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

The NORML Foundation Weekly Press Release (High Court
Overturns Iowa Blanket Search Law, Marijuana Conviction;
Clinton Administration Calls Amendment Nixing DC Medical Marijuana Vote
"Sensible"; Michigan Man Must Return To Virginia Jail To Serve Out
24 Year Old Marijuana Conviction; Jamaican Custom Officials To Order
Drug Tests For Airline Passengers; Congress Allocates $23 Million
To Develop Anti-Marijuana Fungus)

From: NORMLFNDTN@aol.com
Date: Thu, 10 Dec 1998 18:33:23 EST
Subject: NORML WPR 12/10/98 (II)

The NORML Foundation Weekly Press Release

1001 Connecticut Ave., NW
Ste. 710
Washington, DC 20036
202-483-8751 (p)
202-483-0057 (f)
www.norml.org
foundation@norml.org

December 10, 1998
	
***

High Court Overturns Iowa Blanket Search Law, Marijuana Conviction

December 10, 1998, Washington, DC: An Iowa law allowing police to
conduct blanket searches of motorists and their vehicles after citing
them for minor traffic violations is unconstitutional, the Supreme Court
ruled Tuesday.

"This decision demonstrates, thankfully, that there are still limits
regarding law enforcement's power to conduct a non-consensual,
warrantless search," said NORML Executive Director R. Keith Stroup, Esq.

In a unanimous decision, the Court found that Iowa police violated
the Fourth Amendment when they arbitrarily searched a motorist's vehicle
after citing him for speeding. Writing for the Court, Chief Justice
William Rehnquist said the search was not necessary to ensure officer
safety or prevent the destruction of evidence. Past courts have allowed
blanket searches only when such conditions apply and the suspect has been
placed under arrest.

By striking down the statute, the Court overturned the conviction of
an Iowa man found in possession of marijuana during a traffic stop.
Police searched the defendant's car without consent or probable cause
after citing him for speeding.

For more information, please contact either Keith Stroup of NORML @
(202) 483-5500 or NORML Foundation Litigation Director Tanya Kangas @
(202) 483-8751.

***

Clinton Administration Calls Amendment Nixing D.C. Medical Marijuana Vote
"Sensible"

December 10, 1998, Washington, D.C.: The Department of Justice filed
legal papers last week supporting a Congressional amendment that forbids
the D.C. government from certifying the results of November's election on
medical marijuana. Initiative sponsors and the American Civil Liberties
Union (ACLU) are challenging the constitutionality of the amendment in
federal court.

"This motion places the Clinton Administration clearly on the side of
thwarting democracy," announced NORML Foundation Executive Director Allen
St. Pierre. "They are supporting efforts to stifle the voice of the more
than one hundred thousand D.C. residents who voted to legalize medical
marijuana in the District of Columbia."

The amendment in question, introduced by Rep. Bob Barr (R-Ga.) and
attached to the District's appropriations bill, mandates the D.C.
government to withhold funds for any initiative that minimizes marijuana
penalties. Officials estimate that certifying the results would cost the
city $1.64.

A legal brief filed by the Justice Department said "[Congress] has
sensibly prohibited the use of public funds to conduct an election on
Initiative 59," the District's medical marijuana proposal. Exit polls
indicate that 69 percent of D.C. voters approved the measure.

A federal judge will rule on the issue later this month. Several
area groups, including the D.C. chapter of the League of Women Voters,
the D.C. Statehood Party, the Gay and Lesbian Activist Alliance, the
Metropolitan Washington Council of the AFL-CIO, and the D.C. Chapter of
the Republican National African-American Council filed court papers
siding with the ACLU.

If the judge orders city officials to tabulate and certify the vote
results, Congress then has 30 days to accept or veto the new law.

For more information, please contact either Keith Stroup of NORML @
(202) 483-5500 or Wayne Turner of ACT-UP @ (202) 547-9404.

***

Michigan Man Must Return To Virginia Jail To Serve Out 24 Year Old
Marijuana Conviction

December 10, 1998, Detroit, MI: A Michigan businessman convicted of
selling $10 worth of marijuana 24 years ago must return to Virginia to
serve jail time, a Circuit judge ruled Monday.

"It's all the more difficult [to send the defendant back to Virginia]
when you see [his] family here and understand that the family is a credit
to the state [of Michigan] and [that the defendant] has been a credit to
the state," Circuit Judge William Cahalan said. He said he had no choice
but to honor the extradition warrant issued by Virginia state officials.

Defendant Alfred Martin, 49, received a ten year prison term in 1974
for the sale of a small amount of marijuana. Martin spent two days at a
prison farm before escaping and relocating to Michigan. He now owns his
own business and is married with children. Judge Cahalan said Martin has
led "an exemplary life since his conviction 24 years ago."

NORML Executive Director R. Keith Stroup, Esq. said the case
exemplifies the "lack of proportionality" in marijuana sentencing. "One
wonders how many more families will be sacrificed before our elected
officials agree to end marijuana prohibition," he said.

Virginia officials previously sought to extradite Martin in 1976, but
then-Gov. William Milliken refused their request. Since then, the U.S.
Supreme Court has found that governors do not have discretion over
legitimate extradition requests.

For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre of The NORML
Foundation @ (202) 483-8751.

***

Jamaican Custom Officials To Order Drug Tests For Airline Passengers

December 10, 1998, Kingston, Jamaica: Custom officials will subject
random passengers to drug tests at the island's two international
airports to determine if they are smuggling illegal substances, a
November 17 article from the Jamaican news service, The Gleaner Company,
reported.

The article stated that Customs officials will request
"suspicious-looking passengers" to take a standard urine test. Officials
will take those who test positive to an area hospital and check to see if
they have ingested illegal drugs. If drugs are retrieved, police will
then make an arrest.

Customs official Ivy O'Gilvie told The Gleaner Company that
passengers who refuse to take the test will likely be taken to the
hospital anyway. She said the on-the-spot test takes only minutes to
complete and is "90 percent accurate."

"It's hard to imagine that any tourist or business traveler will want
to pass through Jamaican Customs under the threat of excreting on demand
for law enforcement," NORML Foundation head Allen St. Pierre said. "A
country so reliant on foreign travel should immediately rescind such a
foolish invasion of privacy."

For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre of The NORML
Foundation @ (202) 483-8751.

***

Congress Allocates $23 Million To Develop Anti-Marijuana Fungus

December 10, 1998, Washington, D.C.: Legislation approved by
Congress last month allocates $23 million toward developing a new fungus
aimed at destroying drug-producing plants like marijuana. U.S. officials
stated that they hope to introduce the soil-borne fungi to foreign
nations such as Columbia, Peru, and Bolivia.

"We are setting a dangerous precedent by promoting the development of
biological agents in the war on marijuana," NORML Executive Director R.
Keith Stroup, Esq. said. "There is a real danger that such a toxic agent
may have serious adverse impacts on surrounding plants and the ecosystems
of these nations. Is this really a path we want to pursue?"

Professor Paul Arriola, a expert in plant genetics at Elmhurst
College in Illinois, agreed. "It's frightening to think that in the
search for a quick fix, we might cause ourselves more long-term
ecological and social problems," he said.

Representatives Bill McCollum (R-Fla.) and Mike DeWine (R-Ohio)
spearheaded the legislation, which they called a potential "silver
bullet" in the war on drugs.

For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre of The NORML
Foundation @ (202) 483-8751.

				- END -

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

Smoke Clears On Medical Marijuana (The Yahoo! version)

From: "Todd McCormick" (todd@A-VISION.COM)
To: "DRCTalk Reformers' Forum" (drctalk@drcnet.org)
Subject: Medical marijuana guidelines have been issued
to police agencies in Oregon
Date: Thu, 10 Dec 1998 10:53:06 -0800
Reply-To: drctalk@drcnet.org
Sender: owner-drctalk@drcnet.org

Yahoo! News Oregon Headlines

Thursday December 10 7:00 AM ET

Smoke Clears On Medical Marijuana - (SALEM) -- Medical marijuana guidelines
have been issued to police agencies in Oregon by the attorney general's
office. The guidelines will have to be sufficient until the Health
Department adopts a package of rules next spring. The A-G's office says
police need to anticipate a medical-use claim when they conduct a marijuana
investigation. That should be considered before officers seek a search
warrant or arrest warrant. The six pages of guidelines also explain how much
marijuana is acceptable... and how police should care for it until a
decision is made on criminal charges.

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

Court upholds Rider's marijuana conviction (An Associated Press article
in The Register-Guard, in Eugene, Oregon, says an Oregon appeals court
on Wednesday upheld the 1997 conviction of Portland Trail Blazers guard
Isaiah Rider for marijuana possession.)

Register-Guard
Eugene, Oregon
http://www.registerguard.com/
letters to editor:
http://www.registerguard.com/standingdocs/feedback.html

December 10, 1998

Court upholds Rider's marijuana conviction

By The Associated Press

SALEM - An Oregon appeals court upheld Portland Trail Blazers guard Isaiah
Rider's 1997 marijuana conviction Wednesday, saying there was clear evidence
the player was in possession of the drug.

The three-judge panel unanimously said the evidence showed Rider possessed
less than an ounce of marijuana, a non-criminal violation in Oregon carrying
a minimum fine of $500.

The troubled Blazers star was cited in October 1996 after a sheriff's deputy
saw him in the back seat of a car in the suburb of Lake Oswego, allegedly
preparing to smoke marijuana from a crude pipe made from a soda can.

Rider denied the marijuana was his and appealed his Clackamas County
District Court conviction.

Rider's lawyer, Robert Weaver, said the conviction and $500 fine should be
overturned because the deputy who testified against Rider was ``confused''
and not credible.

The Oregon Appeals Court said it found that Rider was guilty without
considering the deputy's testimony and that there was ``persuasive
circumstantial evidence'' that he possessed the drug.

The court noted Rider was in a car from which marijuana, a smoking device
and a lighter were recovered and that testimony put the light and smoking
device close to him.

Douglas Zier, an assistant attorney general, argued there was no doubt
marijuana was found in the car. And he said the deputy ``saw the defendant
holding the Coke can about two inches from his mouth'' as he was preparing
to light it.

Rider's marijuana possession citation came after two Clackamas County
sheriff's deputies saw two cars stop in a dark spot and turn off their
lights in Lake Oswego.

The deputies, who were walking back to their cars after checking out another
call, approached the two cars, expecting to find young people drinking or
using drugs.

The NBA suspended Rider last season for five games - two following his
marijuana conviction and for possessing unregistered cellular phones in
California, and three for spitting at a fan in Detroit.

During his two seasons with the Blazers, Rider also has been repeatedly
benched for missing team meetings, shootarounds and flights.

The Blazers had no comment on Wednesday's court decision, citing league
rules that prohibit teams from discussing player matters during the NBA lockout.

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

Memorial fitting for officers who died in duty (A staff editorial
in The Columbian, in Vancouver, Washington, speaks favorably
about a proposed memorial for public safety officers in Clark County
who have died in the line of duty, including two Prohibition agents
killed in 1932, B.W. Turner and Edward Vlasich, whose misfortune
is recounted.)

The Columbian
701 W. Eighth St.
Vancouver WA 98666
Tel. (360) 694-2312
Or (360) 699-6000, Ext. 1560, to leave a recorded opinion
>From Portland: (503) 224-0654
Fax: (360) 699-6033
E-mail: editors@columbian.com
Web: http://www.columbian.com/

In Our View: Thursday, Dec. 10, 1998

Memorial fitting for officers who died in duty

It took our nation 14 years to realize that Prohibition was a failure. Had
we wised up several months sooner, the murders of two federal agents near
Camp Bonneville -- the only double loss of life in Clark County law
enforcement history -- might have been avoided.

Now a group of local residents, led by District Court Judge John Wulle, is
studying the possibility of converting the old war memorial in front of the
county courthouse -- now outdated, thanks to the new Clark County Veterans
War Memorial at Vancouver Barracks -- into a memorial for public safety
officers who have died in the line of duty. Among the names that would be
affixed there are those of an undetermined number of firefighters and at
least six police officers, including the two slain Prohibition agents, B.W.
Turner and Edward Vlasich.

The pair had been investigating illegal liquor production in Clark County
for several months when, on the evening of Sept. 19, 1932, they made an
undercover visit to the farm of Jesse Cousins, south of Hockinson. Within
moments, Turner lay dead; Vlasich, severely wounded, lingered for two weeks
before succumbing. Cousins fled and was located a month and a half after the
shooting, living in a tarp-covered pit near the railroad tracks northwest of
Vancouver.

The subsequent trial, as described by former Columbian reporter Cathy
Kessinger in the 1987 edition of Clark County History, hinged on the simple
question of whether or not Cousins acted in self-defense. Before dying,
Vlasich testified that he and Turner had agreed to buy two gallons of
moonshine from Cousins for $10, and that when they tried to arrest him, he
opened fire.

Cousins' account, delivered at trial, differed hardly at all. He said the
agents had never identified themselves, and when they threw him to the
ground and began to draw their guns, he took them for robbers and shot them
both.

Cousins was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison
on Jan. 23, 1933. Eleven months later, Prohibition was repealed. The cause
was misguided, but the sacrifice was noble. Turner, Vlasich and the other
public safety officers who have been killed doing their jobs deserve to be
remembered and thanked.

-- Michael Zuzel, for the editorial board

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

Help Keep Marvin Chavez Free: Write the Probation Department
(A list subscriber says your letter could help save the medical marijuana
patient and founder of the Orange County Cannabis Co-op from wasting
years in prison. Complete instructions included.)

From: FilmMakerZ@aol.com
Date: Thu, 10 Dec 1998 18:02:30 EST
To: "DRCTalk Reformers' Forum" (drctalk@drcnet.org)
Subject: Help Keep Marvin Chavez Free: Write the Probation Department
Reply-To: drctalk@drcnet.org
Sender: owner-drctalk@drcnet.org

The probation department will be sending a report on Marvin Chavez to Judge
Thomas Borris with recommendations that will be influential in Judge Borris's
sentencing of Marvin. You can help keep this medicinal cannabis patient free
by writing a letter to the probation department.

On January 8, Marvin will be sentenced for being found guilty of five
misdemeanor furnishing marijuana counts, two felony sales of marijuana counts,
and one felony transportation of marijuana count for trying to implement
Proposition 215. He could be facing seven years in prison for compassionately
trying to help other sick and disabled medical cannabis patients.

***

Write the probation department about Marvin. CC it to Judge Borris. Points
to emphasize:

- How you heard about Marvin Chavez.

- Impressions of his trial, if you know about it.

- Synopsis of what you knew Marvin was doing for 215 patients and how
you felt about that.

- Why what Marvin has done doesn't rise to the level of criminal conduct.

-- Don't criticize the judge in your letters.

-- Express concern for what is going to happen to Marvin if he goes to jail.
When he was there earlier this year, he was denied his back brace which helps
his Ankylosing Spondylitis, and only given four Tylenol a week for his pain.

-- Hand written letters have the best impact.

-- Include your name and address in your letters.

***

Write a short cover letter to Judge Borris telling him you have enclosed your
letter to the probation department stating why you feel Marvin Chavez
shouldn't go to jail.

Judge Thomas J. Borris
Division 16
West Justice Center
8141 -- 13th Street
Westminster, CA 92683

***

Send your letters to Marvin's attorney, James Silva. He will address them and
send the letters to the probation department and submit all the letters to
Judge Borris to him directly. This guarantees he reads every letter sent.
Some people who have written letters directly to Judge Borris had them
returned saying they couldn't be read by him unless submitted by Marvin's
attorneys.

The Law Offices of James M. Silva
33 Clubhouse Ave. #3
Venice, CA 90291

***

Email:

You can email a letter which we will print out and send to the probation
department and submit to Judge Borris, but hand written letters will make a
stronger impact.

oc215@hotmail.com

***

Background:

Marvin has Ankylosing Spondylitis, a degenerative spinal arthritis for
which he uses medicinal cannabis. He wears a body brace for his spine
which he was denied while he was mistreated in jail earlier this year.

Marvin started a medicinal cannabis co-op where other patients could get
together, find friendship and understanding, and educate themselves on their
rights under Proposition 215. He gave advice on growing. He gave away free
cannabis to confirmed medical patients who couldn't grow themselves.
Patients gave donations to keep the co-op going, to pay for copies,
phone bills, etc. Some patients made donations, others didn't. But
everyone received free cannabis regardless. Marvin was open and honest
about the co-op and tried to seek out government support for the good of
all patients. He contacted the police and sheriff about what he was
doing and asked for guidance. He spoke in front of the Garden Grove
city council when he was trying to establish an office there. He had
the sheriff-elect, Mike Carona, speak at a support group meeting. He
did everything he could to get the support of elected officials and law
enforcement.

The response was to have undercover narcs pose as patient and
caregivers, forge doctor letters, and call Marvin constantly complaining
of pain to try to entrap him. The prosecution went further by waiting
to prosecute until they could get him with 10 felony charges. DA Carl
Armbrust subpoenaed patients' medical records which he used in the
trial, and withheld evidence from the defense. The narcs blatantly lied
on the witness stand. One narc said even though he had read a newspaper
article about Marvin and is a narcotics officer, he knows nothing about
Proposition 215. Another narc said Marvin referred to the cannabis as a
"lid," a term no one has ever heard him use. On two of the charges of
sales to undercover officers, Marvin was found not guilty based on his
entrapment defense, but on two others, he was found guilty of felony
sales.

The jury reduced five felony sales charges to misdemeanors when they
heard patients and caregivers involved in those charges testify that the
cannabis was always free and they donated money to the Co-op out of
their own free will for the operations of the Co-op. Marvin mailed
cannabis to a Co-op patient who lives in Northern California and because
he was denied a 215 defense in that count, the jury didn't get to hear
the patient's testimony and they found him guilty of felony
transportation.

The jury was told that they could not consider Proposition 215 in their
deliberations on this case which clearly revolved around 215. Marvin
could be facing seven years in prison for trying to help disabled and
dying people. Because he operated openly and tried to get the
cooperation of government officials and law enforcement, he was an easy
target. Marvin is disabled himself. Because of his empathy and
compassion, he reached out to help others, and has improved the lives of
many patients. He doesn't belong in jail.

***

Just 32 cents can possibly help keep Marvin from spending years in prison.

***

If you can also make a donation to the Orange County
Patient-Doctor-Nurse Legal Defense Fund, it would greatly help with all
the costs incurred:

OCPDNSG Legal Defense Fund
c/o The Law Offices of James M. Silva
33 Clubhouse Ave. #3
Venice, CA 90291
Phone: 310-450-2690

***

Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 12:24:39 EST
Errors-To: jnr@insightweb.com
Reply-To: friends@freecannabis.org
Originator: friends@freecannabis.org
Sender: friends@freecannabis.org
From: canorml@igc.apc.org (Dale Gieringer)
To: Multiple recipients of list (friends@freecannabis.org)
Subject: Re: Help Keep Marvin Chavez Free:
Write the Probation Department

IF YOU WRITE TO JUDGE BORRIS, YOU SHOULD ALSO "CC" YOUR LETTER TO (1)
ASS'T D.A. CARL ARMBRUST (2) ATTORNEYS JAMES SILVA and DAVID NICK. Judge
Borris returned our letter saying he could not read it unless we sent
copies to both the prosecution and defense attorneys.

Dale Gieringer (415) 563-5858 // canorml@igc.apc.org
2215-R Market St. #278, San Francisco CA 94114

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

Teen Crime Wave Called Myth (The San Francisco Chronicle
says the MacArthur Foundation's two-year study of juvenile crime statistics
found that laws aimed at youthful lawbreakers are based on "deeply flawed
analyses of juvenile violence statistics." "We're not any more violent
than we were 10 or 20 years ago. We're just paying more attention
to the violence," said Franklin Zimring, author of the study and a law
professor at the University of California at Berkeley. Zimrlng's findings
will be published as a book by Oxford University Press but were released
at a news conference yesterday.)

Date: Thu, 10 Dec 1998 19:13:47 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US CA: Teen Crime Wave Called Myth
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: tjeffoc@sirius.com (Tom O'Connell)
Pubdate: 10 Dec 1998
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Contact: chronletters@sfgate.com
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Copyright: 1998 San Francisco Chronicle
Section: Page 18

TEEN CRIME WAVE CALLED MYTH

Study finds no more juvenile violence than decades -- Cox News Service

Washington Fear rather than fact Is fueling unnecessarily harsh juvenile
justice policies throughout the United States, according to a study by a
Berkeley professor was released yesterday.

The MacArthur Foundation's two-year study of juvenile crime statistics
charges that laws aimed at youthful lawbreakers are based on "deeply flawed
analyses of juvenile violence statistics."

"We're not any more violent than we were 10 or 20 years ago. We're just
paying more attention to the violence," said Franklin Zimring, author of
the study and a law professor at the University of California at Berkeley.

Zimrlng's findings will be published as a book by Oxford University Press
but were released at a news conference yesterday.

The study was paid for by the private MacArthur Foundation, which is best
known for its annual "genius grants" but also supports public policy research.

Zimring said a change in how police report juvenile crimes, particularly
assault and aggravated assault has resulted in "an artificial crime wave."

Zlmrlng said his study shows "what you find out about aggravated assault
and assault since mid.1980s, quite independent of whether youth behavior
has been changing, police behavior been changing significantly." Police
have been reducing the threshold of what constitutes assault and aggravated
assault, the study charges, resulting In the apparent increase In crime.

Some Other major findings of Zimring's Study include:

Arrest rates for juvenile, ages 13 to 17 accused of rape and robbery show
no significant trend either up or down since 1980 and have actually
declined slightly Over the last five years.

The homicide arrest rate for juveniles ages 13 to 17 rose shot between 1984
and 1992 but fell by more than a third by 1996, according to FBI crime
figures.

The number of juveniles arrested for homicide dropped an addItional 18
percent in 1997.

Zimring said that in order to counter what is seen as a "coming storm of
juvenile violence," many states have enacted laws that lower the age at
which juveniles can be charged as adults for certain crimes

Evidence of a juvenile crime wave, "either current or on the horizon, is no
more substantial than the evidence that supports the existence of the Loch
Ness monster," Zimring said.

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

Supreme Court Prohibits Police From Routinely Searching Vehicles
(The Denver Post notes the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that police officers
cannot routinely search motorists and their cars after stopping them
for traffic violations.)

Newshawk: General Pulaski
Pubdate: Thu, 10 Dec 1998
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Contact: letters@denverpost.com
Website: http://www.denverpost.com/
Copyright: 1998 The Denver Post

SUPREME COURT PROHIBITS POLICE FROM ROUTINELY SEARCHING VEHICLES

WASHINGTON - Police officers cannot routinely search motorists and their cars
after stopping them for traffic violations, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

The 9-0 decision marked a rare win for privacy rights and overturned the drug
conviction of an Iowa man who was stopped for speeding, searched and then
arrested when an officer found a bag of marijuana under his seat.

The Iowa case became a closely watched test because it is the only state that
authorizes officers to search all cars that are stopped for traffic
violations. Its police do not even need a specific reason for searching the
vehicle.

The court ruled that this broad authority to search violates the Fourth
Amendment.

Tuesday's ruling calls a halt to the trend of giving the police ever more
leeway to search vehicles, especially for drugs.

Normally, the police must have a specific reason to search a person or his
car. For example, if officers chase a car that sped away from a robbery, they
would have good reason for searching the occupants and the vehicle.

But in recent years, many motorists have complained they were stopped by
police for vague reasons and then pressed to allow their cars to be searched.

Writing for the court, Chief Justice William Rehnquist said the officer was
not in danger when he wrote the traffic ticket, and the speeding violation
itself did not justify a full search of the car.

Officers who fear for their safety can require drivers and passengers to step
out of the car to be checked for weapons. Further, officers who have reason
to believe a motorist is carrying drugs can search the vehicle.

But the Supreme Court drew a line at allowing searches during routine traffic
stops where there is no apparent danger and no evidence of other criminal
activity.

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

Pot Use 'No Big Deal' To Teens (The Daily Herald, in Arlington Heights,
Illinois, gives the usual one-sided coverage of an anti-marijuana conference
Wednesday at the College of DuPage, where 200 people from throughout the area
supposedly learned how to teach teens to shun pot.)

Date: Thu, 10 Dec 1998 16:03:21 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US IL: Pot Use 'No Big Deal' To Teens
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Steve Young
Source: Daily Herald (IL)
Contact: fencepost@dailyherald.com
Website: http://www.dailyherald.com/
Copyright: 1998 The Daily Herald Company
Pubdate: Thur, 10 Dec 1998
Author: KAREN KUTZ
Section: Sec. 1

POT USE 'NO BIG DEAL' TO TEENS

Jeff Nudera, a health teacher at Naperville Central High School, says
teenagers think smoking marijuana is "no big deal."

He wants to prove them wrong.

To gather ammunition, Nudera attended a marijuana conference Wednesday at
the College of DuPage.

About 200 people from throughout the area also took part to learn how to
teach teens to shun pot.

"We've seen an increase of use among the mainstream of students," said Debra
Quinn, a counselor at West Aurora High School. "They will admit to using,
and they don't wish to stop."

"Prevalence has so dramatically increased, and the attitude is so blase or
lackadaisical," agreed Mary Bernhardt of Breaking Free, a drug treatment
center in Naperville and Aurora.

Yet marijuana has changed significantly from the 1960s to the 1990s, she
said.

Susan Dalterio, a professor at the University of Texas and Wednesday's
conference speaker, told the group that marijuana is up to 25 percent
stronger than it used to be, and the drug is highly addictive.

On top of that, a new way to smoke it can be lethal and can cause more
aggressive behavior, she said.

"Blunts," or cigars stuffed with marijuana and soaked in a solvent, have
started appearing in places like Houston, she said.

"If a child is asthmatic and decides to experiment with any drug soaked in a
solvent, it can be life threatening," said Dalterio, an expert on drug use
and its dangers.

Blunts also allow more THC, which produces marijuana's high, into the body's
system.

In the '60s, marijuana contained only trace amounts of THC, she noted. "In
the 1980s, it was up to 10 percent. Now it is up to 15 or 17 percent," and
in some cases it's up to 25 percent.

According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, hashish can contain up to
28 percent THC.

The problem with THC - and the more than 450 other chemicals in marijuana -
is that it alters brain chemistry, Dalterio said.

And unlike alcohol and other drugs, marijuana is not water soluble. It is
stored in fat cells for weeks at a time.

"Marijuana has staying power," she said, noting that's why it doesn't
produce a hangover. "There's no withdrawal."

If used often enough, the drug can change brain chemistry, leading to
changes in behavior.

"People are slower," she said. "They get very relaxed about important
things."

That's because long-term use slows down the absorption of hormones and other
chemicals in the brain.

Dalterio said parents should become alarmed if their child once had "huge"
dreams and now seems unmotivated.

"They aren't stressed if they lose a girlfriend or a boyfriend," she said.
"They lose their edge."

Rhonda Sweedler, coordinator of Hazelden Chicago at Lombard, the group that
hosted Dalterio at COD, said at least 90 percent of their clients report
they use marijuana.

The center has treated 150 young people aged 14 to 25 since opening in
March.

"Schools are reporting to us that most kids having drug and alcohol problems
say their first use was in the sixth or seventh grade," Sweedler said.

"We really need to band together and look at this problem earlier than high
school, when it becomes a matter of intervention," she said.

Craig Boura, a clinician with DuPage County's Psychological Services, said
that won't happen until better statistics on local use become available.

"There really is a lack of quality material that has information that I
really trust," said Boura, who teaches a class to adolescents arrested for
marijuana possession.

In a given year, county courts will order about 200 people aged 15 to 25 to
take his class.

"I would suspect that's a small percentage of the people using," he said.

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

Man Sues Drug Task Force (The Dayton Daily News, in Ohio,
says Howard Johnson of Spring Valley has filed a $13 million lawsuit
charging the Greene County Drug Task Force engaged in a "pattern of corrupt
activity" to finance itself. In April, Johnson's brother, Fairborn
businessman Bobby Johnson, filed a $10.4 million lawsuit against the task
force, alleging it similarly engaged in a pattern of corrupt activity by
trying to force him to pay it money and surrender property in order to have
false charges dismissed.)

Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 00:34:08 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US OH: Man Sues Drug Task Force
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: General Pulaski
Source: Dayton Daily News (OH)
Contact: edletter@coxohio.com
Website: http://www.activedayton.com/partners/ddn/
Pubdate: Thur, 10 Dec 1998
Author: Margo Rutledge Kissell, Greene County Bureau

MAN SUES DRUG TASK FORCE

A Spring Valley man has filed a $13 million lawsuit charging the Greene
County Drug Task Force engaged in a "pattern of corrupt activity" to finance
the activities of the group.

Howard Johnson, whose home was raided by the task force in 1993, filed the
lawsuit in Greene County Common Pleas Court.

Defendants also include the cities of Beavercreek, Fairborn, Xenia, the
Greene County sheriff's and prosecutor's offices and individuals involved in
the task force. The group, which is now called the Interagency Investigative
Unit, is an undercover police unit that pursues the county's drug offenders.

Task force commander Richard Bishop said he has not seen the lawsuit and
declined comment.

Greene County Prosecutor William Schenck and Johnson's Norwalk attorney,
Gregory A. Shell, could not be reached for comment.

In the lawsuit, filed Monday, Johnson refers to the defendants' "pattern of
corrupt activity, theft of property, extortion and/or causing the
expenditure of costs, legal fees and defamation of character and reputation,
and deprivation of (constitutional and legal) rights."

The drug task force, assisted by other agencies, raided Johnson's home three
times in August 1993 based on informant claims that Johnson, then 54, was a
major cocaine distributor in Ohio and other states and that he also engaged
in the marketing of stolen property. The investigation included the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service and Drug Enforcement
Administration.

Authorities seized more than 100 items, including $25,770 in cash, 77 guns,
two lawn tractors, a pickup, a log splitter and a welder, but police found
no drugs.

Greene County Common Pleas Judge M. David Reid later ruled authorities had
exceeded the scope of their search warrants. On March, 3, 1994, Reid ruled
94 seized items were not admissible as evidence.

On Aug. 3, 1994, Johnson pleaded guilty to one count of receiving stolen
property--a rifle. Five other counts were dismissed. In his plea bargain, he
agreed to surrender his guns. He was placed on five years' probation, spent
30 days in jail and was fined $2,500.

Johnson's lawsuit alleges he was told other charges could be filed "if he
did not agree to plea and forfeit an expensive gun collection" and claims
certain items of property seized still have not been returned.

In April, Johnson's brother, Fairborn businessman Bobby Johnson, filed a
$10.4 million lawsuit against the task force, alleging it engaged in a
pattern of corrupt activity by trying to force him to pay it money and
surrender property to have false charges dismissed. During searches of his
home and other properties, the task force seized more than $200,000,
including his guns and video games, according to court records. Charges
against Bobby Johnson were later dismissed.

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

Texas Tobacco-Suit Lawyers Reportedly Get $3.3 Billion
(According to an Associated Press article in The Seattle Times,
The Dallas Morning News said today that the lawyers involved in the Texas
tobacco settlement have been awarded nearly $3.3 billion by a national
arbitration panel, the largest attorney-fee award in US history.)

Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1998 14:07:54 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US TX: Texas Tobacco-Suit Lawyers Reportedly Get $3.3 Billion
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: John Smith
Pubdate: Friday, 10 December 1998
Source: Seattle Times (WA)
Contact: opinion@seatimes.com
Website: http://www.seattletimes.com/
Copyright: 1998 The Seattle Times Company
Author: The Associated Press

TEXAS TOBACCO-SUIT LAWYERS REPORTEDLY GET $3.3 BILLION

DALLAS - The lawyers involved in the Texas tobacco settlement have
been awarded nearly $3.3 billion by a national arbitration panel, The
Dallas Morning News reported today.

The decision, which the newspaper said is the largest attorney fee
award in U.S. history, means Texas will not have to pay any money to
the five plaintiffs' lawyers. The money will come from tobacco companies.

The panel, appointed by cigarette makers and a group of trial lawyers,
deliberated 15 hours yesterday in Washington before agreeing to give
the attorneys 19 percent of the $17.3 billion settlement reached
earlier this year, the newspaper reported, citing lawyers familiar
with the case.

The award was nearly $1 billion more than called for in the original
contract, but it is considerably less than the $6 billion to $25
billion that the lawyers requested last weekend.

The Texas lawyers should get their first $200 million paycheck
Tuesday.

Texas, Florida, Minnesota and Mississippi reached settlements for a
combined $40 billion before a national settlement, valued at $206
billion, was reached for the remaining 46 states seeking reimbursement
for treating sick smokers.

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

Five Months In Jail For Pot Promoter (The Edmonton Journal
says Alberta provincial court Judge David Tilley sentenced Ken Kirk
to five months in jail Wednesday, even though Kirk uses cannabis
to help control his epilepsy and other medical problems, including bipolar
disorder and a chronic inflammation of the lower back. The judge
said Kirk's crimes were aggravated by the large amount of pot police
seized from him, the fact he re-offended while on bail and because
he sold to a minor.)

Date: Thu, 10 Dec 1998 11:43:20 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: Canada: Five Months In Jail For Pot Promoter
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: creator@mapinc.org
Pubdate: 10 December 1998
Source: Edmonton Journal (Canada)
Contact: letters@thejournal.southam.ca
Website: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/
Copyright: 1998 The Edmonton Journal
Author: Kerry Powell, Legal Affairs Writer

FIVE MONTHS IN JAIL FOR POT PROMOTER

Edmonton - Ken Kirk's crimes are too serious for him to avoid jail,
even if it means cutting off the marijuana supply he says he needs, a
judge said Wednesday.

Kirk, who says he smokes pot to control his epilepsy and other
ailments, pleaded guilty to two counts each of trafficking and
possession for the purpose of trafficking.

Provincial court Judge David Tilley said five months in jail was the
best he could do in light of Kirk's medical difficulties.

He said Kirk's crimes were aggravated by the large amount of pot
police seized from him, the fact he re-offended while on bail and
because he sold to a minor.

Kirk isn't motivated by profit or greed, Tilley said. He only sells
marijuana to make enough money to support his own habit.

According to his pre-sentence report, Kirk has been smoking about 0.6
grams of pot a day for the past 22 years. He says it helps control his
epilepsy and other medical problems, including bipolar disorder and a
chronic inflammation of his lower back.

As an advocate for legalization of marijuana, Kirk sees his crimes as
a political statement, the judge noted, adding Kirk's psychological
assessment showed he has little or no respect for the justice system.

"I'm not going to penalize him for his attitude and beliefs," Tilley
said. "I do not make the laws. My sole function is to interpret and
apply the laws."

Kirk, a self-proclaimed pope in the Church of the Reformed Druids, was
first arrested Dec. 21, 1996, after a seven-gram sale. Police raided a
residence occupied by 11 people, including four minors. They seized
cash, customer lists, baggies, a scale and more than 300 grams of marijuana.

Kirk was on bail for the first charges when he was seen smoking a
joint in the Old Strathcona area on Oct. 1, 1997, and arrested again.
Police seized a pipe, 25 grams of marijuana in baggies and $15. One
youth told police Kirk had sold a small quantity to him for that amount.

Tilley said the Crown's request for a nine-to-12-month sentence was
too high and the defence lawyer's suggestion of a fine or parole was
entirely inappropriate.

Tilley said he considered defence counsel's request for a sentence to
be served on weekends but the longest intermittent term allowed is 90
days and that wasn't enough.

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

Pot-for-Health Claim Still Draws Jail Term (The Edmonton Sun version)

Date: Thu, 10 Dec 1998 11:45:49 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: Canada: Pot-for-Health Claim Still Draws Jail Term
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: creator@mapinc.org
Source: Edmonton Sun (Canada)
Contact: sun.letters@ccinet.ab.a
Website: http://www.canoe.ca/EdmontonSun/
Copyright: 1998, Canoe Limited Partnership.
Pubdate: Thu, 10 Dec 1998
Author: Amanda Morrall

POT-FOR-HEALTH CLAIM STILL DRAWS JAIL TERM

A chronic pot smoker was jailed for five months yesterday despite claims he
needs his daily tokes for health reasons.

A provincial court judge told Kenneth Kirk that he was compelled by law to
send the 37-year-old marijuana advocate to jail and that fining him would
be inappropriate.

"I don't make the laws," Judge David Tilley told Kirk as he delivered the
sentence.

"My sole purpose is to interpret them. The best I can do in light of your
medical condition is to impose a sentence I consider the rock bottom of the
range," he said.

Kirk suffers from epilepsy and other ailments including bipolar disorder
and chronic inflammation of his lower back.

Crown prosecutor Larry Ackerl had asked that Kirk - the self-proclaimed
pope of the Church of Reform Druids - be jailed between nine months and a
year for the drug offences.

He pleaded guilty earlier to two counts each of trafficking and possession
of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking.

One of the sets of charges was laid while Kirk was out on bail for the
first offence in December 1996.

Tilley said Kirk's actions were an aggravating factor that had to be taken
into account along with the fact that some of the drug sales involved
minors.

"It would be immoral and against community standards to try to change the
laws so minors can buy hemp," he remarked.

But he said he wouldn't hold it against Kirk that he was a staunch advocate
for the legalization of marijuana and that he wanted to make a political
statement with his actions.

Kirk's lawyer Mike Furman said his client wasn't trying to profit from
selling drugs and that he was doing it only to support his 22-year-old
habit.

He asked Tilley to consider an intermittent sentence that would allow Kirk
to serve the time on weekends to minimize any potential injury that could
befall him in jail.

Tilley rejected the proposal but asked that Kirk's medical condition be
made known to corrections officials.

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

Drug trade violence stalks Tijuana (An Associated Press article
in The Detroit News says Tijuana sits between the haves and the have-nots:
those in Mexico who have cocaine, marijuana, heroin and speed, and those
in the United States who do not but will pay lots for it. With 2 million
people, there is an average of one murder every 30 hours, the overwhelming
majority connected to the smuggling of drugs, arms or undocumented workers.
US officials seized more than 188 tons of drugs worth an estimated
$308 million at five Mexico-California border crossings in the 1998
fiscal year - up 44 percent. Struggles between mid-level and emerging
dealers have made 1998 the bloodiest on record: 156 homicides
in Tamaulipas state, 49 in Chihuahua, and 216 in Sinaloa.)

From: "Bob Owen@W.H.E.N." (when@olywa.net)
To: "_Drug Policy --" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: Drug trade violence stalks Tijuana
Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 19:14:54 -0800
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net

[..$1 million a week in bribes to federal, state and local officials...cc]

Newshawk: ccross@november.org
Source: The Detroit News
Pubdate: Thursday, December 10, 1998
Online: http://www.detnews.com/1998/nation/9812/10/12100173.htm

Drug trade violence stalks Tijuana

* Smugglers turn border city into a battlefield: Is it a new Medellin?

By Michelle Ray Ortiz
Associated Press

TIJUANA, Mexico -- On the border in northwestern Mexico, Tijuana sits
between the haves and the have-nots: those in Mexico who have cocaine,
marijuana, heroin and speed, and those in the United States who do not but
will pay lots for it.

Small-time dealers cook speed, or methamphetamine, in backroom labs
hidden in poor neighborhoods. Big-time traffickers tally their profits
behind guarded fortresses.

Others in this border city of 2 million people just do their best to
keep out of the line of fire.

Every 30 hours, on average, violence claims another life in this gritty
metropolis or in the barren deserts nearby -- the overwhelming majority of
them connected to the smuggling of drugs, arms or undocumented workers.

Some fear Tijuana is on the edge of becoming the new Medellin, the
Colombian city that fell into chaotic drug violence in the 1980s and early
'90s.

Tijuana newspaper publisher Jesus Blancornelas said Tijuana has not yet
seen the level of violence that characterized Medellin, but added: "I can't
deny that at any moment it could happen."

The city, home to the busiest border crossing on Earth, is one of the
main ports of entry for drugs heading into the United States -- the world's
largest drug market.

U.S. officials seized more than 188 tons of drugs worth an estimated
$308 million at the five Mexico-California border crossings in the 1998
fiscal year -- up 44 percent from the previous year.

Along the 2,000-mile border, homicides this year have hit record levels
near drug passage points: 156 in Tamaulipas state, 49 in Chihuahua, and 216
in Sinaloa, not a border state but a prime trafficking center, according to
the Binational Center of Human Rights, an independent Tijuana group.

The fragile balance that had checked drug violence in the past was upset
by the July 1997 death of Amado Carillo Fuentes, who led a powerful cocaine
smuggling cartel based in Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso,
Texas.

In Tijuana, big-time trading still is firmly controlled by the Arellano
Felix brothers, whose group brings multiton drug shipments into the western
United States and beyond to Chicago, Kentucky, Ohio and New York.

Yet struggles between mid-level and emerging dealers have made 1998 the
bloodiest on record for the city, according to Victor Clark, director of the
human rights center.

"It has provoked a feeling of uncertainty, of insecurity along the
border," he said.

In September, a hit squad pulled an alleged marijuana trafficker and 18
of his relatives from their beds and killed them in El Sauzal, 45 miles
south of Tijuana.

In October, young men with a Kalashnikov assault rifle killed six
strangers and wounded a seventh in what police say was a drugged,
thrill-seeking spree.

Fear keeps middle-class people from going out at night and private
bodyguard services and security companies are booming.

"This was never seen on the border before," Clark said. "This is new in
Tijuana."

Yet the city long has borne an outlaw reputation -- at least for
foreigners. For decades, Americans - thousands of them -- have dipped south
of the border for prostitution and gambling.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said last year that almost 90
percent of police officers, prosecutors and judges in Tijuana and in the
state of Baja California were reportedly on the Arellano Felix payroll.

Witnesses have said the brothers pay up to $1 million a week in bribes
to federal, state and local officials.

But one DEA official said Tijuana's violence is not as bad as Medellin
once was -- simply because the Arellano Felix organization is so dominant.
The Colombian city, caught in a war between two rival cartels, saw daily
outbursts of violence.

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

Drugs-Related Deaths Double In Glasgow (According to The Independent,
in Britain, a new police report says illegal-drug-related deaths
in the Scottish city have more than doubled in the past year. The increase -
to 63, of which 55 were directly linked to heroin - breaks a downward trend
over the previous three years. No word on whether more people die
from falling down stairs, as is the case in the United States.)

Subj: UK: Drugs-Related Deaths Double In Glasgow
Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 18:54:20 -0800
Newshawk: Martin Cooke (mjc1947@cyberclub.iol.ie)
Pubdate: Thu, 10 Dec 1998
Source: Independent, The (UK)
Contact: letters@independent.co.uk
Website: http://www.independent.co.uk/
Copyright: Independent Newspapers (UK) Ltd.
Author: Stephen Goodwin, Scotland Correspondent

DRUGS-RELATED DEATHS DOUBLE IN GLASGOW

DRUGS-RELATED deaths in Glasgow have more than doubled in the past year,
according to a new police report.

Heroin is the main killer, with a growing number of users injecting the
drug in a highly risky cocktail with temazepam - a benzodiazepine used to
treat anxiety. Of the 63 drugs deaths in the city so far this year, 55 are
directly linked to heroin, Strathclyde Police said. The increase breaks a
downward trend over the previous three years - there were only 30 drug
deaths in 1997.

Glasgow's drug culture is a picture of social degeneration and related
crime. An estimated 9,500 people inject substances in the city. Whereas
drugs are generally used to cushion reality, on the housing estates there
they tend to be used to block it out completely. According to Andrew Horne,
manager of the Glasgow Drug Crisis Centre, adding in temazepam has just
that effect.

"If a heroin user was told Celtic had lost 6-0 to Rangers he would
understand the information but not feel the pain," explained Mr Horne. "If
he was using temazepam on top, he wouldn't even know about it."

The new generation of users is mindless of the horrors of a decade ago.
They start by smoking the drug, move on to injecting and then try cocktails.

Doctors and drugs specialists believe that the rise in deaths is directly
linked to a flood of illegally manufactured temazepam and probably the
increased purity of heroin on the market. "Temazepam jellies are back in a
big way," said Mr Horne. He charts the decline in deaths after 75 in 1995
to tighter controls on prescribing temazepam.

But with its return in an easily injectable jelly form, he estimates that
one-third of the 3,500 heroin users seen by the centre in a year are on the
potentially deadly cocktail. Similar to cod liver oil capsules, jellies
cost UKP1.50 to UKP2 each on the street.

The Strathclyde Police drugs co-ordinator, Detective Superintendent Barry
Dougall, said: "We are very disappointed in the rise in drug deaths because
we thought last year we were making some impact.

"The purity levels of heroin on the street has risen from between 15 and 30
per cent to between 20 and 60 per cent in recent times. We believe it is in
response to the market trend to smoke heroin rather than inject it, as
smokers require stronger purity."

But as users turned to injecting, Det Supt Dougall said, it had "double the
effect, double the consequences and double the danger".

According to Greater Glasgow Health Board drugs unit, the cocktailing of
heroin was certainly a factor in the rise in deaths. "We are seeing a new
generation of kids starting to smoke heroin and then some of them are
sliding down into injecting, and it is there that you get the deaths," a
spokesman said. "Once into the culture of injecting and using other drugs
as well as the heroin, then it is one of the most risky things a young
person can do."

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

Weekly Action Report on Drug Policies, Year 4, No. 41 (A summary
of European and international drug policy news, from CORA in Italy)

Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1998 10:55:47 +0100
To: cora.belgique@agora.stm.it
From: CORA Belgique 
Subject: CORAFax #41 (EN)
Sender: owner-hemp@efn.org

ANTIPROHIBITIONIST OF THE ENTIRE WORLD ....
Year 4 #41, December 10 1998

Weekly Action Report on Drug Policies
Edited by the CORA - Radical Antiprohibitionist Coordination, federated to
- TRP-Transnational Radical Party (NGO, consultive status, I)
- The Global Coalition for Alternatives to the Drug War

***

director: Vincenzo Donvito
All rights reserved

***

http://www.agora.stm.it/coranet
mailto:cora.news@agora.stm.it

CORA NEWS

ITALY-THE PUBLIC SERVICES FOR DRUG ADDICTS DO NOT WORK PROPERLY
The Cora has written a letter to the Parliamentary Commission On the Health
System, to remind its members about the 60 accounts of facts that have been
deposited in the offices of 60 State Attorneys.
The President of the commission, Senator Antonio Tommasini, replies that he
will set up an inquiry.

ITALY-ANTI PROHIBITIONISTS IN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
On the 19th of December the CORA will organise demonstrations in various
Italian cities to propose a list of candidates for the 1999 European
elections.

***

"NEWS FROM THE WORLD"

***

000384 09/12/98
ADDICITION
L'EXPRESS

Given the invasion of new products that induce artificial happiness it has
become impossible to distinguish between legal and illegal substances.
Furthermore, the idea of a drug free world as seen by the United Nations is
purely utopian. It is instead necessary accept the existance of 'drugs',
as many civilizations have done for thousands of years.

***

000388 09/12/98
E.U. / FRANCE
ADDICITON
L'EVENEMENT DU JEUDI

The number of people who smoke marijuana, and who do it openly, is rising.
The opinion of the French in this public opinion poll: 30% think that
cannabis is less harmful than tobacco; 75% think that alcohol is a great
deal more harmful than cannabis; 25% would punish those who use it, and
41% would not vote for a party that pursues legalization of drugs.

***

000383 10/12/98
E.U. / GB / LONDON
ADDICTION
PANORAMA

A research by the Financial Times shows that many London stock brokers and
buying agents are drug addicts. In the City everyone knows this but does
not make an issue out of it. It is thought that these professionals are
under continuous stress, and therefore need extra 'help' to keep up the
rhythm.

***

000381 04/12/98
E.U. / FRANCE
HEALTH
LE MONDE

The Observatory on Drug Addiction says that use of substitutive products
(above all Subutex) is spreading. Over 55000 heroin addicts are being cured
by their general phisician, and that number is rising.

***

000380 03/12/98
E.U. / FRANCE
INFORMATION
LE MONDE

Dominique Voynet, Minister of the Environment says that the time has come
to discuss depenalisation of cannabis. Laws that cannot be contested are
obsolete, especially in the light of the 50th anniversary of the
declaration of human rights.

***

000382 07/12/98
E.U. / GB
PUSHERS
HERALD TRIBUNE

A well known documentary on Columbian drug dealers that also won the CBS
'60 minutes' prize has been showed to be a put-on in which actors and pre
planned situations were used.

***

000387 07/12/98
E.U. / GB
RECYCLING
THE TIMES

The National Criminal Intelligence Service is investigating 60 Companies
and their lawyers for it is alleged that they are involved in recycling
billions of puonds made through drug traffic.

***

000389 04/12/98
E.U. / GB
TRAFFIC
THE TIMES

An alarm sounded by the National Criminal Intelligence Service: Beware of
the Beanie Babies, a toy that is being widely sold, because they are
produced to cover the illegal activities of drug traffickers and because
they are made with materials that are harnful for children.

***

000390 05/12/98
AMERICA / USA / TEXAS
TRAFFIC
THE ECONOMIST

Organized crime today resembles what it was in 1930s Chicago: A capillary
structure based on drug traffic and capable of controlling everything,
even in the prisons.

***

000385 05/12/98
E.U. / AUSTRIA
WAR ON DRUGS
SUEDDEUTSCHE Z.

Anti drug tests have been performed on some high school students without
them knowinng about it. The Minister of Justice says this is an anti
constitutional act, which intrudes on the citizen's privacy.

***

000386 07/12/98
WAR ON DRUGS
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 03/12 / FINANCIAL TIMES 05/12

After Raul Salinas's wealth was confiscated in Switzerland an American
Court has expressed doubts regarding the illegal provenance of the money.
Many of those who testified have reamined anonymous and are scarcely
reliable. In the meanwhile the Swiss bank that has the money in custody has
nominated an appropriate commission to investigate the situation.

***

000391 07/12/98
E.U. / GB
WAR ON DRUGS
THE TIMES

The National Crime Squad has especially employed, part time, some police
officials in the fight against drug traffic. Their task will be to gather
information and proof of crimes committed.

***

000392 02/12/98
EUROPE / ALBANIA
WAR ON DRUGS
THE TIMES

Albania is one of the major cannabis producers. The drug is grown on hills
and this year its price has gone down from 600 to 180 USD per Kilo. It is
then exported through Greece or Italy.

***

000393 07/12/98 Lunedi
E.U. / GERMANY
WAR ON DRUGS
DER SPIEGEL

The police workers union is asking more freedom of choice in the fight
against drugs. If someone is found with 30 grams of marijuana it should be
the policeman's right to decide wether to arrest or not. The union is also
favourable to controlled distribution of heroin.

***

000394 08/12/98
AMERICA / USA
WAR ON DRUGS
FINANCIAL TIMES / HERALD TRIBUNE

President Clinton has cancelled Iran and Malaysia from the list of
countries that are considered to be dangerously involved in drug traffic.
Now 28 countries remain in the list. Thanks to the work of their
Governments, Iran and Malaysia are not two af the main drug routes towards
Europe and America anymore.

***

CLIPPINGS

ITALY- About 350 billion Lire have been set aside by the Government so that
new projects for fighting drugs can be started

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

[End]