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Medical Effectiveness Outside Law's Purview (A Staff Editorial
In Oregon's 'Albany Democrat-Herald' Criticizes Multnomah County Sheriff
Dan Noelle For Practicing Medicine Without A License When He Said Last Week
That Marijuana Would Be 'The Least Effective And Most Risky' Medication
To Give To Someone - And Says Marijuana 'Should Be Legal To Use
If And When It Can Help Somebody Who Is Sick')
The Albany Democrat Herald
Albany Democrat-Herald
600 Lyon St., SW
Albany, OR 97321
Telephone 541-926-2211
http://www2.mvonline.com/MV/
Letters to the editor: albanydh@proaxas.com
Opinion - Medical effectiveness outside law's purview
By Hasso Hering, Editor
Albany Democrat-Herald
If the sheriff of Multnomah County had a medical degree and had acquired
experience treating patients as a doctor, what he says about the medical
marijuana initiative would have some weight.
Since he does not and has not, he has no standing to declare, as he did last
week before the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission, that marijuana would be
"the least effective and most risky" medication to give to someone.
On the subject of the effectiveness of various substances in treating people
for illnesses, you would think sheriffs would disqualify themselves.
Sheriff Dan Noelle and other sheriffs think that the medical marijuana
initiative should not be approved. They believe that it would weaken the
notion of marijuana as an illegal drug, that it would lead to more use of
marijuana among the young, and that it would lead to more lawlessness and
suffering. These are legitimate worries for law enforcement people and
anybody else.
Some doctors, though, among them initiative sponsor Dr. Rick Bayer of
Portland, see the initiative strictly as a medical issue. They make the case
that smoking marijuana does have some benefits for some patients in some
situations, and they want to be able to advise patients to get it and use it
without breaking the law.
Logic is on their side. Morphine is addictive and dangerous. Yet doctors are
able to prescribe it as needed. The same is true of other powerful pain
relievers that make the patient feel wonderfully woozy for a while.
(Remember getting high on the stuff the dentist gave you after your last
oral surgery?) Nobody says doctors should not be able to prescribe them on
the chance that their use could become epidemic among the young.
Doctors could legally prescribe marijuana if the federal government
reclassified it and put it in the same category as various opiates. It is
instructive that in the 1930s, when marijuana was made completely off
limits, the American Medical Association opposed the action.
Like most sheriffs, the editor of the D-H has no professional knowledge of
the effectiveness of marijuana as a medication. But at least some doctors,
who should know, say it is effective. It should be legal to use if and when
it can help somebody who is sick. (hh)
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University Of Oregon Fraternity Goes Dry ('The Associated Press'
Says New Members Of Delta Sigma Phi In Eugene, Oregon, Will Supposedly
Be Forced To Go On The Wagon - Three Other UO Fraternities Have Agreed
To Ban The Use Of Alcohol Within Five Years, Another Plans To Launch
A Dry Chapter In A Couple Of Weeks, While Some Sororities - Which Already
Prohibit Alcohol - Are Doing Their Part By Pledging To Party Only With
Dry Fraternities - The University Has Also Decided To Implement
New Dorm Policies)
Associated Press
found at:
http://www.oregonlive.com/
feedback (letters to the editor):
feedback@thewire.ap.org
University of Oregon fraternity goes dry
The Associated Press
9/28/98 5:17 PM
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) -- Trying to shake an image more associated with "Animal
House" than academics, new members of the University of Oregon's Delta Sigma
Phi fraternity are going "dry."
Three other university fraternities have agreed to ban use of alcohol within
five years, and another plans to launch a dry chapter in a couple of weeks.
Some sororities, which already prohibit alcohol, are doing their part by
pledging to party only with dry fraternities.
The university has also decided to implement new dorm policies in hopes of
keeping a lid on student alcohol abuse.
Dorm residents are now prohibited from possessing even empty alcohol
containers. And noticeable intoxication, such as staggering, is prohibited
in the dorms.
Students who are written up will be charged $10 to recover enforcement costs
and required to attend a class on drinking issues.
Dorms drew attention because they attract mostly freshmen, who are both new
to campus and usually too young to drink legally.
Both university officials and Eugene police have intensified efforts to curb
alcohol abuse since two campus-area parties erupted into riots last October.
Police used tear gas on each occasion to break up crowds of about 300 people
after officers were showered with beer bottles, rocks and other objects.
"We're not happy with what happened here last fall in the slightest,"
university President Dave Frohnmayer said in a recent interview. "We will
crack the whip to whatever degree necessary."
But the reforms may have only a moderate effect on college drinking.
Supporters of the lose-the-booze effort say it's part of a greater plan to
restore the Greeks' relevance and respect as houses struggle with low
grades, declining membership and high liability insurance rates.
At the university, where Greeks account for about 10 percent of students,
fraternity membership fell by 25 percent in just three years, from 820 in
fall 1994 to 619 in fall 1997. Sorority membership fell 8 percent during
that time, from 849 to 780.
Rena Adelstein, spokeswoman for the university's Panhellenic Council, which
oversees sororities, said "if this (drinking ban) doesn't happen, basically
the Greek system is going to die in about five years."
(c)1998 Oregon Live LLC
Copyright 1997 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not
be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Veteran Claims Work Around Hazardous Chemicals Led To Terminal Illness
('The Associated Press' Says Dennis Marshall, A 43-Year-Old Former Army
Mortician In White City, Oregon, Is Dying From Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary
Disease And Suffers From Congestive Heart Failure Connected To Exposure
To Formaldehyde, But The US Department Of Veterans Affairs Is Denying
His Request For Benefits, Maintaining His Smoking Likely Caused
His Health Problems)
Associated Press
found at:
http://www.oregonlive.com/
feedback (letters to the editor):
feedback@thewire.ap.org
Veteran claims work around hazardous chemicals led to terminal illness
The Associated Press
9/28/98 4:55 PM
WHITE CITY, Ore. (AP) -- Dennis Marshall doesn't figure he'll live long
enough to benefit from the military disability pension he seeks.
"I'm doing this for her and for them," he said, nodding toward his wife and
their four children.
Marshall, 43, is in the final stages of chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease and suffers from congestive heart failure.
He and his doctors believe his illness is connected to exposure to
formaldehyde during the three years in the early 1970s that he worked as a
mortician at the Army's medical facility at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
"I remembered getting ill," he said of breathing in formaldehyde fumes
throughout each work day. "But I was in the medical field. You don't go to
sick call."
The result was that he was never treated in the military for the nausea,
dizziness or shortness of breath he experienced at work.
He figured he was being a good trooper. Now he believes he is paying for his
military work ethic with his illness.
Two years ago, after he could no longer work, he applied for a
service-connected disability pension.
But the Department of Veterans Affairs, which had initially granted him the
pension only to immediately withdraw it, continues to deny his request. The
department concluded that his smoking likely caused his health problems.
His case is now before the Board of Veterans Appeals in Washington, D.C.
Tom Furukawa, the service center manager in the regional VA office in
Portland, said he could not discuss the specifics of the case because of
privacy laws.
As the name indicates, a service-connected disability pension must have
originated in the service or be determined to have been pre-existing
disability while in the service.
In making the determination, the agency combs the veteran's service medical
records.
Congressman Bob Smith, R-Medford, has joined the battle for Marshall, urging
the department to reconsider its findings.
In a letter to the VA last month, Smith noted that Marshall is relatively
young, yet a doctor has determined his internal organs have deteriorated to
the condition of someone more than 80 years old.
Noting that Marshall worked in the military morgue with large quantities of
formaldehyde without the benefit of any breathing protection, Smith observed
that, unlike the 1970s, experts now concur that the chemical is very toxic
to humans.
Marshall spent eight years in the Army before he was discharged in 1979.
Three of those years were spent helping to train Army physicians in the
military morgue at Fort Sam Houston.
"I worked 12 to 15 hours a day, sometimes six days a week," he recalled. "I
did everything. Brain removal, eyes. The doctors needed the organs as part
of their training."
He routinely inhaled the fumes from the toxic chemical used to preserve the
cadavers. The fumes were never pleasant, but he said he got used to it.
After a military tour of duty in Germany, he was discharged. He returned to
Medford and worked at what is now Rogue Valley Medical Center as a nurse's
technician for about a year.
He and his family later returned to Germany, where he worked as a truck
driver for a decade.
But Marshall began noticing shortness of breath that wouldn't go away in the
late 1970s.
In 1981, a German doctor started treating him for lung disorders.
Marshall has a non-service-connected disability pension but, because he
receives Social Security benefits, he receives no money from the pension.
His wife works as a housekeeper.
"It's real tough to make it," he said, noting the family often doesn't have
enough money to buy medications he needs. "We just barely get by now."
If the disability is determined to be service-connected and is 100 percent,
a single veteran receives $1,964 a month, regardless of any other income. A
married veteran with children receives more benefits, which would continue
to benefit the family after his death.
(c)1998 Oregon Live LLC
Copyright 1997 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not
be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Customs Official Files Suit Against '60 Minutes' (A 'New York Times' Story
In 'The Orange County Register' Says Rudy Camacho, A US Customs Official,
Is Suing CBS, '60 Minutes' Correspondents Mike Wallace And Lesley Stahl,
And A Show Producer For Libel, Contending A Scathing Report
On The Customs Service In San Diego Was Based On A Falsified Internal Memo)
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1998 15:47:55 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: Customs Official Files Suit Against '60 Minutes'
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: Mon, 28 Sep 1998
Author: The New York Times
CUSTOMS OFFICIAL FILES SUIT AGAINST '60 MINUTES'
A U.S. Customs official is suing CBS, "60 Minutes" correspondents Mike
Wallace and Lesley Stahl, and a show producer, Lee Zeidman, for
libel, contending their scathing report on the Customs Service in San Diego
had as its crux a falsified internal memo.
Rudy Camacho, director of the Customs Management Center in San Diego,
contends the memo - which characterizes the border as a sieve through which
huge drug cargoes pass with impunity - was a forgery and that no trace can be
found of it on agency computers.
Camacho is also suing a former customs inspector, Michael Horner, who
provided "60 Minutes" with the disputed memo.
Since he left the Customs Service in 1992, Horner has been a source in
border-corruption reports by at least five news outlets.
Customs officials besides Camacho say there is strong evidence that the
memo, shown on "60 Minutes" on April 20, 1997, was forged. They say they can
demonstrate the disputed June 1996 memo is filled with titles and
bureaucratic coding that had been changed and updated the year before.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Give Terminally Ill Pot (A Letter To The Editor Of 'The Arizona Daily Star'
Protests House Joint Resolution 117, The Anti-Medical Marijuana Vow
Of Ignorance, Noting Current Policy Exists Because It Produces The Two Things
Politicians Crave The Most - Power And Money)
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1998 09:40:18 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US AZ: PUB LTE: Give Terminally Ill Pot
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: Arizona Daily Star (AZ)
Contact: letters@azstarnet.com
Website: http://www.azstarnet.com/
Pubdate: Monday, 28 September 1998
GIVE TERMINALLY ILL POT
I write to protest the recent House resolution regarding the medicinal use
of marijuana (``House condemns efforts to make medical pot legal'' - Sept.
16). Evidence of marijuana's usefulness for terminal cancer and AIDS'
patients abounds. Evidence that marijuana is no more, and in fact, less
harmful than tobacco and alcohol, also abounds.
Yet this evidence is regularly ignored simply because it does not jibe with
policy. Let's not kid ourselves: Policy exists because it produces the two
things most politicians crave the most - power and money. The most recent
antics involving the tobacco tax bear witness to this.
But why are we so concerned about terminal patients becoming addicted to
anything? These people are dying in a horrible way and consuming chemicals
much more detrimental to their systems than any street drug, including
marijuana, just to try to combat their illnesses for even one more day. If
any drug, legal or otherwise, gives these people comfort, give it to them!
If anyone is concerned with the message this would send to teen-agers,
think about what the present message is: Relieving human suffering is not
nearly as important as maintaining allegiance to a dogma-driven policy
based upon fear and ignorance. Isn't that a great thing to teach children?
David Harris
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Choice Of Evils - Michael Domangue (Colorado Attorney Warren C. Edson
Says District Attorney Paul McLimans Is Challenging His Ability
To Mount A 'Choice Of Evils' Defense For His Client
Based On Edson's Affiliation With NORML)
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1998 10:18:47 -0600
From: chandler@ACCNETCO.NET (Warren C Edson)
To: "DRCTalk Reformers' Forum" (drctalk@drcnet.org)
Subject: Choice of Evils:MD
Reply-To: drctalk@drcnet.org
Sender: owner-drctalk@drcnet.org
Update and Request for Comments: On September 25, 1998, DA Paul McLimans
filed a Motion to Reconsider Order Permitting Assertion of 'Choice of
Evils' Defense in People v. Domangue. It's 8 pages long.
The first 6 pages readdress the issue regarding the imminency of
MD's problem and the fact that growing is long a long term solution and
thus can't meet an imminent need.
The second argument is that because Marinol is available, even
though its more expensive, harder to control the dosage level, and a
tolerance is quickly built up, its mere availability prohibits the use
of Med. Mj.
The final and most frightening argument reads as follows:
"12. The effort of the defense to utilize this case as a vehicle to
achieve political change has been rather apparent for some time, but the
underlying goal has been articulated quite clearly in recent newspaper
articles. For example, an article in the Rocky Mountain News, dated
September 20, 1998, counsel for the defendant is identified as a part of
NORML's (National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws) 'legal
team.' It is indicated that NORML 'helps with the expenses of such
cases, including Domangue's' The article quotes not only the
Defendant's counsel, but 'Tanya Kangas.... director of litigation for
the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana laws...' She
states, 'The legal precedent that's important to NORML is that a
defendant ought to be able to tell a jury why he or she smokes
marijuana.... Then the jury can decide whether that information is
important in that particular case.'"
"13. While the People strongly believe that the Defendant's
evidence fails to satisfy the basic principles ingrained in the 'choice
of evils' defense, and that his motives for the assertion of the defense
are therefore irrelevant, Colorado Law clearly disapproves of the
defense's utilization as a tool for social change.
'No state has enacted legislated that makes the choice of evils
defense available as a justification for behavior that attempts to bring
about a social and political change outside the democratic governmental
process." Andrews v. People, supra, p. 609, footnote 3.'"
What the hell? I guess they are claiming that my involvement in
NORML prohibits the Defendant from using Choice of Evils as an
affirmative defense. Anybody seen anything like this? At least since
McCarthy? Can prosecutors now be prevented from taking part in WOD
cases if they are members of DARE? Can attorneys who are members of
NACDL now be prevented from defending criminals? How about those who
belong to religious organizations?-W
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Fort Worth Officer Shoots, Kills Suspect Fleeing In Van
(According To 'The Dallas Morning News,' Prohibition Agents
Said The Man Appeared To Have Crack Cocaine In His Hand
When He Was Stopped, But A Police Spokesman Would Not Say
Whether Officers Had Confirmed The Presence Of Illegal Drugs
In The Suspect's Van Or What Else Was Found Inside)
From: "W.H.E.N. - Bob Owen" (when@olywa.net)
To: "-News" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: FW officer shoots fleeing drug dealer
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1998 18:58:13 -0700
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net
FW officer shoots, kills suspect fleeing in van
Patrolman in window as driver pulled off, police say
09/28/98
By John McCoy / The Dallas Morning News
FORT WORTH - A Fort Worth police officer shot and killed a drug suspect late
Saturday night when the man began driving away after a traffic stop with the
officer hanging out his van window, police said.
The incident began southeast of downtown Fort Worth about 10:45 p.m. when
Officer B.W. Randolph pulled the man over after seeing him drive away from a
known narcotics house, police said.
Police said the man appeared to have crack cocaine in his hand when he was
stopped.
When Officer Randolph told the man to turn off the van's engine, he refused,
police said.
The officer reached into the van to turn off the engine himself, but the man
began driving off, police said.
The man punched Officer Randolph several times in the head, police said,
then the officer pulled his revolver and shot the man twice in the upper
body.
The van, which had swerved from curb to curb, came to a stop near the
intersection of East Richmond and Mississippi avenues, three blocks from
where the stop had occurred, police said.
The suspect died during surgery at John Peter Smith Hospital, police said.
The Tarrant County medical examiner's office said the man's name was being
withheld until relatives could be notified of his death.
Officer Randolph, 31, was treated for leg bruises at Harris Methodist Fort
Worth hospital and released. He could not be reached for comment Sunday.
Results of a police investigation of the incident will go to a grand jury
for review, said Lt. Mark Krey, a police spokesman. Preliminary findings
suggest that the shooting was justified, he said.
"In this particular case, there doesn't appear to be anything out of the
ordinary," Lt. Krey said. "The officer reacted appropriately to the
situation presented to him."
Officer Randolph has been with the department three years and has no
previous shootings on his record, Lt. Krey said. Whether Officer Randolph
will go on leave during the investigation had not been decided, police said.
Lt. Krey would not say whether officers had confirmed the presence of
illegal drugs in the suspect's van or what else was found inside.
A male passenger in the van who got out when Officer Randolph ordered him to
ran away and is not wanted by police, Lt. Krey said.
Police said Officer Randolph also had a passenger in his patrol car, a
member of the Boy Scouts' Police Explorer program who was riding along to
see what police work is like.
"That's a way for young people to learn about a profession," Lt. Krey said.
"They do ride-alongs."
The youth could not be reached.
The last fatal shooting by a Fort Worth officer occurred June 6, when
24-year-old Domingo Artea tried to rob a police officer at gunpoint, police
said. The officer, C.L. Sadler, was found to have acted appropriately, Lt.
Krey said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Prison Growth May Deplete Surplus (According to The Milwaukee Journal
Sentinel, a Wisconsin legislator said Sunday that if the state's prison
population increases nearly 50 percent in three years as projected, it could
deplete much of an expected budget surplus.)
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1998 09:38:48 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US WI: Prison Growth May Deplete Surplus
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: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI)
Contact: jsedit@onwis.com
Website: http://www.jsonline.com/
Pubdate: Mon, 28 Sep 1998
Author: Meg Jones of the Journal Sentinel staff
Fax: (414) 224-8280
PRISON GROWTH MAY DEPLETE SURPLUS
If projections that the state's prison population will jump nearly 50% in
three years prove true, it could deplete much of the state's expected
budget surplus, a legislator said Sunday.
The Department of Corrections last week proposed a two-year budget that
seeks an increase of $280.7 million.
More money is needed because the number of adult inmates is expected to
leap by 8,000 to more than 25,000, according to estimates by corrections
officials.
Building and staffing new prisons to house the ever-growing criminal
population as well as sending prisoners to other states will mean a large
increase in the corrections budget.
State Sen. Brian Burke (D-Milwaukee) said that will siphon off money from
the the projected state surplus.
"One thing it does, it eliminates the talk of what to do with the surplus,"
Burke said Sunday night.
"We have to pay our bills first, make the payments (for public schools
funding) that should have been made in the last biennium and then we have
to set aside the money to meet the need in the rising corrections costs,"
said Burke, the ranking Democrat on the Joint Finance Committee.
Revenue estimates released this month projected the state budget surplus at
$193 million this fiscal year. That is in addition to $352.2 million in
projected surplus funds already spent on a variety of state programs and
tax cuts in the last budget. Together with the surplus amount already
included in the budget bill, the total projected surplus for this fiscal
year is about $550 million. State Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen said that a
hefty increase in corrections spending would still leave room for tax cuts.
"As long as we're cutting taxes and increasing public safety through
additional prison space I think we'll get public support (for the
additional corrections spending)," said Jensen (R-Town of Brookfield). "It
does mean the next state budget will have room for tax cuts, increased
school aids and prison beds and little else."
The proposed two-year corrections budget of $1.52 billion includes money
for staffing three new prisons that were already approved as well as a
300-bed prison for elderly inmates and shipping an additional 4,500 inmates
out of state. Wisconsin already houses nearly 3,000 inmates in Minnesota,
Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.
"It is a large increase, no question about it. It may not be the final
budget but that's what they're starting with," said Robert Goetsch,
chairman of the Assembly Criminal Justice and Corrections Committee.
Goetsch (R-Juneau) pointed out that while the Legislature already approved
construction of several prisons, funding for guards and other employees is
now coming due. Of the additional funding sought, $70 million is needed to
pay for staffing at new prisons or additions at existing penitentiaries.
"We authorize the building of the prisons a few years before we have to
staff them. Then people forget that we have to staff them," said Goetsch.
The prison bulge is due to several factors. Judges are sentencing criminals
to longer terms, fewer inmates are being released early for electronic
monitoring and prisoners are serving more years before being paroled,
Goetsch said.
The state inmate population has nearly tripled in the last decade, to more
than 17,000. It is expected to swell past 25,000 by 2001. However,
projections don't take into consideration the new "truth-in-sentencing"
law, scheduled to take effect on Dec. 31, 1999.
That worries Burke.
"It was widely assumed that once we passed truth-in-sentencing that we
would have a marked increase in the prison population. But what's
disturbing is this study does not take into account truth-in-sentencing,'"
said Burke.
By the end of 1999, anyone convicted of a felony and sentenced to prison
will be required to serve the entire sentence, with no chance for early
release.
Jensen said it was no surprise that corrections officials are asking for a
22.5% increase in their budget.
"Part of this is the price of truth-in-sentencing and longer sentences, but
it's a price I'm willing to pay for the public's safety," said Jensen.
"I've never had anyone complain that we spend too little money in locking
up prisoners," Jensen said. "I do think people think we pay too much for
each individual prisoner and that's something we're working on."
Goetsch said he expects "close scrutiny" of the budget request.
"It's not more than what we spend on education; nobody should be saying
that. But it is still getting up there in terms of the total budget. I
don't like to see that. I guess we pay for them if we want safe streets,"
said Goetsch.
"It's not going to be an easy thing but we do have the need to protect our
citizens. And . . . if we have too much overcrowding it's dangerous to the
guards."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Former State Trooper Of The Year Takes Own Life ('The Associated Press'
Says William Johnson, Once Named Massachusetts' Trooper Of The Year,
Shot Himself After Being Demoted From The Narcotics Squad At The Boston
Airport To A Job Patrolling A Parking Garage - The Former Green Beret
From Revere Never Recovered From The Direction His Career Took
After An Encounter With One Of Boston's Most Infamous Mobsters
More Than A Decade Earlier)
From: "W.H.E.N. - Bob Owen" (when@olywa.net)
To: "-News" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: MA police suicide - morale suffers
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1998 18:54:50 -0700
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net
Former state trooper of the year takes own life
By ALEXIS CHIU
The Associated Press
09/28/98 4:30 PM Eastern
BOSTON (AP) -- There will be no long blue line at the funeral of William
Johnson, once named Massachusetts' Trooper of the Year.
Embittered by what he regarded as a demotion from the narcotics squad at the
Boston airport to a job patrolling a parking garage, Johnson left explicit
burial instructions before committing suicide Friday: "I do not want a
Massachusetts state trooper in uniform within 100 miles of my funeral -- I
mean it."
Johnson, 50, was found Friday in a field in Sandown, N.H., dead of a
self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.
Johnson's sister said the decorated 22-year state police veteran and former
Green Beret from Revere never recovered from the direction his career took
after an encounter with one of Boston's most infamous mobsters more than a
decade earlier.
"I used to say, `Billy, try to get past this,"' said Jane Johnson, 38, of
Scarborough, Maine. "He couldn't, because it went directly to his name and
his honor."
The incident occurred in 1987, when Johnson was working the narcotics squad
at Logan Airport. That day he stopped James J. "Whitey" Bulger, who was
refusing to let security officers search one of his bags.
Bulger tossed a bag to an unidentified man who fled and never was caught.
Federal authorities believe it contained large amounts of cash. Johnson
apparently questioned Bulger and his girlfriend but let him go after seizing
another bag containing around $10,000 in cash.
Family members say Johnson's troubles began a week later. That was when he
heard that David Davis, then-head of the Massachusetts Port Authority, which
runs Logan, was seeking a copy of Johnson's report on the Bulger incident.
Johnson insisted Davis told him he had come for the report at the request of
Bulger's brother, then-state Senate President William Bulger.
Davis has denied requesting a report on Bulger's behalf, saying he was
merely interested himself in a story "everybody at the airport was
fascinated by."
Johnson said he refused to turn over the report because Davis would not
promise him a receipt.
In the end, Johnson wound up patrolling the airport's parking lot, he told
the Boston Herald earlier this year. "I was ordered back in the cruiser and
told to watch for people ripping off car radios," he said.
Bulger has been on the lam for several years, even as he remains a defendant
in one of the biggest racketeering cases ever in New England. Those
proceedings have revealed that Bulger was an FBI informant who may have been
given carte blanche to commit crimes in return for information.
Johnson was cited in 1993 as Trooper of the Year for catching a
knife-wielding man at Logan who threatened to kill three airport employees.
But Johnson's fortune slid quickly again in 1994, when he was handed a
punitive transfer to state police barracks in Andover. The move stemmed from
a dispute with his superiors after Johnson escorted then-Lt. Gov. Paul
Cellucci around Logan without getting permission.
Last year, he retired from the force.
State police spokesman Sgt. Tim White on Monday said parking lot duty at the
airport is not considered a demotion. And he said the transfer to another
barracks was for a breach of departmental rules.
Jane Johnson said that despite a file full of commendations, her brother
blamed his encounter with Bulger on his subsequent troubles.
In recent years, Johnson, who was divorced, had tried to get U.s. Justice
Department officials and others to try to open an investigation into his
treatment, she said.
"If there's anything he was guilty of, it's being passionate about his
work," she said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Police Flyovers Spoil Pot Harvest (An 'Associated Press' Update
On Efforts To Eradicate New York State's Number One Crop)
From: "W.H.E.N. - Bob Owen" (when@olywa.net)
To: "-News" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: NY police flyovers spoil pot harvest
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1998 18:55:50 -0700
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net
Police flyovers spoil marijuana harvest
Associated Press, 09/28/98 13:50
BATAVIA, N.Y. (AP) - The apples and pumpkins are about ready for harvest.
Like other crops planted in late spring and early summer, so is the
marijuana.
Police are ready, too, taking to the air to get to the plants first.
They have been busy.
Using helicopter flyovers, police have zeroed in on thousands of plants in
the last several weeks.
The Southern Tier Drug Task Force estimates it has destroyed 3,800 plants in
the four counties under its jurisdiction: Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany
and Wyoming.
Erie County Sheriff's deputies have uprooted about 1,930 plants since July,
including 1,500 on Aug. 14 near the Buffalo Niagara International Airport in
Cheektowaga.
Last weekend alone in Niagara County, sheriff's deputies pulled nearly 250
plants in the town of Hartland.
Police estimate each plant yields about a pound of the drug.
"We feel we're getting to the root of the problem," said Erie County
Sheriff's Capt. Kevin Caffrey, who flies the helicopter. "If we get 10
plants out of some village, we're taking it out of the hands of the kids
there, because that's where it's going to go."
Sgt. Scott Norcutt flies a state police helicopter from his base at the
Genesee County Airport in Batavia.
Hovering 500 feet above the ground, he floats over cornfields and clearings,
looking for the distinctive, almost fluorescent green plants with the
jagged-edged leaves.
"Sometimes you have to get down low to take a better look at it," Norcutt
told The Buffalo News. "Other times you know right away."
Marijuana plants need a steady supply of water and light so spotters look
for low-lying areas near natural water sources. And they look for clearings
or obviously disturbed ground in an otherwise natural area. In Monroe County
this year, troopers have found several plants growing in cornfields,
obscured by the tall stalks of the corn.
Spotters relay the sites to officers on the ground who then pull up the
plants.
Law enforcement officers in the Southern Tier attribute an increase in
plantings this year to a marijuana eradication push in Pennsylvania.
"The majority of plants we harvested this year (in Chautauqua County) were
very close to the Pennsylvania border," said Sgt. Leo Jones, who heads the
Jamestown office of the drug task force. "Growing marijuana is just a
misdemeanor in New York. It's a felony in Pennsylvania."
But in most cases, no arrest is ever made. Staking out sites once they have
been discovered is often impractical.
"We'd certainly like to get the grower," Caffrey said. But if they kept
watch over every field they found "we'd be tying up a lot of manpower. It's
a little frustrating sometimes."
***
When away, you can STOP and RESTART W.H.E.N.'s news clippings by sending an
e-mail to majordomo@hemp.net. Ignore the Subject: line. In the body put
"unsubscribe when" to STOP. To RESTART, put "subscribe when" in the e-mail
instead (No quotation marks.)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Information On Saliva Drug And Alcohol Test (A List Subscriber
Forwards An Advertisement And URL Regarding A New Hand-Held Device
That Will Allow Cops To Take A Saliva Sample Which Will Produce Results
In Five Minutes Acceptable To Courts)
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1998 20:58:37 -0800
To: hemp-talk@hemp.net
From: byoung@pacifier.com (byoung)
Subject: HT: INFO ON SALIVA DRUG AND ALCOHOL TEST
Sender: owner-hemp-talk@hemp.net
Judging by the sickening tone of the message and the particular addressee, I
must assume that I received this because of posts to the alt.law-enforcement
newsgroup.....
>Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1998 19:27:53 -0700 (PDT)
>From: zipper@wavenet.com
>To: Member, of, Law, Enforcement
>Subject: INFO ON SALIVA DRUG AND ALCOHOL TEST
>
>Wouldn't it be great if you could take a saliva sample at a traffic stop
>and in five (5) minutes have your court accepted results?
>
>SOON YOU WILL BE ABLE TO.
>
>A hand held device is in the final development that will let all Law
>Enforcement officer's test an individual in the field.
>
>For detailed info go to www.webstnews.com
>
>Or call
>
>Lifepoint, Inc.
>Linda Masterson
>10410 Trademark St
>Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730
>909-466-8047
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Reefer Madness (A List Subscriber Forwards A Quote From Senator Jesse Helms,
Who Thinks 'Social Signs Of Regular Users' Of Marijuana Include 'Excessive
Preoccupation With Social Causes, Race Relations, Environmental Issues,
Etc. . . .')
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1998 14:45:48 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Bryan A. Krumm RN" (krummb@unm.edu)
To: "DRCTalk Reformers' Forum" (drctalk@drcnet.org)
Subject: Fwd: Reefer Madness (fwd)
Reply-To: drctalk@drcnet.org
Sender: owner-drctalk@drcnet.org
It looks like Orrin Hatch is always on the lookout for his enemies.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1998 10:12:27 -0600 (MDT)
From: Ted Cloak (tcloak@unm.edu)
Reply-To: grnforum@majordomo.nmgp.org
To: Green List (grnforum@majordomo.nmgp.org)
Subject: Fwd: Reefer Madness (fwd)
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Subject: Fwd: Reefer Madness
Can you believe this?!?
In a message dated 98-09-28 10:17:13 EDT, anderson@msn.fullfeed.com writes:
Here's a quote from Senator Orrin Hatch's (R-UT) 1997 pamphlet on "How
Parents Can Help Children Live Marijuana Free:
"Social Signs of Regular Users...
4. Excessive preoccupation with social causes, race relations,
environmental issues, etc...."
***
Peter Anderson
RecycleWorlds Consulting
4513 Vernon Blvd. Ste. 15
Madison, WI 53705-4964
Phone:(608) 231-1100/Fax: (608) 233-0011
E-mail:recycle@msn.fullfeed.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Science Notebook - Taking A Leaf From Marijuana's Effect
('The Washington Post' Version Of Wednesday's News About Ian Meng
and Colleagues At The University Of California At San Francisco
Demonstrating The Analgesic Qualities Of Cannabinoids)
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1998 18:14:35 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US DC: Science Notebook: Taking A Leaf
From Marijuana's Effect
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: Washington Post (DC)
Contact: http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/letters/letterform.htm
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Pubdate: Mon, 28 Sep 1998
SCIENCE NOTEBOOK
Compiled from reports by Curt Suplee, John Schwartz and Rob Stein.
BIOLOGY: Taking a Leaf From Marijuana's Effect New research suggests
that scientists may be able to develop a powerful new painkiller
modeled on the active ingredient in marijuana.
In rats, a drug that mimics delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the main
active ingredient in marijuana, deadens pain like morphine,
researchers at the University of California at San Francisco showed.
The findings indicate that marijuana-like drugs kill pain without
producing the side effects of morphine.
"Given their unique side-effect profile (for example, cannabinoids
increase appetite, whereas opioids can cause nausea and respiratory
depression), cannabinoids may be useful in improving the treatment of
pain," Ian D. Meng and colleagues write in the Sept. 24 Nature.
Rats given a synthetic cannabinoid kept their tails near a heat source
longer than rats that did not get the drug. And when the researchers
shut down a region of the rats' brain known as the rostral
ventromedial medulla, which is affected by drugs like morphine, they
no longer had an insensitivity to pain.
Copyright 1998 The Washington Post Company
-------------------------------------------------------------------
US Senate To Vote On Anti-Medical Use Resolution This Week
(Keith Stroup, Director Of NORML In Washington, DC, Urges You
To Write To Your Two US Senators, Asking Them To Oppose Senate
Joint Resolution 56, Denying The Medical Utility Of Marijuana -
Send A Fax Free From NORML's Web Site)
From: RKSTROUP@aol.com
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1998 17:01:35 EDT
To: "DRCTalk Reformers' Forum" (drctalk@drcnet.org)
Subject: Senate to Vote on Anti-Medical use Resolution:
Contact Your Senators Today
Reply-To: drctalk@drcnet.org
Sender: owner-drctalk@drcnet.org
U.S. Senate to Vote on Anti-Medical Use Resolution This Week
S. J. Res. 56, the anti-medical use of marijuana resolution introduced by
Senators Hatch (R-Utah), Grassley (R-Iowa) and Kyl (R-Arizona), may be
called up for a vote in the U.S. Senate as early as Thursday
of this week. This resolution is identical to the one adopted by the
House of Representatives two weeks ago.
Please contact your two US senators now to register your opposition to
this resolution. While the resolution has no legally binding effect, it
will be used by opponents of the medical use of marijuana as fodder in
the five states (Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Alaska) and the
District of Columbia which have medical use initiatives on the ballot on
November 3.
For your convenience, you can send a free fax to both your senators from
the NORML web site (www.norml.org). We have a draft opposition letter
ready to send, which you can edit or revise as necessary.
NORML has provided background packets of information, including an
exhaustive listing of medical organizations that have endorsed the
medical use of marijuana, a summary of the medical research and polling
data demonstrating strong support from the public, to all Senate
Democrats.
Please act today. Let's let the Senate know that Americans favor the
medical use of marijuana for seriously ill patients.
Call NORML (202-483-5500) if we can be of assistance or answer any
questions you may have.
Keith Stroup
NORML Executive Director
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Juvenile Injustice (Syndicated 'Washington Post' Columnist William Raspberry
Says It's Hard To Know Which Is More Cynical - The Content
Of The Juvenile Crime Bill Republicans Have Crafted Or The Way
They Are Trying To Railroad It To Enactment)
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1998 18:48:53 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US WP: Juvenile Injustice
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: kewright@erols.com (Kendra E. Wright)
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Contact: http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/letters/letterform.htm
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Pubdate: Mon, 28 Sep 1998
Author: William Raspberry
JUVENILE INJUSTICE
It's hard to know which is more cynical -- the content of the juvenile
crime bill Republicans have crafted or the way they are trying to railroad
it to enactment.
If you haven't heard about the pending legislation - well, that's part of
the cynicism. Even a fairly alert observer at the Capitol last Tuesday -
assuming such an observer wasn't distracted by the roaring Clinton/Lewinsky
scandal or by the party primaries in the Washington area - might have
missed it. He might have seen a notice for a vote to reauthorize the
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children - a piece of
legislation so noncontroversial it might have sparked little interest.
In the meantime, however, the House had passed two separate - and hardly
noncontroversial - juvenile justice measures, attached them to the
National Center reauthorization bill and sent the packet back to the
Senate. By the end of last week, Republican legislators were scurrying to
put together a House-Senate conference committee to consider the
now-mislabeled package.
It gets worse. A conference bill would not be subject to amendment - just
a yea-or-nay vote. Thus the measure might have been passed - indeed it
still might be - without debate on its contents.
And what contents. One of the House-passed measures whose language has been
substituted for the National Center reauthorization bill would mandate that
in order to be eligible for federal juvenile-justice funding, a state must
agree to try children as young as 15 as adults - either at the discretion
of the prosecutor or automatically for certain offenses. No more judicial
discretion, as is presently the case. Another would ease requirements for
separating child offenders from adults once they are convicted and sentenced.
Critics of the legislation include the Justice Policy Institute, the Youth
Law Center and the Children's Defense Fund. For CDF particularly, it's a
case of deja vu. More than 20 years ago, CDF staffers visited 449 jails in
126 counties and nine cities and found children in adult jails in every
state. Many were rough kids, but many were ordinary delinquents, were
awaiting juvenile court hearings or were status offenders - runaways and
so on.
That report helped to produce some of the legislative protections for child
offenders that the current legislation would roll back - almost certainly
throwing more children into adult prisons.
Why do I call it cynical? Because if the legislation's sponsors had been
interested in crime prevention or rehabilitation -- even if they'd just
been interested in trying to understand what's happening with young people
in America - they would have held hearings, open debates, serious
discussions. Because little in their legislative packet has anything to do
with helping young people stay straight (unless the thought is that
threatening to expose them to sexual and other abuse at the hands of adult
offenders is "prevention"). Because the legislation seems calculated more
to appease frightened voters this election season than to address seriously
the deadly serious problems of juvenile justice.
Moreover, the gentlemen who introduced these measures - Rep. Bill McCollum
(R-Fla.) in one case, and Sens. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and Orrin Hatch
(R-Utah) in the other - have been around long enough to know that
Draconian legislation is nearly always more effective at making voters feel
better than at reducing crime. Maybe that's why they've chosen this
fiendishly clever way of steering their bill toward passage. The normal
process might expose its cynicism.
For certain it's not because they can't find anything better to occupy
their time. Hatch, after all, is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee
that shortly will be considering the impeach . . . .
Never mind. One cynical subject at a time.
Copyright 1998 The Washington Post Company
-------------------------------------------------------------------
DRCNet Launches Weekly Radio Show (A List Subscriber
Says The Weekly Drug Reform Coordination Network News
Is Available In Broadcast Quality To Interested Stations, Producers
And Announcers Via The Web, And New Editions Will Be Uploaded
Each Friday)
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1998 15:19:39 -0700
To: "DRCTalk Reformers' Forum" (drctalk@drcnet.org)
From: "Adam J. Smith" (ajsmith@drcnet.org)
Subject: DRCNet Launches Weekly Radio Show!
Reply-To: drctalk@drcnet.org
Sender: owner-drctalk@drcnet.org
Hello all,
Well, after several months of planning, DRCNet is proud to launch our new
weekly radio show, DRCNN (Drug Reform Coordination Network News).
Each week's show will be 4-6 minutes in length, and will be based upon the
current issue of The Week Online. It features drug war headline news,
taped comments from a different expert/reformer each week, and an editorial
commentary.
The show is available (in broadcast quality) to interested stations,
producers and DJ's via the web, and new editions will be uploaded each
Friday. To hear the show, go to http://www.drcnet.org/drcnn/ and follow
the instructions.
We're hoping that our friends and colleagues will help to get the show to a
wide audience by contacting appropriate radio outlets/personalities and
suggesting that they consider making it a regular part of their
program/schedule. (There is a press release at the site itself, or, if
you'd like, contact us and we'll send/fax a press release to you or to your
local station).
I hope that you'll all take a few minutes to listen to the show (this
week's runs 5:46 and features MPP's Rob Kampia -- who will one day be the
answer to the trivia question, "what activist appeared on the first-ever
edition of DRCNN) and tell us what you think. Remember, we're new at this
multi-media stuff and we're depending upon your input!
Thanks to all and I look forward to hearing from you!
- adam
-------------------------------------------------------------------
A legal triumph for pot (An Alberta Report account of the constitutional
challenge of multiple sclerosis patient Grant Krieger says the medical use
of marijuana is winning converts in Canadian courts.)
Date: Thu, 08 Oct 1998 16:20:30 -0700
Subject: ALTA REPORT: A legal triumph for pot
From: "Debra Harper" (daystar@shaw.wave.ca)
To: mattalk (mattalk@listserv.islandnet.com)
Alberta Report
September 28, 1998
A legal triumph for pot
Marijuana's medicinal use is winning converts in court
In the summer of 1997, Grant Krieger tried to cheer up a buddy who had been
convicted of cultivating marijuana. A 44-year-old multiple sclerosis
sufferer and pot smoker, Mr. Krieger stood on the steps of Calgary's
courthouse and fired up a joint in front of a crowd of reporters and
friends. "When I stepped into the courthouse, a cop put his hands on me and
said, 'You're under arrest for simple possession of marijuana.'" he
recalls. While Mr. Krieger's act of civil disobedience had the desired
effect, developments on other legal fronts could mean that, one day, he will
be able to smoke pot without breaking the law.
At the Calgary courthouse, police found 23 grams of marijuana on Mr. Krieger
and charged him with intent to traffic in a narcotic. He had been deported
from the Netherlands two years ago after being busted with more than two
pounds of it.
Last month Provincial Court Judge R.H. Davie found him guilty, but delayed
sentencing until October 19 to allow the judge time to study the medicinal
uses of marijuana.
The prosecution had asked for Mr. Krieger to be jailed for 14 to 30 days.
However, "I want to ask for life imprisonment with no chance of parole,"
argues Mr. Krieger. "I'm a repeat offender here, I guarantee it. The
Government of Canada should not be allowed to tell you how to heal your
body."
A Vancouver trial which ended earlier this month has given his argument some
timely ammunition Stanley Czolowski, a glaucoma sufferer, received a
conditional discharge from B.C. Provincial Court Judge Jane Godfrey on
charges of growing and trafficking six pounds of marijuana. The 44-year-old
Mr. Czolowski admitted he uses pot to reduce the symptoms of his disease,
including pressure in his eyes, nausea and fatigue. He sold his homegrown
grass to Vancouver's Cannabis Compassion Club, which provides discount
marijuana to sufferers of AIDS, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and cancer.
"I have no difficulty whatsoever in understanding [Czolowski's] personal
motivation and I have extreme sympathy for his personal situation," said
Judge Godfrey. She cited the case of 42-year-old epileptic Terry Parker; in
December an Ontario judge stayed possession and cultivation of marijuana
charges against Mr. Parker, ruling that sections of the Controlled Drugs and
Substances Act prohibiting marijuana for medical purposes were
unconstitutional. "I am satisfied it's not contrary to the public interest,
notwithstanding the volume involved, and certainly it's in the interests of
the accused to grant him a discharge," Judge Godfrey said of Mr. Czolowski.
Neither he nor his lawyer John Conroy could be reached for comment. But Mr.
Krieger is more than happy to discuss the Czolowski legal triumph. "This is a
monster case for me," he says. "Marijuana is the best muscle relaxant I've
ever taken. When I took [commercial relaxants] I would have muscle spasms,
lose control of my bodily functions and have accidents. I used to walk with
knee braces, crutches, a cane. Now I can walk by myself. Hey, I just helped
my kids put up a fence around our new place."
Mr. Krieger says the cannabis also helps him bear the pain of regular
massages, which are agonizing for MS sufferers but keep his muscles limber
and tremor-free. "It takes away my spasticity so I can function," he says.
"The massages fix everything."
Everything. perhaps, but his legal troubles. In 1996, police raided his home
in Regina and seized three ounces of marijuana, a scale and some smoking
paraphernalia. He was charged with possession of cannabis; his wife Marie
was charged with possession and trafficking. Both Kriegers are to appear in
court in December.
"All this trouble for a little bit of pot," says Mr. Krieger, who is looking
for donations to pay more than $15,000 in legal fees. "The bills are piling
up. It's expensive, but it's worth it. I'll do it all over again if I have
to."
Another marijuana advocate is trying to derail the law in another fashion.
James Wakeford, a 53-year-old Toronto resident, smokes marijuana to offset
the crushing effects of the chemotherapy treatments he takes to fight AIDS.
"I was wasting away because of the drugs and they nearly killed me," says Mr.
Wakeford, who was hospitalized in April after losing 20 pounds in a month
and shrinking to 118 pounds. "I smoke every day before dinner. It stimulates
my appetite; things taste more pleasurable and eating is okay again."
This summer Mr. Wakeford, who has no criminal record, filed a suit against
the federal government.He sought an exemption to the marijuana ban in the
Controlled Drugs and Substances Act on the grounds it violates his right to
liberty and security, as outlined in Section 7 of the Charter of Rights and
Freedoms. On September 9, Ontario Court General Division Justice Harry
LaForme said he would "have no hesitation in granting perhaps even all the
relief Mr. Wakeford seeks." However, one technicality dissuaded him from
doing so. Section 56 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act allows
people to apply for an exemption to a ban on a drug if they can prove it is
"necessary for a medical or scientific purpose."
On September 15 Mr. Wakeford applied for the exemption. If it is denied, he
will appeal the LaForme decision on the grounds that the refusal violates
his charter rights. Mr. Wakeford, who is also accepting donations to help
defray his lawyer bills, is confident he will win either the exemption or
the appeal. "I'm not sure anyone ever applied for this exemption before," he
says. "I'm trying to set a precedent here. I want safe, clean marijuana for
medical purposes. That's all I'm looking for."
-- Davis Sheremata
Copyright (c) 1998 United Western Communications Ltd.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
It's A Girl - Have A Joint (An Op-Ed In 'The Toronto Sun'
By Marianne Meed Ward, Managing Editor Of 'Faith Today,'
Who Just Gave Birth To Her First Child, Says It's Time To Decriminalize
Doobies For Medical Use, Noting The Recent News About Ian Meng
Demonstrating The Analgesic Utility Of Cannabis)
From: creator@islandnet.com (Matt Elrod)
To: mattalk@listserv.islandnet.com
Subject: Canada: Column: It's a girl - have a joint
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1998 14:02:55 -0700
Lines: 91
Newshawk: creator@mapinc.org
Source: Toronto Sun (Canada)
Contact: editor@sunpub.com
Pubdate: September 28, 1998
Author: Marianne Meed Ward
It's a girl - have a joint
Having just given birth to my first child last week, I know about pain.
That the process was drug-free was due in no small part to its speed:
careening through the pre-rush hour dawn of Toronto we arrived at the
hospital emergency entrance at 6:45 a.m. We welcomed our daughter into the
world at 6:51.
Most women are not so fortunate. And labour is only one kind of pain.
Thankfully, in this country we have a long tradition of chemical pain
relief - from the most common over-the-counter oral tablets - aspirin and
acetaminophen - to cocaine derivatives administered through a spinal
injection.
But we still get our knickers in a twist over some forms of pain relief.
Consider the drug examined by researchers at the University of California
who published their findings in the Sept. 24 issue of the weekly magazine
Nature. In tests on lab rats, researchers found that said drug acted on
certain brain cell receptors to prevent pain signals from travelling to the
brain.
The drug in question has milder side effects than morphine and is less
addictive.
The name of this breakthrough drug? Cannabis, also known by its street
names: pot, grass, weed, Mary Jane, reefer, joint or doobie. But cannabis
is illegal in Canada. Simple possession is a criminal offence and can
result in jail time.
Clearly, not all pain relievers are created equal. One criticism of
cannabis is that, for the moment at least, it has to be inhaled, (I guess
that rules out President Bill Clinton from ever benefitting from its
medicinal powers.) It is within the realm of possibility, though, that
scientists will be able to create a synthetic form of cannabis that could
be ingested.
Other criticisms of cannabis could be levelled against many legal
substances: it is potentially addictive (so is caffeine); it may lead to
experimentation with stronger drugs (so can cigarettes); and in sufficient
doses may cause impairment (so can alcohol).
Alcohol and tobacco are, in fact, more dangerous than cannabis. According
to 1992 figures from the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, tobacco was
directly responsible for the deaths of 33,498 Canadians that year and
alcohol 6,701 deaths. By comparison, all illegal drugs combined resulted in
732 deaths.
Other criticisms of cannabis are baseless. At the August, 1997 trial of
London, Ont. man Chris Clay, who had deliberately sold marijuana plants
with the intent of bringing a constitutional challenge to Canada's pot
laws, Clay's lawyers argued that cannabis does not cross a "sufficient
threshold of harm" to either the user or society.
Though the judge convicted Clay on three counts of possession and
trafficking, he agreed there is no hard evidence of irreversible mental
damage; that marijuana does not cause criminal behaviour or violence; and
that consumption does not increase where it is decriminalized. The judge
based his conviction on the belief that Parliament should decide the
legality of marijuana.
About the most offensive pot smokers become is sitting for hours with loopy
grins on their faces, forgetting to finish sentences and indulging in
munchy cravings with cheesies and pizza.
Still, mindful of stereotypes, a pro-pot group in Vancouver has developed a
sort of smoker's code of ethics. Members of the Harm Reduction Club agree
to four conditions: they pay a $10 membership fee; they must be over 13;
they don't drive heavy machinery while impaired; and they don't disturb the
neighbours. (I wish some of the people on my street were so considerate.)
So why the continued double standard in banning this substance despite its
medicinal value while other more dangerous substances are legal, if
controlled?
It seems we can't get past the fact that pot is a hallucinogen, though it
rarely produces hallucinations. It does produce euphoria and pleasure,
though, alongside pain relief. Heaven forbid that we actually enjoy
ourselves while we're recuperating.
It's time to decriminalize doobies for medical use. Then maybe, with Baby
No. 2, I can enjoy a celebratory joint instead of the traditional cigar.
Marianne Meed Ward is managing editor of Faith Today
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Re - The Last Days Of The War On Drugs (A Dutch Citizen's Letter
To The Editor Of The Toronto 'Globe And Mail' Praises The Newspaper
For Accurately Describing The Effectiveness Of Dutch Drug Policies)
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1998 17:56:16 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: Canada: PUB LTE: The Last Days Of The War On Drugs
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Carey Ker
Pubdate: September 28, 1998
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Contact: letters@globeandmail.ca
Website: http://www.globeandmail.ca/
Author: Ingee Genee
THE LAST DAYS OF THE WAR ON DRUGS
Thank you, Gwynne Dyer, for producing the first balanced account of Dutch
drug policy I have seen in a North American newspaper. I have been upset
many a time by the way Dutch society is pictured in what are supposed to be
the "best" newspapers.
You would think we routinely kill of our senior citizens when they become
troublesome, think of abortion as another type of birth control, wean our
babies on marijuana and earn our pin money sitting behind a window in the
red-light district.
The fact that our statistics in all those areas always prove the pragmatic
Dutch policies to be extremely successful is generally ignored. What a
relief to see an article that actually presents the relevant figures and
represents my country for what it is: one with a highly successful drug
policy that has resulted in one of the lowest rates of hard-drug addiction
in the Western world.
Ingee Genee, Lethbridge, Alberta
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Indian Criminals Face Holy Deadline ('The South China Morning Post'
Says Resentment At Widespread Lawlessness, Kidnapping And Drug Abuse
In The Indian Port City Of Chittagong Has Spawned A 'Citizens' Committee
To Resist The Anti-Socials' - If The Criminals Repent Their Sins By Friday,
They Will Be Saved From The Wrath Of The Angry Vigilantes)
From: "W.H.E.N. - Bob Owen" (when@olywa.net)
To: "-News" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: Indian Criminals face holy deadline
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1998 19:01:24 -0700
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net
Source: South China Morning Post
Pubdate: Monday September 28 1998
Online: http://www.scmp.com/news/
Writer: Arshad Mahmud in Dhaka
Newshawk: ccross@november.org
Criminals face holy deadline
Bangladesh -- Resentment at widespread lawlessness, kidnapping and drug
abuse in a district of the port city of Chittagong has spawned a
"citizens' committee to resist the anti-socials".
Its leader, Rafiq Mia, was murdered two weeks ago, sparking a
declaration of war on the criminals.
If the criminals repent their sins, they will be saved from the wrath of
the angry vigilantes.
So far, more than two dozen "branded criminals" have taken part in a
religious ceremony in which they vowed to return to normal life and
swore never to indulge in any kind of anti-social activities in the
future.
Time is running out for their brethren. They have been told: repent by
Friday or else.
At the ceremony at Chittagong's Pahartali mosque, hundreds of
worshippers watched 25 drug peddlers and hijackers read out a towba, a
religious edict forbidding unlawful acts.
At one stage during the ceremony two drug peddlers broke into tears, the
daily Ittefaq reported. The converts were presented with bouquets of
flowers and embraced by religious and community leaders.
Moulana Mohammad Rafiquddin, the mosque's chief priest who conducted the
ceremony, used his sermon to order all the anti-social elements in
Pahartali "to emulate the path of the new converts" and be good citizens
by Friday or "face the consequences".
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Cannabis Law Protest Group Hold 'Smoke-In' ('The Sheffield Star' In Britain
Says The Group Smokey Bears' Picnic Met On Devonshire Green In Sheffield
To Campaign For The Legalisation Of Cannabis, Smoking Joints In Public
To Celebrate The 70th Anniversary Of The Misuse Of Drugs Act And To Show
How Banning The Drug Has Failed)
UK: Cannabis Law Protest Group Hold 'Smoke-In'
Newshawk: webbooks@paston.co.uk (CLCIA)
Source: Sheffield Star (UK)
Contact 1: Letters to the editor, The Star, York Street,
Sheffield S1 1PU.
Contact 2: bob.rae@upn.co.uk
Website: http://www.sheffweb.co.uk/
Pubdate: Mon, 28 Sep 1998
CANNABIS LAW PROTEST GROUP HOLD 'SMOKE-IN'
Campaigners for the legalisation of cannabis smoked joints in
public to show how banning the drug has failed.
To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Misuse of Drugs Act,
capaign group Smokey Bears' Picnic met on Devonshire Green in Sheffield.
They claim the prohibition of cannabis is "immoral in principle
and unworkable in practice".
Smokey Bears' Picnic spokesman Gary said: "There's no reason for
cannabis to be illegal. If we don't obey the laws they won't work."
The group claim cannabis is not harmful to health, is not
addictive and does not lead to hard drugs. Instead they say it is
widely used to relieve stress, as a social relaxant and has many
medicinal uses.
There are 15 million otherwise law-abiding cannabis users in the
UK who are branded as criminals.
A police spokesman said if offences were committed they had a duty
to prosecute the offenders but no-one was arrested.
Last year the British Medical Association said it favoured
decriminalising cannabis because it was "safe".
* What do you think?
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[End]
to the 1998 Daily News index for September 24-30