:

Other experts say the task forces have succeeded in fostering better cooperation among neighboring departments and orchestrating a more regional approach to drug enforcement.

But the emphasis is to bring in more money through forfeiture clearly has some of them concerned.

"You have to have a clear way of monitoring what goes on, making sure the undercover officers are doing what they are supposed to be doing without spinning," said Kip Schlegel, a professor of criminal justice at Indiana University.

"You can spin out of control. That's the biggest fear in my mind. They have real potential to be loose guns."

By the numbers, it's a billion-dollar drug war, but who's paying the price? [p. 4A]

GRAPHICS: BILLION-DOLLAR DRUG WAR: Federally funded task forces target drugs and arrests A U.S. Justice department report scheduled for release later this year shows 43 states funded 731 drug task forces with $146,800,489 in federal money during the period July 1, 1994 to June 30, 1995. The task forces took credit for 337,000 arrests and seized 43 tons of cocaine (all forms) and 195 tons of marijuana and 36.1 million marijuana plants. The government estimated the value of the drugs seized at $72.9 billion. However the task forces' total seizures and forfeitures fell far short of the federal funding they received. They seized $57.6 million and obtained forfeitures of $37.4 million. (#1) U.S. COUNTIES COVERED BY BUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE TASK FORCES IN 1990 (map of U.S. with states indicated.) (#2) 1994 TASK FORCE RESULTS (comparison of Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Michigan and Indiana by number of funded task forces, federal dollars (in millions), number of arrests, number of convictions; arrests by type of drug; value of property seized (in millions), value of property forfeited (in millions); weight seized by type of drug.) (#3) FEDERAL FUNDING Task forces nationwide received nearly $1 billion from 1989-'94 (list of states with total amount received from each) SOURCE: Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice.

Hundreds of Drug Cases May Be In Jeopardy
Chemist with DEA in Dallas reportedly acknowledged filing false reports
From Staff and Wire Reports

Hundreds of federal drug cases in a seven-state region could be affected by revelations that a Drug Enforcement Administration chemist in Dallas reported results on drug evidence without conducting the required tests.

U.S. Attorney Paul Coggins of Dallas said Thursday that federal officials are compiling a list of cases affected in the 100-county Northern District of Texas.

"We'll notify the courts and the defense lawyers," Mr. Coggins said of any cases in which perjured testimony may have been given to juries "In some cases, there will be motions for new trials."

He declined to say whether any drug investigations have been wrecked irreparably.

Veteran DEA chemist Anne Castillo was suspended last month after reportedly being confronted and acknowledging that she had been filing false reports since February of this year. She could not be reached for comment Thursday.

"It's a very disturbing situation, one that is unique in my experience. I don't know what else I can say beyond that," said Howard Schlesinger, director of the DEA laboratory in Dallas.

Mr. Schlesinger said Ms. Castillo did the full range of controlled-substance testing at the laboratory on hundreds of pieces of evidence.

"If you're talking about what happened since February, it's hundreds of cases, but she's been our employee here for many years and we don't know the possible extent. No one knows what happened before," he said.

Veteran Dallas defense attorney James M. Murphy said he would be surprised if more than a few dozen cases are returned to court for new trials.

A majority of drug cases involve guilty pleas and do not require testimony from DEA laboratory chemists, Mr. Murphy said.

"In a lot of these cases, the defense will stipulate to the identity of a drug," Mr. Murphy said. Ms. Castillo's revelation "will only affect cases, that went to trial where she testified falsely."

Investigators will want to know next "whether any member of the government knew about this besides her," Mr. Murphy said. "If that's the case, then you've got a different ballgame. You've got government-sponsored perjury."

Mr. Coggins said he has no reason at this time to believe that any other DEA chemists or federal officials participated in the submission of false reports on seized drugs.

The Dallas lab tests evidence from Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi, primarily for federal agencies.

Johnny Phelps, head of the Dallas DEA office, said the matter is being investigated by the DEA's Office of Professional Responsibility. He declined to discuss it.

It is unclear whether Ms. Castillo's testing lapses are correctable.

In some cases, the disputed evidence is intact and may be retested by other chemists. But if discrepancies turn up in older cases, the evidence may no longer exist, according to Mr. Schlesinger.

"She's worked here for many years. Some of the evidence samples are here, and some are not. We're doing everything we can," he said.

WASHINGTON (Reuter) - A DEA agent who was fed up with U.S. policy in the fight against cocaine traffickers said he leaked tapes linking Colombian President Ernesto Samper to the Cali drug cartel two years ago.

In an interview with the Washington Post published Sunday, retired Drug Enforcement Agency veteran Joe Toft was quoted as saying he disobeyed direct orders from Washington and leaked the cassettes to a Colombian television network reporter.

"I saw this thing as another complete cover-up," Toft told the Post. "I did not see the possibility of the U.S. government doing anything. We were just spectators. So I said, 'The hell with it.' Someone had to do something."

The tapes, dubbed the "narco-cassettes," were broadcast the day after Samper's 1994 election victory, sparking Colombia's worst political crisis in decades and an investigation into charges the Cali cartel financed the president's campaign.

The corruption scandal has sent U.S. relations with Colombia into a tailspin. Washington decertified Colombia as a partner in the drug war in March and has threatened to impose economic sanctions. It also revoked Samper's U.S. visa on July 11, a month after Colombia's Congress absolved Samper of any criminal wrongdoing.

Toft, a veteran of three decades of anti-drug service, was the DEA station chief in Bogota from 1988 until he resigned in 1994 after Samper's election.

He told the newspaper the tapes were handed to the then-U.S. ambassador in Bogota, Morris Busby, three days before the election by Luis Alberto Moreno, the campaign manager of Samper's rival Andres Pastrana.

The tapes contained a telephone conversation tapped by police in which Cali cartel leader Miguel Rodriguez Orejueal tells an associate he gave $3.5 millon to Samper's election campaign, Toft said.

The tapes confirmed what U.S. officials already suspected, that Samper was linked to the drug lords, but Washington decided not to use the recordings to upset his presidential bid, Toft said.

Disgusted by the U.S. government's unwillingness to act, the DEA agent decided to leak the tapes himself, and resigned six weeks later.

To: Multiple recipients of list CJUST-L (CJUST-L@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU)

There will no longer be any postings from Stephen "Donny" Donaldson on this list, as he lost his life to AIDs on 7/18/96.

As a Correctional Officer, I have often fought with this man about the extent of same-sex rapes in our prisons and jails, and I have disputed many of the things he stated, both here and in the Newsgroup Alt.Prisons.

WASHINGTON (AP, circa July 25, 1996) - With narcotics use by public officials heating up as an election-year issue, President Clinton's drug czar is suggesting an amnesty of sorts for Americans who have used drugs in the past.

"No Americans should be precluded from serving their country in any position as long as they now reject all illicit drug use," Barry McCaffrey said in a position paper released yesterday. "We call upon the 50 million Americans who have tried and now do not condone drug abuse to join in the nation's anti-drug effort."

William Bennett, who held the same job as head of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy under President George Bush, described McCaffrey's statement as "damn disappointing."

Focus on the drug issue has been intense in recent weeks. Earlier this month the White House revealed some current Clinton aides are regularly tested for drugs because FBI security checks revealed "extensive and-or recent drug use found in their backgrounds."

McCaffrey insisted the position paper wasn't motivated by politics. But it was issued at a time when the White House and Republican lawmakers are trading barbs over the drug histories of politicians in both parties.

Instead, he said, the policy statement is aimed at providing guidance to millions of Baby Boomers - many of whom used or experimented with drugs - as they struggle over how to discuss that touchy issue with their kids.

"This new generation that is now running America - the school principals, the police chiefs, the business leadership, many of them were exposed to illegal drugs in the '60s and '70s, and rejected it, because it scared them," McCaffrey said in a telephone interview.

"What we're saying to that age group is, `Look - you're running the country now. Let's tell our children that the drug revolution didn't work.' "

McCaffrey said his plea is directed both at local community leaders and Washington policy makers: "It's for everyone, really."

Those explanations did not mollify Bennett, saying he questioned whether McCaffrey "has become an apologist for the White House."

"This is a very weak, very tepid statement, and cannot be taken literally," Bennett said. "This isn't the kingdom of Heaven where if one repents, one gets in. These are policy positions in the White House, and acts should have consequences."

The former Army general's statement comes as Republicans continue to hammer at the White House on the drug issue.

Campaigning yesterday in Pennsylvania, Bob Dole, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, said he would never overrule the Secret Service if it recommended that White House passes be denied employees because of past drug use.

"They won't be there when I'm in the White House," he said. "No wonder we're losing the war on drugs when you've got such a big, big problem in the White House itself."

The White House has said of the 21 current and former workers placed in the special random-testing program, none has ever tested positive.

House Speaker Newt Gingrich has also blasted White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry for not admitting that his past drug use was a mistake.

"I was a kid in the 1970s. Did I smoke a joint from time to time? Of course I did," McCurry said last Wednesday. "The FBI knows that. The point is, if I use drugs now, in any shape or form, I'm gone, I'm history."

"They have a presidential press secretary in the White House, on camera, who says, of course he did marijuana in college, as though every student in America this year ought to say, `Well, I can be like Mike McCurry,' the Georgia Republican said Saturday.

But Gingrich himself has handled the issue in much the same way, saying the fact that he and friends dabbled with drugs during the 1970s "was a sign we were alive and in graduate school in that era."

Anti-drug experts said they hoped McCaffrey's statement doesn't get lost in the political debate.

"This has become sort of the politics of accusation - who did what, when," said James Copple, president of the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, an organization with 4,000 chapters nationwide. "The message has got to be broader and deeper than that."

Baltimore - About 25 addicts were treated at hospital emergency rooms in a period of less than 24 hours after using a potentially lethal mix of cocaine and an unknown substance that made them agitated and paranoid, hospital officials said Wednesday. The drugs undermined the addicts' ability to sweat, which could be life-threatening. Doctors were trying to identify the unknown portion of the mixture, which police said was probably given away free by dealers to win new customers.