-------------------------------------------------------------------
NORML Weekly News Release (Medical Marijuana, Hemp Legislation Pending
In Several States - Summary Of Bills Introduced In California, Hawaii,
Alaska, Washington, Kansas, Iowa, Colorado, Nevada, Minnesota, Wisconsin,
Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, New York
And District Of Columbia)
From: NORMLFNDTN@aol.com
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 20:20:39 EST
Subject: NORML WPR.2 (list of pending state med. mj./hempbills)
A NON-PROFIT LEGAL, RESEARCH, AND EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATION
THE NORML FOUNDATION
1001 CONNECTICUT AVENUE NW
SUITE 710
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20036
T 202-483-8751 o F 202-483-0057
E-MAIL NORMLFNDTN@AOL.COM
Internet http://www.norml.org
. . . a weekly service for the media on news items related to marijuana
prohibition.
January 29, 1998
Medical Marijuana, Hemp Legislation Pending In Several States
January 29, 1998, Washington, D.C.: Bills to legalize medical marijuana
and industrial hemp are pending before several state legislatures this
year. In addition, statewide initiatives to legalize the medical use of
marijuana are expected to be on the ballot in Alaska, Colorado, Maine,
Nevada, Washington, and the District of Columbia.
-Medical Marijuana Legislation-
STATE: California
* BILL: S.B. 535*
* INTENT: "[To establish a] Marijuana Research Program ... at the
University of California ... to develop and implement studies intended to
ascertain the ... medical efficacy ... of marijuana."
SPONSOR: Sen. John Vasconcellos
STATE: Hawaii
* BILL: H.B. 2403
* INTENT: "[To] ensure that seriously ill patients are not penalized ...
for obtaining and using marijuana strictly for medical purposes."
SPONSOR: Rep. David Tarnas
STATE: Iowa
* BILL: H.F. 422*
* INTENT: "[To] authorize research into the use of marijuana for
medicinal purposes."
SPONSOR: Rep. Ed Fallon
STATE: Massachusetts
* BILL: S.B. 473*
* INTENT: "[To allow] the Department of Health [to] approve the
experimental use of marijuana in the treatment of additional disease
entities, including AIDS."
SPONSOR: Sen. Richard Moore
STATE: New Hampshire
* BILL: H.B. 1559
* INTENT: "[To] allow a person to possess and cultivate marijuana for
personal use when it is prescribed by a physician."
SPONSOR: Rep. Tim Robertson
STATE: New York
* BILL: A.B. 6407
* INTENT: "To allow the medical use of marijuana for a serious medical
condition under the supervision of a licensed practitioner."
SPONSOR: Assemblyman Richard Gottfried
STATE: Washington
* BILL: S.B. 6721
* INTENT: "[To allow] seriously ill patients ... [to] be exempt from
liability and criminal prosecution for limited, personal possession and
use of marijuana"
SPONSORS: Sens. Jeanne Kohl and Pat Thibaudeau
STATE: Wisconsin
* BILL: A.B. 560*
* INTENT: "[To] move THC from schedule I to schedule III ... [and]
establish a medical necessity defense to THC-related prosecutions."
SPONSORS: Reps. Frank Boyle and Tammy Baldwin
-Industrial Hemp Legislation-
STATE: Kansas
* BILL: SCR 1605*
* INTENT: "[To] request the Department of Commerce and Housing to form a
task force to investigate and research the viability of ... industrial
hemp as an alternative crop."
SPONSOR: Sen. David Corbin
STATE: Iowa
* BILL: H.F 402*
* INTENT: "[To] provide for research regarding the production and
marketing of industrial hemp."
SPONSORS: Reps. Cecelia Burnett (and others)
STATE: Minnesota
* BILL: S.F. 1181*
* INTENT: "[To] classify industrial hemp as an agricultural product
subject to regulation and registration by the commissioner of
agriculture."
SPONSOR: Sen. Roger Moe
STATE: New Hampshire
* BILL: 1576-FN-A
* INTENT: "[To] permit the development of an industrial hemp industry in
New Hampshire."
SPONSOR: Rep. Tim Robertson
STATE: Vermont
* BILL: S.B. 285
* INTENT: "To permit the development in Vermont of an industrial hemp
industry."
SPONSOR: Sen. Hull Maynard, Jr.
* legislation held over from 1997
Copies of state legislation are available from NORML upon request @
(202) 483-5500. For more information on state marijuana reform efforts,
please contact either Paul Armentano or R. Keith Stroup, Esq. of NORML.
MORE THAN 11 MILLION MARIJUANA ARRESTS SINCE 1965...ANOTHER EVERY 49 SECONDS!
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Police Acted To Preserve Drug Evidence (That's What Cops Tell 'The Oregonian'
After Warrantless Home Invasion By Marijuana Task Force Leads To
Fatal Shooting - Two Days Needed To 'Process' Crime Scene - Task Force's
'Knock And Talk' Pursuit Of Forfeiture Money Prompts Local Attorney To Note,
'For 10 Years We've Been Saying Someone Was Going To Be Killed If The Cops
Keep Doing This')
found at:
oregonlive.com
The Oregonian, January 29, 1998
letters@news.oregonian.com
Police acted to preserve drug evidence
The smell of burning marijuana led officers to
take action, triggering Portland shootout
By J. Todd Foster
and David R. Anderson
of The Oregonian staff
Portland police officers caught in a fatal firefight Tuesday were waiting
on a search warrant when a drug suspect forced their hand by burning
marijuana plants, a court record states.
The officers had every right to break down the door with a concrete
stepping stone and confront suspect Steven Douglas Dons, legal authorities
said Wednesday.
A probable cause affidavit filed late Wednesday in Multnomah County Circuit
Court indicates that five officers visited Dons' rental home twice before
noon Tuesday.
The first time, officers' knocks on the door went unanswered, the affidavit
states. Then they smelled marijuana smoke at the house, a source said, and
immediately sought a search warrant.
The search warrant was on the desk of Multnomah County Circuit Judge
Michael Marcus and waiting to be signed, a source said, when officers
returned to the home at 2612 S.E. 111th Ave. about 11:38 a.m.
"The officers both saw and smelled the odor of burning marijuana from the
chimney of the residence," Deputy District Attorney James McIntyre wrote in
the affidavit. ". . . The officers then attempted entry into the residence
to halt the destruction of evidence."
Just inside the door, Dons allegedly fired at least 10 shots, said homicide
Detective Sgt. Duane Wentlandt. Dons used a cheap semi-automatic SKS rifle
capable of firing 30 rounds a minute.
Officer Colleen Waibel, 44, was struck above and below her protective vest
and died quickly. Officer Kim Keist, 39, remained in serious condition
after she was hit by two rounds, both possibly penetrating her vest. Sgt.
Jim Hudson, 42, was struck in the hand. He returned to the crime scene
Wednesday with his arm in a sling to help detectives with collecting evidence.
Dr. Larry Lewman, state medical examiner, said Waibel's autopsy Wednesday
showed she died of multiple gunshot wounds. He would not say how many or
where they were.
Wentlandt said it could take a couple of days to process the crime scene.
Police continued to rope off Southeast 111th Avenue between Clinton and
Division streets Wednesday.
Investigators say they don't know exactly what happened during the gunfight
because they've not interviewed the officers involved. In officer-involved
shootings, officers get lawyers before they talk to investigators.
"We don't have an absolutely clear picture yet," Wentlandt said. He would
not comment on other aspects of the case, including how many guns the
suspect had or whether marijuana was found in the blue, barnlike rental
house Dons shared with Jeffrey Moore.
One police supervisor who didn't want to be named said of the secrecy, "I
don't think anyone's seen it this tight before."
Dons, 37, who compiled an extensive criminal record in Las Vegas before
moving to Portland in 1995, remains under guard and in serious condition at
OHSU Hospital.
He was charged Wednesday with two counts of aggravated murder, three counts
of attempted aggravated murder and two counts of first-degree assault with
a firearm.
Police attached black ribbons to their badges Wednesday and continued to
mourn Waibel's death, the first for a Portland policewoman.
As if Tuesday weren't bad enough, Portland police shot and killed a
19-year-old man about midnight Tuesday after they said he shot at them.
Aaron Rahmaan died early Wednesday at Legacy Emanuel Hospital from a
gunshot wound to the head. Rahmaan was wearing body armor when police
attempted to talk to him shortly before midnight on Albina Avenue, just
south of Killingsworth, said Lt. Cliff Madison, a police spokesman.
Madison would not name the officers involved or the circumstances.
As the community grieved Wednesday, defense lawyers and prosecutors debated
the wisdom of the bureau's drug interdiction policy called "knock and talk."
When police don't have enough probable cause for a search warrant but have
a reliable tip about drugs, they knock on a door and ask to speak to those
inside. Under a voluminous body of case law nationally, police can break
down doors and enter homes without a warrant if they have "exigent" or
emergency circumstances.
Those circumstances include saving someone's life or preventing the
destruction of evidence by any means, including burning it or flushing it
down a toilet, said Susan Mandiberg, a Lewis & Clark Law School professor
and expert in criminal procedure.
Mark McDonnell, a Multnomah County senior deputy district attorney who
heads the drug unit, said knock and talks are valuable enforcement tools in
the war on drugs.
Defense attorneys said the technique is asking for disaster. The low-key
approach doesn't bring the same firepower and backup as search warrants,
they said.
"For 10 years, we've been saying someone was going to be killed if the cops
keep doing this," said Emily Simon, a Portland criminal defense attorney.
Oregon City defense attorney Jenny Cooke, who handles many cases arising
from knock and talks, said police use the procedure to avoid getting
warrants. If they find drugs, they can seize the person's home and assets
under civil forfeiture proceedings.
That gives them a financial incentive, Cooke said. "This was an awful
tragedy. But I can't say I'm surprised."
Marcus would not discuss the case but said knock and talks are useful,
cost-effective and generally safe. Domestic disturbances and felony car
stops are far more dangerous, he said.
"From my perspective, it's not something that's inherently risky as far as
police work goes," Marcus said.
Other information emerged Wednesday about Dons, a high school dropout who
attended at least four Northern California high schools and was discharged
from the U.S. Air Force in 1979 after two years.
The military would not say whether the discharge was honorable, but most
Air Force hitches are at least three or four years.
Dons moved to Portland in the early to mid-1990s and lived off and on with
Moore, whom he met in the mid-1980s in Las Vegas, said Moore's ex-wife,
Chelle Moore.
She said she is cooperating with Portland police.
Jeffrey Moore, 44, has been a computer network specialist at Mt. Hood
Community College since February 1993, college officials said. He has not
been charged with a crime.
He did not return several phone calls or respond to a message left at his
office Wednesday.
Chelle Moore said Dons baby-sat her two children several times in early
January while they visited their father, Moore. At one point, Dons
handcuffed her 7-year-old boy to a chair after he complained about the
chicken soup Dons fixed, she said.
He also handcuffed the same boy to a door knob another time when he
wouldn't calm down, the woman said.
"Steve is a very violent, angry person," she said. "He didn't like rules."
Carolyn Testerman of Bend grew up with Dons in the Menlo Park area south of
San Francisco. Their birthdays were four days apart, and they lived near
one another. He called her nearly every birthday, she said.
Testerman remembers in the late 1960s or early 1970s when Dons and his
brother, Donald, located a marijuana plant and were pictured in a newspaper
as heroic youngsters who notified police.
Other than that day, "He was a troubled little kid," Testerman said. "He
was the neighborhood rock thrower. He had an aim that could hit anything,"
including the foreheads of playmates.
"The other kids weren't allowed to play with him," she said. "I had a soft
spot for him because I felt sorry for him."
Reporters Jennifer Bjorhus, Scott Learn, Michele Parente and Stuart
Tomlinson and researchers Margie Gultry and Gail Hulden of The Oregonian
staff contributed to this report.
***
Related Stories:
Desk veteran hit
streets with
enthusiasm
Colleen Waibel, shot
to death Tuesday,
spent 20 years in law
enforcement, the past
six as a sworn officer
Suspect is said to
hate police, scorn
women
Former co-workers
say Steven Douglas
Dons also bragged
about his criminal
history and his
access to guns
More equality in
ranks brings with it
more risks
Portland has long
been in the vanguard
when it comes to
women police
officers, and that's
been both good and
bad
Live TV coverage
angers city, police
officials
Police Chief Charles
Moose accuses local
stations of
endangering police
with aerial shots of
their positions
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'Burning Marijuana' Prompted Police Break-In - Shooting Suspect Charged
Several Counts Of Murder, Assault ('Associated Press' Version
Broadcast By KOIN, Portland's CBS Affiliate)
Found at http://www.koin.com/
'Burning Marijuana' Prompted Police Break-In
Shooting Suspect Charged Several Counts of Murder,
Assault
PORTLAND, Posted 8:00 a.m. January 29, 1998 - The
smell of burning marijuana led Portland police
officers to break into a suspect's home, igniting
a fatal shootout that left a woman officer dead,
The Oregonian reported.
Police were waiting on a search warrant to enter
the home Tuesday when the suspect, 37-year-old
Steven Dons, forced their hand by burning marijuana
plants, a court document stated.
Dons is accused of opening fire on the officers after they used a rock to
break into his house. A female officer was killed, another female officer
was seriously wounded and a male officer was shot in the hand.
Dons, who suffered gunshot wounds to the chest in the shootout, held police
at bay for two hours before he was hauled away naked and bleeding on the
back of a police SWAT van. He was hospitalized in serious condition. Doctors
say he may be paralyzed from the waist down.
Dons was charged Wednesday with two counts of aggravated murder, three
counts of attempted aggravated murder, one count of first-degree assault and
one count of second-degree assault, Portland police spokesman Lt. Cliff
Madison said.
The Oregonian reported that a probable cause affidavit filed Wednesday in
Multnomah County Court indicates five officers visited Dons' barn-like
rental home twice before noon Tuesday.
The first time, officers' knocks on the door went unanswered, the affidavit
states. After they smelled marijuana smoke, they sought a search warrant,
which was waiting to be signed by Multnomah County Circuit Judge Michael
Marcus just minutes before the officers knocked a second time, a source told
the newspaper.
"The officers both saw and smelled the odor of burning marijuana from the
chimney of the residence," Deputy District Attorney James McIntyre wrote in
the affidavit. "... The officers then attempted entry into the residence to
halt the destruction of evidence."
Just inside the door, Dons allegedly fired at least 10 shots, Detective Sgt.
Duane Wentlandt told the newspaper.
Meanwhile Wednesday, the city mourned the loss of Colleen Waibel, 44, the
city's first female officer killed in the line of duty. Waibel was married
to Portland Police Sgt. Mark Fortner and had two children by a previous
marriage.
A shrine of carnations and a candle, pictured,
stood in the emergency room of Legacy Emanuel
Hospital, where she was dead on arrival.
Officer Kim Keist, 39, was upgraded to serious
condition with wounds to the chest and arm. Sgt.
James Hudson, 42, was treated at the scene for
the gunshot wound to the hand.
A surgeon said Keist could be out of the
hospital in two weeks and back to normal
activity in six to eight weeks.
"She has a lot of holes in her, and she will need a
lot of rest, but she's going to be fine," her husband,
Noble Keist, told The Oregonian.
Police say Dons used a World War II-vintage SKS military rifle, which fires
bullets that can pierce modern-day protective vests.
Portland mayor Vera Katz announced Wednesday she would seek $250,000 to buy
the police bureau at least two dozen high-powered rifles to balance the
scales between officers and heavily-armed suspects.
Marjorie Summers, who called The Associated Press and identified herself as
a former girlfriend of the accused gunman, was outraged by police treatment
of him after the shooting.
"The man was treated like a slab of meat," she said from her home in Las
Vegas. "Don't you have a right to privacy? Do you have to answer your door
when people knock on it?"
Dons had an active arrest record in Las Vegas between 1979 and 1993: two
counts of obstructing a police officer and single counts of resisting
arrest, resisting a police officer, battery with a deadly weapon, using a
deadly weapon in the commission of a crime and being an ex-felon in
possession of a firearm.
Witnesses said the officers knocked on the door and shouted "Portland
Police" six times before they grabbed a concrete stepping-stone and bashed
the door open.
Police said the gunfire came through a door or wall as the officers moved
into a hallway of the house.
To end the standoff, police fired tear gas. When the suspect stepped outside
the front door, they knocked him down with a beanbag gun. The suspect had
stripped off his clothes, apparently because the tear gas had burned his skin.
Related Stories:
Jan. 28: 'Knock and Talk' Method Raises Concerns
Jan. 28: Shooting Sparks Gun Control Issue
Jan. 28: City Mourns Officer's Death
Jan. 27: Katz and Moose Respond to Tragedy
Jan. 27: Police Officer Fatally Shot
Join our discussion:
How do you think the local media covers breaking news?
Copyright 1998 by The Associated Press
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Wounded Officer's Condition Improves (Fortunately, 'The Oregonian' Says
Kim Keist Will Recover, Despite Serious Wounds From Portland Shootout -
Husband Says 'He Was Glad When His Wife Joined The Marijuana Task Force -
Meth Dealers And Cookers Tend To Be Violent People - You Deal With
A Different Class Of People - Doctors, Lawyers - When You Do Marijuana -
I Thought It Would Be Safer)
found at: oregonlive.com
The Oregonian, January 29, 1998
letters@news.oregonian.com
Wounded officer's condition improves
The Oregonian, January 29, 1998
Her surgeon predicts Kim Keist could leave the
hospital in two weeks and return to normal
activity in six to eight weeks
By Peter Farrell of The Oregonian staff
On Tuesday, Officer Kim Keist was rushed to
Legacy Emanuel Hospital with life-threatening
wounds from two bullets that ripped through her
body during a drug raid.
On Wednesday, her
surgeon said Keist could be
out of the hospital in two
weeks and back to normal
activity in six to eight
weeks.
Or, as her husband, Noble
H. Keist, said: "She has a
lot of holes in her, and she
will need a lot of rest, but
she's going to be fine."
Dr. Anthony Borzatto said
Keist knows that Officer
Colleen Waibel died in the
shootout. He told her
because she asked.
Despite the enormous
damage the two bullets did
to her body, Borzatto said
no physical barrier should
prevent Keist, 39, from
returning to police work.
The first round entered her
right shoulder, went
through her right breast and
came to rest near her hip.
The bullet remains in her
body and probably will stay
there. The second round
apparently went under her
protective vest, entered the
left side of her back, went
through her left kidney, cut
her bowel in half, went up
through her stomach and out her left rib cage.
Keist's breathing is still assisted by machine, but
she is alert.
"Her remaining kidney is working well," said
Borzatto, who is the hospital's assistant trauma
director. "People can live well with a single
kidney."
Some people who knew her as the first female
officer in St. Helens or worked with her as Kim
Kinney in her early years with the Portland Police
Bureau did not immediately recognize Keist's
name when it was announced she had been shot.
"We've been married 12 years, but the Police
Bureau has gotten so big not everybody knows
her name changed," said Noble Keist, a retired
Multnomah County deputy.
"She and I and Kenneth would like to thank all
the people in Portland for the support they have
shown us through this crisis, and not just the
support for us, but for all the officers."
Kenneth is the Keists' 9-year-old son and the
reason Kim Keist's latest passion is being a Cub
Scout den mother in their hometown of La
Center, Wash.
Noble Keist said his wife worked four 10-hour
shifts "so she could have Friday, Saturday and
Sunday off. Den meetings are Friday."
Despite his career in law enforcement -- he now
works part time for Portland Auto Auction --
Noble Keist said he did not encourage his wife to
become an officer. But he is proud she is a good
one.
"She wanted to be a cop, and she turned out to be
a hell of a good one."
Keist got into police work through the Portland
police Law Enforcement Explorer Post, was hired
by the city as a public safety aide, and was in the
sheriff's reserve before joining the St. Helens
Police Department.
She worked there 11/2 years before joining the
Portland Police Bureau in 1981 as a patrol
officer. She applied to work in drugs and vice,
specializing in methamphetamine laboratory work.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Series Of Shootings Leaves Police Feeling Vulnerable (Portland Police Chief
Charles Moose Confides In A Touchy-Feely 'Oregonian' Interview
After Fatal Shooting Of Marijuana Task Force Officer, 'Fear Is A Real Part
Of Our Decision-Making')
The Oregonian, January 29, 1998
oregonlive.com
letters@news.oregonian.com
Series of shootings leaves
police feeling vulnerable
The Oregoninan, January 29, 1998
Officers try to cope after a rash of incidents
shatters their sense of security
By Erin Hoover of The Oregonian staff
Each crack of gunfire in a recent rash of
shootings between police officers and startlingly
brazen suspects chips away at something officers
rely on like fuel: a relative sense of personal
safety.
"Yeah, we're scared,"
Portland Police Chief
Charles Moose said
Wednesday. "We get
scared, and we were scared
yesterday. Fear is a real
part of our decision-making
and our lives."
"But at the same time,
people shouldn't take our
show of emotions as a sign
of surrender," he said.
"We're going to win this
battle, and we're going to
fight this."
Police have been involved
in several high-profile
shooting incidents in the
past six months:
In July, Officer Thomas
Layton Jeffries, 35, was
shot by a suspect in the
shooting of a 7-year-old
boy.
Last week, Sgt. David
Howe, 42, was shot during
a routine traffic stop, but
his protective vest saved his
life.
Tuesday, Officer Colleen
Waibel, 44, was killed, and
Sgt. Jim Hudson, 42, and
Officer Kim Keist, 39,
were wounded during a
drug raid.
Shortly before midnight Tuesday, a suspect
wearing body armor fired on police on North
Albina Avenue. Police shot back. The man died
hours later.
In the wake of Tuesday's shootout, Moose and
his command staff are facing a fragile balancing
act. They must keep their troops going while
coping with their own tremendous grief and
concerns about what the recent trend means for
officer safety.
"If this is going to be at this pace, maybe we need
to invest in some guidance and counseling for
ourselves," Moose said.
Moose said his command staff has tried to deliver
two messages to officers since Tuesday's
shooting: We're proud of you and the work you're
doing. And if you need help to deal with the
emotional strain of the shootings, ask for it and
get it.
But Moose said his command staff has the
training to do only so much. Their challenge is to
recognize when they cannot handle a
subordinate's counseling needs and then find
professional help for that person.
The Portland Police Bureau is in the vortex of a
cultural shift in policing in which officers are
asked to recognize when their emotional strain is
too great and seek help rather than try to conceal
the emotions.
Many officers still are torn between the two
worlds.
When Jeffries was killed in July, fellow officers
contemplating the connection between the event
and their safety could say the death was a fluke,
said Sgt. Bob Baxter, an afternoon relief sergeant
at East Precinct. After all, it had been 18 years
since a Portland police officer was shot and killed
in the line of duty.
But with a second police officer dead in six
months, officers can't say that anymore.
"One (death), you can write it off -- a tragedy, a
fluke, we were due," Baxter said. "Now
everybody is like -- you can feel it -- it's different
now. It's like this is a little too regular now."
Detective Sgt. Dave Schlegel, who works
downtown and used to be Keist's partner, echoed
the sentiment.
"There's a feeling of vulnerability. I've been here
for 17 years, and to have two (deaths) this close,
I think of how lucky I was to make it this far,"
Schlegel said. "You have a sense of being a
survivor even if you haven't been involved. You
feel good about being the survivor; you also
wonder if you're pressing your luck."
Schlegel, a 17-year veteran police officer, said he
and several officers gathered in the detective
division at Central Precinct just to be with each
other late Tuesday after the incident. At a certain
point, their conversation turned to the years they
had left until retirement.
"Seventeen years flew by, but all of a sudden
eight years seems like an eternity when we have
cops dying," Schlegel said.
Baxter attended roll call Tuesday night after
Waibel was killed. He said Moose's message
emphasizing the need for officers to get help if
they need it was good and appropriate. But
Baxter also acknowledged how hard it can be to
strike the balance of being brave and strong and
asking for help.
"We have to keep functioning and doing our
jobs," Baxter said. "Cops tend to grieve quickly,
immediately, then we've got to swallow all that in
an hour, in a day. ... You suck it up, and you
move on."
Moose said it is not just police who suffer trauma
when a fellow officer is injured or killed. The
families suffer, too.
Baxter called his wife from East Precinct on
Tuesday when he knew that Waibel was dead.
His wife was in tears. The lament she made to
her husband in the summer when Jeffries was
killed seemed to be coming terrifyingly true.
They killed one officer, his wife said, now they
are going to start killing others.
Moose said he and others have been grappling
with what the shootings mean. He knows
weapons have been widely available for some
time. Perhaps the problem is people's increasing
willingness to use them, he said. But he doesn't
understand the trigger for that behavior -- is it
backlash against the criminal justice or the mental
health system, or that people perceive they don't
have options to make their lives better?
As he and his bureau struggled with some of
those questions Wednesday, Moose took comfort
in some small moments.
Late Tuesday, back at Central Precinct, he spent
30 minutes sitting alone in his office. No noise.
No interruptions. Just him with his thoughts.
And early Wednesday, Moose stood outside the
precinct talking with officers after the shoot-out
on North Albina. The small group paused and
looked toward the Willamette River and the
brightening hues of a stunning sunrise.
"Isn't that beautiful," Moose said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Television Review - Local TV News Get Wings Clipped Over Siege Coverage
('Oregonian' Television Columnist Pete Schulberg Criticizes
Portland Stations' Broadcasts Of Botched Marijuana Task Force
Warrantless Break-In - If Suspect With Hole In His Chest Had Wanted
To Watch TV, He Could Have Seen Police Positions Around His House)
The Oregonian, January 29, 1998
oregonlive.com
letters@news.oregonian.com
Local TV news get wings clipped over siege coverage
The Oregonian, Jan. 29, 1998
Television Review
by Pete Schulberg
of The Oregonian staff
If you're keeping score, there may be one more
reason to despise local TV news.
The live coverage of the Southeast Portland police
shooting has succeeded in doing something I didn't
think was possible: knocking Clintongate off the radio
talk shows and getting TV viewers re-riled up about
the way breaking news is treated in the increasingly
competitive universe of television news.
It isn't often that TV newsrooms are accused of
providing too much information, but clearly Tuesday's
live, eye-in-the-sky coverage was one of those times.
And it points out the force of the local news mantra --
in Portland and throughout the nation -- to go live,
right now.
Is the public's right to know now as important as the
right to know an hour from now or whenever the
incident ends? Did parents of the schoolchildren being
held back at some Southeast Portland schools need
the instant details of police maneuvers, or would more
general information have sufficed?
The answer is obvious, except maybe to the TV
newsrooms that feel the pressures of trying to beat the
other guy in the race to be the best and the fastest.
Anyone who tuned in to any of the
siege coverage probably wondered if
the suspect inside was watching the
live stuff, too.
Anyone who tuned in to any of the siege coverage
probably wondered if the suspect inside was watching
the live stuff, too. If he did tune in, he had a clear view
of officers in the immediate area of the house and
officers moving from position to position, especially on
KATU (2) and KOIN (6), whose helicopters were first
over the scene. There also were more shots of officers
near the house on KPTV (12).
Nobody is more upset about this potential danger to
police officers than city attorney Jeffrey Rogers, who is
aggressively looking at ways to clamp down on live
coverage.
Barring any voluntary cooperation from the stations,
Rogers said he wants to "reduce or eliminate the
competitive pressure driving this mad rush to do things
without regard for their consequences" and will look
into "legally defensive ways to restrict live coverage."
A meeting involving the mayor and the stations is
scheduled for Wednesday.
In other cities -- including Los Angeles, which is
infested with news helicopters -- cooperation has been
generally good between stations and police agencies.
But as long as stations think that to gain an advantage
with viewers they have to go with the most exciting and
compelling live video, they'll put up a fight.
Marketing research says that if stations emphasize live
reporting, they will win the hearts and minds of
viewers.
But the inherent danger in airing live reports is that the
video is not filtered through the calm and reasoned
judgment of a reporter or editor. Often, no one knows
how unwise it is to air it until immediately after it's been
shown.
While in Los Angeles two weeks ago, I watched in
amazement as three TV stations offered 20 minutes of
continuous live coverage from their news helicopters
as police were chasing a suspect for -- get ready now
-- failing to yield the right of way.
Now that four Portland stations have their own
helicopters, it wouldn't surprise me to see that sort of
nonsense happen in Portland.
It just gets compounded when the choppers are
employed for a major story, especially one that
involves police operations.
This possible compromising of police safety has
resulted in a firestorm of criticism from Portland Police
Chief Charles Moose, who was seething.
Moose -- and police officers monitoring the TV
coverage -- say the stations were not following orders
to leave restricted airspace.
Did the choppers violate Federal Aviation
Administration regulations that were imposed during
the standoff? It wouldn't have been the first time, but
station news directors, while insisting their stations
followed police instructions, are busy pointing fingers
at each other.
The FAA could well end the debate by going back and
looking at its radar data, which could provide more
specific information on the position of those
helicopters.
Rogers said the city will make sure that is done but
added that the "assertion that the stations are
complying with the rules misses the point. I think they
should question whether what they did created a
potential danger for officers and citizens."
Besides, it really doesn't matter where these news
choppers are and when. Because of the incredible
power of aerial camera lenses, they could have been
well beyond the 2-nautical-mile limit initially imposed by
police and still captured video of the scene.
During the KOIN Tower siege in January 1996, police
and TV stations battled over the same issue.
Apparently, nothing was resolved. This time, the city
says it means business, and if the stations don't come
to some sort of an understanding, they'll be dealing
with more than an angry police chief: They'll be
dealing with their angry audiences.
Pete Schulberg can be reached by phone at 221-8562, by fax at
294-4026, by e-mail at pschulberg@news.oregonian.com or by
regular mail at 1320 S.W. Broadway, Portland, Ore. 97201.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Politicians Urge Tighter Gun-Control Laws (Shooting Death Of Officer
With Portland's Marijuana Task Force Inspires Gun Prohibitionists -
Mayor Katz Also Wants $250,000, Apparently So Police
Can Take High Powered Rifles To Suspected Marijuana Cultivation Sites
During 'Knock And Talks')
The Oregonian, January 30, 1998
oregonlive.com
letters@news.oregonian.com
The Oregonian,
January 29, 1998
Tuesday's deadly standoff in Portland prompts
some leaders to call for a ban on the SKS 7.62mm
military rifle
By Jennifer Bjorhus
of The Oregonian staff
Tuesday's deadly standoff between Portland
police and a man with a high-powered SKS
military rifle reverberated in political circles
Wednesday, sparking appeals on Capitol Hill for
tighter control of assault weapons.
Police say Steven D. Dons
used the durable World
War II-vintage SKS
military rifle, which shoots
high-velocity bullets that
can punch holes through
modern-day protective
vests. The rifle sells for
about $200.
Portland Mayor Vera Katz
announced that she would
seek $250,000 to buy the
Police Bureau at least two
dozen high-powered rifles
so officers have parity with
heavily armed suspects.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer,
D-Ore., sent a letter
Wednesday to U.S.
Treasury Secretary Robert
Rubin, urging him to add
the 7.62mm SKS rifle to
the list of banned assault
weapons. Congress' 1994
ban on assault weapons ban
"does not go far enough in
keeping dangerous weapons
like the SKS out of the
hands of killers,"
Blumenauer said in his
letter.
The 1994 ban outlaws new
manufacturing in the United
States of 19 types of
weapons. Other types of
rifles, including styles of the
SKS and those
manufactured before 1994, remain available to
consumers.
The SKS didn't fall under the general federal ban
because in its regular configuration it has only a
10-round, permanently attached magazine. The
gun, originally designed in Russia, has been
copied and manufactured in China and other
countries.
Rep. Elizabeth Furse, D-Ore., said she is
considering legislation that would outlaw bullets
for assault weapons, except in gun clubs.
"It's an outrage in this country that we'll still allow
this mayhem to occur on our street," Furse said.
"Kids, criminals and crazies have access to these
lethal weapons."
In a five-minute speech late Wednesday on the
House floor, Furse described Tuesday's standoff
in Portland and called for tighter gun controls. In
an interview, she blasted the National Rifle
Association for its strong -- and largely successful
-- opposition to gun-control proposals.
"We have just got to stop being paralyzed by the
gun lobby," she said.
In Portland, Katz said she planned to speed up
her plan to reduce gun violence among young
people. She also vowed to throw her weight
behind proposed state legislation that would
expand the instant check that federally licensed
firearms dealers use to run background checks on
handgun buyers. That system checks whether a
potential buyer has felony convictions or mental
problems, among other things that would prevent
him or her from legally buying a gun. Gov. John
Kitzhaber has expressed support for such as
expansion, said Steve Marks, Kitzhaber's senior
policy adviser.
Katz said she plans to ask organizers of Oregon's
popular gun shows to do voluntary background
checks on buyers. Private sales of guns at gun
shows are unregulated.
As part of her proposed 1998 budget, Katz said
she plans to seek $250,000 to buy at least two
dozen high-powered rifles. Katz said a Police
Bureau committee asked for the new weapons, as
well as improved bulletproof vests, in a report it
gave to her Wednesday.
"They feel that criminals have much
higher-powered weapons than they do," Katz
said.
Not everyone agreed that Tuesday's attack
warranted changes in state or federal gun laws.
John Nichols of Portland, executive director of
Oregon Gun Owners, said he expects gun-control
advocates to use the tragedy as a lever to impose
tighter controls on weapons.
"They won't stop the bad guys from getting the
guns," he said. "No law I could think of would
stop him from doing that. The only law would be
to get him locked up. We think current law should
have taken care of the problem.
"I think they need to go out and enforce some of
the laws that they have on the books and not let
them slide by."
Rod Harder, executive director of the Oregon
Sportsmen's Defense Fund and an NRA lobbyist,
agreed. He said law enforcement wasn't tough
enough in enforcing the gun laws already on the
books.
"It's a good time if you're anti-gun for you to
come forth with your agenda because it's
emotional, it's on everybody's mind," he said.
Nonetheless, the SKS has revived the gun-control
debate in different areas of the country.
"They really appeal to the criminal element --
they're easy to soup up, and ... they became so
cheap," said M. Kristen Rand, federal policy
director for the Violence Policy Center, a
nonprofit gun-control group in Washington, D.C.
"There was a huge flood of them that came in
from China in the early 1990s; these things just
shot to the top of the tracing list," she said.
Rand said that although the SKS is not considered
an assault rifle in its usual configuration, it can
easily be converted to one. In addition to the
federal ban on the manufacture of new domestic
assault rifles, federal trade agreements have
virtually banned imported assault weapons from
China and Russia, she said.
"Your police officer is certainly not the first to be
killed by one of these," she said.
In a seperate move unrelated to Tuesday's
shootout, Kitzhaber and Attorney General Hardy
Myers are organizing a committee of gun experts
within the state government to review Oregon's
gun laws.
State officials described the review as a a
housekeeping effort that was under way before
the standoff in Southeast Portland. The review is
aimed at rooting out technical inconsistencies and
ambiguities in the firearms portion of state law.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Marijuana Task Force, A Deadly Mistake (Press Release From American
Anti-Prohibition League Blames Portland Mayor Vera Katz, Police Chief Moose
And Multnomah County District Attorney Michael Schrunk For Prior Endorsements
Of Task Force's 'Knock And Talk' Tactics - Past Victims Of Task Force
To Speak At Friday Press Conference)
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 05:45:05 -0800 (PST)
From: Anti-Prohibition Lg (aal@inetarena.com)
To: Portland OR City Council -- Comish Charlie Hales (hales@ci.portland.or.us),
Comish Erik Sten (Esten@ci.portland.or.us),
Comish Gretchen Kafoury (gkafoury@ci.portland.or.us),
Commish Jim Francesconi (jfrancesconi@ci.portland.or.us),
Mayor Vera Katz (mayorkatz@ci.portland.or.us)
cc: Multonomah County Commissioners -- Chair Beverly Stein
(mult.chair@co.multnomah.or.us),
Comish Dan Saltzman Dist 1 (dan.r.saltzman@co.multnomah.or.us),
Comish Gary Hansen Dist 2 (gary.hansen@co.multnomah.or.us),
Comish Sharron Kelley Dist 4 (sharron.e.kelley@co.multnomah.or.us),
Comish Tanya Collier Dist 3 (tanya.d.collier@co.multnomah.or.us),
FUCHS Michele A (Michele.A.FUCHS@co.multnomah.or.us),
Multnomah Country District Attorney -- Mult Co DA
(Brenda.B.Clark@co.multnomah.or.us)
Subject: CnbsCL) Marijuana Task Force, a deadly mistake
Sender: owner-cannabis-commonlaw-l@teleport.com
The AMERICAN ANTIPROHIBITION LEAGUE
Sponsors of the
OREGON DRUGS CONTROL AMENDMENT
http://ns2.calyx.net/~odca
"Drug War, or Drug Peace?"
3125 SE BELMONT STREET
PORTLAND OREGON 97214
503-235-4524/fax:503-234-1330
Email: AAL@InetArena.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 29, 1998
Portland's Marijuana Task Force (MTF), a deadly mistake
Mayor, Police Chief dodge responsibility, leadership
Portland, Oregon -- Officer Colleen Waibel has paid the ultimate
price for adult marijuana prohibition, she gave her life. Folly
becomes tragedy. But now it's time for others to pay as well. By our
reckoning that buck stops at Mayor Vera Katz, Police Chief Charles
Moose and Multnomah County District Attorney Michael Schrunk. All 3 big
supporters of the MTF's infamous 'knock and talk' policy which led to
this Tuesday's deadly shooting.
As we've been saying for years; scrap the MTF.
"This is outrageous conduct on behalf of our so-called leaders," said
League director Floyd Landrath addressing a Wednesday night meeting of
local activists and MTF victims. "How many more people will die in
this futile 'war' over a harmless, even beneficial, plant?
"Suspect Steven Dons may have pulled the trigger, but only after
prohibitionists like Katz and Moose loaded the gun," Landrath said
making an obvious reference to the Mayor's and Moose's blatant - albeit
politically correct - attempt to hide behind "gun control." Blaming
the right to keep and bear arms for Waibel's death is morally and
intellectually bankrupt. Like her crocodile-tears, the Mayor's words
ring hollow and the Chief's grief, insincere.
There are unanswered questions about Tuesday's MTF fiasco. But in
the end they are meaningless without a more basic examination of drug
laws that simply do not work and make police work even more dangerous
than it already is. So that Officer Waibel's tragic death may not be
in vain, let us hope and pray it will become a catalyst for such an
examination of adult marijuana/drug prohibition in the first place.
Let those who are willfully blind be thrown upon the scrap heap of
history, again.
On Friday, January 30, at 10 a.m., representatives of Portland NORML,
Oregon Cannabis Tax Act and the League will hold a press conference at
the Phantom Gallery, 3125 SE Belmont Street in Portland and at which
time several past 'victims' of the MTF will also be present. We are
united with all who join with us in calling for the immediate
dissolution of the Police Bureau's Marijuana Task Force.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
La Cucaracha (Proponent Of Medical Marijuana And Industrial Hemp
Gets An Article Published By The Bend, Oregon, 'Source')
From: cwagoner@bendnet.com
Date: Sun, 1 Feb 1998 18:04:26 -0800 (PST)
Subject: HT: La cucaracha
To: hemp-talk@hemp.net
Sender: owner-hemp-talk@hemp.net
This article appeared in the SOURCE, an independent weekly newspaper in
Bend, Oregon. Page 4, Volume 2, Issue 5, January 29th, 1998
http://www.sourceweekly.com
LA CUCARACHA
Partnership for a Drug Free America receives a majority of their
funding from the tobacco, alcohol and pharmaceutical industries. They
spend billions of dollars demonizing marijuana and fueling the hysteria in
order to keep this valuable plant from ever becoming legal. By law,
pharmaceutical companies cannot patent a plant. Cannabis, coca and opium,
better known as marijuana, cocaine and heroin are all in their natural
form- plants.
Marijuana's true name is Cannabis. It has been used as a medicine
throughout the world for thousands of years. Cannabis was used for 193
years and was an ingredient in over twenty different medicines at the time
Congress passed the " Marijuana Tax Act " in 1937.
Dr. William C. Woodward, a long-time legislative counsel for the
American Medical Association, criticized the use of the term " marijuana "
as being deliberately misleading. The word marijuana was Mexican slang
for cannabis taken from the song " La cucaracha ". Dr. Woodward went on
to say that " No medical man would identify this bill with a medicine until
he read it through, because " marijuana " is not a drug...simply a name
given cannabis...The obvious purpose and effect of this bill is to impose so
many restrictions on the medical use as to prevent such use altogether".
On September 6th, 1988 the United States Department of Justice -Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA) released Docket # 86-22. The DEA's own
Administrative Law Judge, Francis Young, came to the conclusion that (page
57, paragraph 15), " In strict medical terms marijuana is far safer than
many foods we commonly consume. For example, eating ten raw potatoes can
result in a toxic response. By comparison, it is physically impossible to
eat enough marijuana to induce death. (paragraph 16) Marijuana in its
natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known
to man. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used
within the supervised routine of medical care".
Legal pharmaceutical drugs account for 70% of all drug related deaths
and 50% of all emergency room admissions. Aspirin is responsible for
approximately 1,000 deaths each year. In 5,000 years of human experience
with marijuana, there has not been one proven, documented marijuana
induced death. The prestigious British medical journal, The Lancet, has
gone as far as to say that, " The smoking of cannabis, even long term, is
not harmful to health".
Partnership for a Drug Free America is nothing more than a lobbyist
group for the pharmaceutical industry and those who contribute to their
coffer. They continue to run their smear campaign against marijuana,
spending billions of dollars all in the name of saving our children from
this terrible and dangerous drug. These groups don't give a damn about
the children, all they give a damn about are their profits. There is a
very good chance that the voters in the state of Oregon will have the
opportunity to vote for medical marijuana in the November 1998 elections.
I encourage people who are not sure how they feel about this issue to take
the time and educate themselves. The most recent, comprehensive and
unbiased studies on the effects of marijuana can be found in the book
"Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts " by Lynn Zimmer, Ph.D and Dr. John P
Morgan, M.D.. I picked up my copy at Barnes and Noble bookstore in Bend.
Anyone that is truly interested in the history of marijuana can feel
free to contact me and I will educate you with the true facts and show you
documentation to back-up what I say. For example: Did you know that diesel
engine was designed to run on the oil pressed from the seeds of the
marijuana/hemp plant, a biofuel. It took the petroleum industry ten years
to synthesize their putrid petroleum crap before it would even burn in a
diesel engine. As a result, we now have acid rain, depletion of the ozone
layer and massive oil spills which are contaminating and killing our earth
and its inhabitants. Another example: Hemp will produce four times the
amount of fiber for paper than trees, yet we continue to cut down half a
million acres of trees a day for paper. The facts are staggering. By
continuing the prohibition of this plant we are causing the needless
suffering of countless people who could benefit from its medicinal use. We
are also allowing the massive human induced global destruction that is
taking place at a rate faster than anytime in our history. Your future and
the future of your children depends on your knowledge of this issue and the
actions you take as a result of that knowledge.
Thank you,
Curt Wagoner
P.O. Box 1025
Bend, OR 97709
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Editorial Notebook - Notes From A Funeral ('Seattle Times' Writer
Attending Funeral Of Medical Marijuana Activist Ralph Seeley
Sympathizes With His Quest For Reform)
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 18:16:11 EST
Originator: drctalk@drcnet.org
Sender: drctalk@drcnet.org
From: Randy Chase
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: Re: HT: Seattle Times editorial
Posted at 06:58 a.m. PST; Thursday, January 29, 1998
Editorial notebook: Notes from a funeral
A . . . time to weep, and a time to laugh . . .
ASIDE from the reading of Ecclesiastes 3:1-13, there was little
about Ralph Seeley's memorial service last Saturday that could
be characterized as traditional. The 49-year-old Tacoma lawyer
who died of rare bone cancer was an untraditional man: Navy
officer who worked on a nuclear sub, newspaper columnist,
pilot, cellist, fly fisher, civil- rights advocate, proponent
of medical marijuana.
Among the mourners who spoke at his funeral were a hemp
activist, a pair of University of Puget Sound law professors, a
cello teacher, a state senator, and a state Supreme Court
justice who had never met him. They all spoke passionately
about the diverse interests they shared with Seeley. They
talked about his humor, his stubbornness, his intellect and his
pain.
A pilot remembered soaring over the Pacific Northwest with
Seeley; a horse-riding buddy recalled long, peaceful trips with
him before the cancer claimed Seeley's spine. With a smile on
her face and tears in her eyes, a nurse imagined the combative
Seeley bickering with St. Paul in heaven.
Those who oppose legalization of medical marijuana have
dismissed the movement's members as one-dimensional buffoons
looking for a quick and easy high. They argue that sick
patients are better off using narcotics or synthetic marijuana
pills. They claim these patients are being used by wealthy
out-of-state millionaires pushing a radical drug-legalization
agenda.
Nobody used Ralph Seeley. I remember sitting next to him during
the taping of a public-affairs show last year. I will not
forget his labored breath, his frail finger stabbing the air as
he spoke against the callousness of the war on drugs. He broke
awkward silences by citing reams of scientific data about the
effectiveness of medical marijuana. He convinced me that nobody
is better off when government policies make criminals out of
men and women seeking self-determination, dignity and a little
relief.
This quest for truth and justice was not a 30-minute,
made-for-TV performance. It was - as his many friends, loved
ones, and distant admirers will always celebrate - Ralph
Seeley's life.
- Michelle Malkin
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Experts Support Legalizing Medical Marijuana ('Reuters' Article About
Medical Marijuana Bill Recently Introduced To New York Legislature
And A Talk To New York State Bar Association By The Bill's Sponsor,
Richard Gottfried, Chair Of New York State Assembly Committee On Health)
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 15:34:24 -0800
From: Todd McCormick
To: drctalk@drcnet.org, peter@mcwilliams.com
Subject: Experts Support Legalizing Medical Marijuana
Experts Support Legalizing Medical Marijuana
Thursday January 29 1:37 PM EST
By Marilynn Larkin
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Medically approved use of marijuana can improve
the well-being of "thousands of New Yorkers with serious or
life-threatening medical conditions," said Richard N. Gottfried, chair
of the New York State Assembly Committee on Health. He spoke Wednesday
at a briefing here on the legal implications of medicinal use of
marijuana sponsored by the New York State Bar Association.
"I'm not saying it should be legalized or that marijuana abuse isn't a
problem, only that it can have legal medical uses," explained Gottfried,
who recently introduced New York State legislation to allow
physician-supervised use of marijuana to treat patients with serious
illnesses.
Referring to Marinol -- a US Food and Drug Administration-approved drug
whose active ingredient, THC, is derived from marijuana -- Gottfried
noted, "if you take this artificial pill which has some stuff around the
active ingredient, no problem. But if you inhale the natural form (of
marijuana), the police can break down your door and cart you away. That,
to me, is nuts!"
Dr. Robert B. Millman, acting chair of New York Hospital's Department of
Public Health, told the gathering that much anecdotal evidence supports
the medical use of marijuana to relieve nausea and vomiting associated
with chemotherapy, increase appetite and well-being in wasting
syndromes, and improve quality of life in people with seizure disorders,
multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, and glaucoma.
However, the same psychoactive properties that make marijuana medically
useful also pose a danger, especially when the drug is used
recreationally. "You can get derailed, apathetic," and lose sight of
priorities -- a "terrifying syndrome, especially in young people."
Further, in the past decade the potency of the drug has increased
dramatically in New York City, from "1-2% maximum THC to 6-8%." This can
make the difference, he said, "between being a little high and losing
touch with reality." He also noted that if marijuana is not medicalized
and people with chronic diseases are left to fend for themselves, they may
put themselves at risk for bacterial and pulmonary illnesses from
contaminated street drugs.
All this argues for "medicalization, not legalization," said Gottfried.
In response to a query, Millman told Reuters that medicalization would
also facilitate appropriately supervised medical research into the drug's
benefits and risks.
The Gottfried legislation calls for a monitoring system similar to those
used for other controlled substances, including state monitoring of
physician, certifications to prevent abuse, state monitoring of
nonprofit providers of marijuana solely for medical use, and periodic
review and analysis by the Health Department.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Assembly Votes To Lift Smoking Ban ('Los Angeles Times' Says
After The 42-24 Vote Wednesday, The Bill To Allow Tobacco Use Again
In California's 35,000 Bars Goes To State Senate, Where A Vote Isn't Expected
For Weeks)
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 13:29:15 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)
Subject: MN: US CA: Assembly Votes To Lift Smoking Ban
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Jim Rosenfield
Source: Los Angeles Times
Contact: letters@latimes.com
Fax: 213-237-4712
Author: John Howard, Associated Press Writer
Pubdate: January 29, 1998
ASSEMBLY VOTES TO LIFT SMOKING BAN
SACRAMENTO, Calif.--California's first-in-the-nation ban on smoking in
taverns could go the way of Prohibition if a legislative measure to
overturn the new law keeps moving forward.
The bill passed the Assembly with a 42/24 vote Wednesday night, and now
goes to the Senate where its fate is uncertain. The bill requires Senate
approval and the governor's signature to take effect.
The measure would suspend the smoking ban starting next January for two
years or until federal authorities set national ventilation standards to
reduce smoke to safe levels.
A floor vote in the Senate is not expected for weeks. And that will come
only if the bill survives several committees and what promises to be a
bitter political fight between the tobacco, health and tavern lobbies.
Smoking was banned in about 35,000 bars, casinos and clubs on Jan. 1.
Taverns on American Indian reservations, outdoor bar areas and some small
businesses were exempted.
Enforcement of the law is left up to local agencies, with potential fines
for bar owners and customers.
But many Californians have kept right on puffing, despite the ban intended
to improve the health of customers and employees. The bill's sponsor,
Assemblyman Edward Vincent, said it would protect jobs and give people the
freedom to smoke and drink without suffering criminal penalties.
Supporters of the ban said the new bill would let smoking in taverns
continue for years, well beyond the proposed two years, because of
uncertainty over the federal ventilation regulations.
Three years ago, California banned smoking in indoor workplaces, including
the non-bar areas of restaurants. Taverns and casinos were initially exempt
on the assumption that the state or federal government would come up with
ventilation standards.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Assembly OKs Repeal Of Smoking Ban In Bars ('San Francisco Chronicle'
Version)
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 13:36:40 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)
Subject: MN: US CA: Assembly OKs Repeal Of Smoking Ban in Bars
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: "Frank S. World"
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
Contact: chronletters@sfgate.com
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Author: Robert B. Gunnison, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau Thursday
Pubdate: Thu, 29 Jan 1998
ASSEMBLY OK'S REPEAL OF SMOKING BAN IN BARS
Bill wouldn't take effect until 1999
Four weeks after smoking was outlawed in California bars and casinos, the
Assembly passed a bill last night that would repeal the ban -- but not
until next year.
As smokers openly violated the new law in many areas and bar and casino
operators protested the ban, the Assembly sent the measure to the Senate on
a 42-to-24 vote.
The bill, if it becomes law, would take effect next January. It also would
postpone any future ban for two years, or until the federal government
created a national standard regulating smoking in bars. Smoking was banned
in about 35,000 bars, casinos and clubs on January 1 by a law signed last
year by Governor Pete Wilson.
Assemblyman Edward Vincent, D-Inglewood, said his bill would protect jobs
and allow people the freedom to smoke and drink without suffering criminal
penalties.
But critics said the health of employees and customers was being
disregarded and noted that most people oppose smoking.
Critics also said the bill was crafted to allow the suspension to continue
for years because federal regulations were still uncertain.
But Vincent said the federal rules likely would be expedited, and ``once
this standard is adopted, clubs would be required to adhere to the standard
. . . and people could not smoke.''
VICTORY FOR TOBACCO
Assemblywoman Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, said the Vincent bill
represented a victory for tobacco interests and bar owners, who said the
no-smoking law was crippling their business.
``The tavern owners and bar owners -- their entire testimony has nothing to
do with the health of their employees, it has nothing to do with the health
of their customers,'' Kuehl said. The Assembly vote came a day after a
group of Northern California bar owners met in Sacramento to plan a
strategy for overturning the ban.
In some areas, there has been open defiance of the month-old law. But in
other locales, authorities have raided bars to enforce the ban.
Bar owners who allow smoking can be fined up to $100 for the first offense,
$200 for the second violation within a year and up to $500 for any
subsequent violations. Customers also face fines.
NOT A DONE DEAL
The future of Vincent's bill in the Senate is uncertain, but a floor vote
in the upper house is not expected for weeks -- if the bill survives
several committees.
Exempt from California's current ban are patios and other outdoor areas,
bars and casinos on American Indian reservations and small ``mom-and-pop''
businesses.
Three years ago, California banned smoking in indoor workplaces, including
the non-bar areas of restaurants. Taverns and casinos were exempt initially
on the assumption that the state or federal government would come up with
ventilation standards that would reduce smoke to safe levels.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
State Of The Union Address And Response, Re - Drug Policy (Excerpts From
The Cigar-Smoking Overeater's Speech To Congress - Lott Responds For GOP,
'Narcotics Problem Far Greater Threat To Teens' Than Tobacco' - No Mention
Of Record Number Of Marijuana Arrests Every Year Since 1994)
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 18:35:10 -0500
From: "R. Lake"
Subject: MN: US: State of the Union Address
and Response RE: Drug Policy
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-to: rlake@mapinc.org
Organization: http://www.mapinc.org
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Richard rlake@mapinc.org
Source: Washington Post
Contact: http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/
letters/letterform.htm
Pubdate: Wednesday, January 28, 1998
Following is President Clinton's State of the Union Address to the 105th
Congress:
[QUOTE]
Again, I ask Congress to pass a juvenile crime bill that provides
more prosecutors and probation officers to crack down on gangs and guns and
drugs and bar violent juveniles from buying guns for life. And I ask you to
dramatically expand our support for after-school programs.
I think every American should know that most juvenile crime is committed
between the hours of 3:00 in the afternoon and 8:00 at night. We can keep so
many of our children out of trouble in the first place if we give them some
place to go other than the streets, and we ought to do it.
Drug use is on the decline. I thank General McCaffrey for his leadership,
and I thank this Congress for passing the largest anti-drug budget in
history. Now I ask you to join me in a ground-breaking effort to hire a
thousand new Border Patrol agents and to deploy the most sophisticated
available new technologies to help close the door on drugs at our borders.
Police, prosecutors, and prevention programs, good as they are, they can't
work if our court system doesn't work. Today, there are large numbers of
vacancies in our federal courts. Here is what the chief justice of the
United States wrote: "Judicial vacancies cannot remain at such high levels
indefinitely without eroding the quality of justice."
I simply ask the United States Senate to heed this plea and vote on the
highly qualified nominees before you, up or down. Thank you. Thank you.
'Build a New Era of Peace and Security'
We must exercise responsibility not just at home but around the world. On
the eve of a new century, we have the power and the duty to build a new era
of peace and security. But make no mistake about it: Today's possibilities
are not tomorrow's guarantees. America must stand against the poisoned
appeals of extreme nationalism. We must combat an unholy access of new
threats from terrorists, international criminals and drug traffickers.
These 21st century predators feed on technology and the free flow of
information and ideas and people, and they will be all the more lethal if
weapons of mass destruction fall into their hands. To meet these challenges,
we are helping to write international rules of the road for the 21st
century, protecting those who join the family of nations and isolating those
who do not.
[END QUOTE]
Following is from the response of Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott
(R-Miss.) to President Clinton's State of the Union Address:
[QUOTE]
But we have only just begun the difficult job of stopping big
government, making it more responsive and -- perhaps hardest of all --
rebuilding the trust you used to have in your elected officials.
That's especially important when it comes to education, to taxes, and to the
twin plagues of drugs and crime. Those are the three areas where the
American people are most dissatisfied -- and where our freedom is most
threatened.
Parents -- and good teachers as well -- are dissatisfied with schools where
kids don't learn and, in many cases, where they aren't even safe. When
one-quarter -- one out of four -- of our high school students can barely
read, isn't it obvious the current system isn't working?
I know we are all fed up with the criminal justice system that has
tragically failed to halt the poisonous epidemic of drugs that is
undermining family life in our country. Violent crime is turning the land of
the free into the land of the fearful. Today's workers and today's savers
are angry and disillusioned with a tax code that benefits only tax lawyers
and big government.
***
The American people elected us in the Congress to listen to you and then to
lead. So while we listen respectfully to the president's ideas, we cannot
wait on them.
One example is the drug crisis. With all due respect, for the past five
years, we've had all kinds of wrong signals.
***
But don't forget, today's young people confront a danger even worse than
poor education. Teen drug abuse has become epidemic, and there are no safe
havens from this insidious modern plague. Overall, teenage drug use has
nearly doubled since 1992 and, perhaps most frightening of all, nearly half
of all 17-year-olds say they could buy marijuana in just an hour's time.
Like the president, I want to stop youth smoking, but the narcotics problem
is a far greater threat to teenagers.
First, to solve the drug crisis, we have to start with the family, the
school and with our churches and synagogues. Studies show that teens in
families that eat together, play together and pray together are the ones
least likely to try drugs. When the battle against drug abuse is first waged
at home, the war is half won.
Second, schools must be drug-free. We must demand absolute accountability
and zero tolerance for any drug abuse on school grounds.
Third, there is the critical role of the federal government. We've simply
got to be more aggressive in guarding our national borders. Along with that,
we must be more vigilant in arresting and prosecuting anyone -- yes, anyone
-- who sells this poison.
An fourth, it's time to get tough on society's predators. We must end parole
for violent criminals, crack down on juvenile criminals, increase prison
capacity, make the death penalty a real threat and impose mandatory
penalties for crimes committed with a gun. If we are honestly committed to
protecting the innocent, we must do more to punish the guilty.
By combining national leadership with community activism, we can -- and we
will -- save America, one child and one neighborhood at a time.
[END QUOTE]
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Re - State Of The Union (List Subscriber Hears One Clinton Quote
Worth Repeating - 'Medical Decisions Should Be Left To Medical Doctors')
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 13:58:44 EST
Reply-To: grassroots@worldnet.att.net
Originator: drctalk@drcnet.org
Sender: drctalk@drcnet.org
From: Alan Mason
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: State of the Union
Dear Talkers,
Tho I missed the first half hour of it, the Clinton's SOTU address had at
least one quote worth repeating, and one we should perhaps think about the
implications of.
The Good one:
"Medical decisions should be left to medical doctors."
(Yeah, tell that to Yamaguchi)
The other one (not exactly verbatim):
"We [americans] can hammer out a common identity."
My read on this,
In spite of all our cultural, ethnic, economic, etc differences, we can all
be hammered into a common mold, and turned into good, law abiding, urine
testing, authority worshipping consumers that never do anything wrong.
Makes me wonder how far cloing research has really come.
Also, in Trent Lott's republican response to the SOTU, [again not verbatim]
he said that while it was certainly not good that a large number of high
school seniors said they could buy pot within an hour of deciding to do so,
our real concern should be narcotics. Sounds like the GOP might, maybe be
getting the msg better than Uncle Bill.
If anyone taped this, i would be interested in getting the exact text of
Clinton's common identity remark and what Lott said about pot & narcotics.
Alan
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Drug Arrests In State Rose Slightly In '97, Report Says
('Milwaukee Journal Sentinel' Notes 10,782 People Were Arrested For Drugs
- Mostly Marijuana - In Wisconsin In First Six Months Of 1997,
Up Less Than 1 Percent, But Trafficking Busts Dropped 15.5 Percent
While Possession Busts Were Up 6.2 Percent)
Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 20:26:43 -0500
To: DrugSense News Service
From: Richard Lake
Subject: MN: US WI: Drug Arrests In State Rose Slightly In '97, Report Says
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: "Frank S. World"
Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Author: Meg Jones of the Journal Sentinel
Pubdate: Thu, 29 Jan 1998
Contact: jsedit@onwis.com
Fax: (414) 224-8280
Website: http://www.jsonline.com/
DRUG ARRESTS IN STATE ROSE SLIGHTLY IN '97, REPORT SAYS
Drug arrests in Wisconsin increased by less than 1% in the first six months
of 1997 compared with the previous year -- the lowest increase in the last
five years, according to a report released Wednesday.
There were 10,782 drug arrests between January and July last year, compared
with 10,698 arrests in 1996, the report says.
"We've had year after year of very steady increases," said Tom Eversen,
manager of the Office of Justice Assistance's state crime reporting
program. "At least for the first half of last year, that increase was
virtually eliminated."
The state Office of Justice Assistance report notes that arrests for the
sale of drugs dropped for adults and juveniles, while drug possession
offenses were on the upswing.
Total arrests for the sale of drugs dropped 15.5%, while drug possession
arrests went up 6.2%.
A possible explanation for the decrease in arrests of drug dealers is the
cooperation between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies over
the last five years, said Kelly Kennedy, a spokesman for state Attorney
General Jim Doyle.
"Today's drug crisis in Chicago typically comes later to Wisconsin, so it
helps to stay ahead of the game," Kennedy said.
Statewide statistics show most arrests for both possession and sale of
drugs were for marijuana, with opium and cocaine-based drugs, such as crack
and heroin, in second place.
However, one police official said crack, which can be purchased for as
little as $20, is more of a problem than marijuana.
"We're concentrating our efforts on crack because that's the most prevalent
drug we're finding in our city," said Janesville police Sgt. Greg Gibbs,
who said he has seen an increase in crack use. "It's cheaper than the old
powder cocaine."
A disturbing trend in Dane County is a hefty increase in firearms
confiscated during drug arrests, said Sgt. Mark Twombly, of the Dane County
Narcotics and Gang Task Force. Officers confiscated six firearms during
drug arrests in 1996 while 35 firearms were confiscated during 1997.
"People on drugs are not the most stable and rational, (and) to have easy
access to weapons spells disaster," Twombly said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Another Weapon In Drug War ('Washington Post' Gives Publicity To Prosecutor
Urging Residents Of Montgomery County, Maryland, To Use Five-Year-Old
'Nuisance Abatement' Law Allowing Them To Utilize Civil Courts To Harass
Suspected Drug-Law Offenders And Make Them Homeless)
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 17:45:00 -0500
From: "R. Lake"
Subject: MN: US MD: WP: Another Weapon in Drug War
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-to: rlake@mapinc.org
Organization: http://www.mapinc.org
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: rlake@mapinc.org
Source: Washington Post
Contact: http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/letters/letterform.htm
Pubdate: Thursday, January 29, 1998
Author: Katherine Shaver, Washington Post Staff Writer
ANOTHER WEAPON IN DRUG WAR
County to Step Up Use Of Eviction Option
Montgomery County residents who suspect that drug dealers are living next
door have a not-so-new way to kick them out of the neighborhood: a
five-year-old law rarely used in the county that allows the state to evict
people believed to be harboring drug dealers or dealing drugs from their
homes.
Other Maryland counties have used the "nuisance abatement" law more often in
an effort to rid neighborhoods of drug dealers. But Montgomery prosecutors
said that they have enforced the law only six times in the last several
years.
"We've used it, but it's just been on an ad hoc basis," said Montgomery
State's Attorney Robert L. Dean, who announced last week that his office
will use the law more aggressively. "I wanted all different agencies to
understand it . . . We want communities to know this law is there."
The last 10 months, Dean said, have been spent helping Montgomery's police
officers, housing authority officials and code enforcement officials
understand the law.
Prosecuting someone on drug-dealing charges can take months, Dean said. A
drug dealer may spend that time out on bail or may even return home with a
sentence of probation after being convicted. Meanwhile, the drug problem in
the neighborhood often persists, prosecutors said.
But by using the new law and taking the suspected drug dealer into District
Court on a civil complaint, prosecutors said, those suspected of allowing
drugs to be sold from a home can be evicted in a few days. Judges don't need
as much evidence to sign an eviction order as is needed to convict someone
of a crime, prosecutors said.
Here's how it works: Residents or homeowners associations that suspect a
drug dealer in the neighborhood can complain to police or the state's
attorney's office. Neighbors who fear reprisals may remain anonymous and do
not have to testify at eviction hearings, Assistant State's Attorney James
Trusty said.
Or, police arrest a suspect on drug-dealing charges and take a complaint to
prosecutors, who may ask a judge to evict the arrested person or anyone who
knowingly let the person deal drugs out of the home. A judge hears the
complaint within two weeks.
Landlords suspected of knowing that a tenant was dealing drugs may be asked
to submit to the judge plans on how they plan to eliminate the problem in
the future.
Evicting suspected drug dealers, however, has drawn some complaints. Some
critics contend that such laws do little more than drive drug dealers from
one neighborhood to another. Others say it's unfair to evict people from
their homes when the justice system supposedly presumes they are innocent of
any crime until they are convicted in court.
"I have real concerns about the fact that someone can be evicted before they
are convicted of a crime," said Mary Jane DeFrank, director of the American
Civil Liberties Union chapter that covers Washington and Montgomery and
Prince George's counties.
"We have a justice system, and we have police," DeFrank said. "You arrest
people for criminal activities. You don't throw them or their family members
out of their homes."
Prosecutors said that those evicted so far have been renters and that they
haven't decided what to do in cases where people are suspected of dealing
drugs out of a home they own. Special circumstances, such as cases in which
children or other innocent family members would lose their home, also would
figure into a decision to seek eviction, Trusty said.
Many of those cited in the previous six complaints did not fight it in
court, Trusty said.
"A lot of times they make a speedy exit," Trusty said. "It's not comfortable
for a drug dealer to have a sheriff come up to their door and post a notice
[to appear in District Court]. That's the beauty of this thing."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Bobby Brown Convicted Of Driving Under Influence ('Associated Press'
Says Jury In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Convicts Singer Of Driving Drunk -
Five Days In Jail, Forced Rehab, Fine, Community Service)
Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 20:40:01 -0500
To: DrugSense News Service
From: Richard Lake
Subject: MN: US FL: Bobby Brown Convicted of DUI
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Marcus-Mermelstein Family
Source: Associated Press
Pubdate: Thu, 29 Jan 1998
BOBBY BROWN CONVICTED OF DUI
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- Singer Bobby Brown buried his face in his
hands and sobbed Thursday as he was convicted of drunken driving and
ordered to spend five days in jail and undergo drug and alcohol treatment.
His wife, Whitney Houston, sat behind him crying as well.
Jurors deliberated about an hour after Brown's lawyer wrapped up his
defense by attacking the handling of blood evidence and questioning police
motives in waiting four months to charge him.
Brown, 30, broke four ribs and a foot when his black Porsche spun out of
control, jumped the curb and struck hedges and a street sign in Hollywood,
south of Fort Lauderdale, in 1996.
Police said he was speeding and lost control of the car, which was leased
to his wife.
Prosecutors said Brown's blood-alcohol level was above 0.2 percent -- more
than double Florida's 0.08 percent limit -- and blood tests showed the
presence of drugs.
Brown, according to prosecutors, turned down a standard offer to first time
offenders that carried no jail time but required drug treatment.
Judge Leonard Feiner sentenced Brown to five days in jail, a year of
probation and suspended his license for a year. He also ordered him to pay
a $500 fine, spend 30 days at a residential drug treatment center and serve
100 hours of community service.
In addition, Brown must appear in prime time anti-drug public service
announcements. If the television networks refuse to give him free time, he
must pay to air the spots.
Defense attorney Robert Buonauro said he plans to appeal the verdict and
rushed to keep Brown out of jail, paying $15,000 bond. Brown and Houston
had no comment as they left the courthouse. Neither testified at the trial.
Buonauro questioned the handling of the blood test administered when Brown
was admitted to a hospital, and suggested police targeted Brown because of
his celebrity.
``He's a person who they are looking at under a microscope,'' he said.
The prosecution argued that Brown's celebrity wasn't a factor in his
treatment either by police or at the hospital.
``Lady Justice doesn't look at the race of a person or how much money he
makes,'' prosecutor M. Rebeca Stevens said.
Brown, who lives in Mendham, N.J., is best known for his 1988 album ``Don't
Be Cruel'' and the hit single ``My Prerogative.''
It wasn't his first run-in with authorities.
In 1995, he was arrested after a nightclub brawl at Walt Disney World and
accused of beating a patron after an argument over a woman. Charges were
dropped when the patron agreed to a settlement.
Houston has a home on upscale William's Island, north of Miami.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
US Struggles To Extradite Drug Suspect From Mexico ('Dallas Morning News'
Notes That, Although Attorney Generals Janet Reno And Jorge Madrazo
Signed An Amendment To The US-Mexico Extradition Treaty In November
Calling For 'Temporary' Extraditions Of Criminals, Many Suspects
Still Avoid Removal North - Case Of American Cited By Paper Obfuscates Issue
- Most Extradition Requests Are For Non-US Citizens)
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 13:24:33 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)
Subject: MN: U.S. Struggles To Extradite Drug Suspect From Mexico
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: adbryan@onramp.net
Source: Dallas Morning News
Contact: letterstoeditor@dallasnews.com
Website: http://www.dallasnews.com
Pubdate: Thu, 29 Jan 1998
U.S. STRUGGLES TO EXTRADITE DRUG SUSPECT FROM MEXICO
PHOENIX (AP)- It took years to track him down, but when William Brian
Martin was arrested in Mexico, U.S. drug officials popped open champagne
bottles.
As it turned out, the celebration was premature.
The 34-year-old accused of funneling millions of dollars worth of cocaine
and marijuana across the border remains a preferred guest in a Nogales,
Sonora, jail cell.
U.S. officials don't know how long Mr. Martin will stay there.
Although Washington is quick to publicize recent successes in extraditing
accused criminals from Mexico, Mr. Martin is a quiet reminder of the more
numerous failures.
Mr. Martin has remained out of reach because a Mexican judge allowed him to
appeal his extradition. The case, American officials say, reflects the
Justice Department's ongoing problems getting the Mexican government to
honor extradition treaties.
"People should not escape justice by abusing the laws of another country,"
Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Jarosz said.
A 1997 report by the Office of National Drug Control Policy listed Mr.
Martin's case among four - out of more than 100 extradition requests that
have yet to be honored - in which accused drug smugglers had filed amparo
appeals with the Mexican courts.
An amparo is a legal maneuver that temporarily postpones extradition
proceedings.
Mr. Martin won his amparo appeal based upon a judicial finding that he had
married a Mexican woman in his jail cell and was therefore a Mexican
citizen.
In court documents, however, Drug Enforcement Administration investigators
called the marriage a "sham."
They have collected numerous documents, they say, that clearly demonstrate
Mr. Martin is a U.S. citizen.
The government says that from 1990 to 1994, Mr. Martin led a large drug
organization that distributed tons of marijuana and cocaine from Mexico to
Arizona, Texas, California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York.
Mr. Martin is also accused in a 44-count indictment of having laundered
large sums of money. Authorities are attempting to seize $28 million in
drug profits from Mr. Martin and one of his partners.
Before his arrest in November 1995, Mr. Martin had been dodging law
enforcement officials for more than two years, living the good life while
directing his drug enterprise from Scottsdale, Ariz., and Mexico,
authorities say.
A federal investigation into his drug activities took three years, said
Richard Gorman, special agent in charge of the Phoenix DEA office.
When Mexican authorities nabbed Mr. Martin, the Mexican news media
portrayed him as a high-ranking drug lord with connections to the Medellin
and Cali cartels along with drug organizations in Asia and Europe.
One of Mr. Martin's Mexican residences looked like a palace and was guarded
by the Mexican federal police, according to a DEA informant.
Mr. Martin's roots are in Arizona. Born in Yuma, Mr. Martin was raised in
Douglas and attended Paradise Valley High School and Arizona State
University.
Mr. Martin's drug organization had "stash" houses and warehouses in Tucson,
El Paso and California that stored the drugs brought up from Mexico,
federal officials say. The drugs were then moved using trucks, vans and
other vehicles to destinations to the east and west.
His defiant attitude is legendary. After he was first indicted in 1993,
police say Mr. Martin began stamping his packaged marijuana with a "seal of
approval" that read: "Courtesy of the Boys from Club Fled, 1993."
Federal officials say Mr. Martin's case illustrates the difficulties they
face in dealing with Mexico.
In November, U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno and Mexican Attorney General
Jorge Madrazo signed an amendment to the two nations' extradition treaty
that calls for the temporary extraditions of criminals.
Meanwhile, hundreds of extradition requests have yet to be processed, and
Mr. Martin continues to evade U.S. authorities from his Mexican jail cell.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
North Vancouver Students To Be Excluded From Survey About Sex, Drugs
('Vancouver Sun' Says North Vancouver School Board Has Refused Request
From McCreary Centre Society - Controversial Questions About Private Behavior
Might Encourage Students To Participate In Such Activities)
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 19:44:25 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)
Subject: MN: Canada: North Van Students To Be Excluded From Survey About Sex, Drugs
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: creator@mapinc.org
Source: Vancouver Sun
Contact: sunletters@pacpress.southam.ca
Author: Janet Steffenhagen
Pubdate: Thu 29 Jan 1998
Section: B1 / Front
NORTH VAN. STUDENTS TO BE EXCLUDED FROM SURVEY ABOUT SEX, DRUGS
School trustees refuse permission for a firm to distribute questions on
physical and mental health.
North Vancouver students will not participate in an adolescent health
survey later this year, partly because of its controversial questions about
sex, drugs and body image, school trustees have decided.
By a 4-3 vote earlier this week, North Vancouver board refused a request
from the McCreary Centre Society, a private research firm based in Burnaby,
for permission to distribute in some North Vancouver schools a survey on
physical and mental health.
Chairwoman Pat Heal said a majority of trustees felt the questions about
sexual behavior and the use of illicit drugs, alcohol and tobacco might
encourage students to participate in such activities.
``They felt children would get ideas from looking at the questions and
might think `maybe I should be doing that because they are asking if I have
ever done it.' ''
Other trustees worried about questions about body image, including one that
inquires whether the student thinks of himself as fat.
``Some trustees felt that some of the questions would really be negative
for children who are already having problems with self-esteem.''
The dissenters, including Heal, agreed with the McCreary centre when it
said the results of a province-wide survey could help communities plan
programs and services that would effectively address the needs of young
people.
The North Vancouver school district refused to participate in McCreary's
only other survey of adolescent health, conducted in 1992.
But Heal noted that few of today's trustees were on the board at that time.
Aileen Murphy, McCreary's project coordinator, said the centre has just
begun to get responses from school districts and has only heard from
one-quarter of them so far.
But a majority of those that have responded are in favor of the survey.
In 1992, 48 of 75 school districts allowed the survey to be distributed in
their schools.
West Vancouver school trustees have not yet decided if their students will
participate. The survey is one of several subjects to be discussed Feb. 10
at a public meeting.
The McCreary centre rejects the suggestion that asking questions about sex
and drug use might encourage students to experiment.
``In fact, there is strong evidence that young people who have
opportunities to learn, think about and discuss such issues are more likely
to act in ways to protect their health,'' according to a McCreary
publication.
The McCreary centre intends to survey 30,000 students from school districts
across the province.
Individual schools will be selected from participating districts after
every district has had an opportunity to indicate whether it wants to
participate. The survey will be conducted in the classroom by a public
health nurse or other trained administrator.
Participation is voluntary, and parents of students in the schools selected
will have a chance to view the questions in advance.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Slain Man's Widow Not Surprised Officer Wasn't Charged ('Vancouver Sun'
Article Says RCMP Officer Who Killed Unarmed, Compliant Suspect
Violated Policy But Is Still On Drug Squad)
From: creator@islandnet.com (Matt Elrod)
To: mattalk@listserv.islandnet.com
Subject: Canada: Slain man's widow not surprised officer wasn't charged
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 12:35:46 -0800
Lines: 73
Newshawk: creator@mapinc.org
Source: Vancouver Sun
Contact: sunletters@pacpress.southam.ca
Pubdate: Thu 29 Jan 1998 B1 / Front
Author: Kim Pemberton
Slain man's widow not surprised officer wasn't charged: The Montreal woman
also suggests the officer should have been re-assigned to a new job after
the shooting.
The widow of an unarmed man who was shot and killed by a RCMP officer
said she wasn't surprised criminal charges were never laid against the
officer.
On the last day of a coroner's inquest into the Aug. 28, 1996 death of
Roger Binette, testimony was heard that the officer, Corporal Gary
Thomson, had clearly broken police policy by having his finger on the
trigger when he went to arrest Binette during a drug raid. However,
Thomson was never charged with any offence.
Thomson's gun accidentally discharged and Binette, who was not
resisting arrest, died moments later from a gunshot wound to the
chest.
Binette's widow, Liette Poirier, who had travelled from Montreal to
attend the three-day inquest, said she believes Thomson should have
faced criminal charges.
But, when that didn't happen, she hoped Thomson would have been
assigned to a desk job to ensure a similar accidental shooting doesn't
occur.
Thomson, a 23-year police veteran, testified earlier that after the
shooting he was asked if he wanted to transfer out of the drug squad.
But, he said, he wanted to continue to prove to himself that he was
capable of doing the job.
``Why wouldn't they put that man in another job to get that gun out of
his hands? Maybe it's time for him to sit behind a desk so an accident
like this doesn't happen again,'' said Poirier.
``I knew they wouldn't charge an officer with criminal negligence,''
she added. ``But I hope this will get the police to be more careful
and open the eyes of the public. The police may be doing their job but
it doesn't mean these kinds of things can't happen.''
The coroner's jury recommended the attorney-general investigate the
feasibility of changing the police policy concerning how to handle a
gun in the ``at the ready position.''
Police experts testified earlier that if an officer is holding the gun
along the frame and not on the trigger guard it's possible he could
make an ``involuntary clenching action'' and cause the gun to
accidentally discharge.
However, Thomson testified it was his practice to always hold the gun
with his finger along the frame but he must have had it on the trigger
or the gun wouldn't have discharged.
He said he was subsequently told about the involuntary clenching
action in which one hand action follows the other hand. He believes
it's possible this could have happened in his case because he was
trying to open a car door to arrest Binette when he accidentally
pulled the trigger.
The coroner's jury also recommended all firearms training include
information about ``sympathetic nervous syndrome'' or the
``involuntary clenching action.''
Binette was shot by police in the parking lot of the Fraser Arms Hotel
after selling an undercover officer 20 ounces of cocaine. Police
testified they approached him with guns drawn because they believe he
had the potential to be violent.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Melfort To Host Discovery '98 Agri-Food And Fibre Forum (Saskatchewan City
Is Site Of February 6 Exposition For Farmers, Businesses
Interested In New Crop Options And Value-Added Uses For Such Non-Wood Fibres
As Industrial Hemp, Flax, Wheat Straw, Switchgrass. - Guest Speakers
To Attend From United States, Poland, Germany, Canada)
Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 06:54:37 -0400 (AST)
Sender: Chris Donald
From: Chris Donald
To: mattalk@listserv.islandnet.com
Subject: Hemp: Melfort to Host Discovery '98 Agri-Food and Fibre Forum
From: "Wiseman Noble:Vancouver" (events@wisenoble.com)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
City of Melfort to Host Discovery '98 Agri-Food and Fibre Forum
January 29th, 1998- Melfort, Saskatchewan - The City of Melfort will be
hosting the Discovery '98 Agri-Food and Fibre Forum on February 6th, 1998.
The event is co-produced by the Agri-Food Equity Fund and Wiseman Noble
Sales and Marketing.
"Discovery 98 will bring to farmers and businesses in Northeast Saskatchewan
the most current information with respect to the potential economic benefits
of the latest technological innovations in the agricultural sector," says
Dub Henderson, Mayor, City of Melfort.
Discovery 98 will promote new crop options and value-added uses for such
non-wood fibres as industrial hemp, flax, wheat straw and switchgrass.
International guest speakers from The United States, Poland and Germany will
join Canadian researchers to discuss the present and future status of fibre
plants and their value to Saskatchewan agriculture. A trade fair featuring
building materials, textiles, and a high-profile fashion show featuring
local celebrities will be a draw for the entire family.
"This will be a great opportunity for producers in this area of the province
to position themselves to increase revenues from their farming operations.
When that happens, the whole community benefits," states Henderson.
Melfort, population 6000, is strategically located between two forestry
mills and is located in the Carrot River Valley, whose fertile black soil
produces a large abundance of straw for local farmers. The hub of
Northeastern Saskatchewan, the city is the centre of a strong agricultural
economy and is the gateway to rich recreational resources.
Wiseman Noble, a research-based events company, produced The Canadian Non
Wood Fibre Symposium in Montreal on January 29th, 1998 in conjunction with
the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association and are also producing The
Commercial & Industrial Hemp Symposium II, the flagship event of North
America's emerging hemp industry, which is being held in Vancouver, BC on
February 18th & 19th , 1998.
For more information about the city of Melfort, contact:
Dub Henderson
Mayor, City of Melfort
Tel (306) 752-5911
Fax: (306) 752-5556
For more information about upcoming Wiseman Noble events, contact:
Sotos Petrides,
President, Wiseman Noble
Tel: (514) 270-4555
Fax: (514) 270-2444
For more information about upcoming Wiseman Noble events and Commercial Hemp
magazine, check out our Webpage at www.wisenoble.com
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Antiprohibitionist Action Report, Year 4, Number 2 (Monthly Summary
For Activists Of International Drug Policy Reform News, From CORA In Italy)
From: Cora.Belgique@agora.stm.it
To: hemp@efn.org
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 98 16:11:30 ITA
Subject: ( ANTIPROHIBITIONISTS OF THE ENTIRE WORLD...#2)
Sender: owner-hemp@efn.org
Antiprohibitionist action report
January 29, 1998 - (Year 4) #2
***
CO.R.A.
Radical | Association federated with
Antiprohibitionist | the Transnational
Coordination | Radical Party
***
OLD - Observatory of laws on drugs
***
PAA - PARLAMENTARIANS FOR
ANTIPROHIBITIONIST ACTION
European campaign for the revision
of international conventions
***
(CORA-ITALY)
Via di Torre Argentina 76
00186 ROME
Tel:+39-6-68.97.91
Fax:+39-6-68.80.53.96
E-mail: cora.italia@agora.stm.it
***
(CORA-BELGIUM)
Rue Belliard 97
c/o European Parliament
Rem 5.08
1040 BRUSSELS
Tel:+32-2-230.41.21 - 646.26.31
Fax:+32-2-230.36.70
E-mail: cora.belgique@agora.stm.it
***
*CORAnet http://www.agora.stm.it/coranet (in Italian)
***
Director: Vincenzo Donvito
All rights reserved
***
(NEWS FROM CORA)
ITALY
CORA AND THE "PANNELLA'S ANTIPROHIBITION AND REFERENDARIAN MOVEMENT" SUE
ANDREA MUCCIOLI, SON OF THE FOUNDER OF SAN PATRIGNAGNO FOR HAVING INVITED
TO FIGHT AGAINST THAT "GANG OF CRIMINALS AKA AS ANTIPROHIBITIONISTS".
The same "gang of criminals" was invited to held its annual CORA congress
in San Patrignano (the biggest rehab community of Europe) in 1995, by
Muccioli's father. To sue Andea Muccioli does not only mean to react to a
gratuitous attack against our reputation, but also to impede the defamation
and censorship of his father's image, a man who chose to open a dialogue
with the opposite front in a very difficult moment of his community.
ITALY
CORA DENOUNCES THE NEGLIGENCE OF THE MINISTER OF HEALTH REGARDING THE
TREATMENT OF DRUG ADDICTS.
The Minister of Health, Rosy Bindi, wants the Regions to wait until the
Parliament will take a final position on medical heroin before starting
their projects. The Minister is not respecting the law on drugs on the
qualitative standards of assistance to addicts. CORA will present denounces
to the local courts all over the country, asking the judiciary to point out
the eventual responsibility of the Minister's behavior.
ITALY
A BISHOP AGREES ON THE CONTROLLED DISTRIBUTION OF DRUGS. IS HE A CRIMINAL
AS WELL?
Monsignor Alessandro Maggiolini has raised the question of treatment for
drug addicts. In an article published in the biggest economic newspaper of
Italy, Mr. Maggiolini has written that in certain cases it could be good to
prescribe drugs to addicts in order to avoid bigger problems. Mr.
Maggiolini thinks that prescription should come from motivated and
competent physicians. Is he also partner in crime with the criminal gang?
EUROPE
TONY BLAIR AND GIANFRANCO FINI UNITED AGAINST THE D'ANCONA REPORT.
Prime Minister Tony Blair, and the President of the National Alliance of
the Italian right, were allied to impede the adoption of the d'Ancona
report - that proposes the decriminalization of soft drugs and the
controlled distribution of heroin - at the European Parliament. The were
acting under the aegis of Sweden, which only proposal is: "zero tolerance".
ITALY
SURVEY SHOWS THAT 50% OF ITALIANS FAVOR THE MEDICAL PRESCRIPTION OF HEROIN.
A recent survey estimated that half of the Italian population is
"definitively against" the controlled distribution of heroin, while a third
favors the experiment. After a few days, a similar survey showed different
data. Who is confused? Citizens or Survey people? If it is true that during
the last eight years, 3/4 of Italians have maintained a non favorable
position on the legalization, it also true, and easily checkable, that in
1995 over 50% of the electorate voted for the decriminalization of drugs
and the therapeutic freedom for physicians. Legalizing cannabis and
prescribing heroin would mean to make certain substances legally available.
UNO
"SPONSORIZING" TALIBANS TO FIGHT DRUGS IS NONSENSE
In an interview published in a local newspaper, the chief of the UN Rome
offices has affirmed that "the right not to suffer drug-addiction is a
human right", and that he is of the opinion that the UN decision regarding
eradication of crop in Afghanistan is a "moral" one. Marco Cappato,
Treasurer of CORA, replies noting how the strategy promoted by the UNDCP's
Director, Pino Arlacchi of financing Talibans for crop eradication is very
much irrespective of fundamental human rights. We hope that the Italian
Government will withdraw its support to this nonsensical "sponsorship".
(NEWS FROM THE WORLD)
GERMANY
In the Saxon region, there has been a drop in criminality, and the life in
the Laender is quite safe; on the other hand there has been an increase of
40% in drug-related crimes.
(FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG 16/10)
GERMANY
In 1996, Justice Helmunt Schneider, from the Lubeck Court, condemned a drug
courier (caught with 11 kilos of hashish) to one year with parole. The
national law normally sets from 1 to 15 years in prison. Mr. Schneider is
not new to this kind of sentences, always very well argued, that try to
provoke the very conservative Federal Court that tends to issue tough
sentences for hash dealers. Due to this final provocation, Mr. Schneider
has been transferred to the Civil Court. Magistrates from all over Germany
are complaining for this displacement.
(DER SPIEGEL 19/1)
BRAZIL
According to a federal police report published in the newspaper "Estado de
Sao Paulo", Southern American Mafias have chosen Rio de Janeiro as the new
center for the international trafficking of cocaine.
(FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG 20/1)
GERMANY
On Feb. 2, the "10th ordinance for the enforcement of the law on narcotics"
will be implemented. The new directive encloses Codeine, a cough
'tranquilizer', in the list of other narcotics, because the human body
transforms parts of it into morphine. This means that Codeine could not be
prescribed as a 'normal' medicine. A feral piece of news for 30,000 heroin
addicts that were freed form their "slavery" by that medicine.
(DER SPIEGEL 26/1)
GREAT BRITAIN
A former officer of the anti-drug office of Scotland Yard, Edward Ellison,
has recently said that the production of substances like ecstasy (MDMA)
should be taken away from mobs, legalizing it and appointing pharmaceutical
companies for the production. The proposal has provoked the tough reaction
of some former colleagues of his, and of the recently appointed "anti-drug
czar", Keith Hellawell.
(THE TIMES 25/1)
GREAT BRITAIN
There are allegations that Tories have received 1 million sterling from a
Chinese dealer in search of immunity. The story has appeared in the first
page of the "Oriental Daily" a newspaper of Hong Kong that belongs to the
family of the dealer. An embarrassed William Hague, the Tory leader, has
not confirmed the donation.
(CORRRIERE DELLA SERA, NEUE ZUERCHER ZEITUNG, THE TIMES 21/1, SUEDDEUTSCHE
ZEITUNG 22/1)
GREAT BRITAIN
The government has issued two booklets on 'soft drugs' targeting youths.
The general approach is no longer "just say no to drugs", but a detailed
information on risks and collateral effects of different drugs, tobacco and
alcohol included.
(THE TIMES 20/1)
SPAIN
Madrid - During a convention on drug-addiction at the Universidad
Complutense, a researcher of the University of San Diego, CA, has announced
the eventual realization of a vaccine against cocaine. The medicine will
act on the brain rendering innocuous cocaine's molecules and in this way
working as a antidote in OD cases, and a help in rehabilitating patients.
(CAMBIO 12/1)
EUROPEAN UNION
Strasbourg - The initiative of the Socialist, Green, Communist and Radical
Euro Groups to the EP that encourages the decriminalization of the
consumption of drugs, the legalization of "soft" drugs and the controlled
distribution of heroin, has been blocked by the well compacted
prohibitionist front. The indecision of the Labor MEPs has jeopardized a
possible majority at the plenary session. The so-called d'Ancona report has
been sent back to the Committee on Civil Liberty.
(IL SOLE 24 ORE 15/1, DIE PRESSE, IL MESSAGGERO. SUEDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG 16/1)
WORLD
The European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid, Emma Bonino, has criticized
UNDCP's Chief, Pino Arlacchi, strategy of financing Talibans for a project
of eradication of crop. Ms. Bonino says that the program cannot work
because the country is so poor that there will be no other legal produce
capable of rivaling with opium.
(PANORAMA 22/1)
SPAIN
The UROD therapy for rehabilitation from opiates, has been toughly
criticized by two scientific reviews, "The Lancet" and the "Journal of the
American Medical Association". According to the latter, UROD, besides its
known counter-effects, also provoked some deaths.
(EL PAIS 22/1)
ITALY
The proposal of the General Procurator, Galli Fonseca, for the controlled
distribution of drugs as a pragmatic step against drug-related crimes has
opened a "holy war" between prohibitinist and antiprohibition advocates.
(CORSERA, IL SOLE 24 ORE, LA REPUBBLICA, LA STAMPA 15/1, IL GIORNALE, IL
MESSAGGERO, 15-17/1, L'ESPRESSO 22-29/1, PANORAMA 29/1)
WORLD
UNDCP's Director, Pino Arlacchi (former Senator of the center-left
coalition) has recently reiterated his argument in support of the deal with
the Talibans saying that "In 10 years we could eradicate opium and cocaine
crop all over the world".
(EL PAIS 27/1)
***
JOIN THE CORA
Yes, I want to be member
(send by Email, or fax, or Mail)
Name and Surname ........................................
Address, Post code, City, State ..........................................
Email .....................................
Occupation .............................................
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Phone home ..............
office .................
fax ......................
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and I am enclosing a membership fee of .....................
By means of
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/Bank Account (choose below)
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......................................................................Expiry
Date ......................
MEMBERSHIP FEE OF CORA 1997 IN EUROPEAN UNION
Austria 800 ATS, Belge 2000 Bfr, Denmark 500 DKK, Finland 400 FIM, France
330 FF, Germany 100 DEM, Great Britain 35 GBP, Greece 5000 GRD, Ireland 20
IEP, Italy 100.000 LIT, Luxembourg 2000 Lfr, The Netherlands 100 , LG,
Portugal 5000 PTE, Spain 5000 ESB, Sweden 500 SEK
BANK ACCOUNT
- no. 010381 to CORA, Deutsche Bank (Abi 3002, Cab 03270), Italy
- no.10067.00101.1032083440/4 to CORA, France
- no. 310107591981 to CORA, Belge
MAIL CCP: ONLY IN ITALY
- c.c.p. 53362000 to CORA, Via di Torre Argentina 76, 00186 Roma
-------------------------------------------------------------------
[End]
Found at http://www.koin.com/
Shooting Suspect's Condition Downgraded
Criminal Record Shows Steven Don Had Many Brushes
with the Law
PORTLAND, Updated 12:15 p.m. January 29, 1998 -- KOIN-TV
reports that Steven Dons' condition has been downgraded
this afternoon from serious to critical. Officials at
Oregon Health Sciences University say Dons' condition
has been downgraded due to respiratory problems.
Meanwhile, the picture that's emerging of Dons, the
suspect in Tuesday's officer shooting, is one of a
violent criminal with a rap sheet a mile long.
KOIN reports that Dons has a known criminal record going back nearly 20 years.
Here's a portion of Dons' rap sheet:
Assault
Battery
Assault with deadly weapons
Possession of drugs
Possession of firearms
Theft
Possession of stolen property
Dons has spent time in prison for many of these convictions, but was always
released back onto the street.
This time, authorities say, he may be going away for a long time. He's being
charged with two counts of aggravated murder, three counts of attempted
aggravated murder, one count of assault, and one count of assault two.
Related Stories:
Jan. 28: City Mourns Officer's Death
Jan. 27: Katz and Moose Respond to Tragedy
Jan. 27: Police Officer Fatally Shot
Join our discussion:
Stricter Gun Control Laws?
Compiled by Channel 6000 Staff
to 1998 Daily News index for January 29-February 4