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Marijuana 'Clubs' Defy US Order To Close ('The New York Times'
Notes Medical Marijuana Dispensaries In Oakland, San Francisco
And Marin County Have Remained Open Since US Federal Judge Breyer's
May 13 Ruling, Purposely Inviting Contempt Of Court Charges,
Which Would Allow Club Officials To Demand A Federal Jury Trial
In California)
Date: Sun, 24 May 1998 20:54:33 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US CA: Marijuana 'Clubs' Defy U.S. Order to Close
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: emr@javanet.com (Dick Evans)
Source: New York Times (NY)
Contact: letters@nytimes.com
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
Pubdate: May 24, 1998
MARIJUANA 'CLUBS' DEFY U.S. ORDER TO CLOSE
SAN FRANCISCO -- Seeking a showdown with the federal government, the
founders of three medical marijuana clubs in this area have defied orders
to shut down, hoping to place their fate in the hands of a jury. U.S.
District Court Judge Charles Breyer ordered six Northern California clubs
closed on May 13 as part of a civil case brought by the Department of
Justice, which accused the clubs of distributing marijuana in violation of
federal law.
Three outlets closed voluntarily. But clubs in Oakland, San Francisco and
Marin County have remained open since the ruling, purposely inviting
contempt of court charges, the clubs' owners said. Such charges would allow
the owners to demand a federal jury trial in California, where voters in
1996 approved a ballot issue legalizing marijuana for medical use. "I'd
trust a jury of Californians more than federal bureaucrats in Washington,"
said one of the owners, Jeffrey Jones, who directs a marijuana outlet in
Oakland. Jones invited print and television reporters on Thursday to watch
him sell marijuana to customers in an overt challenge to the federal
government.
The San Francisco club, founded by Dennis Peron, who was a co-author of the
1996 ballot issue, also defied the federal court order, selling cartons of
marijuana to its 8,000 members throughout last week. After the 1996 vote,
at least 20 clubs sprang up around the state for the declared purpose of
distributing marijuana to help people fight the debilitating effects of
cancer, AIDS and other illnesses. Critics say the law did not cover mass
distribution of the drug. Possession of marijuana still violates federal
law, which takes precedence over state statutes. Michael Yamaguchi, the
U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California, has described the
federal government's civil suit as representing a "measured approach"
against California marijuana clubs. A Justice Department spokesman declined
to comment on how the agency would respond to the defiance by the clubs,
but did not rule out bringing separate criminal drug indictments against
the club owners.
Federal agents raided a ranch rented by Peron north of San Francisco on May
15, pulling up at least 200 marijuana plants but making no arrests.
A San Francisco Superior Court judge declared Peron's San Francisco club "a
public nuisance" on Thursday, ordering sheriff's deputies to close the
club's five-story building.
The state rulings come out of a 1996 civil suit brought by Attorney General
Daniel Lungren, a Republican candidate for governor and California's most
vocal critic of medical marijuana.
San Francisco's district attorney, Terence Hallinan, has sharply criticized
the attorney general's opposition to the law, and is part of a coalition of
elected officials who have suggested replacing the clubs with a
state-sponsored distribution system.
The group has scheduled a hearing on May 26 in the state Capitol to discuss
adding such a proposal to a related Senate bill that is now under
consideration.
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South Dakota To Allow Involuntary Commitment Of Pregnant Mothers Who Drink
('Associated Press' Story In Massachusetts' 'Standard-Times'
Says Governor Bill Janklow Told The Legislature In January
That Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Afflicts One In Every 500 Children
In The United States, But As Many As One In 25 In Some Parts
Of South Dakota, And Said The Problem Is Particularly Acute
On The State's Nine Indian Reservations)
Date: Sun, 24 May 1998 23:00:28 -0400
To: DrugSense News Service
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US SD: South Dakota To Allow Involuntary Commitment Of
Pregnant Mothers Who Drink
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: Sun. 24 May 1998
Author: Gregg Aamot, Associated Press writer
SOUTH DAKOTA TO ALLOW INVOLUNTARY COMMITMENT OF PREGNANT MOTHERS WHO DRINK
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- South Dakota on July 1 becomes the first state to
allow judges to order pregnant women who drink into alcoholism treatment.
Legislators passed three laws in March to try to cut the number of cases of
fetal alcohol syndrome, a lifelong condition that leaves its victims
mentally and physically disabled.
"They should throw those women in jail and make them get four or five
months of treatment. No question about it," says Dr. Lucy Reifel, who
adopted a baby suffering from the syndrome.
Reifel, a physician on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation, took in Casey
White Hat after convincing his birth mother that he would be better off
living with sober parents.
Casey, now age 16, is the size of a scrawny 11-year-old. His coordination
is bad, his language skills poor. Frequently frustrated when he can't find
the right words to express himself, he'll break into gestures and sign
language.
"With Casey, the condition is variable," Reifel says. "But others can be
profoundly retarded -- so retarded that they function at infant levels."
Fetal alcohol syndrome afflicts one child out of every 500 in the United
States. But in some parts of South Dakota, it affects as many as 20 in 500
children, Gov. Bill Janklow said in a speech to the Legislature in January.
It is particularly acute on the state's nine Indian reservations.
The state already distributes information about fetal alcohol syndrome to
high schools and medical workers, and federal money helps support prenatal
programs around the state. But lawmakers felt more was needed.
The statutes passed in March made South Dakota the first state to enact
laws specifically designed to force pregnant women with alcohol or drug
problems into treatment, according to the National Conference of State
Legislatures.
One allows relatives or friends to commit pregnant women to emergency detox
centers for up to two days. Another permits judges to confine them to
treatment centers for as long as nine months.
The third makes drinking while pregnant a form of child abuse. Other states
have used that tactic to help social workers intervene when pregnant women
are abusing drugs or alcohol.
The procedure for forcing a pregnant woman into treatment is the same as
for other addicts. A relative files a petition with a circuit judge, who
must receive a written report from a lawyer within five days.
The woman is granted a hearing, after which the judge decides whether to
send her to treatment and for how long. The process can take several weeks.
"There's no guarantee this will help that particular child, but we hope it
will help the second, third and fourth babies in a family if the mother
stops drinking," says state Sen. Barb Everist, who co-sponsored the
legislation.
Everist says she pushed for the new laws because fetal alcohol syndrome is
"totally preventable." Only women who abuse alcohol, not the occasional
drinker, would be forced into treatment, she says.
"A lot of women still don't understand that even small amounts of alcohol
can have an effect," she says. "The key is making sure we educate those
women."
The U.S. surgeon general first alerted the public 17 years ago about the
dangers of drinking while pregnant, but health officials are alarmed by
surveys suggesting many women are not heeding the warnings.
In 1995, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 3.5
percent of 1,313 pregnant women said they had seven or more alcoholic
drinks per week or five or more drinks in one sitting. That was up from 0.8
percent of 1,053 pregnant women surveyed in 1991.
In South Dakota, state health officials say 4.7 percent of women surveyed
in 1992-96 said they drank during pregnancy.
Alcoholism has been a problem for generations in the towns spread across
the South Dakota prairie, where numbing isolation and a lack of good jobs
are often blamed.
State Sen. Paul Valandra, a Democrat who represents the Rosebud
reservation, says he supports the Legislature's efforts to curb fetal
alcohol syndrome but suggests more needs to be done. "There are greater
issues of education and economic development at work here," he says.
State laws don't pertain to Indian reservations, but American Indian women
who move off reservations or seek medical care elsewhere would be subject
to the new laws.
Critics argue the measures will violate individual rights and do little for
a fetus already damaged by weeks of drinking.
Ann Wilson, a University of South Dakota professor who studies early child
development, says the new laws could alienate women from friends and
relatives who could help them.
The causes of fetal alcohol syndrome are unclear, Wilson adds. Alcoholics,
especially those living in poverty, often have other health problems that
could affect a fetus, she says.
State Rep. Scott Eccarius, an eye surgeon who co-sponsored the legislation,
says lawmakers ultimately passed the laws because fetal alcohol syndrome
"has become an epidemic."
"There was a fair amount of concern that this would be too hard on women,"
he says. "But in the end, it turned out to be popular. Frankly, people
realize it's not too much to ask that women behave responsibly when they
are pregnant."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Unwarranted Tactics ('New York Times' Columnist Bob Herbert
Describes The Case Of A Bronx Woman Suing New York City
And Its Police Department For $5 Million After City Prohibition Agents
Invaded Her Home And Humiliated Her Without Cause Looking For 'Drugs' -
The City Still Hasn't Produced Any Search Warrant)
Date: Mon, 25 May 1998 11:17:52 -0700
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US NYT: OPED: Unwarranted Tactics
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: emr@javanet.com (Dick Evans)
Source: New York Times (NY)
Contact: letters@nytimes.com
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
Pubdate: Sun, 24 May 1998
Author: Bob Herbert
UNWARRANTED TACTICS
Nearly eight years have passed and the city still has not produced the
warrant that allowed nearly a dozen police officers to invade the Bronx
apartment of Tayibat Akande, a pregnant woman with no criminal record who
was hauled away in handcuffs and thrown in jail on a false charge of drug
dealing. The cops apparently got a weak tip from a postal inspector and
went after Mrs. Akande as if she were an international crime lord. In fact,
she was a hard-working, law-abiding woman who would give birth in two
months to her first child.
The cops said that some postal inspector -- the arresting officer's memory
is vague on this -- had said an envelope containing heroin and addressed to
Mrs. Akande's husband, Sikiru, had been intercepted. The envelope had come
from Nigeria, the couple's original home.
The envelope actually contained a perfectly legal Nigerian remedy for
morning sickness, but nobody bothered to check that out. Too much trouble.
Better to take a chance on trampling the rights of the innocent. The raid
was staged on Nov. 2, 1990. A postal inspector posed as a mail carrier and
delivered the envelope to the apartment.
Mrs. Akande, wearing a nightgown, signed for it and the inspector left. A
few minutes later someone knocked at the door again. When Mrs. Akande
opened the door, the police came pouring in. They shoved Mrs. Akande
against a wall and began ransacking the apartment. It happened that Mrs.
Akande was on the phone with her husband, who had called from his job in
Brooklyn, when the police came in. A cop picked up the phone and spoke to
Mr. Akande, who immediately left work and headed home. A female officer
took Mrs. Akande into the bathroom and ordered her to strip. Her body
cavities were searched for drugs.
There were no drugs in Mrs. Akande or in her apartment, but the police
arrested her anyway. They said they believed there were drugs in the
envelope, which had not been opened. Mrs. Akande was allowed to get dressed
and then was taken away in handcuffs.
Her neighbors, she would say later, were "surprised." She said she was
weeping and felt "humiliated."
Mrs. Akande was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance
and criminal possession with intent to sell. She faced 8 to 25 years on
each count. That was on a Friday. On Saturday, with Mrs. Akande still in
jail awaiting arraignment, police lab tests determined that the envelope
contained nothing illegal. But Mrs. Akande was not released. She was not
freed until a judge let her go on her own recognizance on Sunday night. And
it was more than a month before the charges against Mrs. Akande were
dropped. A trial will begin later this week on a civil suit brought by the
Akandes against the city and the Police Department. They are represented by
the Manhattan attorneys Marvin Salenger and Robert Sack. Mr. Salenger said
the case was bad from the very beginning because the cops used "hearsay
upon hearsay," rather than solid police work, as the basis for the arrest.
When the arresting officer, Detective Thomas Larkin, was deposed in
connection with the suit, he was asked, "Before you went in, did you know
anything at all about the people who were in this apartment?" He said,
"No."
He was asked, "Do you know if they had a prior record?" He said, "No."
He was asked if he knew "if they were ever suspected of any prior drug
smuggling."
He said, "No." At another point, the interrogator said: "So, you obtained
the search warrant that you swore to, in fact, without ever having seen the
package, is that correct?"
"I was aware," said Detective Larkin, "that the package existed." This is
the basis for the arrest of someone on a charge that could put her away for
decades.
"Even as we speak," said Mr. Salenger, "the city still has not given us a
copy of the search warrant. We have no proof that there was a valid search
warrant, and certainly there was no arrest warrant." Mr. Sack said the city
and the Police Department are being sued for false arrest, malicious
prosecution, and assault and battery. The couple is seeking damages of $5
million.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission Creep - A House Bill To Allow The Military To Be Used To Patrol
The Border Is Misguided And Dangerous (Staff Editorial
In 'The Orange County Register' Notes All Six Orange County Representatives
Voted For House Amendment 648)
Date: Tue, 26 May 1998 15:48:10 -0700
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US: Editorial: Mission Creep - A House Bill
To Allow The Military To Be Used To
Patrol The Border Is Misguided And Dangerous
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: John W.Black
Source: Orange County Register (CA)
Contact: letters@link.freedom.com
Website: http://www.ocregister.com/
Pubdate: Sun, 24 May 1998
MISSION CREEP - A HOUSE BILL TO ALLOW THE MILITARY TO BE USED TO PATROL THE
BORDER IS MISGUIDED AND DANGEROUS
Memorial Day is an apt moment to reflect on a decision made in the House of
Representatives last week: Members passed House Amendment 648, which allows
the military to be used to patrol U.S. borders to help other agencies and
serve their goals.
The amendment authorizes: "The Secretary of Defense may assign members of
the armed forces to assist - 1) the Immigration and Naturalization Service
in preventing the entry of terrorists, drug traffickers, and illegal aliens
into the United States; and 2) the United States Customs Service in the
inspection of cargo, vehicles, and aircraft at points of entry into the
United States."
We question the wisdom of this idea for a very basic reason: the military
is trained to perform one kind of job, while the police, INS agents and
customs investigators, quite another.
The raison d'etre for military personnel is aggression and defense,
strategy and tactics, one person acting in concert with a unit. In
contrasts, a police officer has a depth of training that covers many of
those areas and more - psychological, conflict resolution, behavioral.
A police officer serves a community and treats its members accordingly; a
sergeant looks for enemies and is prepared to engage them.
So the missions are different, the training is different and so is the
approach to the job.
The danger of deploying the military as police was shown just a year ago.
On May 20, 1997, Marine Corporal Clemente Banuelo shot dead Esquiel
Hernandez, Jr., an 18-year-old high school student with no criminal record
who was shooting a .22 rifle while tending goats on his own farm in Texas
near the U.S.-Mexico border.
Farmers commonly fire rifles on their own land. Certainly, such a practice
is not illegal. Corporal Banuelo isn't to blame because he was trained to
storm beaches, not police a border. The military patrols along the border
were cancelled after the killing of Mr. Hernandez. But due to House Amdt.
648, such fatal errors could become more likely as the wrong kind of force
- military instead of civilian - might be deployed even more extensively.
Unfortunately, all six Orange County representatives voted for this
amendment. Proponents of the amendment say using the military on the border
would be an option, not a mandate. Nevertheless, the amendment opens the
door.
"If nothing else, the primary goal of the federal government is to secure
our nation's borders," Rep. Dana Rochrabacher, Republican of Huntington
Beach, told us Friday in defending his vote for the amendment. "If it takes
military troops to secure our borders, then they should be permitted to do
so."
Another problem is that such an approach would stretch even thinner
America's over-deployed military. Despite being reduced in size by 40
percent the last eight years, the U.S. military has been given new
commitments in Bosnia, Macedonia, Haiti and the Persian Gulf. The U.S.
military now has personnel in more than 100 foreign countries.
"The U.S. military machine is sputtering along like a WW11 tank that's made
too many invasions," recently reported retired Army Col. David Hackworth,
America's most decorated living veteran in his Internet "Defending America"
column.
If existing units already have been depleted, how are they going to take on
the vast new mission of patrolling the border? The overall defense bill to
which this amendment is attached authorizes $270.4 billion for defense for
1998-99, virtually the same as for the 1997-98 budget. So there won't be
any money to ease the military's existing personnel and equipment
shortages.
California's two senators, Democrats Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer,
who is running for re-election, should act to make sure H. Amdt. 648
doesn't survive in the Senate version of the defense spending bill.
The appropriate agencies should find civilian responses to these civilian
concerns.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Some Lawmakers Clueless About Life On The Border (Staff Editorial
In 'San Antonio Express-News' About The Border Bill
Sponsored By US Representative James Traficant, A Democrat From Ohio)
Date: Wed, 27 May 1998 21:43:53 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US TX: Editorial: Some Lawmakers Clueless
About Life On The Border
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: isenberd@DynCorp.com (Isenberg, David)
Source: San Antonio Express-News
Contact: letters@express-news.net
Website: http://www.expressnews.com/
Pubdate: 24 May 1998
SOME LAWMAKERS CLUELESS ABOUT LIFE ON THE BORDER
Lawmakers in the House have found it easy to support a bill that would put
military troops on the U.S. border with Mexico. Most, after all, don't live
on the border and aren't likely to find themselves in the shoes of Mr. and
Mrs. Esequiel Hernández Sr.
They are the parents of Esequiel Hernández Jr., the 18-year-old
high-schooler from Redford who one year ago was shot by a Marine on a drug
patrol.
They are as alien to U.S. Rep. James Traficant, D- Ohio, sponsor of
legislation that would allow troops to patrol the border, as the Southwest
border is to Capitol Hill. U.S. Rep. Charlie Norwood, R-Ga., proved it well
last week.
"Put the 82nd Airborne on maneuvers down there if you want to stop drugs,"
he said.
Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, dutifully has sought answers from the
Justice and Defense departments on the circumstances surrounding
Hernández's death.
Smith, who heads the House Immigration Subcommittee, also has pledged to
convene a hearing on the shooting and to discuss the use of military forces
on the border.
But the understanding seems to stop with him.
Traficant since last year has pushed his proposal, ignoring the pleas of
Hernández's family and many others living on the border who don't want
their back yards to become a militarized zone.
Questions remain in the Hernández incident, especially because the young
man was not involved in any wrongdoing when he was shot, let alone involved
with the drug trafficking that the border troops were intended to stop.
Those questions beg Congress to at least stall Traficant's proposal.
Surely lawmakers will find that the answer to preventing tragedies like the
one in Redford won't come by putting troops on the border.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Sex Drug's Risk Feared ('Calgary Sun' Describes Several Social Side Effects
Arising From The New Widespread Use Of Viagra, Pfizer's New Drug
For Male Impotence, Including Viagra Widows, Women Whose Men Turn Elsewhere
As They 'Try To Make Up For Lost Time')
From: creator@islandnet.com (Matt Elrod)
To: mattalk@listserv.islandnet.com
Subject: Sex drug's risk feared
Date: Sun, 24 May 1998 08:58:08 -0700
Lines: 114
Newshawk: creator@mapinc.org
Source: Calgary Sun
Contact: callet@sunpub.com
Pubdate: May 24, 1998
SEX DRUG'S RISK FEARED
CREDIT: By RASHIDA DHOOMA -- Sun Media
It's a magic pill that's being hailed as the miracle drug of the
'90s.
But as the world clamors for Viagra, there's an emerging worry that
the impotency drug may be a medical, psychological and social
minefield.
* Already there have been reports of men dying after taking the drug
-- possibly the result of interaction with other drugs, or heart
attacks resulting from over-exertion.
* It's not just men who are eager to take Viagra. Although clinical
studies are just under way, reports that the drug may help females
achieve orgasm have seen doctors pestered by women eager to match
their mates newfound sexual performance.
* HIV-positive gay men are being cautioned against Viagra because of
unknown side-effects when the drug mixes with anti-AIDS medication.
* A burgeoning black market in the drug -- in part on the Internet --
has medical officials worried the drug is being taken without proper
guidance.
* Pharmacies in the U.S. are already waging price wars to sell the
drug.
* Indications that the massive and sudden popularity of the drug
being used by one-million American males has already begun to take a
social toll -- Viagra widows.
Some men are already turning elsewhere as they try to make up for
lost time.
"Viagra's going to be the home-wrecker of the future. In fact, we're
already starting to see it," says Dr. Carlos Nazir, a urologist near
Miami.
The man's rarin' to go, but she's resigned to a life without
intercourse, he says.
"It's not a new phenomenon. It has been happening ever since impotent
men began regaining their sex lives after surgery or other treatments.
The difference is we're talking astronomical numbers because of the
easy accessibility of Viagra," Nazir says.
Less than a month after news of Viagra's potency hit the news, Dr.
Domeena Renshaw, director of Loyola University Sexual Dysfunction
Clinic near Chicago, has already seen a casualty.
"I had a couple where he's demanding sex since he went on Viagra and
she's not up to it," says Renshaw.
She has also met women who want to slip Viagra into their spouses'
food and drink to boost performance, as well as confidence
Even with Viagra, couples still need to be loving and do more caring
and sharing, Renshaw says.
"Viagra only helps with the mechanical aspect of the encounter," she
says.
Dr. Kenneth Goldberg of the Male Health Institute at Baylor Health
Centre in Dallas, fears men may become psychologically dependent on
Viagra to perform.
"Women could also feel inadequate because of their perceived lack of
attractiveness to excite their partner," he says. "And men will be
under pressure to utilize their $10 investment, which will then put
pressure on the spouse to comply whether she wants to or not."
Men could also start to wonder that "maybe she's the reason" he can't
get an erection, Goldberg says, and may look elsewhere to confirm this
doubt.
Nazir says we're going to see more men, particularly older ones,
parting from their wives as a direct result of Viagra. "Take a couple,
both in their mid-60s. Their interest in sex is totally opposite," he
says.
He says while men may lose their ability to perform, their interest
in sex remains strong. Estrogen-deprived women, on the other hand,
tend to drift away from libido.
After successful treatment for impotency, men often look to younger
women.
"While there are exceptions to the rule, where couples are able to
work through their differences because they're committed to each
other, the sad reality is that in most cases there's a profound ripple
effect of his newfound ability," Nazir says.
"Face it. A man in his 50s, even though he's greying, is still a
catch. A greying 50-year-old woman? It's a double standard, but it's
reality."
Nazir also cautions women who're critical of their husband's lack of
sexual drive.
"With Viagra, you might just get it, and suddenly you're faced with a
partner who's able and willing, but are you?" he asks.
Viagra, Nazir says, is going to put many relationships to the test.
"I'm not empowering him to leave her. I'm just making him the best
that he can be," Nazir says.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Unglamorous MS Patient Denied His Gold ('Calgary Herald' Columnist
Naomi Lakritz Contrasts The Case Of Canadian Olympic Gold Medalist
Ross Rebagliati With That Of Medical Marijuana Defendant Grant Krieger
Of Preeceville, Saskatchewan, Who Fears Losing His Family
Because Of A Police Vendetta That Began Last June When He Lit Up A Joint
On The Calgary Courthouse Steps In Support Of
Another Medical Marijuana Patient)
Date: Sun, 24 May 1998 10:31:59 -0700
Subject: Unglamorous MS patient denied his gold
From: "Deb Harper" (cozmi@shaw.wave.ca)
To: mattalk (mattalk@listserv.islandnet.com)
CC: MAP (editor@mapinc.org)
Source: Calgary Herald
Pub Date: Sun 24 May 1998
Contact: letters@theherald.southam.ca
Author: Naomi Lakritz
Unglamorous MS patient denied his gold
Ross Rebagliati kept his medal, but Grant Krieger fears losing his family.
Both men made the headlines because they smoked pot, but that's where any
similarity between them ends.
You see, Krieger is not one of the beautiful people. Rebagliati is. And
the difference in the way they've been treated is not a pretty commentary
on our social mores.
"When Ross won the Olympic gold medal in Japan, I realized we live in a
double standard. Canadian officials said it's only a little bit of pot so
give him his medal," Krieger said.
"If it's only a little bit of pot, why have I got charges against me?"
Why, indeed?
It's because the Preeceville, Sask. man is no fair-haired boy on a snazzy
snowboard. He couldn't climb onto a snowboard even if he wanted to. Grant
Krieger has multiple sclerosis and he smokes pot to relieve the symptoms of
the disease he's been battling for 20 years, a disease which so ravaged his
quality of life that a few years ago, he tried to kill himself with an
overdose of sleeping pills and Demerol.
"I couldn't breathe. I couldn't swallow and I shook so bad. I had to wear a
damn diaper. So I took those pills and I really didn't want to wake up. When
I woke up in the hospital I thought, 'I'm alive and I don't want to be.'"
He credits marijuana with making him mobile again. No more canes, crutches
or wheelchair. His incontinence is under control and he can venture out
without fear of embarrassment. Not long ago, this 43-year-old man who was
once bedridden and yearning for death, enjoyed a picnic at Banff with his
daughter and even climbed a small hill.
"Tell me my quality of life hasn't improved!" he says with relish.
He ran afoul of the law when he lit up a joint last June on the Calgary
courthouse steps in support of another man who uses pot for medicinal
purposes.
Krieger's case is still before the courts but there's another side to his
story that has nothing to do with legalities. It has to do with hypocrisy
and how willing we are to forgive the foibles, illicit as they may be, of the
people we put on pedestals. We are not in the habit of putting the disabled
on pedestals and we do not forgive them their disabilities.
So badly did we need Ross Rebagliati to be our hero at Nagano that we
rushed to make things all right for him. No one rushes to make things right
for the Grant Kriegers of this world.
Krieger doesn't care about partying hearty and getting high. He just wants
to be able to get through his day. He doesn't even believe pot should be
legalized except for carefully regulated medicinal purposes.
Meanwhile, the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada keeps a cautious
distance from the controversy. Dr. Bill McIlroy, the society's medical
adviser, was unavailable for comment but his Toronto office has issued a
statement saying there is no scientific basis for using marijuana to treat
MS and no controlled studies have been done, although anecdotal reports
indicate it may be useful in a few cases.
A nurse at the Foothills Hospital MS Clinic says doctors there won't
discuss it.
Krieger, who plans to move to Calgary soon, realizes he's fighting a
lonely battle, but he's not about to throw in the towel.
"Cannabis is a drug I won't let go of," he says. "It's done more for me
than any pharmaceutical." It's also caused him more grief.
"They raided the house and charged my wife with possession. And my daughter
went off the deep end over this. She's a law student and she can't live with
me because she could get charged, too, if they raid us again. They're
busting up families -- but Ross got his medal."
Contact Naomi Lakritz at (403) 235-7134.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Re - War On Drugs Is A Losing Battle (Letter To The Editor
Of 'The Calgary Sun' Praises Bill Kaufmann's Column -
Plus Two More Pro-Reform Letters)
Date: Sun, 24 May 1998 10:31:07 -0700
Subject: LTE'S - Calgary Sun
From: "Deb Harper" (cozmi@shaw.wave.ca)
To: mattalk (mattalk@listserv.islandnet.com)
CC: MAP (editor@mapinc.org)
Source: Calgary Sun
Pub Date: May 24, 1998
Contact: callet@sunpub.com
Comment: Parenthetical remarks are the Sun editor's
I AM writing in response to Bill Kaufmann's May 18 column, "War on drugs is
a losing battle." The idea of a "war on drugs" is a band-aid to an age-old
human condition. Particularly harmful is a war on the small percentage of
people using controlled drugs experimentally and discovering some of these
drugs relieve chronic pain they didn't know they had. You may ask how that
is possible. A poor person, or someone in chronic crisis may not be aware or
wish to recognize the constant pain of a root canal infection, a bone spur,
etc.
When this same person uses heroin, they can enjoy the "pain-healing"
properties of opiates and not necessarily become aware of the main cause of
their pain symptoms. This pain-relief/pain-gain cycle can lead to repeated
use of opiates; which can lead to addiction. This is identical to the
addiction process of a teen smoker who finds "calm" in a cigarette and
begins to associate smoking with calmness. This physical process of
experimentation and deliberate opiate and psychedelic drug use is not in
itself a health problem. The effects of a war on addiction, however, are a
"health" problem.
[Anonymous]
(Sounds like pipe dream to us [Anonymous].)
***
RE: THE COMMENT on the letters page that "legalizing drugs would kill more
people and cause..." On what do you base your assertion? It certainly isn't
the experience of countries having liberalized drug policy. In fact, in
Switzerland, government distribution of heroin has worked so well, to
destroy the black market and curb crime, 73% of the voters elected to keep
it. In Holland, the experience has been similar. On the other hand, the U.S.
has some of the harshest, most draconian drug laws in the world and violence
is rampant. How about supporting the claim with some scientific or even
anecdotal evidence?
Gregory Handevidt
(The more accessible and accepted a narcotic, the more addicts there will
be.)
***
"WATCH BELGIUM'S petty crime rate soar." was the response to a letter of
May 21 regarding Belgium legalizing marijuana. What evidence do you have
that cannabis causes any crime other than the violation of an insane
prohibition law based on Reefer Madness claims that pot causes mayhem,
murder, burglary, rape, racial mixing, insanity and a few other felonies. If
you cannot prove these accusations, the foundation for your prohibition
disappears, so how about some proof? How many marijuana homicides has the
Sun reported in the last 60 years? And how many related to alcohol? What
hypocrites! Meanwhile, how about offering some factual testimony that
marijuana use has ever caused an increase in crime anywhere? Like in Holland
for starters. Your intellectual bankruptcy is showing.
Redford Givens
San Francisco
(We're not just talking about marijuana here, so chill out.)
***
From: "air" (air@gec.net)
To: (mattalk@listserv.islandnet.com)
Subject: EDITOR MANGLES LETTER
Date: Sun, 24 May 1998 12:33:45 -0700
When I sent the following letter to the Calgary Sun editor, I included a
detailed description of prohibition origins and the relatively minor effects
of long-time opiate addiction. They edited my rather scientific and sober
letter to be a "pipe dream". I think we should boycott their LTE section
and write to their competition instead.
>Newshawk: creator@mapinc.org
>Source: Calgary Sun
>Contact: callet@sunpub.com
>Pubdate: May 24, 1998
>
>Comment: Parenthetical remarks by the Sun editor : headline by hawk
>
>I AM writing in response to Bill Kaufmann's May 18 column, "War on drugs
>is a losing battle." The idea of a "war on drugs" is a band-aid to an
>age-old human condition. Particularly harmful is a war on the small
>percentage of people using controlled drugs experimentally and
>discovering some of these drugs relieve chronic pain they didn't know
>they had. You may ask how that is possible. A poor person, or someone in
>chronic crisis may not be aware or wish to recognize the constant pain
>of a root canal infection, a bone spur, etc.
>
>When this same person uses heroin, they can enjoy the "pain-healing"
>properties of opiates and not necessarily become aware of the main cause
>of their pain symptoms. This pain-relief/pain-gain cycle can lead to
>repeated use of opiates; which can lead to addiction. This is identical
>to the addiction process of a teen smoker who finds "calm" in a
>cigarette and begins to associate smoking with calmness. This physical
>process of experimentation and deliberate opiate and psychedelic drug
>use is not in itself a health problem. The effects of a war on
>addiction, however, are a "health" problem.
>
>[Anonymous]
>
>(Sounds like pipe dream to us Aaron.)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Prohibition Will Not Stop Drug Use, Conference Told ('Canberra Times'
Covers The Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation Conference -
ACT Health Minister Michael Moore Continued His Attack
On The Prime Minister's Decision To Appoint The Salvation Army's
Brian Watters To Head The Australian National Council On Drugs,
Declaring That Mr Watters' Prohibitionist Stance
Was 'Putting Our Children At Risk')
Date: Tue, 26 May 1998 10:22:46 -0700
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: Australia: Prohibition Will Not Stop Drug Use, Conference Told
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Ken Russell
Source: Canberra Times (Australia)
Contact: letters.editor@canberratimes.com.au
Website: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/
Pubdate: Mon, 24 May 1998
PROHIBITION WILL NOT STOP DRUG USE, CONFERENCE TOLD
ACT Health Minister Michael Moore continued yesterday his attack on the
Prime Minister's decision to appoint the Salvation Army's Brian Watters to
head the Australian National Council on Drugs, declaring that Mr Watters'
prohibitionist stance was 'putting our children at risk'.
He called on Prime Minister John Howard to remove Mr Watters and to base
future decisions on drug issues on evidence rather than secret reports from
the head of his department, Max Moore-Wilton.
The council to be headed by Mr Watters will oversee the Federal
Government's $187 million Tough on Drugs campaign.
Mr Moore said he had no problem with Mr Watters in his role with the
Salvation Army, but when he was appointed to a national strategic body he
had to be more open-minded.
When he saw such a person criticising the methadone program, he could not
allow the matter to pass.
Speaking at the conclusion of an Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation
conference in Canberra, Mr Moore said the foundation and The Families and
Friends for Drug Law Reform would be targeting marginal seats at the next
federal election, not to unseat sitting Members but in a bid to educate the
electorate that drug prohibition did not work and only created corruption
and death.
A member of The Families and Friends for Drug Law Reform, Bronwyn Barnard,
said the present approach was to 'discriminate against and marginalise
young people to the point of death' but still there was no intervention.
Ms Barnard, whose brother Dean Forster died from heroin-related causes at
the age of 28, asked how the Federal Government could continue to enforce a
policy which was so destructive.
'They will never, ever, ever stop the availability of this drug,' she said.
But the only option provided was to 'chase them [drug users] around and
lock them up'.
All that the thousands of families affected by drug addiction were being
offered was 'fear and persecution'.
The foundation issued a 10-point plan for effective drug laws.
It prefaced its plan with the observation: 'Prohibition has not worked.
'It causes increased corruption, crime, disease and death.
'We aim to take the profit out of the illicit drug industry and effectively
confront Australia's illicit drug problem.'
The foundation said drug use should be treated as a health and social
issue, rather than a law-enforcement problem, and that law enforcement,
education and treatment should be funded equally.
Criminal sanctions for personal drug use should be removed, and the
production and sale of cannabis should be regulated and taxed.
Drug treatment and needle exchange programs should be expanded to meet
demand and establish safe injecting facilities.
A wide range of drug treatment options, including the medical prescription
of heroin, should be trialled and rigorously evaluated, the foundation
said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Jail Chief Tells Of Drug Scams ('The Sunday Times' In Australia
Quotes Casuarina Prison Deputy Superintendent James Schilo
Saying About A Third Of Inmates In The State's Toughest Jail Use 'Drugs' -
Guards Can Only Curb The Flow Inside But Never Stamp It Out)
Date: Sun, 24 May 1998 23:52:11 -0400
To: DrugSense News Service
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: Australia: Jail Chief Tells of Drug Scams
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Ken Russell
Pubdate: Sun, 24 May 1998
Source: Sunday Times (Australia)
Contact: pstedit@vianet.net.au
JAIL CHIEF TELLS OF DRUG SCAMS
ABOUT a third of criminals in the State's toughest jail use drugs.
And prison bosses admit they can only curb the flow inside - but never
stamp it out.
Casuarina Prison deputy superintendent James Schilo admitted a crackdown on
prison visits - the main source of drugs - would have disastrous consequences.
"Casuarina is a $100 million asset. I believe if we were to have
non-contact visits for all prisoners we would lose the prison within a
matter of hours - they would burn it down," Mr Schilo said.
The stark assessment of Casuarina's drug problem came during an inquest
into the death of remand prisoner Stephen Maslin, who died from a heroin
overdose in February.
Mr Schilo said there was a delicate balancing act between stopping drugs
and maintaining a manageable prison population.
Since October, 481 visitors had been strip-searched and 19 had been caught
with drugs.
"By not having barrier visits we run a risk . . . that drugs will come into
prisons," he said.
"But we have to weigh that out for the benefit of the other prisoners and
the community."
Maintaining family contacts reduced repeat offending and ultimately
benefited the community when prisoners were released, he said.
"We try to minimise the effects of drugs in prison and the trafficking of
drugs in prison but we will never stop that," Mr Schilo said.
Maslin, 41, a heroin addict with a $900-a-day habit, was in custody just
three days when he snorted lethal heroin an hour after a contact visit.
Most drugs were smuggled in by prison visitors, Mr Schilo told the inquest.
"The majority of times it is passed through the mouth by having drugs in a
balloon and kissing and passing it across," Mr Schilo said.
"The prisoner would then swallow that and regurgitate it later and share it
around.
"Another way is that a person (visitor) will conceal it and drop it in coffee.
"People might pass it across to a prisoner and he will slip it down his
tracksuit pants and put it in his rectum and get it out later."
Mr Schilo gave evidence that from last July to last month, of 411 drug
tests, 144 prisoners, or 35 per cent, tested positive.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Cannabis Campaign - Tune In For A Desert Island Spliff
(Britain's 'Independent On Sunday' Notes That Celebrity Artists
Interviewed On The BBC's Radio 4 Program, 'Desert Island Discs,'
Over The Last 56 Years Have Occasionally Wished For A Stockpile
Of Marijuana Rather Than Their Favorite Music - A Spokeswoman
For The Programme Explained, 'It Is The Castaway's Own Island,
You See, So They Can Make Up The Rules')
Date: Sat, 23 May 1998 17:18:16 -0700
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: UK: Cannabis Campaign:
Tune In for a Desert Island Spliff
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Martin Cooke (mjc1947@cyberclub.iol.ie)
Contact: e-mail: cannabis@independent.co.uk
Mail: Independent on Sunday
1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf
London E14 5DL England
Editor's note: The IoS Cannabis Campaign has web pages at
http://www.independent.co.uk/sindypot/index.htm
Pubdate: Sun, 24 May 1998
TUNE IN FOR A DESERT ISLAND SPLIFF
CANNABIS use may still be outlawed in Britain, but there is another island
in a parallel universe - peopled chiefly by British expatriates - where the
rules are more relaxed.
The notional shores of Radio 4's famous desert island are, by now, surely
plumed with smoke from the roll-ups of celebrity castaways. In the 56 years
since Desert Island Discs was first broadcast, at least six guests have
opted for the drug, or considered it, as their luxury item.
This month yet another joined the rebellious ranks. Eschewing the choice of
a piano, currently number one in popularity, the psychologist Susan
Blackmore asked for a supply of cannabis. Her request did not ruffle
interviewer Sue Lawley, who seamlessly drew the programme to its accustomed
close.
Later, a spokeswoman for the programme explained its policy on soft drugs:
"It is the castaway's own island, you see, so they can make up the rules."
It was not always so. When Norman Mailer asked to take an endless supply of
the drug with him, Roy Plomley, the programme's creator, gently refused.
Use of an illegal substance was not to be condoned by the BBC. In 1982, the
actress Pamela Stephenson's revelations about her LSD experiences were
completely excised. Sir Peregrine Worsthorne, former editor of the Sunday
Telegraph, caused a stir when he asked Ms Lawley for mild hallucinogens in
1992. However, by 1996, writer Hanif Kureishi's choice of marijuana seeds
went almost unremarked.
The American lyricist Fran Landesman was not so lucky. Her request for a
supply of the drug last year provoked a stream of complaints.
While the campaigning IoS must support those who have chosen, and will
continue to choose, cannabis as their imagined solace, it would be churlish
for the newspaper not to take its hat off to Desmond Tutu, who selected
rum-and-raisin ice-cream, or to Arthur Scargill, who ordered the "Mona
Lisa", and finally, with reservations, to composer Richard Rodney Bennett
for his domesticated choice of a circular knitting needle.
e-mail your comments to cannabis@independent.co.uk
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Weekly Action Report On Drug Policies, Year 4, Number 12
(Summary For Activists Of International Drug Policy News,
From CORA In Italy - Special Edition On The Ninth CORA Congress
June 5-7 In Paris)
Date: Mon, 25 May 1998 04:31:03 -0700 (PDT)
From: cora.belgique@agora.stm.it
To: "CORAFax -EN-" (cora.news@agora.it)
Date: Mon, 25 May 1998 13:17:02 +0000
Subject: CORAFax 12 special (EN)
Sender: owner-hemp@efn.org
ANTIPROHIBITIONIST OF THE ENTIRE WORLD ....
Year 4 No. 12, May 24 1998 (SPECIAL EDITION 9th CONGRESS)
***
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
***
9th CORA CONGRESS
PARIS 5 - 7 JUNE 1998
PROHIBITIONISM ON DRUGS IS A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY
***
Dear friend,
CORA is an association of European antiprohibitionist citizens and
politicians, which works towards legalization as a method of coping
with the drug problem. CORA looks positively upon the growth of
political strategies involving depenalization or harm reduction, but
believes they are still insufficient in relation to the end they
pursue: defeat of illegal and criminal drug traffic.
* THE PARIS CONGRESS
CORA will hold its congress in Paris, from the 5th to the 7th of June,
and launch its campaign "Prohibitionism on drugs: A crime against
humanity". Although the congress is open to everyone, only CORA
members will have the right to intervene during speeches. One of our
goals is to achieve at least 100 new memberships in France, and
therefore invite you to let us know as soon as possible your intention
to participate in the congress. We have chosen to hold this political
convention in Paris for two reasons. The first is that many political
signals from France lead us to believe that CORA could find fertile
grounds for asserting its presence there, as it has done already in
Italy and Belgium. Emmanuel Raiter, a personality close to Jean-Marie
Le Pen's National Front, in the confidential letter included in his
report on drug lobbies describes CORA in fact as the propelling force
behind European antiprohibitionism. The second reason is that France
is becoming, together with Sweden,the bulwark of prohibitionism by
using aggressive political strategies which eliminate every internal
debate while trying to impose crude repressive policies on other EU
countries -in particular, and in illegitimate ways, on the Low
Countries and the pragmatic, tolerant stance they hold in regard to
the drug question.
* PROHIBITIONISM ON DRUGS IS A CRIME
Together with those who do not believe in the illusion of compromises
such as permissiveness or plain harm reduction CORA has always chosen
a road which implies at one time great responsibilities and unique
opportunities of political battle: that of a radical denunciation of
prohibitionist politics. The bureaucrats of prohibitionism are surely
aware of this, and not only in France. Proof of this are the
procedures that Swedish Eurodeputee Mr.Anderson has started to expel
CORA from its offices in the European Parliament.
In this moment it is necessary to strengthen our ideas and widen our
political goals. After the last congress in Brussels, during which the
idea of politically organizing European antiprohibitionists was born,
our Parisian congress will launch the "Prohibitionism on drugs: A
crime against humanity" campaign. This slogan is meant to evidence the
fact that we should not passively accept prohibitionism on drugs as a
mere political error which time will eventually heal. It is necessary
to fight those moral and ethical stances which inevitably end up being
fatal for democracy, legality and science and which have also
disastrous social, economic and sanitary consequences.
* THE PRESENT PROHIBITIONIST POLITICAL STRATEGY
No matter which way one looks at it, prohibitionism contains all
elements of a criminal plan. Every year it kills thousands of drug
consumers; it reduces thousands of others in precarious conditions; it
facilitates, willingly, the spreading of deadly diseases; it allows,
directly and concretely, international criminal organizations to
strive upon drug traffic; it finances all sorts of other criminal
activity; it is the basis and justification for the repressive
politics of dictatorships and pseudo democracies. These crimes are
committed intentionally and with great lucidity. Prohibitionism is the
most sophisticated form through which barbarity fights civilization.
It is therefore not only a crime, but a war crime at that.
These crimes hit tens of thousands of drug consumers that get thrown
by the State into the hands of criminal organizations, or exposed to
the contact of lethal viruses. They hit drug cultivators, once plain
farmers, who are now slaves of the international drug racket and get
in turn treated as criminals. They hit all those citizens who are
victims of the daily violence which derives more from the need of
getting hold of drugs and from the gigantic profit behind drug traffic
than from the drugs themselves.
We find ourselves now in a situation pervaded by new synthetic drugs
like Ecstasy which do not have to be grown and can be concocted
anonymously in any kitchen, in any European country. This happens
because the new frontier of the war against drugs needs a monstrous
bureaucratic machine, capable of systematically spreading violence
through the force of ideology.
Does all this seem exaggerated? The last report of the International
Organization for Control on Drugs (an independent body composed of
selected personnel chosen by the State members of the UN that has the
sole task of monitoring drug diffusion) says that drug consumption is
going up because of rock music and Internet and because
antiprohibitionist organizations which are favorable to legalization
are responsible for the diminishing of controls. Antiprohibitionist
organizations, they say, should be limited as much as possible, even
through use of special laws which could restrict their freedom of
speech, a superfluous freedom, after all...
While it is still available we will continue to use that freedom, and
will do so on the occasion of our congress in Paris, in the European
country which gave birth to human rights but in which mere talking
about legalization constitutes a crime punishable according to a
Nazi-Stalinist law (the sadly famous LC630 article of the Penal Code)
that sees any unconventional discourse on drugs suspectable of wanting
to portray them in a positive light. We, instead, will talk about
drugs. We will do so in Paris, in one of the Parliament halls where
our congress will open on the 5th of June. Those being the premises,
we are certain that someone will try to ban our congress.
* THE DEMONSTRATION IN FRONT OF THE UNITED NATIONS
On the 7th, eve of the UN conference that will repropose, under the
careful sponsorship of UNDCP President Pino Arlacchi, a planetary
version of prohibitionism (as denounced by the Transnational Radical
Party to the Commission on Drugs in Vienna) we will hold a
demonstration in front of the UN building, contemporarily with other
similar events in the rest of the world to celebrate the "1998 Global
Days Against the Drug War".
* FUTURE PROJECTS
This is how we intend to act now with the arms of nonviolence for the
right to freedom, legality and democracy:
- Promoting and/or supporting the ANTIPROHIBITIONIST ELECTORAL LISTS
IN THE EUROPEAN UNION in sight of the next European Parliament
elections in 1999 and asking other organizations, parties and public
personalities to bring forth the instance of legalization. The object,
at this very moment, is not to directly organize those lists, but to
create the necessary conditions for a stronger presence of
antiprohibitionists in the future Parliament.
- Organizing a special campaign of auto - financing that may allow us
to gain the minimum but indispensable tools of action, namely the
adequate technological means of communication.
- Organizing and craeting a net of nonviolent activists throughout
Europe, who are ready to substantially support their hopes and goals,
also through subscribing memberships and contributions to CORA (the
minimum entrance-fee is of 100.000 Lire for year 1998) and announcing
their participation to the congress.
Dr. Eric Picard
(secretary)
Marco Cappato
(treasurer)
* If you intend to participate in our congress please contact the
following people in Brussels:
- Guendaline De Sario, phone 0032-2-2482827
- Ottavio Marzocchi, phone 0032-2-2842258
- mailto:cora.belgique@agora.it
We attend your answer thanking you for your kind attention, no matter
what you decide to do.
***
IMPORTANT AND URGENT
The congress is open to everyone. For reasons of organization it is
necessary that you file in your membership in due time.
Name______________________________________________________
Last name_________________________________________________
Address___________________________________________________
Zip Code_________________City_____________________________
Email___________________Phone_____________________________
Fax_____________________
Age_________Profession____________________________________
- I intend to participate in the Paris congress, during the following
period:
( ) Friday 5th of June in Parliament
( ) Saturday the 6th of June at the Maison de la Chimie
Sum deposited (indicate currency)_______________ for ( ) membership or
( ) contribution to CORA
to the following accounts:
* PARIS
C/O Reseau Voltaire
F-93201 Saint-Denis cedex
Tel. ++33. (0) 1.48092054
FAx ++33. (0) 1.48092015
Account No. 10067.00101.10320834404
* BRUSSELS
C/O PE rue Wiertz D3-7H252
1047 Brussels
Email: cora.belgique@agora;it
Tel. ++32. (0) 2-2847189/2842258
Fax ++32. (0) 2-2949198
Account No. 310.1075919.81
URL HTTP:// www.agora.stm.it/coranet
MINIMUM FEE FOR CORA MEMBERSHIP IS 100.000 LIRE
***
ABOUT CORA
Cora, the Radical Antiprohibitionist Co-ordination is the political
organization of atiprohibitionists in the European Union.
CORA was founded in 1988. Its prime end is to defeat the
prohibitionist strategy against drugs that has favored the continuous
growth of an international system of mafias, violence and corruption
and nourished authoritarian regimes, endangering civil rights and
democracy throughout the world.
CORA supports legalization of drugs. It is in favor of effective laws
to regulate production, sale and consumption of drugs. It wants to
prevent repression which, transforming a social problem into one of
criminal and public order, is an obstacle in the way of curing and
reintegrating drug addicts.
CORA is committed to eliminate the widespread ignorance about
different kinds of drugs and their effects. This type of confusion
exposes consumers to serious risk and does not allow a rational
attitude when confronting the drug problem.
CORA pursues legalization of drugs as a method to control consumption,
diminish risks of drug abuse and hence reduce deaths for overdose and
spreading of diseases like AIDS.
CORA does NOT want liberalization of drugs, because that already
exists. Drugs are circulate profusely and without any type of control.
Drug traffic is in the hands of the Mafia, and in any city, in any
country there are bars, parks, private houses, stores, streets and
squares where every day, at any given hour, it is possible to buy
illegal drugs. Prisons and military barracks are no exception. Drug
pushers strive, because drugs, if prohibited, are enormously
profitable. The drug addict, who continuously is in need of his dose,
has no choice but to steal and resell. Ultimately, organized crime
makes gigantic profits which get recycled through legal activities and
allow it to gain control of politics, economy and State.
CORA is an association open to everyone. It counts among its members
citizens and politicians of every extraction. CORA finances itself
through membership fees, contributions and auto-financing campaigns.
CORA PURSUES
ON THE SOCIAL AND SANITARY LEVEL
- transferal of present financing for repression to treatment and
cures; - more flexibility and accessibility to cures and reintegration
for drug addicts, with consequent reduced spreading of diseases like
AIDS; -Guaranteed quality standards of drug production and elimination
of all poisonous substances today used for cutting drugs sold on the
illegal market; -A correct campaign of information on risks of drug
consumption and abuse;
ON THE ECONOMIC LEVEL
- Ending infiltration of recycled money from drug traffic in the
financial markets;
ON THE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION LEVEL
-Freeing courts from the thousands of trials that involve drug
consumers, addicts and small dealers; -reducing overpopulation in
prisons ; - reduction of controls on the frontiers.
ON THE LEVEL OF PUBLIC ORDER
-Reduction of theft and petty crime usually committed by those who
need money to buy drugs; -Higher safety in cities; -higher efficiency
of police forces, who can concentrate on serious crime; -freeing of
those economic resources for southern countries, which are today
controlled by the power of drug mafias. - taxation of drug products to
cover social costs of drug abuse;
ON THE INSTITUTIONAL LEVEL
-politics which are more honest and freed from corruption and criminal
intimidation; -wider respect for freedom of citizens; -higher respect
of laws; - end of criminal infiltration in politics, economy and
justice;
CORA is an association federated to the Radical Transnational Party, a
Non Governmental Organization of first category as recognized by the
UN
OLD (Observatory of Laws on Drugs)
CORA has instituted the Observatory of Laws on Drugs (OLD) with the
intent to periodically verify the impact of anti-drug politics. The
Observatory of Laws on Drugs stands upon donations from official
organizations and works with statistical and scientific methods. It
publishes reports and monographies.
PAA Parliamentarians for Antiprohibition Action
An international parliamentary campaign for the revision of
international conventions. Started by CORA in July of 1996
Global Coalition for an Alternative to the Drug War
CORA adheres to the Global Coalition for an Alternative to the Drug
War, an international net involving over 70 organizations that work
for a reform of laws on drugs. The CORA congress will take place
contemporarily with the -Global Days Against the Drug War, 5-10 June
1998+ during which demonstrations will occur in over 40 cities around
the world. The aim is to exsert pressure on Governments meeting in New
York for the Special Session of the General Assembly of the United
Nations, in which International Conventions on Drugs will be
discussed.
***
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]
to 1998 Daily News index for May 21-27