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Three men stage home-invasion robbery in Vernonia (A cautionary tale in the
Oregonian says three men between the ages of 16 and 19 burst into a home in
a quiet neighborhood thirty miles northwest of Portland on Monday and held
two women at gunpoint, apparently believing they would find a marijuana grow
operation. The newspaper doesn't say whether the victims intended to complain
to their state legislators for maintaining a public nuisance by
perpetuating marijuana prohibition.)

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/

Three men stage home-invasion robbery in Vernonia

* The suspects, considered armed and dangerous, apparently look for drugs
while holding two women at gunpoint

Wednesday February 17, 1999

By Debra Gwartney
Correspondent, The Oregonian

VERNONIA -- Police are searching for three men who burst into a home in a
quiet neighborhood off U.S. 26 on Monday and held two women at gunpoint,
apparently believing they would find drugs in the house.

The men are armed and are considered dangerous, Vernonia Police Chief Jim
Walters said.

"We're looking for any leads we can get right now," he said.

At midday Monday, witnesses saw the three men emerge from a late-1970s brown
and tan Ford pickup truck, then walk down a hill and into the back yard of
the house on Sixth Street, Walters said. The three wore black clothing and
hooded jackets, and all wore hats, he said.

Witnesses described two of the suspects as males between the ages of 16 and
19. The third suspect was described as being between the ages of 16 and 19.

Ben Green, 25, said his 25-year-old wife and her cousin, who have asked not
to be identified, were in the kitchen of their home when the unlocked
sliding glass door flew open and a masked man carrying a semi-automatic
pistol jumped into the room.

"He started screaming at them," said Green, who was at work in Portland at
the time. "He threatened over and over to kill them."

In the minutes that followed, Green said, the two other men, also masked,
came in the same door. The women were bound with tape and made to lie on the
floor while the three ransacked the house. Green said his wife, who recently
underwent surgery, was "roughed up" by one man and experienced considerable
pain.

Green said his wife described the men as agitated because they expected to
find a marijuana-growing operation in the basement or one of the bedrooms of
the house and found no drugs on the premises.

"After they realized they had the wrong house, they thought they'd just take
a few consolation prizes," Green said.

Among the missing items are his two hunting rifles, Green said. "When they
came, one of them was armed," he said. "But all three left armed."

The couple have lived in the house for four years and know of no recent drug
activity, Green said. He added that there are five middle-class, well-kept
homes in the neighborhood, whose residents include a retired police officer
and an elderly couple.

"Before this, we didn't even lock our doors," Green said. "This is the stuff
you read about. It's not the stuff you think is going to happen to you."

In late December, an elderly Springfield couple experienced a similar
incident when two men burst into their home, just after the couple had
finished breakfast, and demanded drugs.

Lillian Irene Johansen, 73, and her husband, Arlo V. Johansen, 84, were held
at gunpoint while two males, described as being between the ages of 16 and
18, ransacked the house. When the suspects realized they had the wrong
address, and that illegal substances were not to be found there, they took
cash and several other items and fled the neighborhood on foot.

Springfield police, who are continuing the investigation into that break-in,
said the suspects had not been caught.

Do you have news of inland Douglas or inland Lane counties? You can reach
Debra Gwartney at 541-342-7797 or by e-mail at gwartney@rio.com.

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NewsBuzz: Coveting Their Assets (Willamette Week, in Portland, says state
Rep. Jo Ann Bowman of North Portland has drafted a bill that would siphon
half of all forfeited "drug" assets away from local police departments and
use it to fund programs to help parolees be successful when they finish their
mandatory minimum sentences, such as alcohol and drug treatment programs,
job-readiness training, child care, and housing. Although Bowman is on the
House Judiciary Committee, she's concerned that the police lobby is so
powerful her bill will never get a hearing.)

Willamette Week
822 SW 10th Ave.
Portland, OR 97205
Tel. (503) 243-2122
Fax (503) 243-1115
Letters to the Editor:
Mark Zusman - mzusman@wweek.com
Web: http://www.wweek.com/
Note: Willamette Week welcomes letters to the editor via mail, e-mail or
fax. Letters must be signed by the author and include the author's street
address and phone number for verification. Preference will be given to
letters of 250 words or less.

Pubdate: February 17, 1999

Coveting Their Assets

It's not the cops but former criminals who need money, according to state
Rep. Jo Ann Bowman. To that end, the North Portland lawmaker has drafted a
bill that will tap into the asset-forfeiture funds of local police departments.

Since 1989, cops in Oregon have been seizing cash and property--such as
houses, cars, cells phones, TVs and furniture--from people suspected of drug
or vice crimes. (The idea is that people involved in dealing shouldn't be
allowed to keep the profits from illegal activities.) The property is
auctioned off, with assets going to local police budgets.

These assets add up. In Portland, for example, the vice squad seized
$489,000 in cash, 43 houses and 39 cars in 1996 alone.

The forfeiture law is somewhat controversial because the police don't even
have to charge the suspects before taking their property.

Bowman says she supports the basic law. But her bill would require police to
make a better case that illegal activity is occurring before they seize
someone's property. Bowman's main focus is on the cash that's generated.
Worried about the stream of newly released inmates coming out of the Oregon
prison system without community support, Bowman has included in the bill a
proposal to take 50 percent of the money and funnel it to local governments.

"We have these mandatory minimums," she says, "but we don't have things to
help [parolees] be successful when they come back. We need alcohol and drug
programs, job-readiness training, child care, housing."

Although Bowman is on the House Judiciary Committee, she's concerned that
the police lobby is so powerful her bill will never get a hearing.

--Patty Wentz

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Readin', Writin' and Ritalin (Willamette Week, in Portland, says the state of
Oregon released a survey three weeks ago showing that kids' use of marijuana,
cocaine and speed had leveled off over the past two years. What the survey
didn't show is the extraordinary increase in kids' use of Ritalin, a Schedule
II controlled substance. While kids have been learning to say "no" to drugs,
their parents have been learning to say "yes" to Ritalin. Drug Enforcement
Agency figures show Ritalin use has soared more than 700 percent in the '90s.
Experts in Portland estimate that nearly 5 percent of all school-age children
take it - more than 4,000 kids in Multnomah County alone.)

Willamette Week
822 SW 10th Ave.
Portland, OR 97205
Tel. (503) 243-2122
Fax (503) 243-1115
Letters to the Editor:
Mark Zusman - mzusman@wweek.com
Web: http://www.wweek.com/
Note: Willamette Week welcomes letters to the editor via mail, e-mail or
fax. Letters must be signed by the author and include the author's street
address and phone number for verification. Preference will be given to
letters of 250 words or less.

Pubdate: February 17, 1999

Readin', Writin' and Ritalin

* Thousands of kids are taking drugs in Portland schools every day--with the
blessing of parents, educators and doctors.

By Nigel Jaquiss
njaquiss@wweek.com

Three weeks ago, the state released a survey showing that kids' use of
marijuana, cocaine and speed has leveled off over the past two years.

What the survey didn't show is the extraordinary increase in the school-age
use of another drug--a stimulant so powerful that, like morphine, it is
classified as a Schedule II controlled substance.

While kids have been learning to say "no" to drugs, their parents have been
learning to say "yes" to Ritalin.

Drug Enforcement Agency figures show that Ritalin use in this country has
soared more than 700 percent in the '90s. Although city-by-city breakdowns
aren't available, experts in Portland estimate that nearly 5 percent of all
school-age children take Ritalin or similar drugs--that's more than 4,000
kids in Multnomah County alone.

The rise in Ritalin use, as many know, is a response to the increasing
number of kids--mostly boys--who are diagnosed with attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder. According to a physician who has seen perhaps more
cases of ADHD than any doctor in the city, the boom is far from over. "I
think it [ADHD] is under-treated and under-diagnosed," says Dr. David Bell
of the HealthFirst Medical Group.

Because Ritalin is so effective at treating the symptoms of ADHD, it has
come to be viewed as one of the pharmaceutical industry's success stories of
the '90s, a drug that, like Prozac and Viagra, has helped millions of people
deal with chronic disorders.

But in Portland a growing number of psychologists, doctors and educators
believe that something more complicated is afoot, that the rapid growth in
the diagnosis of ADHD and in the use of Ritalin is masking a far greater
problem--a culture that is becoming less tolerant of kids who act like kids.

"ADHD is much more a symptom of things that are going wrong with our
society," says Dr. Mark Ruggiero, a specialist in developmental and
behavioral pediatrics at Oregon Health Sciences University. "We're a
medically oriented society that likes simple, quick responses to complex
problems."

Although ADHD afflicts people of all ages, almost 80 percent of the nearly 5
million Americans who take medication for the disorder are under 18,
according to researchers. Of those children, nearly 80 percent are boys.

The situation in Portland mirrors national trends. Every year more and more
boys are lining up in school offices for their doses of Ritalin. (Although
timed-release medication is available, most kids take Ritalin at regular
intervals; they aren't allowed to medicate themselves, so nurses and school
secretaries dispense the drugs.) In fact, at one westside Portland middle
school, the number of kids showing up for their medication every lunch hour
so overwhelmed the secretary that she recently demanded a transfer to a high
school, where Ritalin is less prevalent. "It was ridiculous," says the
secretary, who wishes to remain anonymous. "I spent all my time passing out
pills."

Ironically, although Ritalin use has soared, there is still no definitive
test for ADHD. It's unclear whether its causes are genetic or environmental,
and the symptoms look different in each case. "You have to approach each
child individually," says Dr. Robert McKelvey, director of child and
adolescent psychiatry at OHSU.

To make diagnoses, doctors rely on information from families and teachers,
as well as their own observations and standardized lists of behavioral
patterns. The grab bag of symptoms that now describe the disorder has
sometimes led to criticism that ADHD is a catchall for difficult behavior.

The mountain of research available does suggest that careful prescription of
Ritalin improves concentration and allows children to attack challenges more
effectively, particularly when used in concert with various behavioral
modification strategies.

Nobody has to convince Diana Brown of the benefits of Ritalin.

From the time her son was born 12 years ago, it was clear to Brown that he
had special needs. "He was extremely difficult," she says. He talked
ceaselessly, was highly energetic and distractible and didn't sleep through
the night until after his second birthday.

As is the case for many children, Brown's son's problems really became an
issue when he was exposed to the stimulation of a schoolroom full of
students. He was a bright child. In first grade, he barely missed the cutoff
for entry into the Talented and Gifted program. But it was his increasingly
inattentive and disruptive behavior that got him noticed.

One day when her son was in second grade, Brown was summoned to school. She
knew something was seriously wrong when she was confronted by a small army
of Gresham-Barlow District special-education experts. The assembled group of
12 told Brown that her son needed to see a doctor: He was probably suffering
from ADHD, they said.

"I was overwhelmed," Brown recalls. "I was just stunned."

The family pediatrician made a diagnosis and suggested medication. "Boy, I
was not thrilled with that," Brown says. Instead, she and her husband first
tried changing their son's eating habits. (Some researchers believe that
processed foods exacerbate ADHD symptoms.) "We tried the Feingold Diet,"
Brown says, referring to a diet of natural foods with no artificial
additives. Already a picky eater, the boy could find nothing in the diet he
liked, which made life even more difficult. "It was insane," Brown recalls.

Next, they tried a series of naturopathic remedies, all the while attempting
various behavioral modifications. Nothing worked. Brown's attempts to parent
her son seemed increasingly futile. "I felt completely ineffective," she
says. "No matter what I did, I couldn't communicate with him."

A recent study completed by OHSU researcher Judy Kendall notes that living
with a child who suffers from ADHD can be "chaotic, conflictual, and
exhausting." One mother Kendall interviewed describes caring for a child
with ADHD this way: "It's like death. Nothing is like I expected, nothing is
ever the same," she says. "Future dreams and day-to-day life is always
disrupted."

Desperate for a solution, the Browns finally resorted to medication. Life
got a little better. Ritalin enabled the Browns' son to concentrate, and
finally he began to learn.

Still, reconciling Brown's hopes with her son's reality has been painful.

"For me, it's been a major challenge because I have very high expectations,"
says the 49-year-old mother of two. "This was going to be the child who
discovered the cure for cancer or brought world peace. He may still, but he
may not."

ADHD has taken a toll on Brown's marriage, family and health--and nearly
every other facet of her daily life. Brown compares the adjustment to having
prepared for years to go on a trip only to wind up in the wrong place.

"When you find out your child has a disability, it's like you think you're
going to Holland to see the beautiful tulips," she says. "Instead, you wind
up in Italy. It's beautiful there, too, but you can't speak the language,
and you don't understand anything anybody says to you."

Stories like Brown's explain the surge in Ritalin use as parents have
reached for pharmaceutical solutions to their children's problems. At the
same time, though, Ritalin's explosive growth in the '90s is a fundamentally
different phenomenon than those of other "wonder" drugs. Viagra, for
instance, represents a novel treatment of an age-old disorder. Similarly,
after its introduction in the late '80s, Prozac filled a gaping need for
sufferers of depression. But Ritalin has been used for children's behavioral
problems for nearly 50 years. So why the sudden jump in prescription rates?
Part of the answer, doctors say, is that only in the last decade has there
been conclusive evidence of the drug's effectiveness. Diagnostic techniques
and the precision of dosage have also improved.

Some experts, however, think that a big part of the Ritalin revolution has
to do less with medicine than with society--particularly American society.
In this country, according to a 1995 United Nations study, we produce and
consume 90 percent of all the Ritalin used in the world.

Jeff Sosne is widely recognized by educators and doctors as one of
Portland's leading authorities on ADHD. Perhaps no other facility in the
metro area sees more ADHD sufferers than the Children's Program, a clinic
Sosne and his partners run in Multnomah Village. While Sosne agrees with the
conventional wisdom that a combination of medication and behavioral training
can help nearly anybody with ADHD, his explanation for the disorder's
prevalence is radical--and unsettling.

Speaking to a roomful of anxious parents in an airless meeting room at his
clinic recently, the 46-year-old child psychologist offered his theory of
what's changed since he began seeing patients 20 years ago. Expectations are
higher, life is more intense and kids get in trouble for behavior people
formerly ignored, he said. The criteria by which children are judged have
gotten tougher. "There aren't more people with ADHD," he told the parents.
"It's that the bar has been raised."

With his blue jeans, disheveled hair and scruffy salt-and-pepper beard,
Sosne comes across as pretty laid-back. But when he talks about what's gone
wrong for the thousands of children who've been referred to the Children's
Program, the soothing cadence of his voice can't hide his profound and harsh
criticism of the "sound-bite nation," as he calls modern America.
"Expectations have been raised without an increase in resources," he says,
referring to the notion that each student will perform brilliantly, go to
college and earn lots of money. "As a result, kids on the margin have been
affected the most."

In Oregon, nowhere has the pressure on kids increased more than in schools.
Bigger class sizes, an emphasis on standardized tests and even proposals to
link teacher pay to student performance weigh on kids. "The day is gone when
marginal kids could just skate along and go get a job in a factory," says
Dr. David Bell, who estimates he's treated 1,500 kids with ADHD in his 25
years of practice.

School personnel say parents share the blame for the explosion in ADHD. "A
lot more kids are coming to schools unprepared," says Ty Okamura, a
counselor at Hosford Middle School. Okamura cites several possible causes,
ranging from prenatal exposure to toxic substances to broken homes to poor
parenting skills. Others point to television, video games and a culture of
instant gratification.

Kids today are often scheduled from the minute they wake until the time they
go to sleep. "[ADHD] has always been there," says Chris Jones, a counselor
at Chapman Elementary in Northwest Portland, "but years ago people weren't
as busy."

William Brant, a psychologist at Gray and Jackson middle schools, thinks the
pressure-cooker atmosphere in schools may exacerbate the symptoms of ADHD.
Student-teacher ratios continue to worsen, standardized tests are more
frequent and everybody is expected to excel. "The school board,
superintendent and legislators are acting as though nobody below the 50th
percentile exists," Brant says. "If the system ran differently, some kids
could cope without medication."

But these days, there's little tolerance for kids who learn differently. "If
my son has enough time, he can do anything any other kid can do," Diana
Brown says, "but that's not acceptable in our society."

"More and more," Sosne says, "the question parents ask is not 'How do we
understand what a kid needs?' but instead, 'Is he ADHD?'" In fact, parents
often want this diagnosis because federal laws include ADHD in the list of
disabilities that qualify students for such considerations as extra time on
tests and individualized attention. "There's more and more pressure to label
kids so they can get support and resources," Sosne says.

For Brown, her son's ADHD diagnosis, while traumatic, brought a kind of
relief. "Without the label, he wouldn't have any accommodations," Brown
says, "and he needs those." Resources range from the high-tech, such as
electronic spelling devices, to the homemade. For instance, Brown's son
focused better if he couldn't see other kids, so when he was in fourth
grade, his mother built cardboard study carrels for him and all the other kids.

Extra resources won't help students with ADHD overcome the obstacle posed by
Oregon's Educational Act for the 21st Century. Starting this spring each
10th grader must pass a series of tests to earn what's know as a Certificate
of Initial Mastery, which is ultimately envisioned to be the true benchmark
of an Oregon student's abilities.

But if the CIM is modified in any way for kids with learning difficulties,
the results don't count. According to state guidelines circulated by
Portland Public Schools, "In grade 10 students who take a modified
assessment cannot earn a CIM." Parents of children with ADHD are furious at
this inflexibility, which they consider blatant discrimination.

Not surprisingly, as the educational system has become more Darwinian, many
veteran school personnel have begun to embrace Ritalin. "I've changed from
being a person who thought drugs were very negative to seeing how they can
be the right thing for people," says Kathy Jaffe, principal at Chief Joseph
Elementary in North Portland. Chapman principal Bob McAllister shares
Jaffe's outlook. "For the most part I'm not favorably disposed toward
medication," he says, "but I've seen too many success stories."

Some school officials see a dark side to the current emphasis on the drive
for higher results. "I think the impact of the business sector on education
has become phenomenal," says Brant, a school psychologist with 20 years of
experience in the district. "We're spending far too much time getting
students to a skill level so they can be of use to companies instead of
making them into good citizens, which I thought was the point of education."

In Portland, district superintendent Ben Canada is the man who must balance
children's varied needs with Salem's demands for measurable results. Just
how highly charged the issue of raising standards can be was evidenced at a
town-hall meeting last month. Facing a barrage of criticism from parents
over plans to increase the requirements for high-school graduation, Canada
literally tore a copy of his plan to pieces.

In the mania to implement higher standards, Canada concedes that some kids
will inevitably suffer. "That's a great concern to all of us," he says.
"We're not sure how to handle that."

There's another culprit in the rush to label kids and prescribe Ritalin--the
managed-care industry. Although drugs have proven effective for a majority
of kids with ADHD, research suggests the most beneficial treatment is a
combination of medication and behavioral training. But psychologists and
psychiatrists are expensive; one 45-minute visit can easily cost more than
the $50 that will buy an entire month's prescription of Ritalin for most
kids. "Managed care has had a profound impact on medical practice," says
OHSU's McKelvey. "The idea is to try to get everything done quickly, use
more drugs and use them faster."

The president of the Oregon State Pharmacists Association, Mike Douglas,
assesses the relationship bluntly: "Doctors write too many prescriptions
because HMOs don't want to pay for any other type of treatment."

Managed-care officials dispute such criticism. Medication is the most
effective therapy for ADHD, says Dr. Joseph Intile, medical director of the
Oregon Health Plan; if doctors aren't spending more time on therapy, it's
because they think drugs alone are more effective.

For the kids themselves, taking medication for ADHD can be fraught with
emotional baggage. School officials claim there's little stigma attached to
lining up for Ritalin every day, but what doctors see doesn't always
correspond to that rosy assessment. Sosne says that for various reasons a
large percentage of kids decide to stop taking their medication at some
point, although most of them start back up again. Brant believes it's
sometimes difficult for the kids to decide whether they like the way Ritalin
affects them. "Behaviorally, there's a change," he says. "Kids aren't as
wild and crazy or maybe as fun. That may cause some to stop taking the drugs."

Just when--if ever--kids can or should stop taking Ritalin nobody knows. The
NIH says there's no evidence that careful use of Ritalin and other ADHD
drugs is harmful or addictive. But that doesn't mean people aren't dependent
on them. Many doctors now believe that for most kids ADHD never goes away.
"People increasingly regard ADHD as chronic and think it will last
throughout patients' lives," says McKelvey.

Many commentators suggest, as did a writer in The New Yorker last week, that
the best solution to the ADHD epidemic is simply to just say "yes" to
Ritalin. Drugs work, the argument goes, and trying to slow down our
better-faster-cheaper culture is futile.

That sentiment is implicit in HMOs' strategies and a Legislature hell-bent
on standardizing education. But slowing down and embracing kids with
different styles of learning doesn't mean a lowering of standards--it means
an elevation of consciousness.

Labels are everything in our society, convenient boxes that lead to quick
fixes but not always the best solutions. OHSU's Ruggiero worries that the
current rush to slap the ADHD tag on kids obscures greater disorders that
ail us all.

"The diagnosis," Ruggiero says, "misses the bigger picture."

***

[sidebars:]

Although frequently used to treat hyperactivity, Ritalin is a stimulant,
essentially a form of speed, not a depressant.

Late last year, a National Institutes of Health panel concluded that ADHD is
indeed real, though it couldn't conclusively state much about the causes of
the disorder.

Scientists are not exactly sure how Ritalin works, but most now believe that
Ritalin stimulates receptors in the frontal lobes of the brain that allow
people to filter various stimuli instead of reacting ceaselessly to each one.

Nobody knows why most ADHD sufferers are male. Girls with ADHD often display
the reverse of the excessive energy boys exhibit. Rather than being
hyperactive, they tend to be withdrawn.

Oregonians ranked 19th in the nation in per capita Ritalin consumption in
1997, according to DEA statistics.

ADHD has been recognized for 100 years under a variety of names and
symptoms. The name of the disorder was changed to ADHD in 1987, but many
people still call it ADD.

A number of drugs similar to Ritalin, including Dexedrine, Adderall and
Cylert, are also used to treat ADHD.

Some children experience side effects from Ritalin, such as loss of
appetite, insomnia and, in rare cases, stunted growth. Doctors say all are
easily corrected if the dosage is adjusted properly.

The largest nationwide support group for families of ADHD sufferers is
called Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder, or CHADD.

CHADD has about 300 active families in the Portland area and can be reached
at (503) 294-9504 or chaddpdx@ aracnet.com.

KGW News Channel 8 recently aired a three-part story on Ritalin use in Portland.

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Marijuana Backers Wary Of Tinkering (The News Tribune, in Tacoma, Washington,
says the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys is already lobbying
the legislature to nullify Initiative 692, the state's new medical marijuana
law, claiming they only want to improve it, of course. But Senate Bill 5704
would allow the state Department of Health to write rules to flesh out the
law. Its primary sponsor, Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, who supported the
initiative, said the department could clarify the law without encroaching on
patients' newfound rights. The really bad bill is SB 5771.)

Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 11:10:43 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US WA: MMJ: Marijuana Backers Wary Of Tinkering
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Larry Porter
Source: The News Tribune (WA)
Copyright: 1999 The News Tribune
Pubdate: Wed, 17 Feb 1999
Contact: leted@p.tribnet.com
Fax: (206) 597-8451
Mail: PO Box 11000, Tacoma, Wa. 98411
Website: http://www.tribnet.com/
Author: Beth Silver, The News Tribune
Note: Washington residents can reach their legislators on the state's
Legislative Hotine at 1-800-562-6000.

LEGISLATURE 1999: MARIJUANA BACKERS WARY OF TINKERING

Legislators Trying To Fine-Tune Initiative Granting Medical Patients Access
To Drug

Legislators are trying to clarify the state's medical marijuana law for
police and prosecutors while holding true to the initiative voters passed
in November.

"We're not trying to repeal the law or handcuff it so bad that it doesn't
work," said Tom McBride, lobbyist for the Washington Association of
Prosecuting Attorneys. "We just need some guidance: 'Look, doc, if you're
going to recommend this to a patient, tell me you did it and tell me how
much he needs.'"

But the initiative's backers are leery of legislative interference with a
law that already faces federal barriers.

"It's a blind-sided attempt to basically bring the government back into
regulation of patients' and doctors' relationships," said initiative
supporter Rob Killian, a former Tacoma physician.

The law allows patients with certain debilitating illnesses, such as AIDS
or cancer, to possess a 60-day supply of marijuana. But it has left the law
enforcement community wondering how to determine when a person is using the
drug legally and how much constitutes a two-month supply.

That confusion played out in Tacoma in December when police arrested a
blind AIDS patient and his mother after finding three marijuana plants in
their house.

Though Kelly Grubbs and his mother, Terry Morgan, had no documentation for
the plants, Pierce County Prosecutor John Ladenburg did not file charges
against them because, he said, they were following the "spirit" of the law.

Grubbs' doctor had advised him to use the marijuana.

Senate Bill 5704 would allow the state Department of Health to write rules
to flesh out the law. Its primary sponsor, Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles
(D-Seattle), who supported the initiative, said the department could
clarify the law without encroaching on patients' newfound rights.

Another plan, SB 5771, would go further by spelling out those rules in law.
Among other things, it would:

* Require the state Medical Quality Assurance Commission to distribute and
collect forms logging each medical marijuana recommendation made by a
physician.

* Require physicians to notify the state every time they advise a patient
to try marijuana as a medicine.

* Require patients to carry documentation from the physician that states
the doctor recommended marijuana.

* Require the doctor who recommended the marijuana to determine what a
60-day supply is.

* Allow employers to fire employees who use marijuana, even if for medical
purposes.

"The initiative is nondescript," said SB 5771's primary sponsor, Sen. Jim
Hargrove (D-Hoquiam). "There's a real potential for using the whole
confusion in this area for trafficking drugs. All we're trying to do is put
some definition there so law enforcement can deal with the illegitimate use."

Initiative backer Killian said lawmakers should give the measure a chance
to work.

He said state law already outlaws using marijuana while driving or
operating heavy equipment, allows employers to ban its use during work
hours and outlaws its use in public.

Particularly disturbing, he said, is a provision in SB 5771 allowing
employers to fire employees who use marijuana for medical reasons.

But Hargrove argued that the initiative never specifically prohibited that
provision. He said the issue is not whether an employee is using marijuana
but whether the employee's performance is affected by it.

"We're trying to be very careful not to do anything that amends the
initiative," Hargrove said.

Killian said the problem with the medical marijuana law has nothing to do
with state government but with distribution of marijuana, which is
regulated by the federal government.

Patients who suffer from cancer, AIDS and glaucoma can grow their own
supply but can't buy it from someone else because federal law prohibits the
distribution of it.

In addition to Washington, five other states - California, Arizona, Alaska,
Oregon and Nevada - allow marijuana for medical purposes.

SB 5704 is scheduled for a hearing Feb. 24 before the Senate Health and
Long-Term Care Committee. A hearing has not been scheduled for SB 5771.

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

THC-Treated Rats Lived Longer, Had Less Cancer (AIDS Treatment News, in San
Francisco, summarizes and comments on a 126-page draft report of a major
toxicology study of THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. The
study was completed over two and a half years ago, and passed peer review for
publication, but has been kept quiet until this month, when someone leaked
copies of the draft report. The public apparently has never been told about
this research - for example, the drug-reform movement seems not to have known
about its existence. It may have been hushed because its findings are not
what the drug-war industry wants. "The newly available Federal toxicology
study provides the best evidence yet that the risks of THC are small. What
other drug would increase life expectancy of rats when given in huge
overdoses daily for two years?")

Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 19:36:21 -0800 (PST)
From: Uzondu Jibuike (ucj@vcn.bc.ca)
To: Undisclosed recipients: ;
Subject: AIDS Treatment News: THC-Treated Rodents
Lived Longer, Had Less Cancer (fwd)

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999 19:00:59 -0500
To: paulwolf@voicenet.com
From: Paul Wolf (paulwolf@voicenet.com)
Subject: AIDS Treatment News: THC-Treated Rats
Lived Longer, Had Less Cancer

'AIDS Treatment News' Obtains 126-Page Study, 'NTP Technical
Report On The Toxicology And Carcinogenesis Studies Of 1-Trans-
Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol, CAS No. 1972-08-3, In F344/N Rats
And B6C3F(1) Mice, Gavage Studies'

AIDS TREATMENT NEWS has obtained a 126-page draft report of a
major toxicology study of THC, the main psychoactive ingredient of
marijuana. The study was completed over two and a half years ago,
and passed peer review for publication, but has been kept quiet
until this month, when someone leaked copies of the draft report.
As far as we know, the public has never been told about this
research -- for example, the drug- reform movement seems not to
have known about its existence. This work may have been hushed
because its findings are not what the drug-war industry would want.

***

The study gave huge doses of THC to rats and mice by stomach tube,
and looked for cancers and other evidence of toxicity. First there
were small toxicity studies, which used enough THC to kill some of
the animals; later, two-year studies were run in both rats and mice,
using doses which were still much higher than those of marijuana
smokers. The two-year studies tested THC in several hundred rats
and several hundred mice.

In rats, those given THC had a clear survival advantage over the
untreated controls; this effect was statistically significant in
all dose groups, and in both males and females. In mice (which
were given much larger doses than the rats relative to body weight)
there was no survival difference among the groups -- except that
those given the highest dose (which was close to the lethal dose
for mice) had worse survival.

In both mice and rats, in both males and females, "the incidence
of benign and malignant neoplasms ... were decreased in a dose-
dependent manner" -- meaning that the more THC the animals were
given, the fewer tumors they developed.

The treated animals weighed less than the controls (even though
both ate about the same amount of food); the researchers speculated
that the lower body weight may have partly accounted for the
increased survival and reduced tumors in the THC-treated animals.

The doses were large enough to cause seizures and convulsions in
many of the animals, especially when they were dosed or handled.
These did not start immediately, but after many weeks, depending
on the dose. The researchers looked for brain lesions in animals
which had seizures, but found none.

No evidence of carcinogenic activity in the rats, but there was
"equivocal evidence" of one kind of thyroid tumor in the mice --
with no evidence of a dose-dependent response. Other tumors were
less common in the treated animals than in the controls -- except
in one case, which the toxicologists believed was due to the fact
that the treated animals lived longer, and therefore had more
opportunity to develop tumors.

The report includes a professionally objective review of the
biological effects, possible toxicities, and possible medical
uses of THC and marijuana.

The title of the report is "NTP Technical Report on the Toxicology
and Carcinogenesis Studies of 1-Trans-Delta(9)- Tetrahydrocanna-
binol (CAS No. 1972-08-3) in F344/N Rats and B6C3F(1) Mice (Gavage
Studies)." Over 35 researchers contributed to this study, and 12
others reviewed their work; several institutions, including the
National Toxicology Program and SRI International, were involved.
The document we received is report NTP TR 446, NIH Publication No.
94-3362, of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
("NTP" stands for National Toxicology Program, which is made up of
four Federal agencies within Health and Human Services.) Each page
of the draft is stamped "not for distribution or attribution." In
addition to the 126-page document we have reviewed here, there are
11 appendices, which we have not seen.

According to the draft, the report will be available from NTP
Central Data Management, 919/541-1371. AIDS TREATMENT NEWS requested
a copy of the final report when it is ready, and also requested a
copy of the draft. Now that the existence of the report has become
publicly known, we have heard that draft copies are being sent if
requested -- despite the notice on each page not to distribute them.

Comment

It would be wrong to interpret this study as showing a beneficial
or protective effect of marijuana. The animals were given very large
doses, resulting in substantially lower body weight, which may
itself have caused much of the survival and tumor improvements.
Also, this study used THC, not marijuana smoke -- which like any
smoke contains many chemicals, some of which are likely to be
harmful.

But the study does provide strong evidence that there is no
significant cancer risk (if any at all) from the main psychoactive
ingredient of marijuana; any such risk would be from incidental
substances in the smoke. And if there is such a risk, the modern
high-potency marijuana would likely reduce it, by reducing the
amount of smoke required to obtain the desired effect.

Also, there is no known case of any human death from overdose
of marijuana or THC, or from any other acute toxicity of these
substances -- a remarkable safety record, compared with alcohol,
aspirin, or many other common drugs. (The toxicology report does
not say there have been no deaths, but the authors listed none,
after doing an exhaustive survey of the literature.)

The literature review on the effects of THC and marijuana shows
how medical research has been politically skewed (although the
paper itself does not state this point). There are almost no
studies of possible medical uses of marijuana, but many studies
looking for possible harm. Any positive findings, therefore, can
be used to support the drug war -- while negative findings (those
which fail to show any effect) are usually ignored. Although many
doctors and patients have reported important medical benefits,
scientific studies of medicinal use have seldom been allowed to
happen, since positive findings could challenge the official
public-relations tactic of demonization. The drug war itself has
controlled the medical research agenda, since it controls legal
access to marijuana. Like most permanent wars, it strives for
self preservation.

The newly available Federal toxicology study provides the best
evidence yet that the risks of THC are small. What other drug
would increase life expectancy of rats when given in huge overdoses
daily for two years? The recent Federal attacks on medical
marijuana -- against doctors and desperately ill patients -- are
needlessly cruel, and bizarrely inappropriate to scientific and
medical understanding.

AIDS TREATMENT NEWS Issue #263, January 17, 1997; Published
twice monthly Subscription and Editorial Office: P.O. Box 411256
San Francisco, CA 94141 800/TREAT-1-2 toll-free U.S. and Canada
415/255-0588 regular office number fax: 415/255-4659 Internet:
aidsnews@aidsnews.org Copyright (c) 1997 - John S. James.

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

Medical-Marijuana Fight Is About Power, Not Medicine (Sacramento Bee
columnist Peter H. King, syndicated in the Orange County Register, discusses
the cultivation bust of medical-marijuana patient/activist Steve Kubby, the
1998 Libertarian Party candidate for California governor.)

Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 05:21:20 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US CA: Column: Medical-Marijuana Fight Is About Power, Not
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: John W. Black
Pubdate: 17 Feb 1999
Source: Orange County Register (CA)
Copyright: 1999 The Orange County Register
Contact: letters@link.freedom.com
Website: http://www.ocregister.com/
Section: News, page 3
Author: Peter H. King: Mr. King writes for the Sacramento Bee. His "On
California" columns appear in this spot in the Register on Sundays and
Wednesdays. Write him at P.O. Box 15779, Sacramento, Calif. 95852, or call
(916) 321-1892. E-mail: pking@mcclatchy.com.

MEDICAL-MARIJUANA FIGHT IS ABOUT POWER, NOT MEDICINE

From Olympic Valley

One thing government can do is crack down on crime. By making more things a
crime, that's how government is able to expand its power.

Steve Kubby, Libertarian Party candidate for governor, in an interview in
September

For more than an hour, the candidate had sat in a Fresno coffee shop,
merrily lobbing one rhetorical hand grenade after another. Steve Kubby was
against the death penalty and for an open border.

He regarded speeding tickets as literal "highway robbery," thought Central
Valley farmers should be growing hemp, opposed seat-belt laws and
gun-control laws alike. His most passionately held position, however,
involved the nation's "war on thugs."

For Kubby, a 52-year-old electronic-magazine publisher, this issue was
personal. More than 20 years earlier, he had been diagnosed with an
extremely rare and typically fatal cancer.

To the mystification of medical authorities, Kubby discovered that
marijuana alleviated his symptoms and apparently kept the cancer in check.
He became a proponent of medicinal marijuana, and in 1996 played a major
role in the successful campaign for Proposition 215, which theoretically
made pot legal medicine in California.

Now, with the interview winding down, the otherwise free-wheeling
politician asked to go off the record. Kubby confided that he was concerned
about drug-police payback. He had received a tip: A stakeout of his Lake
Tahoe residence was under way.

Specifically, he had been warned to watch out for a green Jeep Cherokee
with tinted windows. He wasn't sure whether to believe this, and he did not
want to come across in a campaign interview as a caricature of pot-induced
paranoia. Still ...

Jump ahead now to a Tuesday morning in mid-January. Kubby's wife Michelle -
who also takes marijuana, with a doctor's endorsement, for a chronic
stomach ailment - was playing with her 3-year-old daughter. She saw a green
Jeep drive by. A few minutes later came the knock on the door.

"We have a search warrant," the lead officer announced, and in trooped a
dozen or more investigators.

They moved to the basement, where Kubby was growing the marijuana that he
says keeps him alive. In the well-equipped "growing rooms," the officers
found about 130 mature plants and an equal number of seedlings. The
discovery should not have come as a surprise; Kubby had not exactly been
covering his tracks. In fact, since the tip about the stake-out, he had
been placing "attention law enforcement" notes in the trash, explaining his
medical condition and acknowledging the cultivation of marijuana. He had
guessed - accurately, it turned out - that the garbage would be searched.

According to law enforcement files, the investigation was triggered in July
by an unsigned letter. It accused Kubby of growing more than 1,000 plants
and selling pot to finance his political campaign. Investigators began
surveillance, peering through his back windows from the woods behind the
house. After they observed Kubby showing a plant to a man they believed to
be a customer - he was, Kubby would say, a correspondent for High Times
magazine - they obtained the search warrant.

Four hours into the search, Steve and Michelle Kubby were handcuffed and
loaded into a vehicle for the ride to jail, where they would be booked for
investigation of cultivation and possession of marijuana for sale. Before
they left, Kubby asked if he could take some of his "medicine" with him.
No, the investigator said, the jail had a "no-smoking policy."

The Kubbys have pleaded not guilty, contending that they never sold
marijuana and their crop was not excessive. Among medical-marijuana
proponents, there is hope that a trial might shine needed light on what
they see as a refusal by law enforcement authorities to accept and abide by
Prop. 215.

For his part, the Placer County prosecutor handling the case has told
reporters that "if a jury decides that 265 plants are all right, then that
is justice. But if the jury decides it's just too much, justice is done
then, too."

While Kubby was in jail, awaiting release on his own recognizance, his
original physician urged the judge by letter not to deprive the prisoner of
his marijuana. Dr. Vincent DeQuattro of USC Medical Center noted that
Kubby's condition - malignant pheochromocytoma, or adrenal cancer - was
almost always fatal. In fact, the doctor added, until he received his voter
pamphlet last fall, he'd assumed that Kubby, whom he had not seen for more
than a decade, was dead.

"Faith healers," wrote DeQuattro, "would term Steve's existence these past
10-15 years as nothing short of a miracle. In my view, this miracle, in
part, is related to the therapy with marijuana."

Unfortunately, the fight over medical marijuana never has seemed to have
much to do with medicine. It's more about power, about who gets to make the
rules, and the passage of Prop. 215, it would seem, settled nothing.

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

Medical Pot Bill Advances (The Hawaii Tribune-Herald says the Hawaii House of
Representatives' Health and Public Safety committees agreed to forward a
medical-marijuana bill to the House Judiciary Committee Tuesday following a
hearing that lasted more than three hours in which people who were ill or
caring for sick people made sometimes eloquent pleas for legislative relief.
The committees combined elements of two bills - one submitted by Gov.
Cayetano, one crafted by Health Committee Chairman Alex Santiago. If the bill
becomes law, Hawaii would become the first state to approve use of medical
marijuana through the legislative process.)

Date: Tue, 23 Feb 1999 05:18:11 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US HI: MMJ: Medical Pot Bill Advances
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Roger Christie pakaloha@gte.net
Pubdate: Wed, 17 Feb 1999
Source: Hawaii Tribune-Herald (HI)
Copyright: Hawaii Tribune Herald.
Contact: dave@hilohawaiitribune.com
Website: http://www.hilohawaiitribune.com/
Author: Ben DiPietro (AP)

MEDICAL POT BILL ADVANCES

Advocates Make Impassioned Case In Favor Of Legislation

HONOLULU - People with debilitating or terminal illnesses went to the
Legislature on Tuesday with a single message: Let us smoke marijuana
to alleviate our pain.

A bill to allow people in Hawaii suffering from severe illnesses to
smoke marijuana for medicinal purposes without fear of criminal
prosecution was approved by two House committees.

The House Health and Public Safety committees agreed to forward the
measure to the House Judiciary Committee following a more than
three-hour hearing in which people who were ill or caring for sick
people made sometimes eloquent pleas for legislative relief.

"I am a Marine veteran from World War II. Why should I have to
stumble around the streets trying to buy some marijuana?" said Jerry
Hunt, a Hilo man who walks with an artificial right leg. "I'm
disgusted with it. This is not what I served my country for."

After the hearing, Hunt stood outside the Capitol and smoked a
marijuana cigarette during a television interview, while at least one
other person who testified smoked from a marijuana pipe off camera.

Voters in six states have passed initiatives allowing for medicinal
marijuana. If the bill becomes law, Hawaii would become the first
state to approve use of medical marijuana through the legislative process.

Marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug under federal law, making
it illegal for a doctor or caregiver to write a prescription. Doctors
who recommend marijuana face the threat of losing their licenses, or
of not being allowed to take part in Medicare and Medicaid, but the
bill would protect them.

The committees combined elements of two bills -- one submitted by the
Cayetano administration, one crafted by Health Committee Chairman Alex
Santiago -- to allow for patients suffering from debilitating or
life-threatening conditions to seek relief through use of smoked marijuana.

The bill would allow patients with a recommendation from one doctor to
keep a supply of marijuana for their personal use as medicine. It
would allow people to grow the plants themselves, or to purchase pot
from others. Questions remained about the type of distribution system
that would be used, or the licensing that would be needed.

Questions about whether patients would have to register with the
state, or carry identification cards, were put to the side, and likely
will be considered by the Judiciary Committee.

Santiago, D-Waialua-Kahuku, said he only wanted to focus on the health
aspects of the bills.

He thinks the bill won't become law this year, given the complexities
of the subject.

Santiago expects a more concerted effort by the bill's opponents to
fight the measure on legal grounds if a hearing is held by Judiciary,
but said after holding the bill the past two years, he was moved by
some of the testimony.

The majority of people at Tuesday's hearing spoke in favor of the
bill, including the state Health Department, the Drug Policy Forum of
Hawaii, Life Foundation, and American Civil Liberties Union.

Supporters cited both anecdotal and scientific evidence about people
who smoke marijuana regaining their appetities, feeling less nauseous
and being better able to handle the side effects of prescription drugs.

A state statute enacted in 1977 already allows for legalized use of
medicinal marijuana, as long as the user obtained a lawful
prescription, said Jonathan Adler a pro-marijuana advocate from Puna.

Former University of Hawaii law professor Richard Miller said state
law also provides for a "choice of evils" defense in which someone
charged with using marijuana can claim they had to break the law to
prevent an even more onerous situation from occurring.

"It is entirely possible that medical necessity could be asserted as a
defense to a cannabis possession charge in a proper case," Miller said.

Opponents included the Hawaii County and Honolulu police departments,
Coalition for a Drug Free Hawaii and the Hawaii Medical Association,
which cited a 1997 National Institutes of Health report saying there
wasn't enough scientific evidence to substantiate claims about the
medical effectiveness of smoked marijuana.

"Physicians cannot in good faith recommend a drug therapy without the
clinical evidence to back them up," said the association's Heidi
Yeager Singh. "Until such time as physicians know the risks and
benefits of medical marijuana, we believe this legislation is
dangerous medicine."

Supporters also suggested implementing a trial program for use of
medical marijuana, similar to the two-year testing the state's needle
exchange program went through before it was made permanent.

Opponents also claimed allowing medicinal marijuana will eventually
lead to legalization of marijuana for all people, and possible
increased use of other illegal drugs, a charge called ludicrous by
proponents.

"I don't think this will result in a flood of drugs coming to Hawaii,"
said Paul Groesbeck, executive director of the Life Foundation, which
provides care for people with HIV and AIDS. "That battle has been
long lost."

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

Authorities Release Account Of Shooting, Say Marijuana Found In House (An
Associated Press article in the Topeka Capital-Journal says prohibition
agents in Osawatomie, Kansas, shot Willie Heard dead early Saturday when he
picked up a .22-caliber rifle in his bedroom after they burst into his house.
Police had a warrant to look for crack cocaine but all they found were two or
three roaches. Heard's 16-year-old daughter, who was sleeping on the couch
when officers burst in, said they never identified themselves.)

Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 05:58:06 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US KS: Authorities Release Account Of Shooting,
Say Marijuana Found In House
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: Wed, 17 Feb 1999
Source: Topeka Capital-Journal (KS)
Copyright: 1999 The Topeka Capital-Journal
Contact: letters@cjnetworks.com
Website: http://cjonline.com/
Author: The Associated Press

AUTHORITIES RELEASE ACCOUNT OF SHOOTING, SAY MARIJUANA FOUND IN HOUSE

OSAWATOMIE -- A police raid that left an Osawatomie man dead turned up what
appeared to be a small amount of marijuana, investigators said.

Willie Heard, 46, was killed early Saturday -- the day before his
birthday -- when he picked up a .22-caliber rifle and confronted officers
who burst into his house.

Relatives said Tuesday that the search warrant authorized officers to look
for crack cocaine, crack pipes, scales and other paraphernalia. Officers
searched the house with a dog and found two or three remnants of marijuana
cigarettes, said Gary Heard, Willie Heard's brother.

"That was already smoked marijuana," Gary Heard said. "There were small
little cigarettes."

William Delaney, a Kansas Bureau of Investigation spokesman, released this
account of the raid:

Officers from the Osawatomie and Paola police departments and Miami County
sheriff's deputies announced themselves and raided Heard's house at 1:25
a.m. Saturday. They found Heard in his bedroom armed with a rifle, and an
officer shot him once in the upper body.

Heard's 16-year-old daughter, Ashley, said she was sleeping on the couch
when officers burst in. She said they never identified themselves and that
she knew they were police only when she recognized officers she had seen
around Osawatomie.

"When they came in, all I heard them say was, 'Get down! Freeze!' " Ashley
said. "I screamed, 'Daddy!' and I think he thought his daughter was in
danger. He didn't know they were police officers, because he wouldn't have
hurt a police officer."

The officer who shot Heard is on administrative leave, Delaney said. He
wouldn't say which department the officer works for.

The KBI is working on a report of the raid that officials hope to send to
Miami County Attorney David Miller next week.

Miller will decide whether to file criminal charges.

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

Apathy, America's Greatest Vice (An op-ed in the Little Rock Free Press by
Jack Page, a veteran of the Proposition 215 campaign in California and now
president of NORML Arkansas, faults the apathy that allows marijuana
prohibition to continue. "Marijuana has become the symbol of oppression in
our country and across the globe. . . . As an insider I'd like to reveal a
little known fact about the now historic Prop. 215. . . . Just as we were
resigning ourselves to failure, it happened. Someone very rich and powerful
in the state got busted buying marijuana for a sick family member.")

Date: Tue, 23 Feb 1999 16:45:07 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US AR: Column: Apathy, America's Greatest Vice
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: James Markes
Source: Little Rock Free Press (AR)
Pubdate: Wed 17 Feb 1999
Contact: freep@aristotle.net
Website: http://www.aristotle.net/FREEP
Author: Jack Page (President of NORML Arkansas)

APATHY, AMERICA'S GREATEST VICE

Marijuana has become more to me than a healthier and more pleasant
alternative to alcohol and other drugs.

Marijuana has become the symbol of oppression in our country and across the
globe.

It is the catalyst that has created the healthy skepticism I have
concerning our federal government, replacing the blind faith of ignorance.

It truly amazes me how so many Americans are content with their government.
We Americans have so much money that we don't mind our elected officials
wasting millions after millions of our hard earned tax dollars in their own
petty partisan quarrels.

We don't mind when they spend millions more covering-up their lies and
misinformation which were the foundation upon which the war on drugs was
created.

The problem is that we Americans are inherently selfish to the bone. Why
should we care that 2.1 million other Americans were arrested for marijuana
under President Clinton's administration alone?! Why should we care that
millions of other Americans are suffering from cancer, AIDS and the like
and are denied access to the most responsive therapy?! Why should we care
that federal agencies are busting-down doors to other Americans' homes and
businesses on a daily basis and seizing everything they own and keeping it
even after they are proven innocent.?! It didn't happen to us--that's their
dumb luck!!

I have been involved in the defense of your freedom against the war on
drugs for almost four years now. I started in California getting signatures
for the petition that birthed Proposition 215 which legalized marijuana for
medical use for the state of California. As you should know by now, Prop.
215 pioneered the successful legislation to legalize and decriminalize
marijuana that is now sweeping the nation.

As it now stands, five states have legalized marijuana for medical use and
eleven states have decriminalized possession of marijuana for personal use.
This is all fine and dandy except that the federal government is not
recognizing these states' sovereignty and has been opposing the will of the
people who put them in office and pay their salaries.

As an insider I'd like to reveal a little known fact about the now historic
Prop. 215. It came very close to never making it past the petition stage.
We were at the proverbial brink of failure as the financial support
required for such an effort was close to running out halfway into the
campaign. For a period of two weeks or so the petition drive came to a halt
as we sat on the sidelines anxiously awaiting our fate. Just as we were
resigning ourselves to failure, it happened.

Someone very rich and powerful in the state got busted buying marijuana for
a sick family member.

We were never told who it was, but we knew it was somebody big as the money
started rolling in better than anticipated and the rest, as they say, is
history. And now, as president of NORML Arkansas, I see the same selfish
apathy that is the true enemy of freedom.

You would be amazed, if not appalled, by how many pot smokers I've talked
to about getting involved with the fight for their freedom only to hear the
same selfish apathy.

The most response I've seen has been from people who are those other
Americans -- those citizens whom have personally felt the crushing fist of
oppression which is the war on drugs. You would think that we Americans
would have learned by now that prevention is half the cure. Has the AIDS
epidemic taught us anything?! It will be a little too late to fight for
your own freedom from an out-of-touch, self-serving federal government when
you have a row of bars between you and the rest of the world.

Every 49 seconds an American is arrested for marijuana (according to FBI
statistics). Each and every one of you that smoke pot are in extreme
jeopardy of being the next casualty of the war on drugs. None of you are
safe -- none of you are truly free (unless, of course, your father is the
governor).

The following is an excerpt from "STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS:
Marijuana Prohibition, 1937- 1997; A Report Issued by NORML on the Occasion
of the 60th Anniversary of Marijuana Prohibition."

"The 'war on drugs' is not really about drugs; if it were, tobacco and
alcohol would be the primary targets.

They are the most commonly used and abused drugs in America and
unquestionably cause far more harm to the user and to society than does
marijuana.

Yet neither is illegal. "America tried to prohibit alcohol, but soon
discovered that the crime and violence associated with prohibition was more
damaging than the evil sought to be prohibited. With tobacco, America has
learned over the past two decades that education is the most effective way
to discourage use. Americans smoke far fewer cigarettes today than in the
past without having the criminal justice system issue a single arrest,
administer one drug test, seize any property, or sentence anyone to jail.
Yet, the federal government fails to apply these lessons toward a rational
and effective marijuana policy.

Instead, politicians continue to support and enforce a failed, 60-year old
public policy at the expense of rational discourse, billions in
misappropriated funds and resources, and many of the founding principles
and freedoms that America was built upon. The 'war on drugs' has become
largely a war on marijuana smokers, and the casualties of this war are the
wrecked lives and the destroyed families of the half a million otherwise
law-abiding citizens who are arrested each year on marijuana charges."

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

The Nazi Comparison (A compelling op-ed in the Rock River Times, in Rockford,
Illinois, by Dr. John Beresford, a retired psychiatrist who visited Nazi
Germany in his youth, says America's vast network of prisons, boot camps,
and jails invites comparisons to the detention machinery of totalitarian
regimes. With its war on some drug users, America is treading the same path
as Nazi Germany. The War on Drugs and Hitler's war on anyone he took
exception to share the same symptoms. Where it all ends depends on reformers'
efforts.)

Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 12:04:13 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US IL: Column: The Nazi Comparison
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: M. Simon
Pubdate: Wed, 17 Feb 1999
Source: Rock River Times (IL)
Address: 128 N. Church St., Rockford, Illinois 61101
FAX: (815) 964-9825
Copyright: The Rock River Times 1999
Author: Dr. John Beresford

THE NAZI COMPARISON

Drug War prisoners that I correspond with call themselves POWs. Some write
"POW in America" in the corner of an envelope under the writer's name and
prison number. "Political prisoner" and "gulag" are terms that enter
conversation. Solzhenitsyn's The First Circle and The Gulag Archipelago are
works sometimes referred to.

America's vast network of prisons, boot camps, and jails invites comparison
with the detention machinery of former totalitarian regimes. The certainty
of conviction that an accusation of a drug law violation brings -- through
confession (95 percent) or trial and a finding of guilt (the remaining 5
percent) -- matches the idea of automatic conviction that goes with popular
belief about the nazi and communist systems. "Nazi" is a term used by Drug
War prisoners and non-prisoners alike, as though it were a given that the
mentality behind Nazi behavior a half-century ago and the operation of
today's Drug War is no different.

The comparison is an uncomfortable one, and one's first inclination is to
reject it. A US judge has objected that nothing in the conduct of today's
Drug War resembles the terror tactics in Nazi Germany where SS troops could
storm into a person's home and no one saw or heard of that person again. The
objection is understandable, but it rests on a false premise. The Nazis were
not a bunch of crooks, operating outside the confines of the law. Everything
they did had legal backing, and if on some occasion a law was needed they
composed one.

Flat out, it will be objected that a world of difference separates a prison
from a death camp. Drug War prisoners are not intended for a holocaust.
Ominously for our peace of mind, however, until the last minute neither were
the people held in concentration camps. They were held there to protect the
health of society. Moreover, with the obsession with death that gains ground
daily, it is probable that death is in the cards for people accused of drug
law violations in the future. A questionnaire is making the rounds in
Congress that has Yes and No boxes for questions which include: "Do you
favor the death penalty for drug trafficking?" Who in their right mind in
Congress, I wonder, will check No to that question, "trafficking" being the
loaded term for what most people call dealing?

Someone will point to the absurdity of thinking that America would ever
tolerate a "Fuhrer," a wild man with a funny mustache and a way of
haranguing crowds burlesqued by Charlie Chaplin. The point, though, is that
the Nazi comparison refers not so much to rhetoric, inevitably different in
two quite different places and at different times, as to the dehumanization
and trashing of large numbers of people for lifestyles and practices that
violate the norms of mainstream society. For this we do not need a Hitler.
We can do it the American way.

Myself, I am sympathetic to the Nazi comparison. I was in Nazi Germany as a
child.

In the summer of 1938, when I was 14, my parents sent me on a two-week
vacation with a family in a village in north-west Germany. There were Mr.
and Mrs. Otting, their daughter Irmgard, and the youngest son Wolfgang, who
wore his Hitler Jugend uniform at Wednesday night meetings. The two older
sons I never saw. One was in the army. The other was doing two years of
voluntary farm labor, which excused him from army service.

Mr. and Mrs. Otting were old-time Christians, and had the family bible on
display in the china cabinet in the dining room. On the shelf above the Holy
Bible you saw the red and white dust jacket of Mein Kampf, Hitler's version
of scripture. No one said anything about it, but there had to be a copy of
Mein Kampf on display for two reasons. Every five or six houses or
apartments had an informant who could sift through mail, collect gossip, and
pay a visit to make sure the householder did not have suspicious material
lying around. Also, schoolchildren were taught to report suspicious behavior
to the police.

There wasn't any TV, but there was plenty of entertainment -- parades,
outdoor concerts, Hitler on the radio, sports.

The economy was great. Everyone had a job. Germany was strong. Hitler wanted
peace. New construction was going up everywhere. The trains ran on time. You
didn't see beggars in the street, hanging around. Undesirables had been
rounded up, got out of the way.

The newspapers were full of praise for the Nazi system. A weekly periodical
with pictures showed who the Untermenschen were, the underclass of people
who had no place in decent society. In those days the underclass consisted
of gypsies, Jews, homosexuals, the wrong sort of artists, trade unionists,
and communists. They were described in terms we now call demonization and
scapegoating.

The universities had their share of academics who endorsed Nazi policy.
Doctors, engineers, race specialists, and others spelled out theories which
gave the Nazis a green light.

At 14 I was barely aware of all this. Yet by the end of my two weeks with
the Ottings I had a feeling that to this day remains hard to describe. I
took this feeling home to England, where I promptly forgot it. It wasn't the
sort of feeling you had there. I didn't have it during the war, which
started the next year. I didn't have it when I studied medicine, emigrated
to America, became an American citizen, and lived in New York for 20 years.
I didn't have it in Canada, where I practiced psychiatry for 15 years. I
didn't have it when I retired from practice and spent time in a Buddhist
monastery.

On and off, I would read about Nazi Germany, but the feeling that I had when
I was briefly in Nazi Germany as a child had gone.

In the fall of 1992 an ad appeared in the personal column of High Times
Magazine, sent in by Brian Adams. Brian wrote that he was 18 years old, just
out of high school, when he was arrested and sentenced to ten years of
imprisonment for passing out LSD to his friends. If a High Times reader was
interested in LSD sentencing methods, the reader could write to Brian and
learn something.

I wrote to Brian, who introduced me to Tim Dean, who introduced me to other
LSD prisoners and soon I was in the thick of a correspondence which has not
stopped growing. In 1993 I began to visit Drug War prisoners in prison. I
drove to the Canadian border, crossed into the United States, and talked
with Pat Jordan in County Jail in Nashville, Tennessee. I drove to Michigan
City to talk with Franklin Martz, sentenced to 40 years in the Indiana State
Prison in that city. I drove to other prisons to speak with Drug War
prisoners, paying attention to the information they provided. That started
my Drug War education.

One day something happened. I realized that every time I left the monastery
and entered the United States I was struck with a weird feeling that left as
soon as I re-entered Canada. I couldn't put my finger on it, but it was as
real as day. When the meaning of this realization dawned, it hit me like a
ton of bricks. The feeling I had acquired in Nazi Germany and forgotten more
than half a century before was back. My Drug War education had clicked in.

The feeling told me everything. The exponent of democracy had fallen on hard
times. America was treading the same path as Nazi Germany. The War on Drugs
and Hitler's war on anyone he took exception to -- the symptoms in the two
cases were identical.

One thing I had to accept was that I could not stay on in the monastery. I
could not sit back and watch disaster unfold. I had to get out in the world
and become an activist, whatever becoming an activist entailed. Even if no
one else saw the War on Drugs in the same light I did, I had to do what
might lie in my power to stop it.

I won't go into what has happened since, except to mention a friendship with
Nora Callahan and a tie to the November Coalition. It is a relief to know
that others share the perception that historically we are in big trouble,
without their having once glimpsed life in Nazi Germany.

Where it will end, no one can say. But there is reason for hope. In 1938
people in Germany did not know the price they would soon pay for subscribing
to Nazi policy. We, looking back, do know. With the benefit of hindsight and
with concerted effort we may still halt the juggernaut, free Drug War
prisoners, reverse an unsalutary policy, and restore meaning to the words
"liberty and justice for all." If we don't, we will have no one to blame for
the disaster that lies just around the corner but ourselves.

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

Best Drug Policy Is Straight Ahead (An op-ed in Newsday by Marsha Rosenbaum
of the Lindesmith Center West says the Clinton administration's new plan to
reduce drug use by half by the year 2007 is a natural response to our
country's ongoing struggle with drug use. The problem is that Clinton's plan
is just more of the what we've already been trying - and look at the results.
More drug education, of the sort existing already, cannot be expected to
reverse the trend. Indeed, study after study shows that current drug
education programs have no effect on drug use whatsoever. Quite simply, they
lack credibility. Our first priority ought to be gaining the trust of young
people.)

Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 16:52:51 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: OPED: Best Drug Policy Is Straight Ahead
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Ty Trippet http://www.lindesmith.org/
Pubdate: Wed, 17 Feb 1999
Source: Newsday (NY)
Copyright: 1999, Newsday Inc.
Page: A37
Contact: letters@newsday.com
FAX: (516) 843-2986
Website: http://www.newsday.com/
Author: Marsha Rosenbaum
Note: Marsha Rosenbaum is the director of the Lindesmith Center West, a
drug policy institute in San Francisco. She is the author of "Women on
Heroin" and "Pregnant Women on Drugs" (with Sheila Murphy).

BEST DRUG POLICY IS STRAIGHT AHEAD

THE CLINTON administration has just unveiled a major plan to reduce drug
use by half by the year 2007. It calls for more drug education for children
and tighter security at our borders to stem the supply of drugs. Indeed, as
part of that effort, Bill Clinton seems all but certain to certify Mexico's
continuing cooperation to curb the export of drugs into this county.

Clinton's call to arms is a natural response to our country's ongoing
struggle with drug use. The problem is that we're already trying this - and
look at the results.

The federal drug-control budget exceeds $17 billion per year. Add state and
local budgets to fight drugs, and the figure may be nearly five times
larger. Two-thirds of this money is used for interdiction, stopping drugs
from entering the country, and enforcement - arresting, trying and
imprisoning users. So far (perhaps because the black market generates $64
billion per year), this effort has been a dismal failure.

In fact, since President Ronald Reagan began escalating the "war on drugs,"
worldwide production of opium has expanded. The price of heroin has dropped
and its purity has increased steadily. We cannot seem to make a dent in the
supply, hence availability, of heroin.

Our efforts to reduce the demand for drugs have fared no better than our
efforts to reduce drug supplies. Today's young adults were in grade school
when Nancy Reagan began telling them to "just say no." Over and over, in
the schools and on television, they have been warned about drugs' dangers.
Yet for nearly a decade now, drug use among adolescents has been rising.
According to government statistics, less than 1 percent have ever tried
heroin, but those federal researchers familiar with drug-use patterns
believe its use among young people is increasing.

More drug education, of the sort existing already, cannot be expected to
reverse these trends. Indeed, study after study shows that current drug
education programs have no effect on drug use whatsoever. Quite simply,
they lack credibility. Much of their focus is on marijuana, which they
overly demonize, hoping it will frighten young people away from
experimentation. Half of American teenagers try marijuana anyway, and once
they learn the dire warnings are not true, they begin to mistrust
everything about drugs that adults tell them.

And why shouldn't they? Why should they listen at all if they can't believe
that what we tell them is true?

The truth about heroin is that it is much more dangerous than marijuana.
Anyone who injects heroin with a needle that was used previously by others
risks contracting a deadly infection such as hepatitis or HIV.

Anyone who uses heroin steadily for several weeks running, whether it is
injected, smoked or snorted, will begin developing physical dependence and
face withdrawal symptoms if he stops using it. People who use heroin
occasionally do not become addicted. But, compared to the heroin addict,
the occasional heroin user has not developed tolerance to the drug. He is
at much greater risk of experiencing a fatal overdose. Still, because
heroin is illegal, unregulated and uncontrolled, even the most experienced
user cannot know the potency contained in a batch of unlabeled white powder.

These are the kinds of warnings we should be giving young people about
heroin. But first we have to get them to listen by convincing them they can
trust us to tell the truth. They must also trust that they can come to us
in an emergency.

"Zero tolerance" is another method for deterring young people from
experimentation. But it has meant that too many have died because their
friends were afraid of calling parents or other authorities for help.
Terrified of being detected themselves, teenagers in Plano, Texas, for
example, fled the scene, leaving one boy to choke on his own vomit and die.

Like it or not, we cannot seal our borders or completely eliminate demand
for drugs, no matter how much money the government is willing to spend.
Moral indignation will not change that reality. A more pragmatic approach
would be to learn to live with drugs, as we do with alcohol, and to focus
on the reduction of drug-related harm.

Our first priority ought to be gaining the trust of young people. We ought
to offer thorough, scientifically grounded education that allows them to
learn all they can about drugs, alcohol and any other substances they
ingest. Young people will ultimately make their own decisions about drug
use, and when they do, they ought to have enough accurate information -
from sources they trust - to insure their own safety and the safety of
others.

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

TV Notes: Bad Hair Days (New York Times television reviewer Lawrie Mifflin
praises the CBS Morning News for Roberta Baskin's three-part series this week
on hair testing for illegal-drug use. Many experts say the tests are
unreliable and possibly racially biased. Testing the testers, Baskin found
that different labs came up with widely different results on samples from
identical heads of hair. Drug testing labs also came up with different
results on hairs of darker or lighter color but exposed to the same level of
drugs.)

Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 14:03:25 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: NYT: TV Notes: Bad Hair Days
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: rlake@mapinc.org
Pubdate: Wed, 17 Feb 1999
Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 1999 The New York Times Company
Contact: letters@nytimes.com
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
Forum: http://forums.nytimes.com/comment/
Author: Lawrie Mifflin
Note: The website for The CBS Morning News story is currently at:
http://www.cbs.com/prd1/now/template.display?p_who=network&p_story=115738

TV NOTES: BAD HAIR DAYS

A report on "The CBS Morning News" this week finds a disturbing increase in
the use of hair tests to screen job candidates for past drug use --
disturbing because many experts say the tests are unreliable and possibly
racially biased.

The tests can detect drug use over a longer time period than urine tests
(which typically detect back only three days), but they may also register
false positives, even from exposure to drug particles in the environment.
And, as Roberta Baskin shows in the conclusion to her three-part series
Wednesday, different labs came up with widely different results on samples
from identical heads of hair and with different results on hairs of darker
or lighter color but exposed to the same level of drugs.

"It's promising technology when used with other kinds of tests, for
forensic purposes," she said. "But used by itself to decide if someone gets
or doesn't get a job, or custody of a child, for example, it could be very
unfair."

Ms. Baskin's report might strike many viewers as something they would be
more likely to see on the "CBS Evening News," or a prime-time news
magazine. But Al Berman, the executive producer of the "Morning News,"
wants stories like these to distinguish his show from the other breakfast
shows.

"We're fortunate to have an investigative team dedicated to this
broadcast," Berman said. Ms. Baskin has won many investigative-reporting
awards, including two prestigious Alfred I. Dupont-Columbia University
silver batons, one of them for revealing serious flaws in the National
Football League's drug testing procedures.

During the 1998 Winter Olympics, Ms. Baskin got into trouble with Andrew
Heyward, president of CBS News, when, in a letter to him that was leaked to
the press, she protested some CBS reporters' wearing parkas with a Nike
logo and she accused the network of killing a report she had done on Nike.

In unusually angry terms, Heyward denounced Ms. Baskin for her letter,
which she said she had not leaked. Her on-air appearances dwindled; last
July she joined "The CBS Morning News."

Asked if she had wanted to work there, she said, "I like to tell good
stories wherever I can tell them," and would not comment on her
relationship with Heyward or whether it had influenced her move.

She did object to the notion that morning programs only do gentler,
consumer-oriented reporting. "I hate labels," she said. "I'm interested in
stories that affect a lot of people, and I like breaking stories that
people haven't heard about yet."

Berman has offered her series on hair drug-testing to "CBS Evening News"
but has not heard yet whether it will run there as well.

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

Testing The Drug Test Labs (A CBS news broadcast by Roberta Baskin says she
had identical batches of eight hair samples tested by three corporations -
Associated Pathologists Laboratories in Las Vegas; United States Drug Testing
Laboratories, outside Chicago; Psychemedics' home testing kits. The results
showed just how flawed hair testing can be. "Consider this: if drug testing
labs were wrong just one percent of the time, it would add up to 250,000
wrong results.")

Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 19:43:36 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: Testing The Drug Test Labs
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: 17 Feb 1999
Source: CBS News
Contact: http://www.cbs.com/navbar/feedback.html
Website: http://www.cbs.com/
Author: Roberta Baskin

TESTING THE DRUG TEST LABS

All three labs detected the drug in the African-American user, two failed
to find it in the white user.

CBS NEW YORK Wednesday, February 17,1999 - 10:13 AM ET

(CBS) This week, a series of special reports by CBS This Morning
Correspondent Roberta Baskin raised important questions about the
reliability of using hair tests to detect drug use. Her three-month
investigation concludes with her own exclusive survey, and results that
should be of real concern for anyone who's subjected to hair testing.

More than 1,500 employers now make hiring and firing decisions based on
drug tests that use hair samples. But the concerns of scientists prompted
some hair testing of our own.

Why a hair test? Because when a person uses drugs, it goes straight into
the bloodstream, then into the hair shaft where traces of drug use can
remain for months. But how reliably and accurately can those traces be
measured in the laboratory?

"Very accurately," says Ray Kubacki, president and CEO of Psychemedics, the
largest hair testing company in the U.S. "It does a great job of picking up
all the drugs," he says.

But Dr. Michael Walsh, the former drug adviser to Presidents Reagan and
Bush, is one of a number of scientists who question the results coming out
of hair testing labs.

"There are so many questions yet unresolved about hair testing that it is
totally unreasonable to use the results of a hair test to make a decision
about whether to hire or fire someone," Dr. Walsh says.

So what would he say to the firms using hair testing for drugs? "As P.T.
Barnum said, 'there's a sucker born every minute,' and I think a lot of
these corporations have been suckered by some good salesmanship and good
marketing," he says.

We decided to check for ourselves. First, we set up a fictitious company,
appropriately named The Strand Group, and found three labs to conduct our
hair tests.

We used Associated Pathologists Laboratories in Las Vegas; United States
Drug Testing Laboratories outside Chicago; and home testing kits made by
Psychemedics.

We sent identical batches of eight hair samples to each of the three labs.
Some contained high levels of cocaine and PCP. Some contained codeine, an
opiate. Two samples contained no drugs at all. Each hair sample was
prepared by leading scientific experts, their work confirmed with state of
the art equipment. We included a sample from a frequent marijuana and
cocaine user who asked that we not reveal his identity. We confirmed his
use with an old-fashioned urine test.

Most of our results came back within 72 hours, and they showed just how
flawed hair testing can be.

All three labs did a good job detecting the high levels of cocaine in our
samples, and correctly identified the cocaine use by our anonymous drug user.

But none of the three found the marijuana.

All three hair testing labs missed the opiates, and two out of the three
labs missed the PCP, even though the levels were about four times higher
than those the labs claim they can detect.

We also tested scientists' concerns that hair testing might be
color-biased. Recent tests on laboratory animals have shown that the
concentration of drugs in black hair can be up to 50 times higher than in
lighter-colored hair.

Sure enough, when we sent hair samples from two people who took the same
low amounts of cocaine, all three labs detected the drug in the
African-American user, while two failed to find it in the white user. One
lab rejected the hair sample as too small to test.

Raymond Kelly, head of Associated Pathologists Laboratories, says, "It's
really hard to get anything statistically significant out of one sample of
each type - that's just a far too tiny population. That's one of the
problems I have with these studies that show that there is a hair color
bias issue."

Finally, we saw how someone can falsely be accused of being a user simply
by being around drugs. The hair of an 8-year old child was exposed to low
concentrations of cocaine, then washed several times. Psychemedics
correctly reported the contamination. But the other two labs reported the
child's hair positive for cocaine. They even reported finding a chemical in
it which can only be produced through ingestion.

Dr. Christine Moore is director of United States Drug Testing Laboratories,
one of the two labs that found the 8-year old tested positive for cocaine.
She says, "It's difficult, if not impossible, to tell the difference
between use and contamination."

Dr. Moore adds, "We need to have more blind samples sent and these types of
things where people know what's in the samples to test the laboratory. That
can only help with us to improve our own work."

She says she wants to re-examine her lab procedures to understand why it
missed the opiates.

To the credit of all three labs, the drug-free samples we sent all came
back drug-free.

As Dr Michael Walsh puts it, "There are no outside proficiency testing or
quality control or certification programs that are providing an oversight
over this technology. So the buyer has to beware."

Ours was a small sample, not a scientific study. But it raises serious
credibility questions about hair testing.

Consider this: if drug testing labs were wrong just one percent of the
time, it would add up to 250,000 wrong results.

By Roberta Baskin

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

Ex-Officer Found Guilty In Drug Case (The Philadelphia Inquirer says a
federal jury yesterday convicted Peter Henry, a former Philadelphia police
officer, of using his police credit-union account to help launder the gains
of his extended family's illegal marijuana dealings.)

Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 18:14:53 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US PA: Ex-Officer Found Guilty In Drug Case
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Jim Galasyn
Pubdate: Feb 17, 1999
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer (PA)
Copyright: 1999 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc.
Contact: Inquirer.Opinion@phillynews.com
Website: http://www.phillynews.com/
Forum: http://interactive.phillynews.com/talk-show/
Author: Bill Ordine & Joseph A. Slobodzian, Inquirer Staff Writers

EX-OFFICER FOUND GUILTY IN DRUG CASE

A former Philadelphia police officer who prosecutors said used his
police credit-union account to help launder the gains of his extended
family's illegal marijuana dealings was convicted in federal court
yesterday.

The jury deliberated about six hours over two days before returning
guilty verdicts against Peter Henry, 35, on one count of conspiracy to
launder money and two counts of money laundering.

Henry was acquitted of the more serious charge of conspiracy to
distribute drugs and of three additional money-laundering charges
involving a marijuana ring that prosecutors said was headed by his
cousin's husband, Corbin Thomas, a Jamaican emigre.

Henry faces a possible jail term of 5 to 6 years, according to the
prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Reed. U.S. District Judge
J. Curtis Joyner set sentencing for May 20.

Defense lawyer Jack A. Meyerson said he planned to
appeal.

"You always worry about jury compromise," Meyerson said, referring to
the acquittal on the drug charge and the conviction for money laundering.

Henry, a Jamaican-born resident of the city's Wynnefield Heights
neighborhood, was charged, in a 33-count indictment last September,
with being a member of a marijuana ring that operated in the city from
1990 to 1995.

The indictment alleged that he helped launder the cash proceeds -- the
ring made more than $1 million selling thousands of pounds of
marijuana -- by depositing large quantities of cash in his police
credit-union account. The 12-year veteran would then withdraw varying
amounts and use the cash to make straw purchases of automobiles for
Thomas, 36, and others.

Also charged in the indictment were Thomas' nephew, Winston "Titos"
Thomas, 35, and three other associates as well as Henry's
half-brother, Richard Davis, 28, and cousin, Livingston Hall, 28, both
of Philadelphia, who allegedly bought and resold marijuana from the
drug organization.

Davis and Livingston pleaded guilty shortly before the start of
Henry's trial. The remaining defendants are fugitives and believed by
authorities to be in Jamaica.

Authorities said Corbin Thomas apparently fled to Jamaica about a
month after the Nov. 14, 1995, murder of his estranged wife, Hope
Smith Thomas, 29, a cousin of Henry's. She was fatally shot by a man
in a "Wolfman" mask who accosted her and her daughter, Danielle, then
7, outside their Cedarbrook home.

When yesterday's verdict was announced, Henry's wife, Lisa, broke into
wails of "No! No! No!" and had to be restrained by friends and
relatives. As she passed Reed, she kicked at his chair, losing her
shoe in the process. She was briefly detained by U.S. marshals, but
Joyner allowed her release.

After the jury was dismissed, Henry, in appealing to Joyner for his
wife's release, said he had turned down plea bargains that would have
allowed him to serve six months, followed by probation.

Reed said he discussed plea bargains with Meyerson but did not offer a
six-month jail term.

Meyerson declined comment.

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

Nighttime Drug Raid - Wrong House (The Miami Herald describes a recent home
invasion by prohibition agents in Hallandale, Florida. Wrong apartment. Wrong
building. Mixed-up search warrant. Innocent people terrorized. Wrong man
arrested, humiliated and jailed in his wife's underwear.)

Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 18:00:46 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US FL: Nighttime Drug Raid - Wrong House
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Ginger Warbis (Webmistress@Fornits.com)
Pubdate: Wed, 17 Feb 1999
Source: Miami Herald (FL)
Copyright: 1999 The Miami Herald
Contact: heralded@herald.com
Website: http://www.herald.com/
Forum: http://krwebx.infi.net/webxmulti/cgi-bin/WebX?mherald
Author: Arnold Markowitz, Herald Staff Writer

NIGHTTIME DRUG RAID - WRONG HOUSE

Loretta Bernhardt's Chihuahua growled, detecting something. Uh-oh,
Loretta thought, her husband was up.

It was a Hallandale Police narcotics raid, deliberately sudden and
terrifying to give the raiders the advantage of surprise -- all
typical, except for this:

Wrong apartment. Wrong building. Mixed-up search warrant. Innocent
people terrorized. Wrong man arrested, humiliated and jailed in his
wife's underwear.

It happened Feb. 9 in Hallandale. Edwin J. Bernhardt, a race horse
exercise rider, spent a few hours under arrest for resisting arrest.

Sgt. Paul Winters, the raiding party's supervisor, drove Bernhardt
home later that night. He apologized and promised to have the door and
window repaired.

``We Irish have to stick together,'' he told Loretta Bernhardt, who
grew up as a milkmaid in County Galway.

Next: Trouble. The Bernhardts' lawyer has notified the city of Hallandale
that they intend to sue for false arrest and other offenses.

The lawyer, Gary Kollin, advised the Bernhardts not to pose for news
photos or give interviews. ``They're both suffering from
post-traumatic stress,'' he said.

Sgt. Winters and Detective Andrew Raphael, the lead investigator, did
not reply to requests for an explanation. Chief Lawrence Farragher
would not talk about the case except to say it is under internal
investigation.

``We investigate anything when there's a complaint,'' he said. ``I'm
not saying this is a complaint here, or if we feel certain procedures
are not followed to our liking.''

Some police information was obtained from public-record documents --
the application for a search warrant and the warrant itself -- and
other interviews.

That Tuesday was a stormy night. The raiders came at 8:45 p.m. Eddie
Bernhardt, 46, was asleep. He goes to work at 4 a.m., exercising
horses at Gulfstream Park. His wife has a job at a horse-boarding
farm. That night she came home about 8. She ate, then settled onto the
living-room couch to watch some television. She had a package of M&Ms
and a can of Diet Coke.

When the Chihuahua growled, Loretta Bernhardt's first thought was to
hide the M&Ms from her husband. She has a sugar problem and isn't
supposed to eat candy.

An assault rifle A window crashed, glass tinkling to the floor. An
assault rifle poked through the hole. A shout:``Get down! Get down!''
Something was bang-bang-banging on the door. Now Eddie Bernhardt woke
up. Naked, he leaped out of bed and ran into the living room just as
the door crashed open.

``Two guys come in first. They push Eddie against the refrigerator,
right off the living room,'' Kollin said, reading from a hand-written
account by Loretta Bernhardt.

``What the hell's going on?'' Eddie Bernhardt shouted.

``Shut up, shut up,'' the police shouted back.

``One guy grabbed me and pushed me to the ground and handcuffed me and
had a rifle pointed at me,'' Loretta Bernhardt wrote.

Handcuffed on the floor

Her husband was handcuffed on the floor near the refrigerator. About
then, he realized these were not robbers, but the police.

``What are you doing?'' he asked. ``You've got the wrong
person.''

A detective in street clothes appeared, giving orders: ``Pick him up
and put him in a chair.'' Someone did that.

``What are you arresting me for?'' Bernhardt asked.

``Crack cocaine,'' the detective answered.

A masked policewoman went to the bedroom, took a pair of boxer
undershorts from the laundry bin and pulled them onto Bernhardt's
body. The shorts are his wife's.

The apartment is small -- living room, kitchenette, bedroom and
bathroom -- adequate for a working couple who follow the horse-racing
circuit, but pets are allowed so the place is a little crowded. The
Bernhardts have the Chihuahua Pippin, a chummy black Labrador named
Bow and a fuzzy gray tabby cat called Clyde.

When the handcuffed Bernhardts looked around for Bow, he was cowering
in a corner. A police officer was holding Pippin. Another was holding
Clyde.

Trying to count officers

Loretta tried to count the police in the place; she lost track at
15.

Her address, 611 NE Third St., is five blocks north of Gulfstream and
a fraction of a block east of Federal Highway, the name of U.S. 1 in
Broward. The building is one of six one-story structures in a row, all
20 by 82 feet, each with four apartments. They look as if they were
all built for one original owner, but now there are different owners
and -- at least by daylight -- there are obvious differences.

The building where the Bernhardts live is white with red trim at the
roofline and red brick facing between the windows on their end. It has
a barrel tile roof. Their apartment, closest to the street, has a
light gray door and a large number 1 on the mailbox.

The next building is nearly identical but in disrepair, apparently
vacant. These two buildings are called the Cool Breeze, but without a
sign.

Row of buildings

The third building in the row, 619 NE Third St., is painted tan with
green trim. The front apartment has a green door with the number 17.
This is one of five buildings of the El Morocco Motel and the only one
in the row with a roof of plain shingles -- not tile. Four tan
buildings over, the El Morocco has a medium-size electric sign on a
post.

According to Detective Raphael's application for a search warrant, he
supervised a controlled purchase of crack cocaine sometime in the
first week of February. The buy was made by a person called
Confidential Informant #413. The application says Raphael sent CI 413,
with $20 in police money, to the door of apartment 17. A black man
opened it. Three minutes later the informant returned to Raphael
without the money and handed the detective a chunk of crack.

Watching and making note of those movements is standard police
procedure, intended to prevent mistakes later when a raid is made. But
somewhere in the chain of events starting that day, mistakes were made
anyway and were not corrected until too late.

Descriptions mixed

Raphael's affidavit, presented to Broward Circuit Judge Joyce Julian
the day before the raid, mixes descriptions of the right place and the
wrong place. It mentions the El Morocco and apartment 17 and the
shingled roof of the place where the buy was made, and the black man
who opened the door. But instead of 619 NE Third St. -- the right
address -- it incorrectly says the buy was made at 611, where the
Bernhardts live. They are white.

The mistake is compounded by a detailed description of 611: the
white-painted concrete block construction. The red brick facing on the
end wall. The white fence between 611 and DiAnno's, the restaurant at
the corner of Federal Highway.

One reason for the confusion might be that the police had been active
lately in that neighborhood and presumably have seen all the
buildings. Twice in January, they made drug raids on different
apartments at 614 NE Third St., directly across from the Bernhardts.

Hector Miranda, owner of the El Morocco, says they have made a few
raids there. He doesn't know anything about Eddie and Loretta
Bernhardt, but he has a registration card from the man who rented his
apartment #17.

The tenant checked in on Dec. 22 as Omar Wilson and paid a week's
rent, $175. He gave a North Miami address that used to exist, but is
now the parking lot of a Walgreens store.

Miranda expected Wilson to stop by the office last Tuesday: ``He was
supposed to pay that day. He was behind $60 rent for the previous
week, but I didn't see him.''

Last Saturday, he said, Wilson's girlfriend came to the El Morocco
office. He let her in the apartment to get Wilson's clothing.

``Where is he?'' Miranda asked.

``He's in jail,'' she said.

It's true. Winters, the detective sergeant at the wrong-address raid,
had come to the El Morocco at 3 a.m. on Friday and arrested Wilson on
1997 charges of aggravated assault and resisting arrest. The Broward
County Jail booking sheet doesn't mention cocaine, but it lists the
right address: 619 NE Third St., #17.

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

Police Officer Perjury Not Rare, Observers Say - Indictment May Be a First in
Pr. George's (The Washington Post says Cpl. Rickey Rodriguez Davis, a
nine-year police veteran in Prince George's County, was indicted on two
counts of perjury in connection with his 1994 court testimony that fellow
officer Timothy J. Moran did not hit a handcuffed man. Moran later admitted
in federal court that he did hit the man. "Officers are more likely to get
struck by lightning" than prosecuted for perjury, said Chris Slobogin, a
University of Florida law professor. "It's extremely rare for prosecutors to
indict what is essentially a co-worker," Slobogin said. In Philadelphia, at
least 283 cases of police perjury have been dismissed in the wake of a
corruption scandal involving two officers who were convicted of framing
suspects and lying on the witness stand.)

Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 12:27:42 -0700 (MST)
From: Jury Rights Project (jrights@levellers.org)
Subject: WP: Police Officer Perjury Not Rare (2/17/99)

Washington Post
1150 15th St., NW
Washington, DC 20071
Phone: 202-334-6000
Fax: 202-334-5451
Web: http://www.washingtonpost.com
Letters to the Editor:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/letters/letterform.htm

Wednesday, February 17, 1999; Page B01

Police Officer Perjury Not Rare, Observers Say
Indictment May Be a First in Pr. George's

By Ruben Castaneda
Washington Post Staff Writer

The indictment of a Prince George's County police officer on perjury
charges in connection with testimony regarding whether a fellow officer
beat a handcuffed suspect is believed to be the first such charge in county
history. But local defense lawyers, and some national researchers, say
officers often lie or omit key details in court testimony, especially in
serious criminal trials and cases involving allegations of excessive force.

The charges against Cpl. Rickey Rodriguez Davis are the latest turn in a
case that has rocked all levels of law enforcement in the county and
brought the sharp rebuke of a federal judge.

Davis, a nine-year veteran, was indicted on two counts of perjury in
connection with his 1994 court testimony that fellow officer Timothy J.
Moran did not hit a handcuffed Bowie man. Moran later admitted in federal
court that he violated the man's civil rights by hitting him when he was
handcuffed.

During Moran's sentencing last May, U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte
sharply criticized county officials for not prosecuting the officer
themselves, saying they should police the police force and not leave that
task to the federal government.

In his November 1995 testimony in Prince George's County Circuit Court,
Davis said Moran did not hit Peter Peluso. At the time, Peluso was on trial
for allegedly assaulting his neighbor and resisting arrest. He was
acquitted of both charges.

In the subsequent federal investigation of the incident, Davis testified to
a federal grand jury that Moran did hit Peluso, according to several
sources familiar with the investigation. Although Davis cooperated with the
federal investigation, he was not given any immunity for his testimony,
according to the police union chief. U.S. Attorney Lynne A. Battaglia
forwarded the perjury case to Prince George's County State's Attorney Jack
B. Johnson (D).

Defense lawyers said they hope last week's indictment of Davis will deter
other officers from lying under oath.

"It's a common for police officers to lie. It happens every day," Riverdale
lawyer Doug Wood said. "They lie on the stand and support each other."

"While I think there are officers who take their oaths seriously and don't
lie, there is no question in my mind there are officers who without
hesitation walk into the courtroom and lie," said lawyer Michael S.
Blumenthal, a former county prosecutor.

On the other hand, a police spokesman and the president of the county's
police union said perjury by officers is rare and exaggerated by critics.

But independent researchers said police perjury occurs throughout the
country, particularly when evidence is challenged or officers are accused
of brutality, though they differed on the frequency of such lying. They
said that prosecutions of officers on perjury charges is indeed rare.

Veteran lawyers said they could not recall a previous instance in which a
county police officer was charged with perjury, a felony punishable by 10
years in prison.

"Officers are more likely to get struck by lightning" than prosecuted for
perjury, said Chris Slobogin, a University of Florida law professor who has
written law review articles about police perjury.

"It's extremely rare for prosecutors to indict what is essentially a
co-worker," Slobogin said.

He said perjury by police officers is most prevalent in urban areas, not
because officers there are less honest but because of the high levels of
crime and pressures they face.

"As a moral matter, police sometimes feel it's okay to lie if it will lead
to the conviction of a defendant who is guilty. They can rationalize it,"
Slobogin said.

In recent years, police perjury has been exposed in Chicago, Los Angeles,
New York and Philadelphia. In Philadelphia, at least 283 cases have been
dismissed in the wake of a corruption scandal involving two officers who
were convicted of framing suspects and lying on the witness stand.

New York's Mollen Commission early this decade documented numerous
instances of what has been called police "testi-lying."

Some experts said that lying, or remaining silent to protect fellow
officers accused of misconduct, is seen as a virtue among some officers.

"It's probably the most powerful unwritten rule of police work," Slobogin
said. "You never rat on your partner. It's a cardinal sin, the worst thing
you can do in the police subculture."

Eugene Cromartie, deputy executive director of the International
Association of Chiefs of Police, said: "There's always been this thing
about a code of silence among police officers, and that's unfortunate. A
lot of our chiefs have been faced with that problem."

Federal prosecutors suspect that they were stymied by the code of silence
when they investigated the highly publicized 1995 beating by Prince
George's officers of a murder suspect.

In April 1995, a squad of tactical officers stormed into the Greenbelt
apartment of Jeffrey C. Gilbert and beat him severely. Gilbert was
suspected of killing a county police officer and taking the officer's gun.

That charge was dropped a month later when another man, killed by police
after he fatally ambushed an FBI agent, was found to be carrying the gun of
the slain officer. D.C. homicide detectives provided further evidence
linking that man, Ralph McLean, to a series of shootings of police
officers, including the slaying of the county police officer.

The FBI and federal prosecutors investigated the Gilbert beating but did
not file charges after none of the officers who participated in the beating
would agree to testify. In letters to attorneys for two of those officers,
federal prosecutors said they believed those officers were "not completely
candid" in their testimony to a federal grand jury. The officers said
Gilbert was beaten while resisting arrest.

The officers still face a civil suit alleging that they violated Gilbert's
federal civil rights. In court papers, attorneys for Gilbert said the
officers have "suffered significant memory loss" about the beating.

Royce Holloway, a department spokesman, said officials do not tolerate
lying under oath and urge officers to step forward to report misconduct.
"We take [perjury] seriously. Does it seem to be widespread? No," Holloway
said. "If any officers know of any other instances of alleged police
perjury, it's their duty to report it."

John A. "Rodney" Bartlett, the police union president, said officers would
not risk their careers by lying on the witness stand. "There is not a
defendant in the world worth losing your job over," Bartlett said.

Mark Spurrier, director of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Community Policing
Institute and a former Baltimore County police officer, said he believes
police perjury is diminishing as police departments become more
professional and chiefs talk with greater frequency about ethics.

"I think the code of silence is being broken down," Spurrier said.

But some local lawyers disagreed. They noted that there have been several
cases in recent months in which county police officers were found to have
abused their power, after having been cleared by the department's internal
affairs unit.

"The change has to come from within the police department," said Michael V.
Statham, a Greenbelt lawyer.

***

Re-distributed by the:
Jury Rights Project (jrights@levellers.org)
Web page: http://www.lrt.org/jrp.homepage.htm
To be added to or removed from the JRP mailing list,
send email with the word SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE in the title.

The JRP is dedicated to educating jurors about their right to acquit
people who have been accused of victmless crimes and thereby veto bad
laws. We are separate and distinct from the Fully Informed Jury
Association (www.fija.org), but have the same mission: more justice
through better-educated jurors.

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

Medical Marijuana: AIDS Activists Call On McCaffrey To Intervene (According
to the Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, this morning's USA Today says a
coalition of 17 AIDS organizations has written a letter to General Barry
McCaffrey, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control
Policy, asking him to speed government approval of marijuana for medical
uses, contending that just "as promising AIDS medications have been made
available prior to final Food and Drug Administration approval, so too should
marijuana, when recommended by a physician." Government officials are waiting
for an Institute of Medicine study due out next month before taking further
action.)

From: Mireille Jacobson (MJacobson@sorosny.org)
To: TLC_CANNABIS (TLCCANNABIS@sorosny.org)
Subject: FW: Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report on Medical MJ
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 10:17:41 -0500
Sender: owner-tlc-cannabis@mailhost.soros.org

-----Original Message-----
From:	hivaidslist@njdc.com [SMTP:hivaidslist@njdc.com]
Sent:	Wednesday, February 17, 1999 10:12 AM
Subject:	Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report

KAISER DAILY HIV/AIDS REPORT
A news service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
http://report.kff.org/aidshiv/

Wednesday, February 17, 1999

POLITICS & POLICY

#1 MEDICAL MARIJUANA: AIDS ACTIVISTS CALL ON MCCAFFREY TO
INTERVENE

AIDS activists are calling on White House drug czar Barry
McCaffrey to speed government approval of marijuana for medical
uses, but government officials are waiting for a study due out
next month before taking further action. In a letter to
McCaffrey, director of National Drug Control Policy, a coalition
of 17 organizations contend that just "as promising AIDS
medications have been made available prior to final Food and Drug
Administration approval, so too should marijuana, when
recommended by a physician." Noting that "thousands" of patients
use marijuana illegally, the letter asserts that "[p]eople should
not have to risk their health or jail to receive needed medical
care. ... Science and compassion should dictate our nation's
policy regarding medical treatment." USA Today reports that the
letter reflects "fears that the report will stop short of
recommending medical marijuana as suitable for AIDS patients and
instead call for more research." The activists argue, however,
that "[t]erminally ill patients cannot afford to wait for years
of research to prove what they already know: Medical marijuana
works." McCaffrey spokesperson Bob Weiner said "his office will
defer to the FDA and the National Institute of Drug Abuse."
Weiner said, "We've always said that science, not politics,
should dictate what is safe and effective medicine in America."
He added that McCaffrey wants to see the National Institute of
Medicine report before commenting on it. McCaffrey "clearly
doesn't know what's going on in the front lines in the fight
against AIDS," said Steven Johnson, policy director for the
Northwest AIDS Foundation (McMahon, USA Today, 2/17).

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

AIDS Groups Plead For 'Medical Marijuana' (The original USA Today version)

Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 17:36:51 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: USA Today: AIDS Groups Plead For 'Medical Marijuana'
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Dave Fratello and Steve Kubby
Pubdate: Wed, 17 Feb 1999
Source: USA Today (US)
Copyright: 1999 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
Page: A2
Contact: editor@usatoday.com
Address: 1000 Wilson Blvd., Arlington VA 22229
Website: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nfront.htm
Author: Patrick McMahon
Note: Just want to be sure readers understand that when we list two
newshawks with an 'and' we mean that we received it from both newshawks as
individual posts. Usually the posts do not arrive close enough together for
the MAP editors to give credit like this, so the second person to post is
simply not recognized. We wish it could be otherwise, because without our
super newshawks, there would be no clipping service or researchable
archives with close to 20,000 items now. Thanks, Newshawks!!!

***

AIDS GROUPS PLEAD FOR 'MEDICAL MARIJUANA'

AIDS activists are concerned that a study due out next month may set back
for years their hopes that marijuana will be approved for AIDS patients,
and they are urging the White House drug czar to intercede.

A coalition of 17 organizations across the country fears that the report
will stop short of recommending medical marijuana as suitable for AIDS
patients, and instead call for more research.

"Terminally ill patients cannot afford to wait for years of research to
prove something they already know: Medical marijuana works," the activists
say.

In a letter to be released later this week, they are seeking help from
retired Army general Barry McCaffrey, director of National Drug Control
Policy, who ordered the study.

They are asking McCaffrey to help break a "bureaucratic logjam" and help
speed government approval of marijuana for AIDS patients.

"Our request is simple," they say in the letter, "Just as promising AIDS
medications have been made available prior to final Food and Drug
Administration approval, so too should marijuana, when recommended by a
physician."

"We want to see that study before we comment on it," says McCaffrey
spokesman Bob Weiner. As for speeding FDA approval for AIDS patients, he
says his office will defer to the FDA and the National Institute on Drug
Abuse.

"It's their call," Weiner says. "We've always said that science, not
politics, should dictate what is safe and effective medicine in America."

The statements from McCaffrey's office drew a frustrated response from
Steven B. Johnson, policy director of the Northwest AIDS Foundation in
Seattle, the largest AIDS social service agency in the Northwest.

"The General clearly doesn't know what's going on in the front lines in the
fight against AIDS," Johnson says.

At issue is a study reviewing the scientific research that has been done on
medical marijuana's effectiveness. It is being conducted by the National
Institute of Medicine, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences.

It is due to be released in mid-March.

The activists say in a statement that "this is the first time that AIDS
groups have come together to call for legal, immediate access to marijuana."

The coalition comes together as the states of Washington, Oregon, Alaska,
and Arizona are implementing ballot measures approved last November
allowing physicians to recommend marijuana to treat cancer, AIDS, glaucoma,
multiple sclerosis, chronic pain and nausea and seizures.

Marijuana is categorized by the federal government as a Schedule I drug,
along with heroin. It is not approved for any medical use, and it is
against federal law for physicians to prescribe it.

The letter to McCaffrey takes note of the FDA approval process that has
been streamlined for several medications important to patients living with
HIV and AIDS.

"Thousands of Americans, many of them living with HIV, use marijuana as a
medicine illegally, putting themselves at risk of arrest and prosecution,"
the letter says. "People should not have to risk their health or jail to
receive needed medical care."

The letter goes on to say, "Science and compassion should dictate our
nation's policy regarding medical treatment."

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

Body & Mind; Kids Getting More Antidepressants (The Cincinnati Enquirer says
dentists are concerned about the rapid increase in children taking
antidepressants, because a common side effect of such drugs is reduced saliva
production. Children on antidepressants are at increased risk of developing
cavities and mouth infections because saliva coats teeth with protective
minerals and is a natural bacteria-fighter. According to a 1998 study by IMS,
a research company, 800,000 American children were prescribed Prozac, Zoloft
or Paxil, three common antidepressants, and another half million were taking
anti-seizure drugs.)

Date: Wed, 24 Feb 1999 16:10:21 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: Body & Mind; Kids Getting More Antidepressants
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: General Pulaski
Pubdate: 17 Feb 1999
Source: Cincinnati Enquirer (OH)
Copyright: 1999 The Cincinnati Enquirer
Contact: letters@enquirer.com
Website: http://enquirer.com/today/

BODY & MIND; KIDS GETTING MORE ANTIDEPRESSANTS

The increased use of antidepressants by children is causing
concern among dentists. A common side effect of antidepressant use is
dry mouth and reduced saliva, and dentists say children on
antidepressants are at increased risk of developing cavities and
infections in the mouth. Saliva coats teeth with protective minerals
and is a natural bacteria-fighter.

According to a 1998 study by IMS, a research company, 800,000 American
children were prescribed Prozac, Zoloft or Paxil, three common
antidepressants, and another half million were taking anti-seizure
drugs.

Delta Dental, a dental benefits program company, urges parents to
alert the dentist if a child is taking antidepressants and to
encourage meticulous tooth-care routine. Children should brush after
every meal, floss regularly, avoid sticky foods and have teeth cleaned
at least twice a year. Children also should drink plenty of water, eat
fruits and vegetables with high water content, chew sugarless gum and
avoid caffeine drinks and spicy - acidic foods.

Talk to the child's doctor or dentist if the child needs to moisten
the mouth often, has a dry mouth at night, has less saliva than before
taking the drugs and has difficulty swallowing and eating dry foods.

Apple or pear?

Here's another reason to get chubby kids to slim down, eat and
exercise more. Cincinnati researcher Dr. Stephen Daniels has found
that children who put on weight around their stomach - so-called
apple-shaped - have more risk factors for heart disease than children
whose weight is concentrated at the hips and thighs, or pear-shaped.
The same phenomenon exists in adults, too. Dr. Daniels, pediatrician
and environmental health specialist at Children's Hospital and the
University of Cincinnati, found in a study of 127 children 9- 17 that
those with more upper-body fat had higher levels of blood fat and
triglycerides, higher systolic blood pressure, lower "good"
cholesterol levels and more mass on the left side of the heart, which
does most of the pumping.

Where fat is distributed, he says, seems to have more of an effect on
heart disease risks than overall fatness: "You can already see this
relationship in children as young as 9 and even in kids who are not
necessarily overweight at this stage."

Drugs and miscarriage

Pennsylvania researchers have verified that cigarette smoking and
cocaine use by pregnant women greatly increase their chances of
having a miscarriage. Nearly 1,000 pregnant women and teens,
predominantly low-income black women, were studied. Of 400 who had
miscarriages, 29 percent used cocaine and 35 percent smoked tobacco,
compared with 20 and 22 percent, respectively, of pregnant women who
did not have miscarriages. University of Pittsburgh doctors pointed
out that cocaine and nicotine decrease blood flow to the placenta and
uterus; nicotine also contains carbon monoxide, which decreases the
amount of oxygen available to the fetus, and cyanide, which depletes
Vitamin B-12, necessary for the baby's growth and
development.

Shelf help: Ritalin

Hyped-up children or a hyped-up culture? Vermont psychologist Richard
DeGrandpre tears down the notion that millions of American children
suffer from attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity, instead
blaming the problem on a rapid-fire culture filled with growing
stress, instant communication and media, speed and fast-paced
expectations. Advances in technology, he says in Ritalin Nation (W.W.
Norton; $23.95), have made modern-day Americans less able to pay
attention, relax and be patient, while drug companies have stepped in
to promote their stimulant drugs as quick fixes, he says. It's
enlightened reading for parents, teachers, doctors and others.

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

U.S. Customs Admits Its Own Drug Corruption (The New York Times says U.S.
Customs Service officials acknowledged Tuesday in a report to Congress that
The agency had failed to combat corruption aggressively. In an atmosphere of
neglect, internal affairs inquiries languished and were sometimes impeded
because of infighting. In addition, the agency announced Tuesday the
appointment of William A. Keefer, a former federal prosecutor, to head
Internal Affairs. Keefer is replacing Homer J. Williams, a Customs official
who was transferred after he became the subject of a federal inquiry in
California into whether he told a colleague that she was under scrutiny in a
corruption case.)

Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 14:07:06 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: NYT: U.S. Customs Admits Its Own Drug Corruption
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: rlake@mapinc.org
Pubdate: Wed, 17 Feb 1999
Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 1999 The New York Times Company
Contact: letters@nytimes.com
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
Forum: http://forums.nytimes.com/comment/
Author: David Johnston

U.S. CUSTOMS ADMITS ITS OWN DRUG CORRUPTION

WASHINGTON -- The front-line role of the Customs Service in the
government's war against illegal drugs has left the agency highly
vulnerable to narcotics-related corruption, Customs officials acknowledged
Tuesday in a report to Congress.

The report, which was sent to a House panel with jurisdiction over the
agency, admitted that the service had failed to aggressively combat
corruption. In an atmosphere of neglect, internal affairs inquiries
languished and were sometimes impeded because of infighting, the report said.

The report is the service's most extensive and critical examination of how
it deals with narcotics-related corruption and other internal affairs
issues after years in which sporadic corruption cases have tarnished the
image of an agency with 12,000 field inspection employees.

"The large amounts of illegal drugs that pass through U.S. Customs land,
sea and air ports of entry and the enormous amount of money at the disposal
of drug traffickers to corrupt law enforcement personnel place Customs and
its employees at great risk to corruption," the report concluded.

Once focused on preventing the entry of illegal trade goods and farm
products, the service has been thrust in recent years into broad
responsibilities in interdicting narcotics, as inspectors monitor more than
300 ports of entry through which marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other
illegal drugs flow into the United States.

The report was ordered by lawmakers, but Customs officials said that the
agency had taken the initiative to review its approach to corruption
issues. But the report was sent to Congress at a time when lawmakers in the
House and Senate are expected to critically examine the agency's internal
affairs performance.

The report sought to focus on corrective measures and Customs Commissioner
Raymond W. Kelly, who is a former New York City police commissioner, said
in an interview Tuesday that he had introduced a series of changes. He has
elevated Internal Affairs so that it reports directly to him, ordered a
tougher recruit screening system and sought to reduce the years-long
backlog of periodic personnel investigations.

In addition, the agency announced Tuesday the hiring of William A. Keefer,
a former federal prosecutor, to head Internal Affairs. Keefer is replacing
Homer J. Williams, a Customs official who was transferred after he became
the subject of a federal inquiry in California into whether he told a
colleague that she was under scrutiny in a corruption case.

Referring to his experience as police commissioner in New York, Kelly said
in a letter to Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., chairman of an appropriations
committee panel that monitors Customs, "I know that questions of integrity
can erode public confidence in our law enforcement institutions."

The report by the Customs Service's Office of Professional Responsibility
sidestepped the issue of the extent to which corruption had already damaged
the agency's effectiveness. Although the service opened more than 180
felony or misdemeanor cases against employees in 1997, the last year that
statistics were available, Kelly said the Internal Affairs system was
unable to precisely define the scope of the problem.

The report did not uncover evidence of systematic corruption in its ranks,
but did conclude that "individual acts of corruption have occurred and
continue to occur" that placed the agency in danger of being undermined by
its own employees.

In the last decade, eight Customs officers have been convicted of taking
payments from drug traffickers. In one case, in El Paso, Texas, two customs
inspectors tried to shake down an informer posing as a drug smuggler, one
of them demanding more than $1 million to look the other way when
cocaine-laden vehicles crossed Juarez, the Mexican border city, into the
United Sates.

Federal counter-narcotics officials have said the level of corruption might
be higher than the numbers suggest based on the frequency of drug
intelligence reports indicating that federal agents on the border had been
compromised.

Moreover, the officials said the number of cases might be higher because
the corruption often requires little involvement by an officer whose only
overt activity is to turn away when a car carrying drugs pulls up at an
inspection lane.

Such cases are extremely difficult to detect, given the volume of
cross-border traffic. In 1997, the last year statistics were available, the
agency processed more than 400 million passengers and 17 million cargo
shipments and seized about 400 tons of illegal drugs.

One of the most serious issues to emerge in the report was the existence of
bitter animosity between the agency's Internal Affairs unit and the Office
of Investigations, which conducts criminal inquiries into violations of
customs laws.

The report found what it called a "long history of strife and infighting"
between the two units, an animosity that was based on "the belief of agents
from Investigations that agents assigned to Internal Affairs are
incompetent, overzealous and spend too much time investigating matters that
are unrelated to corruption."

Internal Affairs agents who were interviewed during the review said that
the hostility had "a debilitating effect on their ability to perform their
jobs diligently" and "diminished the importance of their work."

Some agents cited instances in which Investigations agents interfered with
or compromised investigations. The report did not cite specifics but said
that two federal prosecutors had considered excluding Customs agents from
corruption cases because of the conflict which the report said had reached
"critical proportions."

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Minuet in Mexico (An op-ed in the Washington Post by Michael Kelly, the
editor of National Journal, ponders the annual certification of Mexico as an
ally in the United States' drug war, and finds the Clinton administration
hypocritical, but doesn't say whether Mexico should be decertified or the
dance should be ended by Congress.)

Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 13:43:46 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: Mexico: WP: OPED: Minuet in Mexico
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: rlake@mapinc.org
Pubdate: Wed, 17 Feb 1999
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 1999 The Washington Post Company
Page: A17
Address: 1150 15th Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20071
Feedback: http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/letters/letterform.htm
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Author: Michael Kelly. Michael Kelly is the editor of National Journal.

MINUET IN MEXICO

It is fortuitous that President Clinton's first major foreign policy
decision after his acquittal in the Senate will be to affirm, once more,
that Mexico is "fully cooperating" with the United States in combating
narcotics trafficking. This gives the president an opportunity to remind
his acquitters that, in his case, dishonesty does not stop at the boudoir's
edge.

Mexico is one of 30 drug-producing nations that the American president
must, under law, annually certify to Congress as cooperating with U.S.
interdiction efforts. Under the law, decertifying Mexico would trigger
major trade and aid sanctions. That would be awkward, since Mexico is
America's second-largest trading partner.

So, every year, the same minuet: At some point in the month before the
March 1 certification deadline, Mexico unveils what U.S. drug agencies call
the "February Surprise," some new program designed to give the president a
bit of cover. This February's surprise was a $500 million upgrade of
anti-smuggling forces, announced by Mexico's interior minister, Francisco
Labastida. That would be the same Francisco Labastida whom the CIA said in
a confidential 1998 report "has long-standing ties to narcotics traffickers."

And every year, the Clinton administration announces that its searching
review has once again found Mexico to be cooperating splendidly, and the
president certifies anew. Last year, he did so in the face of a
confidential DEA report, which declared, "the Government of Mexico has not
accomplished its counternarcotics goals or succeeded in cooperation with
the United States Government."

Clinton signaled his intention to certify to falsehood once more on Monday,
after a one-day summit with Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo at the
Hacienda Temozon in Merida, Mexico. "Mexico should not be penalized for
having the courage to confront its problems," Clinton said, adding that
cooperation between the United States and Mexico "has clearly improved
under President Zedillo's leadership."

The president should break the glad news to the CIA, the Drug Enforcement
Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. As noted with dry
understatement in a New York Times story appearing the day before Clinton
spoke: "Officials from each of these agencies challenge the
administration's public assertion that the Mexican authorities are trying
to do their best."

A few facts: The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy reports
that 59 percent of the estimated 176 tons of South American cocaine
processed in 1998 was smuggled into the United States through Mexico.
Mexico is also a leading smuggler of heroin, marijuana, methamphetamine and
ephedrine, the base ingredient in methamphetamine. Over the past year,
Mexico's seizures of all of these drugs have fallen, and in the case of
heroin and cocaine, substantially. State Department figures show that
Mexico's drug seizures also dropped in the 1996-1997 year: heroin by 68
percent, methamphetamine by 77 percent and ephedrine by 91 percent.

Mexico's military anti-drug force, the Center for Anti-Narcotics
Information, is often unwilling to even pretend to aid U.S. law
enforcement. In one particularly naked example reported by the Times, U.S.
narcotics officials gave their Mexican counterparts the home addresses and
telephone numbers of two of Cancun's primary traffickers, Ramon Alcides
Magana and Albino Qunitero Meraz -- and still, the Mexican officers could
not manage to find their quarry.

Mexico has never extradited a single major drug trafficker to the United
States. Zedillo's government, like Mexican governments before him, refuses
to allow U.S. officials to search boats in its waters for illegal drugs,
and it refuses to allow U.S. agents to carry sidearms while in Mexico. This
latter refusal has wrecked the U.S.-Mexican front-line Bilateral Border
Task Forces. Last March, the Times reported that, for more than a year,
agents from the DEA, FBI and U.S. Customs assigned to the force refused to
cross the border into Mexico.

And finally, this tale from the annals of full cooperation: Last May, a
U.S. Customs investigation into drug money-laundering smashed Mexico's
narco-dollars network, arresting 167 people, including 26 Mexican bankers.
The response of the Zedillo government that Clinton praises? It has refused
to honor U.S. requests to extradite five suspects in the case. To the
contrary, until the looming certification deadline forced it to back down,
Zedillo's government threatened to demand the extradition to Mexico of the
Customs agents who broke the case.

But all of this is perhaps superfluous detail. All you really need to know
about Clinton, Mexico and certification is this truth, uttered by a wisely
anonymous administration official to the Times: "This is not about what
Mexico has done. This is about convincing the Hill that whatever Mexico has
done is enough." Exactly. Whatever.

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

Policeman Tipped Off Friend Over Raid (The Sydney Morning Herald, in
Australia, says Senior Constable Christan Bruce, a crewman on a New South
Wales police helicopter, admitted to the NSW Police Integrity Commission
yesterday that he had tipped off a friend and former police officer that
police were about to raid his home for ecstacy and cocaine. The phone was
tapped. The hearing continues today.)

Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 04:30:08 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: Australia: Policeman Tipped Off Friend Over Raid
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Russell.Ken.KW@bhp.com.au (Russell, Ken KW)
Pubdate: Wed, 17 Feb 1999
Source: Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)
Contact: letters@smh.fairfax.com.au
Website: http://www.smh.com.au/
Author: Greg Bearup

POLICEMAN TIPPED OFF FRIEND OVER RAID

A police crewman from the NSW police helicopter admitted to the NSW
Police Integrity Commission yesterday that he had tipped off a friend
and former police officer that police were about to raid his home for
drugs.

Senior Constable Christan Bruce said that on the morning of December
11 last year he arrived at work to be briefed about a job the police
helicopter would be involved in that day.

Constable Bruce, who is a senior observer on the helicopter, realised
the premises they were to observe were the office and home of his
friend, Mr Peter Murrant, who left the NSW Police Service last year.
Constable Bruce slipped from the briefing and immediately telephoned
Mr Murrant and left a coded, nervous message on his answering machine,
which was played to the commission yesterday:

"G'day Spider [Mr Murrant's nickname] ... apparently I have to help
someone get rid of their low-maintenance and high-maintenance bits and
pieces from their work and their home ... anyway we have to go now and
do a job regarding a search warrant."

The pair were to have met that night for a drink.

Later that same day he telephoned again and said: "Hopefully you got
my message and that there's nothing at home or work that anyone need
worry about."

Questioned in the commission yesterday, Constable Bruce said the two
premises he was sent to observe were Mr Murrant's office, Blue Falcon
Security in Bayswater Road, and his home address.

He was talking to Mr Murrant in code, he said, with "low-maintenance"
referring to ecstasy and "high-maintenance" to cocaine.

Asked why he felt he should tip him off, Constable Bruce said: "I
considered him one of my best friends and thought it was my duty as a
friend to warn him in regards to the cocaine and the ecstasy."

It is not known how long the Police Integrity Commission had been
taping the telephone calls of Mr Murrant and his serving police
colleagues, but yesterday about a dozen tapped calls were played in
the hearing room.

One, from September 26 last year, was between Constable Bruce, who was
in Scruffy Murphy's Hotel, and Mr Murrant, who was at Darling Harbour,
in which they talked about "dog", a code for ecstasy or cocaine, the
commission alleged.

Constable Bruce on the tape: "I mentioned it to him tonight. Oh a
dog's bark. I said woof to him and he goes excited."

Mr Murrant: "Didn't you bring that dog, that barking dog that was at home?"

When Mr Murrant was asked in the commission yesterday about the dog
references, he said that it was simply a long-running joke between him
and Constable Bruce as he felt Constable Bruce did not give his German
shepherd enough to eat.

"The dog was 35kg and it should have been 45kg or 50kg."

Counsel assisting the commission, Mr Pat Barrett, suggested that he
was talking about illegal drugs. Mr Murrant denied this.

At one point yesterday, questioning moved away from Mr Murrant's
employment of serving police in his security business and onto the
alleged use and sale of illegal drugs.

When his friend took to the witness stand, Mr Murrant's head slumped
into his hands as he listened to the evidence.

At the end of the day's proceedings the two men stood near each other
at the back of the hearing room but avoided eye contact.

Mr Murrant left via the public entrance and Constable Bruce through
the "rollover door" and into the commission's offices.

The hearing, which is looking into the use and sale of illegal drugs
by serving and former police, continues today.

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

[End]