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Medical Marijuana - War On Marijuana Has Gone On Too Long; Support Reforms
(A Letter To The Editor Of 'The Seattle Times')
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1998 11:57:56 -0400
To: MAP News (mapnews@mapinc.org)
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US WA: PUB LTE: Medical Marijuana
Cc: MAP Stafftalk (stafftalk@mapinc.org)
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: John Smith
Source: Seattle-times (Wa)
Contact: Opinion@Seatimes.com
Website: Http://Seattletimes.com/
Pubdate: Tuesday, 11 August, 1998
Author: John V. Lommel, Everett
MEDICAL MARIJUANA
War On Marijuana Has Gone On Too Long; Support Reforms
Editor, The Times:
As a concerned citizen, I worry about scarce city, state and federal
resources being wasted on tracking down patients who use marijuana
for medicinal purposes.
Certainly, we should be more concerned about finding lost children,
catching a rapist, providing for the homeless and maintaining our environment
and infrastructure.
The smoking of marijuana for successful treatment and relief of chemotherapy,
glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, spasticity and hyperparathyroidism has been
recognized and endorsed by the American Medical Association.
The war on marijuana has gone on long enough and has cost us more than we can
afford. Let's put a stop to government waste. Support marijuana-law reforms.
John V. Lommel
Everett
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Inmates Say Deputies Beat Prisoner ('The Los Angeles Times,'
Noting A Self-Contradictory Press Release Issued By The Los Angeles County
Sheriff's Department, Says Fellow Inmates Of A Prisoner Who Died
After An Altercation With Sheriff's Deputies At The Twin Towers
Correctional Facility Say He Was Beaten By Deputies August 1
As He Lay Face Down And Handcuffed - The Incident Began
When Two Deputies, A Sergeant And A Jail Worker Tried To Place
Danny Smith, Who Is Black, In A Cell With A Hispanic Prisoner,
Ignoring A Standard Procedure By Which Inmates Generally Are Segregated
Where Violence Often Erupts Along Racial Lines)
From: "W.H.E.N. - Bob Owen - Olympia" (when@olywa.net)
To: "-News" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: Inmates Say Deputies Beat Prisoner
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 17:49:55 -0700
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net
Tuesday, August 11, 1998
The Los Angeles Times
Inmates Say Deputies Beat Prisoner
* Jail: The 34-year-old man later died. Sheriff's Department says he started
fight, but it is probing the incident.
By ANNE-MARIE O'CONNOR
Times Staff Writer
Fellow inmates of a prisoner who died after an altercation with sheriff's
deputies at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility say he was beaten by
deputies as he lay face down and handcuffed.
The prisoners' version, pieced together from nine interviews conducted
at the jail and by phone, contradicts the account of the sheriff's news
release, which said Danny Smith, 34, attacked deputies when they took off
his handcuffs. According to the Sheriff's Department, Smith died after an
ensuing struggle with the deputies.
Prisoners said the Aug. 1 incident began when two deputies, a sergeant
and a jail worker tried to place Smith, who is black, in a cell with a
Latino prisoner--ignoring a standard procedure that inmates generally are
segregated in a jail where violence often erupts along racial lines.
When Smith resisted, inmates said, deputies pushed him to the floor,
choking him with a flashlight and kneeing him in the back while they kicked
and beat him. Smith yelled that he couldn't breathe, that he had a bad
heart, and begged them not to kill him, inmates said. Only when Smith was
motionless and authorities began efforts to revive him did deputies remove
his handcuffs, inmates said.
The account of the prisoners, many of them in jail for crimes such as
narcotics possession, bank robbery and carjacking, casts further doubt on
the circumstances of a death that is the subject of an investigation by the
Sheriff's Department.
Don Mauro, captain of the department's homicide division, said the
results of the in-house probe will be referred to the district attorney's
office for evaluation. He said the FBI and the Department of Justice
probably will look into the incident as well, though federal representatives
could not immediately confirm their involvement.
"This matter continues to be under investigation," Mauro said. "Until
then we will have no comment."
A Sheriff's Department news release says Smith attacked a deputy after
his escorts removed his handcuffs. As deputies attempted to subdue him,
Smith collapsed and department members began cardiopulmonary resuscitation,
it said.
The press release then contradicts itself, saying first that Smith died
in jail, and then that Smith died at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center.
The Los Angeles County coroner's office appears unlikely to shed light on
the matter any time soon.
The office conducted an autopsy on Smith last week, but its staff will
not determine the cause of death or release any information until they
assemble all the outstanding information, such as the police report on the
incident and the results of toxicology tests, which could take six to eight
weeks, spokesman Scott Carrier said.
One nationally respected forensic pathologist called that time frame
"ridiculous."
"They just want to buy time," said forensic pathologist Cyril Wecht,
the elected coroner of Allegheny County in Pennsylvania. "I can't think of
toxicology tests that take six to eight weeks, unless it's some very
esoteric toxins, and I can't image them dealing with a poisonous South
African toad or a South American viper or spider."
In a case like this, it would be appropriate to conduct tests to
determine whether the inmate was on medication or drugs that could produce a
state of hyper-excitability and cardiac arrhythmia, he said. Ninety percent
of toxicology tests take two or three days, although a smaller number can
take a week.
"But not six to eight weeks," he said. "They've got a hot case.
Everybody is just biding time."
On Tuesday, sheriff's representatives are expected to discuss the
incident with the county Board of Supervisors. They would like to have a
private, closed-door executive session because they believe that the case
will culminate in a wrongful death lawsuit, regardless of whether the
Sheriff's Department is ultimately deemed responsible, department officials
said.
Sheriff's representatives said they could not release the names of the
deputies who the prisoners said were involved in or present during the
incident.
The incident took place, inmates said, in a cellblock in which many of
the prisoners are on medication for disorders ranging from epilepsy to
mental health problems.
James Woods, an inmate who says he was jailed for violating parole
after a grand theft conviction, said the incident began when two deputies
escorted Smith to a disciplinary cell with a county "turnkey."
When they got to the door of the cell--which was occupied by a prisoner
named Francisco Figueroa--Smith asked a deputy why they were placing him
with a Latino.
"As a result of all the racial conflict that has taken place among the
blacks and Mexicans, and it being Danny Smith from Compton, he did not want
to go into a cell with a Mexican," said another prisoner, Cordell Gaddy.
It was then that a deputy kneed Smith in the back of his knees,
throwing him off balance and slamming him onto the concrete floor, Woods
said.
Another deputy kicked him while a third officer held a flashlight under
his throat, cutting off his wind, Woods said.
"I heard the guy holler, 'Please don't kill me, I can't breathe,' "
said Gaddy, a convicted bank robber who said he is awaiting trial on
carjacking charges. "They were choking him out."
A supervising officer looked concerned and tapped two of those involved
on the back, but they ignored him, and he walked away, returning when Smith
became still, according to the inmates.
Copyright 1998 Los Angeles Times. All Rights Reserved
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Hemp Activist Appeals Charge Of Contempt While On A Jury
('The Washington Times' Notes Laura Kriho, The First Juror Convicted
Of Contempt Of Court In Over 300 Years, Appeled Her Conviction
To The Colorado Court Of Appeals Monday)
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 19:48:15 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US CO: Hemp Activist
Appeals Charge Of Contempt While On A Jury
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: compassion23@geocities.com (Frank S. World)
Pubdate: Tues, 11 Aug 1998
Source: Washington Times
Contact 1: letter@twtmail.com
Contact 2: 3600 New York Ave. NE Washington, D.C. 20002
Website: http://www.washtimes.com/
Author: Valerie Richardson The Washington Times
HEMP ACTIVIST APPEALS CHARGE OF CONTEMPT WHILE ON A JURY
DENVER - The first juror convicted of contempt of court in over 300 years
took her case to the Colorado Court of Appeals yesterday in a campaign to
win legitimacy for the jury-nullification movement.
The three-judge panel heard arguments in the case of Laura Kriho, the hemp
activist who was found guilty of criminal contempt in February 1997 after a
judge ruled that she deliberately misled the court to gain a slot on the jury.
The court could take several months to rule on the case, which has become a
rallying point for supporters of jury nullification. They argue that jurors
should be permitted to weigh the legitimacy of the law before deciding the
guilt or innocence of the accused.
"Jurors cannot be told what they must do in the deliberative process," said
Mrs. Kriho's attorney, Paul Grant. "You can't have trial by jury where you
throw out jurors who are independent thinkers."
Mr. Grant called her conviction a "frightening occurrence" that could leave
jurors vulnerable to prosecution for acting on their beliefs. In Mrs.
Kriho's case, she was summoned for jury duty in May 1996 in the trial of a
19-year-old accused of methamphetamine possession.
Mrs. Kriho, 34, was among the last jurors questioned, and prosecutors asked
whether there was any reason she would be unable to render an impartial verdict.
She brought up a legal dispute with her contractor, but failed to mention
her work for the legalization of industrial hemp and an LSD arrest 12 years
earlier.
During deliberations, she argued in favor of jury nullification, saying the
drug laws were unjust. Another juror sent a note to the judge, who declared
a mistrial.
Two months later, Mrs. Kriho was charged with perjury, obstruction of
justice and contempt.
Assistant Attorney General Roger Billotte said Mrs. Kriho had obstructed
justice by refusing to elaborate on her background as a hemp activist,
hoping to win a slot on the jury to push her political agenda.
"It's very clear that she's not revealing her opinions, her attitudes, her
very strong feelings on jury nullification and drug laws," Mr. Billotte said.
Mr. Grant said the court should have questioned Mrs. Kriho in greater detail
about her background instead of relying on her to decide what aspects were
relevant.
"Mrs. Kriho forthrightly volunteered some information not required by the
court, which was her most recent experience with the court. No one asked her
anything else," said Mr. Grant. "If the court wanted more information, the
court had to ask for it specifically.
" He said upholding her conviction could undermine the legal process by
encouraging prosecutors to pick "rubber-stamp" juries guaranteed of
delivering convictions.
"What I disagree with is that we are requiring [courts] to remove all jurors
who are suspicious of government power," said Mr. Grant.
Colorado Solicitor General Richard Westfall dismissed Mrs. Kriho's case as a
"rare situation" that would have no effect on jury selection.
"This has only come up once in a very long time," he said. A fair and
impartial jury is the cornerstone of the judicial system, he said. "If you
have strong biases going into this process, you are not going to be fair and
impartial," he said.
Mrs. Kriho was fined $1,200, which she has paid with donations from friends
and supporters in the jury-nullification movement.
Experts believe the last time jurors were charged with a crime for failing
to issue a guilty verdict was in 1670, when a jury was imprisoned and fined
for refusing to convict William Penn of unlawful preaching.
Her case already has had an impact on Colorado courts, according to her
attorney. "I know what's happening in Colorado today: Jurors are being
asked, 'Have you heard of jury nullification? Do you believe in jury
nullification?'" Mr. Grant said. "That is totally improper, and that is
where this case goes," he said.
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Appeals Court Hears Case Against Juror ('The Boulder Daily Camera' Version)
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1998 12:30:41 -0700
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US CO: Appeals Court Hears Case Against Juror
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: cohip@levellers.org (Colo. Hemp Init. Project)
Source: Boulder Daily Camera (CO)
Contact: marshallj@boulderpublishing.com
Fax: (303) 449-9358
Website: http://www.bouldernews.com
Pubdate: Tue, 11 Aug 1998
Author: Christopher Anderson (andersonc@boulderpublishing.com)
APPEALS COURT HEARS CASE AGAINST JUROR
In a case that could set Colorado legal precedent, an attorney for a former
Nederland resident argued before the Court of Appeals on Monday that his
client's conviction for contempt of court was unjust.
Laura Kriho, who served as a Gilpin County juror in a 1996 drug case, was
convicted in 1997 of purposely withholding information during jury
selection so she could get onto the jury and influence other jury members
to prevent a guilty verdict against the defendant.
Taking her case before the Court of Appeals on Monday, lawyers arguments
centered on jury nullification, the power of jurors to vote their
consciences instead of following the letter of the law.
Kriho's attorney, Paul Grant, argued that his client was never specifically
asked about her association with a hemp advocacy group that supported jury
nullification and she was not obligated to divulge her political
affiliations.
Kriho also failed to divulge that she has a prior arrest for LSD. She said
she had forgotten about it because it happened so long ago and because she
was told by the courts that it would be removed from her record.
The state's prosecutor said although Kriho was not specifically asked about
being part of the hemp initiative, there was a clear tone in the
questioning to divulge any biases that would cause an unfair and impartial
verdict.
Following the 40 minute hearing, Kriho said she fears if the court rules
against her, it will make jurors fearful to find defendants not guilty.
The court's decision is not expected to be rendered for months.
In May 1996, Kriho was selected to serve as a jury member to hear a Gilpin
County District Court case that included the charge of unlawful possession
of the drug methamphetimine.
During jury deliberations in that case, Kriho had obtained information from
the Internet on what she believed to be the penalty for possession of
methamphetimine and showed it to other jurors.
The defense called a mistrial after another juror sent a note to Judge
Kenneth E. Barnhill asking whether a juror, later identified as Kriho,
could be disqualified for looking up the potential sentence. The note also
said the juror was saying court is not the place to decide drug charges.
District Court Judge Henry E. Neito found Kriho in contempt of court and
sentenced her to pay a $1,200 fine in a plea bargain deal that kept her
from serving 90 days in jail.
The Court of Appeals did not hear oral arguments on the accusation that she
looked up the methamphetamine sentencing, but instead they focused on the
jury selection and the right to jury nullification.
The court asked whether rape victims who became potential jurors would have
to volunteer information about participation in any rape prevention groups.
The state's prosecutor said they would, depending on whether there was any
intent to prevent a fair verdict.
The prosecutor also argued that jury nullification was a de facto result of
jury deliberations, not a juror's right.
Grant said jury nullification is a political philosophy cherished by early
presidents such as Thomas Jefferson and that court's have no right to ask
about political philosophies. He asked the court to rule that lawyers be
prohibited from asking potential jurors whether they believe in jury
nullification.
"I do think I was a fair and impartial juror," Kriho said. "I still don't
think I did anything wrong."
***
Contributions to help Laura pay the costs of her appeals can be made to:
Laura Kriho Legal Defense Fund
P.O. Box 729
Nederland, CO 80466
Your support is very much appreciated.
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Six Men, Nine Horses, Pot Seized Near Arivaca ('The Arizona Daily Star'
Says US Border Patrol Agents Interdicted 1,215 Pounds Of Marijuana Monday,
Bringing The Agency's Total Since The October 1 Start Of The Fiscal Year
To More Than 172,600 Pounds, Well Above The Record 160,003 Pounds
Taken Last Fiscal Year)
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 19:45:01 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US AZ: 6 Men, 9 Horses, Pot Seized Near Arivaca
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: compassion23@geocities.com (Frank S. World)
Pubdate: Tues, 11 Aug 1998
Source: Arizona Daily Star
Contact: letters@azstarnet.com
Author: Ignacio Ibarra The Arizona Daily Star
6 MEN, 9 HORSES, POT SEIZED NEAR ARIVACA
Six men were arrested and nine horses packing 1,215 pounds of marijuana were
seized by U.S. Border Patrol agents near Arivaca yesterday.
Rob Daniels, Border Patrol spokesman in Tucson, said the men were turned
over to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration along with 14 bundles of
marijuana packed by the horses. He said he could not identify the men.
The horses were taken to Nogales for evaluation and possible use by the
Border Patrol.
Daniels said the confiscated marijuana brings the amount seized by the
agency since the Oct. 1 start of the fiscal year to more than 172,600
pounds. That is well above the record 160,003 pounds taken last fiscal year.
In this case, agents working southeast of Arivaca just after midnight came
across the trail of several horses headed north from the border, Daniels said.
The agents, aided by a U.S. Customs Service airplane, worked into the early
morning to locate the horses.
At about 3:15, agents tracking the horses on foot came upon a group of men
on horseback in a steep, rocky canyon. But Daniels said the men used the
horses to escape.
About four hours later, the agents came upon the group again. They arrested
six men and seized the horses and drugs.
Daniels said one of the men was armed with a Russian-made AK-47 assault
rifle, which was also seized.
He said using horses for smuggling drugs ``isn't as common as using human
backpackers, but it happens, especially in that area, because of the rugged
terrain. The area is steep and rocky, and makes for a tough tracking
operation.''
Mexican horses are currently banned from import into the United States
because cases of equine encephalitis have been reported in some southern states.
Daniels said that in the past year the agency has seized about a dozen
horses that have been put to use by the Border Patrol after they were
determined to be healthy.
Horse patrol units have been established at Nogales and Sonoita so far.
He said that if all goes well, the horses seized yesterday will end up in
Willcox, where the next horse patrol unit is planned.
On Friday, an on-duty Border Patrol agent was injured in Nogales when her
horse threw her after being spooked by lightning. The accident occurred on
the city's west side in the canyons near Mariposa and Target Range Road.
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US To Pay $1.9 Million To Family Of Teen Slain By Marine
('The Washington Post' Says The Family Of Esequiel Hernandez Jr., 18,
Who Was Killed While Herding Goats Near Redford, Texas,
By Camouflaged Marines Carrying Out Civilian Prohibition Duties,
Agreed To The Settlement With The Justice Department And The Navy)
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: "MN" (mapnews@mapinc.org)
Subject: MN: US: TX Wire: U.S. To Pay $1.9 Million To Family Of Teen Slain By Marine
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1998 17:07:15 -0500
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Paul Lewin
Pubdate: Tue, 11 Aug 1998
Source: Washington Post
Contact: http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/letters/letterform.htm
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Author: Associated Press
U.S. TO PAY $1.9 MILLION TO FAMILY OF TEEN SLAIN BY MARINE
EL PASO, The federal government will pay $1.9 million to the family of a
teenager who was killed by a Marine patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border, the
family's attorney said today.
The controversy over the May 27, 1997, shooting led to the suspension of
military patrols along the Rio Grande. Esequiel Hernandez Jr., 18, was
killed while herding goats near Redford, Tex., 200 miles southeast of El
Paso, by Marines who said the youth fired on them.
After a long battle over what happened, the Hernandez family has signed a
settlement agreement with the Justice Department and the Navy, lawyer Bill
Weinacht of Pecos said in a statement. No further details were available.
Neither Weinacht nor members of the Hernandez family returned calls for
comment.
The settlement is "one more piece of evidence that there was total
wrongdoing in this case by various arms of the government," said the Rev.
Melvin LaFollette, a Redford activist. "Innocent parties don't pass out
millions gratuitously."
Justice Department spokeswoman Chris Watney declined to comment, citing
federal privacy law.
Military officials said Hernandez twice fired his .22-caliber rifle at
members of a four-man Marine Corps patrol conducting anti-drug surveillance
along the Rio Grande. They said the Marine team leader shot the teenager
when he raised his gun a third time.
Relatives said Hernandez would never knowingly have shot at anyone. They
said he carried the rifle to protect his livestock from wild dogs and
occasionally to shoot targets. The Marines were wearing camouflage.
Federal and state grand juries refused to indict any of the Marines. Joint
Task Force 6, an El Paso-based federal agency that coordinates anti-drug
missions between the military and civilian authorities, concluded the
Marines acted within mission guidelines.
Copyright 1998 The Associated Press
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Ocean County Officer Admits Using Methamphetamines, Resigns
('The Associated Press' Says No Sentencing Date Has Been Set
For Police Patrolman James J. McMenamin Of Ship Bottom, New Jersey,
Who Pleaded Guilty Monday To Being Under The Influence
Of Methamphetamines)
From: "W.H.E.N. - Bob Owen - Olympia" (when@olywa.net)
To: "-News" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: NJ cop admits methamphetamine use, resigns
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 17:45:07 -0700
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net
Ocean County officer admits using methamphetamines, resigns
Associated Press, 08/11/98 12:48
STAFFORD TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) - A police officer who was high on drugs in his
home when he was supposed to be working pleaded to a drug charge and is
quitting the force.
Patrolman James J. McMenamin, 35, of Ship Bottom pleaded guilty Monday to
being under the influence of methamphetamines. In doing so, he averted
prosecution on other charges, township officials said.
In addition, administrative charges against the five-year police veteran
will be dropped as part of the plea agreement worked out with the Ocean
County prosecutor.
Last March, McMenamin failed to show up for one of his midnight shifts.
Worried for his safety, officers called him at home and - unable to reach
him - then searched for him there.
They found him under the influence of drugs. The police department has a
``zero tolerance'' policy for employees, said Mayor Carl Block.
No sentencing date was set by Municipal Judge Paul Carr.
``It is a personal tragedy for people who have become involved with drugs,''
Block said. ``They could become an endangerment to the public welfare.''
***
When away, you can STOP and RESTART W.H.E.N.'s news clippings by sending an
e-mail to majordomo@hemp.net. Ignore the Subject: line. In the body put
"unsubscribe when" to STOP. To RESTART, put "subscribe when" in the e-mail
instead (No quotation marks.)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Time To Wave A White Flag In The Drug War (An Op-Ed
In 'The Orange County Register' Says The Time Has Come
To Call A Truce In The Ceaseless War On Drugs - Instead,
It Seems The War Is Being Futilely Escalated)
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 09:55:09 -0700
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US: Column: Time To Wave A White Flag In The Drug War
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: John W.Black
Source: Orange County Register (CA)
Contact: letters@link.freedom.com
Website: http://www.ocregister.com/
Pubdate: Tue, 11 Aug 1998
Author: Steve Watanabe-Mr.Watanabe is a financial analyst who lives in Irvine.
THE ORANGE GROVE: TIME TO WAVE A WHITE FLAG IN THE DRUG WAR
For all the billions spent to curtail drug usage in this country, the
results have been paltry and disastrous for our freedom.
The time has come to call a truce in the ceaseless War on Drugs. Instead,
it seems the war is being futilely escalated. Coincidentally, the Justice
Department announced last week that the U.S. prison population has
increased to an all-time hih of 1.25 million, one fourth of the inmates
held on drug crimes. This report coincides with a column by U.S. drug czar
Gen Barry McCaffrey in several newspapers last week critical of people who
want to debate the alternative of legalizing some drugs.
Let me first say that I do not advocate drug use. There is no question that
drug abuse is a scourge on society. But, after 25 years, it is time to take
a serious look at the strategy we have been using to combat this problem.
When McCaffrey says it is criminal that more money is being spent on drugs
and the drug war than on art or higher education he raises an interesting
point.
What results can the government show for the hundreds of billions of
taxpayers' dollars spent? Each year the money has been wasted on the same
failed approach of increasing interdiction efforts, law enforcement
resources and prisons to incarcerate hundreds of thousands of our citizens,
most of whom pose no danger to society.
As is the case with other government programs, such as welfare and public
education, when something doesn't work, the solution seems to be to just
throw more money at the problem. Instead of perhaps spending the money on
practical and humanitatian solutions, such as drug treatment, heroin
maintenance and needle-exchange programs, McCaffrey proposes to spend more
money on hiring more police and for more propaganda, deceptively implying
that we have now gained the upper hand in this war.
McCaffrey asserts that "addictive drugs were criminalized because they are
harmful; they are not harmful because they were criminalized. The more a
product is available and legitimized the greater will be its use."
Apparently, he - and we - haven't learned any lessons from Prohibition as
we continue to repeat our mistakes. Drug use and crime increased at the
same time that anti-drug funding increased and drug laws were toughened.
Evidence shows that making certain acts illegal leads to more harm to the
community. Making a desired commodity illegal only serves to make that
commodity scarce, drive up its price and make it more lucrative for
criminals to get involved.
Most important, though, the War on Drugs is robbing us of our freedom.
People accused or even suspected of dealing drugs have had their civil
rights violated. Assets have been seized and sold before a trial has even
taken place.
Many people argue that this is a small price to pay to protect our children
and to send them the message that drugs are bad. But children are not
listening to this anti-drug propaganda. Tobacco, alcohol, marijuana and
other drugs were abused when Bill Clinton was smoking pot as a college
student in the '60s and they are just as popular with teen-agers today.
I am offended by McCaffrey's attack on harm-reduction advocates. When he
equates legalizing drugs to legalizing murder, pedophilia and child
prostitution, he misses the point. In a free society, the state should have
no interest in the behavior of a person as long as he is not harming or
infringing on the rights of another. In the case of murder, pedophilia and
child prostitution, harm is most certainly being inflicted on another. To
put it bluntly, unless someone's rights are being infringed on the
government needs to butt out of people's private lives.
It is now time to make a decision. If this is truly a "war," the only
effective action the government can take at this point is to invoke the
death penalty or life imprisonment for anyone caught selling or using
drugs. This is the drug policy in some Third-World countries. Most
Americans would not want to live in such a country.
We shouldn't have an immediate knee-jerk reaction whenever we hear the word
"legalization" or "decriminalization." Most Americans oppose legalization
because they have been told by both the government and moralists for years
that if drugs were legalized we would see a tremendous increase in drug
addiction, thus leading to more crime, lost productivity and a huge
financial drain on our economy. But there is no proof that this will
happen. Like alcohol during post-Prohibition and marijuana in the
Netherlands today, use of drugs may increase, but only in the short term.
As with alcohol today, some people will abuse new decriminalized drugs, but
rational people will realize that they cannot succeed in school, hold down
a job or keep together relationships if they are constantly stoned.
Responsible people will choose to limit their use or abstain totally.
With legalization, consumers will be able to purchase their drugs in a
controlled setting where safety won't be able to purchase their drugs in a
controlled setting where safety won't be compromised. The government may
place limited regulations on the market, as it currently does with
medications and alcohol. Taxpayers will be saving billions of dollars a
year that had previously been spent on prosecuting drug users.
More and more people are beginning to wake up and see the futility of the
current "war." What have 25 years of money and effort accomplished?
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Don't Lock Up Mothers Who Use Drugs - US Report ('Reuters' Says A Study
Commissioned By The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation And Carried Out
By A Research Team Headed By Lawrence Nelson Of Santa Clara University
In California Concluded That Efforts To Stop Women From Doing Things
That May Harm Their Unborn Babies Have Been Racially Biased,
Poorly Thought Out And Often In Direct Violation Of The US Constitution)
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1998 14:05:04 EDT
Errors-To: jnr@insightweb.com
Reply-To: friends@freecannabis.org
Originator: friends@freecannabis.org
Sender: friends@freecannabis.org
From: annmaria@webtv.net (ann mccormick)
To: Multiple recipients of list (friends@freecannabis.org)
Subject: Prenatal-Substances-Use/Abuse
06:08 PM ET 08/11/98
Don't lock up mothers who use drugs - U.S. report
By Maggie Fox,
Health and Science Correspondent
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Drug use during pregnancy has become a serious
problem in the United States, but jailing such women is no solution as
it is unconstitutional and can be the worst solution for the baby,
experts said Monday.
``No state should even consider a law criminalizing prenatal substance
abuse as this is unconstitutional and unwise,´´ said Lawrence Nelson
of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University in
California, who headed a team which produced a report on the issue for a
research charity.
He and colleagues agreed that efforts to stop women from doing things
that may harm their unborn babies have been racially biased, poorly
thought out and often in direct violation of the U.S. Constitution.
``Any state intervention in the area of prenatal substance abuse must be
scrutinized for racial prejudice and for fairness in excluding legal,
but harmful, substances like alcohol and nicotine,´´ Nelson told a
news conference.
The researchers' study was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
``Substance abuse by pregnant women is a major national problem,´´
said Dr. H. Westley Clark, who heads substance abuse programs at the
Veterans Affairs Medical Center in San Francisco. But he added that
jailing the mothers or committing them to institutions to kick their
habit would not necessarily solve the problem.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates that a million children a
year or more are exposed to alcohol or illegal drugs while in the womb.
Mary Faith Marshall of the Medical University of South Carolina said
that since 1985, ``more than 240 women in 35 states have been criminally
prosecuted for using illegal drugs or alcohol during pregnancy. Between
70 percent and 80 percent of these women are minorities.´´
Nelson also said it would be a mistake to make health care professionals
look out for women who might be abusing drugs.
''If seeing an obstetrician or a midwife for prenatal care directly
leads to criminal sanctions, then pregnant women will be deterred from
seeking such care,'' he said.
REUTERS
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'66 Pot Bust Bars Reggae Star ('The Province' In Vancouver, British Columbia,
Says Frederick 'Toots' Hibbert And The Maytals Had To Cancel Performances
In Vancouver And Edmonton, Alberta - Somehow They Went Instead
To The United States, Whose Drug Laws Are Notoriously Tougher Than Canada's)
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: "MN" (mapnews@mapinc.org)
Subject: MN: Canada: '66 Pot Bust Bars Reggae Star
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1998 17:05:07 -0500
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Herb
Pubdate: 11 Aug 1998
Source: The Province (Vancouver, B.C.)
Contact: provedpg@pacpress.southam.ca
Website: http://www.vancouverprovince.com/newsite/news-c.html
Author: Jason Proctor - Staff Reporter
'66 POT BUST BARS REGGAE STAR
A lack of documentation and a love of ganja prevented reggae legend
Frederick (Toots) Hibbert from taking to a Vancouver stage on the weekend.
The 30-year veteran of the reggae scene was scheduled to play with his band,
the Maytals, at Richards on Richards Sunday night.
But plans changed when Canadian officials unearthed an ancient police
record. "It's sad. We worked hard on promoting this," said Robert Foort,
whose Pacific Concert Productions co-promoted the event. "It was looking
like it was going to be a good show - but it was a no-show." Toots Hibbert
was jailed in Jamaica for a year on charges of marijuana possession back in
1966. Pot is a central part of reggae life, and after his release from
prison Hibbert released a song called "54-46 (That's My Number)" to
commemorate his jail time.
Since then, Hibbert has performed in Canada dozens of times.
Foorst said it came as a surprise to Toots and his manager when he was
denied a visa unless he could produce a letter from Jamaican police and bank
statements.
"There was just no time to do it," said Foort. Toots and the Maytals were
also forced to cancel on the Edmonton Folk Festival as a result of the visa
problems.
Ironically, they went instead to the United States, whose drug laws are
notoriously tougher than Canada's.
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City Hall Threatens Hemp BC Landlord - Hearings On September 29-30
(A Bulletin From 'Cannabis Canada' Seeks Your Help Lobbying City Officials
In Vancouver In Support Of The Famous Hemp Emporium)
From: creator@drugsense.org (Cannabis Culture)
To: cclist@drugsense.org
Subject: CC: City Hall threatens Hemp BC landlord
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 17:03:30 -0700
Lines: 93
Sender: creator@drugsense.org
Reply-To: creator@drugsense.org
Organization: Cannabis Culture (http://www.cannabisculture.com/)
City Hall threatens Hemp BC landlord
Hearings on September 29, 30
By Dana Larsen
Since repeated raids against Hemp BC and the Cannabis Cafe have met with
public disapproval and have succeeded only in making the police look
foolish, the city is trying new tactics in their war against the
world-famous hemp store.
So far, city officials have denied Hemp BC a business license, and lied to
cops about who owned the store. Now they've begun threatening Hemp BC's
landlord, demanding she evict her tenants or face criminal charges herself.
This sort of intimidation is being used by sneaky authorities eager to get
someone else to do their dirty work, as they are afraid to go to trial with
senseless paraphernalia charges.
In their letter to Hemp BC's landlord, city lawyers claimed that "a twelve
year old girl was found in the building openly smoking marijuana." Although
pot smoking is commonplace in and around Hemp BC, there is a strict over-18
policy in both the store and cafe. If police did observe an underaged
toker, they didn't do anything at the time, and the letter to her landlord
was the first mention that Sister Icee, owner of Hemp BC, had ever heard of
this mythical pre-teen smoker.
The letter also claimed that Sister Icee is facing "drug charges", when in
fact she has no criminal record at all, and has only ever been charged with
selling pipes and bongs, which are available at hundreds of other licensed
businesses around Vancouver.
Sister Icee has launched a $1,000,000 lawsuit against the city for such
defamatory truth-twisting, especially in relation to their false
accusations of an underage toker, and the most recent April 30 raid of her
store. That raid came about because city officials misled police, and told
them that Marc Emery was still the legal owner of Hemp BC, when they knew
he had sold it to Sister Icee. Purposefully misleading police to further a
vendetta aginst Hemp BC is a disgusting and immoral abuse of municipal
power.
City Council Hearing: September 29 & 30
The City has issued a summons against the landlord, Mrs Yue Qui Lin,
demanding that she appear before City Council on September 29 and 30, to
"solve neighbourhood problems caused by [your] tenants." Yet there are no
neighbourhood complainants, and many local merchants and businesses have
agreed to testify on Hemp BC's behalf.
Hemp BC has actually helped the neighbourhood in many ways, bringing many
shoppers and tourists into an otherwise depressed area. Hemp BC has donated
thousands of dollars to local projects providing free food to local people,
AIDS education and other community improvements, and even provided street
garbage cans during Vancouver's garbage strike.
Vancouver City Council has scheduled hearings for Hemp BC's business
license application on September 29 and 30. If Hemp BC is going to survive
there must be a very strong show of public support before and on these
dates. We need everyone who reads this to take a moment to send a quick
email to Mayor Philip Owen, and if you live in Vancouver we beg you to come
to City Hall on September 29 and 30 to show your support for us. City Hall
wants to shut us down, and they will succeed if you allow them to.
We need your help
Hemp BC and all other pot-friendly businesses in Vancouver need your help.
The Mayor and Police Chief will continue beating up peaceful pot smokers
and raiding Hemp BC and the Cannabis Cafe until they are forced out of
business. Unless they are convinced that the public is strongly against
their actions, they will never relent in their raids and harassment.
Please call, write or email Mayor Phillip Owen, and let him know that Hemp
BC and the Cannabis Cafe are valuable assets to the city. Help us explain
to them that these businesses are supported both locally and
internationally, and that they are a positive influence on the community.
This will only take a few moments of your time, and is a simple but
effective way to do something good for yourself, the world, and pot-people
everywhere.
Write or Call Mayor Phillip Owen:
email: mayorandcouncil@city.vancouver.bc.ca
Vancouver City Hall
453 West 12th Ave
Vancouver, BC
V5Y 1V4
tel: (604) 873-7621
fax: (604) 873-7685
***
CClist, the electronic news and information service of Cannabis Culture
To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@drugsense.org containing
the command "unsubscribe cclist".
-
Subscribe to Cannabis Culture Magazine!
Write to: 324 West Hastings Street, Vancouver BC, CANADA, V6B 1A1
Call us at: (604) 669-9069, or fax (604) 669-9038. Visit Cannabis
Culture online at http://www.cannabisculture.com/
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Overdose Death Toll Spurs Canada To Consider Prescribing Heroin
('The Associated Press' Says Vancouver Authorities, Dismayed
By A Horrific Toll From Heroin Related Deaths, Are Nudging Canada
Steadily Closer To Breaking A North American Taboo By Supplying Heroin
To Addicts)
From: Holly Catania (HCatania@sorosny.org)
To: TLC_ACTIVIST (TLCACT@sorosny.org)
Subject: AP Story on Call For Canadian Heroin Trials
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1998 11:02:12 -0400
Sender: owner-tlc-activist@server.soros.org
Overdose death toll spurs Canada to consider prescribing heroin
U.S. unlikely to try similar program
August 11, 1998
Web posted at: 5:59 p.m. EDT (2159 GMT)
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- Dismayed by a horrific death toll
from drug overdoses, Vancouver authorities are nudging Canada steadily
closer to breaking a North American taboo by supplying heroin to
addicts.
So far this year, 224 people in British Columbia -- mostly from
Vancouver's skid-row areas -- have died of overdoses, up 40 percent
from last year.
The deaths, blamed on an influx of cheaper and more potent heroin,
prompted the provincial health officer, Dr. John Millar, to recommend
last month that health workers provide heroin to certain addicts on a
trial basis.
The aim would be to reduce the risk of overdose and restore some
stability to the addicts' lives by freeing them from the daily
scavenging for money to buy their next fix.
Such programs have been tried on a limited basis in Western Europe,
but never in North America. Many experts believe heroin trials are
unlikely to take place in the United States anytime soon because of
firm opposition among many lawmakers, while Canadian officials and
politicians are considered more receptive.
Vancouver's chief coroner has endorsed the plan. Even the city police
chief has expressed cautious interest because of the prospects of
reducing addiction-related crime.
The federal health agency, Health Canada, says it would be willing to
authorize clinical trials in which doctors could prescribe heroin to
addicts.
Swiss experiment got mixed reviews
On Tuesday, the lawmaker who represents Vancouver's worst skid-row
neighborhood in Parliament introduced a motion urging the federal
government to launch such trials immediately.
"People are dying in the streets because we have failed to act," said
Libby Davies.
Her district includes the Downtown Eastside, a pocket of rundown
rooming houses, pawn shops and bars a few blocks from Vancouver's posh
cruise-ship pier. Rampant intravenous drug use has saddled the
neighborhood with one of the highest rates of HIV infection in the
developed world.
The most ambitious experiment with prescribed heroin has been in
Switzerland, where 1,146 addicts received thrice-daily injections in
1994-1996. The program's researchers said crimes committed by those
addicts dropped sharply and many were able to find jobs and decent
housing.
But critics questioned the accuracy of the findings, while others say
any plan condoning drug use sends a bad message to young people.
In the United States, the Swiss program has received little serious
consideration, according to Ethan Nadelmann, director of a New
York-based drug policy think tank, the Lindesmith Institute.
"There's been a de facto self-censoring of any discussion of this," he
said. "There's a reluctance to keep people on drugs they might like."
One of the few U.S. jurisdictions to openly contemplate Swiss-style
heroin maintenance is Baltimore, but officials there say it could be
two years before anything is in place even if federal approval is
granted. Davies hopes Canada can act more swiftly and perhaps provide
ammunition for Americans seeking to modify U.S. policy.
Canada a better bet than U.S. for pilot program
Dr. David Lewis, director of the Center for Alcohol and Addiction
Studies at Brown University, is one of the leading American experts in
the field. He believes heroin prescription tests have a better chance
of getting launched in Canada.
"The ideological barriers to doing a pilot program are less in Canada
... it's a little less edgy in terms of the moral crusade aspect," he
said.
Among law enforcement officials, there are sharp divisions over heroin
prescription programs.
"It sends us down a path," said Inspector Richard Barszczewski, a drug
specialist with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. "Would we then be
suggesting for the cocaine addicts we should give them cocaine? For
alcoholics, should we give them alcohol?"
But for Vancouver policeman Gil Pudar, heroin prescription makes sense
in terms of crime-fighting and economics. He says 90 percent of
property crime in his district is committed to support addictions.
"The criminal justice system is the most expensive method of
intervention," he said. "Why are we spending millions of dollars
chasing our tail when all we're doing is making the problem worse?"
Copyright 1998 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Colombian Army's Third In Command Allegedly Led Two Lives
('The Washington Post' Says Colombian General Ivan Ramirez Quintero,
Who Served As A Paid CIA Informant While Maintaining Ties To Right-Wing
Paramilitary Death Squads Financed By Illegal Drug Sellers, Is Expected
To Be Forced Into Retirement Soon By Colombia's New President,
Andres Pastrana, Who On Sunday Dismissed The Entire Military High Command)
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 19:43:28 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: Colombia: Colombian Army's
Third In Command Allegedly Led Two Lives
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Paul Lewin
Pubdate: Tues, 11 Aug 1998
Source: Washington Post
Contact: http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/letters/letterform.htm
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Author: Douglas Farrah and Laura Brooks
Note: Farah reported from Washington; Brooks from Bogota.
COLOMBIAN ARMY'S THIRD IN COMMAND ALLEGEDLY LED TWO LIVES:
General Reportedly Served as a Key CIA Informant While Maintaining Ties to
Death Squads Financed by Drug Traffickers
For years Colombian Gen. Ivan Ramirez Quintero was a key intelligence source
for the United States. After training in Washington he was the first head of
a military intelligence organization designed by U.S. experts to fight
Marxist guerrillas and drug traffickers, and served as a liaison and paid
informant for the Central Intelligence Agency, according to U.S. and
Colombian intelligence sources.
But during many of the years he was funneling information to the CIA,
according to U.S. and Colombian intelligence officials, Ramirez, now the
army's third in command, maintained close ties to right-wing paramilitary
groups who finance much of their activities through drug trafficking.
"We began to hear of Ramirez's ties to drug trafficking, paramilitary
activities and human rights violations in the mid-1990s," said a
knowledgeable U.S. official. "That was reported back to the appropriate
consumers. The [CIA] severed contact with him because of that in 1995."
In May the United States took the unusual step of revoking Ramirez's U.S.
visa because of alleged "terrorist" activities. Ramirez, according to
knowledgeable sources, is also under investigation by the Colombian
prosecutor general's office for ties to paramilitary violence.
In a move welcomed by U.S. officials, Colombian President Andres Pastrana on
Sunday -- two days after taking office -- dismissed the entire military high
command, in part because the military has suffered a string of humiliating
defeats by Marxist guerrillas. Ramirez, while not in the high command, will
be retired soon because of his strong ties to Colombia's outgoing military
leadership and strong U.S. pressure, sources in Washington and Bogota said.
A CIA spokesman declined to comment on the Ramirez case.
Ramirez's story underscores the dilemma the United States faces in working
with the Colombian military, which is under siege by well-funded and
well-trained Marxist guerrillas. The guerrillas of the Armed Revolutionary
Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN) now number
about 20,000 and control almost half the national territory. The rapid
expansion of the guerrillas in recent years is due in large part to growing
profits from protecting and aiding drug traffickers who operate in areas
they control.
While many U.S. policymakers are anxious to step up aid to the military and
say the line between the guerrillas and drug trafficking is blurred, there
is little stomach in Washington for helping a military with an abysmal human
rights record and whose senior leaders are suspected of ties to paramilitary
groups and, at least indirectly, to drug trafficking.
Underscoring the problem, the Colombian prosecutor general's office
yesterday announced that Gen. Fernando Millan, commander of the 5th Brigade,
is under investigation for recent collaboration with paramilitary forces in
Santander, a province in central Colombia. The office also announced that
Gen. Rito Alejo Del Rio is under preliminary investigation for suspected
collaboration with such groups when he was commander of the 17th Brigade in
the northwestern region of Uraba, where paramilitary forces in recent years
have used selective killings to rid the area of suspected guerrilla
sympathizers.
When word leaked to the Colombian press in May that Ramirez's U.S. visa had
been revoked, his response was angry and bitter.
"All I have done for the 36 years of my career is fight terrorists,"
Ramirez, the army's inspector general, told a news conference on May 15. "So
it is impossible that, at the end of my career, I am suddenly turned into
the terrorist. It is not true. People know how I have acted, my actions have
been clear and my conscience is clear."
In numerous telephone calls to his office, reporters were told he would be
unavailable to answer any further questions.
Paramilitary groups, often operating under the protection of the military,
were responsible for 70 percent of the political murders in Colombia in
1997, according to the State Department's annual human rights report.
Intelligence sources in Colombia and the United States say paramilitary
groups are now operating large cocaine laboratories in Casanare and Meta
provinces in central Colombia.
How to break the ties between the paramilitary groups and the military,
which often supplies them weapons and protection, is a top priority for the
United States in dealing with the Pastrana government.
"We view the paramilitaries as a serious problem, they are a real factor,"
said one U.S. official. "Dealing with the military-paramilitary tie is where
Pastrana will have to start. It is an aspect of the problem he can and must
deal with, and we think he will."
Ties between senior military officials and paramilitary groups, which
control at least 15 percent of the national territory, date to the 1960s,
when the military helped form the units to aid the army in combating the
guerrillas. The groups were outlawed in the 1980s following a series of
massacres and after they had become increasingly reliant on drug barons.
"Far from being punished, the junior and mid-level officers who tolerated,
planned, directed and even took part in paramilitary violence in Colombia in
the 1980s have been promoted and rewarded and now occupy the highest
positions in the Colombian military," said a 1997 Human Rights
Watch/Americas report on paramilitary activities."
Ramirez was one of those officers who rose through the ranks.
Ramirez received intelligence training in Washington in 1983, according to
his service record. From 1986 to 1988 he was commander of the 20th Brigade,
an intelligence unit that was disbanded in May because of overwhelming
evidence the group had carried out scores of assassinations and
"disappearances" in the 1980s and 1990s.
In 1991, seeking to beef up the Colombian military's capabilities, the
United States sent an intelligence assessment team to help redesign the
military's intelligence structure. The following year, when the military
began implementing the U.S. recommendations, Ramirez was named the first
commander of military intelligence.
The appointment came at a key time, when drug baron Pablo Escobar had
escaped from prison, and U.S. and Colombian police and military were making
his recapture or elimination their highest priority. Because of his
position, U.S. officials said, it was natural for the CIA to deal with
Ramirez, despite strong intelligence linking him to death-squad activities.
"It was known he was a bad guy, but who else were we going to deal with?"
said a U.S. official with direct knowledge of Ramirez's case.
According to U.S. and Colombian officials, Ramirez already had established a
close relationship to Carlos Castano, leader of Colombia's largest
paramilitary organization known as the United Self-Defense Forces of
Colombia. Castano has been identified by the Drug Enforcement Administration
as "major" drug trafficker, and human rights organizations identify the
group as one of the most violent in the nation.
In 1992, Castano, with financing from the Cali cocaine cartel, Escobar's
main business rival, attacked Escobar and his family's properties and passed
on intelligence to the police and military.
One of the main conduits to pass the information to the military, according
to Colombian and U.S. sources, was Ramirez. Escobar was killed by police in
December 1993.
By 1994, U.S. and Colombian officials said, the CIA had cut back its
dealings with Ramirez because of human rights concerns. In 1995, they said,
the relationship ended.
U.S. officials, including Barry R. McCaffrey, the Clinton administration's
anti-drug policy chief, in private meetings earlier this year warned the
military high command that Ramirez and several other generals would have to
be removed if American support for the military was to go forward.
Copyright 1998 The Washington Post Company
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Bolivian Coca Growers March To Save Their Crop ('Reuters'
Says The 300-Mile March To The Capital, La Paz, Organized By Evo Morales,
Who Represents Chapare In Congress, Involves 500 Coca Farmers
Protesting A Government Campaign To Eradicate Coca Crops,
Promoted By The United States, Which Has Funded The Government's Disbursement
Of $85 Million In Crop Substitution Funds Over The Last 10 Years -
But The Money Will Dry Up By The End Of This Year)
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 01:52:25 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: Bolivia: WIRE: Bolivian Coca Growers March To Save Their Crop
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: isenberd@DynCorp.com (Isenberg, David)
Source: Reuters
Pubdate: 11 Aug 1998
BOLIVIAN COCA GROWERS MARCH TO SAVE THEIR CROP
LA PAZ, Bolivia (Reuters) - About 500 Bolivian coca leaf growers marched
toward the capital, La Paz under a grueling sun Tuesday to protest a
government campaign to eradicate coca crops.
Under U.S. pressure, the Bolivian government is targeting the coca leaf
because it is the prime raw material to make cocaine.
Poor farmers have few alternatives to make money, so the government is
paying them as an incentive to stop growing coca. The official goal in 1998
is to eliminate some 17,300 acres with $17.5 million in paid compensation.
The government has paid out $85 million over 10 years, but the money will
dry up by the end of the year.
Peasant farmers on a 300-mile march that began Monday are demanding a more
comprehensive plan to provide economic alternatives. They also want an end
to eradication efforts.
Their lead banner calls their trek the ``March for Life, Sovereignty, Coca
and Land.''
March organizer Evo Morales, who represents Chapare in the lower house of
Congress, also called for a reduction of the military presence in the main
eastern growing region, Chapare.
In April, seven people died when coca leaf farmers and security forces
clashed in Chapare.
The Bolivian government hopes to wipe out 74,100 acres
of coca in Chapare by 2002.
Interior Minister Guido Nayar has accused the marchers of being funded by
drug traffickers.
But long before becoming part of a multibillion-dollar illegal drug
industry, coca leaves were part of Bolivian culture, often chewed to stave
off hunger or thirst and to give laborers energy. Coca leaf for traditional
uses is still legal in limited growing areas.
The United States bankrolled $47 million of Bolivia's anti-drug fight in
1997, but that figure was expected to fall in 1998.
The march on La Paz is the third such protest by coca growers in the past
four years. The previous two failed to produce an agreement with the
government over coca farmers' rights to grow their crop.
REUTERS
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Drug Test Department (Britain's 'New Musical Express'
Discusses The Interesting Ramifications Of Ecstasy Testing Kits
Being Sold In The UK By The Green Party That Detect The Presence
Of MDMA, MDA And MDEA In Ecstasy Tablats)
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 17:52:32 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: UK: Drug Test Department
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: shug@shug.co.uk
Pubdate: Tue, 11 Aug 1998
Source: New Musical Express
Contact 1: News Editor: mat_smith@ipc.co.uk
Contact 2: via 'Angst' section of website- bulletin board
Website: http://www.nme.com
DRUG TEST DEPARTMENT
Drug testing at Glastonbury? Sounds like an ideal job if not a little risky,
eh? However, now the Green Party has introduced the Ecstasy Kit to Britain
you needn't dabble with the unknown. Special report by Ralph Moore and Tommy
Udo.
Ecstasy Testing Kits (a chemical test to detect the presence of MDMA and its
cousins MDA and MDEA in ecstasy tablats) are now being sold in the UK by the
Green party.
The kits consist of a chemical reagent that determines the presence of MDMA
(Ecstasy) or amphetamine. In other words, if you buy an E the kit can tell
you, to a certain extent, what it's likely to do to you.
A good thing, you'd think? Not so, according to government- appointed drugs
tsar Keith Halliwell and his media cronies. They would obviously prefer that
you didn't take any E at all and will not broach any argument along the
lines of, 'the kids are gonna take it anyway so at least it's a good idea
that they might have some warning as to its effects'. In short, they want
the kits banned.
NME used the kits to test a variety of pills circulating around this year's
Glastonbury Festival. Taking a scraping from a pill stamped with a Nike
tick, the kit turned a pale yellow hue which indicated that no MDMA was
present at all. The second - a 'Mitsubishi' - turned purple, a sign that
MDMA was present. A second 'Nike' pill turned orangey-brown, suggesting that
it was amphetamine-based. Two other unmarked plus also turned an
orange-tinged colour. A test on a line of pure MDMA powder confirmed that
the kit was working correctly: the powder congealed with the liquid and
immediately turned a deep purple-black. Our tests proved, then, that four of
the five pills teeted at Glastonbury were speed rather than MDMA-based.
In Amsterdam a place known for is lenient policy towards drug use, kits have
been widely available for sometime. With the growth of the rave scene, drug
agencies such as the city's Safe House Project send workers to raves and
parties in the city and set up tables testing pills sold as ecstasy, giving
clubbers advice on what they contain and the risks involved.
Green Party spokesman Shane Collins explained their policy: "We saw what was
happening in Holland with the testing kits and thought it was a good idea to
let people get information. Also, because in Holland people knew what they
were buying, a lot of the really duff stuff started turning up here. The
main thing we're trying to get across is that people can make informed
choices. Information is power and we really want to empower people."
Release, the UK-based drugs advisory and campaigning body set up in the
late-60's to provide legal help to people arrested for possession as well as
providing medical advice to users, has had a tent at Glastonbury since the
festival's inception. Their spokesman Ciaran O'HYagan gave a cautious
welcome to the E-testing kits.
"I'd never been too sure about the whole E-testing argument but a recent
survey into dance culture found that 77 per cent of people said they wanted
pill-testing. Drug services up and down the country should be pushing for it.
"People are taking drugs! So let's make sure they're taking the right drugs.
That might sound a bit strange because people die from Ecstasy but the
numbers of people who die from Ecstasy am very small - we've got to bear
that in mind."
At the moment Release can only carry out drug tests at illegal raves and
parties because of the 1997 Public Entertainment Licenoes (Drug Misuse) Act,
a Private Member's Bill introduced by then Tory MP Barry Legg. Put simply,
any club where there is, in the view of the police. 'a drug problem' is
liable to have its licence revoked immediately by the local authority.
"I'm sure there are club owners who would like to have us in," said O'Hagan.
"But at the moment it isn't possible."
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police confirmed that, while the testing
kits were not illegal, anyone who tested a pill for a friend and gave it
back to them would technically be supplying them with a Class A drug and
could receive a jail sentence.
Meanwhile, at this year's Glastonbury. Avon & Somerset police made their
most concerted effort yet to wipe out drug use. They even had their own
computer-aided kit on site in an attempt to turn nound prosecutions more
quickly. By Friday evening of the festival they had arrested 60 people for
possession, as opposed to 30 in the same time last year. Five weeks before
the festival, the police made a sweep of known dealers in the area and
arrested over 250 people, seizing drugs with a street value of over £1million.
Inspector Keith Jones was dismissive of the high street kits, saying, "We'd
obviously warn against taking drugs in the first place. There's no quality
control in the production of drugs and to have a machine to test them is
very hit-and-miss. I would urge people not to use testers. Drugs kill people."
More recently, Keith Halliwell condemned the kits as a "money-making scheme"
that will encourage drug use.
However, backstage at Glastonbury, John Peel and Keith Alien were among
those expressing support for the kits.
"I'm a red wine man myself." Peel told 'NME'. "But people are going to take
these things anyway and if this kit can tell them that what they're taking
is not what they think they're taking it seems to me not unreasonable."
Keith Allen added: "It's bad news for the dealers but it's good news for
punters."
"We accept that there's a danger with MDMA," says Shane Collins. "But how
much of a danger is it compared to skiing or horse riding and do we really
want this big brother nanny state or do we want to make people aware of the
dangers and let them make up their own minds?" --- The Green Party Drugs
Group can be contacted on 0181 678 9420
to the 1998 Daily News index for August 6-12