-------------------------------------------------------------------

Oregon Cannabis Tax Act Update (Shop Notes From Bruce House
On Petition Sheets, Pledges)

Date: Tue, 25 Nov 1997 04:20:17 -0600 (CST)
From: wbruceh@ix.netcom.com (William A.B. House)
Subject: OCTA on the move, e-mail list information
To: hemp@efn.org

Hello all you sundry freedom fighters!

I've been working on a single-issue laser-like Initiative to End
Cannabis Prohibition of Industrial, Medical, Recreational Use and
Personal Cultivation.

I will be posting OCTA UPDATES to the OCTA99 e-mail list, to avoid
duplicating posts.

To receive the OCTA 99 e-mail list,
e-mail stanford@crrh.org with your request.

We have accomplished a 1,200 piece mailout, which I received my test
piece Monday, and will be following it up with phone calls for
signature pledges and donation solicitations.

If each person would fill out ONE SHEET - that's 15 signatures - by
January 1st, we would have 15,000 more signatures and be up over 33,000
by then! If we repeated that each month, we would be on the ballot by
the deadline July 2nd.

Not only that, we have a 10,000 name mailing list we PLAN on mailing
petitions to and following up with phone calls + we are getting calls
every week, we just mailed 7 more petition and donation request
packages out Monday.

If all of those people would fill out just ONE SHEET - 15 signatures -
OCTA would be ballot-qualified in a MONTH!

Please, help us to get OCTA on the ballot - we have bulk-mail rates and
free long distance calling on Friday's but we do need donations.

We need everyone to pledge at least on petition sheet a month - at
least of course - and we will do our best logistically by mailing out
these 10,000 people AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!

More people, less work per person!

(another 1,500 piece mailout is planned within the next two weeks
- all we need is $100 more dollars to cover the cost of that!).

Following these mailouts up with phone calls for signature pledges and
donation solicitations is the key.

If you would like to donate to the Campaign for the Restoration and
Regulation of Hemp, you can do so by the Web via Credit Card:

SEE: http://www.crrh.org

Or by mailing donations to:

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/

We need your help to put this important issue on the ballot in Oregon!

November 3, 1998 ballot question on the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act,
drafted by the Oregon Attorney General's office: "Yes" vote permits
state-licensed cultivation, sale of marijuana for medical purposes and
to adults.

..and remember:

I will be posting OCTA UPDATES to the OCTA99 E-Mail list, to avoid
duplicating posts.

To receive the OCTA 99 e-mail list,
e-mail stanford@crrh.org with your request.

Any signature pledges or other questions about OCTA 99?
Reply to this message ( to me),

Peace,
Bruce House

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Study Queries Mandatory Sentences ('Boston Globe' Says 100-Page Study
Of Massachusetts Prisoners, Released Yesterday,
Was Written By William N. Brownsberger,
Massachusetts Assistant Attorney General Specializing In Narcotics
And Research Fellow In Drug Policy At Harvard Medical School -
Recommends Alternative Sanctions Such As Intensive Probation,
Treatment-Oriented Drug Courts For Nonviolent Offenders)

Date: Tue, 25 Nov 1997 15:27:35 EST
From: Dave Fratello (104730.1000@compuserve.com)
To: Multiple recipients of list 
Subject: Bos Globe/Mandatory min. study

The Boston Globe
Tuesday, November 25, 1997, p. B02

Study queries mandatory sentences

By Zachary R. Dowdy
Globe Staff

A study of Massachusetts prisoners that links
poverty, race, and crime may recharge the ongoing
debate over whether drug dealers and users with no
history of violence should receive mandatory sentences at
a time when prisons are overcrowded.

Rather than prison terms, the study recommends
alternative sanctions such as intensive probation and
treatment-oriented drug courts for nonviolent offenders.

The 100-page study, released yesterday, was written by
William N. Brownsberger, a state assistant attorney
general specializing in narcotics who is also a research
fellow in drug policy at Harvard Medical School.

Prison beds occupied by petty dealers and users serving
long prison terms as a result of drug laws enacted during
a more violent era should be reserved for violent
criminals, who pose a more immediate danger to society,
the study suggests.

The study recommends that policy makers reconsider
whether public-safety concerns outweigh the high costs
and disproportionate impact that mandatory sentences have
on minority offenders.

The study cites statistics showing that two-thirds of all
men sentenced to state prison from July 1, 1994 to June
30, 1996 under mandatory drug sentencing laws had never
been convicted of a violent crime.

The report, ''Profile of Anti-Drug Law Enforcement in
Urban Poverty Areas in Massachusetts,'' also says that
half of all prisoners sentenced for drug offenses had
never been charged with a violent crime.

Blacks and Latinos account for 85 percent of those
drug-related commitments, with Latinos making up nearly
55 percent.

Although Brownsberger said he did not set out to
demonstrate racism in the criminal justice system, he did
find that minority offenders were sent to prison more
often than white offenders.

However, Brad Bailey, executive director of the
Governor's Alliance Against Drugs, disagreed with the
study's conclusions, saying that, in his view, the very
act of dealing drugs is violence against the community
and should be punished like other violent crimes.

''If you're of the perspective that I am, that people who
sell drugs are committing crimes of violence and
contributing to the level of violence in their
communities, then you have to disagree with the
recommendations of the study,'' Bailey said.

A supporter of mandatory minimum sentences for drug
offenses, Bailey said drug courts and alternative
sentences are not appropriate for major drug dealers.
Their turf wars escalated the war on drugs and prompted
states and the federal government to set mandatory
minimum sentences.

Janet Y. Johnson, site coordinator for the Dimock
Community Health Center who works at Dorchester Drug
Court, countered Bailey's view, saying mandatory minimums
don't capture suppliers, or kingpins, but too often crack
down on mere pawns in drug distribution.

The strong links the study finds between race, money, and
crime place the report in line with studies by the US
Sentencing Commission, Federal Judicial Center, and
Sentencing Project on the legacy of mandatory drug
sentencing.

Among the study's most stark revelations is that Latinos
are sent to state prison for drug offenses at a rate 81
times that of whites also convicted of drug crimes, and
blacks at a rate 39 times that of whites.

Drugs have had a profound effect on the criminal justice
system; about 20 percent of state prisoners are serving
terms for drug dealing.

Those figures are consistent with a national American Bar
Association report, ''The State of Criminal Justice,''
which shows that whites constitute 75 percent of drug
users but 62 percent of drug arrests. That report said
blacks make up 15 percent of drug users and a third of
arrests.

Furthermore, a person who lives in a neighborhood
designated by the federal government as an ''extreme
poverty'' area, or having some 40 percent of its
population below the poverty line, is 19 times more
likely to be incarcerated for a drug offense than someone
who lives in a non-poverty area, said the study.

Boston, Springfield, and Lawrence hold the largest
clusters of poverty, the report said. But Holyoke, 47
percent of whose population of 18,000 people is poor, had
an incarceration rate of 608 males over 16 years old for
each 100,000 residents, the highest of the 11 cities with
the largest poverty clusters.

Chief Justice Robert Mulligan, who chairs the
Massachusetts Sentencing Commission, said the study makes
a strong case for adoption of flexible sentencing
guidelines, which the commission released last spring and
which may be implemented early next year.

''I was shocked at how this study documents the impact
these laws are having on minority communities,'' Mulligan
said, adding that he regrets that he has imposed heavy
sentences on minor players in the drug trade, such as
accomplices and lookouts for dealers or buyers. ''The
impact there has been devastating.''

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Study Casts Doubt On Harsh Drug Sentences ('New York Times' Version
Notes Nearly Half Of Drug Offenders Sentenced To Long Mandatory Minimum Terms
In Massachusetts State Prisons Had No Record Of Violent Crime -
Study Of 1,175 Inmates Found 82.9 Percent Of Drug Offenders
Were Black Or Hispanic, Though They Make Up Just Over 9 Percent
Of State's Population)

Date: Tue, 25 Nov 1997 15:27:43 EST
From: Dave Fratello <104730.1000@compuserve.com>
To: Multiple recipients of list 
Subject: NYT/Mandatory sentences-possession offenders

The New York Times
Tuesday, November 25, 1997

Study Casts Doubt on Harsh Drug Sentences

By CAREY GOLDBERG

BOSTON -- Among drug offenders sentenced to long,
mandatory terms in Massachusetts state prisons,
nearly half have no record of violent crime, according
to a study of the state's prison population released
Monday.

"Mandatory sentencing laws are wasting prison resources
on nonviolent, low-level offenders and reducing
resources available to lock up violent offenders," said
William Brownsberger, the study's principal investigator
and an assistant attorney general, who conducted the
study at Harvard Medical School while he was on leave.

Drug-policy experts say the study will add valuable
facts to the growing debate around the United States
over the efficacy of tough minimum sentences for drug
crimes.

"We have to respond to drug dealing forcibly, and
incarceration is often an appropriate response," said
Brownsberger, "but today we are going too far."

The study of 1,175 inmates in the Massachusetts prison
system also found that 82.9 percent of the drug
offenders were black or Hispanic, though they make up
just over 9 percent of the state's population.

The data are likely to be used by some who contend that
the sentences put away dangerous criminals who belong in
jail.

But when researchers looked closely at the criminal
records of a sample of 151 inmates, Brownsberger said,
they found that nearly half had never been charged with
a violent crime in Massachusetts, only one-third had
ever been convicted of a violent crime and only one in
12 had been convicted of a serious violent crime like
assault with intent to kill.

The study "is quite important because it's
state-specific, and it's quantitative, and in
particular, it's grounded in data," said Jonathan
Caulkins, a drug-policy researcher at Carnegie-Mellon
University.

Caulkins was the principal researcher on a Rand Corp.
study released in May that also harshly criticized
mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses, which
became popular during the crack-related crime scares of
the 1980s.

The study argued that incarceration is so expensive --
about $20,000 to $30,000 a year for each inmate -- that
it would be far more cost-efficient to shift the
emphasis to old-fashioned enforcement techniques and
traditional prison sentences, or to spend more money on
drug abuse and prevention.

Researchers say mandatory drug sentences are seen as a
major cause of prison overcrowding, budget overruns and,
in some cases, simple injustice -- as when a nonviolent
drug offender ends up serving more time than someone
convicted of manslaughter or armed robbery.

The Massachusetts Sentencing Commission, a panel of
judges, prosecutors and other criminal-justice experts,
has recommended that judges be allowed to depart from
mandatory sentences when a defendant does not have a
serious criminal record. The state Legislature is
expected to take up its plan next year and it is
expected to be hotly debated.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Drug Dealer Gets 20 Years ('San Jose Mercury News' Notes Supporters
Of 21-Year-Old Man Who Sold Methamphetamine To Junior High School Girls
In Los Gatos, California, Say Sentence Was Excessive, Politically Motivated)

Date: Tue, 25 Nov 1997 16:44:53 EST
From: David Borden 
To: Multiple recipients of list 
Subject: ARTICLE: Drug dealer gets 20 years

***

Forwarded from Kai Price, who is currently on the road. I've met the San
Mateo County DA quoted here, Jim Fox. He is the guy who prosecuted Joey
Tranchina (DRCNet board member) for handing out needles. (The jury
nullified.) I think Joey told me that they were actually debate partners
in high school. The most interesting thing may be how much sympathy some
of the members of the community expressed for a man who had just been
convicted of selling drugs to children -- even some of the parents of those
same children. It may reflect the changing demographics of the area -- a
burgeoning Hispanic population that is rapidly overtaking the white
population, perhaps has already overtaken it. Another case of a white
justice system throwing away the key on a non-white, against the sentiments
of that individual's community. (Not that I approve of selling drugs to
minors either.)

***

DRUG DEALER GETS 20 YEARS
Harsh term: Judge says it was justified;
critics say politics played role.

San Jose Mercury News
Tuesday, November 25, 1997
By Tracey Kaplan
Mercury News Staff Writer
opinion@sjmercury.com

A 21-year-old man who sold methamphetamine to junior high school
girls in Los Gatos burst into tears Monday as he was sentenced to 20
years in prison, a lengthy term that his angry supporters charged was
politically motivated.

In imposing the tough sentence, Superior Court Judge Lawrence F.
Terry noted that Anthony A. Garcia was a twice-convicted felon who
"exploited" girls as young as 13, some of whom relied on "crank" to lose
weight.

"It is clear this defendant has by his conduct . . . exploited young
people for his own purpose . . . and done very poorly while on
probation," said Terry, noting that three of Garcia's Los Gatos High
School customers had been buying drugs from him since their days in
middle school.

But defense attorney Harry Robertson blamed prosecutors for the
sentence, saying they requested that Garcia spend 23 years in prison for
two politically motivated reasons: The uncle of one of the victims is a
captain in the Los Gatos police force, and Garcia had the audacity to
sell his wares in the largely white, upper-class community of Los Gatos.

The sentence is longer than that served by some rapists and even some
killers, Robertson said, adding he will appeal. Garcia faced a maximum
of 50 years in prison. He could be paroled in nine years.

"He's getting a different standard of justice because the young girls
buying drugs were from a privileged community," Robertson said. "If
this had happened in East San Jose or East Palo Alto -- where this kind
of stuff goes on every day -- he wouldn't have been treated this way."

But the San Mateo County district attorney, with jurisdiction over
East Palo Alto, disagreed.

"We also would have thrown the book at him," said Jim Fox. "We can
because the state legislature has recognized that furnishing drugs to
minors or involving minors in the sale of drugs is worthy of harsher
punishment."

Garcia was arrested last November after an undercover investigation
revealed that he had been selling drug to school children for more than
three years. He was sentenced on nine felony counts of furnishing
methamphetamine to minors, one felony count of possession of
methamphetamine and one misdemeanor count of driving with a suspended
license.

Deputy District Attorney Jay Boyarsky admitted the sentence was
harsh.

"Yes, it's unusually long for a drug case, but it's an outrageous
case that calls for a severe penalty," he said.

The defendant's father, Gary Garcia, insisted that the local police
took a strong personal interest in the case. He said he moved to Los
Gatos from San Jose hoping to shield his sons from drug influences only
to find the youth community just as drug-riddled.

"The police more or less look the other way there, until this
particular case when the niece of a cop is involved," Gary Garcia said.

But Los Gatos detective Tim Morgan, the chief investigator in the
case, said the department's ardor in pursuing the case.

"Tony was the major supplier of methamphetamine at Los Gatos High
School," Morgan said. "I don't care who he was selling to -- we would
have gone after him with the same vigor if it was anyone's daughter."

Garcia had served seven months in jail and been put on two years
probation after being convicted in 1995 of possession of methamphetamine
and selling marijuana to minors at Los Gatos High School. By Garcia's
own admission, he continued to sell drugs at the high school while on
probation.

Because neither of Garcia's previous convictions are considered
"strikes" under California's "three strikes, you're out" law, Garcia's
sentence was not automatic. To qualify as a strike, a previous
conviction must be a "serious" or "violent" crime, and a third strike
can result in mandatory sentences of 25 years to life.

Terry also went out of his way in court Monday to say that he was not
motivated by political considerations, including by a letter from Los
Gatos Police Chief Larry Todd, who asked that Garcia be sent away for 38
years.

"I don't need to know what the police chief is thinking," Terry said.
"It suggests this is some sort of political process. My decision must
not be made by political pressure."

The judge listened to more than five hours of testimony over a
two-day period from four victims, now in their late teens; parents; a
psychologist, who noted Garcia lost his mother at an early age; and a
drug treatment counselor. The defense had requested that the judge hear
the case because, as head of the drug court for Santa Clara Superior
Court, Terry is considered sympathetic to the problems addicts face and
is sometimes amenable to putting them into residential treatment
programs.

But while the judge commended Garcia for kicking drugs since he was
jailed more than a year ago, he sided with Boyarsky, who likened Garcia
to "a lion who selects the youngest and weakest gazelle in the herd" by
preying on young girls and argued that he needed to pay for his crimes.

As the judge announced his decision and Garcia broke into loud sobs,
the faces of parents and some of Garcia's victims turned ashen. Four
young women, including a high school girl who testified that Garcia
recruited her as a dealer, and two of their parents, had prevailed upon
the judge for leniency.

"I'm surprised," said one parent who had asked the court to sentence
Garcia to a short prison term so that he could learn his lesson. "My
heart goes out to the young man."

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Alan Carter-McLemore Update (Federal Prison Authorities
Withhold Marinol Prescription, Endangering Life Of Disbarred Texas Lawyer,
Medical Marijuana Patient Busted For Cultivation)

Date: Tue, 25 Nov 1997 13:23:46 EST
From: Freemac@aol.com
To: Multiple recipients of list 
Subject: Alan Carter-McLemore - 11-25-97 Update

Alan Carter-McLemore - 11-25-97 Update

Alan remains incarcerated at the federal medical facility in Rochester,
Minnesota.

The Bureau of Prisons continues to withhold his prescription Marinol.

Alan continues to suffer the symptoms of his lifelong brain chemistry
disorder, severe clinical Depression. His eating disorder is life
threatening and his mood fluctuations and migraines are extreme.

The doctors in Rochester have tried every medication available to them for
prescription and would prescribe Marinol if they could. Direct orders from
Washington D.C. prevent this, despite private and jail medical records
indicating Marinol works for Alan when all other drugs fail. The various
medications tried either exacerbate his condition, do nothing for his illness
or produce intolerable side effects.

The Bureau of Prisons has 2 excuses for not allowing the Marinol. The first
is that the FDA has only approved the drug for wasting syndrome in AIDS
patients and nausea in cancer patients and would have to be written
"off-label". The second is that it is not on the BOP formulary. The doctors
have already given him other drugs that have been prescribed "off-label" and
were not on the formulary.

He is attempting to control some of the pain of his disease by alternately
fasting (his normal state) and gorging (brought on by medication) and taking
2 medications, Buproprion and Sinemet. Neither is adequate for his
condition. The Sinemet is a dopamine drug and helps somewhat but is used for
Parkinson's Disease and produces Parkinson's-like symptoms in Alan, along
with vision problems, hallucinations and headaches.

The doctors in Rochester can do no more for him and have recommended he be
redesignated to the new federal facility in Beaumont, Texas, 15 minutes from
where I live. Instead the Bureau of Prisons has gone against the
recommendations of their own doctors at their best medical facility and
redesignated him back to Fort Worth, several hours away from me and his
immediate family.

The facility at Fort Worth is called a medical facility but this where Alan
dropped twice to 120 lbs. before their eyes and their medical staff was quite
inadequate to say the least.

Alan's reaction to the news was to break out in hives. At least if he is in
the Beaumont facility, we can talk on the phone and visit without the
exorbitant costs of prison-controlled long-distance telephones and travel
expenses.

Alan is serving 6 1/2 years for growing his own medicine. At age 44, he lost
his license to practice law for at least 10 years after leaving prison, lost
all his property to asset forfeiture, and lost his civil rights to
incarceration. He is now losing his health specifically because the
government is withholding his prescription medicine, a human rights violation
by international treaties. How much more does he have to suffer for growing a
forbidden plant?

This is the cost of the drug war.

Thanks for your concern. For now, please write Alan % me.

Maggi Carter-McLemore
Box 5073
Beaumont TX
77726
Freemac@aol.com

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Cop Charged With Stealing Cocaine ('Associated Press' Item
In Bergen County, New Jersey, 'Record,' Says 17-Year Veteran
Of Atlantic City Police Department Is Accused Of Stealing Cocaine
From Evidence Drawer In City Hall)

Date: Tue, 25 Nov 1997 11:18:39 EST
From: adbryan@onramp.net
To: Multiple recipients of list 
Subject: ART: Cop charged with stealing cocaine

From The Record (Bergen County, N.J.), Tuesday, November 25, 1997

http://www.bergen.com
email form--http://www.bergen.com/cgi-bin/feedback

Cop charged with stealing cocaine

The Associated Press

ATLANTIC CITY -- For the second time in a week, a police official was
charged here with official misconduct.

Detective Joseph D. Russell, a 17-year veteran of the department
assigned to its stakeout unit, is accused of stealing cocaine from a
desk drawer in City Hall, Atlantic County Prosecutor Jeffrey Blitz said
Monday.

Russell, 39, of Hamilton Township, is accused of removing a half-gram of
cocaine from a drawer, where it had been left packaged and marked as
evidence in a criminal case, Blitz said.

Russell did not have the authority to touch the evidence, Blitz said. He
was arrested Sunday at City Hall. It will be up to a grand jury to
decide whether Russell should face drug charges, Blitz said.

Official misconduct is a second-degree charge. If convicted, Russell
could receive 10 years in prison. He will be arraigned Dec. 19.

Last week, the civilian supervisor of the Police Department's towing lot
was accused of pocketing more than $16,000 in fees collected from
motorists. Michael Friel, 59, of Atlantic City is charged with official
misconduct. He is a 15-year veteran of the department.

Asked if prosecutors were targeting the Police Department, Blitz said
no.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Court Throws Out Drugs Seized In Lyndon Search ('Associated Press'
Item In 'Boston Globe' Says Judge Will Admit Some Evidence
From Warrantless Search Of Student's Room At Lyndon State College
In Vermont)

Date: Tue, 25 Nov 1997 11:18:26 EST
From: adbryan@onramp.net
To: Multiple recipients of list 
Subject: ART: Court throws out drugs seized in Lyndon search

From the 11-25-97 Boston Globe

http://www.boston.com/
letters@globe.com

Court throws out drugs seized in Lyndon search
Associated Press, 11/25/97 01:03

ST. JOHNSBURY, Vt. (AP) - Most of the evidence from a warrantless search
of a student's room by Lyndon State College officials can't be used
against the student, a judge has ruled.

It would violate defendant Zachary Thomas' Fourth Amendment right
against warrantless searches to allow evidence to be used against him
that wasn't in plain view when searchers entered his dorm room, Judge
Brian Burgess ruled.

Burgess, sitting in Vermont District Court for Caledonia County, ruled
that a ``bong,'' or water pipe, and other drug-related items that were
in plain view when college officials entered Thomas' room could be
introduced at trial.

But he said that a search of drawers and closets in the room violated
the defendant's reasonable expectation of privacy. Most of the 37 items
of evidence affected by the judge's ruling were not in plain view and
will not be admitted into evidence.

Thomas has pleaded innocent to a charge of possession of marijuana.

Deputy State's Attorney Alan Singer argued that all the evidence should
be allowed in. He said Thomas knew that the college has a strict
anti-drug policy and that Thomas had signed the ``terms and conditions''
for rooming at the college, which allowed such searches.

The case began on April 13 when Kerrie Osborne, resident assistant at
the Poland/Rogers dorm, went into rooms to clear out students for a fire
alarm. She saw the bong and alerted other officials, who decided to
search the room.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Will Foster On 'Inside Edition' 28th Of November (List Subscriber
Says Network Television Show Will Publicize Case
Of Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Patient Sentenced To 93 Years)

Date: Tue, 25 Nov 1997 15:42:56 EST
From: "James R. Dawson" 
To: Multiple recipients of list 
Subject: WILL FOSTER ON INSIDE EDITION 28TH OF NOVEMBER

Hi friends,

Will Foster's long awaited interview with the television show Inside
Edition is scheduled to be shown nationwide on the 28th of November,
(the day after thanksgiving).

They canceled the last show I announced, I have been assured that this
time it will be shown as promised.

Please check your local listings for time and stations.
Thanks and happy gobble-gobble!

James

A Travesty of Justice...the Will Foster Story
http://www.gnv.fdt.net/~jrdawson/willfoster.htm

***

Date: Tue, 25 Nov 1997 16:57:40 EST
From: DRCNet (manager@drcnet.org)
To: Multiple recipients of list (drc-natl@drcnet.org)
Subject: MEDIA ALERT: WILL FOSTER ON INSIDE EDITION

To all DRCNet Readers:

We try to keep our bulletins down to once a week, but occasionally if
something is coming up quickly, or is particularly important, we will put
out an extra bulletin to make sure you get the information in time. This
is one of those bulletins.

We've just learned that Will Foster, a medical marijuana patient sentenced
to 93 years in prison by the state of Oklahoma, will be covered by the
nationally syndicated program Inside Edition. The Foster story is set to
be aired on Friday Nov. 28. (It will probably air on the following Monday
in New York and Washington, DC because of scheduling conflicts.) TV
stations are notorious for changing their programming schedule at the last
minute, but it sounds like it is probably going to air this time.

DRCNet has played a leading role in the Will Foster campaign, getting the
word out about this travesty of justice and referring media to the Foster
family and to experts. You can learn more about the case by reading DRCNet
Associate Director Adam J. Smith's article in last May's issue of Reason
Magazine, "Pot of Trouble", online at
http://www.reasonmag.com/9705/col.smith.html. Also visit the Free Will
Foster web site at http://www.gnv.fdt.net/~jrdawson/willfoster.htm, or
our drug library search engine at http://search.druglibrary.org and
search on "Will Foster" to find our back alerts and material on other
sites. We will be keeping you updated with reports and actions alerts as
the Free Will Foster campaign progresses.

Things to know: Inside Edition airs at all different times in different
places. In most locations it airs on major network affiliates, though it
could also be on other local broadcast or cable stations. To find out when
it airs in your area, you'll need to check your local listings. Also note
that Inside Edition does not sell or provide videotapes or transcripts.

Last but not least: JOIN DRCNET! We need your help to pay the bills, but
more importantly, to show our funders that we are building paying
membership and long-term financial stability. Our e-mail team has grown
from 1,200 at the beginning of the year to 3,500, and is projected to go
well over 4,000 by the end of the year. But so far only 540 people have
paid membership dues. To contribute to DRCNet (or even just to tell us
more about yourself), visit our secure registration form at
http://www.drcnet.org/drcreg.html (or
https://secure.calyx.com/drcnet/drcreg2.cgi if that's not working). Or
send your check by mail to: DRCNet, 2000 P St., NW, Suite 615, Washington,
DC 20036, or phone or fax your credit card donation to (202) 293-8340
(voice) or 293-8344 (fax). Full membership dues are $25 annually, and
additional contributions are gratefully accepted.

To those of you who've already responded to our request for funds -- thank
you! To those of you who can't afford to contribute financially, or
haven't yet decided if you wish to contribute -- don't worry, we won't
throw you off the list -- but please donate if you can! Sorry for the
extra mail, but we needed to get the message out about the show in time for
you to be able to watch it.

If you wish to sign off this list or do a change of address,
mailto:listproc@drcnet.org with the line "signoff drc-natl" in the body of
the message, or mailto:drcnet@drcnet.org for assistance. To add your new
address, visit http://www.drcnet.org/signup.html on our web site.

David Borden
Executive Director

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Pot Luck For Bride Caught In Drug Net ('The Australian' Says Heroin Sweep
By 400 Law Officials Nets Little Except Musician
With One Of Australia's Hottest Young Bands, Leonardo's Bride,
Found Possessing Small Amount Of Cannabis)

Date: Tue, 25 Nov 1997 11:18:18 EST
From: adbryan@onramp.net
To: Multiple recipients of list 
Subject: ART: Pot luck for Bride caught in drug net

From The Australian 11-25-97

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/
e-mail: gmunro@newscorp.com.au

Pot luck for Bride caught in drug net

By COLLEEN EGAN 25nov97

A HUGE West Australian drug operation involving 400 law officials found
not a skerrick of heroin yesterday, but did manage to catch in its wide
net one of Australia's hottest young bands, Leonardo's Bride.

Members of the group, which has had two hit singles and is on the brink
of international recording deals, were detained at Perth domestic
airport yesterday on suspicion of drug possession.

Guitarist Dean Manning, 33, was charged with possession of a small
amount of cannabis while the rest of the group were released.

They were unlucky enough to arrive in the west on the third day of a
huge joint exercise by State and federal police, customs officers and
the National Crime Authority.

The customs dogs which sniffed out Leonardo's Bride - considered the
brightest future talent for Mushroom Records, which declined to comment
yesterday - were outside their usual jurisdiction of the international
airport.

The five-day "Operation Alliance" is using the combined skills and
resources of the different agencies for spot-checks on all routes into
the State through which heroin is carried.

Along with musicians at the airport, the officers found amphetamines at
truck stops, a bit of cannabis on the Indian-Pacific train and assorted
small-time crimes at shipping ports along the coast.

They even found a Sydney woman, who had been on the missing persons'
list for two years, in Kununurra, near the Northern Territory border in
the State's far north.

The first operation of its kind in Australia is about
intelligence-gathering, small-time drug busting and a big dose of public
relations, the management team admits.

"We haven't found any heroin yet but that's not what it's all about,"
Acting Assistant Commissioner Graeme Lienert said. "It's a pro-active
strategy to let people know that if they traffic in drugs, they will be
caught.

"The intelligence on people moving around this big, wide country is
being documented. In the new year, you'll see the real results."

The management team was formed in response to a high number of
heroin-related deaths in Western Australia in the past two years.

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Sheriff Rejects McLeish Sentence Criticism ('The Scotsman'
Says Law Enforcement Officials Are Upset With Scottish Home Affairs Minister
Henry McLeish Over His Suggestion That Courts Are Failing
To Sentence Enough Criminals To Community Service Orders,
When A Cannabis Offender Could Not Start A CSO In Edinburgh
For Eight Weeks Because Of The Waiting List)

Date: Tue, 25 Nov 1997 11:18:46 EST
From: adbryan@onramp.net
To: Multiple recipients of list 
Subject: UK: Sheriff rejects McLeish sentence criticism

11-25-97
The Scotsman (Scotland)

http://www.scotsman.com
e-mail form: http://www.scotsman.com/cgi-bin/replyform.pl?newbanner

Sheriff rejects McLeish sentence criticism

JENNY BOOTH Home Affairs Correspondent

A SHERIFF has criticised the Scottish home affairs minister Henry
McLeish over suggestions that the courts are failing to sentence enough
criminals to community service orders.

Sheriff James Farrell said yesterday it was "strange" that the
Government should say sheriffs were under-using the instrument, when a
drugs offender could not start a CSO in Edinburgh for eight weeks
because of the waiting list.

Yesterday Sheriff Farrell said it was "very unsatisfactory" to be told
by social workers that David Nicolson, 22, a drugs offender, could not
begin his 160-hour community service order for up to eight weeks because
of "current high demand".

Nicolson pleaded guilty to possessing cannabis in his home at Broomview
House, Sighthill Wynd, Edinburgh, on 17 July last year with intent to
supply it to his girlfriend.

"At a time when we are reading reports in newspapers of statements that
the Government takes the view that community disposal is under-utilised,
we look at this report and see that so far from being under-utilised, it
would appear the courts are using it so much that the service is
overwhelmed," said Sheriff Farrell.

He implied the Government was to blame for underfunding the
non-custodial sentences it was purporting to promote.

"My understanding is that community service is entirely funded by
central government," said Sheriff Farrell.It seems strange to say the
courts are not using community service sufficiently, but community
service says it is being used so much that, given the resources it has,
it cannot meet the demand.

The sheriff's outburst at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, reflecting general
anger among sheriffs around Scotland, came on the same day that Mr
McLeish met members of the Sheriffs' Association to discuss justice
issues.

Last week sheriffs threatened to boycott the meeting, which they had
arranged, in protest at Mr McLeish's remarks on Tuesday. They went ahead
with the meeting only after Mr McLeish wrote to The Scotsman on Friday
to clarify his remarks.

What Mr McLeish had said was that the proportion of people jailed by
sheriffs had risen by a "dramatic" 40 per cent between 1990 and 1995, at
considerable public cost but without cutting reoffending.

"We need a wider debate on value for money, and alternatives to custody
must form part of that debate," he said.

As a backlash sprang up among sheriffs, Mr McLeish acted again on Friday
to make it plain that he had not intended to direct sheriffs on how to
sentence, but had simply called for a debate on sentencing issues.

The president of the Sheriffs' Association, Sandy Wilkinson, replied by
saying: "We are content to treat the matter as in the past."

But individual sheriffs are clearly less prepared to allow oil to be
poured on troubled waters.

Duncan Macauley, head of operations at Edinburgh Council's social work
department, clarified that the eight-week delay was because the Wester
Hailes criminal justice area office, which would control Nicolson's CSO,
was operating with only four staff, while one employee was off sick and
another post was advertised.

The office had a heavy workload, with 121 active cases at the moment.
Across the Capital criminal justice social workers were working at full
capacity with nearly 700 CSOs in progress, said Mr Macaulay - but it was
only Wester Hailes that was suffering delays.

We are trying to ensure we improve the position as soon as we can, said
Mr Macaulay.

A Scottish Office spokesman said last night that civil servants were not
aware of any national problems with non-custodial sentences, although
there might be local bottlenecks.

In 1995-96 the Scottish courts imposed 12,213 community-based
punishments: 5,725 community orders, 5,098 probation orders and 1,390
supervised attendance orders.

In 1995, a total of 19,030 convicted offenders arrived at Scottish
prisons, , according to prison service figures. more than 7,500 for
defaulting on a fine.

Funding of community-based sentences is to rise in 1997-98 to £33
million, from £31.5 million in 1996-97 and £28.8 million the year
before.

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[End]