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

North/Northeast drug-free zone could grow (The Oregonian catches up
with a recent article in Willamette Week, dishing up a typically one-sided
account of plans by Portland police and prosecutors to drastically expand
a so-called "drug-free zone" to cover 4.26 square miles in North
and Northeast Portland. Under the city's drug-free ordinance, people charged
with possession or distribution of drugs in a particular area can be excluded
from the zone for 90 days, which may increase to a year if convicted. If they
return to the zone during the exclusion period, they can be arrested
for trespassing - which helps keep the public from realizing how much
the war on some drug users is costing.)

The Oregonian
Contact: letters@news.oregonian.com
1320 SW Broadway
Portland, OR 97201
Fax: 503-294-4193
Website: http://www.oregonlive.com/
Forum: http://forums.oregonlive.com/

North/Northeast drug-free zone could grow

* Proponents say the area, which would incorporate two current zones, would
cut down on drug activity that is substantially higher than elsewhere in the
city

Tuesday, January 5 1999

By Maxine Bernstein
of The Oregonian staff

Police and prosecutors, hoping to bring relief to a community plagued by
street-level drug dealing, want to create a new, expanded drug-free zone
stretching 4.26 square miles in North and Northeast Portland.

The proposal for the new zone, which would envelop two existing zones and
parts of at least six neighborhoods, could go to the Portland City Council
for a vote as early as February.

"No one's here to tell anybody that drug-free zones solve the problem, but
they are tools to bring relief to the neighborhoods," said Jim Hayden, a
Multnomah County deputy district attorney, addressing community
representatives Monday. "We want to make it more difficult for people to
stand there on the corner and deal drugs."

Under the city's drug-free ordinance, people charged with possession or
distribution of drugs in a particular area can be excluded from the zone for
90 days, which may increase to a year if convicted. If they return to the
zone during the exclusion period, they can be arrested for trespassing.

Portland currently has four drug-free zones including downtown/Old Town, the
inner eastside and Northeast Portland's Beech and Alberta neighborhoods. The
city also has four prostitution-free zones that operate under the same
principle.

The first drug-free zones were identified in 1992, and Beech and Alberta
were added in February 1997.

By incorporating the Beech and Alberta zones in a larger North/Northeast
zone, police and prosecutors think the drug-zone enforcement will be more
effective. Drug activity in the neighborhoods within the larger boundary
continues to be "substantially higher" than in other parts of the city,
Hayden said. For example, police made 847 narcotics-possession arrests in
the proposed zone between February 1997 and February 1998; compared to 107
narcotics-possession arrests in the inner eastside exclusionary zone during
the same period.

"Right now, we have all these little islands in that area," he said. "We
thought, 'Why don't we draw one larger area.' "

The drug ordinance has not been without controversy. It has received mixed
reviews from residents and was dealt a legal blow in April 1997, when a
Multnomah County Circuit Court judge ruled that it violated state and
federal constitutions both by excluding suspects from a city area and
criminally prosecuting them. To do so, the judge ruled, was punishing a
suspect twice for the same offense. The state attorney general's office has
appealed that decision to the Oregon Court of Appeals, which has yet to rule.

Prosecutors have continued to use the ordinance but have altered their
enforcement to avoid further court challenges. Now, prosecutors offer
suspects arrested on charges of minor drug possession an immediate plea
deal: a reduced sentence for a promise to stay out of the drug-free zones
for one year.

Within the past few months, Hayden has met with at least 25 neighborhood
groups that will be affected by the proposed zone expansion.

Many have embraced the plan.

George McKeever, manager of a 30-unit, federally subsidized apartment
building in the Eliot neighborhood, which would be included in the expanded
zone, supports the move. His tenants, he said, have mental disabilities and
continually are victimized by drug dealers who get arrested and keep
returning to the area.

"It's truly needed," McKeever said.

But some consider the exclusion zones an infringement on citizens' rights
and question whether police might abuse their authority.

Betty Hedberg, chairwoman of the crime prevention committee of Southwest
Neighborhood Inc., a coalition of several neighborhoods, thinks the
exclusion zones just create problems elsewhere in the city. She says that is
the case in some Southwest Portland neighborhoods.

"Experience has shown with drug- or prostitution-free zones that it doesn't
cure the problem, it just moves it elsewhere," Hedberg said.

Hayden acknowledged that certain "hot spots" do pop up outside of the
exclusion zones at times, but he said officers work to monitor those and
respond to them with special enforcement operations.

Albert Jasper, who owns a restaurant in Old Town, described himself as one
of the early supporters of drug-free zones. But Monday, he was critical of
the expansion plan, saying the existing zones are not adequately enforced.
Jasper says he continues to notice crack cocaine dealers milling about the
Old Town neighborhood and not as many police officers targeting them as he
has seen in past years.

"The key to it is the enforcement, and that's where I think it's been a
little lax," Jasper said, addressing the Chief's Forum, a group of community
representatives that meets twice a month with Portland Police Chief Charles
Moose.

Richard Brown, a Northeast Portland resident and member of the Chief's
Forum, praised the proposal, saying the zones have not only kept drug users
from returning to the same street corners but also have enhanced cooperation
between police and community members.

"We need to do whatever we can to get rid of these problems," Brown said.

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

Shootings gang-related, police say (The Oregonian says Portland police
Monday sought a warrant for the arrest of a 24-year-old man whom
investigators suspect was one of two gunmen in a gang-related shooting
at a Chinese restaurant early Sunday in Old Town that left three people
wounded. But the newspaper forgets to name the 24-year-old member
of the Bloods gang who is being sought.)

The Oregonian
Contact: letters@news.oregonian.com
1320 SW Broadway
Portland, OR 97201
Fax: 503-294-4193
Website: http://www.oregonlive.com/
Forum: http://forums.oregonlive.com/

Shootings gang-related, police say

* A dispute between members of the Bloods and Kerby Blocc Crips during a
party in Old Town triggers the incident early Sunday that leaves three
people wounded

Tuesday, January 5 1999

By Maxine Bernstein
of The Oregonian staff

Portland police Monday sought a warrant for the arrest of a 24-year-old man
whom investigators suspect was one of two gunmen in a gang-related shooting
at a Chinese restaurant early Sunday in Old Town.

The suspect, police said, was one of several members of the Bloods gang who
got into a dispute with rival gang members from the Kerby Blocc Crips during
a hip-hop dance party on the second floor of the Great China Seafood
Restaurant, 336 N.W. Davis St.

One of the victims, Harry James Villa III, 24, drew immediate attention from
gang detectives. Villa was painted by Multnomah County prosecutors as one of
the most dangerous gang members in Portland when he pleaded guilty to state
racketeering charges in October.

Villa, a member of the Kerby Blocc Crips, had been out on bail since October
but is scheduled to be sentenced in the racketeering case Friday. Among the
conditions of his release, however, are that he not associate with fellow
gang members or enter premises where alcohol is being served. At the party,
police say, Villa was with dozens of gang associates, and alcohol was served.

On Monday, Villa was in fair condition at Legacy Emanuel Hospital, with four
gunshot wounds. He was struck in the abdomen, police said. A 19-year-old
woman who was eight months pregnant and shot in the back was in serious
condition Monday after her baby girl was delivered by Caesarean section,
said Claudia Brown, a hospital spokeswoman. Police are not naming the woman
for security reasons.

Another victim, Monica Owens, 22, was shot in the right arm and remained at
OHSU Hospital in fair condition.

Shots rang out about 2:30 a.m. as the party was breaking up. Police were
investigating a separate shooting in the parking lot across the street when
they heard shots inside the restaurant.

Police still are trying to learn what prompted the shooting, but after
interviewing witnesses Sunday and Monday, they determined that the exchange
was between rival gangs. A friend of Villa's apparently got into a dispute
with a rival gang member and punched him. Then shots were fired, said
Detective Brian Grose.

"There was some kind of argument inside the restaurant between two men,"
said Sgt. Mike Crebs, a supervisor of the Police Bureau's Gang Enforcement
Team. "One person pulled out a gun and started firing. A third person pulled
out a gun and started firing at the first shooter."

Shots in close quarters

Between 10 and 15 shots were fired near the dance floor, an area about 120
by 50 feet. There were nearly 200 people inside.

"It's not a very big area -- it was pretty close quarters," Crebs said.

The dance party, which got under way about 10 p.m. Saturday, was presented
by Special K.A.P.E. & Jinx Entertainment, according to a flier posted
outside the restaurant Monday. The flier described the event as a "21 and
over affair," where identification was required for entry with security
provided by "Top Knotch Security Enforcement."

Police said private security guards used hand-held metal detectors to check
partygoers at the door, but the gun-wielding suspects skirted security by
throwing their weapons up to people on a second-floor balcony.

Jack Ngo, who has owned the restaurant for three years, turned away callers
Monday who sought to rent his banquet facility for future dance parties.

"I said, 'Forget about it,' " said Ngo, who was in the kitchen when the
gunfire erupted. "It's very hard for me to tell who's a good guy and who's a
bad guy. It's very hard to control these people. To try to prevent this,
we're having no more dance parties."

Villa faces five years and 10 months in prison when he is sentenced Friday
before Multnomah County Circuit Judge Henry Kantor.

The sentence was part of a plea agreement reached last fall. Under the
Oregon Racketeer Influence and Corrupt Organization Act, prosecutors must
prove a criminal enterprise exists and that Villa was a member of the
enterprise and committed at least two crimes on its behalf. It was the
second time Multnomah County had used the law against street gangs.

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

This Is Your Dad's Brain On Drugs (San Francisco Chronicle columnist
Adair Lara shares some lessons she learned after her father's
supposed senile dementia turned out to be a psychosis induced
by a pharmaceutical drug.)

Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1999 17:13:08 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US CA: Column: This Is Your Dad's Brain On Drugs
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: compassion23@geocities.com (Frank S. World)
Pubdate: Tue, 5 Jan 1999
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Page: E10
Copyright: 1999 San Francisco Chronicle
Contact: chronletters@sfgate.com
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Forum: http://www.sfgate.com/conferences/
Author: Adair Lara

THIS IS YOUR DAD'S BRAIN ON DRUGS

A COUPLE OF years back, I wrote about how my dad had suddenly stopped
knowing how to make coffee or date the letters he wrote. He had
started pacing the halls at night.

He finally landed in a nursing home, diapered and in a wheelchair, and
was trying to light his cigarette with his shoes. He was 74, and his
chart said ``senile dementia, uncomplicated type.'' But he had been
sent off his rocker not by senility but by a baby tranquilizer called
Tranzene prescribed to him by his doctor, a tranquilizer that had
built up in his system and was turning him into a statue.

When it wore off, he was fine -- angry, scared, still old, but fine.
He went home to his apartment -- an apartment I had started to clear
of lamps and boxer shorts, guitars and cans of rolling tobacco,
thinking he would never need it again.

People who work with the elderly are saints. They work hard, they're
often underpaid, they toil in obscurity to help a part of the
population nobody else has much interest in.

But too few questions are asked. When a 40-year-old comes into a
hospital not knowing how he got there, people try to find out why he's
confused.

When the person who comes in confused is older than 70, they think, oh
-- senile. Drugs are not the problem, they're the solution. When my
dad awoke, furious to find himself locked in a nursing home, offering
to take on all comers with a piece of metal he'd torn off his
wheelchair, they wanted to give him Haldol to quiet him back down.

MARTY SOHL HAD a similar experience. Her dad is Jerry Sohl, a
science-fiction writer who also wrote many ``Star Trek'' and
``Twilight Zone'' episodes. He's now 84 years old, and in pretty good
health. Recently, though, he had begun to behave oddly. Suddenly he
didn't always recognize Marty's mother. He even thought he saw his own
mother walking around the house. He was not convinced that Marty's mom
was really his wife, although they've been married for more than 50
years. He could not write or remember how to work his computer. He was
often dizzy. His doctors were very concerned about him, setting up a
CT scan and all kinds of other tests.

``But they were doubtful that anything could be done,'' Marty told me.
``They were pretty sure that he was on his way out, suffering from
mini-strokes that were causing dementia.''

Marty wasn't so sure. She gave a pharmacist friend of hers a list of
all the drugs her dad was taking. He looked them up and found that one
of the eye drops prescribed by his ophthalmologist could cause her
dad's very symptoms, in fewer than 2 percent of those taking them.

``My father, of course, being a good patient, refused to stop taking
them,'' said Marty.

She called the ophthalmologist. He was positive that the eye drops
weren't the cause. Only a tiny percentage of people react that way,
after all. And Jerry's ocular pressure could build to a dangerous
level without the drops. But he agreed to have him lay off them for a
few weeks.

THAT was on a monday. By Wednesday Jerry recognized Marty's mom every
time he saw her. By Saturday, his mother had left the house. He is
writing again.

As is my dad, long since back living on his own. Not long ago, after
reading the obituary page, he remarked, ``All the newspaper knows
about these oldsters they feature on the obituary page is that their
hearts were still quivering at 90. They have no way of knowing the
actual day of their deaths. There is more to life than clouding a mirror.''

My dad is not as sharp as he was. Neither is Marty's dad. But they are
back in their own lives, doing more than clouding a mirror.

Don't say no to drugs. Just ask questions.

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

Last Lost Night At A Residence Hotel (Another annoying San Francisco
Examiner article on the heroin-related death of Boz Scaggs' son looks
for pathos in the usual places - how well Oscar had been doing
with his rehab, and his privileged background and ironic demise
in a Mission District hotel for down-and-outs.)

Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1999 17:20:46 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US CA: Last Lost Night At A Residence Hotel
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: compassion23@geocities.com (Frank S. World)
Pubdate: Tue, 5 Jan 1999
Source: San Francisco Examiner (CA)
Copyright: 1999 San Francisco Examiner
Contact: letters@examiner.com
Website: http://www.examiner.com/
Forum: http://examiner.com/cgi-bin/WebX
Author: Marianne Costantinou and Anastasia Hendrix

LAST LOST NIGHT AT A RESIDENCE HOTEL

He lived in a two-story, gated mansion on Russian Hill, the son of a
famous blues musician and an antiques dealer.

He died with 92 cents in his pocket in Room 209 of the Hotel Royan, a
$29-a-night hotel for down-and-outs in the Mission District.

For Oscar Scaggs, heroin was the road that connected these two
worlds.

Family and friends of Boz Scaggs' 21-year-old son thought he was on
the road to recovery, scared straight from the overdose death 15
months ago of his lifelong pal, Nicholas Traina, the 19-year-old son
of romance novelist Danielle Steel.

But even as those who knew and loved him rejoiced in how well he was
doing with his rehab, it is clear Scaggs was not free of the addiction
that would claim his life.

In recent weeks, said hotel manager Barry Bhakta, 53, Scaggs often
came calling at the Hotel Royan, a single-room occupancy hotel at 15th
and Valencia streets that, like most of its residents, has seen better
days.

Built in 1928, the hotel used to house minor-league baseball players
who competed at nearby Seals Stadium, home of the Triple-A Seals. But
the team and stadium have both been gone nearly 40 years.

Today, about 100 people live in the hotel, said Bhakta, some for days,
others for years. Most of the occupants are singles or couples,
although a few children also call the place home.

Drug users and dealers, prostitutes, the homeless, the unemployed and
the barely-making-it live there, said Ruth Rodriguez, 47, who's lived
at Hotel Royan for four years.

Rodriguez, a heroin addict, buys her stash from a neighbor down the
hall from her in the hotel, she said. Overdoses at the hotel are
common, she said. At least two people have committed suicide there
since she moved in, she said, including one man who jumped from a
top-floor window of the five-story building.

"Nightly, somebody must call 911," said a fellow resident who gave her
name only as Debbie.

Still, news that the hotel's latest overdose victim was the son of a
famous musician shocked the women. What was a rich boy doing there,
they wondered.

About 9:30 p.m. on Dec. 30, Scaggs came to visit Thomas Anthony
Montalbano, 53, also known as Thomas A. Cole, according to police.
Bhakta said while he was on duty at the front desk in recent weeks,
Scaggs had been by to visit Montalbano several times. Scaggs would
drop in at various times of the day or night, and stay for about a
half-hour, he said.

Montalbano told police he last saw Scaggs alive in his room, No. 209,
sometime before 10 p.m. When he returned to the room nearly seven
hours later, he found Scaggs sprawled on his double bed, not breathing.

Montalbano told police he then carried Scaggs to the hotel's shower
room 30 feet down the hall and called 911.

But another resident, Luis Gueto Matos, 46, told police that the hotel
clerk called his room and asked him to check on a report from yet
another resident that a body was being dragged down the hall. Matos
went to the bathroom, he told police, found Scaggs, and started
performing CPR.

It was too late.

Police found Scaggs already dead on the tile bathroom floor when they
arrived after 5 a.m. Nearby was a porcelain tub with a blue plastic
shower curtain.

Montalbano didn't want to talk about what happened, but denied Monday
night that he provided Scaggs with the heroin. No arrests have been
made pending a police investigation.

"I didn't have nothing to do with it," he told The Examiner. "He
always came with the drugs.

"I'm feeling pretty bad," he said.

Residents doubted if Scaggs' death would have any effect on life in
the hotel.

On the door of the hotel lobby is a sign forbidding overnight guests.
There is also a sign: "Drug Problem? Call Narcotics Anonymous."

It was there when Scaggs arrived that night.

Eric McCormick of The Examiner staff contributed to this
report.

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

Collecting Data On Police Treatment Of Minority Motorists (The Ft. Worth
Star-Telegram says the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California
launched an effort last fall to record the complaints of minority motorists
who had been stopped without reason. The ACLU is hoping to use the data
to introduce measures in the California legislature and Congress that would
require law enforcement agencies to collect racial information about the
motorists they stop but do not arrest. Though the problem is not new, many
community activists and experts assert that the targeting of people of color
has escalated with the war on drugs.)

Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1999 17:08:06 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: ACLU Collecting Data On Police Treatment Of Minority
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: adbryan@onramp.net
Pubdate: Tue, 5 Jan 1999
Source: Ft. Worth Star-Telegram (TX)
Copyright: 1999 Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, Texas
Contact: letters@star-telegram.com
Website: http://www.star-telegram.com/
Forum: http://www.star-telegram.com/comm/forums/
Author: V. Dion Haynes, Chicago Tribune

ACLU COLLECTING DATA ON POLICE TREATMENT OF MINORITY MOTORISTS

LOS ANGELES -- Last June, California Assemblyman Kevin Murray was on
his way to celebrate his victory in a state Senate primary race when
his car was pulled over by a Beverly Hills police officer.

Though he can't prove it and the police department denies it, Murray,
who wasn't ticketed, believes he was stopped for no reason other than
for being black.

For years, many law-abiding minority motorists, particularly
African-American and Hispanic men, have been subjected to such
treatment, asked in an accusatory manner about what they were doing in
a particular neighborhood, where they were coming from and how they
acquired their vehicles.

Often dismissed by police as paranoid, Murray and others who have
experienced such stops are part of a growing movement to document the
incidents to prove their long-standing suspicions that minorities are
victims of such targeting by law enforcement agencies much more
frequently than whites.

Last fall, the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California
launched an effort to record the complaints of minority motorists in
California on a hot line. Callers flooded it during the first few
minutes of the operation, forcing the ACLU to shut down the line
temporarily to increase the capacity. So far more than 500 people have
lodged complaints.

The ACLU is hoping to use the data to bring back measures in the
California legislature and Congress that would require law enforcement
agencies to collect racial information about the motorists they stop
but do not arrest. Such data, Murray and other supporters assert,
could spur changes in police policy.

"Any black male can tell you at least one incident that he's gone
through and other incidents that have occurred with (black) people he
knows," said Murray, a Democrat whose police monitoring bill was
vetoed by outgoing California Gov. Pete Wilson. With Democrat Gray
Davis succeeding Wilson this month, Murray believes the measure has a
better chance of becoming law.

The bill was modeled on a measure sponsored by U.S. Rep. John Conyers,
D-Mich., which was approved by the House but died in a Senate
committee. Conyers has indicated he will reintroduce his measure in
the new Congress. Meanwhile, lawmakers in Ohio, Rhode Island and
Pennsylvania are considering similar legislation.

Jane Whicher, staff counsel at the ACLU of Illinois, says the
organization supports legislative solutions. The ACLU of Illinois is
involved in a class-action lawsuit filed by Hispanic and black
motorists who assert that Illinois State Police stopped them because
of their race.

"We're not saying that all police officers are bad," added Murray,
part of a class-action lawsuit charging discrimination against the
Beverly Hills Police Department. But by collecting the racial data on
who gets stopped, he said, "we can learn what's going on or at the
very least see whether it is merely a perception problem."

Complaints about unwarranted police stops are so commonplace among
African Americans and Hispanics that the problem has acquired a label:
DWB -- driving while black or brown.

In California, where charges of racism among police remain in the wake
of the Rodney King beating, the list of prominent African Americans
stopped for no apparent reason includes former Lakers player Jamaal
Wilkes, actor LeVar Burton, actor Blair Underwood, Olympic medalist Al
Joyner, actor Wesley Snipes and Christopher Darden, a prosecutor in
the O.J. Simpson criminal case.

Recently in Boston, a federal judge reduced to 2 1/2 years from 4
years the sentence of a black man who pleaded guilty to possessing a
firearm, ruling that the longer term had been based mainly on minor
traffic offenses. Judge Nancy Gertner asserted that the man, Alexander
Leviner, might have been stopped because of his race.

Leviner's record, she wrote, raises "questions about what drew the
officer's attention to (him) in the first place." Though Leviner faced
four convictions for offenses such as driving without a license,
Gertner wrote there was no evidence he was driving recklessly or had
broken traffic laws when officers stopped him.

Statistics collected by the Maryland State Police under a settlement
with an African-American motorist appear to lend credence to the
belief that minorities are stopped more than white drivers.

The state police agreed to collect the data after the plaintiff
uncovered an internal memo that warned troopers to target black men
driving east on Interstate 68 as possible drug suspects. The data,
collected from 1994 to 1997, showed that while blacks made up only 18
percent of the motorists on interstate highways, they represented 80
percent of the people targeted for searches. The number of searches
prompted the federal court to extend the study to include all stops.

"Maryland isn't unique. But it's the only place we have statistics,"
said Mary Jeon, an attorney with the ACLU of Maryland, which filed the
suit on behalf of the black motorist. "I suspect many states have this
problem."

Conyers is seeking in his bill to require the Department of Justice to
collect from all police agencies racial and ethnic data on motorists
involved in stops. After two years, the department would report the
findings to Congress.

"People who endured this in embarrassment and silence in the past are
coming forward because of the national recognition that this happens
to virtually everyone (who is a minority)," Conyers said. "Frequently,
we find that the incidents curtail automatically when they reach the
public level of discussion."

Though the problem is not new, many community activists and experts
assert that the targeting of people of color has escalated with the
war on drugs. The activists say police departments often develop
profiles of drug traffickers based on such factors as race, age, style
of dress and make of vehicle driven.

Blacks and Hispanics are "who we have been conditioned to believe
commit crimes," said Ronald Hampton, executive director of the
National Black Police Association, a nonprofit Washington-based group
that supported the Murray and Conyers bills.

"So when you see a black person drive a 1998 BMW, Navigator or
Mercedes you're going to conclude they got the car from selling drugs
or they stole it," he added.

Other police groups disagree.

"Just because someone is stopped and no reason is given doesn't mean
there is no reason for the stop," said Stephen McSpadden, general
counsel for the National Association of Police Organizations, which
represents about 220,000 officers.

"There may be a small number of (officers) who have abused their
positions," McSpadden said. "But our experience is that the vast
majority of officers are doing the right thing."

According to legal experts, a 1996 Supreme Court ruling gave police
more latitude to stop motorists with little or no provocation. In
Whren vs. U.S., justices ruled that police can stop a motorist for a
traffic violation even if their real intent is to investigate whether
the driver was involved in criminal activity.

This has proven easy, according to David Harris, a professor at the
University of Toledo College of Law and a visiting professor at Wayne
State University Law School. He said traffic codes in many states have
detailed regulations that indicate how far motorists should signal
from the corner, how much room they should give the driver in front of
them and the depth of the tire tread.

"One of the problems with the Whren case is that anybody can be
stopped for any reason," he added.

Nevertheless, stopping motorists simply because of their race would
violate the Fourth Amendment, the equal-protection clause of the
Constitution, experts said.

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

Webb County Prosecutor's Trial To Feature Odd Cast Of Characters
(An article from what appears to be the morning edition of the San Antonio
Express-News says today marks the beginning of the court trial of assistant
district attorney Ramon Villafranca, a former elementary school principal,
who is charged with conspiracy and three counts of bribery. The witnesses
against him include a bounty hunter, a disgraced former judge
and a heroin addict. The latest episode in a 5-year-old crackdown
on public officials around South Texas, the case is seen as a showdown
between federal and local authorities.)

Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1999 15:03:05 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US TX: Webb County Prosecutor's Trial To Feature
Odd Cast Of Characters
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: adbryan@onramp.net
Pubdate: Tue, 5 Jan 1999
Source: San Antonio Express-News (TX)
Contact: letters@express-news.net
Website: http://www.expressnews.com/
Copyright: 1999 San Antonio Express-News
Author: Dane Schiller

WEBB COUNTY PROSECUTOR'S TRIAL TO FEATURE ODD CAST OF CHARACTERS

LAREDO - An ex-elementary school principal is pitted against a bounty
hunter, a disgraced former judge and a heroin addict in a much-anticipated
corruption trial set to start here today.

But it's the former educator, now a Webb County assistant district attorney,
who's accused of a crime. Court documents show federal prosecutors have
lined up a motley crew of witnesses to put him away in a case that's kept
this border city abuzz for months.

Ramon Villafranca, 58, is charged with conspiracy and three counts of
bribery. He faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.

Villafranca is accused of taking money in exchange for offering leniency to
defendants charged with drug possession.

The latest in a 5-year-old crackdown on public officials around South Texas,
the case is seen as a showdown between federal and local authorities and has
fueled months of speculation.

The focus on public corruption cases by U.S. prosecutors netted the 1998
convictions of then-Starr County Sheriff Gene Falcon, five of his jailers
and a justice of the peace who took part in a bail bond kickback scheme.

Despite that success, prosecutors often have faced skeptical jurors, and
their efforts have sometimes backfired.

In one 10-month stretch at the federal courthouse here in 1996 and 1997,
juries acquitted eight of nine public officials or law enforcement officers
accused of official corruption, embezzlement or drug trafficking, court
records show.

They included Hidalgo County Judge J. Edgar Ruiz and a handful of elected
officials cleared of taking kickbacks on purchases of supplies for that
county.

In the latest case, James DeAtley, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District
of Texas, said he'll be satisfied to let a jury decide Villafranca's fate.

"My office has the responsibility to present the evidence and we will,"
DeAtley said last week.

"The jurors, when ultimately selected and sworn to take an oath, vote their
conscience," he said.

Laredo attorney Octavio Salinas II said Villafranca has never taken a bribe
and is ready to defend himself.

"It's a big change for him to go from putting people away to being falsely
accused," Salinas said. "He's ready for his day in court. He's ready to put
this behind him."

U.S. District Judge John Rainey will preside over the trial. Opening
arguments are expected today.

Prosecutors intend to make their case with bank records, photographs and
dozens of secretly made audio recordings, court records show.

But they also are expected to use testimony from Ruben Garcia, a former
state district judge, who in a plea bargain late last year admitted that
while working as an attorney he paid bribes to an unnamed Webb County
prosecutor.

One of Garcia's former clients, admitted drug addict Roy McCoy III, also
pleaded guilty, saying he gave Garcia $8,000 as part of a payoff to
Villafranca.

Another key to the case may be the testimony of Jesse Salas, a contentious
former lawman who posed as a bounty hunter while secretly working as an
informant for the FBI since March 1996.

Physical evidence also will be presented. On a warm Sunday night in May
1998, when much of Laredo was home watching the Chicago Bulls battle for the
Eastern Conference championship, a small army of FBI and Internal Revenue
Service agents raided the offices of Webb County District Attorney Joe
Rubio.

Armed with search warrants and hand trucks, the agents loaded more than
5,000 criminal case files - as well as bank records, daily planners and even
phone books - into a U-Haul rental truck in the courthouse parking garage.

Agents were interested in documents linked to 142 criminal defendants. They
also had singled out 14 other people for intense scrutiny, including
Villafranca and Rubio, the search warrant shows.

Agents hit several other locations, including the offices of a justice of
the peace, a bail bondsman and the home of Rubio's father.

Neither Rubio nor his father have been charged with a crime.

According to the rumors that percolated through local taquerias, bars and
over the Internet, the feds had either struck a mother lode of corruption or
soon would fall on their faces.

"Late-night phone calls, midnight meetings, unholy alliances forming," read
one message posted to a Laredo-area Internet bulletin board shortly after
the raids.

Meanwhile, Villafranca has remained on the payroll as a prosecutor, but has
been assigned administrative duties pending the trial's outcome.

"We're trying to support him and be sensitive about the whole issue," said
Monica Notzon, chief prosecutor for the district attorney's office.

"It's going to be strange for us; having one of our prosecutors on trial,"
she said. "It's hard to fathom the consequences."

The government's witnesses have a checkered past.

A law enforcement officer in Atascosa County, Salas outraged his colleagues
in 1992 when he accused fellow members of a drug task force of corruption. A
state grand jury didn't believe him and indicted him for perjury, but the
charges later were dropped.

As for Garcia, he was indicted in October 1981 by a Dimmit County grand jury
for misapplication of county funds, accused of padding an expense account.

The charges were dropped when a witness refused to testify, but Garcia was
disciplined by a state judicial board.

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

Webb Prosecutor's Bribery Trial Under Way (The San Antonio Express-News
says a federal prosecutor told jurors in Laredo Monday
that Ramon Villafranca, an assistant Webb County district attorney,
took more than $20,000 in bribes from 15 people arrested on drug charges
during a three-year undercover investigation in which an FBI informant
posed as a bounty hunter. Ruben Garcia, a former state district judge,
has already pleaded guilty to extortion in connection with the case.)

Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 20:01:06 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US TX: Webb Prosecutor's Bribery Trial Under Way
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: adbryan@onramp.net
Pubdate: 5 Jan 1999
Source: San Antonio Express-News (TX)
Contact: letters@express-news.net
Website: http://www.expressnews.com/
Forum: http://data.express-news.net:2080/eshare/server?action=4
Copyright: 1999 San Antonio Express-News
Author: Dane Schiller

WEBB PROSECUTOR'S BRIBERY TRIAL UNDER WAY

LAREDO - An assistant Webb County district attorney on trial here took more
than $20,000 in bribes during a three-year undercover investigation in
which an FBI informant posed as a bounty hunter, a federal prosecutor told
jurors Monday.

But in a spirited counterattack, a defense attorney charged the
government's case was made by desperate liars and that none of dozens of
secretly recorded conversations prove his client was corrupt.

The government made up the case out of desperation to justify the lengthy
investigation, the defense said.

Ramon Villafranca, 58, faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine
if he is convicted of any of the five counts, including conspiracy and
bribery, for which he was indicted last year by a federal grand jury.

He is the first person to be tried in the investigation that centered on
the office of Joe Rubio, the Webb County district attorney. Rubio has not
been charged and has insisted he is innocent of any wrongdoing.

Testimony was to begin this morning and could last three weeks.

Among the witnesses slated to take the stand is Rey Cantu, a former Cameron
County district attorney, whom prosecutors said would explain to jurors how
a prosecutor's office should function and what Villafranca's discretion
would have included.

"He (Villafranca) broke the very laws he swore to uphold," Assistant U.S.
Attorney Don DeGabrielle said in opening arguments. "He accepted bribe
money he had no business accepting."

The bribes came from 15 people arrested on drug charges, ranging from
possession of a crack pipe to smuggling more than 400 pounds of marijuana
across the U.S.-Mexico border, DeGabrielle said.

Dozens of secretly recorded conversations will back up the case, said
DeGabrielle, who described a scheme in which Villafranca discussed and
received bribes in his county office, in the bathroom at the county
courthouse and at a law firm where he had an office.

Jesse Salas, a former Atascosa County law enforcement officer, was working
for the FBI and wore a hidden microphone as he met separately with
Villafranca and Ruben Garcia, a former state district judge who has pleaded
guilty to extortion, DeGabrielle said.

In May 1998, when FBI and Internal Revenue Service agents raided Rubio's
office and several homes and other offices here, Garcia agreed to cooperate
with federal authorities, DeGabrielle said.

Garcia pleaded guilty to extortion late last year and could be granted
leniency in exchange for his testimony, according to court documents.

But Julio Garcia, one of three attorneys representing Villafranca,
predicted Ruben Garcia would lie to save his skin, and the defense lawyer
charged that Salas was "out of control."

Salas' credibility was torn apart by his past as well as his compensation
package from the government that included having his rent paid, a
$1,500-a-month salary and a bonus for making cases, Julio Garcia said.

"Mr. Salas is not lily white and pure as snow," the attorney said. "Mr.
Salas has brought a tale to this court."

U.S. District Judge John Rainey admonished Julio Garcia to "remain under
control" seconds after an emotional appeal to jurors in which he said he
would show that some members of law enforcement "refer to Mexican-Americans
as 'cockroaches.' "

"If I appear to be upset and angry, I am," Julio Garcia told jurors. "This
whole case stinks."

"It's going to be push and pull, nip and tuck and fight and scratch all the
way down the line," he concluded.

Federal authorities have said the investigation is continuing.

Lawyers for both sides huddled with Rainey behind closed doors at the end
of opening arguments Monday to "discuss an ongoing investigation," but no
one would say what transpired.

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

Laredo Prosecutor's Corruption Trial Begins (The Fort Worth, Texas,
Star-Telegram version)

Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1999 05:42:26 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US TX: Laredo Prosecutor's Corruption Trial Begins
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: adbryan@onramp.net
Source: Ft. Worth Star-Telegram (TX)
Contact: letters@star-telegram.com
Website: http://www.star-telegram.com/
Forum: http://www.star-telegram.com/comm/forums/
Copyright: 1999 Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, Texas
Pubdate: 5 Jan 99

LAREDO PROSECUTOR'S CORRUPTION TRIAL BEGINS

LAREDO, Texas -- The corruption trial of prosecutor Ramon Villafranca,
accused of taking bribes from drug defendants, started Monday.

Villafranca's trial is expected to last more than three weeks and involve
more than 100 secretly-recorded audiotapes. The case is the culmination of
a two-year investigation into corruption in the 49th Judicial District
Attorney's office for Webb and Zapata counties.

Villafranca, 58, is accused of taking bribes from at least three drug
defendants in exchange for promises of reduced or dismissed sentences. He
denies doing anything wrong.

Ruben Garcia, a former state district judge who was working as a private
attorney at the time, has pleaded guilty to related extortion charges and
is cooperating with investigators. Two others have also pleaded guilty to
case-fixing related charges, including Roy McCoy, a Tennessee man who
allegedly paid Garcia and Villafranca $8,000 to have drug charges against
him dropped.

The federal investigation first came to public attention in May, when FBI
and Internal Revenue Service agents raided the office of District Attorney
Joe Rubio, hauling away thousands of files in a rented truck. Despite much
speculation, Villafranca was the only prosecutor indicted for corruption.

A jury was picked on Monday, and opening statement were scheduled for later
in the day.

U.S. Attorney Don DeGabrielle, the chief prosecutor in the case, is
expected to introduce more than 100 audiotapes containing secretly-recorded
conversations between Villafranca and others.

"You're talking about a massive amount of evidence," Octavio Salinas, one
of three attorneys defending Villafranca, told the Laredo Morning Times.

Garcia is expected to testify in the trial along with Jesse James Salas, a
government informant who represented himself as a freelance bounty hunter
and karate instructor. McCoy is another potential witness.

Villafranca, a former middle school principal and teacher of special
education students, has maintained his innocence. He currently is assigned
to administrative duties at the district attorney's office pending outcome
of the trial.

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

In Minnesota, Pomp and Pep Rally (The Washington Post
says yesterday's inauguration of Governor Jesse Ventura of the Reform Party
marks a new "tri-partisan" era in state politics. Ventura is a man
of contrasts: He portrays himself as a tough-talking law-and-order politician
but impressed many voters with his proposal to treat drug addiction
as a public health problem rather than a criminal problem.)

Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1999 10:36:25 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US MN: WP: In Minnesota, Pomp and Pep Rally
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: DrugSense
Pubdate: Tue, 5 Jan 1999
Source: The Washington Post
Copyright: 1999 The Washington Post Company
Page: A02
Contact: http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/letters/letterform.htm
Website: http://washingtonpost.com/
Author: Jon Jeter Washington Post Staff Writer

IN MINNESOTA, POMP AND PEP RALLY

An Unlikely Leader Takes Helm With High Spirits and 'Hooya'

ST. PAUL, Minn., Jan. 4 -- Jesse "the Body" Ventura was sworn in as
Minnesota's 38th governor today. In the end, the tough-talking ex-wrestler
did not rappel down the granite walls of the State Capitol's rotunda, as he
had threatened, but no one seemed truly disappointed: The nation's most
celebrated and unlikely governor has become a Minnesota folk hero, if only
because he makes anything seem possible.

Ventura's quixotic third party campaign and upset victory over two
established career politicians electrified this state and the air has been
supercharged ever since. Despite Ventura's less-than-spectacular entrance
today -- he strolled confidently to the dais in a dark double-breasted suit
-- his inauguration was unlike anything Minnesota has ever seen, equal
parts pep rally, carnival and pomp and circumstance.

Nearly 2,500 people braved unimaginably cold weather -- the temperature did
not climb above zero -- to attend the inauguration, the largest gathering
held at Minnesota's State Capitol here since the Minnesota Twins won the
World Series in 1991.

The crowd of admirers included Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.); aging
professional wrestlers and Navy SEALs; Arnold Schwarzenegger, who appeared
in three action movies with Ventura in the mid-'80s; reporters from as far
away as Japan; young men in dreadlocks who had never paid attention to
politics in their lives; and balding war veterans who turned their back on
politics long ago.

It was Ventura's ability to reach out to indifferent and even unregistered
voters -- 60 percent of the state's electorate voted in the general
election, the highest turnout in the nation -- that was the key to his
victory, pollsters say.

"So with that in mind, I want you all to remember, we cannot fail, we must
not fail, because if we do we could lose this generation, and we dare not
let that happen," Ventura said in his 10-minute speech.

"The reality of the situation is it's those young people, it's those
disenchanted voters that we've reached out to and brought back to the
system. So that's the challenge before us now. To keep those young people
involved. To keep opening the arms of government and make it
citizen-friendly. To bring the people back to respecting their government."

Outside the rotunda, Greg Copeland stood wearing bulky layers of T-shirts
and a corduroy hunting cap with oversized ear flaps. Although an odd
testament to Ventura's appeal and words, it was the look Copeland was going
for in his attempt to drum up support for a new reform-minded group founded
in the days after Ventura's election.

"The idea is to build on this wonderful energy created by Jesse Ventura and
organize people," said Copeland, 46, while passing out fliers to something
called the "Crow's Ball."

"The media didn't elect Jesse Ventura. The experts didn't elect Jesse
Ventura. The people elected Jesse Ventura," he said.

Ventura's inauguration begins the "tri-partisan" era in Minnesota. With
Republicans controlling the state House, Democrats controlling the Senate,
and no Reform Party politicians in either chamber, it remains unclear how
such a deeply divided state government will function, a question Ventura
himself acknowledged.

"Is Jesse Ventura up to governing? Can Jesse Ventura do the job?" he asked
rhetorically in his remarks. But he has given remarkably few answers to
either question since he was elected three months ago and again today, he
promised only to do the best job that he could.

"Whether you're a Democrat, a Republican, a Reform Party or whatever party
you might be, we are all Minnesotans," he said, then finished his speech
with a phrase from his days as a Navy SEAL. "Now we move forward to do
Minnesota's business and we will do it to the best of our ability. Hooya."

Despite his widespread popularity, Ventura is a man of contrasts: the son
of a steamfitter and a champion of the working class who just signed a
$500,000 book deal and whose tax-cutting agenda is stridently conservative.
He portrays himself as a tough-talking law-and-order politician but
impressed many voters with a sensitivity for gay rights and his proposal to
treat drug addiction as a public health problem rather than a criminal
problem.

"He's not your typical politician," said Kevin Johnson, a childhood friend.
"He's hard to pigeonhole and I think people like that because it makes him
seem like he's really putting some real thought into these issues."

The inaugural ball is scheduled for Jan. 16, billed as the "People's Ball."
Nearly 14,000 tickets were sold in less than 48 hours. And just what is the
attire for a bash in honor of a 6-foot-4, 260-pound pro wrestler who once
belonged to a biker gang and favored army fatigues on the campaign trail?

"Tux, tennis shoes, biker leather, whatever you feel comfortable wearing,"
said his wife, Terry. But "if you want to wear a black tie, nobody is going
to point fingers or make fun of you."

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

International Meeting for A Mass Marijuana Movement (A list subscriber
forwards information about the conference Jan. 8-10 in New York City,
including the potarazzi who have already confirmed their attendance.)

From: HSLotsof@aol.com
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 23:37:44 EST
To: "DRCTalk Reformers' Forum" (drctalk@drcnet.org)
Subject: FWD MMM Conference - NYC
Reply-To: drctalk@drcnet.org
Sender: owner-drctalk@drcnet.org

Forwarded Article

International Meeting for A Mass Marijuana Movement

January 8,9,10, 1999 New York City

International Meeting for A Mass Marijuana Movement
(@ Calyx Internet 13 Laight St. NY NY)

Planning for the WorldWide Million Marijuana March on May 1, 1999

Bring your ideas, energy, and media for a meeting to develop non-violent
strategies and learn more about the history of how a national civil rights
protest in New York s Greenwich Village grew into a worldwide movement.

Program & Schedule of Events:

Friday, January 8

10 - 12 am - Morning Session: Opening Statements and Introductions

12 -1 pm- Lunch Break

1 - 3 pm - Afternoon Session: Coalition Building with Mainstream
Politicians/Groups - Ann Northrop & Co

3 - 5 pm - Panel Discussion:
Getting the Stars to Come Out - Celebrity Sponsorship
Emily Kunstler, Robbie Robinson & friends

Friday Evening

6 pm - 8 pm Reception 5 Bleecker St. (Backroom of Von)

9 pm - ? Party and Comedy Revue 9 Bleecker St.

Saturday Morning, January 9

10 - 12 am - Morning Session: Getting through to the Media
Eric Williams and Others

12 -1 pm- Lunch Break

Saturday Afternoon, January 9

1 - 3 pm - Afternoon Session Panel Discussion
Marijuana, Ibogaine: the Anti-Addiction/anti-Stroke Connection -
Dana Beal, John Gettman, and Others

3 - 5 pm - Panel Discussion Fundraising: Finding the Big Bucks (4:20
Benefits)

Dennis Peron & a Bunch of Rich Guys

Saturday Night - 8pm. Party at Coney Island High on St.. Mark's Place

Sunday, January 10

10 - 12 am - Morning Session: Mobilizing The People (4:20 Rallies)
and planning transportation for May 1st George Kucewicz & John Wilson

12-1 pm- Lunch Break

1 - 5 pm- Afternoon Session: Alternative Scenarios for May 1st,

Free-For-All discussion

CONFIRMED ATTENDEES

Dana Beal J.G. Bethos Andris Boris Bill Brown Mike Chance Mitch Cohen Chris
Conrad Paul Cornwell Paul DeRienzo Mick Davis Michael Donelly Mike Felice Jim
Fleming Diane Fornbacher John Gettman David Goldstein Chelsea Goodwin Carissa
Haberland Julian P. Heicklen John Hodgson Kerry Huber Sue Jeffers Aaron Kay
Anita King Laura Kriho George Kucewicz Emily Kunstler Sarah Kunstler Kiyoshi
Kuromiya Scott Kurz Denny Lane Elvvy Musikka Rob MacDonald Ann McCormmick
Johann Moore Joanie Moossy Brian Murphy Ann Northrop Adam Nodelman David
Occhiutto David Peel Dennis Peron Terry Phelan Ed Powell John Pylka Robbie
Robinson Chris Saunders Eric Sawyer Moonray Schepheart Don Schnell Andrew
Seidenfeld Lynette Shaw Dave Shelly John Sheridan Brother Shine Jesse
Silverman Ollie Steinberg William Swan Karen Thomas Cliff Thornton Kenny
Toglia Bonnie Tocwish Dave Van Felix Dean Venezia Jerry Wade Rommell
Washington Eric Williams John Wilson Peter Lamborn Wilson Doug Willinger Don
Wirtschafter

LET US KNOW IMMEDIATELY IF YOU WISH TO BE CONFIRMED (OR IF YOUR
NAME APPEARS ON THIS LIST IN ERROR; OR IF YOU WISH TO BE LISTED
AS AN ENDORSER OF THE MMM.

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

Ann Landers: Marijuana Laws Are Too Harsh (The advice columnist
syndicated in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune tells "A sad mother in Virginia,"
whose son is facing 30 years in prison for pot possession, "I have long
believed that the laws regarding marijuana are too harsh. Those who keep pot
for their own personal use should not be treated as criminals.")

Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1999 20:48:28 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: Ann Landers: Marijuana Laws Are Too Harsh
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: compassion23@geocities.com (Frank S. World)
Pubdate: 5 Jan 1999
Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune (MN)
Contact: http://www.startribune.com/stonline/html/userguide/letform.html
Website: http://www.startribune.com/
Forum: http://talk.startribune.com/cgi-bin/WebX.cgi
Copyright: 1999 Star Tribune
Author: Ann Landers
Mail: Ann Landers, P.O. Box 11562, Chicago, IL, 60611-0562.

ANN LANDERS: MARIJUANA LAWS ARE TOO HARSH

Dear Ann: I just got a phone call from my son. He said, "I've been arrested
for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute." I knew he had used
marijuana on occasion, but I'm sure he never tried to sell it. A lawyer
told me if someone is caught with marijuana, chances are the police will
add "intent to distribute," even in the absence of supporting evidence. The
accusation of intent changes the crime from a misdemeanor to a felony.

My son is a good kid who attends college and has a part-time job. He didn't
hurt anyone. He didn't steal anything. He didn't cheat anybody. He was
caught with marijuana for his own personal use, and for this, he could get
30 years in prison. He has never gotten so much as a parking ticket.

I don't approve of smoking grass, nor do I approve of smoking cigarettes or
drinking alcohol. But this punishment seems excessive. I can't help but
think of the thousands of families that have suffered this same horror.
These harsh laws hurt us all. People who criminalize marijuana believe that
users are dangerous addicts in dark trench coats, lurking near playgrounds,
ready to pounce on young children.

I plead for compassion for those who are hurting only themselves when they
use dangerous substances. What they need is counseling and medical
intervention, not prison. Harsh laws don't work. Furthermore, they cost us
a fortune in taxes to prosecute and incarcerate people who pose no danger
to society. Enough.

-- A sad mother in Va.

Ann says: I'm sad about your son's predicament. If the police added
''intent to distribute'' without real evidence, your son will need the help
of a competent lawyer who can get those charges dismissed.

I have long believed that the laws regarding marijuana are too harsh. Those
who keep pot for their own personal use should not be treated as criminals.
Thirty years in prison makes no sense whatsoever. I'm with you.

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

Most Federal Inmates Have Used Drugs (The Associated Press version)

Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1999 15:13:13 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US DC: Wire: Most Prisoners Have Used Drugs
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: General Pulaski
Pubdate: Tue, 05 Jan 1999
Source: Associated Press
Copyright: 1999 Associated Press.
Author: Sandra Sobieraj

MOST PRISONERS HAVE USED DRUGS

WASHINGTON (AP) Seven of every 10 federal prisoners had used drugs prior
to their arrests, and one-fifth were on drugs at the time they committed the
crime that sent them to prison, the Justice Department reported today.

In conjunction with the release of the department's Bureau of Justice
Statistics figures, which are up from 1991 levels, President Clinton said
his fiscal 2000 budget would include $215 million to test and treat
prisoners for drug use.

"Drug use stokes all kinds of crime," Clinton said today in a White House
ceremony. "It is clear to us that if we're going to continue to reduce the
rate of crime we have to do something to avoid releasing criminals with
their dangerous drug habits intact."

If approved by Congress, the money would represent an increase of about $100
million over funds currently available to enforce "zero tolerance" of drug
use by prisoners, parolees and probationers.

White House drug policy director Barry McCaffrey said an untreated addict
costs taxpayers about $43,000 per year, while prison-based treatment for an
individual's drug use annually costs $2,700.

McCaffrey called the president's proposed budget increase "a no-brainer for
smart drug policy, for smart incarceration policy."

The Justice report found that 70 percent of federal prisoners had used
drugs, and 22 percent used them at the time of the offense. In 1991, 60
percent of federal prisoners said they had used drugs, and 17 percent used
them at the time of the crime.

Percentages of state prisoners using drugs were higher. In 1997, 83 percent
said they had used drugs, up from 79 percent in 1991. And 33 percent used
them at the time of the crime, up from 31 percent in 1991.

Clinton also announced today the release of $120 million in funds already
approved for drug-free prison initiatives this year. About $63 million is
earmarked for state prisons to provide long-term drug treatment and
intensive supervision for prisoners with the most serious drug problems.

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

$215M Eyed for Jail Drug Treatments (A different Associated Press account
uncritically parrots the Clinton administration's duplicitous announcement,
which in fact suggests a large part of the $215 million will be spent
on enforcement measures such as "drug courts" and urine testing.
During a White House ceremony with his drug czar and Attorney General
Janet Reno, however, Clinton noted Chicago Mayor Richard Daley once said
it is easier to get drugs in the Illinois penitientiary than on his city's streets.
"That's a statement that could be made in more than half the states in this
country," Clinton said, without explaining how prohibition could be enforced
in a free society when it can't even be enforced in prisons. Despite the
widely acknowledged fact that more than 70 million Americans have used an
illegal drug - including Clinton himself - the administration will continue
to base policy on its assumption that such use causes real crime and that
therefore the way to reduce real crime is to lock up countless millions
of illegal-drug users. But maybe the most inane comment came from White House
drug policy director Barry McCaffrey, who said it costs taxpayers about
$43,000 a year to incarcerate an untreated addict, while providing
prison-based treatment for that addict costs about $2,700 a year, as if it
doesn't cost anything to lock up inmates receiving treatment.)

From: "Bob Owen@W.H.E.N." (when@olywa.net)
To: "_Drug Policy --" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: $215M Eyed for Jail Drug Treatments
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 19:04:36 -0800
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net

January 5, 1999
$215M Eyed for Jail Drug Treatments
Filed at 4:17 p.m. EST

By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Clinton said Tuesday he will propose $215
million in his next budget to test and treat inmates for drug use, to help
them avoid returning to crime once they are freed.

Clinton cited a Justice Department report that seven of every 10 federal
prisoners had used drugs prior to their arrests, and one-fifth were on drugs
when they committed the crimes that sent them to prison.

Clinton's proposal sets aside $100 million in the fiscal 2000 budget for
treatment and testing of offenders in prison as well as those on probation
or parole. It also includes $50 million for creating more local drug courts
and $65 million for residential drug treatment in state prisons.

``If we are going to continue to reduce the rate of crime, we have to do
something to avoid releasing criminals with their dangerous drug habits
intact,'' Clinton said. ``To inmates in every state, we want to send a
message: If you stay on drugs, you must stay behind bars.''

Clinton also announced the release of $120 million under the fiscal 1999
budget for drug-free prison initiatives -- $63 million earmarked for state
prisons to provide long-term treatment and intensive supervision for
prisoners with the most serious drug problems.

During a White House ceremony with his drug policy adviser and Attorney
General Janet Reno, Clinton said drug use is a persistent problem in
prisons. He noted Chicago Mayor Richard Daley once said it is easier to get
drugs in the Illinois penitientiary than on his city's streets.

``That's a statement that could be made in more than half the states in this
country,'' Clinton said. ``So we still have a lot to do. There is no better
way to start than to help our prisoners break clean from drugs.''

The president also cited Bureau of Justice Statistics data that connected
drug use to other crimes, from burglary and auto theft to assault and
murder. He said 83 percent of state prisoners and 73 percent of federal
prisoners had used drugs in 1997. Fifty-seven percent of state prisoners and
45 percent of federal prisoners had used drugs in the month before they were
arrested, Clinton said.

``We have to break this cycle,'' Clinton said. ``We have to give these
people a chance to be drug-free and to be productive citizens again.''

If approved by Congress, the money would represent an increase of about $100
million over funds currently available to enforce ``zero tolerance'' of drug
use by prisoners, parolees and probationers.

White House drug policy director Barry McCaffrey said it costs taxpayers
about $43,000 a year to incarcerate an untreated addict, while providing
prison-based treatment for that addict costs about $2,700 a year.

``This is a no-brainer for smart drug policy, for smart incarceration
policy,'' McCaffrey said.

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

Clinton Announces Anti-drug Effort (The UPI version)

Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1999 19:39:00 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: WIRE: Clinton Announces Anti-drug Effort
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: General Pulaski
Pubdate: Tue, 05 Jan 1999
Source: Wire: United Press International
Copyright: 1999 United Press International

CLINTON ANNOUNCES ANTI-DRUG EFFORT

WASHINGTON, (UPI) - Flanked by his top law enforcement
lieutenants, President Clinton announced more federal resources to
help states and localities test, treat and sanction drug offenders in
the nation's prison system.

Shortly after the Justice Department issued a report today showing
that in 1997 more than three-quarters of the nation's prisoners
reported past drug use, Clinton appeared with Attorney General Janet
Reno, drug czar Barry McCaffrey, members of Congress and state and
local officials to declare that while crime overall is down, ``We
have to break this cycle'' of drug abuse.

Clinton is proposing $215 million in his fiscal year 2000 budget,
which will be sent to Capitol Hill Feb. 1, to enforce a ``zero
tolerance'' policy of testing those in prison, on probation or parole.

``Today we want to make a dramatic leap forward,'' the president said.
``To inmates in every state, we want to send a message: If you stay on
drugs, you must stay behind bars. To probationers and parolees, we
want to send a message: If you want to keep your freedom, you have to
keep free of drugs.''

The event took place as word was announced on Capitol Hill that
Clinton's impeachment trial in the Senate would begin on Thursday.
Scant other details were revealed, however.

Clinton appeared distracted during the ceremony in the Roosevelt Room,
in which he was widely lauded for his leadership in the fight against
crime and drugs by Reno, McCaffrey, Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., Sen.
Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and
a Republican mayor from Reno, Nev.

``Mr. President, with your leadership, our efforts to fight crime and
to make our communities safer has paid off with solid results,'' Reno
said. ``America is a better place today, a safer place than it was
when you came to Washington.''

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

Moderate drinking reduces stroke risk, study confirms (The Associated Press
says researchers also reported in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical
Association that the type of alcohol consumed - beer, wine or liquor -
was unimportant. However, heavier drinking greatly increased the risk
of stroke, and the authors cautioned that "No study has shown benefit
in recommending alcohol consumption to those who do not drink.")

From: "Bob Owen@W.H.E.N." (when@olywa.net)
To: "_Drug Policy --" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: Moderate drinking reduces stroke risk, study confirms
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 19:02:44 -0800
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net

Moderate drinking reduces stroke risk, study confirms

By BRENDA C. COLEMAN
The Associated Press
01/05/99 4:56 PM Eastern

CHICAGO (AP) -- Similar to the way a drink or two a day protects against
heart attacks, moderate alcohol consumption wards off strokes, a new study
found.

The study also found that the type of alcohol consumed -- beer, wine or
liquor -- was unimportant. Any of them, or a combination, was protective,
researchers reported in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical
Association.

"No study has shown benefit in recommending alcohol consumption to those who
do not drink," cautioned the authors, led by Dr. Ralph L. Sacco of Columbia
University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York.

But the new data support the guidelines of the National Stroke Association,
which say moderate drinkers may protect themselves from strokes by
continuing to consume alcohol, the authors said.

The protective effect of moderate drinking against heart attacks is well
established, but the data has been conflicting about alcohol and strokes,
the authors said. The new study helps settle the question and is the first
to find blacks and Hispanics benefit as well as whites, according to the
authors.

Further research is needed among other groups, such as Asians, whom past
studies suggest may get no stroke protection from alcohol or may even be put
at greater risk, researchers say.

Among groups where the protective effect exists, its mechanism appears to
differ from the protective effect against heart attacks, which occurs
through boosts in levels of so-called "good" cholesterol, or HDL, the
authors said.

"In our analyses, much of the protective effect of alcohol on stroke risk
was independent of HDL," the authors said.

They speculated alcohol may protect against stroke by acting on some other
blood trait, such as the tendency of blood platelets to clump, which is key
in forming the blood clots that can cause strokes.

The researchers studied 677 New York residents who lived in the northern
part of Manhattan and had strokes between July 1, 1993, and June 1997. For
comparison, they enrolled 1,139 similar residents who had not suffered
strokes. About half of the subjects were Hispanic, just over one-fourth were
black and the remainder were white. Slightly more than half were women. The
mean age was 70.

After taking into account differences in other factors that could affect
stroke risk, such as high blood pressure, the researchers estimated that
subjects who consumed up to two alcoholic drinks daily were only half as
likely to have suffered clot-type strokes as nondrinkers.

Clot-type strokes account for 80 percent of all strokes, a leading cause of
U.S. deaths and disability.

Stroke risk increased with heavier drinking. At seven drinks per day, risk
was almost triple that of moderate drinkers, researchers said.

An expert spokesman for the American Heart Association, who was not involved
in the study, said it was well-done and important information.

But it shouldn't be interpreted to mean, "I can have two drinks and
therefore not worry about my high blood pressure or worry about my
cholesterol," said Dr. Edgar J. Kenton, an associate professor of clinical
neurology at Thomas Jefferson University Medical College in Philadelphia.

Instead, he said, the study provides good reason to do further research and
to add alcohol to the list of modifiable risk factors for stroke.

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

Marad Calls For Added Private Anti-Drug Efforts (According to the Journal
of Commerce, a new report released by the U.S. Maritime Administration
says ocean carriers and shippers must do more in the war on drugs, primarily
by sharing information with authorities about heretofore private, competitive
data, such as the practices of the carriers' customers.)

Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1999 15:09:47 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US DC: Marad Calls For Added Private Anti-Drug Efforts
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: General Pulaski
Pubdate: Tue, 05 Jan 1999
Source: Journal of Commerce (US)
Contact: editor@mail.joc.com
Website: http://www.joc.com/
Copyright: Journal of Commerce 1988

MARAD CALLS FOR ADDED PRIVATE ANTI-DRUG EFFORTS

As much as ocean carriers have pitched in to thwart the drug trade and other
illicit traffic, it's still not enough, the federal government said in a new
report.

Ocean carriers and shippers must help out more in providing adequate
security for maritime commerce, primarily by sharing information with
authorities, said the report released by the Maritime Administration.

This help would go so far as sharing heretofore private, competitive data,
such as the practices of the carriers' customers, the study suggested.The
study, called the "Maritime Security Report," was prepared by Marad's Office
of Ports and Domestic Shipping.

The report emerges at a time when carriers, weathering years of falling
freight rates, largely believe they have already done their part to prevent
ships from being used for drug trafficking and other forms of illegal trade.

Yet Congress and the Clinton administration are increasing pressure on
agencies like the U.S. Customs Service to stop the tide of narcotics, even
as trade volumes are soaring and Customs' resources are strained.

Noting that 45 percent of the Customs' Service's intelligence comes from
"external sources," the Marad report said that a key component is "the
private sector's role in supporting government's requirements for actionable
intelligence on cargo-crime activities."

While the report said exchanging information is "indispensable," carriers
said they are edgy about being perceived by their customers as agents of the
authorities.

Because security procedures can delay the speedy movement of cargo, the
shipping industry and government agencies are by nature at odds.

"The more we cooperate, the more we get drawn in, the slower things go,"
moaned a maritime executive with a security background.

Dennis P. Latina, director of business development for Delaware River
Stevedores Inc., said the only way carriers and others would want to share
information is if they managed the shipping package from the exporter to the
door of the importer.

"Only if it's absolutely seamless," said Mr. Latina, who operates terminals
in the ports of Wilmington, Del., and in Philadelphia. "Otherwise, nobody is
going to want to share information. This is a thing we keep to ourselves."

COOPERATIVE PARTNERSHIP

The report said, "A cooperative partnership between U.S. government agencies
and U.S. companies engaged in foreign trade is needed to deter and counter
the operations of trans-national, organized-crime groups targeting
commercial operations."

It said, "Modern international trade transactions are conducted in multiple
markets . . . The complex and urgent pace of these activities often
overwhelms local, state and federal enforcement capabilities." . . . A
government-only approach depends on regulatory and law-enforcement
capabilities . . . Law enforcement and judicial proceedings alone are not
adequate mechanisms for combating trans- national organized crime's
targeting of international commerce. Robust private support is also needed."

Some 90,000 ships flying the flags of 200 nations move about 95 percent of
global cargo, the Marad study said.In that mix, law- enforcement agencies
have tried in the past to encourage the private sector to be of assistance.

But seemingly avoidable snafus emerged, according to sources who asked not
to be identified. Examples, which were not in the Marad study, include
these:

* A vessel's owners tipped the Customs Service to a suspicious container.
Authorities seized the container and fined the carrier.

* A carrier made a number of calls to authorities about a suspicious
container, with no response. Later, authorities stormed onto the same ship
and drilled holes in containers, leaving the carrier to tell its customers
that its boxes had just been damaged and needed to be repaired -- at the
shippers' expense.

* Agents arrested Egyptian officers after sniffer dogs found mere hashish
traces in the officers' cabins following a trip from Egypt, where pot is
tolerated recreation.

The most lucrative cargo crimes, according to the Marad study, are: theft,
drug-smuggling, trafficking in illegal aliens, handling stolen autos,
contraband merchandise and shipments of illicit currency.

The Marad report applauded government's earlier attempts to partner with
carriers, governments and shippers on security issues.

CARRIERS ON BOARD

Carriers serving drug-heavy ports have joined the U.S. Super Carrier
Initiative Agreement, where the carrier takes extra steps against smuggled
drugs in exchange for lower fines.

A similar government-industry venture, the Sea Carrier Initiative, aims at
reducing drug-smuggling on all cargo ships.In a third program, the Americas
Counter-Smuggling Initiative, Customs enlists Latin-American governments to
keep drugs away from export cargo.

"If any of this is going to be of value, it is going to have to help the
carrier in maintaining efficiencies," said maritime lawyer John E. Nelson II
of Watson, Farley & Williams in New York.

NO INCENTIVE

Kevin W. Shields, president of US Africa Navigation Inc., in Edison, N.J.,
said, "There is not a heck of a lot of incentive for the carriers because
there isn't any money."

He says the private sector wants the government to lobby for the industry in
foreign capitals, to encourage trading-partner nations to upgrade their own
customs systems.

"There are guys in some ports who make their money in finding something
wrong, in finding "T's' not crossed, in finding 40 items in a box when the
paperwork says there are supposed to be 39. Then we are penalized," he said.

Reflecting the case made by the Marad report, Rex Sherman, security liaison
at the American Association of Port Authorities, said all levels of
enforcement come together at the port.

Mr. Sherman said, "Customs is there for the revenue of the government. The
Drug Enforcement Administration is there. Immigration and Naturalization is
there. For the stolen cars, you have the FBI to some extent, and then you
have state and local police, and the port police. It all bunches up in the
port. Security there has to be a joint effort."

A handful of ports around the country, including New York and Los Angeles,
have cargo crime task forces made up of many of those agencies.

Marad's report targeted eight broad goals: Move the first line of defense
beyond U.S. borders, attack smuggling and smuggling-related crimes, deny
safe haven to known criminals, combat money-laundering and strictly police
high-tech exports.

Also, monitor newly-hatched international crime rings, establish
international standards, enhance executive-branch policy to mobilize, and
incorporate the private sector into U.S. government efforts.

The report can be obtained by calling the Marad Office of Ports and Domestic
Shipping at (202) 366-4357.

COMBATING CRIME

The following agencies, programs and organizations can assist shippers and
carriers wishing to increase their cooperation with the government in
combating cargo theft and narcotics trafficking:

Transportation Department's Office of Intelligence and Security -- 202-366-
6525.

Office of Transportation Policy, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs,
U.S. State Department -- 202-647-4045 or 202-647-3148.

The State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law-
Enforcement Affairs -- 202-647-0453.

International Organizations and Agreements Division, Office of International
Affairs, U.S. Customs Service -- 202-927-1480.

Office of Port and Waterway Management -- 202-267-6164.Maritime Security
Council -- 713-465-7395.

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

Antidepressant for dogs receives FDA approval (The Associated Press
says the Food and Drug Administration has approved the sale of Clomicalm,
known chemically as clomipramine, which, when used with "canine therapy,"
promises to relieve separation anxiety, one of the most common reasons dogs
are euthanized. The FDA doesn't just regulate foods and medicines that affect
human health - one of its lesser known roles is ensuring the safety
and effectiveness of drugs given to animals.)

From: "Bob Owen@W.H.E.N." (when@olywa.net)
To: "_Drug Policy --" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: Doggy antidepressant receives FDA approval
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 18:52:30 -0800
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net

Posted at 10:44 a.m. PST; Tuesday, January 5, 1999

Antidepressant for dogs receives FDA approval

by Lauran Neergaard
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - It's a nightmare for dog lovers: They leave the house, and
their beloved pooch gets so upset it chews up the sofa and urinates on the
rug.

Separation anxiety afflicts thousands of dogs and is one of the most common
reasons dogs are euthanized. Now the government has approved the first drug
treatment - an antidepressant called Clomicalm that, when used with canine
therapy, promises to help Fido behave better when his owners leave home.

"This is a very difficult syndrome to treat," said Dr. Stephen Sundlof, the
Food and Drug Administration's veterinary chief. "Oftentimes . . . (success)
can mean the difference between having to put their animal to sleep or being
able to live with their pet. . . . Having tools like this available can
really make a tremendous difference."

The FDA approved the sale of Clomicalm, known chemically as clomipramine, on
Dec. 10, but made the approval public late yesterday. The FDA doesn't just
regulate foods and medicines that affect human health - one of its lesser
known roles is ensuring the safety and effectiveness of drugs given to
animals.

Dogs are pack animals, behavior specialists explain. So for some, being left
alone even for short periods can prove stressful, which they may exhibit
with destructive behavior that veterinarians label separation anxiety.
Ripping up furniture, excessive salivation and inappropriate urination or
defecation are symptoms.

Separation anxiety accounts for 20 percent to 40 percent of all dog visits
to vets for behavior problems. Behavior therapy can help, but it can be a
lengthy, complicated task, as pet owners have to practice leaving home for
progressively more minutes each day so the dog learns its family will come
back.

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

Feed a pill, see Spot smile (The CNN version)

From: "Bob Owen@W.H.E.N." (when@olywa.net)
To: "_Drug Policy --" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: Feed a pill, see Spot smile
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 19:27:49 -0800
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net

Newshawk: ccross@november.org
Source: CNNfn
Pubdate: January 5, 1999
Online: http://www.cnnfn.com/hotstories/bizbuzz/9901/05/dogs/

Feed a pill, see Spot smile

FDA approves Novartis's anti-depressant drug for dogs, report says the Food
and Drug Administration

NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Beleaguered Dow investors aren't the only ones who have
dog days. So, too, do dogs.

Veterinarians have known for a while that Spot is as vulnerable to feeling
sad as his owner; but they've been pharmaceutically disadvantaged to do
anything about it. Until now.

Late last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave the green light
to a meat-flavored anti-depressant pill that veterinarians soon will be able
to prescribe to canines with behavioral problems and other neuroses, the
Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

The drug, developed by the animal-health unit of Novartis AG and known to
veterinarians as Clomicalm, has been used to treat obsessive-compulsive
disorders in humans under the name Anafranil, the newspaper said.

Novartis, based in Basel, Switzerland, is one of the world's largest life
sciences companies, specializing in pharmaceuticals, crop protection, animal
health and clinical nutrition. The company was created in 1996 through the
$27 billion merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz.

The Journal said Novartis plans to mount an intensive campaign to promote
the drug to veterinarians, who will use it to help treat separation anxiety
in pets. Dogs often manifest feelings of loneliness by destroying furniture,
howling, or relieving themselves indoors. The drug is intended to help
chemically counteract such behavior.

But veterinarians note that Clomicalm is not a cure-all. They recommend that
owners supplement the pill regime with regular behavior therapy to help wean
their pets of bad habits stemming from depression.

Novartis also plans a persuasion campaign aimed at inducing owners to take
their dogs to the vet when pets exhibit tell-tale signs of depression.

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

U.S. Approves First Behavioral Drugs For Dogs (The Reuters version
notes the FDA also approved Anipryl, which treats a syndrome that affects
the cognitive skills of older dogs. The side-effects from Clomicalm
include vomiting, diarrhea, excessive thirst and appetite fluctuations.)

Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 23:45:03 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: Wire: US Approves First Behavioral Drugs For Dogs
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: hadorn@dnai.com (David Hadorn)
Pubdate: Tue, 5 Jan 1999
Source: Reuters
Copyright: 1999 Reuters Limited.
Author: Sue Pleming

U.S. APPROVES FIRST BEHAVIORAL DRUGS FOR DOGS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday it
had approved the first two drugs to treat behavioral problems in dogs.

One of the drugs, a meat-flavored pill called Clomicalm, treats separation
anxiety, a common ailment among dogs who miss their owners. The second,
Anipryl, treats a syndrome that affects the cognitive skills of older dogs.

``These are important new drugs which can be used to help prolong the
quality of life of dogs and their relationship with their owner,'' said the
FDA's head of veterinary medicines, Dr. Stephen Sundlof.

``Dogs certainly have neurological problems just like humans do,'' he said
in an interview, adding that he thought pet owners and humane societies
would welcome the new drugs.

The drugs are part of a new approach to treating dogs with behavioral
problems, providing veterinarians with similar tools available to doctors
treating humans.

Clomicalm, which is sold by Novartis Animal Health U.S. Inc., a unit of
Swiss-based Novartis AG, be prescribed for dogs older than six months and
stems from an anti-depressant called Anafranil that is used to treat
obsessive-compulsive disorders in humans.

However, Sundlof said it would not be used to treat depression in dogs
because veterinarians were not sure whether canines suffered from this
illness that is so common in humans.

``We don't know if they get depression or not, but one of the behavioral
anomalies they do suffer from is anxiety,'' he said.

About 20-40 percent of all dogs presented to veterinarians with behavioral
problems suffered from separation anxiety, said Sundlof.

They became particularly worried when left alone by their owners or people
to whom they are attached, suffering separation anxiety -- a common problem
among human toddlers.

If used together with behavior-modification training, Clomicalm relieved
some of the anxiety and made dogs less prone to aberrant behavior.

``This behavior included excessive barking, chewing up shoes or rugs as well
as inappropriate urination and defecation,'' said Sundlof.

During the FDA's eight-week trial of some 100 dogs, the side-effects from
Clomicalm included vomiting, diarrhea, excessive thirst and appetite
fluctuations.

The other drug, Anipryl, from Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE - news), treats
Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome in dogs, an age-related deterioration in
which a dog's cognitive skills are affected.

Such changes in a dog's behavior included disorientation, decreased
activity, loss of house training and altered greeting behavior and
responsiveness to family members.

``In clinical trials, Anipryl was shown to be effective in controlling
clinical signs associated with CDS. However, onset, duration and magnitude
of response varied with individual dogs,'' the FDA said in a statement.

FDA veterinary medical officer Ann Stohlman said pet owners should monitor
their dogs closely and decide whether Anipryl was effective.

Anipryl stems from a drug called Eldepryl that is used to treat Parkinson's
disease in humans.

Alice Coram, a communications manager for Novartis, said Clomicalm would be
available starting in mid-February and would cost pet owners about $1 a day.
The company planned a major promotional campaign for the treatment, she
said.

``This opens up an exciting new avenue in behavioral treatments for dogs,''
said Coram.

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

Drug police burst in on children's party (The version in the Toronto
Globe and Mail)

From: Carey Ker (carey.ker@utoronto.ca)
Reply-To: carey.ker@utoronto.ca
To: mattalk@islandnet.com
Subject: Canada: Drug police burst in on children's party
Date: 	Tue, 5 Jan 1999 13:22:44 -0500 (EST)
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada), Page A3
Contact: letters@globeandmail.ca
Pubdate: Tuesday, January 5, 1999
Author: ROD MICKLEBURGH

Drug police burst in on children's party

Tuesday, January 5, 1999
ROD MICKLEBURGH
British Columbia Bureau

Vancouver -- Police have promised to investigate how a carefully
staked-out drug raid turned into a nightmarish, traumatizing assault
on a children's birthday party near here.

Instead of candles being blown out, gun-toting Abbotsford police blew
away the family dog in front of a dozen horrified youngsters,
splattering blood on an infant less than two months old.

While parents at the ill-fated party angrily vowed to file official
complaints over the matter, police spokesman Dale Cresswell said
there would be an internal investigation by the municipal force.

"Any time there are children involved, I would apologize myself in
the sense that you never want children in a high-risk area,"
Constable Cresswell told a crowded news conference yesterday.

"It's regrettable that it happened on a birthday."

He said police were shocked when they found a children's birthday
party going on.

"This was just bad timing," declared Sergeant Bill Emery, saying
police would never have burst in when they did if they had known the
situation ahead of time.

Those at the Sunday-afternoon party and at least one neighbour were
enraged by the police behaviour.

"They shot the dog in front of all the children. There's blood on the
baby, blood on the children, all these screaming children," Jennifer
Fraser told a local television station, adding that her niece and
nephew originally thought their father had been shot.

In another interview, parent Jason Rowsom said there was immediate
mayhem when police wearing black uniforms burst into the living room
where the party was going on.

"It was instant screaming. My seven-year old daughter dove over the
end table and behind the couch and was screaming in the corner."

He said police trained an automatic weapon on him while he cradled
his baby daughter. Other adults in the house were beaten, he charged.
Television pictures after the raid showed one man being wheeled into a
waiting ambulance.

"I want answers. My children want answers. If we don't get answers,
then lawsuits are going to come," said Mr. Rowsom, four of whose
children, aged nine to six months, were at the party.

He questioned police statements that they didn't know children were
in the house, pointing to a Happy Birthday banner hung in the
living-room window and an earlier road hockey game that included
himself and several youngsters, held in the car port.

"I think it stinks what the police did," added neighbour John Eadie,
50. "If they had surveillance on the house, how could they not have
picked up the fact kids were there? Those kids went through hell."

Mr. Eadie lives next door to the raided house in the west end of
Abbotsford, a sprawling Fraser Valley community about 80 kilometres
west of Vancouver.

"Suddenly, there was a whole bunch of police outside and I heard all
these little kids screaming 'Daddy, Daddy!' Then Ron [Raber, who
rented the house] kept shouting 'Why the dog? They killed the dog.' "

Neighbour Stanley Mitchell said one police officer had been hiding
behind his trailer, gun in hand. "He told me quietly to go back into
the house," he said. "Then I heard what sounded like a cap gun, a lot
of shouts and all these kids and women started screaming.

"One of the women came in to use my bathroom. She said there was
blood all over the place. She was pretty shaken up."

The dog shot by police is said to have been a pit bull that lunged
toward them when they burst into the living room.

But Mr. Eadie described the dog as "friendly as hell. He didn't seem
like an attack dog." Ms. Fraser said the dog was only protecting the
children and bitten no one.

However, Constable Cresswell said one of the two officers in the room
was bitten on the arm by the dog, causing the other officer to fire
"two shots directly into the animal at point-blank range."

A preliminary investigation indicates the officer who fired acted
correctly, he added.

The tumble-down house rented by Mr. Raber had been raided in November
by police, who said they found weapons and drugs at the time. That is
why they brought in the emergency response team for Sunday's
follow-up raid, Sgt. Emery explained.

Mr. Raber, 31, who already faces two charges of possession of
marijuana for the purposes of trafficking from the previous raid, was
scheduled to appear in court yesterday to face several more charges.

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

Save the busts for the balloons (A staff editorial in the Vancouver Province,
in British Columbia, wonders why Abbotsford prohibition agents
didn't notice 13 impressionable youngsters with sticky fingers
before they blew the family dog to bits. Let the independent review begin.)

From: creator@islandnet.com (Matt Elrod)
To: mattalk@listserv.islandnet.com
Subject: Canada: Editorial: Save the busts for the balloons
Date: Tue, 05 Jan 1999 09:30:03 -0800
Lines: 35
Newshawk: creator@mapinc.org
Source: Vancouver Province (Canada)
Contact: provletters@pacpress.southam.ca
Pubdate: Tue, 05 Jan 1999

Save the busts for the balloons

Okay. They goofed.

Armed Abbotsford cops staking out a suspected drug den didn't know that
inside, 13 birthday kids were chowing down on party ice cream cake.

Perhaps the six-pack from the emergency response team should have made
it their business to know -- but they didn't. They goofed.

Yesterday, they said sorry. Okay, apology accepted, er, almost.

We're still a little tense about why the cops lost it, you know, inside.

Didn't their antenna pick up a birthday buzz? Didn't their trained eyes
OBSERVE cake and cream-smeared faces?

Didn't 13 impressionable youngsters with sticky fingers REGISTER on their
psyche before they blew a part pit-bull to bits with a bullet?

It wasn't long ago that Abbotsford (then Matsqui) police had a rep for
over-zealousness: In 1991, a deputy police chief was blasted by the B.C.
Police Commission for unprofessional behaviour, something about nixing an
investigation into two pensioners' complaints of police brutality. A year
later, a top court overturned two murder convictions -- Matsqui police had
tricked the severely-retarded accused into telling.

The valley force has since cleaned up its act, so we're told.

Let the independent review party begin.

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

Tobacco laws protecting youth take effect (The Associated Press
says changes in British Columbia's Tobacco Sales Act intended to deter
tobacco retailers from selling to anyone younger than 19 mean convicted
retailers or bar owners allowing patrons to smoke in Victoria now face
increased suspensions and a fivefold increase in fines, to $2,500
for a first offense.)

From: "Bob Owen@W.H.E.N." (when@olywa.net)
To: "_Drug Policy --" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: Canada Tobacco laws protecting youth take effect
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 18:58:33 -0800
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net

Tobacco laws protecting youth take effect

The Associated Press
01/05/99 5:56 PM Eastern

VICTORIA, British Columbia (AP) -- Retailers caught selling tobacco to young
people in British Columbia or bar owners allowing patrons to smoke in
Victoria now face tougher laws and increased fines and suspensions.

Changes to the Tobacco Sales Act intended to deter tobacco retailers from
selling to minors took effect Monday.

It is illegal in British Columbia to sell tobacco products to youth under 19
years old.

Retailers now face fines of $2,500 (about $1,625 U.S.) -- a fivefold
increase -- upon conviction on a first offense of selling tobacco to minors.
Convictions for subsequent offenses will draw fines of $5,000.

Store owners selling tobacco to youth also face longer suspensions of their
tobacco-selling licenses. The suspensions range from six months to two
years, depending on the number of convictions.

Convicted retailers will have to post signs announcing their suspensions.

Health Minister Penny Priddy said the Tobacco Sales Act changes are part of
government programs to reduce smoking among young people.

Also beginning this week, anyone caught smoking in Victoria pubs,
restaurants, casinos or other public places could be forced to pay a fine.

The no-smoking ordinance -- one of the toughest in Canada -- went into
effect on New Year's Day, but regional health officials gave holiday smokers
a few days for a last puff.

Opponents of the law vow to defy it and fight it in court.

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

Secret Farm Harvests Legal Cannabis For Medical Trials
(The version in Britain's Guardian)

Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1999 17:34:39 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: UK: Secret Farm Harvests Legal Cannabis For Medical Trials
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Martin Cooke (mjc1947@cyberclub.iol.ie)
Pubdate: Tue, 5 Jan 1999
Source: Guardian, The (UK)
Copyright: Guardian Media Group 1999
Contact: letters@guardian.co.uk
Website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/

SECRET FARM HARVESTS LEGAL CANNABIS FOR MEDICAL TRIALS

Five thousand cannabis plants are being harvested at a secret drug
farm for therapeutic research - with the approval of the Home Office.

The crop was sown in August at a glasshouse in the south of England.
The 8ft tall plants are being cut off just above the stem and hung up
to dry before being transferred to a laboratory.

The Home Office issued special licences for the cannabis farm to be
set up, in the light of evidence that the drug has therapeutic value
and could be especially useful as a pain killer and in treating
illnesses such as multiple sclerosis and epilepsy. Eventually 20,000
plants will be under cultivation at the secret location.

Trials on whether cannabis can help multiple sclerosis sufferers begin
this spring. Up to 2,000 patients are expected to take part.

Geoffrey Guy, chairman of GW Pharmaceuticals, which is growing the
crop under high security, said: "We will be using whole plant extracts
for delivery by inhalation, since this is far more precise and
controllable than the oral route.

"The first area of study in patients will concern the relief of nerve
damage pain, including for sufferers of MS."

The company is growing a potent variety yielding large amounts of
chemicals that induce a "high". Because of its potential illegal
street value, the crop was guarded round the clock as it reached maturity.

GW Pharmaceuticals has two licences, one allowing it to cultivate
cannabis and the other allowing the possession and supply of the drug
for medical research.

It is collaborating with the Dutch company HortaPharm BV, specialists
in breeding medicinal cannabis.

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

Harvest Time For Legally Grown Cannabis (The Scotsman version)

Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1999 17:40:19 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: UK: Harvest Time For Legally Grown Cannabis
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Martin Cooke (mjc1947@cyberclub.iol.ie)
Pubdate: Tue, 5 Jan 1999
Source: Scotsman (UK)
Copyright: The Scotsman Publications Ltd
Contact: Letters_ts@scotsman.com
Website: http://www.scotsman.com/
Forum: http://www.scotsman.com/
Author: Jennifer Trueland, Health Correspondent

HARVEST TIME FOR LEGALLY GROWN CANNABIS

THE first licensed crop of cannabis plants to be grown in Britain is
now being harvested at a secret location, it was revealed yesterday.

The initial crop of 5,000 plants will be used for research into
medicinal uses of the drug, which campaigners believe can relieve the
symptoms of conditions including multiple sclerosis and glaucoma.

The 8ft tall plants, which have been growing in a climate-controlled
glasshouse at a secure research facility in the south of England, are
being cut off just above the stem and hung up to dry before transfer
to the laboratory.

Eventually as many as 20,000 plants will be cultivated by GW
Pharmaceuticals, the company granted a Home Office licence to grow the
plant for research purposes.

Dr Geoffrey Guy, the chairman of GW Pharmaceuticals, said: "The plants
we are harvesting now will be used for prototype further extraction
studies and prototype formulations as well as in our initial clinical
trials.

"By the end of 1999 we intend to be working with pharmaceutical grade
extracts from cloned plants rather than growing from seed. We will
then be growing and harvesting on a regular basis."

The cannabis seeds were sown in August after the company was granted
two licences, allowing them both to cultivate the drug and to possess
and supply it for medical research.

The licences were only granted after extensive consultation with the
Home Office and the Department of Health.

The move followed a groundswell of opinion backing the use of
derivatives of cannabis, known as cannabinoids, for medicinal use. The
British Medical Association is among those who have backed trials of
cannabinoids in treating the symptoms of illness.

After the plants have been dried, they will be processed to produce a
thick treacle-like liquid, which will then be thinned so that it can
be used in inhalers.

Dr Guy said: "Clinical trials will commence in spring 1999 and
eventually involve up to 2,000 patients in 18 to 24 months time. We
will be using whole plant extracts for delivery by inhalation since
this is far more precise and controllable than the oral route. The
first area of study in patients will concern the relief of nerve
damage pain including sufferers of multiple sclerosis."

Hundreds of MS sufferers are known to use cannabis illegally to
relieve their symptoms. They tend to buy a product which is rich in
THC, the compound which induces the high associated with the drug.

GW Pharmaceuticals grew particularly potent plants rich in THC and
cannabidiol (CBD), which could provide a treatment for strokes and
epilepsy.

The plants have been under constant electronic surveillance. A GW
Pharmaceuticals spokesman said older staff had been employed
deliberately. "It was thought that they would have a more mature
attitude and be less mesmerised by the whole thing," he said. "They
would be less likely to give in to peer pressure if their friends
found out where they were working."

As the project progresses, Dr Guy will be able to supply specific
researchers with the product for the purposes of research. The licence
will be extended to cover those professionals nominated by Dr Guy and
approved by the Home Office to perform specific sections of the
programme. These will include analytical chemists, clinical
investigators, hospital pharmacists and formulation
pharmacists.

As a Schedule 2 drug, the use of cannabis and its constituents could
be restricted, in the same way as morphine, but not banned. Schedule 1
drugs, which include ecstasy, are those with high potential abuse and
no therapeutic value.

GW Pharmaceuticals was founded solely to operate its Home Office
cannabis medical research licences.

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

Drugs Tsar Accuses Stars Of Arrogance (The Daily Telegraph, in Britain,
says Keith Hellawell criticised showbusiness and professional figures
yesterday for talking about their use of "drugs" and said they were wrong
to think they were not damaging society because they did not have to steal
in order to finance their use. Hellawell told the Today programme on Radio 4:
"If they are dealing with my pension fund on the dealing floors
they could be causing me damage. It isn't a joke, it's deadly serious.")

Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1999 17:38:00 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: UK: Drugs Tsar Accuses Stars Of Arrogance
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Martin Cooke (mjc1947@cyberclub.iol.ie)
Pubdate: Tue, 5 Jan 1999
Source: Daily Telegraph (UK)
Copyright: Telegraph Group Limited 1999
Contact: dtletters@telegraph.co.uk
Website: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
Author: Jessica Callan, Entertainment Reporter

DRUGS TSAR ACCUSES STARS OF ARROGANCE

SHOWBUSINESS and professional figures were criticised yesterday for
talking about using drugs such as cocaine and accused of being guilty
of "intellectual arrogance".

Keith Hellawell, the UK Drugs Co-ordinator, said they were wrong to
think they were not damaging society because they did not have to
resort to theft in order to finance their use. He told the Today
programme on Radio 4: "I wish they'd stop it, there is this arrogance
- I call it an intellectual arrogance. If they are dealing with my
pension fund on the dealing floors they could be causing me damage. It
isn't a joke, it's deadly serious."

Rock groups such as Oasis, The Verve and Primal Scream have all
alluded to drugs in their music and in their private lives. Noel
Gallagher, of Oasis, was criticised for saying drug taking was so
common it's "like having a cup of tea". In 1997 he told Radio 1 that
if he was made Mayor of London he would legalise drugs.

The pop star Brian Harvey was temporarily dropped from the group East
17 after calling Ecstasy "safe" and condoning the rave drug in a radio
interview. He said: "If it brings out the better in someone and, in
the long run, it's a safe pill and it isn't doing you harm, I don't
see the problem. I've done pills myself, I've done 12 in one night,
loads of them."

Richard Ashcroft, the singer from The Verve, who achieved fame with
the hit song The Drugs Don't Work, said: "They make me worse. But I
still take them. Out of boredom and frustration, you turn to something
else to escape."

Bobby Gillespie, from Primal Scream, described drugs as an alternative
to watching television. He said: "If you're on a council estate what
are you going to do? Watch Emmerdale re-runs or get smashed out of
your brains? We get really excited when the drugs turn up."

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

Anti-drugs chief attacks 'arrogance' of substance abuse
by professional classes (The Scotsman version notes random drug testing
in the financial sector and the City has found that roughly 15 per cent
of those tested had taken "drugs," usually cannabis or cocaine. The level
was three times the average of other industries.)

From: "Bob Owen@W.H.E.N." (when@olywa.net)
To: "_Drug Policy --" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: Anti-drugs chief attacks 'arrogance' of substance abuse by professional
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 19:28:38 -0800
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net

Newshawk: ccross@november.org
Source: The Scotsman
Online: http://www.scotsman.com/news/ne17well990105.1.html

Anti-drugs chief attacks 'arrogance' of substance abuse by professional
classes
by CONAL URQUHART

PROFESSIONAL people who take drugs are as great a threat to society as any
other substance abusers, the Government's anti-drugs campaign co-ordinator
claimed yesterday.

Keith Hellawell said that he was appalled by the arrogance of people who
felt they had the right to buy illegal drugs because they could afford it.

"There is this arrogance, I would call it an intellectual arrogance, among
one group of people. They feel that because they are not causing any damage
to other people, which they are, they have a right to take drugs.

"Because they do not have to commit crime to feed their habit they also feel
they have a right to take drugs.

"If they are driving vehicles they could be causing damage, if they are
dealing with my pension fund they could be causing damage.

"Certainly if they are doing it in the workplace they could be doing damage
to themselves and others," he said.

Mr Hellawell claimed that there appeared to be an acceptance of drug use in
popular culture which manifested itself in celebrities talking openly about
their experiences with drugs.

"I wish that these people would recognise the danger and the damage that
they are causing themselves and to other people. It isn't a joke. It is
deadly serious. These substances cause them damage and the consequences of
them taking drugs causes other people damage," he said.

Random drug testing in the financial sector and the City has found that
roughly 15 per cent of people tested had taken drugs, usually cannabis or
cocaine. The level was three times the average of other industries.

Alistair Ramsay, the chief executive of Scotland Against Drugs, agreed with
Mr Hellawell that drug abuse among the professional classes was a social
problem. He said: "Drug use spans the community and is not the sole
provenance of any one area."

Since being appointed to head the Government's campaign against drug use, Mr
Hellawell has attacked drug use in a variety of areas. He recently endorsed
the sacking of a Blue Peter presenter who was exposed as a drug abuser by
the News of the World.

Mr Hellawell said the BBC were correct to fire Richard Bacon because it sent
the message to children that drug use was unacceptable. Mr Hellawell has
attacked certain pop stars for sending out positive messages about drugs
saying that were bound to influence the younger generation.

Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme yesterday, he said that the United
States' Just Say No policy had been effective but the country was now facing
similar problems to the UK.

"I think that the number of people who use drugs in the US has halved over
the last ten years," he said.

"The worrying problem that they have is the same as we have, the growing
number of young people who are becoming involved in hard drugs. Plenty of
them will have their first experience of drugs with heroin and substances of
that nature."

Mr Hellawell has spent a year in his post as UK Drugs Co-ordinator and
Special Adviser to the Prime Minister. He said that he has managed to
achieve many of his objectives in raising the level of debate about drug use
and succeeded in bringing "the issue out into an open forum, to recognise
that there are many social ills that lead to young people getting involved
in drugs, to recognise that some of the young adult culture of getting
involved with drugs in the recreational context is something that I think
has not been brought out into the open before". He added: "There are no
simple solutions - legalisation will not resolve the problem."

On the same programme, Paul Flynn, the Labour MP for Newport West, renewed
his call for the decriminalisation of cannabis.

"The most dangerous thing about cannabis is the fact that it's illegal and
our young people, the majority of whom are using cannabis, experimenting in
some form, have to go to the criminal markets to get it," he said.

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

[End]