-------------------------------------------------------------------
Program For First-Time Drug Offenders Shows Results ('The Oregonian'
Gives A Glowing Report About A Treatment Program
Designed By Law Enforcement - Multnomah County Drug Court -
For The Two-Thirds Who Don't 'Graduate,' The Punishment Is Automatic Guilt
In Stipulated Facts Hearings Based On Police Reports,
And An Automatic Sentence Of Jail Time - Those Who Want To Help Bankrupt
The War On Some Drug Users Can Grow A Plant And Turn Themselves In -
It Costs $10,151 To Arrest, Convict, Jail And Provide Probation Supervision
For An Offender, $4,522 To Put An Individual Through STOP -
Sanction-Treatment-Opportunity-Progress)
Program for first-time drug offenders shows results
The Oregonian
letters to editor:
letters@news.oregonian.com/
1320 SW Broadway
Portland, OR 97201
Web: http://www.oregonlive.com/
April 6, 1998
Program for first-time drug offenders shows results
A study finds that Multnomah County's drug
court, which offers a clean slate upon graduation,
not only works but saves money
By Cara Rubinsky
of The Oregonian staff
It's a Wednesday afternoon in drug court. Six people are graduating from an
intense yearlong drug treatment program. And all six will have felony drug
charges wiped from their records.
That's the promise and reality of Multnomah County's groundbreaking drug
court, formally known as Sanction-Treatment-Opportunity-Progress (STOP). The
successful outpatient drug diversion program, which has been copied in
Oregon and throughout the country, offers first-time drug offenders a chance
to avoid jail and get treatment for their addictions.
The secret to the court's success is simple: Participants waive their right
to trial and agree to a year of treatment. If they fail, they are
automatically convicted of felony drug possession. If they succeed, their
slate is clean.
The first evaluation of STOP, released early this year, indicates that its
graduates had 76 percent fewer subsequent arrests than a comparison group of
people who were eligible but did not participate in the program. The
evaluation, prepared by Michael Finigan of the Northwest Professional
Consortium, found that graduates also had 80 percent fewer serious felony
arrests and 85 percent fewer subsequent drug arrests.
Evaluators also found that STOP saves the county and state more than it
costs. The county spends $4,522 to put an individual through STOP. It costs
$10,151 to arrest, convict, jail and provide probation supervision for an
offender.
Finigan found that Multnomah County saves more than $2 million a year by
using STOP. And because program graduates commit fewer crimes after
graduation, STOP saves the state of Oregon more than $10 million that would
otherwise be spent on police protection, court costs, supervision costs,
jail and prison costs, increased medical assistance, food stamps and other
costs, Finigan said.
Multnomah County's drug court is one of the first programs of its kind
nationwide - following only Miami and Oakland, Calif. More than 300 such
courts now span 48 states, including a handful of others in Oregon. STOP
costs local, state and federal agencies about $800,000 a year.
Judge Harl Haas, who founded STOP in 1991 after observing Miami's drug court
program, said the study's results prove that treating addicts is more
effective than convicting them.
"Treatment works," he said. "What doesn't work is putting people in prison
and then just releasing them again."
Robert Williams, STOP program manager, works out of the Metropolitan Public
Defender office and has been with STOP since its inception. In addition to
the existing Oregon drug courts, four or five more are in planning stages,
Williams said. He is working with his counterparts in other counties to
start an Oregon Drug Courts Association.
Multnomah County's program is unique because it accepts people with some
criminal history, as long as the district attorney approves.
Change seen after three months
Williams estimates that 6,000 to 6,500 people have entered STOP since 1991.
About 2,000 have graduated. But judges and attorneys involved say graduation
statistics don't tell the whole story. Finigan's evaluation found that
people who had only been in STOP for three months had a lower recidivism
rate than counterparts who had been arrested and convicted.
"Even for people who don't finish, the seeds of recovery have been planted,"
Williams said. "We have to look at the reasons people don't finish. ...
We're dealing with the human condition here. But the seeds will stay with
them as they work through other problems."
But STOP is a risk. Williams stresses this every morning to a new group of
potential participants who were arrested the day before and referred to his
office by the district attorney.
If they enter and fail, they automatically will be found guilty in
stipulated facts hearings, which are based on police reports.
They will receive 18 months of formal probation, pay $400 to $800 in fines
and be sentenced to jail time for each count against them.
But a person who successfully completes STOP will not appear before a grand
jury, be indicted or enter a plea. And there is no record of conviction.
"Once there is a guilty verdict, at that moment in time, and possibly for
the rest of your life, you have that label: convicted drug felon," Williams
tells his orientation group. "You are among a small percentage of people who
are given a chance to enter and exit (the criminal justice system) with no
record that you were here."
Participants have 14 days after the initial orientation to drop out of STOP
and reclaim their rights to a trial. The district attorney and judge also
have 14 days to rescind offers of enrollment.
Participants undergo random full-spectrum urine tests at least twice a
month. They may be tested more frequently if tests are positive or if their
home or work situations seem unstable.
If a person fails to show up for a STOP court appointment, a bench warrant
for $55,555 is issued.
Haas said the program works because everyone involved closely supervises
participants.
"Suddenly, these people have someone who cares, someone who'll give them
every chance to make it," he said. "I've learned that relapses happen. It
takes effort, and it takes time, and it takes compassion."
It also takes commitment from the participants.
"We're just gyroscopes and compasses to keep people balanced and pointed in
the right direction," Williams said. "These people do the work. We just help
guide them."
(c)1998 Oregon Live LLC
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Alcohol Linked To 37 Percent Of Violent Crimes, Data Shows
('San Jose Mercury News' Version Notes Alcohol Is An Even Bigger Factor
In Violence By Current Or Former Spouses, Boyfriends Or Girlfriends -
Victims Of Those Attacks Cited Alcohol As A Factor In Two-Thirds Of Them,
And Victims Of Spouse Violence Alone Said Three-Fourths Of Their Attackers
Used Alcohol)
Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1998 18:53:21 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)
Subject: MN: US CA: Alcohol Linked to 37 Percent of Violent Crimes, Data Shows
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Joel W. Johnson (jwjohnson@netmagic.net)
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Contact: letters@sjmercury.com
Website: http://www.sjmercury.com/
Pubdate: Mon, 06 Apr 1998
ALCOHOL LINKED TO 37 PERCENT OF VIOLENT CRIMES, DATA SHOWS
WASHINGTON -- Although declining as a cause of death, alcohol remains a
factor in nearly 40 percent of violent crimes, the Justice Department
reported Sunday.
Alcohol is an even bigger factor in violence by a variety of intimates -- a
current or former spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend. Victims of those attacks
cited alcohol as a factor in two-thirds of them. Victims of spouse violence
alone said three-fourths of their attackers used alcohol.
The report by the department's Bureau of Justice Statistics found that,
among the 7.7 million violent crimes each year where victims can tell
whether attackers used alcohol, drugs or both, 37 percent thought their
assailants were using alcohol or alcohol with drugs.
Of the 5.3 million convicted adult offenders in prison, jail or on parole
or probation in 1996, 36 percent reported they had been drinking at the
time of the offense for which they were convicted, the report estimated.
The report also said one in five victims of alcohol-related violence
reports a financial loss. When injury occurred, the average out-of-pocket
medical expense was $1,500.
Overall, 500,000 victims suffer financial losses each year in
alcohol-related violence, and their losses total more than $400 million,
the report said.
Meanwhile, the rate of all alcohol-induced deaths fell 19 percent between
1980 and 1994, according to National Center for Health Statistics data.
The arrest rate for driving under the influence of alcohol dropped by 24
percent since 1990. In the last decade, highway fatalities blamed on
alcohol sank from 24,000 in 1986 to 17,126 in 1996.
Nevertheless, local police made 1,467,300 arrests nationwide in 1996 for
driving under the influence of alcohol. That was down from the peak of 1.9
million arrests in 1983 when 33 states permitted alcohol consumption before
age 21. Since then, responding to federal highway funding requirements,
every state has gone to a minimum drinking age of 21.
The most common state laws define intoxication as 0.10 grams of alcohol per
deciliter of blood, but the Clinton administration wants that lowered to
0.08. California already has adopted the lower limit.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Alcohol Remains Factor In Crime ('Los Angeles Times' Version)
Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1998 11:57:40 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)
Subject: MN: US: Alcohol Remains Factor in Crime
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Jim Rosenfield
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Contact: letters@latimes.com
Fax: 213-237-4712
Website: http://www.latimes.com/
Pubdate: Mon, 6 Apr 1998
ALCOHOL REMAINS FACTOR IN CRIME
WASHINGTON--In nearly 40 percent of violent crimes, alcohol is a factor,
even as it declines as a cause of death, the Justice Department reports.
Alcohol is an even bigger factor in violence by a variety of intimates - a
current or former spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend. Victims of those attacks
cited alcohol as a factor in two-thirds of them. Victims of spouse violence
alone said three-fourths of their attackers used alcohol.
The report, released Sunday by the department's Bureau of Justice
Statistics, said that among the 7.7 million violent crimes each year where
victims can tell whether attackers used alcohol, drugs or both, 37 percent
thought their assailants were using alcohol or alcohol and drugs.
Of the 5.3 million convicted adult offenders in prison, jail or on parole
or probation in 1996, 36 percent reported they had been drinking at the
time of the crime for which they were convicted, the report estimated.
The report also said one in five victims of alcohol-related violence
reports a financial loss. When injury occurred, the average out-of-pocket
medical expense was $1,500. Overall, 500,000 victims suffer financial
losses each year in alcohol-related violence, and their losses total more
than $400 million, the report said.
Meanwhile, the rate of all alcohol-induced deaths fell 19 percent between
1980 and 1994, according to National Center for Health Statistics data.
Also, the arrest rate for driving under the influence of alcohol dropped by
24 percent since 1990. In the last decade, highway fatalities blamed on
alcohol sank from 24,000 in 1986 to 17,126 in 1996.
Nevertheless, local police made 1,467,300 arrests nationwide in 1996 for
driving under the influence of alcohol. That was down from the peak of 1.9
million arrests in 1983 when 33 states permitted alcohol consumption before
age 21. Since then, responding to federal highway funding requirements,
every state has gone to a minimum drinking age of 21.
The most common state laws define intoxication as 0.10 grams of alcohol per
deciliter of blood, but the Clinton administration wants that lowered to
0.08. A Senate bill would reduce federal highway aid to those states that
refuse to adopt the 0.08 definition, but after heavy lobbying by the liquor
industry the House highway bill does not contain that administration-backed
provision.
Among state prisoners who drank at the time of their offense, the average
alcohol concentration was 0.28 for inmates convicted of violent crimes,
0.30 for those convicted of property crimes, 0.23 for those convicted of
public disorder and 0.19 for those convicted of drug offenses. National
estimates of the annual per capita consumption of alcohol have declined 10
percent since 1990 -from 40 gallons to 36 gallons.
Copyright Los Angeles Times
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Alcohol Still A Big Factor In Violence ('San Diego Union Tribune' Version)
Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1998 23:03:23 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)
Subject: MN: US: Alcohol Still a Big Factor in Violence
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Tom Murlowski
Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA)
Contact: letters@uniontrib.com
Website: http://www.uniontrib.com/
Pubdate: Mon, 6 Apr 1998
Author: Michael J. Sniffen - Associated Press
ALCOHOL STILL A BIG FACTOR IN VIOLENCE
WASHINGTON -- Although declining as a cause of death, alcohol remains a
factor in nearly 40 percent of violent crimes, the Justice Department
reported yesterday.
Alcohol is an even bigger factor in violence by a variety of intimates -- a
current or former spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend. Victims of those attacks
cited alcohol as a factor in two-thirds of them. Victims of spouse violence
alone said three-fourths of their attackers used alcohol.
The report by the department's Bureau of Justice Statistics found that,
among the 7.7 million violent crimes each year where victims can tell
whether attackers used alcohol, drugs or both, 37 percent thought their
assailants were using alcohol or alcohol with drugs.
Of the 5.3 million convicted adult offenders in prison, jail or on parole
or probation in 1996, 36 percent reported they had been drinking at the
time of the offense for which they were convicted, the report estimated.
The report also said one in five victims of alcohol-related violence
reports a financial loss. When injury occurred, the average out-of-pocket
medical expense was $1,500.
Overall, 500,000 victims suffer financial losses each year in
alcohol-related violence, and their losses total more than $400 million,
the report said.
Meanwhile, the rate of all alcohol-induced deaths fell 19 percent between
1980 and 1994, according to National Center for Health Statistics data.
And the arrest rate for driving under the influence of alcohol dropped by
24 percent since 1990. In the last decade, highway fatalities blamed on
alcohol sank from 24,000 in 1986 to 17,126 in 1996.
Nevertheless, local police made 1,467,300 arrests nationwide in 1996 for
driving under the influence of alcohol. That was down from the peak of 1.9
million arrests in 1983 when 33 states permitted alcohol consumption before
age 21. Since then, responding to federal highway funding requirements,
every state has gone to a minimum drinking age of 21.
The most common state laws define intoxication as 0.10 grams of alcohol per
deciliter of blood, but the Clinton administration wants that lowered to
0.08. A Senate bill would reduce federal highway aid to those states that
refuse to adopt the 0.08 definition, but after heavy lobbying by the liquor
industry the House highway bill does not contain that administration-backed
provision.
Among state prisoners who drank at the time of their offense, the average
alcohol concentration was 0.28 for inmates convicted of violent crimes,
0.30 for those convicted of property crimes, 0.23 for those convicted of
public disorder and 0.19 for those convicted of drug offenses.
National estimates of the annual per capita consumption of alcohol have
declined 10 percent since 1990 -- from 40 gallons to 36 gallons.
Copyright 1998 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Experts Baffled By Rise In Teen Smoking ('Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'
Gives A Local Perspective On Recent Survey
From US Centers For Disease Control And Prevention
Suggesting 36.4 Percent Of High School Students Used Tobacco Last Year,
Up From 27.5 Percent In 1991 - Among Blacks, The Numbers Rose
From 12.6 Percent To 22.7 Percent)
Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1998 22:48:24 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)
Subject: MN: US WI: Experts Baffled by Rise in Teen Smoking
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: "Frank S. World"
Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI)
Contact: jsedit@onwis.com
Fax: (414) 224-8280
Website: http://www.jsonline.com/
Pubdate: Mon, 06 Apr 1998
Author: Joe Manning and Jack Norman of the Journal Sentinel staff
EXPERTS BAFFLED BY RISE IN TEEN SMOKING
Officials try to snuff out ads, peer pressure
The three girls are 14 years old -- they look not a day older -- and have
been smoking cigarettes since they were 10.
They represent a bewildering puzzle to health authorities.
It's against the rules to smoke on school grounds, so the girls crossed E.
Locust St. before lighting up one day last week.
One cigarette among the three freshmen, passed puff-to-puff as they
shivered in the cold afternoon wind across the street from Milwaukee's
Riverside University High School.
"Marie," "Christine" and "Mandy" are names they chose for the interview
instead of their real names. Their moms know they smoke and don't approve.
"I got caught the first time I smoked," said Mandy. "I got grounded. But
the second time she knew she couldn't do anything about it. She knows, but
she just doesn't want to see it."
Others in their families smoke. "My Dad smokes." "My mom's boyfriend smokes."
Even though smoking is known to cause disease and early death, the growing
number of teen smokers baffles experts seeking ways to stamp out cigarette
and tobacco use among youth.
"Obviously, we need a new anti-smoking message," one psychologist said.
What's fueling the nearly one-third jump over six years in the number of
teenagers admitting to the nasty habit?
The likely ingredients include: peer pressure; low self-esteem; wanting to
be cool; keeping weight down; Joe Camel and the Marlboro man and other
advertising and promotions; smoking by actors on television and in movies;
parental smoking; defiance of adults and authority; and the teenager's view
that the health consequences of smoking are a long way off.
But, one consequence of smoking is not off in the distant, smoky future --
addiction.
"I started because of peer pressure," said Marie. "Everybody I know smokes."
The girls said they smoke four to 10 cigarettes a day.
Do they want to quit?
"Yes." "Yes." "Yes," was the chorus of answers.
Teens get hooked easily, and it's harder for them to break the habit than
adults, said Douglas Jorenby, a clinical psychologist in charge of clinical
services at the Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention at the
University of Wisconsin Medical School.
Smoking teens are under a lot of peer pressure to keep smoking, Jorenby
said. They aren't fully aware of the tragic consequences of smoking, and
being cool is currently more important, he said.
Older smokers trying to quit have supporters who are not sabotaging their
efforts, Jorenby said. The center runs stop-smoking clinics for teens, and
the percentage of teens that go back to smoking exceeds that of adults.
One of the smoking girls spoke the word "addiction," and nobody challenged
that. Still, they think willpower is the issue, not biology.
"If I desperately wanted to quit, I could," said Marie. "Well, I want to,
but I don't want to."
Said Mandy: "I don't want to smoke, but -- I have willpower, but not enough
willpower."
What's the positive side of smoking?
"If I'm under a lot of stress, I chain smoke," answered Marie.
"When I have a problem, if I'm about to fight, I take out a cigarette,"
said Mandy. "I calm down.
"I wouldn't want to be a part of making someone start smoking," she added.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 36.4% of high
school students used some form of tobacco last year, up from 27.5% in 1991.
Among blacks, the numbers rose from 12.6% to 22.7%.
Michael Fiore, director of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee tobacco
center, blamed increases in smoking directly on tobacco companies.
"The numbers reflect the pattern of the tobacco companies marketing
successfully to children. With the lack of limits on advertising and little
effective counter-advertising -- as well as the absence of enforcement of
laws preventing children under 18 purchasing cigarettes -- we are leading
another generation of kids into addiction," he said.
The dire warning to kids -- and the one they seem not to get -- is: "Fully
half of those who begin smoking will die prematurely of a disease caused by
that addiction," Fiore said.
So what to do?
"Are we reaching kids? We are not as effective as we want to be. We don't
have all the answers," said Jeff Propp, public health educator with the
Milwaukee Health Department.
"We try to reach them at a level they can accept and understand. But, you
have to second-guess yourself when you look at the climbing numbers.
"We are not standing still. We are trying. It takes time. You cannot just
walk up to a kid and expect him to stop smoking," Propp said.
Stop-smoking services as well as education programs are available to kids,
he said. The Common Council passed a law last month forbidding tobacco
billboard advertising in residential areas, he said.
Also, a proposed federal settlement with tobacco companies seeks to curb
advertising.
Not one of the three smokers has a problem acquiring cigarettes. Sometimes
they walk into a store and buy a pack. Other times, they have an
older-looking friend make the purchase.
Any of the 37% of Wisconsin teens who want help in kicking addiction can
call the Health Department at 286-3616 STYL parameter error Propp said.
Experts agreed that little has been done to stop tobacco advertising to
youths, and a counter-ad campaign is feeble in comparison.
Mike Harryman, public relations director for Hughes, Ruch & Murphy
Advertising Marketing and Communications in Brookfield, said his firm is
developing public service announcements to counter the efforts of tobacco
advertising.
But, the ads have had limited exposure and rely on the largess of
broadcasters for air time.
The ads are being developed free in conjunction with the American Cancer
Society, American Lung Association and Blue Cross & Blue Shield United of
Wisconsin.
As advertising has undoubtedly contributed to tobacco abuse among teens,
Dick McDonald, managing officer for BVK/McDonald, said an effective ad
campaign could offset much of the damage.
But McDonald said he was unaware how to wage a campaign that would be
effective in reaching kids.
"How do you reach that 10-year-old boy and 12-year-old girl? What research
tells me what works? There would have to be a lot of trial and error to
discover the appeal avenue to get there," he said.
"We need to give adolescents a new message, but we don't have that message
yet," said Heather Cecil, assistant professor in the department of
psychiatry and behavioral medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
She said when she did a study of the health warning labels on cigarette
packages she found that teenagers did not believe them or did not feel they
applied to them.
Also, many did not know what carbon monoxide was.
Cancer, a consequence of smoking, was "far too remote for kids. Adolescents
don't have a real appreciation of harmful consequences, and it is hard to
believe that something will happen in the future.
"They tend to live here and now," she said.
The "easy solution" to reducing teen smoking is to raise the price of
cigarettes, Cecil said.
Parents need to stop smoking too and get involved in their children's
lives, she said.
"Give them a future to work for. Promote a healthy lifestyle. We need to
get the message across that smoking is not a cool thing to do," said Cecil.
"Teens don't realize how addicted they are until they try to quit. It is
very sad."
Said Christine, "Cigarettes could go to $5 a pack, that'd be OK."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Science Starting To Tackle Teen Smoking ('Los Angeles Times'
Reviews A Mix Of Real And Junk Science Being Applied To The Problem
Of How To Prevent Or Stop Teens From Using Tobacco)
Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1998 12:10:40 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)
Subject: MN: US: Science Starting to Tackle Teen Smoking
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Jim Rosenfield
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Contact: letters@latimes.com
Fax: 213-237-4712
Website: http://www.latimes.com/
Pubdate: Mon, 06 Apr 1998
Author: Kathleen Doheny, Special to The Times
SCIENCE STARTING TO TACKLE TEEN SMOKING
Behavior: Researchers know adolescents kick the habit for different reasons
than adults, but there's little data to show which methods work and why.
How can a teen be convinced to stop smoking--or persuaded never to take up
the habit at all?
Those questions became even more crucial last week, when the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention reported that tobacco use among teenagers
increased by nearly one-third in the last six years. In 1991, 27.5% of
teens used cigarettes, smokeless tobacco or cigars. In 1997, 36.4% did.
Teen smoking prevention and cessation "is an area woefully understudied and
underresearched," says Dr. David Sachs, clinical associate professor of
pulmonology and critical care medicine at Stanford University and a smoking
cessation expert.
But that's changing, he says, as more researchers become involved in the
field, more research is funded and experts realize that teen smokers are
not simply youthful versions of adult smokers. Teens have their own issues,
their own persuasion trigger points, their own pressures. What works for
adult smokers--and researchers are still trying to figure out that problem
too--may backfire for adolescents.
In California, a phone counseling program that has been in place since 1992
([800] 7-NO BUTTS) began providing teen counseling in 1996. The format has
been fine-tuned for teens "who get turned off if you ask them a lot of
direct questions," says April Roeseler, a health educator and chief of
local programs for the Tobacco Control Section of the California Department
of Health Services, which runs the California Smokers' Helpline.
With teenagers, counselors aim to be more conversational. The first call
generally takes about 45 minutes, with discussion about why the teen began
smoking and the extent of the habit. In the next few weeks, the counselor
sets up additional telephone appointments, with up to eight sessions total.
Since 1992, more than 3,000 teens, ages 14 to 17, have called, Roeseler
says. Now 260 teens who have participated in the program are being
followed, says Shu-Hong Zhu, assistant professor of family and preventive
medicine at the UC San Diego School of Medicine and the principal
investigator for the project. Researchers want to see whether the teens who
quit remain nonsmokers. "Things are looking promising," he says, but he
could offer no success-rate figures.
>From data collected so far, Roeseler says, "teens tend to be less addicted
[than adults] but find it harder to quit."
About 70% of teen smokers report that a family member smokes, she says. And
if a mother smokes, it seems to have a bigger influence on teens taking up
the habit than if a father smokes, she says.
Another smoking cessation expert has found that teens who enroll in formal
cessation programs have much less success than adults.
Steve Sussman, USC associate professor of preventive medicine, recently
reviewed 34 programs (half of which focused on prevention, half on
cessation) and discovered that 21% of the teens were able to quit
immediately after the program. In general, the adult "quit rate" after such
a program is about 50%, he says. At six months, 13% of the teens who
graduated from cessation programs were still nonsmokers, Sussman found.
(His review is due to be published in the journal Substance Use & Misuse.)
At six months, in general, about 25% of adult program graduates are still
not smoking.
Success has been elusive, says Dr. Neal Benowitz, chief of clinical
pharmacology and toxicology in the department of medicine at UC San
Francisco. "Kids don't stay in the programs. The best likelihood of success
is to tie in the cessation program with an activity the kid likes,"
Benowitz says. That might be athletics, he says, or a church youth group or
other activity, making participation in one dependent on the other. What's
also worth a try, in his view, is nicotine patches for teens 15 or older.
Meanwhile, other efforts are focusing on prevention. In Project Towards No
Tobacco Use, a prevention program funded by the National Cancer Institute
and tested on 7,000 12-year-olds by Sussman's group, researchers found that
teaching assertion skills can help young people refuse offers of tobacco.
In another strategy, the program leader takes an anonymous classroom poll
of smokers, demonstrating that far fewer 12-year-olds smoke than many
think.
Reducing exposure to tobacco promotional materials can go a long way toward
preventing youth smoking, says John Pierce, professor of cancer research at
UC San Diego School of Medicine and head of cancer prevention at the UCSD
Cancer Center. In a study published in February in the Journal of the
American Medical Assn., Pierce and his colleagues followed 1,752 teens who
had never smoked over a three-year period, taking into account their
exposure to tobacco ads and trendy promotional materials such as T-shirts
and workout bags, and concluded that "tobacco promotional activities are
causally related to the onset of smoking."
Pierce estimates 34% of California teens' experimentation with tobacco in
his 1993-96 study can be attributed to tobacco promotions. His best advice
for parents? "Don't give tobacco promotional items to your children," he
says.
Copyright Los Angeles Times
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Violence Escalates As Island Nations Crack Down On Drugs
('San Diego Union Tribune' Says An Increase In Violence
Against Law Enforcement Officials In The Caribbean Is Attributable
To An Increase In Regional Trafficking Of Illegal Drugs)
Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1998 23:06:53 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)
Subject: MN: Caribbean: Violence Escalates as Island Nations Crack Down on Drugs
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Tom Murlowski
Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA)
Contact: letters@uniontrib.com
Website: http://www.uniontrib.com/
Pubdate: Mon, 6 Apr 1998
Author: Robert Hoffman - Associated Press
VIOLENCE ESCALATES AS ISLAND NATIONS CRACK DOWN ON DRUGS
ST. JOHN'S, Antigua -- Antigua's top anti-drug official had just leaned
over to turn up a cricket match on his car radio when a bullet smashed
through the rear window, showering him in shattered glass.
"If it were not for the cricket, I probably would not be here now," said
Wrenford Ferrance, who believes he was targeted because he is making it
harder to launder drug profits in this Caribbean nation.
In Trinidad, a former attorney general was shot repeatedly in front of his
home in a 1995 assassination that investigators blame on drug traffickers
even though the crime officially remains unsolved.
No one has been arrested in the Feb. 13 attack on Ferrance either. But he
and other Antiguan officials say it will not deter their efforts to fight
the illegal drug trade.
In recent years, the Caribbean has become a major drug trafficking route
between the cocaine producers of South America and consumers in the United
States and Europe.
To help fight that trend, the United States and Britain are urging several
Caribbean nations, including the dual-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda,
to take another look at their international banking businesses.
In some cases, drug traffickers look to Caribbean-based banks to turn huge
amounts of cash into bank deposits that appear legitimate. Ferrance is
tightening up banking rules in Antigua, which has long had a reputation for
lax bank regulation.
The island also has been tarred with allegations of drug-related corruption.
In 1990, for example, a brother of Prime Minister Lester Bird was named a
conspirator in a shipment of 10 tons of Israeli arms to the Medellin
cocaine cartel in Colombia.
The brother, Vere Bird Jr., maintained his innocence in the fraud and
customs law case, although a British judge brought in to hold a public
hearing found he was implicated along with an Antiguan colonel and several
Israelis.
There never was a trial, but the prime minister fired his brother from the
Cabinet. Last year, however, Vere Bird Jr. was brought back into the
government as an adviser.
Another Bird brother, Ivor, was arrested in 1995 at the island's airport,
allegedly with 22 pounds of cocaine in his possession. He was sentenced to
a fine of $28,000 or two years in jail. He paid the fine.
Such incidents heighten fears that drug gangs are seeking, and sometimes
gaining, political clout in the small island nations of the Caribbean.
On nearby St. Kitts, a large delivery of cocaine brought down the
government in 1994 after some of the cocaine was found in a house shared by
three sons of Deputy Prime Minister Sidney Morris.
One brother disappeared with his companion, and their skeletons later were
found in the trunk of a car. The island's police superintendent, who was
investigating their disappearance, was shot and killed.
A Scotland Yard detective gave reports to the St. Kitts government that
never were published.
The two surviving Morris brothers, who were suspects in the killing of
their brother, were arrested but later released -- one after a local judge
denied a U.S. extradition request on drug charges.
The scandal forced elections three years early that unseated the party that
had governed St. Kitts for nearly 15 years.
On Antigua, since 1996, Ferrance has revoked the licenses of seven
"offshore" banks, which take deposits from foreigners. And he is proposing
to prohibit offshore banks from accepting cash deposits and to require them
to report suspicious clients.
Ferrance also assembled computer experts, lawyers and former agents of the
U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration to
train Antiguan regulators. A British drug agent, meanwhile, is being
assigned to Antigua for two years.
Patrick T. O'Brien, a former U.S. Customs Service agent who served on one
Antigua task force, said the attack on Ferrance was typical of the response
seen in drug-producing countries like Colombia when officials crack down on
trafficking.
"It was not just a warning," O'Brien said. "If these types want to issue a
warning, they put a bullet through your house window in the middle of the
night. When they fire directly on an occupied vehicle, they are playing for
keeps."
Copyright 1998 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Trinidad And Tobago Lauded For Role In Drug War ('Associated Press'
Article In 'San Diego Union Tribune' Says US Secretary Of State
Madeleine Albright Was In Black Rock, Tobago, Yesterday
Calling For More Cooperation Against Drug Traffickers And Praising
Trinidad And Tobago For Leading The Way)
Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1998 23:09:33 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)
Subject: MN: Carribean: Trinidad and Tobago Lauded for Role in Drug War
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Tom Murlowski
Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA)
Contact: letters@uniontrib.com
Website: http://www.uniontrib.com/
Pubdate: Mon, 6 Apr 1998
Author: Michelle Faul - Associated Press
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO LAUDED FOR ROLE IN DRUG WAR
Albright to seek more help at meeting today
BLACK ROCK, Tobago -- U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright called
yesterday for more cooperation against drug traffickers and praised
Trinidad and Tobago for leading the way.
In 1996, Trinidad and Tobago became the first Caribbean nation to sign an
agreement allowing U.S. authorities to pursue suspected drug traffickers
into its territorial airspace and waters.
Albright said she would discuss "the increased need to cooperate even
further . . . on a scourge that knows no boundaries" at a meeting today
with foreign ministers of the 15-member Caribbean Community.
The 1996 agreement led to severe criticism from neighboring islands, which
accused Trinidad of sacrificing its sovereignty, Prime Minister Basdeo
Panday said yesterday after meeting with Albright.
Since then, most Caribbean islands have signed drug-fighting pacts with
Washington, some allowing only air or sea pursuits.
Albright said that "each nation's sovereignty is enlarged and not
diminished" by cooperating against drug traffickers who many fear are
gaining political influence on some islands.
Albright and Panday also signed agreements to share technology, protect the
marine environment and control air pollution.
At today's meeting on Trinidad, both sides likely will lament a lack of
progress on regional issues since President Clinton met with Caribbean
leaders in Barbados in May.
Then, Caribbean leaders hailed as a breakthrough a U.S. agreement to link
the drug war to helping develop tiny Caribbean economies dwarfed by the
resources of drug cartels.
The United States is sending four aircraft and two patrol boats to help
Trinidad and Tobago track down traffickers, Albright said.
But she cautioned "our finances are limited" and did not mention ways to
increase island trade opportunities. Caribbean nations once buoyed by
generous U.S. aid have lost thousands of jobs because of the North American
Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico.
Clinton left the Barbados summit promising to send Congress legislation
expanding trade opportunities for the region. But Congress refused to do
so.
Trinidad and Tobago, which had the region's best chance of winning
NAFTA-type parity, appears to have given up.
"NAFTA is now a bad word in the United States," Panday said. "We're going
alone to other areas where we could effectively be in NAFTA."
Panday's oil-rich country already has a free trade agreement with Mexico
and, through the Caribbean Community, with Canada.
The Caribbean Community, the prime minister said, was discussing similar
trade pacts with the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and Colombia.
Copyright 1998 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Enforcers Challenge Cannabis Liberation Movement (Toronto 'Globe And Mail'
Gives A Relatively Lengthy Account Of Current And Past Pot Prohibition
In Canada, Noting The Consistent Roles Of Ignorance And Law Enforcement
In Promoting And Maintaining The War On Some Drug Users)
Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1998 14:41:32 -0400
From: Carey Ker
Subject: Canada: Enforcers challenge cannabis liberation movement
To: mattalk@islandnet.com
Source: The Globe and Mail, April 6, 1998, Page A6
Newshawk:carey.ker@utoronto.ca
contact: letters@GlobeAndMail.ca
Enforcers challenge cannabis liberation movement
By Isabel Vincent
The Globe and Mail
On Sept. 15, 1997, Lynn Harichy set out to break the law.
The 36-year-old resident of London, Ont., contacted the
local news media and announced she was on her way to the
London Police Department to smoke marijuana. By the time she
arrived, a crowd of cheering supporters had rallied outside
the police station and were handing her marijuana cigarettes
as she walked defiantly up the station steps. Ms Harichy,
who didn't even have a chance to light up, was arrested on
the spot.
"I felt I had to make a point," said the soft-spoken woman,
who has multiple sclerosis and says she has been smoking
marijuana for a year in an effort to relieve her pain. "I
can't live without it [marijuana] and I didn't want my
neighbours to call Crime Stoppers and bother my children, so
I went to them. I went to get arrested."
Ms. Harichy is one of several Canadians who have gone
directly to the police and the courts in the past two years
to challenge what they say are the country's anachronistic
drug laws. Along with many AIDS sufferers, who smoke
marijuana to treat nausea and vomiting associated with the
disease and AZT drug therapy, Ms. Harichy wants legislators
to decriminalize marijuana for therapeutic use.
The decriminalization movement is joined by hundreds of
recreational smokers who also say that the country's laws
against cannabis are outdated and out of step with the rest
of the Western world, where many governments have eased
restrictions on possession and use of the drug in the past
few years.
The decriminalization proponents have lately found
themselves in a pitched battle with Canadian law
-enforcement officials, who say cannabis is a dangerous
drug, and its possession and consumption should not be
tolerated in any circumstances.
"This is the greatest injustice being committed in Canada,"
said Marc Emery, a Vancouver-based professional activist and
publisher of Cannabis Canada Magazine. Mr. Emery, who used
to own an Amsterdam-style coffee house in Vancouver where
patrons could buy and smoke marijuana, is paying for Ms.
Harichy's legal defense and is bankrolling a number of other
cannabis-related cases in an effort to force a political and
legal reckoning on use of the drug in Canada.
"Three million people in Canada use marijuana. Many people
grow it in their homes, and the police go after them with
automatic weapons and SWAT teams. It's ludicrous," said Mr.
Emery, who has been arrested four times for selling
high-grade cannabis seeds to buyers in the United States.
Mr. Emery, who is facing 15 counts of trafficking and
possession, said he was recently forced to sell his Cannabis
Cafe, which had been raided twice by law-enforcement
officials.
Like his counterparts in the decriminalization crusade, Mr.
Emery, 40, says the drug is relatively harmless and much
safer than alcohol or tobacco. Moreover, he argues, poll
after poll has shown that a majority of Canadians support
the decriminalization of the drug, or at least a change in
policy regulating its use.
But many law-enforcement officials argue that medical
research on the effects of the long-term use of marijuana
are inconclusive, and that contemporary marijuana, which is
produced from the cannabis plant, is much stronger that than
it was in the 1960s. They say marijuana's THC levels are
much higher today than they were 20 years ago. THC stands for
tetrahydrocannabinol and is the active ingredient in the
drug that gives smokers their high.
"Right now, the THC level in marijuana is between 16 and 20
per cent. Twenty years ago it was between 3 and 5 per cent,"
said RCMP Constable Scott Rintoul, who is part of the
force's drug-enforcement unit in Vancouver.
But the higher THC content means people actually need to
smoke less of the drug to get high, decriminalization
supporters say.
"We're really concerned," said Constable Rintoul, adding
that, according to some of the scientific studies
distributed by the RCMP, marijuana's effects last up to
eight times longer than those of alcohol. "Right now, aside
from alcohol, marijuana is the No. 1 drugs that we find on
impaired drivers. We can't handle all the problems that we
have with alcohol and tobacco right now. Why would we want
to decriminalize another menacing drug?"
He said the RCMP is so concerned about marijuana-impaired
drivers that the force has recently trained 40
"drug-recognition officers" in British Columbia. These
traffic officers now administer a series of drug tests to
impaired drivers to determine whether they have been smoking
marijuana. British Columbia, where statistics show marijuana
consumption is the highest in the country, is the first
province to implement this strategy, which the RCMP hope to
adopt in other provinces.
According to Constable Rintoul, the RCMP have been
concentrating on the traffickers and those who grow
marijuana in their homes for profit. Although they are
concerned about marijuana users, who they say are more
likely than non-users to try harder drugs such as cocaine
and heroin, their focus is now almost exclusively on the
production end of cannabis and not on recreational use.
According to Statistics Canada, cannabis accounted for 72
percent of the 65,000-plus Canadian drugs offences reported
in 1996 and for 67 per cent of the 43, 855 people charged.
Critics cringe when they see such statistics arguing that
law-enforcement officials spend more time cracking down on
cannabis related offences than they do on more serious
crimes such as homicide and sexual assault.
"Most of the RCMP claims about the dangers of marijuana are
idiotic, unfounded and inaccurate," said Alan Young, a
professor of law at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto who
has been researching cannabis policy for the past 10 years
and is lead defense counsel on several cases, including Ms.
Harichy's, that are seeking to force the decriminalization
of cannabis. "The only way that the prohibition of this drug
is maintained is through the dissemination of propaganda and
the use of medical studies that are outdated and discredited
by the scientific community," he said.
Indeed, in a recent Ontario case in which Christopher Clay
was charged with trafficking in cannabis, the presiding
judge said that after, analyzing the scientific evidence on
the effects of marijuana presented at the trial, he had
concluded that "consumption of marijuana is relatively
harmless compared to the so-called hard drugs and including
tobacco and alcohol."
Although Mr. Clay was found guilty of trafficking, Mr.
Justice J.F. McCart of the Ontario Court's General Division
said that "there exists no hard evidence demonstrating any
irreversible organic or mental damage from the consumption
of marijuana."
Decriminalization advocates such as Mr. Young, who is
appealing the decision in Mr. Clay's case argue that if the
drug were to be legalized regulations could be introduced
that would prevent unscrupulous traffickers from selling
marijuana mixed with sometimes harmful contaminants.
Although both sides cannot agree on the drug's long-term
effects, both accuse the federal government of being totally
unresponsive to the issue.
"It's the ostrich effect," Mr. Young said. "They just ignore
the whole issue in the hope that it will go away."
Charles Perkins, a member of one of the few Canadian
anti-cannabis groups, agrees. "I have been to Ottawa several
times to discuss this issue and I've been totally ignored,"
said Mr. Perkins, spokesman for the Sarnia-based Lambton
Families in Action for Drug Education, Inc. which promotes
drug awareness in local schools.
According to a 1995 study by Health and Welfare Canada, 70
per cent of Canadians want a change in the law in drug
policy related to cannabis and said they were opposed to the
use of jail sentences to combat marijuana use. For different
reasons, many activists on both sides of the
decriminalization struggle say that the Canadian legislation
on cannabis is rather outdated and vague.
In this country, the history of drug prohibition legislation
goes back to the 1911 Opium and Drug Act, which contained no
reference to marijuana. In 1923, cannabis was added to the
list of prohibited drugs, without any discussion or debate
in the House of Commons about its inclusion.
Why, critics ask, was the drug included, especially given
that until 1937 there were no convictions for possession of
marijuana, and for the next 20 years the conviction rate
hovered between zero and 12 per cent? In fact, there were no
significant numbers of recorded offences until the late
1960s, when marijuana increased in popularity among young,
upper-middle-class adults.
Many critics say the inclusion of the drug in the act was
spurred by the writings of a crusading Edmonton magistrate
named Emily Murphy. In 1920, she published a series of
sensational articles in Maclean's magazine on the "horrible"
effects of drug use and the deliberate attempts of "evil,"
mainly foreign, drug traffickers to corrupt Canadian youth,
the articles were collected in a book called The Black
Candle, which was published in 1922.
Ms. Murphy's extremist views were derived from mainly from
interviews with U.S. law-enforcement officers. In one
instance she quotes the Los Angeles chief of police on the
evils of marijuana: "Persons using this narcotic smoke the
dried leaves of the plant, which has the effect of driving
them completely insane. The addict loses all sense of moral
responsibility. Addicts to this drug, while under its
influence, are immune to pain, and could be injured without
having any realization of their condition. while in this
condition they become raving maniacs and are liable to kill
or indulge in any form of violence to other persons, using
the most savage methods of cruelty without, as said before,
any sense of moral responsibility..."
According to Judge McCart, who cited Ms. Murphy's views in
the Clay case, "it was in this climate of irrational fear
that the criminal sanctions against marijuana were enacted."
The law has remained largely unchanged since the 1920's even
though a royal commission in 1973 concluded that the
government should consider its decriminalization.
In the Netherlands, marijuana can be openly purchased in
licensed establishments throughout the country. In Germany,
public prosecutors now have discretionary power to dismiss
minor cases of drug possession unconditionally, or they can
levy fines and insist that the accused do community service
for the infraction. In Spain, a 1995 amendment to the penal
code says that possession of any illegal drug for personal
use is no longer subject to criminal sanctions.
Proponents of decriminalization say that Canadian
legislators are loath to reform cannabis policy because of
pressure from the United States, where in most parts of the
country the possession of cannabis is still subject to
criminal sanctions.
"We can't seem to get beyond the repressive American policy
on drugs," said Mr. Young, citing what he called the strong
influence of the U.S. government's so-called war on drugs,
which came to a head under the Republican administrations of
Ronald Reagan and George Bush in the 1970s and 1980s. "If we
were to reforms our laws, it would put tremendous pressure
on U.S. lawmakers to do the same. So we maintain this
cowardly insistence of being little foot soldiers to the
American war on drugs."
For their part, Canadian law-enforcement officials say they
are under pressure from their U.S. counterparts to get
tougher on marijuana, especially its export to California,
Washington and Oregon, where a great deal of marijuana grown
in British Columbia ends up.
Although there are no official statistics on the amount of
cannabis grown in B.C., both police and cannabis supporters
say it is a mutibillion-dollar industry in the province.
The RCMP and regional police forces are pushing for stricter
legislation to allow them to get tough with those who have
turned the cultivation of cannabis into a lucrative and
growing cottage industry, using hydroponic gardens in their
homes.
Despite the efforts of local authorities, civil
disobedience on the decriminalization issue appears to be
growing exponentially. According to Mr. Young, "every major
municipality has a hemp store, openly selling drug
paraphernalia, despite the fact that there is a law in the
books prohibiting the sale of drug paraphernalia." In
Toronto There is a 24-hour cannabis-information line, run by
a cannabis retail and advocacy group called The Friendly
Stranger.
Those fighting for decriminalization on the medical front
got a boost last December when an Ontario judge ruled that
Terry Parker could cultivate and possess cannabis to control
his epilepsy.
Buoyed by the decision, Ms Harichy and others have joined to
set up buyers' clubs, groups that buy marijuana and
distribute it to those who have demonstrated medical need of
it. Ms. Harichy, who recently opened the London Cannabis
Compassion Centre, says the organization plans to sell
marijuana to those who present the group with and authorized
physician's note.
"Civil disobedience is necessary," Ms. Harichy said. "The
police will not listen to facts. All they are interested in
is putting more 'reefer madness' out there."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
War On Drugs Bogged Down Over Scandal ('Scotland On Sunday'
Suggests Allegations Of Nepotism Are Making The Mission
Of The Scottish Health Promotions Agency More Difficult)
Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1998 14:38:22 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: Olafur Brentmar
Subject: MN: UK: War On Drugs Bogged Down Over Scandal
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: shug@shug.co.uk
Pubdate: Mon, 6 Apr 1998
Source: Scotland on Sunday
Contact: Letters_sos@scotsman.com
Author: Stephen Fraser
WAR ON DRUGS BOGGED DOWN OVER SCANDAL
Head of health promotion body complains of smear campaign as volunteer
groups cry foul.
Bitter infighting has been exposed after a senior health executive claimed
she was the victim of a smear campaign.
Louie MacAllan, chief executive of the Health Promotions Agency, an
offshoot of Grampian Health Board, said people were trying to exploit her
marriage to Frank Hartnett, the board's general manager, to damage her
professional reputation.
Allegations of nepotism have also been circulating after it emerged that
her daughters, Katie and Kara, temporarily worked for the agency, which
uses both public and private funds to provide health advice across Grampian.
The row comes as volunteer drugs counselling groups in Aberdeen, known as
Scotland's heroin capital, accuse the official drugs agencies of trying to
take over their work.
Senior politicians in the area have now become involved. Alex Salmond, the
SNP leader and MP for Banff and Buchan, said: "I know there has been
infighting and I would appeal for it to stop so that people can focus on
reducing the problem of drug use in these communities."
MacAllan, 50, has played a prominent part in influencing Grampian Health
Board's strategy in her role at the health promotions agency, the only unit
of its kind in the UK.
Yesterday she said: "We have nothing to hide. Both Frank and I are in
prominent positions and because I'm outspoken I have made a lot of enemies
and there are people out there with grudges."
She added that some people also resented successful women and chose to
ignore their abilities and pinpoint their sexuality as the reasons behind
their success. "We both realise that this is something we have to put up
with and we have adopted special procedures to avoid Frank having any input
into my organisation," she added.
These involve Hartnett delegating decisions on budgets and strategy for
health promotions to his deputy and the board's director of public health.
MacAllan maintained she had no interest or involvement in the health
board's current plans to revamp drugs treatment strategy in Grampian which
have sparked a messy 'turf war' with volunteer self-help groups.
One of the groups is Grampian Addiction Problem Services in Banff and
Buchan, set up by Janice Jess. Her organisation counselled more than 1,000
drug addicts in towns such as Fraserburgh and Peterhead last year.
Jess left MacAllan's Health Promotions Agency after an argument over policy
and fears the health board plans to try and close her volunteer effort down.
She maintains workers for the official drugs agency, Aberdeen Drugs Action,
had "no street credibility" and no grasp of Buchan's unique problem.
She has raised the issue of MacAllan's connections in letters to Salmond,
Scottish Office health minister Sam Galbraith and Labour leader Tony Blair,
and is calling for a public inquiry into Grampian Health Board.
The SNP leader said he had not yet read the letter but could vouch for
Janice Jess's credibility.
Yesterday, MacAllan said she would welcome a Scottish Office inquiry into
the running of the Health Promotions Agency. Grampian Health Board have
already called in accountants Cooper & Lybrand to check recruitment and
selection procedures to ensure they were not being abused.
The recent independent audit, which the board says was routine, found that
though MacAllan had to approve formally the appointment of staff, the
decision as to whether or not a job had to be filled or a new position
created was left to individual health promotions programme managers.
MacAllan's role was largely supervisory.
The accountants also concluded the recruitment procedures were in line with
those used by the board, which have been approved by the Scottish Office.
to 1998 Daily News index for April 2-8