Portland NORML News - Friday, December 11, 1998
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Trap and trace device at American Agriculture
(An investigative list subscriber reports the Marijuana Task Force
in Portland has been using its illegal "trap and trace" device
at the American Agriculture hydroponics store to bust cannabis cultivators
all over Oregon. A busted grower in Bend allegedly has a tape recording
of MTF Officer Nathan Shropshire spilling the beans.)

Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 23:06:55 -0600
From: Arthur Sobey (asobey@ncfcomm.com)
To: dpfor@drugsense.org
Subject: DPFOR: trap and trace device at American Agriculture
Sender: owner-dpfor@drugsense.org
Reply-To: dpfor@drugsense.org
Organization: DrugSense http://www.drugsense.org/

I don't know how many of you have heard, but the Portland MTF has been
running an illegal wiretap on American Agriculture in Portland for the
last three years.

The tap is actually a trap and trace device and a pen register. These
record the numbers of all outgoing and incoming phone calls.

The MTF has shared this information with cops all over Oregon. If a
phone number is recorded more than a couple of times a week, the number
and corresponding address is being provided to local cops where the
phone is located.

The device may still be in operation. The MTF hasn't been ordered to
shut it down yet.

The device was discovered by Mr. Neil Hauser of Bend. Mr. Hauser's home
was raided and marijuana found growing. During the court process, Mr.
Hauser noticed some "funny" wording in the search warrant. Playing a
hunch, Hauser called the MTF in Portland, posing as a Bend police
officer. He spoke with a cop named Nathan Shropshire. Shropshire was
completely taken in by Hauser, and spilled his guts about the tap and
how the info was used. Hauser tape recorded the phone conversation with
Shropshire. I hope to have a copy of that tape soon.

I will post more tomorrow about what is going on now. If you know anyone
doing business with American Agriculture, they need to know about this.

To quote Officer Shropshire loosely, "just about every marijuana case in
Oregon for the past three years has been made from this trap and trace."

What this means is that most of them will probably be overturned.

I am not sure how best to present what info I have, But I figure you
folks need it all asap.

Those walk and talk raids were something other than blind chance.

Can I post attachments to the list, or must I copy and paste?

Art Sobey

***

Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 22:56:11 -0800 (PST)
From: Terry Miller (pdxnorml@pdxnorml.org)
To: dpfor@drugsense.org
Subject: Re: DPFOR: trap and trace device at American Agriculture
Sender: owner-dpfor@drugsense.org
Reply-To: dpfor@drugsense.org
Organization: DrugSense http://www.drugsense.org/

[ed. note - Terry Miller is the director of Portland NORML.]

PDX NORML has been warning of the MTF sitting in the parking lot and
taking down license tags for three years now. That method was publicized
in "The Columbian," the Vancouver, Washington paper (certainly not the
Oregonian) about that same time. In the 155 or so busts that PDX NORML has
information about, over 90% of those cases had a contact with American
Agriculture. Today on KBOO, I talked about the current taps and advised
the public to act accordingly. I'd be tickled to death if all those cases
could be overturned.

Incidentally (other MTF facts), of those 155 busts, only two would be
considered commercial grows. The MTF is busting mom and pop, with one
light and a load of clones. 80+% are employed, 80+% have no previous
record. For those that have assets, seizure or fines (the payment of money
so the MTF won't seize your property) are de rigeur. For the bulk of the
rest, work release is given so they can collect a sizeable percentage of
the money you make while you are involved in that program. Mike Schrunk
said yesterday that they convict about 900 felony charges on marijuana
last year (are we seeing the math totals here?). In 1996, there were only
10,000 or so TOTAL FELONY ARRESTS (up from 1986's 3400 or so-283%
increase). The 1996 MTF budget was around $300,000 plus a $29,000 Federal
Grant. Seizures were $2.3 million (add money from work release here).
About 25% of those busted allege some kind of medical use. Schrunk says
they have dismissed the bulk of the med pot patients. Bald faced lie. They
continued to bust and convict med pot patients. In addition, Ass't DA Tom
Smith-Cupani began a one man tirade against medical marijuana and took
time off from court to attend the bust of the AHC. Also, most of those
busted for grows (95+%) are white. Most of those busted for possession,
distribution are Black/Hispanic (don't have percentages).

Thought you might like to know...

TD

***

Return-Path: (asobey@ncfcomm.com)
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1998 07:30:07 -0600
From: Arthur Sobey (asobey@ncfcomm.com)
Reply-To: asobey@ncfcomm.com
To: dpfor@drugsense.org
Subject: some law
Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="mol-t&t.wpd"

Attachment Converted: C:\INTERNET\mol-t&t.wpd

Download Acrobat Reader'

[For a court document about the "trap and trace" device at American
Agriculture in Portland, and the attempt by police to keep their illegal
wiretap secret by prosecuting the whistleblower, download the 14-page Adobe
Acrobat .pdf file below. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can
download it for free at the link above. - ed.]

http://www.pdxnorml.org/981211_trap.pdf

(33,247 bytes)

***

Date: Sun, 13 Dec 1998 12:50:20 -0600
From: Arthur Sobey (asobey@ncfcomm.com)
To: Phil Smith (pdxnorml@pdxnorml.org)
Subject: Re: some law

Here's the second part of the motion to suppress.

Art

***

http://www.pdxnorml.org/981211_motion.pdf

(9,700 bytes, 5 pages)
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Hemp jewelry kit for kids at Sears (Paul Stanford, a chief petitioner
for the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act, a proposed initiative that would legalize
industrial hemp, notes at least one Portland franchise of the nationwide
retailer is offering kids something new for Christmas this year.)

Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 15:57:55 -0800
To: "DRCTalk Reformers' Forum" (drctalk@drcnet.org)
From: "D. Paul Stanford" (stanford@crrh.org)
Subject: Hemp jewelry kit for kids at Sears
Cc: drctalk@drcnet.org
Reply-To: drctalk@drcnet.org
Sender: owner-drctalk@drcnet.org

Today I was perusing through a little children's toy section at a Portland,
Oregon area Sears store in a major mall. Right in a section with several
craft kits there was a box marked "HEMP Jewelry Kit." The word "hemp" was
in a very big font. Hemp craft kits in Sears? This is another little brick
in the wall falling.

Yours truly,
D. Paul Stanford

***

We are working to regulate and tax adult marijuana sales, allow doctors to
prescribe cannabis and allow the unregulated production of industrial hemp!

***

Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp
CRRH
P.O. Box 86741
Portland, OR 97286
Phone:(503) 235-4606
Fax: (503) 235-0120
Web: http://www.crrh.org/
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Veteran acquitted on marijuana charge (An Associated Press article
in The Contra Costa Times says a jury on Thursday acquitted Charles Lepp
in connection with his cultivation of 131 marijuana plants. Lepp's
was the first medical marijuana case taken to trial in either Lake
or Mendocino counties since voters approved Proposition 215 in 1996.)

Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1998 00:18:55 -0600
From: "Frank S. World" (compassion23@geocities.com)
Organization: Rx Cannabis Now!
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/7417/
To: Med Mj (medmj@drcnet.org), editor (editor@mapinc.org),
DPFCA (dpfca@drugsense.org)
Subject: DPFCA: US CA: Veteran acquitted on marijuana charge
Sender: owner-dpfca@drugsense.org
Reply-To: dpfca@drugsense.org
Organization: DrugSense http://www.drugsense.org/dpfca/
Source: The Contra Costa Times
Contact: cctletrs@netcom.com
Website: http://www.hotcoco.com/index.htm
Pubdate: Posted at 6:45 PM, Dec. 11, 1998

VETERAN ACQUITTED ON MARIJUANA CHARGE

ASSOCIATED PRESS

LAKEPORT ---- A Vietnam War veteran who said he suffered from a host of
medical problems has been found innocent of growing marijuana for sale.

A jury on Thursday acquitted Charles Lepp, 46, who was accused of growing
131 marijuana plants in his yard.

Lepp testified that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic
back pain, skin cancer, degenerative arthritis and manic depression.

He said a doctor had authorized him to use marijuana to ease his pain.
Prosecutors contended the marijuana that could be harvested from the 3-foot
to 4-foot high plants far outstripped his needs. Lepp told investigators
that he planned to give anything he didn't need to a friend.

Deputy District Attorney Fred Raper also argued that Lepp did not have a
doctor's authorization.

Lepp's was the first medical marijuana case taken to trial in either Lake or
Mendocino County since the 1996 approval of Proposition 215, which sought to
legalize cultivation and use of marijuana to treat medical ailments.
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Media Culpa - Cracking the CIA (Seattle Weekly columnist Mark Worth
says the Central Intelligence Agency is finally admitting what the San Jose
Mercury News and many independent political journals have been saying
for more than two years - that the CIA, at the very minimum, turned a blind
eye to the Nicaraguan Contras' cocaine-for-weapons operation.)

Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 17:30:55 -0800 (PST)
From: bc616@scn.org (Darral Good)
To: hemp-talk@hemp.net
Subject: HT: Seattle Weekly Cracking the CIA
Cc: edit@mapinc.org
Reply-To: bc616@scn.org
Sender: owner-hemp-talk@hemp.net

www.seattleweekly.com
(please post your thoughts and links on their "forum page")

"MEDIA CULPA" column by MARK WORTH Dec 11th 1998

letters@seattleweekly.com

The Central Intelligence Agency is finally
admitting what the San Jose Mercury News and
many independent political journals have been
saying for more than two years: that the CIA, at
the very minimum, turned a blind eye to the
Nicaraguan Contras' cocaine-for-weapons
operation. CIA inspector general Fred Hitz
reported last month that the agency, as early as
1981, knew the Contras "had decided to engage
in drug trafficking to the United States to raise
funds for its activities." The CIA knew, for
instance, that the infamous Ilopango Air Force
Base in El Salvador was a drugs-for-guns
transhipment point. And the agency kept working
with at least 14 pilots and three companies widely
suspected of drug dealing. Hitz's report goes a
long way toward vindicating former Mercury
News reporter Gary Webb, whose "Dark
Alliance" series blew the scandal wide open in
1996. (For background on other CIA atrocities,
see "The Cocaine Importation Agency," SW,
11/19. Also, check out Crack the CIA,
Tuesdays at 11am on cable Channel 29.)
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Committee Debates Sentences For Small-Time Drug Dealers
(According to an Associated Press article in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,
the soon-to-retire Wisconsin Department of Corrections secretary,
Michael Sullivan, told the 18-member Criminal Penalties Study Committee
that it should consider sending small-time drug dealers to rehabilitation
and training programs instead of prison. However, the committee is examining
ways to make the state's sentencing guidelines tougher
under "truth-in-sentencing" legislation signed by Governor Tommy Thompson
in June.)

Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1998 09:30:20 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US WI: Committee Debates Sentences For Small-Time Drug Dealers
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/
Copyright: 1998, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Author: Associated Press
Pubdate: Thur, 11 Dec 1998

COMMITTEE DEBATES SENTENCES FOR SMALL-TIME DRUG DEALERS

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The state's corrections chief said Friday a committee
should consider sending small-time drug dealers to rehabilitation and
training programs instead of prison.

"If you're going to spend $20,000 a year to give someone a brief time out,
might not it be worthwhile to look at an expenditure of $20,000" for
programs that give them education and vocational training, said Department
of Corrections secretary Michael Sullivan, who is leaving the post in
January.

Many people convicted of selling small amounts of drugs are sentenced to two
to four years in prison, but that time could be better spent giving such
convicts a chance to get an education and learn job skills, Sullivan told
the 18-member Criminal Penalties Study Committee.

The committee is examining ways to make the state's sentencing guidelines
tougher under legislation Gov. Tommy Thompson signed in June.

The law, which goes into effect Dec. 31, 1999, eliminates parole and
lengthens prison terms for some felonies. It also requires that convicts
serve out their full prison terms.

The committee has until April 1999 to recommend changes to the state
Legislature.

State prison officials are dealing with overcrowded prisons, and the state
has contracted with public and private out-of-state facilities to house some
Wisconsin inmates.

Asked if sending drug traffickers to rehabilitation instead of jail was a
way to reduce over crowding, Sullivan said only that the committee should
study alternatives to incarcerating such convicts.

He said, however, that "sending people to prison doesn't necessarily
eliminate the drugs."

Milwaukee county aggressively prosecutes drug dealers, yet it still has a
drug problem, he said.

Milwaukee County accounts for half of all drug traffickers, according to a
corrections department study comparing dealers statewide who were sentenced
for the first time.

Milwaukee County prosecutor Pat Kenney defended keeping dealers in prison.

"It's been argued that incarceration of small-time dealers is too
expensive," Kenney said. "Our office rejects that approach."

In one neighborhood where homes are riddled with bullet holes from
drug-related gun fights, Kenney knows of an elderly Milwaukee woman who
sleeps in her living room because her bedroom is next to an alley where drug
transactions take place.

The district attorney's office prosecutes many dealers who usually carry
minimal amounts of drugs, such as $25 worth of heroin, he said.

Just because drug sellers have small amounts of drugs on them does not mean
they are small-time dealers, Kenney said.

They carry small amounts of drugs and money in case they are robbed, he
said.

From November 1996 to October 1998, a total of 449 drug traffickers
statewide sentenced for the first time received terms of three years or less
in prison. The majority, or 332, were from Milwaukee, department statistics
showed.

But incarcerating such dealers for short prison terms is not effective,
Madison defense attorney Steve Hurley said.

"What we've done is replaced the faces, replaced the street corner," he
said. "We haven't solved the problem."

About 75 percent of drug dealers are designated as needing drug or alcohol
treatment, he said. About 60 percent receive such services in prison.

The prison system cannot accommodate the number of convicts who need such
treatments, Sullivan said.

Communities should offer programs that would provide dealers educational,
and vocational training and jobs so "they are not returning to that
lifestyle" of drug trafficking, Sullivan said. Communities could form
advisory boards that would monitor released drug dealers and make sure they
are going to work, he said.

"It's a community problem, not a Department of Corrections problem," he
said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Elderly Brothers Face Drug Charges (The Washington Post says police arrested
Russell Bailey, 79, and his brother, Oliver Bailey, 83, after a Talbot County
narcotics task force raided their house in Trappe, Maryland. Police say
the two found an enterprising way to stretch those Social Security checks -
by selling crack cocaine and marijuana out of their rural home.)

To: "DRCTalk Reformers' Forum" (drctalk@drcnet.org)
Subject: Wash. Post story: Seniors busted for dealing
Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 10:10:45 -0500
From: "Wade L. Scholine" (wscholine@mail.cybg.com)
Reply-To: drctalk@drcnet.org
Sender: owner-drctalk@drcnet.org

Elderly Brothers Face Drug Charges

By Amy Argetsinger
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 11, 1998; Page G2

It's not easy making ends meet on a fixed income.

But two elderly Eastern Shore brothers apparently found an enterprising way
to stretch those Social Security checks - by selling crack cocaine and
marijuana out of their rural home, according to police.

Russell Bailey, 79, and his brother, Oliver Bailey, 83, were arrested
after a
Talbot County narcotics task force raided their house in Trappe, Md.,
a tiny
waterfront community about an hour southeast of Annapolis.

Also arrested was another housemate: Russell Bailey's 33-year-old
girlfriend,
Dahlicia Leabough.

"Normally, we see the young kids out on the street corner, or some
middle-aged people selling from their houses, but not elderly people,"
said an
officer with the task force, who asked not to be identified. "It's
kind of odd."

Though Oliver Bailey has been arrested several times on cocaine
possession
charges, Russell Bailey was allegedly the brains behind the operation,
which
police said had been catering to a drug clientele of local teenagers
and adults
since August.

"We consider him a mid-level drug dealer for the area," the officer
said
yesterday.

Authorities targeted the Baileys after receiving several complaints
about drug
activity at the house, police said, and an undercover officer
purchased drugs
from the younger brother. A search of the house late last week turned
up
crack, marijuana, drug paraphernalia and more than $1,500, police
said.

Russell Bailey was charged with drug distribution and conspiracy -
either of
which could bring a sentence of 20 years in prison if he is found
guilty - as
well as drug possession and maintaining a common nuisance. He remained
in
the county detention center on $25,000 bond.

His older brother was charged with drug and drug paraphernalia
possession
and released after posting $1,000 bond. Leabough, who is being held
without
bond, was charged with several counts of possession and distribution.

(c) Copyright 1998 The Washington Post Company
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Crack Mom Seeks Release From Prison (The Rock Hill Herald,
in South Carolina, says the case of Cornelia Whitner, a South Carolina woman
convicted of child neglect because she used crack cocaine while pregnant,
has become a rallying point for women's groups and doctors who say
jailing pregnant women with substance abuse problems discourages them
from seeking proper prenatal care.)

Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998 18:49:54 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US SC: Crack Mom Seeks Release From Prison
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: General Pulaski
Pubdate: Fri, 11 Dec 1998
Source: Rock Hill Herald, The (SC)
Contact: jwerrell@heraldonline.com
Website: http://www.heraldonline.com/
Forum: http://www.webforums.com/forums/trace/host/msa94.html
Copyright: 1998 The Herald, Rock Hill, S.C.
Author: Associated Press

CRACK MOM SEEKS RELEASE FROM PRISON

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - A South Carolina woman convicted of child neglect
because she used crack cocaine while pregnant wants a federal judge to set
her free from state prison so she can be with her three children.

Cornelia Whitner's case has become a rallying point for women's groups and
doctors who say jailing pregnant women with substance abuse problems
discourages them from seeking proper prenatal care. The policy is based on a
landmark 1996 state court ruling that a viable fetus can be considered a
child.

South Carolina is the only state with a court-sanctioned policy of charging
new mothers whose babies have been exposed to illegal drugs. The Women's Law
Project in Philadelphia said similar laws have been rejected by two dozen
other courts.

Whitner's case has already been turned down by the U.S. Supreme Court. Now
she wants a federal district judge to take the unusual step of granting
habeas corpus, a request to get out of prison because one's constitutional
rights were violated.

''Ms. Whitner is in jail in violation of the U.S. Constitution,'' said Sue
Frietsche, a staff attorney for the Women's Law Project representing
Whitner. The Pickens County woman was punished for something she did years
before the state court made its ruling, she said.

''No one could possibly have known that the South Carolina Supreme Court was
going to change the meaning and expand the scope of the South Carolina
child-endangerment law in the very dramatic way that it did,'' Frietsche
said. ''You can't put somebody in prison for something that nobody could
have known was a crime.''

Whitner, 34, was charged in 1992 with child neglect for using cocaine while
pregnant even though the baby was born healthy. She is serving an eight-year
sentence at Leath Correctional Institution in Greenwood.

Whitner's latest petition also argues that her constitutional guarantees of
due process and privacy were violated and that she received ineffective
legal counsel that prompted her to plead guilty.

Frietsche said she did not know when the federal court might hear the
petition.

Attorney General Charlie Condon supported the state Supreme Court's July
1996 ruling. He did not respond when his office was contacted Thursday.
''There's no comment at this point because we haven't gotten the paperwork
yet,'' spokesman Tom Landess said.

Lawyers say the Whitner ruling is discouraging some women from seeking
proper prenatal care.

''Pregnant women are thinking twice about getting medical care because the
doctor's office and treatment center might be just one step away from the
state prison,'' said Rauch Wise of the state chapter of the American Civil
Liberties Union.

Frietsche said one Columbia substance-abuse treatment center has reported an
80 percent drop in women seeking admission. ''Our concern is that this is a
public health catastrophe,'' she said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Court Official's Arrest (UPI says Bennie Hugh Frazier, the chief
of U.S. District Court pretrial services in Miami, Florida, where he manages
a staff of about 50 officers and is responsible for recommending bail amounts
for those charged with federal crimes, was busted in Liberty City trying
to buy $50 worth of crack cocaine.)

Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1998 18:18:58 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US NY: WIRE: Court Official's Arrest
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: General Pulaski
Pubdate: Fri, 11 Dec 1998
Source: United Press International
Copyright: 1998 United Press International

COURT OFFICIAL'S ARREST

MIAMI, Fla., Dec. 11 (UPI) - It turns out a widespread dragnet for
drug traffickers netted a bigger fish than expected in Miami's Liberty
City this week.

Arrested and charged with trying to buy $50 worth of cocaine was
Bennie Hugh Frazier, the chief of U.S. District Court pretrial services.

Frazier is responsible for recommending bail amounts for those
charged with federal crimes and in charge of a staff of about 50 officers.

He was freed on $5,000 bond.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Hidden Danger in Your Milk? Reporters File Suit To Thwart Fox-TV Coverup
(A list subscriber forwards the URL for a web site where two veteran
investigative reporters have posted documentation about their lawsuit
alleging they were fired by FOX-owned WTVT Channel 13 in Tampa,
Florida, for refusing orders to broadcast false and slanted stories
about BGH, the dairy hormone banned in Europe and elsewhere
because of human health concerns.)

Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 16:04:15 EST
Errors-To: jnr@insightweb.com
Reply-To: friends@freecannabis.org
Originator: friends@freecannabis.org
Sender: friends@freecannabis.org
From: Remembers@webtv.net (Genie Brittingham)
To: Multiple recipients of list (friends@freecannabis.org)
Subject: Fox BGH suit

From: mrchan@geo.com (Mr.Chan)
Date: Fri, Dec 11, 1998
Subject: Fox BGH suit

***

http://www.foxBGHsuit.com/home.htm
Hidden Danger in Your Milk?
REPORTERS FILE SUIT TO
THWART FOX-TV COVERUP

You have arrived at the online news source for anyone who drinks milk or
consumes other dairy products...and depends on the news media to report
suspected health concerns accurately and honestly.

Here you will find behind-the-scene details of what two veteran
investigative reporters charge is an effort to coverup the truth about
an artificial hormone they discovered is being widely used on much of
America's dairy herd.

In a lawsuit, the journalists say they were ultimately fired at
FOX-owned WTVT Channel 13 in Tampa for refusing orders to broadcast
false and slanted stories about BGH (or rBST). The dairy hormone is
banned in all of Europe and other countries because of human health
concerns.

Included here, most of it from the actual court filings, is a story Fox
withheld from its viewers for more than a year before firing the
reporters and bringing in a less-experienced journalist who reported
many of the same alleged inaccuracies and distortions Akre and Wilson
refused to broadcast. This web site is created and maintained by the
reporters who believe the story is just too important to keep covered
up.

Copyright (c)1998 Target Television Enterprises, Inc.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Cold kills more than 700 Americans a year (A list subscriber
forwards an Associated Press item noting the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention has found that about 700 more Americans die every year
from cold weather than from marijuana. No word when the government
plans to launch a war on hypothermia.)

From: "Bob Owen@W.H.E.N." (when@olywa.net)
To: "_Drug Policy --" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: Cold weather more dangerous than marijuana
Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 19:30:52 -0800
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net

Sorry for the morbid observation, but I imagine most everyone know that
cannabis is medically non-toxic and has not ever killed humans. Bob_O

***

Cold kills more than 700 Americans a year

Associated Press, 12/11/98 01:17

ATLANTA (AP) - Cold weather kills more than 700 Americans a year, government
researchers reported this week.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday that 12,368
Americans died of hypothermia between 1979 and 1995 - about three deaths per
million people.

Insulated, layered clothing, including hats, helps prevent hypothermia, as
does abstaining from alcohol. Drinking causes heat loss by increasing blood
flow to the surface of the skin.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Alcohol-Linked Traffic Deaths Still In Decline (The Orange County Register
says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta
attributed 16,189 traffic deaths in the United States in 1997 to alcohol,
a 6 percent decline from 1996. Alcohol was a factor in 39 percent
of traffic deaths.)

Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1998 20:42:44 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: Alcohol-Linked Traffic Deaths Still In Decline
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: John Black
Pubdate: 11 Dec 1998
Source: Orange County Register (CA)
Contact: letters@link.freedom.com
Website: http://www.ocregister.com/
Copyright: 1998 The Orange County Register

ALCOHOL-LINKED TRAFFIC DEATHS STILL IN DECLINE

The number of people killed in alcohol-related traffic accidents continued
a decade-long decline in the United States in 1997, but alcohol was still a
factor in 39 percent of traffic deaths, officials said Thursday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said 16,189
people were killed in alcohol-related traffic accidents in the United
States in 1997, a 6 percent decline from 1996.

Alcohol-related traffic fatalities have declined 32 percent since 1987,
when 23,641 people were killed, the CDC said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

FBI housecleaning: 19 fired last year for misconduct (An Associated Press
article in The Miami Herald says the Federal Bureau of Investigation fired
19 employees for misconduct last year, including an unspecified number
of agents charged with drunken driving and "drug" use.)

From: "Bob Owen@W.H.E.N." (when@olywa.net)
To: "_Drug Policy --" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: FBI housecleaning: 19 fired last year for misconduct
Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 18:49:54 -0800
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net

Published Friday, December 11, 1998, in the Miami Herald

FBI housecleaning: 19 fired last year for misconduct

By MICHAEL J. SNIFFEN
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON -- The FBI fired 19 employees for misconduct last year, including
one special agent who spied for Russia and another who embezzled undercover
funds.

Others were dismissed for unprofessional conduct, unauthorized disclosures
and arrests for charges that included drunk driving, misuse of government
property, theft of government property, drug use, failure to cooperate with
internal investigations and other crimes.

In the first report on FBI Director Louis Freeh's program to reduce
misconduct, the bureau's Office of Professional Responsibility said
Wednesday that a total of 212 employees, including 99 agents and 113 support
workers, were disciplined in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 1997, for
offenses classified as serious misconduct. That total represents 0.8 percent
of the FBI's workforce.

Those 212 workers comprised nearly half of the 444 employees that the office
finished investigating during the year. An additional 38 employees were
either fired during their probationary period or resigned or retired while
they were under investigation, the report said. The remainder were cleared.

Dozens were punished

In addition to those fired, two were demoted, 34 were suspended without pay
for 15 or more days, 48 were suspended without pay for 14 or fewer days, 20
were put on probation, 49 were censured and 40 received oral reprimands.

Among the lesser penalties, one employee was suspended for 21 days for
sexual harassment; another was suspended for 30 days for alcohol-related
misconduct, a third was demoted for misusing a government position.

Those fired included agent Earl Pitts, who was sentenced to 27 years in
prison after pleading guilty in Virginia to espionage charges, and
supervisory agent Jerome Sullivan of Miami, who pleaded guilty to theft of
government property after being charged with embezzling more than $400,000
in seized and undercover funds.

A third agent was fired for falsifying information about his own background.
His name was not released. The other 16 fired were support workers.

The report summarized all but a handful of cases in general terms without
names or job titles.

The report did note that two FBI Laboratory employees received letters of
censure based on a lengthy investigation by the Justice Department inspector
general, who found the lab employees provided sloppy science and biased
court testimony.

Freeh outlines policy

Freeh has issued what he calls ``Bright Line'' memos, which outline bureau
policies on misconduct, and he doubled the size of the OPR to 23 agents and
38 support workers. At the same time, he gave FBI workers the right to hire
lawyers when they are under internal investigation and expanded other rights
of employees under scrutiny.

``My goal is for the American public, as well as all employees, to have
total confidence that the disciplinary system is fair and promptly
identifies and punishes misconduct without fear or favor,'' Freeh said. He
sent copies of the 23-page OPR report to all 28,000 FBI employees.

***

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.)
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Strip searchers transferred (A Canadian Press article in The Toronto Sun
says trustees for the Greater Essex County District School Board have decided
that a vice-principal and a gym teacher who strip searched 19 students
in Grade 9 at Kingsville District Secondary School will be suspended
without pay for 10 days and transferred to different schools.)
Link to earlier story
From: creator@islandnet.com (Matt Elrod) To: mattalk@listserv.islandnet.com Subject: Strip searchers transferred Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 09:26:19 -0800 Lines: 30 Newshawk: creator@mapinc.org Source: Toronto Sun (Canada) Contact: editor@sunpub.com Pubdate: Friday, December 11, 1998 Strip searchers transferred By CP WINDSOR, Ont. -- A vice-principal and a gym teacher who strip searched 19 Grade 9 students will be suspended without pay for 10 days and transferred to different schools. The vice-principal will also be demoted and the school's principal, Jerry Schen, will be given a letter of reprimand for failing "to take appropriate charge of the situation once he became aware there was a serious problem." That punishment was meted out yesterday by trustees with the Greater Essex County District School Board at a special meeting to deal with the Dec. 4 strip search at Kingsville District Secondary School, about 40 kms southeast of Windsor. The suspensions of vice-principal John MacDonald and phys-ed department head Dan Bondy will begin immediately, said director of education Val Pistor. The vice-principal earns about $75,000 a year while the gym teacher earns about $65,000. The loss of pay would mean about $3,750 for the vice-principal and about $3,250 for the teacher.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Give Authority Figures An Inch - They'll Take A Mile (Calgary Herald
columnist Debra Harper comments on the strip-search of 20 boys in Grade 9
near Windsor, Ontario. How ironic, as the world celebrates the 50th
anniversary of the United Nations human rights declaration, to be reminded
how easily, swiftly and righteously those rights can be swept away. This is
what authoritarianism looks like. This is how it treats our children. This is
what they have come to expect. If you are disgusted by this kind of abuse,
where were you when half your neighbours were baying for harsher punishment
when teenagers break the law? If we want kids to learn values and
responsibilities, civility and civilization, they have to see it first.)

Date: Sun, 13 Dec 1998 15:24:20 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: Canada: OPED: Give Authority Figures An Inch - They'll Take A
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Debra Harper
Pubdate: Fri, 11 Dec 1998
Source: Calgary Herald (Canada)
Contact: letters@theherald.southam.ca
Website: http://www.calgaryherald.com/
Author: Catherine Ford, Calgary Herald

GIVE AUTHORITY FIGURES AN INCH . . . THEY'LL TAKE A MILE

Take a good look. This is what authoritarianism looks like. This is how it
treats our children.

It took a high school in a rural Ontario town to remind us the abuse of
power isn't limited to big cities and bloated governments.

All that's necessary is an authority figure, a victim and an excuse.

They found one at Kingsville District High School, near Windsor, when $90
was reported stolen: 20 Grade 9 boys were strip-searched.

It's not that we don't know how over-zealous functionaries can interpret
their powers -- it's that we have apparently willingly forgotten.

How ironic as world celebrates the 50th anniversary of the United Nations
human rights declaration, to be reminded how easily, swiftly and
righteously those rights can be swept away.

The Supreme Court of Canada only two weeks ago ruled that schools and
teachers could search students.

The court thus deemed it appropriate that inside the country's educational
system, protection against search and seizure does not apply. The arguments
-- and appropriate ones they are -- revolve around fears of weapons and
violence in schools. The court ruling gave teachers the right to search
students if school authorities believe rules are being broken.

The Supreme Court set guidelines when searches are reasonable and how they
should be conducted. An education lawyer is quoted as remarking: "The
Supreme Court decision is not saying you can undertake a dragnet or sweep
search of students in an arbitrary fashion. You have to have reasonable
grounds to believe that either a school rule has been broken or that a
criminal offence is being committed."

There was broad agreement from the public for the ruling. It was seen as an
affirmation of the need for law and order in schools. It was soundly and
roundly supported.

Then Kingswell High School strip-searched a group of Grade 9 boys for some
missing money.

On the surface, both teachers and school could argue they acted within the
law. But was it right for them to do so?

It is difficult to contemplate a more mortifying act for young teenagers,
at an age when humiliation is always one rejection or bully's taunt away.
Only rape, perhaps, could be as clear a personal violation as having to
strip in front of a teacher, bend over and, in the parlance of the cop
shows, "spread 'em."

This is the reality of strip searches: half-naked, vulnerable and having
your anus "investigated" for contraband. The students were subjected only
to a "visual" search, but the rubber-glove examination is a feature of
prison life, sanctioned by the very real fact of drug smuggling. It also
serves a secondary purpose -- the subjugation and degradation of prisoners
to keep them aware of who's in control. It is a powerful tool.

A malicious and predatory authority can make hard time an exquisitely
painful emotional, mental and physical experience.

And in much the same way, an authoritarian school figure -- little better
than the jailhouse bully -- can make students' lives miserable.

But here's the difference -- students have parents and other adults who
sometimes see them as real people with rights.

The vice-principal who authorized the search is reportedly "devastated" by
the reaction and admits he made a mistake. The gym teacher who participated
is looking for a lawyer.

The principal is trying to blame the media. Parents are outraged and a town
of 6,000 just wants all the fuss to go away.

But before we do go away, take a good look. This is what authoritarianism
looks like. This is how it treats our children. This is what they have come
to expect.

If you are disgusted by this kind of abuse, where were you when half your
neighbours were baying for harsher punishment when teenagers break the law?

Where were you when "family values" were interpreted to mean the ownership
of children and the right of corporal punishment?

Where are you when the smug and comfortable talk about poverty and hungry
children as if they don't exist, as if they are a political stunt or are
not their fault or ours?

Where are you when store owners put up signs banning teenagers or fast-food
restaurants boot them out because they aren't spending enough money?

Where are you in all the other cases where children are taught that power,
authority, age and money are all that's essential in life?

If we want them to learn values and responsibilities; civility and
civilization, they have to see it first.

And yes, it is our fault.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Medium 'Uses Cannabis To Talk To The Dead' (The Eastern Daily Press,
in Britain, says it took just a few minutes for a jury in Norwich Crown Court
to convict a spiritual medium of possessing cannabis, despite her claim
that she uses it to "get to the other side.")

Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 18:03:07 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: UK: Medium 'Uses Cannabis To Talk To The Dead'
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: webbooks@paston.co.uk (CLCIA)
Pubdate: Fri, 11 Dec 1998
Source: Eastern Daily Press (UK)
Contact: EDPLetters@ecn.co.uk

MEDIUM 'USES CANNABIS TO TALK TO THE DEAD'

A SPIRITUAL medium who smokes 45 UK pounds worth of cannabis a week, uses it
to "get to the other side," Norwich Crown Court heard.

Lorraine Simmons, 50, of Magdalen Strett, Norwich, was arrested for unlawful
possession of the drug during a demonstration inside Norwich Cathedral in
June.

The jury heard undercover policewoman Tracey Riddell joined the
demonstration within the cloisters and "netted" Simmons and co-defendent
Jeffrey Girling.

Both claimed they smoked the drug for religious reasons.

During yesterday's hearing, Girling, who defended himself, told the jury he
did not cosider cannabis a drug.

He said it came from a God given plant and referred the jury to verses in
the Book of Genesis in The Bible.

The 54-year-old, also of Magdalen Street, handed out literature to the jury
from the Universal Church of the Holy and Sacred Church and said it was the
anniversary of the Human Rights, although he did not know who he could thank
for that today.

Simmons and Girling denied possessing cannabis and cannabis resin.

Judge Peter Langan told the jury Girling was arguing his position was
legitimate, firstly on the religious basis, something made lawful from the
Book of Genesis, and, secondly, on the basis of Human Rights.

The jury took just a few minutes to find both guilty.

Simmons was fined £250 UK pounds, but Judge Langan adjourned sentence on
Girling, who gave no details of income, to await a pre-sentencing report. He
was bailed until January 8 and told the sentence was likley to be community
service.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

The Week Online with DRCNet, Issue No. 70 (The Drug Reform Coordination
Network's original summary of drug policy news and calls to action,
including - Exemplary citizen to be extradited on 25-year-old $10 marijuana
conviction; Supreme Court strikes down car search law; Congressional report -
Citibank facilitated Salinas money laundering; Exciting resources available
online; Job opportunity; Fellowships and academic opportunities; Giving
the gift of hope; and an editorial by Adam J. Smith, Human rights declared
but not observed.)

Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 02:47:40 -0500
To: drc-natl@drcnet.org
From: DRCNet (drcnet@drcnet.org)
Subject: The Week Online with DRCNet, Issue No. 70
Sender: owner-drc-natl@drcnet.org

The Week Online with DRCNet, Issue No. 70 -- December 11, 1998
A Publication of the Drug Reform Coordination Network

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

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

(This issue can be also be read on our web site at
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/070.html. Check out the DRCNN
weekly radio segment at http://www.drcnet.org/drcnn/.)

PERMISSION to reprint or redistribute any or all of the
contents of The Week Online is hereby granted. We ask that
any use of these materials include proper credit and, where
appropriate, a link to one or more of our web sites. If
your publication customarily pays for publication, DRCNet
requests checks payable to the organization. If your
publication does not pay for materials, you are free to use
the materials gratis. In all cases, we request notification
for our records, including physical copies where material
has appeared in print. Contact: Drug Reform Coordination
Network, 2000 P St., NW, Suite 615, Washington, DC 20036,
(202) 293-8340 (voice), (202) 293-8344 (fax), e-mail
drcnet@drcnet.org. Thank you.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Exemplary Citizen to be Extradited on 25 Year-Old $10
Marijuana Conviction
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/070.html#25years

2. Supreme Court Strikes Down Car Search Law
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/070.html#nosearch

3. CONGRESSIONAL REPORT: Citibank Facilitated Salinas Money
Laundering
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/070.html#citibank

4. Exciting Resources Available Online
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/070.html#resources

5. Job Opportunity
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/070.html#opportunity

6. Fellowships and Academic Opportunities
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/070.html#grants

7. Giving the Gift of Hope
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/070.html#givinghope

8. EDITORIAL: Human Rights Declared but Not Observed
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/070.html#editorial

***

1. Exemplary Citizen to be Extradited on 25 Year-Old $10
Marijuana Conviction

[NOTE TO OUR READERS: We present this story as it poses an
interesting ethical question. Is escape an ethical response
to a conviction under a bad policy? Even if the convicted
would have served only three months time? And should
twenty-five years of exemplary life cause a prosecutor to
choose not to seek the return of such an escapee? It is, in
the end, the odd outcome of a flawed system, and we offer
here the perspectives of the attorneys on either side.]

Alfred Martin will be heading back to Virginia after a
Michigan court ordered him extradited on charges that he
walked away from a one year prison sentence in 1974.
(Martin was sentenced to ten years, but all but one year of
the sentence was suspended.) Martin had been sentenced for
selling $10 worth of marijuana to a co-worker, and now faces
charges of escape, as well as theft by conversion for
failing to complete payments on a stereo and a television
that he had bought on installment shortly before his
original arrest and conviction.

Martin, a broker for the Mortgage Company of Michigan, had
led "an exemplary life since his conviction," according to
Judge William Callahan, who nevertheless ruled in favor of
the state of Virginia. Callahan also said that Martin and
his family had been "a credit to the state" during their
twenty-five years in Michigan.

Virginia had tried once before to have Martin extradited, in
1976. At that time, then-Governor William Milikan granted
him legal asylum in Michigan. Since that time, however,
several Supreme Court rulings have supported the rights of
states to retrieve persons from other states regardless of
the circumstances.

Gregory R. Neidle, Martin's attorney, told The Week Online,
"the prosecutor (Joan Ziglar of Martinsville, VA) materially
misrepresented Mr. Martin's situation both to the Governor
of Virginia and to the Michigan court. There was no
indication in any of her papers that my client had
previously fought this for three years resulting in the
granting of asylum. Legally, therefore, we believe that Mr.
Martin has been wrongly extradited. From the standpoint of
justice, he is a man who had no record prior to his arrest
twenty-five years ago, and he's had no record since he's
arrived in Michigan. He's a mortgage broker, a successful
man, with a wife of twenty-six years and three children.
There is absolutely no reasonable justification for sending
Alfred Martin back to prison."

Joan Ziglar has been the prosecutor in the town of
Martinsville, population 16,000, for just under a year.
Martinsville, she says, has a serious drug problem, in part
due to its midpoint status between New York and Florida.
According to Ziglar, approximately 70% of her cases are
either directly or indirectly drug-related. She spoke with
The Week Online:

WOL: Mr. Martin walked away from his sentence almost twenty-
five years ago. Why, after all this time, did you decide to
pursue this case?

Ziglar: When I was first elected, I sat down with my staff
to discuss our priorities. One of those priorities was to
pursue extradition of felons who had fled the jurisdiction.
Mr. Martin fits that description and when the state of
Michigan notified us that they had stopped him, I reopened
his file just like I would for any other fugitive. I would
also mention that unlike other extradition cases, where
someone has fled before trial, Mr. Martin had been convicted
here. He had escaped from detention.

WOL: But even the judge in Michigan commented that he had
led an exemplary life there. What do you hope to accomplish
by putting him back in jail?

Ziglar: Well, there are others here who are awaiting trial,
and I want them all to know that if you run, no matter how
far or long, we will come after you. So you might as well
stay and take your medicine now. I also believe that we
have to send a message that we will fight drugs, even
marijuana. America is fed up with drugs, and I believe that
it is my job to fight for a safer America.

WOL: So now he will face his original sentence plus two
others, right?

Ziglar: Mr. Martin faces a maximum of five years for his
escape, and a maximum of twenty years for the felony theft-
by conversion charge. I would add that while he had
originally been sentenced to two five year terms, all but
six months of each of those had been suspended. And, going
by the parole rules in 1974, he would have only served a
total of three months of that year. Today, under truth in
sentencing, he would have had to serve 85% of that year.

WOL: And will you seek the maximum?

Ziglar: Other than cases such as murder, I never ask for a
specific sentence. I will argue to the jury that Mr. Martin
is guilty of the charges, and that he should be punished
appropriately. I will leave it to the jury to make the
determination on what that may be.

ACTION ITEM: If you have an opinion on this case, take a
moment to send a letter to one of the Virginia newspapers
listed below. You might want to mention that incarcerating
Mr. Martin, who clearly poses no danger to anyone, will cost
the taxpayers of Virginia upwards of $30,000 per year.

Letters to the Editor
Editorial Pages
Box 85333
Richmond,VA 23293
fax: (804) 775-8090

Letters to the Editor
Virginia Pilot
P.O. Box 449
Norfolk, VA 23501-0449
fax: (757) 446-2051
letters@pilotonline.com

Progress Index
15 Franklin
Petersburg, VA 23803

Please send us copies of your letters, to: DRCNet, 2000 P
St., NW, Suite 615, Washington, DC 20036, fax to (202) 293-
8344, or e-mail to alert-feedback@drcnet.org.

***

2. Supreme Court Strikes Down Car Search Law
- Hanna Liebman

The Supreme Court this week unanimously declared a whole
category of police searching unconstitutional, a rare
outcome for a court that has been seen as an automatic
rubberstamp for police conduct, especially as that conduct
relates to drug law enforcement. This week's decision
reversed the Iowa Supreme Court and threw out a marijuana
conviction when it held that a car may not be searched
merely based upon the issuance of a speeding ticket or other
traffic citation.

Patrick Knowles was stopped for going 43 in a 25-mile-an-
hour zone, and the officer issued a citation in lieu of
arrest (which is permitted in Iowa for minor offenses). The
officer then searched Mr. Knowles's passenger compartment,
and found marijuana and a pipe. The Supreme Court earlier
had approved a practice known as "search incident to
arrest," whereby officers may search a car fully if an
arrest is made. In Knowles, the Court said unequivocally
that the search incident to arrest doctrine does not extend
to situations when an arrest is not actually made.

The Court's opinion centered on the fact that there are two
justifications for the search incident doctrine -- danger to
the police, and preservation of evidence -- neither of which
is present during a traffic stop to the extent that they
outweigh the 4th Amendment concern. In an earlier case,
Whren v. United States, the Court had held that officers'
decisions to stop cars for traffic violations were not
subject to scrutiny as to the actual motivations as long as
there was probable cause as to traffic violations. Thus,
the Court here was not concerned with whether there was a
pretext in the Knowles stop of looking for drugs.

Though the issue was not raised here, it is important to
note that many rights violations do occur in the service of
drug enforcement. A good number of the landmark 4th
Amendment cases have included drug searches and seizures.
"Police are always looking for drugs, that's primarily the
area where they make warrantless searches," says Paul
Rosenberg of Des Moines, the attorney for Knowles. Adds
Brooklyn Law School professor Susan N. Herman, who filed an
amicus curiae brief in the case on behalf of the ACLU, often
police who stop vehicles are "not highly concerned with the
traffic. In Whren, they weren't even empowered to enforce
traffic laws, they were vice squad!"

While a line of previous decisions have broadened the powers
of officers in connection with car stops, the Knowles case
can be hailed as something of a victory for 4th Amendment
protections. Given that on the order of "50 million people
a year are cited for traffic violations, there's a huge
potential for abuse. I think everybody can be very happy
this opinion came down," notes Rosenberg. This case does
put a stop to a practice that some, such as Rosenberg, argue
was becoming more prevalent. "This was just a new monster
that was lurking," he says. "The Supreme Court basically
slammed the door."

But while Knowles is a clear indication that the Court will
not abide conduct that goes too far over the line, the
opinion does not represent a marked shift in 4th Amendment
jurisprudence, or in police behavior, warns professor
Herman. For one thing, police can circumvent the
prohibition by deciding to arrest the suspect, and then
declining to follow through with the arrest if no contraband
is discovered during the ensuing search. Herman calls that
tactic "arrest incident to search." Despite her contention
that the Knowles opinion is not a robust pronouncement of
4th Amendment values, Herman credits the opinion for what it
does do, which is prevent the police from having "incredibly
broad discretion to search any car" -- discretion, she says,
that "we do see...is exercised in an arbitrary... manner."
The Iowa Attorney General's office calls the practice of
search incident to citation "rarely used" and acknowledges
the Supreme Court's exhortation to police to use "other
procedures [that are] available if they are concerned for
their safety," such as ordering the occupants of a car to
disembark.

Meanwhile, attorney Rosenberg suggests that the real area in
which police need to look for other procedures is in
enforcing drug laws. "Officers have plenty of tools to deal
with drug laws without resorting to this," he points out.

***

3. CONGRESSIONAL REPORT: Citibank Facilitated Salinas Money
Laundering

A Congressional report, released last week (12/5) says that
executives of Citibank took in more than $100 million from
Raul Salinas, brother of ex-Mexican President Carlos
Salinas, and helped him to set up a complex web of offshore
shell corporations, without attempting to verify the source
of the money. Much of Salinas' fortune has since been
seized by the Swiss government on suspicion that it
represents protection money paid by drug traffickers.

The New York Times reports that Salinas' personal Citibank
banker advised him to move the money offshore in the wake of
his 1995 arrest for murder. According to the report,
Citibank officials did finally warn the U.S. government
about Salinas' suspicious transactions, but even then did
not tell the government about the network of accounts and
corporations that the bank had set up for him to shield the
money.

Federal officials say that they have yet to determine
whether or not Citibank broke any laws. According to the
Times, both the Justice Department and the Federal Reserve
Bank refused to cooperate with congressional investigators
compiling the report.

Money laundering, and efforts by the federal government to
attack the drug trade through the monitoring of financial
transactions, has become a contentious issue in recent
years. Frustrated in their attempts to make headway in the
drug war, federal agencies have sought greater and greater
powers both against financial institutions and individuals.
Currently, the federal government requires institutions to
report any transaction larger than $10,000. In addition,
federal regulators are hoping to see the 106th Congress pass
the controversial "Know Your Customer" legislation, which
will make financial institutions responsible for
investigating the source of nearly all of their clients
funds, as well as for monitoring all transactions to
determine if any "unusual" activity is instigated by a
client, regardless of the size of those transactions.

Earlier this year, "Operation Casablanca," an 18-month
investigation into drug-money laundering on both sides of
the U.S.-Mexican border, was hailed as a success by the
justice department. That operation netted $135 million,
according to government estimates, and several dozen
arrests, although none of those arrested were considered
high-level players. Critics questioned the impact of even
this "largest-ever" bust, when it has been estimated that
proceeds of the drug trade laundered back into the
legitimate economy total hundreds of billions of dollars
annually.

Many economists believe that the idea of money laundering is
itself problematic.

Richard Rahn, former Chief Economist of the United States
Chamber of Commerce and author of the book, "The End Of
Money: The Struggle For Financial Privacy" told The Week
Online, "In the first place, money laundering is very poorly
defined. So much so, in fact, that the government can pick
almost any financial institution, go through their records,
and make a case. Further, to make private industry
responsible for policing private citizens is an improper
abdication of the job of the enforcement agencies. There
are very many legitimate reasons why a person would want to
keep the details of financial transactions secret, and so
the requirements, which are in effect due to the
government's inability to enforce other laws, is invasive.
The record-keeping required of these institutions is also
quite costly and makes those businesses far less efficient.

"For my book, I did an analysis which found that the average
cost to taxpayers per conviction for money laundering is
over $100 million. And the truth is that in the digital
age, where money can be moved so quickly and easily around
the globe, only those who blunder will ever be caught.
Clearly the bulk of the problem of illicit money stems from
the unenforceable drug war. It is highly unlikely that we
will ever put so much as a dent in the trade. It is exactly
like Prohibition in the 1920's."

Read about the proposed "Know Your Customer" rules in Wired
Online's "Banking With Big Brother" article, online at
http://www.wired.com/news/news/politics/story/16749.html.)
Also worth checking out is the Dec. 10 issue of the Wall
Street Journal, available online for a fee, at
http://www.wsj.com. Richard Rahn is was interviewed for
this week's DRCNN radio show, previewable online at
http://www.drcnet.org/drcnn/.

***

4. Exciting Resources Available Online

"Drug War Facts," an extensive compilation of facts, stats
and general background on a wide range of drug policy
issues, is published online by Common Sense for Drug Policy
and updated monthly. Check out Drug War Facts at
http://www.csdp.org and visit it regularly to brush up on
your numbers, prep for your next debate, or enhance your
next letter to the editor.

"Win At All Costs," a landmark ten-part series that is the
fruit of a ten-year investigation into federal prosecutorial
misconduct, has been published by the Pittsburgh Post-
Gazette. The series, which will undoubtedly be considered
for a Pulitzer Prize, details a culture of lawlessness among
federal agents and prosecutors whose pursuit of convictions
has come to overshadow their ostensible role as seekers of
justice. You can find the series online at
http://www.post-gazette.com/win/.

Last week, famed Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz
granted an interview to DRCNet, in relation to his testimony
before the House Judiciary Committee regarding perjury.
Dershowitz touched on drug policy issues, and the corrosive
effect of drug enforcement on police scruples (see
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/069.html#perjury). We forgot to
mention that the testimony itself is available online, at
http://www.c-span.org/guide/executive/investigation/ --
follow the link to December 1.

The Lindesmith Center has a variety of new documents in its
online library, including a "focal point" compilation of the
research on safe injecting rooms, the National Research
Council's 1982 report, "An Analysis of Marijuana Policy,"
articles on methadone maintenance, use of herbicides in drug
crop eradication, Latin America drug policy, including
discussions of militarization and the certification process,
and more. Check out TLC's Recent Additions web page at
http://www.lindesmith.org/library/new.html.

***

5. Job Opportunity

The Lindesmith Center, a division of the Open Society
Institute, is seeking an experienced webmaster. Job
responsibilities will include creating new content for the
web site and online library; supervising part-time web
assistants; monitoring new additions to the hard copy
library; promoting the website by updating search engines;
acting as a liaison with public; planning design changes and
adding new technology; and troubleshooting.

Job requirements: BA, prior web site design/maintenance
experience essential; knowledge of web programming tools,
i.e. HTML, JavaScript, Real Media, PhotoShop, etc.;
excellent organizational skills; attentive to detail;
interest in/knowledge of drug policy issues preferred;
creative self-starter, able to work in fast-paced
professional environment; available immediately.

Send letter, resume, salary requirements, three references
to: Open Society Institute, Human Resources, Code WEB/TLC,
400 W. 59th Street, New York, New York 10019, or fax (212)
548-4663. The Open Society Institute is an Equal
Opportunity Employer.

***

6. Fellowships and Academic Opportunities

The Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University
in Fairfax, Virginia will award nearly one half million
dollars to outstanding graduate and undergraduate students -
- fellowships range up to $12,000, and the deadline is
December 31. Humane Studies Fellowships are awarded by the
Institute for Humane Studies to support the work of
outstanding students interested in the "classical liberal"
tradition. Applications will be considered from those who
(1) will be a full-time graduate student or undergraduate
student with junior or senior standing in the 1999/00
academic year; (2) have a clearly demonstrated interest in
the classical liberal/libertarian tradition, and 3) are
interested in applying the principles of this tradition to
their work. For more info, visit http://www.TheIHS.org.

Substance Abuse Policy Research Program 1998, Round IV: The
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is requesting proposals for
research projects that will produce policy-relevant
information about ways to reduce the harm caused by the use
of tobacco, alcohol, and illegal drugs, or any combination
thereof in the United States. This call for proposals is
intended to encourage experts in public health, law,
political science, medicine, sociology, criminal justice,
economics, and other behavioral and policy sciences to
address issues related to substance abuse, the nation's
number one health problem. Projects supported are expected
to increase understanding of public and private policy
interventions to reduce the harm caused by the use of
tobacco, alcohol, and illegal drugs; including the
advantages, disadvantages, and potential impact of these
policies. This program is intended to identify and assess
policies that can reduce the harm caused by substance abuse;
to analyze their feasibility, effectiveness, and likely
consequences; and to help ensure that the understanding
gained through these analyses will be used by decision
makers in the public and private sectors. Letters of intent
are due by December 16. For further information, visit
http://www.phs.wfubmc.edu/sshp/rwj/rwj.htm, or contact
Andrea Ebbers, Substance Abuse Policy Research Program,
Department of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University
School of Medicine, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem,
NC 27157-1063, (336) 716-9714.

***

7. Giving the Gift of Hope

Running out of time and still don't know what to give your
loved ones, friends or colleagues this holiday season?
Consider giving them a copy of Shattered Lives: Portraits
from America's Drug War -- it will be a powerful way of
letting them know that you care about them, this country,
and the injustice that is being perpetrated on a growing
segment of the population.

DRCNet has teamed up with Human Rights '95 (www.hr95.org)
for a special holiday offer: For just $25 complete, we will
send a copy of Shattered Lives to your gift recipient, along
with a card saying that this is a holiday gift from you,
with best wishes for a peaceful, just, and free 1999! It
will be sent by priority mail from the HR '95 office in El
Cerrito, California, to make sure they get it in plenty of
time for Christmas or Chanukah.

To order, send a check or money order for $25 (discounts
available on quantities of three or more), to: DRCNet, 2000
P St., NW, Suite 615, Washington, DC 20036, or call us at
(202) 293-8340 or fax to (202) 293-8344 to pay by credit
card, or use our secured online credit card form at
https://www.drcnet.org/cgi-shl/drcreg.cgi -- indicate in the
comments box that you are purchasing a gift, and include the
name and address of the person to whom you wish it to be
sent, and how you would like the card addressed.

Giving the gift of knowledge is invaluable. People truly
need to know what is going on in the name of the Drug War,
and because this book tells personal stories from the front
lines, everyone will find people in it with whom they can
relate or sympathize. Give Shattered Lives to someone who
has no idea just how out of control this Drug War is, or who
as the "lock 'em up and throw away the key" mentality, or
who just doesn't understand why you feel so passionately
about this subject. Give it to someone who's taking risks
without understanding the consequences, or to kids who need
a warning before they start to experiment with drugs. Give
it to a politician who doesn't understand how much harm they
are doing, or to a minister who can use material for a
sermon, or to a teacher who can use it as class material.
Many nonviolent prisoners of the Drug War will be spending
yet another holiday with prison guards rather than their
loved ones. By helping their faces and stories to be known,
you will be giving them a gift of hope this holiday season,
and a chance for justice to prevail.

***

8. EDITORIAL: Human Rights Declared but Not Observed

by Adam J. Smith, DRCNet Associate Director

This past week marked the fiftieth anniversary of the
signing of the United Nations' Declaration on Human Rights.
It is a remarkable document, written in the aftermath of the
Holocaust, which acknowledges a commitment by the nations of
the world to due process, equality, and personal freedom.
Even today, while millions of people still live under
conditions violative of both the letter and the spirit of
the Declaration, it is held out as the marker of advanced
society. It is shocking then, that fifty years after the
world came together in agreement on standards for the
treatment of the individual, the United States, its
constitution the envy of billions of the world's citizens,
pursues a policy which contradicts and offends those
principles.

The drug war, and the ever-escalating effort to enforce its
unenforceable prohibitions, has led America down a path that
few could have imagined fifty years ago, until now we have
come to a time in our history when the unthinkable is
routine, and the unquestionable has been questioned and even
discarded. Whether out of frustration, ignorance or
political ambition, a generation of leaders have sacrificed
the moral high ground in favor of a moralistic oppression so
foreign to the ideals of human rights as to shock the
conscience. A brief look at but a few of the articles of
the Declaration of Human Rights points to a system out of
control, and a nation in a race toward the bottom in its
treatment of its citizens.

Article 10 of the United Nations Declaration states that
"Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public
hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the
determination of his rights and obligations and of any
criminal charge against him." Yet every day in America,
citizens are convicted and sentenced to long prison terms on
the word of informants who are being paid, often in the
currency of their own freedom, for their testimony. And
while it would be illegal for an accused to offer anything
of value in return for testimony on his or her behalf, they
are routinely sent away, their lives destroyed, by people
whose futures depend upon telling the court exactly what the
state wants to hear.

Article 12 states, "No one shall be subjected to arbitrary
interference with his privacy, family, home or
correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and
reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the
law against such interference or attacks." Yet every day in
America, the doors of citizens are kicked in on the word of
confidential informants, police tap phones, sift through
garbage, scan houses with infra-red sensors, stop and search
travelers who fit vague "profiles", force people to urinate
on demand for chemical tests and watch unsuspecting citizens
with surveillance cameras. Privacy and the integrity of
one's home and person have become a casualty of the
unrelenting search for contraband, which can be anywhere and
everywhere.

Article 16.3 states, "The family is the natural and
fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to
protection by society and the state." Yet every day in
America parents are taken from their children for terms of
years or decades for non-violent offenses in which no one,
save arguably the parents themselves have been harmed.
Children are also taken from parents and incarcerated, for
non-violent offenses, often to be housed with adult
prisoners.

Article 17.2 states, "No one shall be arbitrarily deprived
of his property." Yet every day in America, government
agents seize the property of individuals on the merest
suspicion. That property is then presumed to belong to the
state, whether or not criminal charges are filed. Proof is
then required not of the government, but of the rightful
owner, whether or not that individual can afford
representation.

Article 18 states, "Everyone has the right to freedom of
thought, conscience and religion: This right includes
freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom,
either alone or in community with others and in public or
private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching,
practice, worship and observance." Yet across America,
practitioners of Rastafari, Coptic Christians, Sufi Moslems
and others have been denied the right to their traditional
sacraments. They have been told that their religion, and
its commandments, do not meet the criteria of the state and
are therefore illegitimate. Members of these groups are
harassed, surveilled and jailed. When they are released,
the terms of their parole or probation often forbid them to
worship in their chosen manner and even to associate with
others of their faith.

Last week marked fifty years since the world came together
in the aftermath of one of the greatest atrocities in the
history of humankind. Humbled by the sheer powerlessness of
the individual in the face of a state out of control, these
representatives of the peoples of the globe set out the
basic, minimal standards of freedom, equality, and the
dignity of man. Fifty years ago the United States stood as
the paragon of the virtues that they enumerated. Today, in
the name of a war perpetrated upon her own citizens, that
same United States makes a mockery of those ideals. It is
stunning, really, that we have fallen so far, so fast. We
as a nation are not, by virtue of our place in history,
immune from tyranny. Nor, apparently, are we cognizant of
its warning signs.

***

DRCNet needs your support! Donations can be sent to 2000 P
St., NW, Suite 615, Washington, DC 20036, or made by credit
card at http://www.drcnet.org/drcreg.html. Donations to
the Drug Reform Coordination Network are not tax-deductible.
Deductible contributions supporting our educational work can
be made by check to the DRCNet Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax-
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***

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***

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The articles posted here are generally copyrighted by the source publications. They are reproduced here for educational purposes under the Fair Use Doctrine (17 U.S.C., section 107). NORML is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit educational organization. The views of the authors and/or source publications are not necessarily those of NORML. The articles and information included here are not for sale or resale.

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