-------------------------------------------------------------------
NORML Weekly News (Alaskan Voters Will Decide On Legalizing
Medical Marijuana In November; DEA Marijuana Eradication Program
Under Review - Department Of Justice Requests Public Comments;
British Nurses To Vote On Medical Marijuana Issue At Annual Conference;
San Francisco Medical Marijuana Dispensary Reopens As 'Healing Center')
From: NORMLFNDTN (NORMLFNDTN@aol.com)
Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1998 20:44:29 EDT
Subject: NORML WPR 4/23/98 (II)
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.
April 23, 1998
***
Alaskan Voters Will Decide On Legalizing Medical Marijuana In November
April 23, 1998, Anchorage, Alaska: Alaskans will decide this fall
whether to legalize the medical use of marijuana under a physician's
supervision. On Tuesday, the Secretary of State affirmed that
petitioners Alaskans for Medical Rights qualified their medical-use
proposal for the November ballot.
"The federal government's failure to act on the medical marijuana issue
leaves proponents no choice but to bring this question straight to the
voters," NORML Executive Director R. Keith Stroup, Esq. said.
The Alaska initiative seeks to allow patients suffering from a
"debilitating medical condition" and holding a state-issued
identification card to legally possess up to one ounce of marijuana.
Registered patients would also be able to cultivate marijuana for medical
use. Cultivation limits are set at six plants, with no more than three
plants producing usable marijuana at any one time. The initiative also
permits non-registered patients to raise the "affirmative defense of
medical necessity" if they face state criminal marijuana charges.
Patients who cultivate or possess larger quantities of medical marijuana
than specified by the initiative may also qualify to use the affirmative
defense.
Those who obtain marijuana for medical use would be prohibited from
using it in public places, selling or distributing the drug, or
"endangering the health and well-being" of others by its use.
"The model proposed by Alaskans for Medical Rights is more narrowly
defined than the California medical marijuana initiative passed in 1996,"
Stroup said. "It addresses the concerns of some opponents who felt that
Prop. 215 was drafted to loosely and attempts to minimize many of the
legal gray areas that arose in California after the vote."
Similar initiative efforts are pending in Colorado, the District of
Columbia, Maine, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.
For more information, please contact either Alaskans for Medical Rights
@ (907) 276-4704 or Keith Stroup of NORML @ (202) 483-5500.
***
DEA Marijuana Eradication Program Under Review: Department Of Justice
Requests Public Comments
April 23, 1998, Washington, D.C.: Citizens concerned about the
environmental and health hazards posed by the aerial spraying of
herbicides in DEA-sponsored marijuana eradication efforts may testify at
five public meetings set to take place next month. The public forums are
part of an ongoing review of the "environmental impact" posed by the
agency's use of herbicides, particularly glyphosate, to eliminate wild
growing marijuana. The DEA has not conducted such a review since May
1986.
"Evidence from the environmental and scientific community indicates that
glyphosate poses serious threats to health and safety when sprayed from
aircrafts," said Paul Armentano, Director of Publications and Research at
The NORML Foundation. Armentano cited incident reports collected from
dozens of Hawaiian residents who reported flu-like symptoms like nausea
and headaches shortly after the DEA conducted overflights in 1996.
"There is a high risk in aerial spraying," Luis Edwardo Parra, senior
researcher at Columbia's National Drug Council, told Reuters News Service
last June. "There is a risk to those who may be exposed on the ground.
There is a risk of contamination of [the] rivers."
Environmental journals have long criticized the aerial use of glyphosate
in marijuana eradication efforts. A report in the February 1993 issue of
Global Pesticide Campaigner called the tactic "unsuccessful" and
highlighted the chemical's potential dangers. "Reports from other
countries where aerial spraying has been used in anti-drug programs are
not encouraging," it states. "International health workers in Guatemala
report acute poisonings in peasants living in areas near eradication
spraying, while farmers in these zones have sustained serious damage to
their crops."
The winter 1995 edition of the Journal of Pesticide Reform reported
similar cases in the U.S. "In California, ... glyphosate was the third
most commonly reported pesticide illness among agricultural workers," the
journal reported. "Among landscape maintenance workers, glyphosate was
the most commonly reported cause." The author added that, "Glyphosate
exposure damages or reduces the population of many animals, including
beneficial insects, fish, birds, and earthworms, [and] in some cases is
directly toxic." The journal also reported that aerial movement of the
chemical through unwanted drift is "unavoidable."
Currently, the DEA rarely engages in the aerial spraying glyphosate
outside of Hawaii and South America. However, many drug-reformers
believe that the agency intends to popularize the activity in the United
States after it completes this latest review.
"This is an opportunity for citizens to voice their concerns over
glyphosate spraying before the DEA brings it to your state," Armentano
said.
For more information or a listing of the upcoming public forums, please
contact Paul Armentano of The NORML Foundation @ (202) 483-8751.
***
British Nurses To Vote On Medical Marijuana Issue At Annual Conference
April 23, 1998, Bournemouth, Scotland: The Royal College of Nursing
(RCN) will decide on a motion calling for patients suffering from
multiple sclerosis, cancer, and other serious medical conditions to be
prescribed compounds in marijuana. The vote is expected to take place at
this week's RCN annual conference.
Celia Manson, an advisor for the group, complained that federal
marijuana prohibition compromises research into the drug's therapeutic
properties. "Few doctors are able to prescribe [cannabinoids] at the
moment," she said. "Nurses from the [Royal College] feel there is
potential for much greater use and these should at the very least be
investigated."
Presently, British law only allows doctors to prescribe one medication
derived from marijuana compounds, Naboline. Similarly, U.S. law only
allows doctors to prescribe oral THC, marketed as the drug Marinol.
Six state nursing associations in the U.S. currently support
prescriptive access to whole-smoked marijuana.
For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre of The NORML
Foundation @ (202) 483-8751 or visit the website Marijuananews at:
http://www.marijuananews.com.
***
San Francisco Medical Marijuana Dispensary Reopens As "Healing Center"
April 23, 1998, San Francisco, CA: San Francisco's largest medical
marijuana dispensary continues to service patients, despite a judge's
order last week to close its doors.
Renaming itself the Cannabis Healing Center, and operating without the
leadership of Dennis Peron, the club will remain a supplier of medical
marijuana for its nearly 9,000 patients. The new club will be run by
79-year old medical marijuana patient Hazel Rogers, and will only
distribute marijuana to individual patients.
Local authorities, including County Sheriff Michael Hennessey and
District Attorney Terence Hallinan, said that they will not move against
the club. "This organization is serving a beneficial public need,"
Hennessey said.
Peron said that he believed the name change, along with a shift in how
the club is managed would be enough to conform to last week's Superior
Court ruling against the club.
For more information, please contact The NORML Foundation @ (202)
483-8751.
-END-
MORE THAN 11 MILLION MARIJUANA ARRESTS SINCE 1965...ANOTHER EVERY 49 SECONDS!
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Marijuana As Morphine - Unacceptable (New Zealand Drug Policy Forum Trust
Donates $2,000 NZ To Oregon Cannabis Tax Act Campaign,
Saying Cannabis Law Reform Should Not Be Limited To Medical Patients Only)
Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1998 08:08:51 EDT
Originator: drctalk@drcnet.org
Sender: drctalk@drcnet.org
From: David.Hadorn@vuw.ac.nz (David Hadorn)
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: Marijuana as Morphine: Unacceptable
Since the regrettable resignation of Rick Adams from drctalk a month or so
ago we have had no discussion concerning the advantages and disadvantages of
medical marijuana as a route to full legalisation/regulation of cannabis.
This is unfortunate, as I happen to share Rick's feeling that the mmj route
is a probable dead-end. The resulting "marijuana as morphine" framework
will/would likely prove more difficult to move away from (toward full
legalisation/regulation) than the current prohibition framework.
That is the main reason why the NZ Drug Policy Forum Trust rejected a mmj
model for New Zealand.
Indeed, I cringe whenever I see LTEs and editorials that rebut
prohibitionist dogma by reference solely to the medical argument, i.e, that
suffering patients shouldn't be caught in the cross-fire -- as opposed to
more generic arguments (e.g., black-market harm,
drugs-as-health/personal-choice). The mmj route seems to me obviously a
case of "devil take the hind-most", and as such it seems utterly unacceptable.
OTOH, I'm a strong supporter of mmj, and I believe that the California
experience, in particular, is (next to OCTA, see below) more likely than any
other current project to bring down the Berlin Wall of cannabis prohibition.
(What about heroin, cocaine, etc., speaking of "hindmost:? I'm a "one step
at a timer" on this thorny question.)
What is needed to bring California to fruition, in my view, is (1) a few
brave Kevorkian-type maverick doctors willing to "recommend" cannabis freely
to all those who feel it provides therapeutic benefit (of whatever kind) and
(2) a well-organized system of bona fide caregiver organizations providing
(mostly) nursing-type services as well as cannabis cultivation (of the
appropriate strain, of course).
Despite my enthusiasm for California (and God bless Denis Peron; may he
dance on Dan Lungen's bones), I remain concerned that mmj will derail
broader cannabis law reform. Matt Elrod's persuasive arguments that
cannabis should be treated like St John's Wort notwithstanding, the mostly
likely route to an acceptable, long-term viable situation lies in regulating
cannabis like alcohol and tobacco. This is the route the NZ Drug Policy
Forum Trust recently recommended for New Zealand.
In view of our position on this issue, the Forum wishes to foster
experiments with cannabis regulation, the only existing example of which
this, as far as we know, is the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act (OCTA). For this
reason, I'm pleased to announce (and this will come as a surprise to Paul
Stanford & Co.) that the Forum is donating $2,000 NZD (something over $1,000
USD) to OCTA. If there are other examples of regulation-style initiatives
that could use a little cash, please advise. In the meantime, please
consider this to be an unsolicited endorsement of OCTA, which will be
"competing" with a mmj initiative in November (assuming OCTA qualifies).
If you share my concerns about the way cannabis policy reform is unfolding,
please consider supporting OCTA by making a secure credit card donation via
their website: http://www.crrh.org/credit_cards.html or mail to CRRH ; P.O.
Box 86741 ; Portland, OR 97286 made out to CRRH (Campaign for the
Restoration and Regulation of Hemp) or "OCTA". This is a particularly good
time to donate as an anonymous benefactor has agreed to match donations 3
for 1. So every $1 of your donation will bring another $3 in matching funds
toward getting OCTA qualified. See www.crrh.org for more details.
The drama of drug policy reform is unfolding in unpredictable and momentous
ways. My view is that OCTA, if successful, could do more for the cause of
long-term-tenable cannabis/drug policy reform than any other single effort
internationally (except perhpas New Zealand regulating cannabis!)
I would be glad to hear from those who have other candidates for such an
honor, as well as from those who think my take on mmj is misguided.
David
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Legal Hassles Extinguishing Pot Clubs ('San Francisco Chronicle'
Analyzes And Tallies The Closures Of California Medical Marijuana
Dispensaries And The Inadequacies Of Proposition 215)
Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1998 21:14:45 -0700
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)
Subject: MN: US CA: Legal Hassles Extinguishing Pot Clubs
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: compassion23@geocities.com (Frank S. World) and Dave Fratello
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Contact: chronletters@sfgate.com
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Pubdate: Thu, 23 Apr 1998
Author: Maria Alicia Guara, Chronicle Staff Writer
LEGAL HASSLES EXTINGUISHING POT CLUBS
Prop. 215's weak wording doesn't sway cops, agents
Less than 18 months after medical marijuana use was legalized in California
by Proposition 215, the network of marijuana clubs, co-ops and dispensaries
that arose to deliver pot to patients is collapsing.
Of 18 medical marijuana providers operating openly seven months ago, six
are out of business and five are facing closure due to criminal or civil
lawsuits. The remaining seven groups are still open and not facing legal
trouble, but there is constant worry that the next knock on the door could
be federal drug agents.
``In general, things statewide are a mess,'' said Scott Imler, director of
the Los Angeles Cannabis Buyers' Club in West Hollywood. ``We're the only
club still standing here in Southern California. Of course we're worried.
It's all kind of folding in on itself, one layer after another.''
Even in the Bay Area, where liberal local governments have allowed some
clubs wide latitude and political support, legal challenges from the state
and federal government have the potential to force the whole movement back
underground.
This week in San Francisco, Dennis Peron's Cannabis Cultivators Club was
closed by order of a Superior Court judge, only to reopen a day later --
under a new name -- with the blessing of local officials. Political support
for medical marijuana has been less evident in San Jose, where dispensary
owner Peter Baez was recently raided by local police and charged with nine
felony counts of selling pot.
In Southern California, the options for sick people who use marijuana have
never been plentiful. Local law enforcement and city officials in many
areas have adamantly opposed organized efforts to distribute pot.
The mood at Imler's club has become increasingly nervous as clubs in Santa
Ana, San Diego and Thousand Oaks have been closed, their organizers facing
jail time or civil fines.
CIVIL LAWSUIT FILED
In Northern California, where the clubs have been most numerous, six groups
have been named in a civil lawsuit by the federal government, and two --
San Jose's and one in Monterey County -- have been hit with criminal
charges by local authorities.
``I worry about it every day, the possibility of being dragged out of my
bed by narcotics agents,'' said Jeff Jones, executive director of the
Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative, one of the groups named in the
federal lawsuit. ``I'm like a sitting duck in a pond. But I'm going to sit
here to the end. We have to get the medicine out to the patients.''
The recent spate of prosecutions has taken many medical marijuana advocates
by surprise. Just seven months ago, marijuana providers held an upbeat
summit in Santa Cruz to create standards and goals for the dispensaries.
``The high mark of the community-based club movement was probably in
October,'' when dozens of activists gathered for a weekend retreat, Imler
said. ``But three days after the conference ended, the busts started, and
it's been one after another after another.
``There's not going to be much of a conference this year,'' he said.
Imler and many other club volunteers across the state believe the backlash
against medical marijuana has been encouraged by state Attorney General and
gubernatorial candidate Dan Lungren, who has challenged the legality of the
clubs with a lawsuit against the San Francisco club, the state's largest.
FEDERAL OPPOSITION
Federal drug enforcement officials are also fighting Proposition 215,
arguing in court that marijuana use for any purpose is a violation of
federal law.
Law enforcement officials say the crackdown is the result of a poorly
drafted law and of pot sellers who don't understand what the law allows.
But the blame for the chaos may also rest with California's lawmakers, who
have shoved the controversy into the court system by refusing to straighten
out an incomplete and contradictory - albeit popular - law.
Proposition 215, a voter initiative approved in November 1996, allows sick
people to grow and use marijuana if a doctor recommends it. It also allows
caretakers of sick people to obtain or grow marijuana for them. But 215 did
not legalize the sale of marijuana, nor did it make it legal to transport
marijuana from one place to another.
Medical marijuana supporters point out that growing the plants is not an
option for many sick people, especially the thousands of AIDS patients
living in apartments in cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles. And the
prohibition against transportation would prevent almost anyone without a
secure, sunny garden from obtaining pot.
The authors of 215 foresaw the need for legislative tinkering when they
added a clause ``encouraging'' the state and federal government ``to
implement a plan to provide for the safe and affordable distribution of
marijuana to all patients in medical need of marijuana.''
That ``encouragement'' has not yet resulted in legislative action. The only
legislator who has consistently worked to turn 215 into a workable law is
State Senator John Vasconcellos, D-San Jose, a longtime medical marijuana
advocate - and his efforts have so far been rebuffed by fellow lawmakers.
``It's true, the Legislature hasn't done anything, and as far as I can
detect there is no interest other than on the part of me and a couple of
others,'' Vasconcellos said. ``It's disgraceful.''
FIRST CLUBS FORMED
In the euphoria that followed the passage of Proposition 215, many small
pot clubs and co-ops sprang up, most of them founded by people with
compelling personal stories. Many had used marijuana surreptitiously for
years, while others had nursed loved ones through painful illnesses.
Some clubs that had operated for years underground came gratefully into the
open.
But without clear guidelines, every group created its own rules and bylaws.
In some cases, the limits of Proposition 215 were ignored for practical
purposes. In others the law was creatively interpreted.
But in many - probably most - California counties, law enforcement
officials have frowned on a liberal application of the law.
In conservative Orange County, Deputy District Attorney Carl Armbrust
repeatedly charged Martin Chavez, the founder of a Santa Ana pot co-op, for
criminal sales of marijuana.
``You are not allowed to sell marijuana under Proposition 215,'' Armbrust
said. ``So now they say the law isn't well written, and they think they
should be able to sell and transport it. But we can't twist the law. And we
sure didn't write it.''
In Sacramento County, groups attempting to open a medical marijuana club
have been told that public pot distribution will be promptly prosecuted.
And county supervisors, nettled by an incident where an AIDS patient lit up
and smoked pot in public, have passed a law making the public smoking of
medical marijuana subject to a fine of up to $1,000 and six months in jail.
Anyone else smoking pot in public faces a $100 fine.
``It is clear that any kind of dispensary is outside the scope of
Proposition 215,'' said Dale Kitching, supervisor of the major narcotics
unit for the Sacramento District Attorney's office.
``Those political officials who allow sales and clubs have gone way beyond
any reasonable interpretation of the law. (Sick people) who smoke their
marijuana quietly and covertly are acting in everybody's best interests.''
NO ORGANIZED LOBBY
Some attempts were made to organize the clubs politically, but most club
operators were too busy dealing with their businesses and medical
conditions to consider hiring a lobbyist. So when the arrests began, there
was little organized opposition.
``We were unprepared for the backlash,'' Jones said. ``We didn't have
support or funding, and the prosecutions are killing us. We're going
broke.''
According to Vasconcellos' chief of staff, Rand Martin, the clubs were easy
to divide and conquer.
``They were very easy to pick off because all of them are basically
breaking the law,'' Martin said. ``They may be doing the angels' work, but
in the black and white of California statute, they're out of line.
``What Lungren and local law enforcement are missing in this is the big
picture,'' Martin said. ``When the people of California approved 215, they
said that sick people should have access to medical marijuana, and you
should find a way to make it work.''
Despite the growing apprehension and dwindling numbers of clubs, medical
marijuana is far from dead. With marijuana freely available on the black
market, underground distribution groups operate even in areas where law
enforcement officials stridently oppose it.
Co-operative groups that grow and share their own marijuana - without
money changing hands - are thriving in Arcata and Santa Cruz. Several
other groups that still rely on the black market are trying to grow their
own.
The groups also hope that courts now mulling the contradictions of
Proposition 215 may produce rulings allowing some buyers' clubs to operate.
And Vasconcellos has introduced legislation creating a task force to study
the distribution of medical marijuana, and plans to convene a summit on the
issue on late May.
``We need to put together a smart and sensible plan,'' Vasconcellos said.
``We're doing what we can to crack this problem, and I think we're making
some inroads.''
***
MEDICAL MARIJUANA CLUBS, CO-OPS AND DISPENSARIES IN CALIFORNIA
STILL IN OPERATION, NO CHARGES PENDING
* Humboldt Cannabis Center, Arcata, Humboldt County
150 active members
* Compassionate Use Co-Op, Rackerby, (in Sierra foothills)
45 active members
* C.H.A.M.P. (Cannabis Helping Alleviate Medical Problems), San
Francisco
500 active members
* Medical Cannabis Delivery Service, San Francisco
400-500 active members
* Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana, Santa Cruz
150 members
* MedEx Delivery Service, Santa Cruz
9 members
* Los Angeles Cannabis Buyers' Club, West Hollywood
460 members
***
STILL OPEN, BUT THREATENED BY LEGAL PROBLEMS
* San Francisco Cannabis Cultivators Club, S.F.
9,000 members
One of six clubs facing a civil lawsuit filed by the federal
government, also facing as criminal charges filed by the state Attorney
General
* Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative, Oakland
1,000 members
Facing federal charges
* Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana, Fairfax
300 members
Facing federal charges
* Ukiah Cannabis Buyers' Club, Ukiah
250 members
Facing federal charges, and criminal charges in Lake County for
illegal cultivation
* Santa Clara County Medical Cannabis Center, San Jose
270 members
Facing criminal charges from Santa Clara County for illegal sales
***
RECENTLY CLOSED
* Flower Therapy, San Francisco
Named in federal lawsuit
* Santa Cruz Cannabis Buyers' Club, Santa Cruz
Named in federal lawsuit
* Medical Marijuana Care Center, Monterey
Closed after raid by local law enforcement
* Orange County Patient/Doctor/Nurse Support Group, Santa Ana
Closed after repeated arrests by local law enforcement
* San Diego Cannabis Caregivers' Club, San Diego
Closed after charged by local law enforcement, internal problems
* Ventura County Medical Cannabis Center, Thousand Oaks
Closed after civil charges filed by local law enforcement
1998 San Francisco Chronicle
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Board OKs Jump In Private Prison Beds ('Tulsa World'
Says The Oklahoma Board Of Corrections On Wednesday
Approved Three Contracts For 2,240 New Private Prison Beds)
Date: Fri, 24 Apr 1998 14:07:30 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: Olafur Brentmar
Subject: MN: US OK: Board OKs Jump in Private Prison Beds
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Michael Pearson
Pubdate: Thu, 23 Apr 1998
Source: Tulsa World (OK)
Contact: tulsaworld@mail.webtek.com
Website: http://www.tulsaworld.com
Author: Barbara Hoberock World Staff Writer 4/23/98
BOARD OKS JUMP IN PRIVATE PRISON BEDS
STRINGTOWN -- The Board of Corrections on Wednesday approved three
contracts for 2,240 new private prison beds, a move that would dramatically
increase the number of private beds in the state.
The action is the largest number of contract beds approved at one Board of
Corrections meeting.
The three vendors approved Wednesday at the meeting at Mack Alford
Correctional Center in Stringtown are:
Central Oklahoma Correctional Facility in McLoud, run by Dominion
Management, for 500 beds for women at $43.95 a day.
A yet to be named facility in Lawton, run by Wackenhut Correction Corp.,
for 1,500 male beds for $40 a day.
North Fork Correctional Facility in Sayre, run by Corrections Corporation
of America, for 240 male beds at $43.49 a day.
Sites not selected include Hinton, Hobart, Grandfield and Eldorado.
Hinton's Great Plains Correctional Facility already houses Oklahoma inmates
but had proposed expanding its prison.
The McLoud offer was clearly the best, said Tony Caldwell, a board member,
adding that the department received few bids for female beds.
All the contracts are for medium-secure beds and give the state the option
to buy the facility, said Vince Knight, the department's general counsel.
Oklahoma already has 2,755 private prison beds in Oklahoma. Another 1,017
Oklahoma inmates are housed in Texas private facilities.
The contracts approved Wednesday will allow Oklahoma to remove all of its
inmates from Texas private prisons, said David C. Miller, the department's
chief of population management and fiscal operations.
Another 600 state-owned beds will be open sometime between June and
October, Miller said. The department is building three, 200-bed units at
the Oklahoma State Reformatory in Granite, the Lexington Assessment and
Reception Center and the Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington.
The contracts approved Wednesday are subject to legislative funding, Miller
said.
"If we don't (get the money), we've got a big problem," Miller said. "For
one thing, we will run into some population problems. If we don't get the
appropriation, they (private vendors) don't get the business."
The chairman of the House Appropriations and Budget Committee dashed cold
water on the private prison proposal, saying he does not believe the
legislative leadership is willing to appropriate the additional money for
up to 2,000 new private prison beds.
``It is late in the (legislative) session for the correctional authority to
try to seek $20 million or $30 million new dollars for these new beds,''
said Rep. James Hamilton, D-Poteau.
On the other hand, ``I think it does make good fiscal sense and would make
good public policy for us to go ahead and purchase beds from private
prisons sufficient to move all our inmate population out of private prisons
in Texas,'' Hamilton said.
Hamilton said the Legislature has already funded the construction of 600
additional public prison beds.
Brian Ford of the World Capitol Bureau contributed to this story.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Jury Sees Video Of Austin Cops' `Drug Raid' ('Chicago Sun-Times'
Follows Trial Of Four Drug Warriors In Austin, Illinois,
Caught In Corrupt Acts)
Date: Sun, 26 Apr 1998 14:33:52 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: Melodi Cornett
Subject: MN: US IL: Jury Sees Video Of Austin Cops' `Drug Raid'
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Nora Callahan
Pubdate: Thu 23 Apr 1998
Source: Chicago Sun-Times
Contact: letters@suntimes.com
Website: http://www.suntimes.com/index/index.html
Author: Cam Simpson, Federal Court Reporter
JURY SEES VIDEO OF AUSTIN COPS' `DRUG RAID'
When three Austin District police officers crept into a West Side apartment
with their guns drawn, they thought they were raiding the ``stash house'' of
a drug kingpin known as ``Silky.''
What they didn't know cost them their jobs--and a lot more. Silky was an
undercover agent, and his ``crib'' was filled with more than money. It also
was wired with surveillance cameras that were rolling on Nov. 24, 1996, as
the officers allegedly pocketed about $25,000 in cash from a secret
compartment in a closet.
The dramatic footage from those cameras was played Wednesday for jurors in
the trial of four former Austin police officers accused of corruption. The
star of Wednesday's film was Edward Lee Jackson Jr., a tactical officer also
known as ``Pacman.''
Jackson is the lead defendant in the case. The other two officers involved,
Gregory S. Crittleton and Cornelius Tripp, pleaded guilty before the trial.
They are expected to testify against Jackson.
According to evidence presented Wednesday, the government sting began when
an informant working with authorities tipped Jackson to the stash house in
November, 1996. Drug dealers use stash houses to hide narcotics, cash and
weapons instead of keeping them in their own homes.
The informant told Jackson the apartment in the first block of South
Mayfield was loaded with cocaine, cash and expensive jewelry, the government
said.
A police officer working the sting was shown in Wednesday's video placing
$25,000 in the apartment--most of it hidden behind a secret panel. A $50
bill was placed on a bed.
Authorities did not put cocaine in the apartment, fearing it might end up on
the streets, officials said.
When the officers entered, they couldn't find the stash. Jackson, using his
cell phone, called the informant. The call was intercepted and recorded by
the government.
``Ain't nothing in that apartment,'' Jackson said. The informant gave
Jackson specific directions to the secret stash.
``Pull that [expletive] wood off, man,'' the informant said of the secret panel.
On the other end of the line, Jackson can be heard giving instructions to
the other officers, according to tapes played Wednesday. ``Hurry up. Keep
going. ... Aw. It's plenty,'' Jackson said after spotting the stash.
The video showed Tripp and Crittleton stuffing money into their pockets.
According to Tripp's plea agreement, the cops then drove to Tripp's house,
where Jackson divided the cash among the officers. The government says the
money went into the cops' pockets--not the evidence room.
The government's video drama turned into a farce, however, when jurors were
shown footage of a maintenance man entering the apartment shortly after
police left. Unaware that he was being filmed, the building worker started
loading his pockets with cans of soda scattered on the floor. He then went
to the bedroom and helped himself to the $50 bill on the bed.
Testimony in the trial will resume Monday.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Police Say Drug Ring Thrived By Saying, `We Deliver' ('New York Times'
Notes The Bust Of A Marijuana And Cocaine Delivery Business In Queens,
New York - 13 Participants Each Face Life In Prison)
Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1998 22:07:16 -0700
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)
Subject: MN: US NYT: Police Say Drug Ring Thrived by Saying, `We Deliver'
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: emr@javanet.com (Dick Evans)
Source: New York Times
Contact: letters@nytimes.com
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
Pubdate: Thu, 23 Apr 1998
Author: Kit R. Roane
POLICE SAY DRUG RING THRIVED BY SAYING, 'WE DELIVER'
Domino's it wasn't, but the service was still swell -- at least until the
police placed an order.
Such was the end of a Queens operation described by law enforcement
investigators as a "customer friendly" full-service drug-delivery business.
Clients, the investigators said, would call saying "we're hungry," and
cocaine or marijuana would arrive soon thereafter to satisfy their
appetites.
"They operated much like a pizza delivery service," an investigator, who
spoke on condition of anonymity, said of the drug business. "It was
immediate gratification. And if a customer didn't like the batch he got,
they would always discount the next. They wanted to keep the customer
happy."
The 13 people arrested included 2 brothers, 2 married couples, a retired
correction officer and a man named Giuliani -- no, not that one. All of
them were charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and
conspiracy to sell it, the Queens District Attorney, Richard A. Brown,
said. If convicted, each would face up to life in prison.
According to the District Attorney's office, two suspects, Georgios Botonis
and his brother, Lambrino, started their business around 1990 in the
shadows of a larger operation known as the Michaelidis Crew.
Hemmed in, the Botonis brothers and their minions sold small bags of
cocaine and marijuana in Queens, their annual revenue topping out at a
meager $250,000. But the brothers were able to expand their scope last
June, when the police swooped down on the Michaelidis Crew, arresting 20 or
so members, prosecutors said.
From their bases in Astoria and Long Island City, the Botonis brothers
branched out into Flushing, Queens, and Westbury on Long Island,
prosecutors said. With little competition, their revenues mushroomed to
more than $2 million a year, they said.
Dealers employed by the Botonis brothers were supplied with pagers.
When an order was placed, a delivery man would rush to the customer's
location and hand off what the Botonis brothers apparently referred to as
"food," Brown said. But the business collapsed Tuesday night when Queens
detectives and investigators executed four search warrants.
Among the properties searched was the Flushing home of Maurice Giuliani,
29, where officers found 1.5 kilograms of cocaine, prosecutors said. The
District Attorney's office said that Giuliani appeared to be no relation to
Rudolph W.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
I Was Wrong! Needle-Exchange Programs Work (Syndicated Columnist
Ellen Goodman Says In 'The Boston Globe' That The Moral Equation
In The Needle Exchange Debate Has Shifted Now That The Scientific Evidence
Clearly Contradicts The Fears Promoted By Drug Warriors)
Date: Fri, 24 Apr 1998 21:53:30 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: Mike Gogulski
Subject: US MA: COLUMN: I was wrong! Needle-exchange programs work
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: emr@javanet.com (Dick Evans)
Source: Boston Globe (MA)
Contact: letters@globe.com
Website: http://www.boston.com/globe/
Pubdate: April 23, 1998
Author: Ellen Goodman (columnist)
I WAS WRONG! NEEDLE-EXCHANGE PROGRAMS WORK
Sooner or later, anyone who makes a living offering up opinions gets asked
the same question: ''Have you ever changed your mind?'' After the ink is
dry, after the column is sent into the electronic ozone, have you ever
disagreed with you? There must be some primal anxiety behind this frequent
inquiry. I suppose people all share a high school nightmare of being
exposed, seen mentally unzipped, caught changing our minds in public. But
since the only way to avoid changing a mind is by closing that mind, it
happens. Today I disagree with me, or rather with the me that once opposed
needle-exchange programs.
When AIDS activists first proposed that we pass out clean needles to drug
addicts as a way of slowing the spread of HIV, I thought it was a bad idea.
In the moral struggle between principle and pragmatism, I went for this
principle: The government shouldn't oppose drugs with the one hand and
provide paraphernalia with the other.
Too much ambiguity would be passed out with the needles. Back then in 1988,
the evidence, mostly from Europe, was scant.
No one knew whether a needle-exchange program truly slowed the rate of HIV
infection.
No one knew whether it encouraged more drug users.
In that atmosphere, there was a strong argument to be made against allowing
the same government to arrest a drug user and to supply him with a syringe.
Now I know better.
Now we all should know better.
Now the moral equation has shifted.
The pragmatic view is the more principled. On Monday, we got another one of
those split-the-difference decisions for which the Clinton administration is
infamous. A reluctant Donna Shalala, secretary of health and human services,
delivered the real minced message on AIDS and needles: Yes, for the first
time, government officials acknowledged scientific evidence proving that
needle-exchange programs reduce HIV and save lives without increasing drug
use. No, the ban against allowing communities to use federal AIDS prevention
money for such programs will not be lifted. They said: We know it works,
but we won't do it. They encouraged local communities to support such
programs, but refused them federal money. The much-heralded dispute inside
the government over this policy could be read in the body language of
squirming public health officials.
Some 33 people a day are infected with HIV as a result of intravenous drug
use. Forty percent of the new cases - addicts, their partners, their
children - come directly or indirectly from contaminated needles. By one
estimate as many as 17,000 lives could have been saved since 1993 when
Clinton came into office.
At a cost of 10 cents a syringe. But at the same time, the drug czar,
former General Barry McCaffrey was more intent on saving kids from mixed
messages than saving civilians from HIV. And the president, who is far
better at reading the public than leading it, sided with those political
honchos who fear being vulnerable to one virus above all others: political
attacks. It was widely assumed that if the White House lifted the ban, the
Congress would have clamped it back down with new legislation. But even in
this split-the-difference format, Gingrich & Company made a predictable hit.
On Tuesday, at a press conference about smoking, Republicans accused the
president of throwing ''in the towel when it comes to the war on drugs.''
Indeed, in one of the rare moments when I ring with Gingrichian agreement,
the speaker said sarcastically, ''Now the president should be clear.
If he thinks that needle exchanges are good, why is he not paying for
them?'' May I add seriously: Why not let local communities decide how to use
federal money for AIDS prevention? This is a president who picks his fights
carefully. So carefully that he rarely loses.
And rarely wins. Needle-sharing drug addicts at risk for HIV are nobody's
favorite underdog. As a new convert, I am still uneasy about providing
addicts with clean needles when we want them to ''get clean.'' But since
everybody seems to be worrying about mixed messages, try the far bleaker
ones in today's air: We know how to slow a lethal epidemic.
We know one way to help prevent the spread of HIV from drug addict to
partner to child.
We just aren't going to do it. Go ahead, explain that to the kids.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
How Can We Lose An Internet Poll? Please Read! (List Subscriber
Alerts You To An Online Poll About Needle Exchange Funding
Being Sponsored By The Fort Worth, Texas, 'Star-Telegram')
Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1998 10:24:06 EDT
Originator: drctalk@drcnet.org
Sender: drctalk@drcnet.org
From: Richard Lake
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: How can we lose an internet poll? Please read!
As I send this message out, a poll in which we had pulled ahead is now
falling behind. The issue is, not should there be a new massive program for
needle exchange (even if that is what the poll implies) but should the
funds given to cities and states as block grants be able to be used, by the
choice of the local folks, for needle exchange efforts if they feel it is
appropriate.
Now US regulations do not permit the use of federal funds already provided
for HIV prevention to be used for needle exchange, even though the federal
government says it will save lives and does not increase drug addiction rates.
PLEASE, votes on the internet may seem meaningless, and are for sure not
scientific, but we can be sure they will be quoted if in an arena in which
we have a clear majority most of the time, how can we fail to insure the
success of these polls in sending a message that needle exchanges are OK.
The Drug Policy Forum of Texas folks are asking for your support. Take a
second, pull up the web page below, and vote! Oh, for those not in the
United States, we do not mind you stating your opinion in our polls - just
let us know if you have polls that we can vote in and you would like help!
Richard Lake
Forwarded message:
This one needs a few more votes ASAP.
Sender: Drug Policy Forum of Texas (DPFT-L@TAMU.EDU)
Go to
http://www.startext.net/starvote-cgi/starvote
and you will see a public opinion poll being
conducted by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
The question is:
SHOULD THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
FUND A NEEDLE EXCHANGE PROGRAM
FOR DRUG ADDICTS.
Participate now, they will have a new
question later this week, perhaps as soon
as tomorrow.
Larry Nickerson
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Sticking Point On Needles (Staff Editorial In 'San Francisco Examiner'
Criticizes Clinton Administration's Decision That Needle Exchanges
Save Lives But Won't Be Funded)
Date: Fri, 24 Apr 1998 10:09:40 -0700
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)
Subject: MN: US: Editorial: Sticking Point on Needles
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: compassion23@geocities.com (Frank S. World) and Tammera Halphen
Source: San Francisco Examiner (CA)
Contact: letters@examiner.com
Website: http://www.examiner.com/
Pubdate: Thu, 23 Apr 1998
STICKING POINT ON NEEDLES
Even as it provides scientific evidence that needle exchanges work, the
administration, for political reasons, refuses to fund them
HERE'S an idea with dumb and deadly written all over it: The Clinton
administration knows that needle exchange programs save lives, but it won't
lift the nine-year-old ban against providing clean needles to drug users.
The answer, dear friends, is written in politics.
This is an election year, and the Democrats would like very much to win
majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate. Junkies don't
have enough votes to help, apparently.
But other Americans ought to have enough common sense to know cowardice
when they see it.
Obligingly, the administration brought along evidence to help its opponents
make their case. Federal officials say some 33 people each day are infected
with the AIDS virus because of intravenous drug use. Dr. Harold Varmus,
director of the National Institutes of Health, cited "increasingly strong
evidence" that needle exchange programs reduce sharing of dirty needles.
About half of some 3,000 addicts in a Baltimore needle exchange, he said,
entered treatment programs. That explodes the myth that exchange programs
encourage continued drug use.
Still, Gen. Barry McCaffrey, the administration's drug czar, fought against
needle exchanges because he believes they "send the wrong message" to
teenagers. As usual, he's fighting the last war.
Had government financed needle exchange programs during Clinton's term in
office, 17,000 lives could have been saved, according to researchers for
Public Citizen, a government watchdog. Such efforts also would have helped
stem the deadly AIDS epidemic and saved millions of dollars in costs for
treating the disease.
Four of 10 AIDS cases are linked to dirty needles. So are the infections of
three of four babies born HIV positive, who are certainly innocent victims.
Exchanges, though technically illegal, are in existence in San Francisco
and 100 other jurisdictions in 28 states around the country.
This is a topic in which science and humanitarian considerations should
rule. But don't.
Donna Shalala, secretary of Health and Human Services, argued to lift the
federal ban on needle exchanges, as did Sandra Thurman, head of the White
House office on AIDS policy. Their voices were drowned out by political
considerations.
White House tacticians fear that Republicans in Congress would reimpose the
ban and could make matters even worse by eliminating funds for any
organization that provides needle exchanges. Realism dictates upholding the
ban, they argue.
But from here, the administration's action - or inaction - simply marks one
more instance in which the president has failed to stand up for what he
believes, what he knows is right and what he knows will save lives.
1998 San Francisco Examiner
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Treatment Of Pain In Dying Patients (Letter To Editor
Of 'The New England Journal Of Medicine' From A Seattle Physician
Discusses The Disturbingly Large Percentage Of Dying Patients
Who Experience Unrelieved Pain)
Date: Fri, 24 Apr 1998 22:07:08 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: Mike Gogulski
Subject: MN: US LTE: Treatment of Pain in Dying Patients
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Dave Haans
Source: New England Journal of Medicine (MA)
Edition: Volume 338, Number 17
Contact: comments@nej.org
Pubdate: April 23, 1998
Website: http://www.nejm.org/
Author: Kathryn L. Tucker
TREATMENT OF PAIN IN DYING PATIENTS
To the Editor:
A disturbingly large percentage of dying patients experience unrelieved
pain. (1) This percentage is far higher than it should be, given the
availability of pain medications and the knowledge of how to use them.
Many physicians believe that they could risk disciplinary action if they use
high doses of narcotics or other controlled substances to manage pain at the
end of life. (2) They also believe that if they undertreat pain, they risk
no professional consequences. Dying patients clearly have the right to
adequate pain medication; this was recently recognized by the Supreme Court.
(3,4)
Physicians have not been held responsible for failing adequately to treat
the pain of their dying patients. I am unaware of any medical-negligence
actions against a physician for such a failure. Medical disciplinary boards
have not been active in investigating these situations. In the past, a
physician might have successfully defended such a stance by asserting that
there was no medical consensus about how to provide adequate pain care.
However, with the emergence of national, state, and medical-board guidelines
in this area, this is no longer a viable strategy. (5)
The time is ripe for such cases to result in professional accountability,
including actions by medical disciplinary boards. Compassion in Dying, a
public-interest organization that acts as an advocate on behalf of
terminally ill persons, recently called on state medical boards to take on
this responsibility. (6) It is also necessary to eliminate or change the
laws that cause physicians to fear prescribing strong pain medications to
their terminally ill patients. Undertreatment of pain should become a risk
that physicians will strive to avoid, thus increasing the likelihood that
more vigorous, concerted efforts will be made to relieve the pain of
terminally ill patients.
Kathryn L. Tucker, J.D. Perkins Coie Seattle, WA 98101-3099
References
1. The SUPPORT Principal Investigators. A controlled trial to improve care
for seriously ill hospitalized patients. JAMA 1995;274:1591-8. [Erratum,
JAMA 1996;275:1232.]
2. Shapiro RS. Health care providers' liability exposure for inappropriate
pain management. J Law Med Ethics 1996;24:360-4.
3. Washington v. Glucksberg, 117 S. Ct. 2258, 1997.
4. Vacco v. Quill, 117 S. Ct. 2293, 1997.
5. Joranson DE, Gilson AM. Improving pain management through policy making
and education for medical regulators. J Law Med Ethics 1996;24:344-7.
6. Letter to all 50 state medical boards from the Compassion in Dying
Federation, Portland, Oreg., January 12, 1998
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Accuser Of Top Generals Slain In Mexico ('New York Times'
Notes The Assassination In Mexico City Tuesday
Of Tomas Arturo Gonzalez Velazquez, A Lawyer Who Accused Top Generals
And Relatives Of President Ernesto Zedillo Of Narcotics Corruption
As A Defense Tactic In The Trial Of Mexico's Deposed Drug Czar)
Date: Wed, 29 Apr 1998 15:57:22 EDT
Originator: drctalk@drcnet.org
Sender: drctalk@drcnet.org
From: Anti-Prohibition Lg (aal@inetarena.com)
To: Multiple recipients of list (drctalk@drcnet.org)
Subject: E;NYT: Accuser of Top Generals Slain, Apr 23 (fwd)
The New York Times, April 23, 1998
Accuser of Top Generals Slain in Mexico
By SAM DILLON
MEXICO CITY -- A lawyer who accused top generals and relatives of
President Ernesto Zedillo of narcotics graft as a defense tactic in
the corruption trial of the Mexican government's drug czar was
slain as he drove away from his Guadalajara offices late on
Tuesday.
The lawyer, Tomas Arturo Gonzalez Velazquez, 43, died in his car
after he was shot with a 9-millimeter pistol, the authorities said.
Publico, a Guadalajara newspaper, said the killer "had short hair
and looked like a soldier." Some witnesses said he acted with the
confidence of a police officer.
Gonzalez was the architect of the defense of the drug czar, Gen.
Jesus Gutierrez Rebollo, after his arrest in February 1997 on
charges that he abused his powers to protect one of Mexico's
largest traffickers.
In several court appearances, Gonzalez portrayed the general's
arrest as part of a vast power struggle within the military, in
which some top commanders were collaborating with a trafficking
group based in Tijuana and others with a rival group based in
Ciudad Juarez.
He also argued, without providing evidence, that Zedillo's
brother-in-law had formed ties with a major methamphetamine
trafficker.
Mexico's defense minister, Gen. Enrique Cervantes Aguirre, barely
contained his fury in several public denials of Gonzalez's charges.
But in a classified report presented in February to Attorney
General Janet Reno, American officials seemed to give credence to
some of the allegations that were first lodged publicly by
Gonzalez. The report argued that the arrest of Gutierrez Rebollo
was part of a broader web of top generals and traffickers than the
Mexican government has acknowledged.
Last July, five months into the trial, the military police detained
Gonzalez as he attended a court hearing and accused him of
orchestrating an attack on a witness scheduled to testify against
the general. The lawyer was released without charge, but weeks
later he distanced himself from the general's defense team.
Gutierrez Rebollo's daughter, Teresa Gutierrez Ramirez, told
reporters that Gonzalez had received anonymous death threats, and
she accused the authorities of coercing him to resign from the
defense team.
"It seems like it's a crime to defend Gutierrez Rebollo," she said.
"They're trying to intimidate the defense."
Wednesday, however, the lawyer who replaced Gonzalez on the
general's defense team, Felix Francisco Garza, questioned that
interpretation.
"Tomas Gonzalez has been separated from Gutierrez Rebollo's defense
for many months, he's out of the case, and I don't see any
connection between the murder and the general's trial," Garza said.
"Maybe this murder is related to some other business or case
Gonzalez was handling."
Gutierrez Rebollo, who was held for 14 months at the high-security
Almoloya Prison west of Mexico City, was convicted of illegal
possession of arms and abuse of authority and sentenced in January
to 13 years' imprisonment, Garza said. Parallel military
courts-martial and civilian trials on bribery and drug charges
continue.
Before the general's arrest, Gonzalez belonged to a small group of
current and former police officials and military subordinates who
were the general's closest collaborators during his years as
commander of a vast army region based in Guadalajara. Prosecutors
have presented evidence that Gutierrez Rebollo protected the Juarez
cartel while acting in aggressive pursuit of the Tijuana cartel.
In a series of interviews after the general's arrest last year,
Gonzalez acknowledged that he had personally taken part in many of
Gutierrez Rebollo's antinarcotics operations, once driving a
narcotics witness in his own car from Guadalajara to a nearby state
to identify detainees and other times participating in often-brutal
interrogations of prisoners.
Gonzalez acknowledged his friendship with Eduardo Gonzalez
Quirarte, a Guadalajara trafficker associated with the Juarez
cartel, referring to him in the interviews with an affectionate
nickname, Lalo.
Gonzalez enjoyed an even closer friendship with Luis Octavio Lopez
Vega, a former police chief of the Guadalajara suburb of Zapopan,
whom Gutierrez Rebollo set up in a security business and whose
private gunmen took part in some army antidrug operations.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Pot Smoking Admission Barring Some From US ('Vancouver Sun'
Warns That Canadians Who Admit To Ever Having Used Marijuana
To US Immigration Inspectors Are Being Denied Entry Indefinitely
To The United States - If Canada Applied The Same Rules, Bill Clinton,
Newt Gingrich And Donna Shalala Would All Have To Stay Home)
From: webmaster@mapinc.org (Matt Elrod)
To: mattalk@listserv.islandnet.com
Subject: Canada: Pot smoking admission barring some from U.S.
Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1998 08:30:09 -0700
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/
Lines: 106
Newshawk: creator@mapinc.org
Source: Vancouver Sun
Contact: sunletters@pacpress.southam.ca
Pubdate: Thu 23 Apr 1998
Section: A1 / Front
Authors: Jack Aubry with a file from Petti Fong, Vancouver
Pot smoking admission barring some from U.S.
Canadians reminded entry is a privilege, not a right.
OTTAWA -- Canadians are being barred from entering the U.S. after
admitting to American immigration inspectors they once smoked
marijuana.
A recent crackdown includes what some immigration lawyers are calling
``an attitude change'' on the part of inspectors, who have become more
aggressive since a tough new U.S. law took effect last April.
In one of the reported changes, U.S. officials at pre-flight
inspection in major Canadian airports are asking about marijuana use.
Canadians who tell the truth are being denied entry indefinitely to
the U.S.
The same strict adherence to the law on the part of Canadian
inspectors would keep U.S. President Bill Clinton, who has admitted
smoking, but not inhaling, marijuana, out of Canada.
Calgary lawyer Michael Greene told U.S. officials Wednesday during a
conference call briefing that instead of facilitating entry, American
immigration inspectors have taken ``a gatekeeper approach'' that
includes asking about marijuana use.
``Canadian officers are specifically trained not to ask that question
because if we did ask, possibly half your population under 50 would be
inadmissable to the country,'' Greene told the Americans.
Linda Loveless, an assistant chief inspector for the U.S. Immigration
and Naturalization Service, said complaints about the questioning have
come to Washington's attention and are being examined.
``It is not a general policy that we should be asking that kind of
thing ... and we have not in any way encouraged people to ask that
kind of question outright but that is something that we will look
at,'' Loveless said from Washington.
She said that in 1997 there were about 80 million entries into the
U.S. from Canada. Of that number 128,000 were inadmissable for a
variety of reasons including lack of citizenship records such as a
passport or birth certificate. Ninety-three per cent of those found
inadmissable were allowed to withdraw their application to enter the
U.S., ensuring no barrier the next time they try to cross the border.
The number of individuals turned back for marijuana use was not
available but they are counted in the other seven per cent -- about
9,000 -- who leave a record of their failed entry for future attempts.
Greene, who has specialized in immigration issues in Calgary for 14
years, reported the case of a 25-year-old woman who complained to him
that she was barred from the U.S. for admitting to having smoked
marijuana when she was 19.
He says he has received complaints about the marijuana questioning but
he does not know if similar practices are being exercised by U.S.
inspectors in other major cities.
Greene, who is national secretary of the Canadian Bar Association's
immigration and citizenship section, said Canadians who acknowledge
using marijuana are found inadmissable because they are considered
guilty of a felony, one of 40 reasons for being denied entry to the
U.S.
He says ``little white lies'' are being told at the border by some
visitors to the U.S. and Canada to get around the stricter rules.
``If they don't have a conviction or your admission to an offence,
then they may have a problem refusing entry,'' said Greene.
He said he was encouraged by the conference call, which was held in
response to recent complaints and media reports about the tougher U.S.
position.
At Vancouver International Airport, a U.S. Customs officer denied
Canadians are being specifically targeted.
``There's not a single law that applies to Canadians only. It's not
your right to enter the U.S., it's a privilege,'' said the officer,
who declined to be identified.
If U.S. inspectors are more vigilant than they used to be, according
to the officer, it's because visitor traffic between U.S. and Canada
has increased.
Last month, the area director for U.S Customs in Blaine said
inspectors have been seeing an increase in the number of marijuana
smugglers coming from the Lower Mainland. Customs officers are now
forced to be more vigilant in questioning visitors, said Gene Kerven.
Under the new law that took effect last April, American immigration
inspectors must impose a five-year ban on people they judge to be
misrepresenting the reasons for their visit.
Admissions of marijuana use are entered into U.S. records and will
result in future denials by inspectors. Those who admit to marijuana
use will only be able enter the U.S. if they obtain a waiver from the
immigration service.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Coca, Poppy Killer May Harm Amazon ('Associated Press'
Says The United States Wants Columbian Eradication Forces
To Switch From Glyphosate To The More Toxic Tebuthiuron
So It Can Be Dropped In Tiny Pellets, Allowing Pilots
To Fly Higher And Faster To Avoid Rebel Gunfire
That Has Brought Down 12 Anti-Drug Aircraft Since 1994)
Date: Fri, 24 Apr 1998 20:23:29 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: Mike Gogulski
Subject: MN: WIRE: COCA, POPPY KILLER MAY HARM AMAZON
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: GDaurer
Source: Associated Press
Pubdate: Thu, 23 Apr 1998
Author: Paul Haven
COCA, POPPY KILLER MAY HARM AMAZON
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - Deep in the jungle, a Turbo-Thrush plane swoops to
within 100 feet of a field of illegal drug crops, lets loose a cloud of
herbicide over the plants and soars skyward again before heavily armed
leftist rebels can open fire.
It has become an almost daily - if hair-raisingly dangerous - routine in
Colombia as police undertake an ambitious program to eradicate thousands of
acres of coca and poppy - the plants used to make cocaine and heroin.
Now, at the urging of the United States, Colombia is considering switching
to a more powerful, granular herbicide called tebuthiuron - a new
coca-killer that can be dropped from higher altitudes, out of range of the
gun-toting rebels guarding the crops.
Environmental groups and some top Colombian officials oppose the switch,
contending that tebuthiuron, produced by several companies, is dangerous to
human beings, animals and the delicate Amazon rain forest - one of the
world's treasure chests of biological diversity.
``We can't authorize at this time a substance that could harm our
ecosystem,'' argued Environment Minister Eduardo Verano. ``We cannot attack
the Amazon.''
He has refused to sign off on a proposed field test, asserting that
tebuthiuron could turn the lush jungle into a prairie.
A Colombian government commission will decide in coming weeks whether to
approve testing on a wide swath of jungle.
Environmentalists in the United States note that tebuthiuron is most often
used to clear weeds near highways and is rarely applied near desirable
vegetation.
``It is a very large contradiction to say it is safe to use'' in a rain
forest, said Mauricio Castro, head of the Colombian office of the World
Wildlife Fund. The chemical could seep into ground and surface water in
dangerous concentrations, lingering for a year or more, he says.
Charles Helling, lead scientist of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's
narcotics group and member of a U.S. team that briefed Colombian officials
on tebuthiuron last month, disagrees.
``The benefits are so strong,'' he said by telephone from his Beltsville,
Md., office, adding: ``In my judgment, the environmental risk is very slight.''
The urgency of crop-eradication efforts are evident. Colombia overtook Peru
last year as the top coca producer, with 307 square miles of crops under
cultivation, the State Department says. Despite a record eradication effort,
police haven't destroyed crops as fast as new ones are planted.
Colombian traffickers control 80 percent of the global cocaine market and a
growing share of the heroin trade. Leftist rebels have increasingly turned
to working with drug traffickers and guarding coca crops to finance their
decades-old insurgency.
So is tebuthiuron, backed by Colombia's police chief, the answer? In the
late 1980s, Peru tested the herbicide, but opted against using it for fear
of provoking social unrest in coca-growing regions.
Ivonne Alcala, head of the Colombian anti-drug office, expects such protests
here: In 1996, farmers staged a violent protest against glyphosate, the
herbicide currently in use, leaving seven people dead and about 100 injured.
``If we were spraying holy water, they would say the holy water is causing
birth defects,'' Alcala said.
If it is used, tebuthiuron would be dropped in tiny pellets, not a mist,
allowing pilots to fly higher and faster. That would let them avoid rebel
fire that has brought down 12 anti-drug aircraft since 1994. The pellets
also make the herbicide more resistant to rain, which frequently washes away
glyphosate.
Helling said tests he conducted indicate the chemical would disappear faster
in the humid forest than in the United States, making it less harmful. But
even those who say it is relatively safe acknowledge it could be dangerous
to children or people with low resistance.
``Individuals have different levels of sensitivity,'' said William Smith, a
Cornell University agriculture professor. ``I myself would not like to be in
a spray drift area where this material was being applied.''
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Antiprohibitionist Action Report, Year 4, Number 8 (Summary For Activists
Of International Drug Policy Reform News, From CORA In Italy)
Date: Tue, 28 Apr 1998 14:03:03 EDT
Originator: drctalk@drcnet.org
Sender: drctalk@drcnet.org
From: cora.belgique@agora.stm.it
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: CORAFax 8 (G)
ANTIPROHIBITIONISTS OF THE ENTIRE WORLD...#8
Antiprohibitionist action report
April, 23 1998 - (Year 4) #8
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CO.R.A. |
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Radical | Association federated with
Antiprohibitionist | the Transnational
Coordination | Radical Party
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OLD - Observatory of laws on drugs
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PAA - PARLAMENTARIANS FOR
ANTIPROHIBITIONIST ACTION
European campaign for the revision
of international conventions
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CORA-ITALY
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00186 ROME
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NEWS FROM CORA
ITALY: CONSTITUTIONAL COURT: CHRONIC ADDICTS ARE NEVER GUILTY. CORA:
THE ONLY CHRONIC THING IS PROHIBITIONISM. The latest Constitutional
Court's decision on the non-guiltiness of chronic addicts is pure
nonsense. It does not take into consideration the failures of a system
that ignores science. CORA believes that the only chronic thing is
prohibition that, like a cancer, has infected democracy and destroying
the rule of law.
UN/AFGHANISTAN: NO TO THE TALIBANS DEAL.
The Transnational Radical Party, in its capacity of NGO in
Consultative Status with the Ecosoc, intervened at the UN Human Rights
Commission in Geneva on the UNDCP project in Afghanistan: "It is not
only the fact that a UN branch wants to fund some crop eradication
that will simply be moved to other regions; it is not only the fact
that the UNDCP will fund a government that has been recognized only by
three nations, it is also the UN credibility as a whole that is at
stake. While the United Nations is clear about its position on the
Talibans, the executive body of a UN agency is proposing a different
approach. The credibility of the UN passes through the rigor and the
homogeneity of its decisions. In this case, a UN agency that denies
the United Nations and the Member States with a proposal, which among
other things is scientifically non sounded, undermines the credibility
of the international community as a whole.
BELGIUM: NEW NORMS ON CANNABIS CONSUMPTION. CORA: THE TRIUMPH OF
HYPOCRISY With a brief sent to all Procurators of the Kingdom, the
Justice Department invites to consider cannabis consumption as of the
lowest judicial priority of the Government's agenda. An indication
that does not touch the Mafia market of drugs and leaves a wide margin
of maneuver to magistrates. The letter was conceived to help the
paralysis of the judiciary and the prison system caused by
drug-related crimes; it does not face health questions, money
laundering, and other legal issues. The law on narcotics has not been
modified, the possession remains illegal and punishable. The law is
not effective, but the principle of irresponsibility and cynicism
maintains it as it is. CORA denounces this "forfeiture of the
legislative power", in a letter of Feb. 24 sent to all the
Procurators, in which it clearly asked to them to "refuse to take the
responsibility that the Government is 'proposing', and to remind the
Government its obligations on the matter."
NEWS FROM THE WORLD
AMERICAS
The leaders of some American States have struck a new alliance against
drugs. The new covenant gives to the Organization of American States
the evaluation of anti-drug efforts of each State. This multilateral
evaluation system, which will be finalized at the Summit of the
Americas in Chile, will substitute the US yearly 'Certification'
program that caused many problems for Latin American countries.
(INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE 15/4)
FRANCE
Paris - The local Court has fined Act Up President Philippe Mangeot,
for 30,000 French Francs. Mr. Mangeot distributed the treaty "J'aime
l'ecstasy" (I love ecstasy) in 1997. The purpose of the organization
is to ask the abrogation of the 1970 drug law that, according to Mr.
Mangeot, impedes any debate on the matter. (LIBERATION 9/4)
BOLIVIA
During the last four years, the anti-drugs police, with the backing of
the U.S., have tried to eradicate coca crops in southern forests. The
result is that in 1994, Colombians have cultivated some 45,000
hectares of coca; last year 800,000. The persistence of the demand has
made Colombians plant more coca to fight the eradication projects. The
new technique to destroy crops consists of spraying fields with a new
aggressive substance. Environmentalists fear that this new solution
will damage forests. (THE ECONOMIST 11/4)
WORLD
The latest Department of State report on drugs is a mix of hopes and
delusions, victories and defeats. The production in Latin America is
dropping (the biggest success of the anti-narcos war in 1997), but the
war is not won. In Moscow, a gram of cocaine is $300, three times the
New York price. (L'ESPRESSO 16/4)
IRAN
The UN anti-drugs programme, lead by Italy's Pino Arlacchi, will open
an office in Teheran to support the country's war against
drug-traffickers and restart wheat production all over the country.
During the last 10 years, there have been at least 10,000 executions
of traffickers. Right after the war against Iraq, Iran declared a
'religious' war on drugs.
GREAT BRITAIN
UK is invaded by heroin produced by the Talibans. In 1997, The police
have confiscated the record amount of 1.5 tons, 95% of which come from
Afghanistan. The amount of heroin is so huge that in some suburbs it
is sold at the price of a pint of beer. (THE TIMES 12-15/4)
ITALY
Alcoholics and chronic drug addicts are no longer indictable, they
cannot be held responsible for the crimes they commit; their situation
is compared to the provisions regarding mentally disturbed people in
the Criminal Code. This decision has been confirmed by a
Constitutional Court; Italian Rightists have criticized the Court
saying that in this way addicts will have a 'license to commit
crimes', rehab organizations are saying that one cannot transform
addicts into mentally retarded by law. (CORSERA, IL GIORNALE, IL
MESSAGGERO, IL SOLE 24 ORE, LA REPUBBLICA, LA STAMPA 17/4)
WORLD
Washington - UNDCP Director Pino Arlacchi has recently said at a press
conference that the international drug-trafficking mobs are organizing
themselves to take advantage of the upcoming Football World Cup in
France. On that occasion, the market will be invaded by a huge amount
of drugs. Mr. Arlacchi has confirmed that the U.S. and Europe remain
the most profitable markets for drugs. (FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE, NEUE
ZUERCHER ZEITUNG 17/4)
CZECH REPUBLIC
President Havel has sent back to the Parliament the new law on drugs.
The bill, voted by the majority of deputies in February, was forwarded
to the Senate in March. The contrast between the President and the
Parliament lies in the norms that extend the penalties limited dealers
also to consumers. (NEUE ZUERCHER ZEITUNG 16/4)
BOLIVIA
With a big protest of 'campesinos', the Army and the police have
started to destroy illegal coca crops. The Government wants to
eradicate 10,000 hectares per year - a quarter of the existing fields.
Moreover, even if coca fields have been legalized in the last five
years, those who destroy their crops will receive some money from the
Government. (INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE, NEUE ZUERCHER ZEITUNG 15/4)
GERMANY
Representatives of the Heath and Justice Dept. have declared that the
Saar region, following the examples of Hessen and Hamburg, wants to
establish some "health outpost" for serious drug addicts. The decision
was made public after some debate with the Procurator of the Republic.
(FRANKFURT ALLGEMEINE 21/4)
SINGAPORE
The Government wants to reinforce the severe drug laws proposing the
death penalty for people caught with big quantities of 'Ice' and
ecstasy. Up to now, the capital punishment was reserved to marihuana,
morphine and opium trafficking. (FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG,
SUDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG 21/4)
BELGIUM
With a brief sent to all Procurators of the Kingdom, the Justice
Department invites to consider cannabis consumption as of the lowest
judicial priorities of the Government's agenda. This is trying to
strike a balance between the French and the Dutch approach. (LE MONDE
21/4)
GERMANY
The current situation of the "socio-health" offices for drug addicts
is as follows: in Frankfurt every day 900 doses of narcotics are
delivered to 300 patients; cost: 2 million German Marks per year. Also
Hamburg has four offices, while in Hannover there is one that
functions since last December. Some more are planned to be opened in
Munich, Berlin and in the Westfalen region. (FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE
ZEITUNG 22/4)
ITALY
The Ministry of Social Affairs has prepared an anti-drug campaign to
limit the damages produced by ecstasy. It is an educational campaign
made of slogans like: "do not mix pills with alcohol" or "drink lots
of water". This minimalistic approach is not liked by the prohibition
community led by the rehab community of San Patrignano. (LA STAMPA
22/4)
FRANCE
Paris - A center for addicts rehabilitation, that was recently opened
in Rue Beaurepaire, is dividing the population. The center, which is
part of the national program of risk reduction, will allow addicts to
shoot drugs in a safe environment. The association Republique-Canal
Saint Martin (200 members) does not agree with the project and has
promised opposition. (LIBERATION 21/4)
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CORA
-COORDINATION RADICALE ANTIPROHIBITIONNISTE
-ANTIPROHIBITIONIST RADICAL COORDINATION
-COORDINAMENTO RADICALE ANTIPROIBIZIONISTA
Federated with the Transnational Radical Party NGO with category I consultative status at the UN
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[End]
to 1998 Daily News index for April 23-29