-------------------------------------------------------------------

MBA-Toting Cocaine Dealer Sentenced To Prison ('The Associated Press'
Says Michael F. Hipps, Dealer To Portland's Upper Crust, Was Sentenced Monday
To 16 Months In Prison - David B. Peters, A Former Multnomah County
Deputy District Attorney, Was The Only One Prosecuted Among Those
Named In Hipps' Address Books, But So Far 11 Others Involved In Distributing
The Cocaine Have Been Prosecuted - The Man Who Sold Hipps The Business
Allegedly Told Him He Had Been Paying Police For Protection And Hipps
Would Have To Do The Same)

Associated Press
found at:
http://www.oregonlive.com/
feedback (letters to the editor):
feedback@thewire.ap.org

The Associated Press
8/18/98 6:07 PM

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- A management consultant who made cocaine deals in a
grocery store parking lot in the city's fashionable West Hills has been
sentenced to 16 months in prison.

Michael F. Hipps' clientele included "Portland's upper crust," police said
when they arrested him last June.

Hipps, 48, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to deliver and possess significant
quantities of cocaine. In exchange, prosecutors dropped 10 counts of drug
delivery and possession.

"I was caught up in the drug culture and developed an addiction to cocaine,"
Hipps said in a letter Monday to Multnomah County Circuit Judge Julie
Frantz. "There is no excuse for what I did, but I truly am sorry."

A black book found in Hipps' home last June contained names "in the medical
profession" and people who worked out at the private Multnomah Athletic
Club, police said.

But it appeared that David B. Peters, a former Multnomah County deputy
district attorney, was the only one prosecuted among those named in the
address books. Peters pleaded guilty to a violation and was fined $100.

However, based on Hipps' cooperation, a Washington County couple was sent to
jail for supplying him with drugs. And a federal grand jury last month
indicted a California couple who allegedly sold Hipps his drug business.

Adam Wylie, 33, was sentenced last month to 13 months in prison for running
Hipps' cocaine business while Hipps was out of town. And two men who bought
drugs police had Wylie under surveillance completed drug diversion and had
the charges removed from their records.

So far, at least 11 people, including Hipps, have been prosecuted.

Hipps, who has a master's in business administration, allegedly purchased
his cocaine business in late 1994 from Wayne David Oppenheimer, 36,
according to a federal indictment handed down July 15.

The indictment states that Oppenheimer was a street-level cocaine dealer in
Portland from the mid-1980s until 1994.

He allegedly sold his the drug business to Hipps before moving to Napa,
Calif., and later schemed to rip him off.

Oppenheimer allegedly told Hipps he had been paying police for protection
and Hipps would have to do the same. But Oppenheimer kept the $27,000 Hipps
gave him for police payoffs, and extorted another $28,500 from Hipps in
"summer bonuses" and hush money, the indictment said.

The indictment also charges Oppenheimer's wife, Pamela Cosper Oppenheimer,
and Archie Lanning Blanks Jr., 41, a Portland resident, with helping
Oppenheimer to execute the bogus payoff scheme.

(c)1998 Oregon Live LLC

Copyright 1997 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not
be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Cocaine Dealer To Upscale Portlanders Gets Prison ('The Oregonian' Version
Doesn't Say Why Or By Whom The Allegation About Payoffs To Portland Police
Was Deemed False)

The Oregonian
letters to editor:
letters@news.oregonian.com
1320 SW Broadway
Portland, OR 97201
Web: http://www.oregonlive.com/

Cocaine dealer to upscale Portlanders gets prison

* A judge sentences Michael F. Hipps to 16 months as authorities continue
their investigation of the case

Tuesday, August 18 1998

By David R. Anderson
and Ashbel S. Green
of The Oregonian staff

A West Hills cocaine dealer who sold drugs to affluent customers was
sentenced Monday to 16 months in prison.

Michael F. Hipps, 48, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to deliver and possess
significant quantities of cocaine. In exchange, prosecutors dropped 10
counts of drug delivery and possession against Hipps.

Although authorities have been reluctant to say how much Hipps has
cooperated, documents show that he led police to his suppliers.

"I fully cooperated with the police and provided them with significant
information," Hipps wrote in a letter Monday to Multnomah County Circuit
Judge Julie Frantz.

Based on his cooperation, police arrested a Washington County couple who
pleaded guilty earlier this year to supplying Hipps with drugs. And a
federal grand jury has indicted a California couple who allegedly sold Hipps
the drug business and later extorted money from him.

So far, at least 11 people, including Hipps, have been prosecuted. But
apparently only David B. Peters, a former Multnomah County deputy district
attorney, was a customer whose name police got from address books Hipps kept
on his clients.

Peters pleaded guilty Nov. 24 to a violation and was fined $100. He was
forced to resign from the district attorney's office and now works as a
defense attorney.

Associates sentenced

Adam Wylie, 33, was sentenced last month to 13 months in prison for running
Hipps' cocaine business while Hipps was out of town. Wylie and Hipps pleaded
guilty in December to conspiracy to distribute and possess cocaine.

Shawnee Rain Arbogast and Fidel Adolfo Cortez-Hernandez, both 26, pleaded
guilty to drug charges in Washington County Circuit Court. They supplied
cocaine to Hipps, said Don Rees, a Multnomah County deputy district
attorney. Arbogast was sentenced to five years' probation in March, and
Cortez-Hernandez was sentenced to 22 months in prison in January.

Another associate of the two, Alvaro Honorio Solano-Cortez, pleaded guilty
in May to distribution of a controlled substance and was sentenced to 90
days in jail.

Hipps allegedly bought his cocaine business in late 1994 from Wayne David
Oppenheimer, 36, according to a federal indictment handed down July 15.

The indictment states that Oppenheimer was a street-level cocaine dealer in
Portland from the mid-1980s until 1994. He later moved to Napa, Calif.

The indictment did not specify how much Hipps paid for the cocaine but said
he paid for it with drug profits.

Even after allegedly selling the business to Hipps, Oppenheimer continued
acting as a middleman for a few months, buying cocaine from his source and
selling it to Hipps, the indictment says.

Conspiracy for ripoff

But Oppenheimer also planned to rip off Hipps, according to the indictment.
He told Hipps that he had been paying off Portland law enforcement officials
for protection and that Hipps would have to do the same. But Oppenheimer's
claim was false, and the money -- 54 money orders totaling $27,000 --
instead went to him, according to the indictment.

Oppenheimer also extorted another $28,500 from Hipps in "summer bonuses" and
hush money, the indictment said.

The indictment also charges Oppenheimer's wife, Pamela Cosper Oppenheimer,
and Archie Lanning Blanks Jr., 41, a Portland resident, with helping
Oppenheimer to execute the bogus payoff scheme.

The 31-count indictment includes one count of conspiracy, 14 counts of mail
fraud, 13 counts of money laundering, one count of conspiracy to distribute
and possess cocaine with intent to distribute it, and two counts of criminal
forfeiture.

The Oppenheimers face all 31 charges. Blanks faces conspiracy, mail fraud
and money laundering charges.

In addition, Portland police arrested two men who bought drugs while police
had Wylie under surveillance. The men completed drug diversion and had the
charges removed from their records.

Hipps, who has a master's degree in business administration, worked as a
management consultant. He apologized in his letter.

"I was caught up in the drug culture and developed an addiction to cocaine.
There is no excuse for what I did, but I truly am sorry," he said.

Rees said the investigation continues.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Eight Die From Pills Prescribed Under Oregon's Assisted-Suicide Law
(An 'Associated Press' Update On Those To Date Who Have Used
The State's Unique Law Established By Voters)

Associated Press
found at:
http://www.oregonlive.com/
feedback (letters to the editor):
feedback@thewire.ap.org

8/18/98 6:41 PM

By WILLIAM McCALL

Associated Press Writer

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Eight people have died with help from their doctors
under the nation's only assisted-suicide law, which so far has withstood
challenges in federal courts and opposition from the Roman Catholic Church,
the American Medical Association and Congress.

The Oregon Health Division released its first official figures Tuesday on
deaths under the law, first approved by Oregon voters in 1994 and reaffirmed
by voters last November. Unknown to voters, the law went into effect the
month before after a long federal court battle.

Ten terminally ill people obtained lethal prescriptions from their
physicians under the Oregon law, but two died from their illnesses without
resorting to the drugs, said Dr. Katrina Hedberg, an epidemiologist with the
division.

"We found that two people chose not to take their medication even though
they had it," Hedberg said.

The law allows a doctor to prescribe a lethal dose of medication to hasten
the death of a terminally ill patient. It sets up several safeguards to make
sure the patient is sane, has less than six months to live, has a terminal
diagnosis and is not forced to ingest the lethal medication. The patient
must request the drugs verbally and in writing.

The assisted-suicide law required the Health Division to set up a reporting
system for physicians and to publish an annual statistical report, but it
does not act as a regulatory agency, she said.

The state waited until it had recorded 10 deaths under the law before
announcing them as a way of protecting the privacy of patients and their
families, Hedberg said

Otherwise, "it would have been too easy to identify an individual," she said.

Barbara Coombs Lee, who led the Oregon campaign for the law, welcomed the
statistics, saying they showed that "dire predictions" of botched suicides
and lingering deaths have proved false.

"This report clearly shows that the fears of our opponents were unfounded
and designed to scare Oregonians," said Coombs Lee, who is executive
director of Compassion in Dying.

But a spokesman for the Catholic Church called the announcement "tragic" and
accused the nine doctors involved of killing their patients "in violation of
medical ethics."

"I'm terribly saddened," said Bob Castagna, executive director of the Oregon
Catholic Conference. "We pray for the souls of the deceased. We also pray
for the physicians and others who assisted in these suicides that they may
reconsider their professional ethics."

The leader of a group of doctors opposed to assisted suicide said the
announcement "devalues and stigmatizes everyone labeled as terminally ill."

Dr. N. Gregory Hamilton, president of Physicians for Compassionate Care,
urged increased efforts to improve end-of-life care for patients suffering
from a terminal disease.

Castagna said the Oregon Catholic Conference would urge Congress "to act
expeditiously to pass legislation to confirm a national standard to prohibit
physician assisted suicide."

A bill introduced by U.S. Sen. Don Nickles, R-Okla., could block the Oregon
law by prohibiting doctors from prescribing "controlled substances" --
dangerous narcotics and barbiturates regulated by the federal government --
for the purpose of assisting suicide.

The bill, which is being considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee, is
supported by committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, but Attorney General
Janet Reno ruled in June that the federal Controlled Substances Act did not
override Oregon law.

But Barbara Oskamp of West Linn, who has been diagnosed with a brain tumor,
said she wishes the church would stop meddling with a law she said brings
her a sense of comfort and relief.

"I don't like it when religion tries to forces its viewpoint on me," Oskamp
said. "This law has brought me a great sense of relief and a feeling that I
can control my life."

Coombs Lee noted that the average age of the 10 people who requested lethal
prescriptions was 71, and nine were dying of cancer. One suffered from heart
problems.

"All of them were older patients facing difficult deaths," Coombs Lee said.
"People are aware of the extraordinary debilitation and deterioration
awaiting them."

She said that nearly 24,000 deaths have been reported in Oregon since the
law was reaffirmed by voters last year, and the eight assisted suicides
under the law account for less than 0.03 percent of the total deaths.

"This is an extremely small number," Coombs Lee said.

The state report said the 10 people who were given lethal prescriptions was
evenly divided between men and women, and half were from the Portland area.

The report said the number of days between obtaining the lethal drugs and
taking them ranged from the same day to 16 days with an average of two days.
The average time of death was 40 minutes after taking the drugs.

The two who died of their illnesses lived an average of 10.5 days after
obtaining the drugs.

In March, two people died under the state's law. A third person was reported
to have died under the law in May. And in June, a Salem onocologist, Dr.
Peter Rasmussen, said he had helped a terminally ill patient die.

Few details of the deaths were released.

In one of the March cases, a grandmother in her mid-80s battling breast
cancer sought assistance from Compassion in Dying, an advocacy organization.
A day after she died, the group released a tape recording the woman made
before she died.

U.S. District Judge Michael Hogan in Eugene ruled the law unconstitutional
in 1995, but the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the decision
last year and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal.

Advocates of the Oregon law said in April that 42 people had requested
physician-assisted suicide since the law took effect, but that many were not
terminally ill or were not residents of Oregon.

Others later changed their minds and opted for hospice care.

(c)1998 Oregon Live LLC

Copyright 1997 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not
be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

10 Get Drugs Under Oregon Suicide Law ('The Oregonian' Account
Of The First Report Issued Tuesday By The Oregon Health Division
Notes Two Patients At One Point Wanted To Use The Law But Chose Not To)

The Oregonian
letters to editor:
letters@news.oregonian.com
1320 SW Broadway
Portland, OR 97201
Web: http://www.oregonlive.com/

Aug. 19, 1998

10 get drugs under Oregon suicide law

* The state's first report on the effects of legalizing assisted suicide
finds eight of the patients used the drugs to die

Wednesday, August 19 1998

By Erin Hoover Barnett
of The Oregonian staff

Ten Oregonians -- five men and five women -- have obtained lethal
prescriptions since the state's physician-assisted suicide law went into
effect nearly 10 months ago. Eight used the medication to die. The other two
died of their illnesses, the Oregon Health Division reported Tuesday.

The Health Division's much-anticipated report is the first official public
accounting of what the practice of assisted suicide looks like in Oregon,
the only state in which it is legal. Still, medical leaders urged caution
about drawing too many conclusions from such a small sample.

In order to protect the confidentiality of individual patients, the Health
Division waited until it had a "critical mass" of assisted suicide cases.
But the state agency, charged with collecting information on compliance with
the law, decided not to wait until 10 people had actually used the
prescriptions to die.

"There are people who get these prescriptions and don't use them," said Dr.
Katrina Hedberg, deputy state epidemiologist with the Health Division.
"That's why we wanted to release the information this way. Not everyone who
is getting these prescriptions actually takes the medication."

Nine primary physicians wrote the prescriptions for the 10 patients, the
report said. That fact appears to contradict predictions by opponents that
one or two physicians would become "death doctors," Hedberg noted.

All patients received medical evaluations by a second doctor to confirm a
terminal illness prognosis and all complied with a mandated 15-day waiting
period between first and second requests for a lethal prescription, the
report said.

Five of the deaths were in the Portland area, Hedberg said, with the other
five spread throughout the state. Of the 10 who died, all were Oregon
residents; their average age was 71. One had heart disease; the others had
cancer.

Of those taking lethal medications, the number of days between getting the
prescription and death ranged from the same day to 16 days, for an average
of two days. The two patients who obtained a prescription but didn't use it
died of their illnesses an average of 10.5 days after the prescription was
written.

Dr. Nancy Crumpacker, a Tualatin oncologist, said she thinks two of her
cancer patients were included in the report as the two who died before using
the medication. She said a Health Division official interviewed her about
both cases after the patients died from their illnesses.

Crumpacker said the pain of both patients was well controlled. She said one
of the patients, a woman, wanted the prescription as a way out if she became
ill enough to have to go to a nursing home. The woman had hospice care and
never decided to use the drugs. The woman was referred to Crumpacker for
evaluation to obtain a lethal prescription. The other patient, a man, told
Crumpacker he would use the prescription rather than going back into the
hospital, where he felt he would be unable to enjoy his family. The man was
Crumpacker's patient for 11/2 years.

A hot-button issue among opponents during the campaign to repeal the
assisted suicide law last fall was the notion that some patients would die
lingering, painful deaths and might vomit the medication.

Hedberg said that of the eight deaths by lethal medication, none reportedly
suffered complications. It took patients an average of 40 minutes to die. In
one exceptional case, it took seven hours. However, that patient was
unconscious and "in no pain or distress or anything like that," Hedberg
said. All of the patients fell unconscious within 20 minutes of taking the
medication, she said, with an average lapse of five minutes.

Hedberg said relatively few people appear to be using assisted suicide. By
point of comparison, in a comparable nine-month period in 1996, the most
recent year for which firm figures are available, 20,931 people died from a
variety of causes in Oregon, 5,706 of them from heart disease and 5,104 from
cancer.

To comply with the Oregon law, a doctor must submit forms to the Health
Division indicating that each of the law's safeguards has been met and that
the prescription was written. The Health Division then matches death
certificates with the paperwork. If the death certificate does not clarify
whether the patient used a prescription to die, the Health Division calls
the doctor to check.

If the Health Division hears of assisted suicide cases that have not been
reported, officials attempt to follow up with doctors. The state Board of
Medical Examiners would investigate complaints of doctors who might not have
followed the law. So far, no doctors have been disciplined for noncompliance.

Hedberg said that in their paperwork and in interviews she and a Health
Division colleague completed with some of the physicians, she has found that
doctors have been cautious and detailed in their approach to patients using
the law.

The Health Division is conducting in-depth interviews with doctors of
patients who have obtained lethal prescriptions under the law. A report of
all 1998 assisted suicide deaths, to be released in early 1999, will include
a summary of the interviews.

Dr. Patrick Dunn, chairman of the Task Force to Improve the Care of
Terminally-Ill Oregonians, which wrote an ethics guide to the law, said,
"The numbers of patients and physicians who are participating would appear
to be relatively low."

He cautioned: "This should be viewed as very early, that we need to be very
cautious, that we need to try to understand what it is that drives patients
to this decision-making. Is it because of inherent values or are there unmet
needs?"

Arthur Caplan, director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of
Pennsylvania, said he was "shocked" that it took so long for 10 people to
use the law. "I would have thought many more would pursue this option. It's
fascinating. It does not represent a groundswell of people rushing to
physician-assisted suicide."

Caplan, a nationally known ethicist, said he thinks the relatively small
number of deaths indicates that there have been improvements in end-of-life
care in Oregon.

He said he thinks the Health Division could reveal more information without
jeopardizing patient privacy.

"I understand the concern about privacy and I respect it," he said. "No one
has to make their dying into a case study for policy examination." However,
he said, the information released by the Health Division raises as many
questions as it answers.

The ethicist said he would like information to include, for example:

* Discussions between doctors and patients, what kinds of medical
alternatives were offered, who else was present during discussions, whether
spiritual advisers were involved.

* Confirmation of the patient's terminal illness, whether it was confirmed
after death by an autopsy and, in cases of cancer, what kind of cancer was
involved.

* Whether patients had spouses, friends or other emotional support.

Assisted suicide opponents expressed sadness and skepticism about the Health
Division's report.

"Today's news confirms the tragic path on which the practice of medicine and
the doctor-patient relationship is headed in Oregon and the United States,"
said the Oregon Catholic Conference, calling assisted suicide a "violation
of medical ethics."

The conference called on doctors "to reassert their commitment to
compassionate care through a ministry of comfort care including pain
control, hospice care, spiritual and supportive care of the dying and their
loved ones."

Dr. Gregory Hamilton, president of Physicians for Compassionate Care, said
the information the state collects doesn't protect patients because it is
"what the doctors involved chose to report, and there is no punishment
or fine for doctors who do not report.

"All we can tell from the report . . . is that some individuals are having
their lives devalued and stigmatized by the state of Oregon -- with lethal
consequences," Hamilton said.

Supporters of the law called a news conference Tuesday to herald their view
that the report speaks favorably of how assisted suicide is being handled.

"This just verifies how extraordinarily rare it is in Oregon for someone to
assist their death under the Oregon Death With Dignity Act," said Barbara
Coombs Lee, who co-wrote the law and now leads the group Compassion in
Dying. "Now we have some evidence that, in fact, it really is proceeding in
a very conscientious and a very moderated and rational way in Oregon."

Lee said Compassion in Dying assisted two of the eight patients in the
Health Division report who obtained and used lethal drugs to die. Compassion
announced the first case, a woman in her 80s with breast cancer, publicly in
March. The second family requested total privacy.

Lee said her organization has had 200 inquiries about assisted suicide since
the law went into effect, 50 from patients. She said 25 of those patients
were eligible under the law. In addition to the two who used lethal
medication to die, eight of the 25 had either begun or completed the process
to obtain a prescription but died of their illnesses instead. Fifteen of the
patients are in the process of obtaining a prescription.

The Hemlock Society has also worked with patients interested in pursuing
assisted suicide and has acknowledged counseling and finding a doctor for
one patient who completed the act.

In recent weeks, leading Republicans in Congress have sought to prohibit
doctors from prescribing lethal doses of regulated drugs to terminally ill
patients.

In the House, a bill introduced June 5 by Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., has
passed the Judiciary Committee, which Hyde chairs. It could go to the House
floor for a vote after a review by the Commerce Committee that must be
completed by Sept. 18.

In the Senate, a companion bill offered by Assistant Majority Leader Don
Nickles, R-Okla., awaits review by the Judiciary Committee. A vote has not
been scheduled.

In a report accompanying Hyde's bill, the Judiciary Committee instructs the
federal Drug Enforcement Administration to review regularly -- "on at least a
quarterly basis" - the very reports that the Oregon Health Division used to
release its information Tuesday.

Those records, along with doctors' records, are subject to subpoena and
"will indicate unequivocally" whether a doctor has broken the law by
prescribing controlled substances such as narcotics to assist in a suicide,
the report says.

Once the DEA determines that a doctor participated in a suicide, it could
strip the doctor of privileges to prescribe federally controlled drugs
"without need for further investigation."

The Clinton administration opposes doctor-assisted suicide in principle but
officials have opposed the Hyde and Nickles bills, calling them flawed.

Administration officials also have said the bills would divert the DEA's
attention and sap resources from the agency's primary mission, stopping
illegal trafficking of drugs.

Patrick O'Neill and Jim Barnett of The Oregonian staff contributed to this
report.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Initiative 692 Goes Beyond Partisan Politics (An Op-Ed In The Olympia,
Washington, 'Daily Olympian' By A Thurston County Democratic Party Official
Urges Voters To Support The Medical Marijuana Initiative
Sponsored By Washington Citizens For Medical Rights)

From: "Bob Owen" (when@olywa.net)
To: "-Hemp Talk" (hemp-talk@hemp.net)
Subject: HT: Daily O - Pro and Con approve I-692
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1998 22:15:31 -0700
Sender: owner-hemp-talk@hemp.net

This is a three-fer in the 8/18/98 Daily Olympian. The first, by our
Democrat says "Support I-692," The second, by our Republican, is rather
condescending and says marijuana is bad, but not to oppose I-692. The last
letter says "Marijuana busts are a waste of time." Bob_O

***

PRO: Initiative 692 goes beyond partisan politics

* HUMANE: The key point is that the initiative would help decrease
suffering.

In about 60 days, the voters of the state of Washington can do something to
relieve pain and suffering - they can vote yes in support of the medical
marijuana Initiative 692. This should not be a left or right issue. The
pain and suffering from glaucoma, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, AIDS, cancer
and other illnesses is shared, by all Democrats, Republicans and
Independents.

Initiative 692 gathered more than 260,000 signatures and is the work of
Dr... Rob Killian, who runs a health clinic in Tacoma. He sponsored a
similar initiative last year, and only Island County voted for it. That
initiative was overly broad and would have decriminalized some drugs and
freed some criminals from prison. The state Senate worked briefly on the
issue this spring, but SB 6271 died, so sponsors had to use the initiative
to get action.

Narrower focus

The flaws in the last initiative have been corrected. The new initiative is
modeled after SB 6271 which was sponsored by 6271, which was sponsored by
Sens. Jeanne Kohl, D-Seattle, and Bob McCaslin, R-Spokane. Initiative 692
is limited and focuses on medical needs. It allows the medical use of
marijuana for a limited number of specific medical conditions for which
there is. scientific evidence that marijuana works. Physicians must advise
patients that medical marijuana could be beneficial.

Other safeguards are built in. Limits are place on the amount of marijuana
that a patient can possess. Parental consent is required for patients under
18. It cannot be used at work or while driving. Other drugs are not
impacted nor are laws covering the nonmedical use of marijuana. Patients
with terminal or debilitating illnesses who grow and use marijuana with the
consent of a physician would be protected from prosecution. Protections
also apply to physicians who recommend marijuana and to the people who act
as primary caregivers for patients.

It appears that the use of marijuana as a painkiller has been around for
centuries, but the doctors of 1998 cannot prescribe it. This is in spite of
more than 75 studies and research articles published in peer-reviewed
medical journals that have demonstrated the therapeutic value of marijuana.

High level of support

In 1995, the oldest and largest association of public health professionals
in the world, the American Public Health Association, urged lawmakers to
make marijuana legally available as a therapeutic agent. In 1990, more than
half of the cancer specialists surveyed said they favor the controlled
medical availability of marijuana. Forty-four percent said they had
suggested obtaining marijuana illegally for a patient at least once.

Polling data show a high level of public support. Thirty-six states have
pissed legislation supporting the therapeutic potential of marijuana.

Speaking in support of the marijuana legislation, Sens. Kohl and McCaslin
said, "As one of us is a Seattle Democrat and the other is a Spokane
Republican, we frequently differ on legislation before the Senate. However,
illness and suffering are not partisan issues. We are united...."

We should be united in support of this humanitarian Initiative 692.

Walt Bowen is a longtime Thurston County political advocate and former
chairman of the Thurston County Democratic Party.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

'War On Drugs' Should Not Include Medicinal Pot Use (An Op-Ed
In 'The Daily Olympian' By A More Conservative And Ignorant Representative
Of The Evergreen Freedom Foundation Says Initiative 692 Is Being Backed
By 'Billionaire Socialist' George Soros, But Nevertheless The War On Drugs
Should Not Be Waged Against Medical Marijuana Patients)

From: "Bob Owen" (when@olywa.net)
To: "-Hemp Talk" (hemp-talk@hemp.net)
Subject: HT: Daily O - Pro and Con approve I-692
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1998 22:15:31 -0700
Sender: owner-hemp-talk@hemp.net

CON? - 'War on drugs' should not include medicinal pot use

* 1-692: The Washington initiative would allow use of marijuana by
prescription only.

Early this year, as I approached the entryway of a local grocery store, two
scruffy-looking youngsters stopped me on my way in. At first I thought for
sure that the two were down on their luck and needed money for food and soap
for a thorough (and badly needed) washing. Instead, however, the catatonic
pair asked if I would sign Initiative 692, the "medicinal marijuana"
initiative.

Perhaps I'm a bit cynical, but judging from the appearance of the signature
gatherers for I-692, medicinal purposes were not what they had in mind.
Nevertheless, 1-692 would legalize marijuana only for patients suffering
from a terminal illness or certain other debilitating conditions.

Prescription required

Patients would have to get a prescription from their doctor to use the drug,
and possession amounts would be limited to 60 doses. Patient caregivers
would be permitted to assist patients with the administration of the drug.
All other laws against the recreational use and distribution of the drug
would remain in force.

And these are precisely the points I-692 advocates are hoping you'll
remember.

Proponents are emphasizing the limited scope of this initiative. They
eagerly point out that it does not reform (loosen) drug laws the way the
last "medicinal marijuana" initiative would have. Advocates of marijuana
legalization have learned that their ultimate goals of loosening societal
mores against drug use and liberalizing drug laws do not sit well with the
majority of voters in Washington state.

Just because some of those supporting the legalization of marijuana as a
painkiller for the severely afflicted also support the legalization of
recreational drug use, however, does not necessarily mean I-692 should be
opposed. Authorizing the use of a drug in specific circumstances does not
necessarily start society, down the slippery slope toward libertarian drug
laws. For example, although morphine is legal for doctors to prescribe, its
recreational use is prohibited. Also, steroids can be legally prescribed by
a doctor but are illegal for recreational abuse.

At doctor's discretion

Doctors disagree as to whether marijuana can be used effectively as
medicine; the majority of doctors, it seems, dismiss the "medicinal" value
of marijuana. Yet, in the case of I-692 where use is legalized only for
patients in specific conditions, it seems reasonable to permit doctors to
use their discretion as to which drug would best alleviate their patient's
pain. If experience proves that doctors' prescriptions for the drug are too
readily abused, we could reverse the law through our legislature or the
initiative process.

The major forces behind 1-692, such as billionaire socialist (anyone else
see the irony there?) George Soros, are not likely to be satisfied with the
legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes. But voters should be wary
of any future attempts to legalize recreational drug use. Society already
has a great deal of difficulty dealing with the effects of one legal,
mind-altering drug (alcohol). More to contend with may prove too costly.

The "War on Drugs" is not waged on prescriptions for aspirin, penicillin or
morphine. Neither should it be waged on marijuana used for medicinal
purposes.

David Boze is a research analyst with the Evergreen Freedom Foundation.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Marijuana Busts Are Waste Of Time (A Letter To The Editor
Of 'The Daily Olympian' Says Prohibition Agents Should Target
Harder Drugs Instead)

From: "Bob Owen" (when@olywa.net)
To: "-Hemp Talk" (hemp-talk@hemp.net)
Subject: HT: Daily O - Pro and Con approve I-692
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1998 22:15:31 -0700
Sender: owner-hemp-talk@hemp.net

LTE - Daily Olympian 8/18/98
Marijuana busts, are waste of time

This letter is prompted by a recent article about marijuana.

It seems to me that something needs to change in the way law enforcement
agencies approach drug use in America.

There is too much time, money, and energy being spent and wasted on
eliminating the source, despite the futility of eventually finding the
grower.

Officials are not even able to gauge the impact of the limited marijuana
seizures because of the plentiful supply available. This is after spending
months and thousands of man hours of undercover operations and inevitably
pursuing various dead-end leads.

Capt... Jim Chamberlain doubts that marijuana use would cease even if every
growth operation in Thurston County was halted. Yet, law enforcement is
perfectly willing to pursue this futile cause in the same manner that they
have been since the Prohibition era in the '20s. They attack the source
rather than the desire.

Drug enforcement officials are dedicating too much time to the eradication
of marijuana use, as opposed to spending that time pursuing more harmful
drugs such as heroin and methamphetamine.

I believe that these officials who admit the trivial impacts of their
endless efforts need to prioritize their efforts toward fighting drug use.

They say marijuana is a gateway drug. They are concerned that its use,
especially by teenagers, might eventually lead to the use of the more
harmful drugs.

If marijuana is a gateway drug, what do you suppose is the gateway to
marijuana use?

My guess would be alcohol and tobacco, drugs readily available in every
supermarket and gas station.

Forest Payne/Olympia

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Ex-Customs Agent Gets Maximum In Drug Case ('The San Antonio News-Express'
Says Former US Customs Agent Timothy Wade Davis Was Sentenced
To 71 Months In Federal Prison Monday In Texas For Possession With Intent
To Distribute Marijuana)

Date: Wed, 19 Aug 1998 14:17:35 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US TX: Ex-Customs Agent Gets Maximum In Drug Case
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: adbryan@onramp.net
Source: San Antonio News-Express
Contact: letters@express-news.net
Website: http://www.expressnews.com/
Pubdate: 18 Aug 1998
Author: John MacCormack Express-News Staff Writer

EX-CUSTOMS AGENT GETS MAXIMUM IN DRUG CASE

Former U.S. Customs agent Timothy Wade Davis, 38, has been sentenced to 71
months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute marijuana.

Davis was handed the maximum sentence Monday in Del Rio by U.S. Judge Fred
Biery.

"The tenor of the sentencing was that he will not tolerate this from anyone
in law enforcement, in Eagle Pass or elsewhere," said Bill Reid, an
assistant U.S. attorney in Del Rio.

Davis was arrested in November 1997 in Eagle Pass in possession of 785
pounds of marijuana and a replica U.S. Customs badge. Authorities believe
he used the fake badge to aid him in smuggling drugs.

Davis worked with a canine inspection unit in Eagle Pass from 1991 to 1996,
when he retired due to a disability.

"He was involved with numerous co-conspirators in the Eagle Pass area, some
of whom pled guilty in this case, and some of whom pled guilty in related
cases," Reid said.

"He was a bad apple. He was telling the drug organizations with which he
dealt about the workings of the port of entry and how to avoid the
drug-sniffing dogs," Reid said.

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The Mayor's Crusade Against Methadone (A Staff Editorial
In 'The New York Times' Says Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's Moralistic Initiative
To Deprive Heroin Addicts Of Methadone, Introduced Without Public Debate
Or Discussion, Will Harm Addicts Without Reducing The Scourge Of Heroin Use
In New York City)

From: Holly Catania (HCatania@sorosny.org)
To: TLC-LARGE (TLCL@sorosny.org))
Subject: NY Times editorial on methadone
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1998 10:10:00 -0400
Sender: owner-tlc-activist@server.soros.org

Tuesday, August 18, 1998
The New York Times

Editorial: The Mayor's Crusade Against Methadone
AUGUST 18 1998

Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's drive against methadone maintenance programs for
heroin addicts ignores the most authoritative medical advice and could lead
to more suffering among those struggling to control their addiction. The
Giuliani administration cannot shut down most of the 36,000 state and
federally funded methadone treatment slots in New York City. But Mr.
Giuliani says he will end methadone maintenance for the limited population
that he can directly control - the roughly 2,000 people in public hospitals
who receive the treatment.

The new policy may also be applied to addicted inmates in city jails.

Mayor Giuliani considers abstinence the more morally acceptable approach to
curing addiction. He argues that methadone should be used, if at all, for no
more than a few months, and then only as part of an abstinence program.
Abstinence is a worthy goal, but medical experts say that methadone-to-
abstinence does not work for many heroin addicts. They often need to take
methadone for years at a time. Most scientists in the field consider
methadone to be a medical treatment for heroin addiction, not a substitute
dependency, as Mr. Giuliani insists.

Methadone does not generate the euphoria of an opiate but reduces
withdrawal symptoms and blunts an addict's craving for heroin. Addicts
in methadone maintenance programs have shown decreased drug use,
lower crime rates, better social functioning and reduced likelihood of
transmitting the AIDS and hepatitis viruses through needle-sharing.

These outcomes have caused scientific panels convened by both the
National Institutes of Health and the Institute of Medicine at the
National Academy of Sciences to recommend expanding access to
methadone maintenance treatment around the country. A review this year
by the Federal Government's General Accounting Office concluded that
"research provides strong evidence to support methadone maintenance as the
most effective treatment for heroin addiction."

In addition, Gen. Barry McCaffrey, the nation's top official on drug policy,
objecting to Mayor Giuliani's arguments, has said that methadone
maintenance therapy should be made more widely available.

If Mr. Giuliani thinks he knows better, he should sponsor a small-scale
test to show that heroin addicts can be moved quickly to abstinence.
His moralistic opposition to methadone maintenance, introduced without
public debate or discussion, could deprive many addicts of the medication
they need to remain heroin-free - without helping to reduce the scourge of
heroin use in New York City.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Planned Hemp Facility A First (According To 'The Winnipeg Free Press,'
Douglas Campbell, General Manager Of Consolidated Growers And Processors
Of Canada Ltd., Said The Company Will Announce By November The Site
In Rural Manitoba Of A New $6 Million Hemp Processing Plant
Expected To Create About 30 Jobs When It Opens, By July 1999)

Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1998 18:00:29 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: Canada: Canadian Hemp Facility A First
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Joe Hickey (agfuture@kih.net)
Pubdate: Tue, 18 Aug 1998
Source: Winnipeg Free Press (Canada)
Section: Business
Contact: letters@freepress.mb.ca
Website: http://www.mbnet.mb.ca/freepress/
Author: David Kuxhaus, Legislature Reporter

PLANNED HEMP FACILITY A FIRST

$6-M Plant Expected To Create About 30 Jobs, Open Doors By July '99

A $6-MILLION hemp processing plant will be up and running in rural Manitoba
by next July. Douglas Campbell, general manager of Consolidated Growers and
Processors of Canada Ltd., said the company has harrowed it down to three
or four locations in rural Manitoba, and will announce its choice by
November. The new plant will be 112,000 sq. ft. and employ about 30 people.
Campbell could not say how much the jobs will pay, although he said about
two-thirds of them will be low-tech positions. Campbell said it would be
premature to discuss details concerning the financing of the project.

He said at this point, no government money is involved.

But that could change, he added. "Obviously if we are eligible for
(government) programs we want to look at that." he noted. CGP is made up of
a group of North American and European investors. The federal government
lifted the ban on growing hemp in March. Production was prohibited in 1938
because hemp is a member of the cannabis family and contains the substance
THC which gives pot smokers their high. The potential uses of the plant are
broad, ranging from clothing to plastics. Hemp oil can be used in cooking
or for burning in automobile engines. Campbell said the Manitoba facility
will produce fibre for insulation and paper-making. "The intention would be
to run three shifts with one processing line," he added. The new Manitoba
plant is part of a larger plan which will see three to four facilities
built in Western Canada over the next couple of years. Campbell said they
would like to branch out into secondary processing. "All of our facilities
are being designed for future expansion to produce value-added products,"
said Campbell. He said CPG chose Manitoba as the site for their first plant
because there isn't enough hemp being grown in other western provinces to
justify a facility. CGP's main objective right now is to get farmers
interested in growing the plant, Campbell said, adding that because of the
sooner-than-anticipated lifting of the ban, only 1,200 acres of hemp were
planted in Manitoba this year. "Many growers did not receive adequate
notice," he noted. CGP has contracts with about 30 growers in the province.

The first fibre crop was harvested last week in La Riviere. Campbell said
the remaining crops should be in by the end of September or early October.
The fibre will be stored over the winter and processed in July. Campbell
said that involves separating the inner fibre from the outer fibre. "It's
like peeling the skin off a banana," he explained. Agricultural Minister
Harry Enns said having a processing plant in Manitoba will help convince
farmers that hemp is a viable alternative. "This sends a very strong signal
to farmers," said Enns. Campbell said farmers could gross in excess of $400
per acre.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Halifax Should Profit From Busts - Councillor ('The Halifax Daily News'
Says Albro Lake Councillor Clint Schofield, A Member
Of The City Police Commission In Halifax, Nova Scotia,
Wants The Province To Share Its Proceeds-Of-Crime Account
With Municipalities, Since They Pay For Law Enforcement)

From: creator@islandnet.com (Matt Elrod)
To: mattalk@listserv.islandnet.com
Subject: Canada: Halifax should profit from busts - councillor
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1998 09:12:16 -0700
Lines: 54
Newshawk: creator@mapinc.org
Source: Halifax Daily News
Contact: letterstoeditor@hfxnews.southam.ca
Pubdate: Tuesday, August 18, 1998
Author: BRIAN FLINN -- The Daily News

Halifax should profit from busts - councillor

Province urged to share proceeds-of-crime account with municipalities
to help fund policing

If crime pays, Halifax Regional Municipality should get a share, says
Albro Lake Councillor Clint Schofield.

Schofield, a member of the city's police commission, said he wants the
province to share its proceeds-of-crime account with municipalities,
because they pay for law enforcement.

The extra money could be used to beef-up policing in areas such as his
north-end Dartmouth district, which has been battling prostitution and
drugs in recent years.

Ontario shares cash

"You need extra policing to do that," he said.

Schofield said Ontario municipalities get a share of that province's
crime money, and Nova Scotia should consider following that lead.

He wants to find out more about how other provinces share the money
when he represents Halifax at the annual meeting of Canadian police
commissions in Edmonton later this week.

The size of the crime fund depends on what busts have been made
recently, but Schofield said there can be a lot of money and material
seized.

"If they have a big drug bust they sell the boats and everything
else," he said. Justice Department spokeswoman Michele McKinnon said
the province is negotiating a new deal with the federal government to
share proceeds of crime.

Federal guidelines agree

"That's exactly what's being looked at right now," she said.

The details have not been worked out, so it's not clear yet who will
get how much. But federal guidelines say some money should go toward
crime prevention and law enforcement, she said.

One factor that will probably influence any sharing arrangement is
location, she said. For example, if a boat is seized under the
narcotics act, "it would probably depend on where the offence
occurred."

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Department Hushes Up Boom In Student Drug Use ('The Australian'
Says A $100,000 Survey Of 5,200 New South Wales Students Completed In October
1996, Showing Significant Increases In The Use Of Alcohol, Cannabis
And Illicit Drugs, Has Been Quashed By The State's Education Department)

Date: Sun, 23 Aug 1998 10:55:58 +0930
From: Andrew Duffy (duffy@enternet.com.au)
Subject: The Australia: OPED: Department
Hushes Up Boom In Student Drug Use
To: "pot-news@va.com.au" (pot-news@va.com.au)
Pot News - Hemp SA's On-line News Service
Newshawk: Ken Russell
Source: The Australian
Contact: ausletr@matp.newsltd.com.au
Website: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/
Pubdate: Tue, 18 August 1998
Author: Belinda Hickman, Medical Writer

DEPARTMENT HUSHES UP BOOM IN STUDENT DRUG USE

A REPORT showing significant increases in the use of alcohol, cannabis and
illicit drugs by NSW TAFE students has been quashed by the State's
Education Department.

The report - based on a survey of about 5200 students - shows a significant
increase in cannabis use, unsafe alcohol consumption and experimental use
of illicit drugs.

But the department has refused to release the report - estimated to have
cost about $100,000 - claiming it has not been finished despite an almost
two-year interval since the survey was carried out.

National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre researchers - contracted to
analyse the data - are frustrated and disappointed with the delay.

Centre director Wayne Hall has called for the report to be released as soon
as possible.

"There is a concern that (the department) put money into the survey and
because they don't like the results, for whatever reason, nothing becomes
of it," Professor Hall said.

"I think It would be preferable if this information were out in the public
domain so people can be informed about what drug use there is, and sensible
decisions can be made about what sort of response is appropriate."

State Opposition education spokesman Stephen O'Doherty questioned whether
the report was suppressed because it could potentially embarrass the State
Government.

The survey was completed in October 1996 and results were to be released at
the Australian Professional Society on Alcohol and Other Drugs national
conference in October last year.

An abstract of the presentation, published in the conference program, says
important health, safety and educational issues arising from the report
need to be addressed.

The survey found smoking rates among TAFE students had risen from 37 per
cent in 1992 to 43 per cent in 1996.

Weekly alcohol consumption - mostly at unsafe levels - jumped 11 percentage
points to 64 per cent, with a fivefold increase in students drinking
alcohol before their classes.

About two-thirds of students had tried cannabis, compared with about half
in 1992, while weekly use of the drug jumped 7 percentage points to 24 per
cent in the four-year period.

Experimental use of illicit stimulants increased from 16 percent in 1992 to
23percent in 1996, with a similar rise in use of hallucinogens.

TAFE deputy director Jozefa Sobski said a decision not to release the
report was made due to concerns about "research methodology" -
specifically, a lack of national comparisons.

Ms Sobski said the report was lost in the system following a bureaucratic
restructure, but it had been returned to the public health division -
following inquiries from The Australian - to be finalised "as quickly as
possible".

***

HEMP SA Inc - Help End Marijuana Prohibition South Australia
PO Box 1019 Kent Town South Australia 5071

hempSA@va.com.au Internet:
http://www.hemp.on.net.au/

Check out our on-line news service - Pot News!

Go to: http://www.va.com.au/services/hosting.html to subscribe
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***

Date: Tue, 25 Aug 1998 13:04:46 +0930
To: Phil Smith (pdxnorml@pdxnorml.org)
From: Andrew Duffy (duffy@enternet.com.au)
Subject: Re: The Australia: OPED: Department Hushes Up Boom In Student
Drug Use

G'day Phil,

TAFE stands for Tertiary And Further Education (I think :^)

Does that make any sense to you?

"Cyber Andy" :^)

At 05:40 PM 8/24/98 -0700, you wrote:

>Hi there,
>
>Could you explain what a "TAFE" student is?
>
>Thanks,
>
>Phil Smith

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[End]