Portland NORML News - Friday, September 4, 1998
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Monday March To End Prohibition - September 7, 1998 (A Press Release
From The Washington Hemp Education Network Says The Labor Day Rally
In Seattle Will Focus On Prison Labor Issues)

Return-Path: (turmoil@hemp.net)
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1998 10:40:29 -0700 (PDT)
From: turmoil (turmoil@hemp.net)
To: Undisclosed recipients: ;
Subject: Press Release

PRESS RELEASE: Monday March to End the Prohibition - September 7, 1998

What: March to End the Drug War
Theme: Prison Labor Days
When: 6:00 pm Monday, September 7th
Where: Meet at Denny Park. March to Seattle Center.
Contact: Tim Crowley - 206/389-6520 - music@hemp.net

The theme of this march is Prison Labor Days. It is an aspect of the
drug war many people don't understand. The Prison industry is one of
the fastest growing industries in the U.S. Non-violent drug law
offenders make perfect laborers. Most of them were gainfully employed
before their arrest and incarceration. Many were supporting a family,
that now fends for itself. These are just a few topics we'll address as
we focus on Prison Labor. We are gathering in Seattle's Denny Park where
we will listen to several speakers. Then we will march to the outskirts
of Bumbershoot where we will distribute the new 1998 Washington Hemp
Voter's Guide and other literature, and hear more speakers. We invite
the public to come join us in the educational campaign. Stand up for
your country. Now is the time for sanity to be restored in our decision
making process.

We invite the media to investigate the truth. Look at the November
Coalition's website at www.november.org and the Washington Hemp
Education Network's website at www.olywa.net/when to see what the Drug
War is costing our society. Then help us by inviting the public to march
with us.
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Gang Member Charged In Woman's Slaying (An 'Associated Press' Account
Of A Murder Attributable To Drug Prohibition Says A $1 Million Arrest Warrant
Has Been Issued For 19-Year-Old Joshua Christopher Robinson Of Seattle
In The Shooting Death Of A Young Mother During An Argument Over Crack
Cocaine)

From: "W.H.E.N. - Bob Owen" (when@olywa.net)
To: "-Hemp Talk" (hemp-talk@hemp.net)
Subject: HT: Seattle drug prohibition murder
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1998 12:45:05 -0700
Sender: owner-hemp-talk@hemp.net

Gang member charged in woman's slaying

The Associated Press
09/04/98 9:40 AM Eastern

SEATTLE (AP) -- A 19-year-old man has been charged in the shooting death of
a young mother during an argument over drugs.

A $1 million arrest warrant was issued for Joshua Christopher Robinson, who
is charged with second-degree murder in the Aug. 18 slaying of Myishia
Williams, 18, in the White Center area of south Seattle.

Williams' father, Enoch Williams, 39, was wounded in the incident.

The argument occurred after Enoch Williams approached four men and asked for
some rock cocaine, prosecutors and police said. During the subsequent
confrontation, Enoch Williams was armed with knives, and Robinson, described
as a gang member, had a gun, they said.

Myishia Williams, who wasn't armed, had her hands in the air when she
approached Robinson, who raised his gun and shot her in the head,
prosecutors said.

Myishia Williams was the mother of a 6-month-old baby. She lived in Los
Angeles and was visiting her father when she was killed.
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High Court Nixes State DUI Trials For Sailors ('The Associated Press'
Says The Washington State Supreme Court Ruled 5-4 Thursday In The Case
Of Two Sailors Charged With Driving Under The Influence Of Alcohol
That Defendants Who Are Tried And Punished Under Military Law
Aren't Subject To Civilian Courts For The Same Crime - And Vice Versa,
If The State Prosecutes First)

From: "W.H.E.N. - Bob Owen" (when@olywa.net)
To: "-Hemp Talk" (hemp-talk@hemp.net)
Subject: HT: WA High court nixes state DUI trials for sailors
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1998 12:45:27 -0700
Sender: owner-hemp-talk@hemp.net

High court nixes state DUI trials for sailors
By DAVID AMMONS
The Associated Press
09/04/98 2:58 AM Eastern

OLYMPIA (AP) -- Washington's military personnel who are tried and punished
under military law aren't subject to civilian courts for the same crime, a
deeply divided state Supreme Court says.

The court, by a 5-4 decision, upheld a district court's dismissal of drunken
driving charges against two Navy enlisted men, James Ivie and Steve Taylor,
in Kitsap County.

In a sharply worded dissent, Justice Richard Guy and three other judges said
Thursday's majority opinion by Justice Richard Sanders and four others was
"legally unsound" and sure to have "unfortunate practical results."

Guy invited the Legislature to step in and rewrite the law.

The cases involved sailors who were hauled before "captain's mast"
proceedings in 1996 after being pulled over by for drunken driving off base.
Ivie also was cited for driving with a suspended license.

Ivie was "busted" one pay grade, later suspended, and docked half of his pay
for two months. The court record did not say what Taylor's punishment was.

When prosecutors tried to pursue the cases in local civilian court, the
judge threw them out. The Kitsap County Superior Court reversed the
dismissal, saying the cases could go to trial, but the men appealed to the
high court.

The majority's bottom line: "As these defendants have already been
nonjudicially punished by the United State military for the same offense
that they are now prosecuted for in state court, state prosecution is
barred."

Sanders said that in 1909, the Legislature extended "double jeopardy"
protection to ban prosecution of someone who has been prosecuted elsewhere
for the same offense. That clearly includes the military, including the
captain's mast proceeding, he said.

Such proceedings count as a criminal prosecution and can carry punishment
that includes jail time, confinement to bread and water, and loss of pay or
rank, he wrote.

"Unless double jeopardy has lost all meaning, a proceeding which threatens
to impose imprisonment for a criminal violation certainly places the
defendant in jeopardy," Sanders wrote. "If going to jail for a criminal
violation is not punishment, what is?"

But the dissenters said the military proceeding was an administrative
hearing designed only for minor offenses, and does not constitute a criminal
prosecution. The majority overlooks the views of the U.S. Supreme Court, the
state court's own decisions and the intent of Congress, Guy said.

The sailors in question were sanctioned by their commanders, but that's
different from saying they were criminally prosecuted, he wrote.

"Military commanders have the responsibility to maintain good order and
discipline in their commands," he wrote. "They should be able to impose the
flexible punishment available at a captain's mast without affecting the
right of this state to call citizens to answer for crimes committed in the
state of Washington."

Guy invited the Legislature to overturn his colleagues, saying "legislators
should exercise their power to further clarify what I believe was their
original intent -- that only prior criminal prosecution, which does not
include Article 15 military proceedings, will bar a subsequent criminal
prosecution in this state."

The court didn't indicate how sweeping the impact of the majority decision
could be in a state with such a large military population. Sanders said in a
footnote that it becomes an issue only if the military acts on a case before
the civilian courts, "because in cases where the state punishes first, the
military will honor the state prosecution as final and will not try the
offender ...."
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The Quiet Crusader - Jeff Jones Has Good Reason For Taking The Heat
In The Medicinal Marijuana Battle (A Feature Article
In 'The San Francisco Chronicle' About The 24-Year-Old Director
Of The Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative, Flagship Of The Industry)

From: BulldogUSA@aol.com
Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1998 02:44:10 EDT
To: dpfca@drugsense.org
Subject: DPFCA: The Quiet Crusader - SF CRONICLE
Sender: owner-dpfca@drugsense.org
Reply-To: dpfca@drugsense.org
Organization: DrugSense http://www.drugsense.org/dpfca/

The Quiet Crusader - Jeff Jones has good reason
for taking the heat in the medicinal marijuana battle

Thaai Walker
Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, September 4, 1998

As the cancer stole his father away bit by bit, 14-year-old Jeff Jones would
sit by his bedside in their South Dakota home and talk about fishing and
camping and other ordinary things a boy might discuss with his father, as
though time wasn't running out.

Those are days that Jones, now 24, does not like to remember. But he forces
himself to when he needs a reminder of why he has given up everything -- old
friends, a college education, the regular worries of a young adult -- to
become one of Northern California's leading crusaders for the rights of the
ill and dying to use medicinal marijuana.

Soft-spoken and shy, Jones, the co-founder and executive director of Oakland's
Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative, seems an unlikely person to be at the center of
one of the biggest political battles in California.

But in the almost two years since California's passage of Proposition 215, the
law that legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes, Jones' cooperative has
been labeled a model program and Oakland has willingly put itself at legal
risk for the club by declaring it a city agency in an attempt to shield it
from federal attempts to shut it down.

``Jeff has always made an attempt to be professional and has done everything
he could to cooperate with the community, law enforcement, the medical
community,'' says Dale Gieringer, coordinator of the California branch for the
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

The fate of Jones' club -- as well as clubs in Ukiah and the Marin County town
of Fairfax -- is in the hands of U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer. On
Monday, the judge rejected government arguments that the clubs should be shut
down immediately for violating federal drug laws.

A hearing on whether the case should go to a jury trial is scheduled for
September 28. The clubs are allowed to remain open until then.

But Breyer rejected the Oakland club's novel legal argument that it should be
immune from prosecution because its staff had been designated as ``officers of
the city'' by Oakland last month -- a status, attorneys for the club argued,
that gave it protection under a provision of the Federal Controlled Substances
Act.

Oakland officials say that despite Breyer's ruling, the club will remain a
city-sanctioned agency.

``If the cannabis club wasn't being operated as it is by Jeff, I would have
some concerns,'' says Councilman Nate Miley. ``But I'm pleased to stand by
this young man and put the full weight and authority I have behind him.''

As a show of support, the City Council also told police to make medical
marijuana arrests a low priority and passed a policy that gives users of
medical marijuana permission to store up to 1 1/2 pounds of it -- 24 times
more than is allowed under state law.

Not everyone is happy about the leniency afforded the Oakland club. City
Manager Robert Bobb, Police Chief Joseph Samuels and Councilman Ignacio De La
Fuente have said they consider the 1 1/2- pound policy too permissive.

Officials of the U.S. Department of Justice declined to comment on Jones or
the club.

But 2,000 club members with AIDS, cancer, glaucoma and other ailments are
delighted by what Jones has been able to pull off.

``He is putting his freedom on the line for us, the patients,'' says club
member Ken Estes, a gaunt, ponytailed man who has been wheelchair-bound since
a motorcycle accident 22 years ago. ``I have the utmost respect for him for
that.''

Such sentiments weigh heavily on the lanky, boyish-faced Jones, who resembles
those wholesome- looking missionaries who stand on street corners and politely
but determinedly ask whether you've come to know the Lord yet. Jones is not a
natural-born crusader. He speaks quietly and blushes easily. In high school,
he was kicked off the debate team because he mumbled.

``Sometimes, I think, `You're only 24,' and it freaks me out,'' Jones says.
``I think, `What the hell am I doing?' '' For Jones, the daily worry isn't
simply that the club's doors will someday be padlocked. As a named co-
defendant in the federal suit against the club, Jones himself faces civil
conspiracy charges. He worries that they may be upgraded to criminal and that
he will end up in jail.

In his hometown of Rapid City, S.D., word of what he is doing in Oakland has
spread. Old friends have severed ties, saying they don't agree with his
mission or that they are afraid of the federal attention he is attracting.
After a story about Jones appeared in the local newspaper last year, the Rapid
City mayor and sheriff threw an anti-marijuana rally.

Marijuana was never discussed when Jones' father, Wayne, was dying of cancer.
First it invaded his kidneys and then his lungs; he slipped from a hearty
200-pound man to a 100-pound silhouette of his former self in a matter of a
year.

Years after his father's death, when the growing national debate about
marijuana for medicinal purposes caught his attention, Jones began to wonder
whether marijuana would have helped ease his father's torment. He now grows
angry at the thought that it was never an option.

Jones came to the Bay Area in 1994 on a one-way bus ticket from South Dakota.
He left college to join lobbying efforts to legalize marijuana.

After passage of Proposition 215 in November 1996, Jones and a handful of
others opened the cannabis club in a third-floor office of a nondescript
building on Broadway. Ten staff members and a handful of volunteers run the
operation, which sees as many as 100 customers a day.

The Oakland cooperative is a different scene from the one captured by
television news crews at Dennis Peron's former San Francisco club

--a ``social Amsterdam- like speakeasy'' image that ``tainted'' all other
clubs, lobbyist Gieringer says.

In contrast, the Oakland club is a no-smoking zone. A sign on the wall beyond
the front door announces that cash, ATM cards and credit cards are accepted.
Support groups and massages are offered.

Marijuana is sold from a back room that can be entered only by showing a
police-approved club identification card to a private security guard. That
card can be obtained only by providing a doctor's letter that is verified by
an on-staff nurse, Jones says.

Here, often-isolated people get a chance to meet new friends; to talk and
laugh and forget for a while about the pain and loneliness that come with
their illnesses.

But it is a somber place, too. Jones has gone, he says, from ``one person in
my immediate family dying to people dying all around me all the time.''

He admits that part of him wants to finish college, to travel the world, to
just be 24 and nothing else. Not a week goes by that he doesn't question what
he is doing.

Then he thinks of his father. And he is grounded.

``I knew in my father's eyes what he was feeling when he was dying,'' he says.

``I know what I'm doing now is right.''

(c)1998 San Francisco Chronicle Page A19
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Teen Was Stripped For Wire, Girl Says ('The Orange County Register'
Says The Former Girlfriend Of 17-Year-Old Methamphetamine Informant
Chad MacDonald Of Yorba Linda, California, Testified Thursday
Against The Three Men Who Tortured And Killed The Snitch Before Raping
And Trying To Kill Her)
Link to earlier story
Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1998 06:30:47 -0700 From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews) To: mapnews@mapinc.org Subject: MN: US CA: Teen Was Stripped For Wire, Girl Says 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: 4 Sep 98 Author:Stuart Pfeifer-OCR TEEN WAS STRIPPED FOR WIRE, GIRL SAYS Testimony: She says the three suspects accused Chad MacDonald of working for the police, then robbed, beat and killed him. The killers of teen-age police informant Chad MacDonald strip-searched him while hunting for a hidden wire and accused him of working for the police, his girlfriend testified Thursday. The 17-year-old girl's testimony was the first indication - outside of accusations by MacDonald's family - that the boy's work for Brea police could have played a role in his death March 3. Testifying at a preliminary hearing in Los Angeles County Municipal Court, the girl explained that the suspects told MacDonald of their suspicions while searching him at gunpoint at a Norwalk drug house. The interrogation proceeded for several gruesome hours during which the Yorba Linda teenagers were beaten with guns, choked with ropes and robbed of all their possessions, the girl testified. Judge Stephen Marcus closed the courtroom during the girl's testimony, citing a state law that allows such restrictions when minors testify about sexual assault. The Orange County Register is not publishing her name because she is a minor and a sexual-assault victim. A transcript of the girl's testimony was made available Thursday evening. The case attracted national media attention after it was disclosed that MacDonald had worked as an informant, in one instance buying drugs while wearing a wire for Brea police in an unsuccessful effort to avoid prosecution for a drug arrest. MacDonald's family has sued Brea police, accusing officers of misleading the teen and his mother to secure his assistance as an informant, a role they blame for his death. Last week, the state Legislature passed a bill that imposes new restrictions, and in some cases prohibits, the use of minors as police informants. MacDonald, 17, often visited the house to buy and use methamphetamine, the girl testified. The couple were smoking methamphetamine with the three suspects and seemed to be getting along before the atmosphere changed, the girl said. "You guys are working for the police," suspect Florence Noriega said , according to the girl. "If I was working for the police, don't you think they would be here by now," MacDonald responded, according to his girlfriend. At that point, Noriega and suspects Michael Martinez and Jose Ibarra threatened the couple with guns, robbed them of their valuables and forced MacDonald to drive to an ATM machine to try to get more cash, the girl said. After they returned to the house, Noriega banged the teenagers' heads together and demanded they come up with $800, the girl testified. She was then forced to listen as the suspects strangled and beat her bound and gagged boyfriend. The sounds were so chilling, the girl said, that she pleaded with her assailants to cover her ears so she wouldn't have to listen. "I was like, please, I don't want to hear this," the girl testified. The girl said Ibarra raped her at gunpoint in a bedroom. She then saw Noriega and Martinez carrying a body from the house, she said. Police later found MacDonald's body in a south Los Angeles alley. The girl testified that the three suspects tried to choke her with a rope while driving her through West Covina. She fought off the attack in the car, but feared she was going to die when the assailants forced her into a drainage ditch and began choking her again. She woke up hours later, alone in the ditch, bleeding from a gunshot wound to the jaw, and wandered off to find help. If convicted, the three suspects could face the death penalty.
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Drug Prohibition (A Letter To The Editor Of 'The Los Angeles Times'
Says Ending Prohibition Is The Only Way To Remove Temptation
From Corrupt Los Angeles Police)

Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1998 12:21:08 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US CA: PUB LTE: Drug Prohibition
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Jim Rosenfield
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Contact: letters@latimes.com
Website: http://www.latimes.com/
Pubdate: September 4, 1998
Fax: 213-237-4712
Author: Danny Terwey

DRUG PROHIBITION

* Re "Officer's Arrest Triggers Corruption Probe," Aug. 29:

Corruption in the Los Angeles Police Department? Officers stealing cocaine
for profit? Surely you must be mistaken! Seriously, folks, it's time we
took away the main source of temptation. Our national and state drug
policies have proven to be utter failures. There always has been, and
always will be, a huge demand for recreational drugs.

Whenever the law artificially inflates prices, some entrepreneur is going
to go for the cash. Our prisons are full, and no amount of money will
eliminate drug use. End this misbegotten prohibition.

DANNY TERWEY Santa Cruz

Copyright 1998 Los Angeles Times. All Rights Reserved
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Hernandez Settlement Does Not Ease Pain (A Letter To The Editor
Of 'The San Antonio Express-News' Expresses Doubt
That The Government's Payment Of $1.9 Million To The Family
Of Esequiel Hernandez Jr., The High School Goatherder Killed
By Camouflaged Marines On An Anti-Drug Patrol Along The Texas-Mexico Border,
Will Have Any Deterrent Effect On Future Government Abuses)

Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1998 18:54:25 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US TX: PUB LTE: Hernandez Settlement Does Not Ease Pain
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: cheechwz@mindspring.com (A H Clements)
Pubdate: 3 September 1998
Source: San Antonio Express-News
Author: John Wallace
Contact: letters@express-news.net
Website: http://www.expressnews.com/

HERNANDEZ SETTLEMENT DOES NOT EASE PAIN

Re: Aug. 13 editorial, "Settlement eases pain, but leaves questions":

In round numbers, the $1.9 million settlement the government proposed to
pay the family of Esequiel Hernandez Jr. represents the amount of money
collected in federal taxes every few seconds.

Somehow, I find it hard to believe that this will have any deterrent effect
on future government abuses.

This settlement may provide partial compensation to the Hernandez family
for the loss of their son, but it does absolutely nothing to protect my son
or anyone's child from being gunned down as long as government at all
levels is more interested in pursuing its mindless war on drugs than in
protecting the basic personal freedoms of Americans.

Atrocities like these (or the killings of Vikki Weaver, Los Angeles
millionaire Donald Scott, the Kent State students and so on) will not stop
until society is ready to hold the killers individually responsible for
their actions.

The settlement for the Hernandez family is less than one penny for every
man, women and child in America.

My government, acting on my behalf, shot and killed Hernandez for no good
reason. Now it expects me to pay one penny to his family to make everything
OK again.

Well, this may ease the pain of the Hernandez family somewhat, but it
certainly does not ease my pain.

John Wallace
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Two Clive Officials Resign Posts ('The Des Moines Register'
Says City Councilman John Schiefer And Zoning Commissioner David Ennen
Of Clive, Iowa, Resigned After A One-Month Investigation
Into Alleged Pot Smoking At A Party)

Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1998 10:52:23 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: 2 Clive Officials Resign Posts
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Carl Olsen
Pubdate: Fri, 4 Sep 98
Source: Des Moines Register (IA)
Contact: letters@news.dmreg.com
Fax: (515) 286-2511
Website: http://www.dmregister.com/
Author: Estela Villanueva
Section: Front Page

2 CLIVE OFFICIALS RESIGN POSTS

The City And Police Were Investigating Allegations That Three People
Smoked Marijuana At A Party.

Following a monthlong investigation by the city of Clive into an
alleged drug incident at a party, a city councilman and a zoning
commissioner resigned Thursday from those panels as well as from the
volunteer fire department.

Clive Mayor Robert Brownell made the announcement at the end of
Thursday's regular council meeting: City Councilman John Schiefer and
Zoning Commissioner David Ennen had resigned, citing personal reasons.
Neither admitted any wrongdoing.

The two weren't at the council meeting, and neither returned phone
calls to their homes afterward.

Schiefer and Ennen had been under investigation by City Manager Dennis
Henderson and the Police Department since Aug. 3 for allegations
stemming from a July 25 going-away party for the parting fire chief.

According to a summary of an Iowa State Patrol report, Trooper D.L.
Knutson was attending the going-away party and saw three people
smoking what he believed to be marijuana. Knutson then left the party
and filed a report with the Iowa Department of Public Safety. A copy
was later given to the Police Department.

The party was held at Ennen's home and Schiefer has said he was there.
No drugs were found, city officials have said.

Not Enough Evidence

City officials say the State Patrol's account differs from what the
trooper told them. Henderson said Knutson told him he saw a small,
silver marijuana pipe at the party, but thought he didn't have enough
evidence for criminal charges.

Schiefer had been on the council, for nearly 12 years and served on
the fire department for 25 years, including service as the fire chief
in the 1980s. Ennen was a member of the planning and zoning
commission and had been on the fire department for more than a decade.

The council will decide later whether to appoint someone to fill
Schiefer's seat. A year is left in his term. Another person also
will need to be appointed to Ennen's seat.

Henderson said he had completed his investigation when the
resignations were submitted.

"It was a wrap, and we determined what our actions were going to be.
That has become a moot issue because of the resignations," he said.

He declined to say what action would have been taken, saying it was a
personnel matter.

City officials also would not name the third person accused in the
incident, saying it also was a personnel issue. They noted that the
person has been released from the department because of certification
issues, however.

Officials Complimented

Brownell complimented Schiefer and Ennen on their courage and
forthrightness in submitting their resignations in light of the
investigation.

"We're saddened by their resignations and the circumstances
surrounding them, and I think our constituents would have a degree of
understanding and compassion for people in times of need like this and
join me in wishing them the best of luck for the future," he said.

Henderson also said the resignations were unfortunate.

"I certainly consider this a loss for the city," Henderson said.

He said Schiefer is one of the best minds in town, and has raised
thoughtful questions about issues. Ennen, he said, was a valued member
of the planning and zoning commission, and his opinion was sought on
many city matters.

Caught Off-guard

Other council members were caught off-guard by the announcement.

"I'm still in shock," Councilman Kip Headley said after the meeting.

Councilwoman Elaine Barry was puzzled, unsure of what to make of the news.

"I don't know the circumstances of why they resigned," Barry said,
noting their contributions to the community.

Henderson said material from his investigation will be forwarded to
the city's prosecutor for review. Clive police had investigated the
incident, but haven't filed criminal charges because of lack of evidence.

Despite the developments, Henderson said the incident shouldn't taint
the fire department.

"I don't want anyone and everyone branding the Clive Fire Department
in this situation. We continue to have an excellent fire department,"
he said.

Reporter Estela Villanueva can be reached at (515) 284-8360 or
villanuevae@news.dmreg.com
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Out Of The Station, Into A Fire (A Cautionary Tale In 'The Saginaw News'
Says David E. Markle, A Saginaw, Michigan, Fire Department Administrator,
Has Been Charged With Growing Marijuana At His Home And Maintaining
A Drug House After Police Found Minors Drinking Alcohol In His Back Yard
During A Loud Party Thrown By His 18-Year-Old Daughter While Her Parents
Were Out Of Town)

Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1998 19:10:56 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US MI: Out Of The Station, Into A Fire
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: Friday, 4 Sept 1998
Source: The Saginaw News (MI)
Contact: http://fl.mlive.com/about/toeditor.html
Website: http://sa.mlive.com/
Author: David Osborn, The Saginaw News

OUT OF THE STATION, INTO A FIRE

A Saginaw Fire Department Lieutenant Faces Drug Manufacturing Charges

A Saginaw Fire Department administrator charged with growing marijuana at
his home is to appear in court next week.

Lt. David E. Markle and his wife, Denise, 40, face a preliminary hearing
Tuesday before Chief District

Judge Christopher S. Boyd on charges of maintaining a drug house - their
home on Throop near North Woodbridge.

David Markle, 42, who also faces a count of manufacturing marijuana,
remains on the job, said Fire Chief Timothy Gray. He declined further comment.

The Markles did not return messages from The Saginaw News. Their Lansing
attorney, Scott Grabel, was unavailable.

A union contract includes five pages on drug policy, focusing on treatment
for an employee, said Capt. Thomas F. Callison, president of Firefighters
Local 102, which represents nearly 100 firefighters.

The policy also stipulates that supervisors may discipline a worker,
Callison said.

"It's basically a policy with the employee's best interest in mind," he said.

District Judge Joseph G. DeFrancesco at arraignment set personal
recognizance bonds of $4,000 for Markle and $2,000 for his wife.

The charges stem from police response Aug. 22 to a loud party at the
Markles' home.

Officers said they found minors drinking alcohol in
the back yard. When they went in the house seeking more teens, officers
reported, they found marijuana plants in a closet and paraphernalia used to
grow the substance.

Police said they also discovered plants hanging from a wire shelf.

Officers said they questioned the couple's 18-year-old daughter because her
parents were out of town. She began crying but eventually said her parents
were growing the marijuana, officers said.

Police said they later found three plants in the back yard.

Markle joined the department in 1985, and supervi sors promoted him to
chauffeur in 1989 and to lieutenant in 1996.

City spokesman William Bailey said only that the case is under review.

Errol G. Burton, a former fire battalion chief and frequent City Hall
critic, said he called for years for officials to initiate drug testing.

Officials test new workers and other employees only if they have a probable
cause to do so, Burton said.

"We're talking about a life service to the citizens," Burton said. "There
shouldn't be any problems whatsoever.

"It's terrible. It reflects on all the rest of the guys who do a good job."

Copyright 1998 The Saginaw News
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Drug-Search Scam On I-80 (A Letter To The Editor Of 'The Des Moines Register'
From The Assistant Director Of The Iowa Civil Liberties Union
Criticizes A Recent Instance Of Prohibition Agents Using The 'Drug Stop
Ahead' Strategy For Snaring Motorists Who Seem To Take Action
To Avoid Inspection)
Link to earlier story
Date: Fri, 04 Sep 1998 23:57:01 -0500 To: "DRCTalk Reformers' Forum" (drctalk@drcnet.org) From: "Carl E. Olsen" (carl@COMMONLINK.NET) Subject: Drug-search scam on I-80 - September 4, 1998 Reply-To: drctalk@drcnet.org Sender: owner-drctalk@drcnet.org http://www.commonlink.com/~olsen/DPF/ryan-001.html OPINION/LETTERS The Des Moines Register Friday, September 4, 1998, Page 12A letters@news.dmreg.com
Link to earlier story
Drug-search scam on I-80 On Aug. 28, I was traveling east on I-80 approximately four miles east of Altoona. I saw two flashing signs, one on each side of the two eastbound lanes, notifying me and other motorists of a "Drug Stop 4 Miles Ahead." Within a quarter-mile I saw two more signs warning eastbound travelers of "Drug Enforcement Ahead: Be Prepared to Stop." There was no "drug enforcement" stop ahead, but it is likely that law-enforcement officials were eagerly awaiting at the next exit to check vehicles getting off the interstate. In scams such as this, law-enforcement officials assume those exiting vehicles contain drugs, and most likely those exiting vehicles become targets of the scheme. As a result, people are pulled over, and then, using the excuse of some minor traffic offense (flickering taillight, broken license-plate light, cracked windshield, etc.) issue the driver a citation so that a "search incident to citation" may be conducted. I feel guilty for not getting off at the approaching rest area or the Mitchellville exit. I had no drugs in my vehicle, but I do feel as though I could have spent some time having law-enforcement officials search my vehicle for nonexistent drugs while I continuously cited the "probable cause" requirement of the Fourth Amendment. Perhaps my sacrificial deed would have allowed other law-abiding citizens who are simply heading home, visiting a friend, or seeking a gas station to drive on through the phony drug bust without being unnecessarily detained. - Marty Ryan, legislative coordinator/ assistant director, Iowa Civil Liberties Union, 446 Insurance Exchange Bldg., Des Moines.
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End Drug War (A Letter To The Editor Of 'The Chicago Tribune'
Points Out The Recent Death Of A Chicago Prohibition Agent
Is Attributable To Prohibition, Not Illegal Drugs)

Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1998 09:22:17 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US IL: PUB LTE: End Drug War
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Steve Young (theyoungfamily@worldnet.att.net)
Pubdate: Fri, 4 Sep 1998
Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
Contact: tribletter@aol.com
Website: http://www.chicago.tribune.com/
Author: Alan M. Perlman
Section: Sec. 1, p. 26

END DRUG WAR

HIGHLAND PARK -- The Aug. 27 Page 1 story and John Kass column did an
excellent job of portraying the events and emotions surrounding
Officer Michael Ceriale's death.

Fortunately, there is something we can do to prevent this kind of
senseless tragedy: End the war on drugs.

The simple truth--which politicians will never admit--is that illegal
drugs do not cause violent crime. The only drug that has consistently
been implicated in criminal behavior is alcohol.

As Al Capone taught us so well, it is drug prohibition that causes
crime.

Prohibition means artificially high prices, which in turn means
there's a ton of money to be made.

There will always be people with little to lose who will take the
risk.

Meanwhile, after decades of government propaganda and persecution,
drug consumption is virtually unchanged.

And because the drugs are illegal, dealers can't go to court to settle
their disputes over markets, territories and payment. Hence, violence.

No one wants kids using (or adults abusing) drugs, but there are many
alternatives to prohibition, and we should be exploring them.

Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman has estimated that the
drug war is responsible for 5,000 to 10,000 deaths each year. Some of
that blood is on the hands of every government official who defends
this disastrous policy.

Alan M. Perlman
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Police - Baby Was Used To Conceal Smuggled Drugs
(According To 'The Associated Press,' Police In Raymond, Maine,
Say A Six-Month-Old Baby Who Tested Positive For Cocaine Was Used
By Her Stepfather To Conceal Drugs Smuggled From Lowell, Massacusetts -
The Child's Mother Is Serving A Federal Prison Sentence For Armed Robbery)

From: "W.H.E.N. - Bob Owen" (when@olywa.net)
To: "-News" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: Police: Baby was used to conceal smuggled drugs
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1998 12:47:00 -0700
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net

Police: Baby was used to conceal smuggled drugs
Associated Press, 09/04/98 02:17

RAYMOND, Maine (AP) - A 6-month-old baby who tested positive for cocaine in
her system was used by her stepfather to conceal drugs that were smuggled
from Lowell, Mass., police said.

Richard Davison, 41, of Raymond, was arrested by drug agents after they
learned from the Maine Department of Human Services that cocaine had been
discovered in the baby's bloodstream.

The Maine Drug Enforcement Agency seized $8,000 in cocaine and $1,000 cash
from his home Monday.

Davison remained today in the Cumberland County Jail, where he is being held
on charges of drug trafficking, furnishing cocaine to a child and
endangering the welfare of a child.

Police affidavits indicate Davison, a convicted drug dealer and admitted
addict, told agents he cared for the baby during the summer until giving her
to the DHS in mid-August, prior to a brief stint in jail.

The child's mother, Roxanne Allen Davison, 27, is serving a federal prison
sentence for armed robbery.

The affidavits filed in court detail the story of a child who was exposed to
drugs and drug use from birth.

The baby, who was breast fed by a mother with a suspected heroin addiction,
tested positive for drugs shortly after her Christmas birth, according to a
DHS caseworker.

The caseworker requested the toxicology tests because she suspected the
infant had symptoms of drug withdrawal.

Dr. Peggy Wyman, a Portland physician, told agents the cocaine could have
entered the baby's bloodstream a number of ways, ranging from ingesting the
drug to inhaling smoke from crack cocaine to simply coming into physical
contact with the drug.

When questioned by agents, Davison admitted he used crack and was addicted
to crack. But he denied giving the drug to the baby. ``I love that baby,''
he said, according to an affidavit.

In court records, Agent Gerard Brady wrote that Davison and his girlfriend
were known to conceal drugs ``on the baby's person'' while transporting
cocaine from Lowell, Mass., to Maine.
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Former Prosecutor Tries To Beat DWI Charge On Technicality
('The Associated Press' Says A Former Prosecutor In White River Junction,
Vermont, Is Trying To Avoid A License Suspension Resulting From A Charge
Of Driving While Intoxicated By Saying A Police Officer Stood Too Close
While She Called Her Lawyer)

From: "W.H.E.N. - Bob Owen" (when@olywa.net)
To: "-News" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: Former VT prosecutor tries to beat DWI charge on technicality
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1998 12:47:22 -0700
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net

Former prosecutor tries to beat DWI charge on technicality
Associated Press, 09/04/98 01:02

WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, Vt. (AP) - A former prosecutor is trying to avoid a
license suspension on a drunken driving charge by saying a police officer
stood too close while she called her lawyer.

Heidi Haught, a former Windsor County deputy state's attorney, took the
stand in her drunken driving case Wednesday and testified that a state
trooper didn't give her enough privacy while she was talking to a lawyer on
the phone after her car crash.

Although State Trooper Brian Hendricks testified that he was outside the
hospital room, Haught said Hendricks stood at the foot of her gurney while
she was on the phone.

``You know, you shouldn't be standing there,'' Haught said she told
Hendricks. ``He moved over slightly, but it was a number of feet. ... I was
on a gurney and couldn't move.''

District Judge Paul Hudson has to decide whether to suspend Haught's
driver's license for refusing to take a blood-alcohol test that night.

Haught's attorney, David Sleigh, is arguing that Hendricks didn't give
Haught a ``meaningful opportunity'' to consult with a lawyer before she
decided to refuse the test.

Since troopers are required by law to give DUI suspects this opportunity
before asking them to take the test, Sleigh is arguing that Haught shouldn't
be held legally responsible for refusing to take it.

``The right to counsel ... is an extraordinarily important right,'' Sleigh
said.

If Hudson finds against Haught in the civil suspension matter, she faces six
months without a license. In the parallel criminal case against her for
allegedly drinking and driving, she faces a possible fine of $750 and a
two-year prison term if convicted, although most DUI convicts with clean
criminal records do not go to jail.
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Police Seize Marijuana Plants As Tall As Trees ('The Associated Press'
Says Prohibition Agents Eradicated 500 Plants Over The Last Week
In Rensselaer, Saratoga And Washington Counties, New York, Some As Tall
As 12 Feet With Trunks 10 Inches Thick - No One Was Busted)

From: "W.H.E.N. - Bob Owen" (when@olywa.net)
To: "-News" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: NY Police seize marijuana plants as tall as trees
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1998 12:46:35 -0700
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net

Police seize marijuana plants as tall as trees
Associated Press, 09/04/98 08:33

CASTLETON, N.Y. (AP) - Police have seized 500 pounds of marijuana plants
over the last week, some as tall as 12 feet with trunks 10 inches in
diameter.

State police said the raids with local police have been in Rensselaer,
Saratoga and Washington counties. Investigators estimate the value at
$500,000.

The raids were by the Capital Region Community Narcotics Enforcement Team.

The plants described by troopers as small trees ranged from 6 to 12 feet
high and were among 242 plants in a remote area of Castleton, 8 miles north
of Albany.

State police continue to seek suspects who will likely face felony charges
because of the amount of the drug confiscated, troopers said.

Most raids yield marijuana plants that more closely resemble ferns, from
under a foot to just a few feet tall. Police eventually burn the plants.
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Police Get Bird's-Eye View Of Pot Fields ('The Daily Gazette'
Describes The Annual Helicopter Assault On Corn Fields
In The Schenectady, New York, Area - Marijuana Grown Outdoors
Was The State's Number One Crop In 1997, Based On Eradication Figures
And The DEA's Estimated Value Of $2,000 To $9,000 Per Plant)
Link to more information
Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1998 09:22:38 -0700 From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews) To: mapnews@mapinc.org Subject: MN: US NY: Police Get Bird's-Eye View Of Pot Fields Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/ Newshawk: Walter F. Wouk Source: Daily Gazette (Schenectady, NY) Contact: gazette@dailygazette.com Website: http://www.dailygazette.com Pubdate: Fri, 04 Sep 1998 Author: Brian Nearing - Gazette Reporter POlICE GET BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF POT FIELDS "You look down into a cornfield and you can see the pot plants in small patches . . . like holes punched out in the middle of the field." Lt. Geb Wolf State police pilot Lt. Geb Wolf maneuvered the blue-and-gold state police helicopter over a cornfield in Schuylerville, giving directions to officers on the ground below. "Walk down that row . . . Turn right . . . some more . . . Down the row. It should be right there," Wolf intoned into his radio headset. The target: a 5-foot leafy green marijuana plant nestled amid row after row of corn. An officer armed with a machete hacked it down and dragged it away, along with about a half-dozen others. Surrounded by rows of 8-foot cornstalks, the marijuana was all but invisible to anyone on the ground, but not to Wolf, who was looking down at the field from about 500 feet in the air. As summer nears its end, the harvest season is approaching for area farmers. The same goes for local marijuana growers, too, some of whom have already started gathering their crop. Wolf and other members of the state police aviation unit have been flying for about a month, locating and pulling up marijuana plants wherever they find them. The crop is a little early this year, like everything else, because of the warm damp weather earlier in the season. "You look down into a cornfield and you can see the pot plants in small patches . . . like holes punched out in the middle of the field," said Wolf, an 18-year pilot. "It's a distinctive shade of green. Looks a lot like a Christmas tree . . . Doesn't match the corn." Indeed, the dark green of the marijuana patches stood out against the green-yellow of the corn. Other telltale signs Wolf watches for are vehicle tracks leading into woods, along with irrigation tubing and hoses that seem out of place. "We look during the year whenever we're out . . . and if we notice anything, we keep an eye on it and go back later." Marijuana growers know that the eye in the sky is there, and do what they can to protect their crop. Some growers in Washington County are now tying down their plants along the ground, so the bushes don't stick up, said Investigator Paul Gacik. Some even use camouflage netting to cover plants, making it harder to spot them from the air. "It's not like it was years ago. Growers would put a whole patch [of marijuana] right in the middle of a field. A blind man could see it," Gacik said. Now, the growers are planting smaller patches, so it's harder to see. Hunting with Wolf on Wednesday turned up only the half-dozen plants from the cornfield near Cheese Factory Road. Those plants had been missed on an earlier police raid about three weeks ago. "It's hard to find it in there some-times," said Investigator Richard Sala. "It's like a maze." And an earlier Wednesday foray over woods near Casey Road turned up nothing - only some Scotch pines that Wolf initially thought might be marijuana. The marijuana was harder to spot in the woods, with its hues of green-gray, green-silver, green-brown and green-red. Wolf circled and circled over the woods, but came up empty. Two undercover officers in the helicopter with Wolf had gotten a tip that someone was growing marijuana nearby, and pointed to a nearby home. "That's our friend there, who has twice been convicted for growing," said one. Marijuana growing is a big business in New York state, and across the country. Because it is illegal, it's hard to say exactly how much is grown, said U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration spokeswoman Diane Ingalls. But based on the value of outdoor marijuana seized by state and federal officials, marijuana is the state's largest cash crop, well ahead of apples, the No. 1 legal crop. Last year, officials tore up about 43,900 marijuana plants, with a value of between $87.9 million and $395.8 million. This is based on DEA figures that estimate the value of a marijuana plant at between $2,000 and $9,000, depending on the quality of the plant. In comparison, the apple crop in New York state last year was about $144 million. And 1997 was an off year for marijuana, Gacik said. "It was way down. The weather was too dry." In 1996, more than 129,000 marijuana plants were seized in the state. That was worth between $258 million and $1.1 billion, based on the DEA figures. In that same year, growers produced about $138 million worth of apples. Nationwide, more than 3.6 million marijuana plants were seized in 49 states last year, with only Wyoming not involved in seizures, according to the DEA. The government effort directed toward trying to eradicate marijuana is a waste of taxpayers' money, claimed a local advocate of marijuana use. "Why are we still doing this?" asked Jonathan von Linden, executive director of the Schoharie County chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. "This is a plant that has never killed anybody. Why don't we just legalize and regulate it."
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Re - Initiative 59 Wins In Court (A Bulletin From Colorado Citizens
For Compassionate Cannabis Comments On Yesterday's News
That A Medical Marijuana Measure Will Be On The November Ballot
In Washington, DC, Without Any Support From Americans For Medical Rights -
Includes A Url For The Text Of The DC Initiative)

Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1998 01:26:27 -0600 (MDT)
From: "Colo. Hemp Init. Project" (cohip@levellers.org)
To: "Colo. Hemp Init. Project" (cohip@levellers.org)
Subject: DC Med. Mj. Init. Wins Court Battle (9/3/98)

Please copy and re-distribute this announcement.

INITIATIVE 59 WINS IN COURT!

[snipped to avoid duplication - follow link to original. - ed.]

***

From Colorado Citizens for Compassionate Cannabis

September 4, 1998

Dear friends,

The Yes on 59 campaign has overcome many obstacles to secure a spot on the
ballot. It's been almost two years since the passage of Prop. 215 in
California when Steve Michael and Wayne Turner announced their intentions
to put a medical marijuana initiative on the ballot in D.C. Sadly, Steve
won't be around to see the fruition of all his hard work. Thankfully,
Wayne Turner has been the model for courage and determination. Despite the
loss of his lover and the disruption caused by an influx of tens of
thousands of dollars by Americans for Medical Rights to fund a competing
medical marijuana initiative (which was never circulated), Wayne remained
focused and strong. He has met and overcome all of the obstacles thrown in
his way with a professionalism and integrity that is truly remarkable. I
really can't laud him and the other DC activists that worked on the I-59
campaign enough.

Now that their spot on the D.C. ballot is virtually guaranteed, the Yes on
59 campaign has the opportunity to speak loudly and clearly on behalf of
seriously and terminally ill patients nationwide. The opposition to
patients will come from Congress, the White House, Drug (biz) Czar Gen.
Barry R. McCaffrey, and others who are employed in the nation's capitol
promoting drug laws that harm sick people.

Because D.C. is our nation's capitol, passage of I-59 will be even bigger
than the passage of Prop. 215 in California. Passage of I-59 in D.C. will
send a clear message to the federal government, from their own backyard,
that the people want to protect patients from prosecution. Passage of I-59
will also be important because, unlike Prop. 215, I-59 clearly allows the
distribution of medical marijuana by not-for-profit corporations. For text
of I-59, see: http://www.actupdc.org/text59pg.htm

In addition, because D.C. is a federal district, not a state, every law
passed by D.C. voters or enacted by the city council has to be reviewed by
Congress. Therefore, the enactment of I-59 by the voters of D.C. will
require a debate in Congress on the merits of medical marijuana.

This campaign for I-59 will be historic. Unfortunately, the Yes on 59
campaign has not received the financial support that other medical
marijuana ballot initiatives around the country have received. In
Colorado, California-based Americans for Medical Rights spent at least
$150,000 to circulate a ballot initiative (which many patients and
advocates didn't support) that was ruled to have insufficient signatures to
qualify for the ballot. (The Secretary of State estimated that only 54% of
their signatures were valid.) AMR is challenging the ruling in district
court, but it will not be easy to overcome such a huge signature deficit.
In Maine, AMR spent $250,000 and also failed to gather enough signatures to
get on the ballot. In D.C., AMR spent an estimated $100,000 and didn't
even get their petition into circulation. For more information on the AMR
campaigns, see: http://www.levellers.org/lemodel.htm

A lot of money has been wasted on failed ballot initiative efforts this
year. Activists in Colorado, D.C., Maine and Alaska have been very
critical of this waste of resources in the past. We want to reassure
potential contributors that there are still organizations who spend
campaign donations wisely and successfully. The Initiative 59 campaign is
the perfect example. Their whole two-year campaign has been run on
probably well less than $20,000. As I said before, the Yes on 59 campaign
is composed of committed professionals, and they will succeed. Your
donations will not be wasted. Please, be as generous as possible
and help be a part of this historic campaign.

Laura Kriho
Colorado Citizens for Compassionate Cannabis

***

Donations can be made to:
Yes on 59 Campaign
409 H Street N.E. - Suite #1
Washington, D.C. 20002-4335
Phone: (202) 547-9404
Fax: (202) 547-9448

For more information on the DC campaign, see:
http://www.actupdc.org
http://www.levellers.org/dcstat.htm

***

ACT UP! FIGHT BACK! FIGHT AIDS!
ACT UP! FIGHT BACK! FIGHT AIDS!
ACT UP! FIGHT BACK! FIGHT AIDS!

***

Distributed by:
Colorado Citizens for Compassionate Cannabis
P.O. Box 729
Nederland, CO 80466
Phone: (303) 448-5640
Email: cohip@levellers.org
Web: http://www.levellers.org/cannabis.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Millions Urged For Prisons ('The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'
Says Georgia Department Of Corrections Commissioner Wayne Garner
Wants Taxpayers To Spend Nearly $149 Million Next Year On Three New Prisons,
Plus $6 Million To Expand Three Prisons)

From: "W.H.E.N. - Bob Owen" (when@olywa.net)
To: "-News" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: GA wants 3 more prisons
Date: Sun, 6 Sep 1998 07:39:32 -0700
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net

September 4, 1998
Millions urged for prisons
By Rhonda Cook, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

He argues that Georgia's prisons are not critically overcrowded, but
Department of Corrections Commissioner Wayne Garner wants taxpayers to spend
nearly $149 million on three new prisons next year.

In addition to the 4,500 beds the three prisons would provide, Garner said
Thursday he needs to expand existing prisons to hold 1,900 additional beds
at a cost of almost $6 million more. While the new prisons were part of
Garner's annual budget request, it is the first such expansion request in a
decade.

As the prison population has continued to grow, private contractors have
begun building three prisons with 4,600 beds, the last of which is expected
to go on line by January 2000. Georgia has more than 38,000 inmates.

The Corrections Board approved Garner's $952 million budget request and will
send it on to the governor and the General Assembly. The board noted that
sentencing disparity is stretching the system, making it difficult to
predict how many prisoners must be accommodated.

A.D. Frazier and other board members plan to suggest legislation to limit
judges' options in order to reduce differences in sentences for similar
crimes. A House committee has been studying structured sentencing this
summer. Using a computer analysis of more than 700,000 sentences issued
since 1990, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in February reported wide
disparities in the average prison sentences given for the same crimes among
Georgia's 46 judicial circuits. The toughest circuits hand down sentences
that are at least two to three times as long--and sometimes six times as
long--as the shortest ones.

"People don't know how much this is costing them," Frazier said. "That's $25
for each man, woman and child in this state. We need to take a look at
uniform sentencing."

The last time Georgia invested in significant prison building was in 1989,
when sheriffs threatened to sue the state if the corrections department did
not pick up sentenced inmates backed up in their crowded jails. The
Legislature raised the sales tax 1 percentage point and used most of that
money to fund 9,400 prison beds.

In recent months, Garner has handled the influx of inmates by retrofitting
low-security facilities, such as prison boot camps and probation detention
centers, so they could hold more dangerous felons. He also has
"triple-bunked" inmates in cells designed to hold two men and has put bunks
in common areas in cell blocks.

Garner said his budget request was based on a projection by the governor's
budget office that Georgia will need 4,500 more prison beds by the end of
2000. The Parole Board, meanwhile, has estimated that Georgia needs to
immediately build 14,000 prison beds to meet a demand that could crush the
system within five years.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Respect Will Come When Drugs Are Forced To Go (An Op-Ed
In 'The Los Angeles Times' By The White House Drug Czar,
General Barry McCaffrey, Tries A Different Approach From The Usual 'Only Losers
Use Drugs' Line, Making The Rhetorical But Unfounded Assertion That 'Drug Use
Among Athletes Broadcasts A Mixed Message That Puts Athletes, Their Sports
And Our Children At Risk' - As If No One Had Ever Heard Of Babe Ruth)

From: "Peter McWilliams" (peter@mcwilliams.com)
To: "Peter McWilliams" (peter@mcwilliams.com)
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1998 10:39:41 +0100

Here's Barry at the bat, with another ghost-written bit of pabulum from the
Drug Warriors. This was printed on the OpEd page of the LA Times, so they
usually print more than the usual amount of "rebuttal" letters.

Hop on it, sports fans!

Enjoy,

Peter

***

LA Times letters: letters@latimes.com

Friday, September 4, 1998

Respect Will Come When Drugs Are Forced to Go

* Athletics: Major league sports and its sponsors must set an
example for children.

By BARRY R. McCAFFREY

From the Tour de France raids to the latest basketball drug
bust, the use of drugs in the sports world once again has captured
headlines. Drug use among athletes broadcasts a mixed message that puts
athletes, their sports and our children at risk. We need to act now to make
the field of play a drug-free zone.

Children learn from and emulate athletes - whether it is
their shooting stance or their drug use. For example, after the tragic death
of Len Bias, youth cocaine use suddenly dropped. When athletes use drugs and
are simultaneously rewarded for their athleticism, our children get the
misimpression that drugs are not dangerous to physical well-being, dreams
and aspirations. Once a child believes these falsehoods, the toll begins to
mount: drug use, addiction, crime and even death.

Drug use by athletes also threatens the world of sport.
Widespread allegations of drug use in athletics will cause chronic public
cynicism. Outstanding feats of athleticism will be chalked up to better
drugs, not greater character. Parents who fear drug use by their children
find it hard to justify paying hard-earned wages to take their children to
sporting events, only to spend difficult hours explaining away the behavior
of the stars they helped create. The momentum must shift; we need to take
the incentives out of drug use. When sponsors say no to drug use, the
sponsored will stop. Money talks.

For Olympic athletes, however, the rewards are primarily
medals and honor. The International Olympic Committee is taking steps to
combat drugs, such as banning "nonperformance enhancing" drugs such as
marijuana and Ecstasy and calling for a new, stronger drug testing agency.
Now it must respond to admissions of doping coming out of the trials of
former East German swim coaches and doctors who gave athletes steroids
without their knowledge in order to increase "socialism's" medal count.
Stripping medals from these victimized athletes seems unnecessary. Their
suffering alone suffices to make the case against drug use.

To let these victories stand unremarked, however, sends the
wrong messages to coaches, athletes and children. Steroid use among young
girls in America is up; a study by Penn State University found that 175,000
high school girls reported taking steroids one or more times. Unless we make
the consequences of drug use clear, more young women and men are likely to
put themselves at risk. It seems past time to recognize and give medals to
the true heroes of past Olympic competitions: the athletes who competed
clean but were cheated of their victories by their competitors' doping.

Professional basketball as well needs to set straight its
messages about drugs. Current National Basketball Assn. rules do not
prohibit marijuana use by players, which some sources peg at 50% to 75% of
the athletes. This situation puts the players, our children and even the
game at risk: Players and management must join the ranks of the millions of
other drug-free workplaces, which test employees at all levels, provide
treatment programs and sanction continued drug use.

There are some positive signs. Eighteen major league
baseball teams are showing anti-drug public service announcements in their
stadiums at every home game. Major league soccer is sending strong anti-drug
messages to its young fans and has named Dante Washington, star forward with
the Dallas Burn, as national spokesperson against youth drug use. On Oct.
23, as part of the Office of Drug Policy's athletic initiative, the first
ever "National Coachathon Against Drugs" will see coaches across the
nation--from the peewee leagues to the big leagues--starting their practices
with a message against drugs to their players and students.

These are good signs, but we must do more. Parents, coaches
and youth leaders must insist that athletes as well as the organizations
they represent and the companies that sponsor them are worthy of the respect
of their young fans. Respect is earned; it will come when the world of
sports takes a united stand against drugs.

Gen. Barry R. Mccaffrey Is Director of the White House Office of
National Drug Control Policy

Copyright 1998 Los Angeles Times. All Rights Reserved
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Scientists Don't Know If 'Andro' Is Dangerous
(According To A 'Dallas Morning News' Article In 'The Toronto Star,'
Tim Ziegenfuss, An Assistant Professor Of Exercise Science
At Eastern Michigan University, Says That Except For A 1962 Study
On Two Women, 'There's Not A Single Published Report In The US
As To The Effects Of Androstenedione On Testosterone')

Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1998 09:51:51 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: Scientists Don't Know if 'Andro' is Dangerous
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Dave Haans
Source: Toronto Star (Canada)
Contact: lettertoed@thestar.com
Website: http://www.thestar.com/
Pubdate: Fri, 4 Sep 1998
Authors: Sue Goetinck and Laura Beil - Dallas Morning News

SCIENTISTS DON'T KNOW IF 'ANDRO' IS DANGEROUS

Little research on supplement's side effects

Baseball slugger Mark McGwire may be leading the major leagues in home
runs, but scientists aren't so sure that "andro" power has anything to do
with it.

They also can't say whether androstenedione - the supplement McGwire and
many amateur athletes are taking to try to boost testosterone levels, and
thus enhance their performance - is safe.

Except for a 1962 study on two women, "there's not a single published
report in the U.S. as to the effects of androstenedione on testosterone,"
says Tim Ziegenfuss, an assistant professor of exercise science at Eastern
Michigan University.

Excess testosterone can help build muscle, but doctors fear it may cause
cardiovascular, liver or other problems. However, distributors say "andro"
products don't raise testosterone levels enough to be harmful.

Scientists and physicians say little research is available addressing the
supplement's potential muscle- and stamina-building effects, as well as
side effects, in people.

Researchers say the lack of studies so far, and the fact that high doses of
other, related steroids can cause medical problems, should make users pause
before risking their health for uncertain athletic gain.

Although it is unclear what happens when using the supplement, naturally
produced androstenedione is converted in the body into the male hormone
testosterone, as well as into the female hormone estrogen. This happens
only in tissues that contain the right machinery, such as the adrenal
glands, testes and ovaries.

The concerns about androstenedione's side effects focus on the
testosterone. In healthy people, doctors worry that unusually high levels
of testosterone might trigger various health problems.

The actual side effects of high testosterone are "not as clear as you might
think," says Richard Casaburi of Harbor-UCLA Medical Centre in Torrance,
Calif. That's partly because scientists aren't going to conduct a study
that calls for giving high doses of the hormone for a long time.

One of the few studies on the effects of androstenedione in people was
conducted recently by Ziegenfuss. He tested fewer than 10 men, he says, and
found only a small increase in blood levels of testosterone 90 minutes
after the men took a single 100-milligram dose of androstenedione.

But, he says, his study was not designed to address whether taking
androstenedione increases athletic performance, or whether it has any short
or Iong-term side effects.

The work was funded by Patrick Arnold, who says he introduced
androstenedione to the United States in 1996.

Arnold, who heads an Illinois company called Seymour BioOrganics Inc., says
he had noticed a description of the compound on U.S. patent documents filed
by two German researchers in 1993.

The scientific claim most widely touted by U.S. distributors - that
androstenedione raises testosterone levels by as much as 237 per cent -
traces to this patent paperwork, Arnold says. The patent did not include a
citation of a published scientific study.

Meanwhile, critics have questioned whether androstenedione, and not
McGwire's natural ability, should be credited for his home runs. One
scientist noted it takes more than muscle to hit home runs.

Hand-eye co-ordination is key, says Michael Meyers, professor of sports
physiology at the University of Houston, and steroids are not known to make
this ability better or worse.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Tobacco-Firms Lawyers Face Accusations of Deception
(According To An 'Associated Press' Article In 'The Seattle Times,'
Today's 'Wall Street Journal' Says The US Justice Department Believes Lawyers
For Brown And Williamson Tobacco Corporation, The Nation's Third Largest
Cigarette Manufacturer, May Have Engaged In A Criminal Plan To Deceive
Federal Regulators)

Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1998 09:38:38 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: Tobacco-Firms Lawyers Face Accusations of Deception
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://www.seattletimes.com/
Pubdate: Fri, 04 Sep 1998
Author: The Associated Press

TOBACCO-FIRM LAWYERS FACE ACCUSATIONS OF DECEPTION

NEW YORK - The government believes lawyers for the nation's third-largest
cigarette manufacturer may have engaged in a criminal plan to deceive
federal regulators, The Wall Street Journal reported today.

The Justice Department last month filed a sealed court brief contending
that lawyers for Brown & Williamson Tobacco cited attorney-client privilege
as the reason for refusing to hand over documents.

The department argues that privilege wouldn't apply if there is evidence
that a crime was committed by the attorneys.

A Brown & Williamson attorney, William Hendricks, declined to comment.

The brief reportedly was part of the Justice Department's grand-jury
evidence against the company. It was filed last month in federal court in
the District of Columbia.

It's unclear whether the department's attempt to obtain the documents was
successful, the Journal said.

The government's probe is focusing on whether Brown & Williamson lied to
the Food and Drug Administration and other agencies about manipulating
nicotine levels in cigarettes and using tobacco leaves with high levels of
nicotine, lawyers familiar with the case told the newspaper.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Cigarettes From The Skies Helped Soldiers Survive (An Op-Ed
In 'The San Francisco Examiner' By A Vietnam Veteran Who Smoked
Free Cigarettes Distributed By The Military Applauds The Government's
Decision To Stop Paying Smoking-Related Health Benefits For Such Veterans)
Link to earlier story
Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1998 09:40:48 -0700 From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews) To: mapnews@mapinc.org Subject: MN: US CA: OPED: Cigarettes From the Skies Helped Soldiers Survive 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) Source: San Francisco Examiner (CA) Contact: letters@examiner.com Website: http://www.examiner.com/ Pubdate: Fri, 04 Sep 1998 Author: Bob Armstrong CIGARETTES FROM THE SKIES HELPED SOLDIERS SURVIVE AFTER COMING under fire for the first time during the Vietnam war, I lit up a cigarette. On another patrol, a Marine was killed by a booby trap on a jungle trail a hundred yards behind me. Twenty of us had walked right over that device without setting it off. Time to spark a match. Inhaling on that death-bearing cig seemed to offer the promise I'd walk out of the infernal mudhole alive. Almost all the grunts on the front lines smoked, but it wasn't the Marine Corps that led me to pick up the habit. I'd put the blame on those wily VC in black pajamas hiding in the treetops. Not agents of Joe Camel, but they served the same purpose. Then too, the source of the cigarettes was a wonder to behold. They fell out of the sky. The resupply choppers came in with 4 main goodies: mail, ammo, C-rations and free cigarettes in sample packages of four. You could scoop up as many of these slender little boxes as you wanted. Very satisfying after ham and lima beans from a can. I thought about this after reading in The Examiner last Sunday that more than 8,000 vets had filed disability claims for smoking-related injuries because they picked up the habit in the heat of battle. Only combat-zone vets could apply. The claim rests on the fact that free cigarettes landed in Vietnam, Korea and all over the theater of operations during World War II. A 1993 legal opinion from Mary Lou Keener, general counsel for the Veterns Administration, concluded that vets had the right to make such claims. Last year, the Department of Veterans Affairs estimated there could be as many as 2.5 million claims of this nature filed over the next 10 years. The costs of smoking-related compensation would be in the billions of dollars. In a kind of preemptive strike, VA officials moved to snuff out proposed legislation moving through Congress which would have made good on these claims. The VA won through a slippery maneuver - tacking an amendment banning the war-smoking claims on a pork-barrel highway funding bill which sailed through Congress. I don't like the underhanded method by which this was done, but I do think it was the right decision. I can't conclude that the federal government has encroached on my liberty by allowing the tobacco companies to give away cigarettes to the troops. Quite the opposite. Free cigarettes raining down on us enhanced our ability to do the dirty job. Smoking and war are deeply intertwined. Before a battle you smoke to calm your nerves. After the battle you smoke in the face of grief. Between battles you sit around with four or five other guys smoking and telling dirty jokes and complaining about some arrogant lieutenant waving his insane arms in your direction. Most of the time there is no battle. You hump the hills for days without a shot fired. You sit for long hours in the hot sun with nothing to do. So hot you must have a smoke. Or maybe the monsoon rains just swept in. Aahhh, how refreshing, the fiery tip giving off a little warmth in the midst of a storm. Now we are at peace and in need of an enemy. Thus a war on cigarettes, once the ally of the soldier. To some extent a just war. The nicotine delivery system is a nasty number. The war on cigarettes is looking much like the war in Vietnam: long, protracted, and in the end, likely a lost cause. Well, not quite. In the '50s half the nation's adults puffed away. Today about one-quarter smoke. An amazing victory, but not good enough for the zero-tolerance zealots determined to extinguish every cigarette. For them, it is total war. Examiner contributor Bob Armstrong is the editor of Exotica, a San Francisco monthly adult entertainment magazine. He served in Vietnam as a photographer in the Third Marine Division. 1998 San Francisco Examiner Page A 23
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Potato Chips Seasoned With Cocaine In Mexico (According To 'Reuters,'
The Mexican Television Network, 'Televisa,' Said Thursday
That School Officials Have Taken To Searching Students' Backpacks
After Homemade Potato Chips Sold Outside A School In Downtown San Luis Potosi
Were Found To Include Small Packets Of Cocaine Wrapped In Plastic)

Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1998 09:17:37 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: Mexico: WIRE: Potato Chips Seasoned With Cocaine In Mexico
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)
Pubdate: Fri, 4 Sep 1998
Source: Reuters

POTATO CHIPS SEASONED WITH COCAINE IN MEXICO

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - School children in north-central Mexico
received cocaine instead of salt with their potato chips until
authorities put a halt to it, Mexican TV reported Thursday. In San
Luis Potosi, homemade potato chips sold outside a downtown school came
with small packets of white powder wrapped in plastic.

It may be salt, but after a few complaints Health Ministry officials
analyzed the substance and found it to be cocaine, the Televisa
network reported. So far no arrests have been made, but local
education officials have taken to searching the backpacks of students
as they enter school grounds, Televisa said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

'Major' Durham Pot Gang Busted ('The Toronto Sun' Says Prohibition Agents
In Fenelon Falls Believe The Durham Region's Marijuana Trade Has Been Dealt
A Severe Blow With The Arrest Of Seven Men And Seizure Of $300,000 In Pot -
About The First Time In History Such A Result Would Be Likely)

From: creator@islandnet.com (Matt Elrod)
To: mattalk@listserv.islandnet.com
Subject: "Major" Durham Pot Gang Busted
Date: Fri, 04 Sep 1998 09:42:29 -0700
Lines: 36
Newshawk: creator@mapinc.org
Source: Toronto Sun (Canada)
Contact: editor@sunpub.com
Pubdate: Friday, September 4, 1998
Author: KEVIN HANN, DURHAM BUREAU

'Major' Durham pot gang busted

FENELON FALLS -- Drug squad detectives believe Durham Region's
marijuana trade has been dealt a severe blow with the arrest of seven
men and seizure of $300,000 in pot.

Durham police Sgt. Jim Grimley said undercover officers followed a
pickup truck from Oshawa to a cottage north of Fenelon Falls on Aug.
27.

Grimley said police found "numerous" pickup trucks, all-terrain
vehicles, dirt bikes and parts for a snow machine at the cottage.

"Seven men were arrested that same day and the investigation turned
over to the OPP," he added.

Provincial police obtained a search warrant, raided the cottage Aug.
28 and seized 107 pounds of marijuana and 250 pot plants.

"The drug squad considers this group to be major suppliers of
marijuana to Durham Region," Grimley said.

Charged with production of a controlled substance, possession of a
controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking and possession of
proceeds of crime are Joseph Mifsud, 22, and Brian Mifsud, 21, both of
Rideau St., Brian Sturgeon, 25, of Homefield Sq., Gordon Mittag, 23,
of Norman Ct., Douglas Adams, 21, of Gibb St., all of Oshawa; Tim
Young, 31, of Doncaster Cres., Newcastle; and Sean Andrew, 32, of
Broadlands Cres., Courtice.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Ailing Prison Drug-Smuggler Gets Jail Time ('The Winnipeg Free Press'
Says Kenneth Mollard, A Frail 57-Year-Old Maintenance Worker
Who Helped Smuggle Marijuana And Cocaine Into Stony Mountain Prison,
Was Sentenced To 26 Months In Jail Yesterday - While An Undercover Agent
Involved In The Police Sting That Apprehended Mollard Was Paid $150,000)

From: creator@islandnet.com (Matt Elrod)
To: mattalk@listserv.islandnet.com
Subject: Canada: Ailing Prison Drug-Smuggler Gets Jail Time
Date: Fri, 04 Sep 1998 09:40:06 -0700
Lines: 57
Newshawk: creator@mapinc.org
Source: Winnipeg Free Press (Canada)
Contact: letters@freepress.mb.ca
Author: Leah Janzen, Law Courts Reporter
Pubdate: September 4, 1998

AILING PRISON DRUG-SMUGGLER GETS JAIL TIME

A frail 57-year-old maintenance worker who helped smuggle drugs into
Stony Mountain prison will spend the next 26 months in jail, a court
decided yesterday.

In handing down the sentence, Madam Justice Lea Duval said Kenneth
Mollard, a garbage collector at Stony Mountain, was an "integral and
important part of the smuggling operation" who used his position of
trust to carry cocaine and marijuana to inmates inside the prison
walls.

"He could go in and out without being searched," she said.

"His conduct was planned and deliberate and ongoing and it was
especially serious because it took place inside a prison."

Duval noted she took Mollard's failing health and his doctor's
recommendations against incarceration into consideration but added the
man's actions called for a jail term.

"A conditional sentence (served in the community) would be viewed by
the public and employees of penal institutions as very lenient and
would fail to deter others from committing similar offences," she
said, pointing to testimony from Stony Mountain's gang co-ordinator.

Ray Gawryluk had spoken of the violence and unrest that can occur in
the jail when inmates get their hands on drugs.

Mollard, who has had two heart attacks and is dealing with a variety
of other health problems, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to
traffic in narcotics and one count of bribery.

During his sentencing hearing, court heard Mollard was paid to collect
packages filled with drugs outside a pump house near the prison and
take the drugs inside to inmates, most of whom were members of biker
gangs.

Mollard was arrested with 16 others. In all, more than a quarter-ounce
of cocaine, 215 Valium-type pills and more than three ounces of
marijuana were smuggled into the prison during the police sting.

The police investigation relied heavily on information obtained by a
paid agent - formerly known as Margo Redsky - who delivered the drugs
to the pump house and took orders for drugs from inmates.

During the first day of Mollard's sentencing hearing, Redsky, who was
paid $150,000 for her work as an agent, testified under heavy security
that Mollard was the man who collected the drugs and delivered them
inside.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Doctors Leaders Rule Out Random Tests After Shock Drugs Survey
('The Associated Press' Says A New British Survey Of 114 Doctors
Who Have Graduated Recently From The University Of Newcastle
Found Those Who Used Alcohol And Illegal Substances Did So
Mostly For Pleasure - 93 Percent Drank Alcohol, More Than 35 Percent
Of The Men And 19 Percent Of Women Used Cannabis, And 13 Percent
Of Men And 10 Percent Of Women Used Other Illicit Drugs,
Including Magic Mushrooms, LSD, Ecstasy, Amyl Nitrate, Cocaine
And Amphetamines)

Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1998 09:36:58 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: UK: Wire: Doctors Leaders Rule Out
Random Tests After Shock Drugs Survey
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
Source: Associated Press
Pubdate: Fri, 4 Sep 1998

DOCTORS LEADERS RULE OUT RANDOM TESTS AFTER SHOCK DRUGS SURVEY

Doctors leaders today rejected the introduction of random drugs tests after
a new study found that drug abuse and excessive drinking are shockingly
commonplace among younger members of the profession.

The study of the lifestyles of 90 junior house officers, most of them
women, found that 93% drank alcohol, of whom 60% exceeded recommended
safety limits.

More than 35% of the men and 19% of women were using cannabis, with over
11% taking it regularly.

A high proportion of the doctors, 13% of men and 10% of women, used other
illicit drugs including magic mushrooms, LSD, ecstasy, amyl nitrate,
cocaine and amphetamines.

The main reason for drinking and drug taking was given as "pleasure".
However, the investigators found that most of the doctors had high
work-related stress levels, producing anxiety and depression.

All the doctors taking part in the survey were contacted a year after
graduating from the University of Newcastle. Of 114 contacted, 90 -
including 51 women - agreed to provide information on an anonymous basis.

Dr Farhad Kamali and colleagues from the university, who carried out the
survey, wrote in the Lancet medical journal: "It is unlikely these
lifestyles apply only to house officers in the north east of England.

"The current drinking habits, illicit drug use and stress in some junior
doctors is of concern, not only for their own well being, but also how they
may affect patient care."

They raised the question of whether routine or random drug and alcohol
testing should be introduced for junior doctors. The doctors added: "There
is no evidence that such schemes would be workable or appropriate in the UK
National Health Service, but mandatory urine screening is undertaken in the
UK army, and some UK industries, and for doctors in the USA."

A statement from the British Medical Association said: "The Lancet
article's findings are consistent with the BMA's own research on junior
doctors drinking above safe limits, often to combat stress.

"The information on recreational drug use is new to the BMA, but it looks
consistent with patterns of recreational drug use by young people
generally.

"We cannot tell from The Lancet article how many of these young doctors may
have an addiction problem or might develop one, but we take the problem of
drug and alcohol misuse by doctors very seriously.

"All the evidence is that if you can intervene and offer support to a
doctor with problems early on, they have a good chance of recovery."

However, the statement said any proposal to introduce random or routine
drug testing would have "major civil liberties implications". "We have not
seen evidence that testing all these groups of health professionals is
necessary, or that it would be effective. If such a proposal were to be put
forward, the BMA would want to consider the evidence very carefully."

1998 Press Association
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Alarm Over Junior Doctors' Drug Abuse (The Version In Britain's 'Guardian')

Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1998 05:17:45 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: UK: Alarm Over Junior Doctors' Drug Abuse
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Martin Cooke (mjc1947@cyberclub.iol.ie)
Source: The Guardian (UK)
Contact: letters@guardian.co.uk
Website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/
Pubdate: Fri, 04 Sep 1998
Author: Sarah Boseley, Health Correspondent

ALARM OVER JUNIOR DOCTORS' DRUG ABUSE

There were calls for random dope testing in the medical profession yesterday
as a report emerged showing that one in three male junior doctors uses
cannabis and more than 10 per cent of both sexes take other drugs, from
ecstasy to LSD and cocaine.

A study in this week's Lancet medical journal reveals that heavy drinking
and the use of illicit drugs are common among young doctors in their early
20s. A survey of 90 house officers, one year after graduation from Newcastle
university, reveals that of the 93 per cent who drank, 60 per cent exceeded
the recommended safe limits. A quarter of men and a third of women indulged
in "binge drinking" - consuming more than half the recommended limit (14
units for a woman and 21 for a man) in one session.

The doctors said they drank for pleasure, and three quarters claimed their
drug use was also recreational. More than 35 per cent of men and 19 per cent
of women used cannabis, more than 11 per cent using it weekly or monthly.

The other drugs, used by 13 per cent of men and 10 per cent of women, were
hallucinogenic mushrooms, LSD, ecstasy, amyl nitrite, cocaine and
amphetamines.

While Farhad Kamali from the Wolfson Unit of Clinical Pharmacology at
Newcastle university and colleagues, the authors of the study, acknowledge
that the drink and drugs pattern is not dissimilar to that of other people
of the same age, they are concerned at the implications.

"The current drinking habits, illicit drug use and stress in some junior
doctors are of concern, not only for their own well-being, but also how they
may affect patient care," they write. They ask whether routine or random
drug and alcohol screening should be introduced, pointing out that they
exist in the army and some industries in the UK and among doctors in the
United States.

Dr Kamali said he and his colleagues proposed to do further studies of older
groups of doctors to see whether "once they mature and reach a position of
responsibility they will curb their unhealthy lifestyles".

Mark Porter, an anaesthetist in Coventry who chairs the British Medical
Association's Junior Doctors Committee, said he was sure the drinking and
drug taking were no different from that of other young people. "In terms of
marijuana use, I don't think there is anything to be worried about," he
said. "The long-term effects are probably less dangerous than alcohol.

"We do know that the medical profession as a whole is more prone to
alcoholism than the general population." The stress of the job was part of
the reason. The study found the junior doctors were stressed and anxious.

On a rota to work one night in four, doctors often worked all night, then
spent a night recovering, then crammed four nights' social life into two, Dr
Porter said.

But Patrick Dixon, whose book The Truth About Drugs will be published on
Monday, claims one doctor in 10 is dependent on either drink or drugs, and
alleges that deaths and injuries result.

"If your mother has a hip replacement operation on a Monday morning and is
admitted by two anaesthetists and a medical team of three, there is a 50 per
cent risk that one of the five will be incompetent because of intoxication
or withdrawing from intoxication.

"Research shows you are four times more likely to be involved in job-related
accidents if you are on drink or drugs. The medical equivalent of that is
slipping with the scalpel or prescribing the wrong dose. When we make
mistakes, people get sick and if they are very sick, they die.

"If a doctor has a blood alcohol level that would make it illegal to drive a
car, they should not be in an operating theatre."

He wanted to see random drink and drug testing in the NHS, he said, but the
British Medical Association disagrees, arguing it would have major civil
liberties implications. "We have not seen evidence that testing health
professionals is necessary, or that it would be effective. If such a
proposal were to be put forward, the BMA would want to consider it very
carefully," it said in a statement.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Alarm At Doctor's Drug Use ('The Scotsman' Version)

Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1998 06:26:46 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: UK: Alarm At Doctor's Drug Use
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
Source: Lancet, The (UK)
Contact: lancet.editorial@elsevier.co.uk
Website: http://www.thelancet.com/
Source: Scotsman (UK)
Contact: Letters_ts@scotsman.com
Website: http://www.scotsman.com/
Pubdate: Fri, 4 Sep 1998

Subj: UK: Alarm at doctor's drug use
Date: 4 Sep, 1998

ALARM AT DOCTOR'S DRUG USE

DRINK and drug abuse by young doctors could be putting patients' lives at
risk, a report has claimed.

Junior doctors are using drugs and alcohol more now than they did when they
were students - more than a third of male doctors questioned admitted using
cannabis.

The study found that most young doctors drink too much and many of them
take illegal drugs, including hallucinogens.

The report's revelations prompted Dr Farhad Kamali, one of the authors of
the report, to warn: "Clearly there is cause for concern. Drinking too much
and taking drugs can harm the doctor's health. There is concern over
patient care as well. We do not know how this behaviour affects how doctors
do their jobs."

A spokesman for the General Medical Council said: "This report is an
important and timely piece of work which recognises the serious risk that
the minority of doctors with these problems can pose to patients, if they
are not dealt with quickly and appropriately. It highlights the importance
of identifying doctors with problems before patients are put at risk."

Harry Shapiro of London's Institute for the Study of Drug Dependence said:
"People who regularly use depressant drugs such as alcohol and cannabis can
have slower reaction times. It depends on the individual.

"Doctors have access to very strong painkillers as well as illegal drugs.
It wouldn't surprise me if some junior doctors used strong drugs like
morphine.

"You don't want to be under the influence of any of these drugs if you need
to react well in an emergency situation. But the long hours work could
impair their performance as well."

The research, conducted at the Wolfson unit of clinical pharmacology at the
University of Newcastle, found most junior doctors drink excessive amounts
of alcohol.

The statistics are published in a research letter in this week's Lancet,
based on a study of the behaviour of 90 junior doctors last year. The
interviewees, who had all been questioned as medical students, were taking
more drugs and drinking more alcohol than when they had been students.

The study found that, of the 93 per cent of junior house residents who
drank, 60 per cent "exceeded safety limits".

Dr Kamali added: "Over 10 per cent of the individuals were drinking to a
hazardous level and nearly one third were binge drinking on days off."

More than one-third of male doctors in the study smoked cannabis. Nineteen
per cent of the women interviewed also admitted to smoking the drug.

About 13 per cent of men and 10 per cent of women in the survey admitted
current use of other, more dangerous and addictive drugs such as the
hallucinogenics LSD and magic mushrooms, cocaine, ecstasy and amphetamines.

The Britsh Medical Association said: "The Lancet article's findings on
alcohol consumption are consistent with the BMAs own research on junior
doctors drinking above safe limits, often to combat stress.

"The information on recreational drug use is new to the BMA, but looks
consistent with patterns of recreational drug use by young people generally.

"We cannot tell how many of these young doctors may have an addicton
problem or might develop one, but we take the problem of drug and alcohol
misuse very seriously.

"All the evidence is that if you can intervene and offer support to a
doctor with problems early on, they have a good chance of recovery.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Fat May Rival Smoking As Health Threat (A 'Toronto Star' Update
On The Eighth International Congress On Obesity In Paris Says Organizers
Of The Conference Are Optimistic About A New Drug Called Orlistat
That Has Been Found In Clinical Trials To Promote Weight Loss By Reducing
The Body's Absorption Of Dietary Fat - The Drug, To Be Marketed
By Roche Holdings AG Under The Name Xenical, Is To Go On Sale In Europe
This Month And In The United States Some Time Next Year)
Link to earlier story
Date: Fri, 04 Sep 1998 08:52:19 -0400 To: mattalk@islandnet.com From: Dave Haans (haans@chass.utoronto.ca) Subject: TorStar: Fat may rival smoking as health threat Newshawk: Dave Haans Source: The Toronto Star Pubdate: Friday, September 4, 1998 Page: D1 Website: http://www.thestar.com Contact: lettertoed@thestar.com Fat may rival smoking as health threat PARIS (Reuters) - Medical experts warn that obesity, rapidly becoming a problem in the developing world and industrialized nations, could one day rival smoking in its impact on public health. ``This is a pandemic, probably one of the top five public health problems in the world. Scientists are already beginning to wonder whether it will be worse than smoking,'' Dr. Philip James told reporters this week at the Eighth International Congress on Obesity in Paris. James, who heads a task force for the International Association for the Study of Obesity, and other scientists say there is considerable hope that new drugs will soon be available to help fat people lose weight and stay fit. Until then, they say, public health officials in India and the South Pacific as well as North America and Australia should begin to modify eating behaviour in both children and adults. ``If we wait, in 10 to 20 years from now it really looks like we are going to have a catastrophe on our hands,'' says James, who is also director of the Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen, Scotland, and head of a United Nations commission on nutrition. ``We are emphasizing the need to begin tackling the problem earlier, to deal with childhood weight problems and to completely rethink the way we approach physical activity and diet to ensure a healthy, active lifestyle,'' says Dr. Stephen Rossner of Stockholm's Karolinska Institute. He dismisses the stereotype of the jolly overweight person, saying research has found obese individuals generally are financially less well off and have a lower quality of life than thinner people. ``We can't rule out that there are happy fat people. But the evidence is against it,'' he says. Organizers of the conference say the outlook is not all gloom and doom. They are particularly optimistic about a new drug called orlistat that has been found in clinical trials to promote weight loss by reducing the body's absorption of dietary fat. The drug, to be marketed by Roche Holdings AG under the name Xenical, is to go on sale in Europe this month and in the United States some time next year. Approval was delayed when health officials requested additional research on data hinting at a possible link between orlistat and breast cancer. While orlistat has undergone extensive testing in humans, the medical experts cautioned consumers against relying on the many untested over-the-counter drugs that claim to help weight loss. ``There is a great desire for weight-loss drugs as everyone is tired of the `eat less, exercise more' approach. But there are so many fraudulent products and so many gullible people,'' Rossner says. ``I always tell my patients: `You use them at your own risk because there is no data demonstrating effectiveness and they may not be safe,' '' says Dr. George Bray, president of the International Association for the Study of Obesity.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Michelle Smith Appeals Suspension ('The Associated Press'
Says Olympic Swimming Champion Michelle Smith Filed An Appeal Thursday
With The International Court Of Arbitration For Sport In Lausanne,
Switzerland, Of Her Four-Year Suspension For Tampering With A Drug Test -
Why Someone Would Put Alcohol In A Urine Test Isn't Explained)

From: "W.H.E.N. - Bob Owen" (when@olywa.net)
To: "-News" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: Olympian Appeals Drug Suspension
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1998 12:44:23 -0700
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net

Friday, September 4, 1998

Michelle Smith Appeals Suspension

LAUSANNE, Switzerland--Olympic swimming champion Michelle Smith, as she had
said she would, has appealed her four-year suspension for tampering with a
drug test.

The filing was made with the International Court of Arbitration for
Sport on Thursday.

If Smith succeeds in overturning the ban imposed by swimming's world
governing body, FINA, she could be swimming competitively by Christmas.

CAS spokesman Matthieu Reeb said it was the organization's policy to
settle disputes within four months.

He said Smith and FINA could each choose one arbitrator from a list of
150 sports law and arbitration experts and CAS would appoint a president to
head a three-person panel to hear Smith's appeal.

Smith was found guilty on Aug. 6 of tampering with an
out-of-competition urine test taken at her home in Kilkenny, Ireland, in
January.

The panel said the sample contained a large quantity of alcohol,
probably whiskey.

The ban included the Sydney 2000 Olympics and the 2001 World
Championships, in effect ending the 28 -year-old swimmer's career.

"I am fighting for my reputation and for my right to go to Sydney,"
Smith said after the suspension was announced.

Smith said the alcohol in the sample hadn't prevented the IOC drug
testing laboratory in Barcelona, Spain, from determining that no
performance-enhancing drug or signs of drug use were present.

"I had no motive for introducing alcohol or indeed any other masking
agent into my sample, as I have never tested positive for the use of any
banned substance throughout my career," she said.

Smith said FINA had produced no proof that she was to blame for the
added alcohol. She accused FINA of conspiring "to ensure that I did not swim
again and to ensure that, by whatever method was available to them, a ban
was imposed."

Smith had a mediocre record before winning three gold medals and a
bronze at the Atlanta Games, three years after Dutch discus and shot put
champion Erik de Bruin became her coach.

Her marriage to de Bruin, who was suspended for four years after
testing positive for excessive testosterone, stirred speculation that her
own meteoric rise had been aided by drugs.

However, Smith said she had been tested more often than any of her
rivals.

FINA said her original and backup drug tests, which were stored and
tested separately, both showed high-alcohol content. This, it said, ruled
out the possibility that anyone other than Smith had tampered with the
samples.

Copyright 1998 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved
-------------------------------------------------------------------

The Week Online With DRCNet, Issue Number 57 (An Original Summary
Of Drug Policy News From The Drug Reform Coordination Network)

Date: Fri, 04 Sep 1998 01:31:44 -0400
To: drc-natl@drcnet.org
From: DRCNet (drcnet@drcnet.org)
Subject: The Week Online with DRCNet, Issue No. 57
Sender: owner-drc-natl@drcnet.org

The Week Online with DRCNet, Issue No. 57 -- September 4, 1998

-------- PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE --------

(To sign off this list, mailto:listproc@drcnet.org with the
line "signoff drc-natl" in the body of the message, or
mailto:lists@drcnet.org for assistance. To subscribe to
this list, visit http://www.drcnet.org/signup.html.)

(This issue can be also be read on our web site at
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/057.html.)

Check your DRCNet e-mail this Tuesday, when we will announce
a new special book offer for new and renewing members!

The last batch of books from the old book deal, Marijuana
Myths, Marijuana Facts, went out two weeks ago. Everyone
who is entitled to a copy from us should have it by now.
But just in case, if your copy of MMMF hasn't shown up,
please let us know right away; write to our new Membership
Coordinator, Kris Lotlikar, at lotlikar@drcnet.org. Kris is
also handling bumpersticker requests (sent to all new paying
members, and others upon request), and will be spearheading
the new book offer as well. With Kris on the job, we are
committed to "rapid response" on all promised items.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Gray vs. Satel in Slate Online Magazine
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/057.html#slate

2. Federal Judge Rejects Oakland Buyers' Club Status,
Rejects Government's Call for Immediate Shut-Down
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/057.html#breyer

3. Police Seize Methadone Treatment Clinic Files
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/057.html#clinic

4. In Response to Slaying, "Chad's Law" Will Place Stricter
Limits on Use of Children as Informants in California
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/057.html#brea

5. Judge Finds City-Imposed Restrictions on Scheduled
Marijuana Rally Unconstitutional
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/057.html#boston

6. Survey Finds American Teens Woefully Uninformed About
Government
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/057.html#survey

7. California State Senate Adjourns Without Taking Action on
Medical Marijuana Research Bill
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/057.html#calmedmj

8. Afghani Opium Crop Grows Despite Taliban's Promises of
Eradication
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/057.html#afghanopium

9. EDITORIAL: From Ignorance to Tyranny
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/057.html#editorial

***

1. Gray vs. Satel in Slate Online Magazine

Mike Gray, author of the book Drug Crazy, released by Random
House last June, is debating prohibitionist activist Sally
Satel on the online magazine Slate, http://www.slate.com.
Go to the Slate home page and click on the War on Drugs
dialogue link (toward the bottom of the page), link, then
read the Gray/Satel debate, vote and join the discussion;
you will have to register for a free trial account if you
are not a Slate subscriber. Last we checked, Gray and Satel
had each posted two installments. In our opinion, Satel's
lack of logic had already become apparent, next to our
favorite author's clear and forceful exposition of the hard
reality of prohibition's failure.

If you haven't been on DRCNet for very long and don't know
about Drug Crazy, we urge you to get out to your local
bookstore and pick up a copy, or suggest they order some
copies if you don't see it there. Drug Crazy is the best,
most readable history of prohibition ever written for the
popular audience. Mike Gray, whose credits include the
script from the hit movie The China Syndrome as well as work
on Star Trek: The Next Generation (and who is a member of
DRCNet's advisory board), spent six years researching and
writing Drug Crazy, about which he told the Chicago Tribune
last week "I look at everything I'd done as training for
this book," and about which New York magazine wrote "Gray's
point -- and though he's not the first to make it, he has
honed and hardened it enough to pierce the thickest skulls -
- is that the drug war isn't... an authentic conflict
between enemies but a hysterical splitting of the whole."
Further, Drug Crazy includes an extensive appendix of
Internet drug policy resources, highlighting DRCNet and the
early Internet drug policy reform work of DRCNet founder
David Borden and DRCNet drug library founder Cliff Schaffer.
Gray exchanged views with U.S. Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey on
CNN, a debate that McCaffrey tried to hide behind after
making a fool of himself in Europe with his wildly
inaccurate misstatements on the Netherlands drug situation
(see http://www.drcnet.org/wol/050.html#footinmouth).

A couple of reviews of Drug Crazy are available online --
Walter Kirn's review in New York magazine, July 13,
http://www.newyorkmag.com/Critics/view.asp?id=1551, and
amazingly, a review by Senior U.S. District Judge John L.
Kane, Jr., in the Denver Post, June 28, online at
http://www.denverpost.com/books/book286.htm. Read more
about Drug Crazy at http://www.drugcrazy.com.

***

2. Federal Judge Rejects Oakland Buyers' Club Status,
Rejects Government's Call for Immediate Shut-Down

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer on Monday (8/31) rejected
the Oakland city council's rather creative attempt to shield
that city's medical marijuana buyers' club from prosecution
under the federal controlled substances act, but declined
the federal government's request to order the club shut
down. Instead, Breyer indicated that he is considering
allowing a jury to decide on the question of medical
necessity on the part of those who are using the club.

Jeff Jones, director of the Oakland Cannabis Buyers'
Cooperative told The Week Online, "First, we haven't seen
the written ruling yet, and we're anxious to read it in its
entirety, but I'd call the decision a mixed bag. While
Judge Breyer failed to recognize our immune status, he also
barred the U.S. Marshall's service from coming in to shut us
down. We'll appeal the first part of that, of course.

"Interestingly, when the U.S. Attorney argued to the court
that we were illegal under California law under People v.
Peron, Judge Breyer told him that he was under the
impression that we were legal under state law, and offered
the government the chance for a hearing on that issue. But
the government backed down, rather than have that point
decided definitively."

Jones Continued, "I am still recognized by the city of
Oakland as a city officer, and we are still operating under
the assumption that we are immune from federal law because
of that designation. And as to the possibility of a jury
trial, we are determined to have this case heard by a jury
of Californians, who voted strongly in favor of this issue,
who were not and have never been misled about the issue and
who will see and surely decide that we are committed to
relieving human suffering, while the federal government is,
in this case, committed to prolonging and exacerbating that
suffering. It will be the first time anywhere that a
medical necessity defense has been heard with regard to
multiple patients, and we are confident as to the outcome of
such a trial."

The U.S. Attorney's office did not return a phone call for
comment on this case.

***

3. Police Seize Methadone Treatment Clinic Files
- Kris Lotlikar

On August 14 Fairfax police officers seized the medical
record of 79 patients at the Fairfax Methadone Treatment
Clinic. The officers obtained a warrant from the local
magistrate to search the clinic after a car disappeared
which was left in the area. The officers did not give a
reason to suspect any from the clinic would be involved and
there were several office buildings closer to the scene of
the crime.

"How can I guarantee my patients any confidentiality when
the police think they can come in and help themselves to our
records?" Ofelia Sellati, the clinic's program director,
told the Washington Post. In an affidavit requesting the
warrant Detective Garnett Broderick wrote, "It is common for
people who have addictions to various narcotics... to engage
in these kinds of criminal activities to support [their]
drug addictions."

Critics of the police action say the warrant appeared to be
unconstitutionally broad and based on drug use stereotypes.
To seize drug-treatment records requires a special court
order, some privacy experts commented. "We want to be able
to help the police when they have a legal right to know,"
Sellati commented to the Washington Post. "But this was an
abuse of power."

***

4. In Response to Slaying, "Chad's Law" Will Place Stricter
Limits on Use of Children as Informants in California

By a margin of 70-1, the California State legislature has
passed a bill known as "Chad's Law" that would place limits
on the way law enforcement uses minors as informants. AB
2816 would prohibit the police from using informants under
13 years of age, and insure that teen-agers work undercover
only with informed parental consent and a judge's approval.
California State Assemblyman Scott Baugh (R-Huntington
Beach) authored the bill in response to the murder last year
of teenager Chad MacDonald by dealers he'd informed upon in
cooperation with local police. MacDonald, 17, had been
arrested in January on a small possession charge, and wore a
wire as part of a deal to have the charges dropped. Two
months later he was beaten and strangled, and his 15-year-
old girlfriend raped, beaten and left for dead. (See the
March 27, 1998 issue of The Week Online for the full story
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/035.html#informant.)

"If this law had been in place last January," Baugh told the
Week Online, "The Chad MacDonald tragedy would never have
happened." First, law enforcement and prosecutors would not
have been able to use scare tactics such as telling
MacDonald he was facing a long prison term. (In fact,
according to Baugh, he would likely have been sentenced to
only 6 months in a drug rehab program.) Second, prosecutors
pressured MacDonald's mother into agreeing to the plan,
warning her not to consult with her fiance and telling her
she had only a day to make her decision. By requiring a
judge to approve the use of minor informants on a case-by-
case basis, the bill introduces a level of accountability
that should prevent such "coerced consent."

Originally, the bill proposed to prohibit children under 15
from undercover work. The age limit was amended to 13,
according to Baugh, after law enforcement representatives
testified before the Assembly that preventing younger
teenagers from informing would only encourage dealers to
recruit them into the drug trade. "They told us that thugs
would target younger children to do the dirty work," Baugh
said. The California State Assembly voted 70-1 to send the
bill to Gov. Pete Wilson, and the Senate approved the bill a
37-0 vote last Thursday. Governor Pete Wilson is expected
to sign the bill into law.

***

5. Judge Finds City-Imposed Restrictions on Scheduled
Marijuana Rally Unconstitutional

(reprinted from the NORML Weekly News, http://www.norml.org)

September 3, 1998, Boston, MA: A Superior Court Judge ruled
that free speech restrictions imposed on organizers of the
annual "Boston Freedom Rally" by city officials are
unconstitutional. William Downing, President of the NORML's
Massachusetts state affiliate, praised the judge's decision
to strike down the gag order. "The judge's decision
restores freedom of expression and assembly on the Boston
Common."

Earlier this year, city officials reluctantly granted the
organization permission to hold the event, but included a
requirement that all speakers and performers discourage
marijuana smoking and announce that police would enforce all
state drug laws. This week, Judge Carol Ball determined
that the city's stipulations for the speakers were
"constitutionally impermissible," and also enjoined the city
from enforcing many of the permit's other requirements.

In past years, the "Freedom Rally" has drawn crowds
approaching 100,000 people, making it the largest marijuana-
reform event in the nation. This year's event will take
place on October 3 at the Boston Commons.

For more information about the rally, please contact Bill
Downing of Mass Cann NORML at (781) 944-2266.

***

6. Survey Finds American Teens Woefully Uninformed About
Government

A nationwide survey of 600 teens aged 13-17 found that they
were overwhelmingly, if unsurprisingly, uninformed about the
principles, makeup and history of the United States
Government. The poll, conducted by the National
Constitution Center and released this week (9/2/98), found
that fewer than two percent recognized James Madison as the
"father of the Constitution," that only two percent could
identify William Rehnquist as the Chief Justice of the U.S.
Supreme Court, only 25 percent could name any one of the
rights enumerated in the fifth amendment to the
Constitution, and that more than 25 percent could not name
Al Gore as the Vice President.

Eric Sterling, President of the Criminal Justice Policy
Foundation, told The Week Online, "It is enormously
dangerous, and in fact it should be alarming, that kids are
unaware of their government, and especially of the
constitutional principles guaranteeing their liberties. The
strength and the glory of the United States is the heritage
of freedom that we have inherited from the framers. The
fact is that if people are not aware of history, they run
the risk of having someone supply an alternative history to
them in pursuit of ends which would not otherwise be
acceptable."

Sterling continued, "In terms of the drug war, a survey like
this underscores the fraudulency of the whole "send a
message to our children" premise. In fact, I recall that
during the debate over congressional drug testing, it was
postulated that such a program would 'send a message to our
youth.' Such is the enormity of the hubris of our elected
representatives, assuming that once they pass a law the
public reacts. In fact, for the most part the public, and
especially kids, are not even aware that the government has
acted at all."

***

7. California State Senate Adjourns Without Taking Action on
Medical Marijuana Research Bill

SACRAMENTO, Sep. 1: Senator Vasconcellos' medical marijuana
research bill, SB 535, died as the result of a legislative
accident today, when the State Senate was adjourned
prematurely before the Assembly could finish business. SB
535 was on the floor of the Assembly and had a good shot at
passage, when Senate President John Burton announced he was
adjourning the State Senate early as part of a dispute with
the Assembly concerning other matters.

Medical marijuana backers were disappointed by the failure
of SB 535, although Gov. Wilson was expected to veto the
bill. They expect the bill will be re-introduced and signed
into law next year, since both leading candidates for
governor have announced their support for it.

For more information, contact California NORML at
(415) 563-5858 or e-mail canorml@igc.apc.org.

***

8. Afghani Opium Crop Grows Despite Taliban's Promises of
Eradication

According to The Independent, one of the United Kingdom's
largest daily newspapers, a forthcoming United Nations
report shows that new areas of Afghanistan are being used
for the cultivation of opium poppies, and that despite poor
weather conditions, next year's crop will be one of the
largest ever. The Taliban, who have gained control of over
90% of the country, had previously promised to eradicate
poppies in exchange for promises of economic aid from UN
"Drug Czar" Pino Arlacchi. (See our prior coverage at
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/021.html#taliban,
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/053.html#taliban, and
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/038.html#richardson, and
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/021.html#editorial.

***

9. EDITORIAL: From Ignorance to Tyranny

A poll released this week by the National Constitution
Center found that the vast majority of American young
people, aged 13-17, are woefully uninformed about their
government. This would be worrisome in any case, but in a
representative democracy whose leaders have shown over the
past several years a willingness to trade constitutional
principles for political expediency, it could well portend
disaster.

While nearly three of every four teens could identify Al
Gore as the Vice President, the same percentage could not
name even one right enumerated in the fifth amendment, and
only two percent of the 600 teens queried could identify
James Madison as the "father of the constitution" or William
Rehnquist as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

The Constitution of the United States of America was written
for the purpose of limiting the power of government and
making it accountable to the governed. This notion, that
the governed ought be concerned with, and in control of, the
actions of government, was not predicated upon some set of
circumstances particular to the time; in fact it was based
upon a deep understanding of both human nature and power
itself. And the truths that applied then have not changed
in the intervening 200 years, nor are they likely to change
in the thousand to come.

But no constitution, nor any written protection against
tyranny no matter how old or how revered in the abstract,
can ever protect the inalienable rights of men and women
unless those men and women are watching closely over those
given the privilege of power. And in order to be watchful,
one must certainly understand that which is being watched.
Not just for a single generation, but for time immemorial.
It is therefore the sacred responsibility of each generation
to teach its successors not only about the primacy of
liberty and of the sacrifices made by their forefathers to
achieve it, but about the mechanisms of government itself
and of the terrifying ease with which that liberty, so hard
won, can be lost again.

But teaching citizens, much less teenagers, about the
inherent corruptibility of power and the dangers of allowing
it to operate outside of the strict supervision of the
governed, is not in the interest of those doing the
governing. And in case you are tempted to believe that I
overstate the case, or that I misjudge the character of
those whom we have elected, I invite you to try a little
experiment. Call your elected official, your congressional
representative will do nicely, and posit the following:

"Hello madam legislator, I am a member of your constituency
and I am troubled about my child's education in the public
school as it relates to the United States and its
government. I am a patriotic American you see, with a long
and proud family tradition of military service, and I want
very much to know if you believe that our young men and
women should be taught to trust, or to distrust our
government?"

Listen closely to the answer that you get. Is it the same
one that our founders would have given?

Our kids, the ones who cannot identify their constitutional
rights, are growing up in an America where, thanks largely
to the Drug War, such niceties are increasingly becoming
irrelevant. Drug-sniffing dogs roam their schools; curfew
laws forbid their appearance in public for all but a few
hours between the end of the school day and the onset of
night; doors are kicked in as a matter of course based upon
the flimsiest of evidence obtained from the shadiest of
characters; property is seized upon mere suspicion of
wrongdoing; private, consensual conduct is widely banned;
the military is deployed domestically; the chemical
composition of one's urine or blood or hair is the business
of the state; purveyors of the arts and of entertainment are
beseeched by the government to parrot the accepted ideology;
citizens who have never harmed a soul save themselves sit in
cages for long years with no discretion allowed the
sentencing judge; children are urged, directly and
indirectly, to turn in their parents; patients are forbidden
their choice of treatment, their doctors threatened, spied
upon and harassed; juries are forbidden from learning that
they have the right to disregard the law if they feel that
the outcome under its dictates would offend justice; and
politicians and bureaucrats continuously urge that we, the
people, give them even greater power so that they might
protect us from each other.

But who will protect us from them? The constitution is but
a yellowing piece of paper without a citizenry engaged and
informed enough to demand that its principles be adhered to.
Look where we are. And look at the ignorance of large
numbers of the generation to follow. Can we honestly say
that things will get better?

If the price of liberty is eternal vigilance, is the legacy
that we are leaving our children rich enough to afford it?
Or have we squandered the fortunes won and left to us by
generations before, leaving our progeny doomed to oppression
and want? Tyranny comes cheap. To earn it, one need only
turn away.

Adam J. Smith
Associate Director

***

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