-------------------------------------------------------------------
Audit Assails LAPD's Accounting For Seized Valuables ('Los Angeles Times'
Says An Audit By Controller Rick Tuttle, The First Since 1992,
Found The Los Angeles Police Department's Supervision Of 'Property,'
Including $2 Billion Worth Of 'Drugs' Every Year, Has Internal Weaknesses
That Jeopardize The Success Of Criminal Prosecutions
And Create Easy Opportunities For Abuse And Theft)
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: "MN" (mapnews@mapinc.org)
Subject: MN: US: CA: Audit Assails Lapd's Accounting
For Seized Valuables
Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 18:58:06 -0500
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Jim Rosenfield
Pubdate: May 21, 1998
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Contact: letters@latimes.com
Website: http://www.latimes.com/
Author: By Matt Lait
AUDIT ASSAILS LAPD'S ACCOUNTING FOR SEIZED VALUABLES
Police: Although conceding that gains have been made since the last survey
in 1992, report says storage problems raise temptation of theft and abuse.
The Los Angeles Police Department is "sloppy" when it comes to storing and
accounting for guns, drugs, jewelry, electronic equipment and other property
seized by police, the city's controller said Wednesday.
A 35-page audit released by Controller Rick Tuttle found that the LAPD's
supervision of property has internal weaknesses that jeopardize the success
of criminal prosecutions and create easy opportunities for abuse and theft.
Each year, the LAPD's property division processes about 250,000 pieces of
property, ranging from weapons, cash and guns to blood- and semen-stained
clothing. Officials said the LAPD's 18 police stations received, on an
annual basis, about 13,000 guns, $2 billion worth of drugs and as much as $5
million in currency.
Auditors discovered that some of those items were either misplaced or
missing with no explanations. Other property, such as drugs, were not always
kept in the most secure locations.
In one case, some "high-value drugs" and cash were stored next to employees'
snack foods in a vault.
"They don't have good inventory control," Tuttle said. "They have a lot of
improvement to do here."
While acknowledging that improvements can be made, LAPD officials bristled
at the accusation that the department is careless in handling and securing
property.
"It's absolutely untrue," said William R. Moran, head of the LAPD's fiscal
and support bureau. "The volume of evidence we process is staggering. . . .
This is a system that deserves commendation instead of being attacked."
The LAPD's processing and safeguarding of evidence was one of the dominant
issues raised by defense attorneys during the murder trial of O.J. Simpson.
The attorneys accused the department of shoddy procedures.
According to the auditors' report, one troubling lapse in oversight occurs
when the property no longer needs to be stored by the LAPD and is auctioned
or junked. Auditors said the department does not properly track exactly
which items are sent to, or sold at, auctions. In a small sampling of 27
items listed for disposal, auditors found two items--a radar detector and a
car stereo--missing. The department also does not adequately track property
that eventually is acquired for department purposes, such as video cameras.
Another problem, the auditors said, is at the department's armory. According
to the controller's report, the LAPD does not keep backup records for
tracking firearms in its possession. Moreover, no records are kept on the
inventory of parts for firearms.
Such procedural shortcomings may lead "to waste, misuse or theft of
property," the report states.
In addition to developing better procedures for monitoring evidence and
property, the auditors recommended that the LAPD install security cameras in
areas where the items are stored, rotate officers who work in the property
rooms and implement a "bar coding" system similar to what supermarkets use
to scan prices on groceries.
The LAPD, Moran said, already is working on implementing the bar-coding
procedures that he expects to be in use by summer. He said he will review
the recommendations in the report and "figure out what we can do with the
facilities and resources that we have."
Some of the problems in tracking property, Moran said, are the result of
automating the manual records six years ago. "It's a data conversion
problem, basically," he said, adding that he expects those problems to be
resolved as the older property is discarded.
Moran said that the department has made remarkable improvement in its
handling of property compared to a decade ago when nothing was computerized
and property tags were known to come off items, making them difficult to ide
ntify. He added that he knew of no criminal cases that had to be dismissed
because of missing evidence.
"We're light-years ahead of where we were," Moran said. "A lot of other
agencies would love to have an automated system like we do."
Tuttle and his auditors acknowledge that the LAPD has made significant
improvements since their last audit in 1992.
Auditors said the sheer volume of evidence also has caused some storage
concerns. At the Scientific Investigation Division, for example, employees
maintained a cache of firearms that "is too large for its current storage
space."
Timothy B. Lynch, administrative deputy at the controller's office, said
auditors did not try to undercover any criminal activity at the property
room, but rather identify weaknesses in the department's policies and
procedures in processing the property.
He said auditors found loopholes in the department's handling of property
that make the temptation of criminal activity too great.
"The whole system needs to be tightened up," Lynch said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Pot And The Governor's Race ('Sacramento News and Review' Article
Focusing On California Libertarian Gubernatorial Candidate Steve Kubby
Notes Kubby, Dennis Peron And Dan Lungren, Perhaps The Three
Most Important Figures In The Proposition 215 Campaign, Now Find Themselves
In An Unlikely Sharing Of What Is Commonly Considered The Right Side
Of The Political Spectrum In Gubernatorial Politics)
Date: Wed, 03 Jun 1998 00:58:24 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US CA: Pot And The Governor's Race
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Arthur Sobey
Pubdate: Thu, 21 May 1998
Source: Sacramento News and Review
Contact: sactoletters@newsreview.com
Website: http://www.newsreview.com/sacto/
Author: Michael Pulley
POT AND THE GOVERNOR'S RACE
Gubernatorial Candidates Share Link With California's Battle Over Medical
Marijuana.
In the summer of 1996, Steve Kubby, an author and political thinker who
argues that the medical use of traditional plants such as marijuana is a
freedom protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, was
hiking with his wife, Michele, up the Desolation Wilderness trail out of
Squaw Valley just a few miles from their home.
On the trail, they encountered their neighbor, Brian Lungren, a brother and
adviser to state Attorney General Dan Lungren. "What do you guys plan to do
about our Proposition 215 medical marijuana initiative?" Kubby asked the
attorney general's brother.
In Kubby's account, Lungren responded: "Well, you guys don't have a chance.
We're not even going to bother thinking about you guys."
Kubby had become an indispensable player in the campaign for the now-famous
California initiative that legalized cultivation and use of marijuana for
treatment of medical problems such as cancer, AIDS and glaucoma. In fact,
many of the key players in the campaign had already dubbed Kubby the
initiative's savior, because it was Kubby more than anyone who convinced
multibillionaire philanthropist George Soros and other wealthy businessmen
to put up the funds that got 215 placed on the November 1996 state ballot.
Meanwhile, contributions had slowed to a trickle down at the San Francisco
Cannabis Buyers' Club, where founder Dennis Peron and an army of volunteers
managed the grassroots efforts of the 215 campaign. State drug agents, under
the direction of Dan Lungren, had the campaign headquarters and the club
that distributed marijuana to sick people under constant surveillance. In
August of that year, Lungren had the club raided and shut down. As the
bizarre raid turned into a national media spectacle, donations started
flowing once again into 215's diminishing campaign fund. A few months later,
the state's voters made history by overwhelmingly approving 215.
Now Kubby, Peron and Lungren-perhaps the three most important figures in the
Prop. 215 campaign-find themselves faced off in another big campaign-the
California governor's race. It's one of the ironic twists of politics in the
late 1990s that the three gubernatorial candidates most linked with
California's battle over medical marijuana find themselves in an unlikely
sharing of what is commonly considered the right side of the political
spectrum in gubernatorial politics.
On the left, the Democrats have moved solidly into the "war on drugs" camp.
After all, it was the Clinton administration that launched the crackdown on
Prop. 215 just one week after it was approved by voters, when the
administration threatened California doctors who recommended marijuana for
medical reasons. U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein made a campaign contribution
against Prop. 215 that was missed by the media because it was sneaked in as
a late filing contribution. And Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gray
Davis has recommended drug testing for children.
Lungren, considered by many to be the front-runner in the race, will
undoubtedly lock up the Republican Party nomination in the June primary.
Peron, by his decision to challenge Lungren as a fellow Republican in
California's first open primary election, will certainly lead a significant
number of liberals to abandon their traditional Democratic Party voting
habits for the first time and cast a vote for Peron in the primary.
Kubby's meteoric rise to the top of the Libertarian Party in California is
one of the most intriguing stories in modern politics. His role in saving
the Prop. 215 campaign helped give him credibility among Libertarians and he
locked up the Libertarian Party nomination for the California governorship
long before the primary election. So, Kubby will emerge as one of the
leading third-party contenders on the November ballot to Lungren and the
Democratic choice.
Like Peron, Kubby had his political consciousness formed during the
anti-Vietnam war days of the 1960s. Fresh out of college, Kubby garnered
national attention with his camp for children known as Earth Camp One.
But his life veered in a whole new direction after the young entrepreneur
learned a disturbing fact. He had contracted a deadly form of adrenal cancer
that no one had lived longer than five years with. The chemotherapy
treatments seemed to make him worse. Written off by Western medicine, Kubby
began to explore alternative forms of healing. He traveled to Bermuda, where
he tried a blood plasma treatment that was illegal in the United States. He
also smoked marijuana regularly, which offered relief from his symptoms. At
51, Kubby is alive and well 23 years after he was first diagnosed, the only
person known to medical science to have survived his form of cancer.
This experience led Kubby to explore a curious question. How could a country
based on the Constitution outlaw naturally occurring plants such as
marijuana and peyote, which have been used by other cultures for their
healing abilities since the beginning of time? The answer to his question
was his book, The Politics of Consciousness. A sort of political manifesto
of the 1990s, the book presents a convincing argument that Americans' rights
to use naturally occurring plants for their healing and spiritual properties
are protected by the U.S. Constitution and that the founding fathers would
be horrified by the current war on drugs. As Kubby notes in the book, the
war on drugs has put 600,000 people behind bars for acts that would not have
been considered a crime until about 60 years ago.
The book was hailed by psychedelic visionaries and radical thinkers such as
Terence McKenna and Timothy Leary. But to get it published, Kubby had to go
to Loompanics Unlimited, a controversial press that has published many of
the radical, pro-gun books sought by militia types.
Today, Kubby is still a medical marijuana patient. He displays his official
Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Club identification to a reporter to prove it. He
also holds up a letter from his prominent Truckee doctor, who approves of
his smoking marijuana for medical reasons. But Kubby is discrete about his
medical use of the plant, opting for privacy when it's time to smoke.
That's a contrast to Peron, who frequently speaks at hemp rallies and has
become known as the medical marijuana candidate because he's quick to smoke
marijuana in front of television cameras and news photographers and take
credit for the passage of Prop. 215.
While Peron played an important role in the passage of 215, Kubby's
little-known role may have been the most critical element. An articulate and
persuasive activist, Kubby served as a behind-the-scenes motivator and
mediator. The proponents of Proposition 215 were an odd clique of
dreadlock-adorned, pot-smoking hempsters, gay activists, Libertarians,
progressive-minded business executives, leftist campaign consultants,
multibillionaire philanthropists and visionaries of the drug policy reform
movement.
Somehow such a disparate collection of politically-minded individuals found
a common ground with medical marijuana. But each group had different
motivations and goals in supporting an initiative. The grassroots organizers
such as the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)
had been working on the issue for more than two decades. Their involvement
had evolved out of the anti-war politics of the 1960s. They brought the
passion and zeal that any lasting movement is based on, but they had failed
in all previous attempts to put a major drug policy reform measure on the
California ballot. The professionals were often Johnny-come-latelys, but
they had the money and organizational savvy that the grassroots level most
needed to move forward.
There were disagreements and the coalition was in danger of collapsing.
Kubby was the glue that kept the fractious group working together. His
particular genius was the ability to communicate with such a grab bag of
political activists and convince them that the window of opportunity for
medical marijuana in California was at hand and everyone needed to step up
to the plate.
George Zimmer was one of the key figures he brought into the movement. The
highly-visible owner of the San Francisco-based Men's Warehouse retail
chain, Zimmer met Kubby after reading The Politics of Consciousness, which
struck a chord with the retail executive because his own mother had died
from cancer.
So in January 1996, Zimmer joined Kubby, Peron and a host of leading medical
marijuana advocates in plotting the early stages of the Prop. 215 campaign.
But the supporters had their backs against the wall because they were facing
an impending May deadline to get the initiative on the ballot. In February
of that year, the coalition fell apart after the biggest supporters learned
that the 200,000 voter signatures collected for the initiative under the
direction of Peron through the Cannabis Buyers' Club were mostly invalid.
Peron had been defrauded by unscrupulous signature gatherers, according to
Kubby.
Soros, the chief financier of the campaign, lost faith and pulled out. Kubby
got on the phone to Soros' representative and convinced the wealthy
philanthropist to hang tough on the campaign.
While Kubby's key involvement with 215 has linked him closely with the
medical marijuana issue, he has put together a well-thought-out
gubernatorial campaign that addresses most of the key issues facing the
country. On environmental issues, an area that has caused liberals to part
camp with the Libertarians in the past, Kubby has intriguing opinions. How
can the U.S. government, he wants to know, be expected to protect the
environment when it's the biggest polluter in the country? His environmental
protection plan is based on the principle of strict liability and trespass.
He points out that no insurance would underwrite a nuclear plant and the
industry only came into being because of the U.S. government's subsidy.
Kubby believes that laws that waive liability for polluters are part of what
keeps individual citizens from protecting themselves from the dangers of
pollution caused by corporations and big government.
Kubby and his wife, Michele, tell a reporter that they are the authentic
baby boomer couple, whose beliefs and principles are in line with their
generation, unlike those of President Clinton and first lady Hillary Rodham
Clinton, who are still pushing the "old policies." They paint themselves as
the new face of the Libertarian Party.
To the critics who say third parties don't have a chance in the governor's
race regardless of the medical marijuana issue, Kubby points to the recent
statements by political pollster Mervin Field, who says that anything is
potentially possible in California's first open primary election. Kubby,
Peron and Lungren are hoping to use that opening to pull away swing votes
and traditional Democratic voters.
"There's a lot of Democrats that would like to see a Democratic candidate in
this election, but they don't have one," said Kubby. "They all look like
Republicans, talk like Republicans. They're wealthy and they get all their
donations from wealthy people."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
State Wins Access To Tobacco Data (According To 'The Seattle Times,'
An Attorney For Washington State Said Yesterday That The State Has Won Access
To Internal RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company Memos Written By A Researcher
Who Tracked Concerns In The Medical Community About Smoking -
King County Superior Court Judge George Finkle Ruled Last Week
That Most Of The 2,800 Documents Failed To Meet The Criteria
Of Attorney-Client Privilege - The Industry Has Already Settled
With Minnesota, Texas, Florida And Mississippi For A Total Of $36.5 Billion,
And The Trial For Washington's Lawsuit Is Scheduled To Begin September 14
In Seattle)
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US: WA: State Wins Access To Tobacco Data
Date: Sat, 23 May 1998 03:59:54 -0500
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: John Smith
Pubdate: Thu, 21 May 1998
Source: Seattle Times (WA)
Contact: opinion@seatimes.com
Website: http://www.seattletimes.com/
Author: Hunter T. George
STATE WINS ACCESS TO TOBACCO DATA
OLYMPIA - Washington state, next in line to take its tobacco lawsuit to
trial, has won access to internal R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. memos written by
a researcher who tracked concerns in the medical community about smoking, an
attorney said yesterday.
After reviewing a random sample, King County Superior Court Judge George
Finkle ruled last week that most of the 2,800 documents failed to meet the
criteria of attorney-client privilege and ordered them released to the
state.
John Hough, a senior assistant attorney general who's overseeing the state's
lawsuit against the tobacco industry, said the documents contain memos
written by longtime RJR researcher Frank Colby.
Hough said it was Colby's job to review concerns in the medical community
about smoking and cancer, and to report what he found to RJR officials.
"I don't think we'll find any particular smoking guns in here. But it's one
of the building blocks of our case," Hough said of the documents, which were
part of Minnesota's case against the industry that was settled earlier this
month for $6.6 billion.
"They show the extent to which tobacco companies were trying to learn what
was going on in the medical community so they could plot their counter
strategies."
A spokesman for RJR, based in Winston-Salem, N.C., could not be reached for
comment.
The state has sued seven tobacco companies, their research divisions and a
public-relations firm to recover medical costs for smoking-related
illnesses.
Under Finkle's ruling, RJR has until Tuesday to turn over most of the
documents and explain why any documents still being withheld should remain
confidential.
As has been the case in previous battles over company documents, Finkle's
ruling allows the attorney general's office to review the documents, but it
doesn't clear the papers for release to the public.
Hough said the state will continue to examine lists of documents that the
tobacco industry has claimed are protected by the attorney-client privilege,
as it did in the case of the Colby memos.
The industry has reached settlements with Minnesota, Texas, Florida and
Mississippi for a total of $36.5 billion.
Trial for Washington's lawsuit is scheduled for Sept. 14 in Seattle.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Scientists Locate Neighborhood Of Alcoholism Gene ('Associated Press'
Says Dr. Enoch Gordis, Director Of The National Institute On Alcohol Abuse
And Alcoholism, Said Yesterday At A National Press Club Briefing
That Researchers Mapping The Highway Of Human Heredity Have Found
Some Streets, Or Multiple Genes, That May Lead To Alcoholism -
Inheritance Plays A Role In The Disease, But No Single Factor,
Whether It's Genetics Or Environment, Is Sufficient To 'Cause' Alcoholism)
Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 21:49:23 -0700
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US: Scientists Locate Neighborhood
of Alcoholism Gene
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: John Smith
Source: Standard-Times (MA)
Contact: YourView@S-T.com
Website: http://www.s-t.com/
Pubdate: Thu, 21 May 1998
Author: Randolph E. Schmid, Associated Press writer
SCIENTISTS LOCATE NEIGHBORHOOD OF ALCOHOLISM GENE
WASHINGTON -- Researchers mapping the highway of human heredity have found
some streets that may lead to alcoholism.
Their work could lead to ways of identifying youngsters most at risk of
becoming alcoholics and helping them avoid that future.
An estimated 14 million Americans suffer from alcoholism and it has long
been known that the problem runs in families. But it had not been clear if
it was inherited or a result of environment, Dr. Enoch Gordis, director of
the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, said yesterday.
Now, he said, researchers have concluded that inheritance plays a role and
they have located likely neighborhoods for the genes that can lead to
trouble.
"These genes are for risk, not for destiny," Gordis stressed at a National
Press Club briefing.
He said further studies to locate the exact genes could lead to treatments
for alcoholism, more focused prevention efforts and better understanding of
the role of environment and the working of the human brain.
Genes are portions of the human chromosome, a pair of long molecules in
each cell that determine the characteristics of the person. Each parent
provides one of the two paired chromosomes. Some inherited diseases have
been found to result from faulty genes.
"Alcoholism is multi-gene, it is not due to a mutation in a single gene,"
Gordis said. "In all likelihood, it is a handful of genes."
"No single factor, whether it's genetics or environment, is sufficient to
cause" alcoholism, added Dr. Jeffrey Long of the National Institutes of
Health. "So we're looking for things that shift the balance."
Long likened DNA, the major constituent of the chromosome, to a highway 500
miles long in which the scientists are able to locate mile markers.
The studies reported yesterday have located mile markers that show promise
as areas related to alcoholism. Now the challenge is to find the specific
genes, which Long said would correspond to an area of perhaps a few feet
between mile markers.
By identifying the specific genes, doctors could then determine who might
be a "carrier" of the propensity to alcoholism, he said. Even if that
person did not become an alcoholic, it could be useful to know that they
might transmit the gene.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Senate Rejects $1.50-A-Pack Increase In Cigarette Tax ('Sacramento Bee'
Says The US Senate On Wednesday Left Intact A $1.10 Tax Increase
Favored By Senator John McCain, The Republican From Arizona,
Author Of Legislation To Put Sweeping New Government Controls
On The Tobacco Industry - The Newspaper Calls The 58-40 Tally
The First Bellwether Vote For The McCain Bill)
Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 15:14:58 -0700
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US: Senate Rejects $1.50-a-Pack Increase in Cigarette Tax
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Joel W. Johnson (jwjohnson@mapinc.org)
Source: Sacramento Bee (CA)
Contact: opinion@sacbee.com
Website: http://www.sacbee.com/
Pubdate: Thu, 21 May 1998
Author: James Rosen Bee Washington Bureau
SENATE REJECTS $1.50-A-PACK INCREASE IN CIGARETTE TAX
WASHINGTON -- The Senate rejected a bid Wednesday to raise cigarette taxes
by $1.50 a pack in the first bellwether vote on legislation to put sweeping
new government controls on the tobacco industry.
The 58-40 vote against the $1.50 tax hike left intact a $1.10 increase
favored by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., author of the tobacco bill.
Senators met into the evening as they debated another key proposal that
would strip the $516 billion measure of all liability limits for cigarette
companies. A vote on that amendment was expected today.
On the third day of contentious debate in the Senate, President Clinton
urged lawmakers to pass the measure to protect 3,000 teenagers who begin
smoking each day.
"Today, we stand on the verge of passing legislation that will do far more
than anything we have ever done to stop the scourge of youth smoking,"
Clinton said.
One of the country's most famous teen athletes, figure skater Tara
Lipinski, joined Clinton and 700 other youths on the South Lawn of the
White House.
"Mr. President, in the fight to protect kids from tobacco and save lives,
our team is going to win," Lipinski said.
In the Senate, conservatives led by Republican John Ashcroft of Missouri
spent four hours trying to stem the tobacco bill's momentum.
"This is a massive tax increase, this is a massive expansion of government,
this is an affront to the effort of families to provide for themselves,"
Ashcroft said.
But a group of mainly Democratic senators tried in vain to set an even
higher tax than McCain's levy of $1.10 a pack, already 41/2 times larger
than the current federal excise tax of 24 cents.
Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts noted that those opposing
the higher tax increase -- on the grounds that relatively poor people pay
most cigarette taxes -- were the same senators who resisted his successful
effort last year to increase the minimum wage.
"How elitist and arrogant it is for those voices on the other side to cry
these crocodile tears about working families!" Kennedy thundered.
Forty-five of the Senate's 55 Republicans voted against the $1.50 tax hike,
along with 13 of the 45 Democrats, including Sen. Dianne Feinstein of
California. Feinstein said the steeper tax increase would fuel a black
market in cigarettes. California already loses as much as $50 million a
year in revenue through illegal sales with a state excise tax of 37 cents a
pack, she said.
McCain said the attacks on his bill from both ends of the political
spectrum -- from senators opposed to any tax increases and those who want
even higher taxes and other anti-tobacco penalties -- show that the measure
is well-positioned.
McCain, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, continued to express
confidence that the Senate will approve his legislation, though he was less
certain it will do so by the end of the week.
"You can't get through a minefield without setting off some explosions,"
McCain said. "This is a very large, very controversial bill. The watchword
is patience."
The McCain legislation requires the tobacco companies to pay the government
$516 billion over 25 years, much of which would come from the $1.10-a-pack
tax increase. The cigarette makers would have to make additional payments
-- up to $4 billion a year -- if youth smoking rates fail to decline
rapidly enough.
Copyright 1998 The Sacramento Bee
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Senate Kills Higher Tax On Cigarettes Of $1.50 A Pack
('Los Angeles Times' Version)
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: "MN"
Subject: MN: US: WA: Senate Kills Higher Tax On Cigarettes Of $1.50 A Pack
Date: Mon, 25 May 1998 09:03:08 -0500
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Jim Rosenfield
Pubdate: May 21, 1998
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Contact: letters@latimes.com
Website: http://www.latimes.com/
Author: Myron Levin, Alissa J. Rubin
SENATE KILLS HIGHER TAX ON CIGARETTES OF $1.50 A PACK
WASHINGTON--Public health groups on Wednesday lost a bid to raise the price
tag on sweeping tobacco control legislation when the Senate killed a
proposal to raise cigarette taxes by $1.50 per pack--40 cents above the
amount sought by the bill's sponsor.
In the 58-40 vote, 45 Republicans joined 13 Democrats in defeating the
amendment by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) to raise the cigarette tax by
the higher amount as a way to discourage teen smoking, reimburse health care
costs and fund anti-smoking programs.
The vote appeared to set the upper limit of any tobacco tax likely to pass
Congress this year at $1.10 per pack, as originally proposed in the bill
sponsored by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and supported by the White House.
California's Democratic senators split on the $1.50 proposal--Barbara Boxer
supported it while Dianne Feinstein voted against it.
In another important vote that signaled broad support for the legislation,
senators soundly defeated, 72 to 26, a proposal by Sen. John Ashcroft
(R-Mo.) to strip the measure of any tax increase. Under the McCain bill,
part of the new taxes would provide federal public health and medical
research programs with nearly $30 billion over the next five years. Even
more money would go to the states, in part to pay for anti-smoking programs.
Both Boxer and Feinstein opposed the proposal by Ashcroft, a conservative
who wants to kill the bill. Only Republicans--less than half of the Senate
GOP membership--backed his amendment, indicating that there is enough
bipartisan backing to pass a major tobacco bill this year. However,
lobbyists and lawmakers said that showdowns expected today and Friday in the
Senate over aid to tobacco farmers and legal protections for the tobacco
industry could still derail the legislation.
President Clinton weighed in in opposition to an amendment to wipe out the
bill's major legal protection for tobacco companies--an $8-billion cap on
the amount of damages that cigarette manufacturers would have to pay in any
one year. Given that the bill is considerably tougher than a proposed
settlement negotiated by the industry last year, supporters--including
Clinton--said that without getting some benefit, tobacco companies can be
expected to file legal challenges and delay implementation for years.
In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.), Clinton said
that he opposed the amendment to eliminate the cap, offered by Sens. Judd
Gregg (R-N.H.) and Patrick J. Leahy, (D-Vt.).
"If a cap that doesn't prevent anybody from suing the companies and getting
whatever damages a jury awards will get tobacco companies to stop marketing
cigarettes to kids, it is well worth it for the American people," said
Clinton.
The Kennedy amendment to hike cigarette taxes by $1.50 a pack was backed by
many health experts and anti-smoking groups, who argued that such a sharp
increase is the best way to discourage smoking, particularly among
price-sensitive teens. But opponents condemned the increase as a highly
regressive tax on blue-collar workers and the poor, who dominate the ranks
of smokers.
Cigarettes now cost about $2 a pack, so the proposed $1.10 increase would
raise the price at least 50%--although at that level U.S. cigarette taxes
would still be lower than in other industrial countries.
McCain's Commerce Committee originally had passed a bill containing the
$1.10 price increase. But the Finance Committee, which also had jurisdiction
over the legislation, changed the bill to include a $1.50 tax increase. The
Senate leadership dropped the tax increase Monday, reverting to the McCain
plan when the chamber began debating the bill.
Support for the Kennedy amendment among Democrats was less than unanimous,
in part because the White House had agreed to support the $1.10 level and
lobbied against any increase.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Diplomat Seeks Post Of Ambassador To Mexico (Background Piece
In 'The San Jose Mercury News' On Relations With Mexico And The Prospects
Of Jeffrey Davidow, A Career Diplomat Likely To Be Confirmed By The US Senate
As The Next Ambassador To Mexico)
Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 18:50:09 -0500
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: MEXICO: Diplomat Seeks Post Of Ambassador To Mexico
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Marcus-Mermelstein Family
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Pubdate: Thu, 21 May 1998
Contact: letters@sjmercury.com
Website: http://www.sjmercury.com
JIM PUZZANGHERA
Mercury News Staff Writer
DIPLOMAT SEEKS POST OF AMBASSADOR TO MEXICO
Davidow's prospects for Senate approval better than Weld's
WASHINGTON -- Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Davidow will stride
into a stately, wood-paneled hearing room this afternoon and fold his
6-foot-6 frame into a maroon leather chair facing members of the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
With those unspectacular actions, he will have taken one giant step
farther in his quest to become the next ambassador to Mexico than
President Clinton's last nominee.
Last summer, committee Chairman Jesse Helms, in a battle of political
wills, refused to grant a hearing to former Massachusetts Gov. William
Weld for the position.
If, as expected, Davidow's nomination encounters no major roadblocks
in today's hearing, the career diplomat with an irrepressible sense of
humor and a deep understanding of Latin America could soon be walking
into the ambassador's residence in Mexico City.
And the United States could be on its way to repairing the
public-relations damage it has suffered south of the border by leaving
the post vacant for nearly a year during a crucial juncture in
relations between the two countries.
Drugs, immigration, trade, political strife and a fragile economy in a
country that shares more than 1,000 miles of border with the United
States make Mexico perhaps our most crucial and complicated foreign
relation, diplomatic experts say.
California's stake
Nowhere are the stakes larger than in California.
The state is home to more than 6 million people of Mexican descent and
conducts more foreign trade with Mexico than any other country besides
Japan. But the relationship has been strained by California's passage
in 1994 of Proposition 187, which denied benefits to undocumented
immigrants, and Gov. Pete Wilson's outspoken stance against illegal
immigration, Mexican drug traffic and bilingual education. Wilson is
so unpopular in Mexico that the country's ambassador to the United
States met secretly with him last month to avoid public
embarrassment.
A U.S. ambassador in Mexico could help improve relations with
California, said Professor Gregorio Mora Torres, who teaches
Mexican-American history at San Jose State University.
``I think the relations between Mexico and California are not very
good; people are very aware of the anti-Mexican hysteria going on
there,'' Torres said. ``He's not representing California specifically,
but he may be able to show Mexicans that, in fact, California politics
are influenced by local issues, not national issues.''
Powerful symbolism
The top spot in Mexico City -- home to the United States' largest
foreign embassy -- has been vacant since June. Mexico sees the choice
of ambassador sent to its country as a symbol of how the United States
views it, experts said.
The appointment of a politically powerful friend of the president
shows the country is viewed in high regard. A vacancy that lasts for
months on end means it isn't.
``There's a myth among the Latin Americans that they have to have this
very well-known national figure as the U.S. ambassador, that it's a
reflection of the importance of the country,'' said Otto Reich, a
former ambassador to Venezuela who is now a consultant for U.S.
companies on international trade and investment.
Mexicans saw Weld, at the time one of the country's most prominent
governors, a rising star in the moderate wing of the Republican Party
and an old friend of Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton's, as just such a
figure, Reich said.
But Weld's support for the use of marijuana for some medicinal
purposes and of needle-exchange programs for drug addicts ran head-on
into the rock-solid conservatism of Helms, a North Carolina Republican.
Helms believed that Weld's liberal stance on these key drug issues
made him less than ideal to be ambassador to a country in which
illegal drugs are a significant problem. Weld had also angered Helms
in 1996 by not pledging to support re-election of Helms as committee
chairman during Weld's unsuccessful run for the Senate. Helms used his
chairmanship to block a hearing for Weld, who withdrew last September
after a very public, two-month fight.
When Weld backed out, Sen. Paul Coverdell, R-Ga., another committee
member, urged Clinton to pick an experienced diplomat who could easily
be confirmed. Clinton obliged, tapping Davidow on April 28.
But people who know Davidow say Mexico won't be getting some mousy
civil servant, a gray bureaucrat who melts into the wallpaper. First
of all, that's hard to do when you stand as tall as Michael Jordan.
``It seems silly, but that's worth something, when you have somebody
moving around and being visible,'' said Martin Needler, dean of the
University of the Pacific's School of International Studies. People in
Latin American countries tend to emphasize a person's physical
attributes much more than they do in the United States, Reich said.
Davidow, a 29-year State Department veteran who is fluent in Spanish,
has been ambassador to Zambia and Venezuela. Since mid-1996, Davidow,
54, has served as assistant secretary for Inter-American Affairs, the
State Department's top person in Latin America.
Latin American expertise
``Imagine a gentleman who has lived there (in Latin America) for many
years, totally fluent in Spanish, who has enjoyed the culture and the
people, who has many, many friends all over the continent,'' said
Sergio Casanueva, the Mexican consul in San Jose. ``I'm looking
forward to seeing his performance because I'm sure it's going to be a
fascinating performance. . . . He could be a great ambassador.''
Reich has seen Davidow perform in the past. He was Reich's No. 2
official in the Venezuelan embassy from 1986 to 1988.
``He's probably one of the most talented people I have ever worked
with, in or out of government,'' Reich said. ``I can't overemphasize
the diplomatic way in which he gets things done.''
Part of that diplomacy, Reich and others said, is Davidow's use of his
sense of humor.
``Latins tend to be generally pretty formal, much more formal than we
are, and he disarms them with a very self-deprecating sense of humor,
and I think they really like it,'' said Peter Romero, Davidow's deputy
in Inter-American Affairs. ``At least you can tell that they really
warm to him as a result. He is the direct antithesis of
aloofness.''
As is his style, Davidow made a quip when he was sworn into his
current job in 1996: He called Thomas Jefferson's attempt to stop
exports the ``Hams-Bourbon Act'' because it targeted ham producers and
corn-liquor distillers. The pun played off the Helms-Burton Act, which
imposes economic sanctions against Cuba.
That topic, however, might not be a laughing matter at today's
hearing. Helms reportedly has not been happy with the way Davidow has
enforced a section of the act, which denies U.S. visas to top
executives of foreign companies that do business on Cuban property
confiscated from Americans after Fidel Castro's revolutionaries took
control in 1959.
But Helms' problems with Davidow are minor compared to his problems
with Weld. Senate sources said the simple fact that Davidow is getting
the hearing Weld was denied means that Helms will allow the nomination
to be approved.
Davidow's handling of that issue, should it arise at today's hearing,
is an example of the many political situations he'll be faced with if
he becomes ambassador. That's a concern about career diplomats, who
often are unaccustomed to dealing with politics. But Reich said
Davidow had been around Washington for long enough in his current,
politically charged post, that he should handle it fine.
``He's a very unusual and very capable person. . . . I'm sure he'll do
a very good job,'' Reich said. ``And I hope they have very tall door
jambs.''
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Two New Lists In Spanish - NA-Latina And Adicciones (Calyx Webmaster
Announces Debut Of E-Mail Listservers For Harm Reduction Issues
And Narcotics Anonymous Members, Sponsored By
The Drug Policy Foundation)
Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 21:18:53 EDT
Originator: drctalk@drcnet.org
Sender: drctalk@drcnet.org
From: Nicholas Merrill (lists@mojo.calyx.net)
To: Multiple recipients of list (drctalk@drcnet.org)
Subject: 2 New Lists (in Spanish)- NA-Latina and Adicciones
There are two new lists being run from the DPF-sponsored list server
here at Calyx:
Adicciones@calyx.net
which is a list concerning addiction and harm reduction in Spanish
this list already has subscribers from Peru, Finland, Argentina, France,
Spain, and Mexico, the USA and Panama
Here is a short description in Spanish:
El foro de discusisn acerca de las adicciones.
To subscribe to adicciones send an email to listproc@calyx.net with
the subject blank and with the BODY of the message containing nothing
but the following words:
subscribe adicciones yourname
and
NA-Latina@calyx.net
which is a Narcotics Anonymous support mailing list in Spanish
this list has subscribers from Honduras, Bolivia, Argentina, Spain,
Uraguay, Puerto Rico, the USA and Panama
here is a short description in Spanish:
El foro de comunicacion electronico de habla hispana para los miembros de
Narcoticos Anonimos.
To subscribe to NA-Latina send an email to listproc@calyx.net with
the subject blank and with the BODY of the message containing nothing
but the following words:
subscribe na-latina yourname
***
Nicholas Merrill
24 Hour pager: 917-381-0500
Voice: 212-966-1900
President / CEO
http://www.calyx.net
Fax : 212-966-3965
Calyx Internet Access
13-17 Laight St.
NYC NY 10013
Email: nick@calyx.net
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Weekly Action Report On Drug Policies, Year 4, Number 11
(Summary For Activists Of International Drug Policy News,
From CORA In Italy)
Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 13:46:13 EDT
Originator: drctalk@drcnet.org
Sender: drctalk@drcnet.org
From: cora.belgique@agora.stm.it
To: Multiple recipients of list (drctalk@drcnet.org)
Subject: CORAFax 11 (EN)
ANTIPROHIBITIONIST OF THE ENTIRE WORLD ....
Year 4 #11, May 21 1998
***
Weekly Action Report on Drug Policies
Edited by the CORA - Radical Antiprohibitionist Coordination,
federated to - TRP-Transnational Radical Party (NGO, consultive
status, I) - The Global Coalition for Alternatives to the Drug War
***
director:Vincenzo Donvito All rights reserved
***
http://www.agora.stm.it/coranet/
mailto:cora.news@agora.stm.it
NEWS FROM THE CORA
***
EP / INTERVENTION OF TRP SECRETARY ON SYNTHETIC DRUGS
Olivier Dupuis (of the ARE group) said: "the PPE, the Very New Labour
and the Scandinavians are not aware of the fact they have lost the
first war against drugs of the traditional type. This is so true that
even if there are already 5 million consumers, they 're inventing a new
war, which is lost in the beginning.
***
ITALY / THE REAL OFFENCE TO DECENCY IS REPRESENTED BY THE PUBLIC
SERVICES TO DRUG ADDICTS
This is what Giulio Manfredi of the CORA says
about the arrest of a Turinese who was arrested while injecting heroin
in a public square.
***
UNDCP IN CHINA / ARLACCHI EXPRESSES CONGRATULATIONS FOR EFFECTIVENESS
OF WAR AGAINST DRUGS
In a note the TRP underlines that this battle is
being conducted employing the death penalty for drug dealers and
consumers. This is in contrast with the International Convention on
Narcotics, which establishes a "minimum level of punishment" for this
kind of offence.
***
CHIRAC / G8 SUMMIT
The TRP sends its congratulations to the French President for his
stance on light drugs, which is in tune with the frivolous atmosphere
of the summit. While Chirac chooses to protect young people and put
them on guard, other countries of the EU are discussing
depenalization.
***
NEWS FROM THE WORLD
***
000036 20/05/98
E.U. / ITALY / TURIN
ADDICTION / RIGHTS
LA STAMPA
To inject heroin on public premises can cause police arrest for
offence against decency. This has happened to an addict who was
injecting in a city square. For the police forces these are 'new
rule', but the opinion of Carmelo Palma of the CORA is that 'drug
addicts may create problems for public security, not decency'.
***
000035 20/05/98
AMERICA / MEXICO
DRUG MAFIA / RECYCLING / DENOUNCES
HERALD TRIBUNE / SUEDDEUTSCHE Z. / LE MONDE 21/05
The Ministry of Finance has denounced 12 out of 19 Mexican banks for
recycling of dirty money from international drug traffic. A three
year long investigation has evidenced links between Mexican and
Columbian cartels and the banks.
***
000026 18/05/98
E.U. / ITALY
INFORMATION / PUBLICITY
CORRIERE DELLA SERA
The Jury which auto regulates publicity has stigmatized the videoclip
'Acido-Acida', of the pop group Prozac + because, the Jury says, it
propagandizes drug consumption. The members of the pop group answer:
'Young people are well aware of reality, and know that it is also made
of ugly things'
***
000027 18/05/98
E.U. / ITALY
INFORMATION / PUBLICITY
CORRIERE DELLA SERA
The Italian Society of Psychopathology is against the new Government
anti-drug campaign, which in some cases puts use of anti depressive
medicines and use of drugs on the same level. This, they say, is an
insult to those who are fighting against depression.
***
000028 18/05/98
E.U.
INFORMATION / REPORT
CORRIERE DELLA SERA / IL GIORNALE / IL MESSAGGERO
A report of the Pompidou Centre - the anti drug nucleus of the
European Council on drugs, alcohol and tobacco consumption among
European adolescents - says that diffusion of legal and illegal drugs
is very high. In Italy 21% of adolescents smokes marijuana; 42% in
Ireland and the United Kingdom.
***
000025 15/05/98
E.U. / FRANCE
JURYSPRUDENCE / SENTENCE / NEWS
LIBERATION
The Tribunal Correctionel has recognised the Collectif d'Information
et de Recherche Cannabique guilty of having violated the prohibition
to demonstrate during the '18th joint', which took place on the 22nd
of June of 1997, but has not sentenced any punishment. This is a new
fact which spurs the CIRC to fight for a revision of the 1970 law on
drugs.
***
000029 16/05/98
AMERICA / USA / KENTUCKY
LAWS / CULTIVATION
FINANCIAL TIMES
A group of farmers has resorted to the Federal Court asking to be
allowed to cultivate hemp. They say that Congress, with its
'Controlled Substances Act' has not prohibited cultivation of hemp for
industrial use, which should be governed by different laws than those
which control marijuana growing.
***
000030 13/05/98
E.U. / GB
LAWS / PRISONERS
THE TIMES
Prisoners who use marijuana will be treated less severely than those
who use heroin and cocaine, but this should not be seen as pardoning.
The Government will repress consumption of heavy drugs, which are more
dangerous for health and safety in the prisons.
***
000033 20/05/98
E.U. / GERMANY / HAMMBOURG
MARKET / SMUGGLERS / SENTENCE
FRANKFURTER / SUEDDEUTSCHE Z.
The Constitutional Court has accepted the reasons of a drug smuggler
who had denounced the police that imposed surgery on him to remove 14
cocaine capsules from his stomach. The Court has asked that it be
verified whether police forces are guilty of injury.
***
000034 19/05/98
E.U.
MARKET / TRANSPORT / CONTROLS
LIBERATION
On the night between the 16th and the 17th of May police forces and
excise officers have operated thousands of controls in road blocks on
'drug routes' in the Schengen territory, between Holland, Belgium and
France. Other controls have taken place on Amsterdam-Brussels-Paris
trains. As a result high quantities of drugs have been sequestered.
***
000031 13/05/98
E.U. / GB
WAR ON DRUGS
THE TIMES
The anti-drug 'tzar' Keith Hellawell says that one of his targets is
to fight the campaign for legalization of cannabis that is being
brought forth by the 'Independent on Sunday'. Hellawell claims that
the campaign would cause an augment in heroin consumption among young
people.
***
000037 20/05/98
WAR ON DRUGS
IL MESSAGGERO / LA REPUBBLICA
After three years the USA have finished the 'Casablanca' operation.
With the aid of the Italian Carabinieri a gigantic international
recycliing of narco-dollars that involved banks, managers and mafia
bosses from Columbia, Mexico, Italy, the USA and other countries has
been blocked.
***
000032 17/05/98
E.U. / GB / BIRMINGHAM
WAR ON DRUGS / SUMMIT
CORRIERE DELLA SERA / IL MESSAGGERO / IL SOLE 24 ORE / LA REPUBBLICA /
LA STAMPA / THE WALL STREET / FINANCIAL TIMES / LIBERATION / LE MONDE
/ THE TIMES
The G8 summit will take on the task of reducing
production, demand and dealing of drugs and drug addiction. Clinton
and Chirac have stated once again their firm contriarity to the
depenalization of light drugs.
***
CLIPPINGS
***
ITALY - The Italian Senator Pedrizzi, of Alleanza Nazionale (a
moderate right-wing opposition party) has asked the Government to
"Stop the pop group Prozac+, because their songs are a celebration of
drug consumption".
ITALY - Drug traffic and dirty money recycling. Police forces in
Bergamo put up a trap consisting in a fake financial company. Three
banks are under observation: BNL, Rolo and MPS.
USA - An anti-prohibitionist interview with the Nobel Prize Milton
Friedman appears on the "San Jose Mercury News"
WORLD - 5th - 10th of June will be the '1998 Global days against the
Drug War'. Anti-prohibitionist initiatives will take place in various
parts of the world.
***
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
Emailto:cora.news@agora.it
http://www.agora.stm.it/coranet
Emailto:cora.belgique@agora.it
------------------------------------------------------------------
[End]
May 21, 1998
Police Find Meth Lab
* Early A.M. Investigation Leads To Bust
PORTLAND, Posted 5:32 a.m. May 21, 1998 - Police
busted a methamphetamine lab in northwest Portland
early this morning.
According to KOIN 6 News, an investigation into
stolen property led police to an apartment building on
NW Irving Street. But when they arrived at the apartment early
this morning, they found more than they expected, including a supply
of the dangerous chemicals used to manufacture methamphetamine.
The meth lab was not in use when they found it this morning. But police
called in the emergency hazardous materials team, pictured, to disassemble
the possibly toxic lab.
Police closed off part of NW Irving for a time while they cleaned up the
lab. The street is now re-opened to traffic.
Compiled by Channel 6000 Staff
to 1998 Daily News index for May 21-27