-------------------------------------------------------------------
Crime, arrest rates down in Oregon (The Associated Press says the latest
statistics from the Oregon Law Enforcement Data System indicate crime in
Oregon dropped 1.2 percent in the first six months of 1998. Violent crimes
declined 0.6 percent, property crimes were down 0.8 percent and "behavioral
crimes," including child abuse, drunken driving and illegal gambling, were
down 2 percent. However, crime increased in 20 of the state's 36 counties -
0.4 percent in Clackamas County, 1.8 percent in Lane County, 3.1 percent in
Marion County and 2.1 percent in Washington County. In Portland it dropped
13.7 percent.)
Associated Press
found at:
http://www.oregonlive.com/
feedback (letters to the editor):
feedback@thewire.ap.org
Crime, arrest rates down in Oregon
The Associated Press
2/24/99 12:54 AM
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Crime in Oregon dropped 1.2 percent in the first six
months of 1998 compared with the same period a year earlier and arrests also
were down, according to figures from the Oregon Law Enforcement Data System.
Violent crimes declined 0.6 percent, property crimes were down 0.8 percent
and behavioral crimes, which include child abuse, drunken driving and
illegal gambling, were down 2 percent.
The numbers, the latest available, were compiled from 174 law enforcement
agencies across the state and were released Tuesday.
The total number of arrests, excluding traffic, fish and game and marine
violations, were down 3.5 percent compared with the first six months of 1997.
Arrests of adults were down 1.2 percent and arrests of juveniles dropped 9.2
percent.
However the numbers show crime increasing in 20 of the state's 36 counties.
Crime rose 0.4 percent in Clackamas County, 1.8 percent in Lane County, 3.1
percent in Marion County and 2.1 percent in Washington County during the
first six months of last year.
"Washington and Clackamas counties are pretty fast-growing ... so that might
have attributed to the increase," said Jeff Bock, supervisor of the Oregon
Uniform Crime Reporting Program.
Crime in Portland dropped 13.7 percent compared to the previous year.
Portland's arrest rate was not immediately available.
(c)1999 Oregon Live LLC
Copyright 1999 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not
be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Lockyer Plans D.C. Trip To Talk Changes In Pot Laws (According to the San
Jose Mercury News, California Attorney General Bill Lockyer said Tuesday he
and attorneys general from other West Coast states with medical marijuana
laws will meet next month with federal officials to discuss reclassifying
marijuana as a drug that can be prescribed by physicians.)
Date: Wed, 24 Feb 1999 18:54:34 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US CA: Lockyer Plans DC Trip To Talk Changes In Pot Laws
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Marcus/Mermelstein Family (mmfamily@ix.netcom.com)
Pubdate: Wed, 24 Feb 1999
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Copyright: 1999 Mercury Center
Contact: letters@sjmercury.com
Website: http://www.sjmercury.com/
Author: HALLYE JORDAN, Mercury News Sacramento Bureau
LOCKYER PLANS D.C. TRIP TO TALK CHANGES IN POT LAWS
SACRAMENTO -- With a 20-member task force firmly in place to make sure the
state's controversial medicinal marijuana law will benefit only cancer and
other needy patients, Attorney General Bill Lockyer is turning his sights on
Washington, where he hopes to persuade officials to change federal drug
laws.
Lockyer said Tuesday he and attorneys general from other West Coast states
with similar laws will meet next month with federal officials to discuss
reclassifying marijuana as a drug that can be prescribed, under tight
control, by physicians. The reclassification is crucial to enacting
California's controversial Proposition 215, the 1996 initiative approved by
voters to allow doctors to prescribe marijuana for medicinal purposes.
Under current federal law, marijuana is classified as a drug that cannot be
used by physicians and is considered without medicinal value. Other drugs,
such as morphine and cocaine, are classified in a way that allows their
medicinal use but under tight control by law enforcement.
``It always amazes me that doctors can prescribe morphine but not
marijuana,'' Lockyer told reporters after his first State of the Public
Safety address.
The federal changes also are needed to engage health care providers in
helping revise the sloppily drafted state law, which has gone into effect
only sporadically and is now effectively on hold.
But officials aren't waiting for action from Washington. Lockyer appointed a
20-member task force of prosecutors, medical providers, law enforcement and
patients to study ways to ensure the drug is never prescribed for purely
recreational purposes. The task force, co-chaired by Sen. John Vasconcellos,
D-San Jose, and Santa Clara County District Attorney George Kennedy, is
determining ways to tighten up the law, which has been criticized for not
even listing the types of medical conditions that would trigger a marijuana
prescription.
Vasconcellos also will reintroduce a bill this week that creates a research
unit at the University of California to determine, once and for all, whether
marijuana has any proven medicinal value. Rand Martin, Vasconcellos' chief
of staff, said researchers who want to participate will have to demonstrate
their expertise, proposed research methods and lack of bias on the subject.
Alaska, Washington, Oregon and Arizona have laws that are similar to
California's but are more tightly drafted. Nevada voters passed a similar
law in 1996, but under that law, they must ratify it in November 2000 before
it can go into effect. Colorado voters also passed a medicinal marijuana
law, but opponents challenged its validity and the issue is pending in the
courts.
Lockyer also reported that crime rates in the state continue to drop, with
major crimes in California's largest cities down 12 percent last year from
1997.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ex-Corona Del Mar High Student Sues To Bar 'Zero Tolerance' (The Orange
County Register says Ryan Huntsman, 19, a student at Loyola Marymount
University who last year successfully fought the Newport-Mesa Unified School
District's "zero tolerance" policy, filed a lawsuit Monday in Orange County
Superior Court, seeking to have zero-tolerance policies declared
unconstitutional on the grounds that they violate due process and are cruel
and unusual punishment.)
Date: Thu, 25 Feb 1999 11:20:43 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US CA: Ex-Corona Del Mar High Student Sues To Bar 'Zero
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: 24 Feb. 1999
Source: Orange County Register (CA)
Section: Metro,page 2
Contact: letters@link.freedom.com
Website: http://www.ocregister.com/
Copyright: 1999 The Orange County Register
EX-CORONA DEL MAR HIGH STUDENT SUES TO BAR 'ZERO TOLERANCE'
A former Corona del Mar High student who successfully fought against
the school district's "zero tolerance" policy has filed a lawsuit
seeking to have the rule declared void.
Ryan Huntsman, 19, alleges that his constitutional right were violated
when Newport-Mesa Unified School District officials suspended and
transferred him without due process. Police had told school officials
that they found a marijuana pipe in Huntsman's car after they stopped
him in February 1998.
Huntsman then filed a $10 million lawsuit against the city of Newport
Beach and the school district. A judge ruled that Huntsman, now a
student at Loyola Marymount University, was denied due process by the
school district.
In his latest lawsuit, filed Monday in Orange County Superior Court,
Huntsman is seeking to have a judge declare that zero-tolerance
policies are unconstitutional on the grounds that they violate due
process and are cruel and unusual punishment.
Both Huntsman and his mother, Kathleen, are also alleging damage to
their reputations, loss of a guaranteed education, and mental and
emotional pain.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ex-Teacher Admits Growing Marijuana (The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, in
Wisconsin, says Paul Langhoff Soik, who formerly taught computer science at
Oak Creek High School, faces up to 18 months in jail after pleading guilty
Tuesday to a felony charge of keeping a drug house and a misdemeanor charge
of possession of marijuana.)
Date: Wed, 24 Feb 1999 16:22:47 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US WI: Ex-Teacher Admits Growing Marijuana
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: 24 Feb. 1999
Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI)
Contact: jsedit@onwis.com
Fax: 414-224-8280
Website: http://www.jsonline.com/
Forum: http://www.jsonline.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimate.cgi
Copyright: 1999, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Author: David Doege of the Journal Sentinel staff
EX-TEACHER ADMITS GROWING MARIJUANA
A former Oak Creek High School teacher pleaded guilty Tuesday to
charges that he grew marijuana in an elaborate setup in the basement
of his Franklin home.
Paul Langhoff Soik pleaded guilty to two counts after abandoning his
bid to get the case thrown out of court by contending that his
estranged wife was involved in the tip that led police to his marijuana.
Soik, through his attorneys Martin E. Kohler and John C. Thomure Jr.,
contended in a pretrial motion they withdrew Tuesday that Soik's
estranged wife gave a videotape depicting his basement marijuana setup
to a "concerned citizen" who subsequently provided it to police.
The tape was used by police to get a search warrant for Soik's home,
and the December raid yielded the marijuana plants that became the
basis for the case against Soik.
Soik and his lawyers contended in their motion that any information
his estranged wife had about his marijuana operation was "privileged"
because she learned it while married to him. Thus, any information
from her was improperly used by police, they contended.
Paul Soik's lawyers withdrew the motion after a plea bargain was
reached with the district attorney's office.
Soik, 31, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of keeping a drug house
and a misdemeanor charge of possession of marijuana. The charges carry
jail terms totaling up to 18 months.
Soik, who formerly taught computer science, originally was charged
with manufacturing a controlled substance, a felony that carries a
prison term of up to three years.
Assistant District Attorney John Stoiber said in court Tuesday that he
will recommend a jail term of seven months and a fine of $300 when
Soik is sentenced in April.
Soik was charged in a criminal complaint that says his system included
a carbon dioxide generator to help the plants grow, a climate
controller and "a watering tub with floats."
The criminal complaint says that marijuana appeared to have been
harvested from some of the plants grown in Soik's basement and that
officers found more than 1 1/2 pounds of harvested marijuana in
several areas of the basement and bathroom.
When he was questioned later by police, Soik admitted that the
marijuana was his and indicated it was his first "grow," according to
the complaint.
Soik said he bought the seeds from a "source" and the equipment from a
store in Waukesha County, the complaint says.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Disabled Man Faces Another Drug Charge (The Associated Press says Daniel
Asbury of Oregon, Ohio, a quadriplegic who was convicted three years ago of
growing marijuana in his backyard for medicinal purposes, has been charged
with felony drug possession after he allegedly received three pounds of
marijuana in the mail.)
Date: Wed, 24 Feb 1999 18:54:27 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US OH: Wire: Disabled Man Faces Another Drug Charge
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, 24 Feb 1999
Source: Associated Press
Copyright: 1999 Associated Press
DISABLED MAN FACES ANOTHER DRUG CHARGE
OREGON, Ohio (AP) -- A quadriplegic who was convicted three years ago of
growing marijuana in his backyard for medicinal purposes is facing another
drug charge.
Police in this Toledo suburb have charged Daniel Asbury, 42, of Oregon, with
felony drug possession after he allegedly received three pounds of marijuana
in the mail from a supplier in Sweden.
A police detective dressed in a postal uniform delivered the package
addressed to Asbury on Jan. 4 after U.S. Customs Service officials
intercepted it.
Asbury was given a summons and turned himself in to Oregon Municipal Court
on Feb. 10.
Oregon police are awaiting the results of an analysis of the package's
contents by the Ohio Bureau of Identification and Investigation to verify it
is marijuana, Lt. Virginia Todd said on Tuesday. She said the case will be
presented to a Lucas County grand jury if the contents test positive.
Paralyzed from a spinal injury suffered in a fall nearly 19 years ago,
Asbury says he uses marijuana to alleviate pain.
Asbury, who gets around in a motorized wheelchair, was convicted of
aggravated trafficking in 1996 after Oregon police seized about a dozen
marijuana plants that were growing in his yard.
Asbury received a suspended prison sentence on the trafficking charge. The
judge placed him on probation for two years and warned him to stay away from
illicit drugs.
Since then, Asbury has been active in the fight to legalize marijuana for
medicinal uses. In 1997 he made a five-day trip to Columbus in his
wheelchair to raise awareness on the medicinal uses of the plant.
He appeared in August in a black-and-white striped prisoner's costume at a
rally in front of the Toledo Municipal Court to protest marijuana laws.
"The government declared war on drugs and they are harassing the sick, dying
and disabled all over the country," Asbury told The Blade of Toledo on
Tuesday. "The government's idea of compassion is a pair of handcuffs."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
We Ended Vietnam War 26 Years Ago; We Also Can Call Off The War On Drugs (A
letter to the editor of USA Today by Gene Tinelli, an addiction psychiatrist
at the State University of New York in Syracuse, says if you include all
psychoactive drugs - alcohol, caffeine, tobacco, performance-enhancing
substances and others - the vast majority of Americans use psychoactive
drugs. We can't defeat them because they are us. We have been here before.
Thirty years ago, the Vietnam conflict was sucking us dry, and we apparently
were addicted to that horrible war. How did it end? Eventually, when the
leaders of the war and media realized that our country was unwilling and
unable to win the battle, we just said "no" to the war.)
Date: Sun, 28 Feb 1999 07:29:55 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: PUB LTE: We Also Can Call Off The War On Drugs
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: David Hadorn (hadorn@dnai.com)
Pubdate: Wed, 24 Feb 1999
Source: USA Today (US)
Copyright: 1999 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
Contact: editor@usatoday.com
Address: 1000 Wilson Blvd., Arlington VA 22229
Fax: (703) 247-3108
Website: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nfront.htm
Author: Gene Tinelli, M.D.
WE ENDED VIETNAM WAR 26 YEARS AGO; WE ALSO CAN CALL OFF THE WAR ON DRUGS
The casualties and costs of the war on drugs continue to mount, and one of
its major leaders, Drug Enforcement Administration chief Thomas Constantine,
now is saying we are both unwilllling and unable to fight. ("DEA chief: Drug
fight lacks desire," News, Friday).
We have been here before. Thirty years ago, the Vietnam conflict was
sucking us dry. There seem to be no end to the human suffering, and we
apparently were addicted to that horrible war. How did it end?
Eventually, when the leaders of the war and media realized that our
country was unwilling and unable to win the battle, we just said "no"
to the war.
Couldn't we apply the lessons so painfully learned in the Vietnam
conflict to our present situation in the drug war? The desire to use
psychoactive drugs appears very strong, and tens of millions of
Americans use illicit drugs. If you include all psychoactive drugs -
alcohol, caffeine, tobacco, performance-enhancing substances and
others - the vast majority of Americans use psychoactive drugs. We
can't defeat them because they are us.
How long must we suffer before we say enough? End the drug war now.
By Gene Tinelli, M.D.
Addiction Psychiatrist,
State University of New York, Syracuse.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
DUI Technician Arrested On Drug Charges (UPI says Michael Albaladejo, a
technician for Orange County, Florida, who processed motorists suspected
of driving under the influence, was arrested after he allegedly purchased
three grams each of powder cocaine and crack cocaine from an undercover
deputy sheriff.)
Date: Wed, 24 Feb 1999 15:52:54 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US FL: Wire: DUI Technician Arrested On Drug Charges
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: General Pulaski
Pubdate: Wed, 24 Feb 1999
Source: United Press International
Copyright: 1999 United Press International
DUI TECHNICIAN ARRESTED ON DRUG CHARGES
ORLANDO, Fla., - An Orange County Sheriff's technician
employed at a DUI center is facing cocaine-possession charges.
39-year-old Michael Albaladejo was arrested after he allegedly
purchased three grams each of powder cocaine and crack cocaine from an
undercover deputy sheriff.
Albaladejo - a four-year veteran who processed motorists suspected of
driving under the influence - has been suspended from his job without
pay pending the results of an internal investigation.
Authorities say complaints about Albaladejo's alleged drug abuse
prompted an undercover investigation.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
British MPs Show Some Support For Cannabis Bill (Reuters says the bill has
virtually no chance of becoming law, but British members of parliament on
Wednesday allowed Paul Flynn of the Labour Party to introduce legislation in
Parliament that would make it legal for doctors to prescribe the herb. Flynn
pointed out that earlier this week a British pensioner, Eric Mann, was
sentenced to 12 months in prison for growing cannabis to relieve his chronic
pain.)
Date: Thu, 25 Feb 1999 12:33:54 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: UK: Wire: British MPs Show Some Support For Cannabis Bill
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
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Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: General Pulaski
Pubdate: Wed, 24 Feb 1999
Source: Reuters
Copyright: 1999 Reuters Limited.
BRITISH MPS SHOW SOME SUPPORT FOR CANNABIS BILL
LONDON, - British members of parliament on Wednesday
gave a small boost to campaigners for the legalisation of cannabis by
allowing an MP to introduce a bill making it legal for doctors to
prescribe the drug.
Although the bill has virtually no chance of becoming law, such
parliamentary moves are seen as a useful way of garnering publicity
for contentious issues. It reflects the feeling among some MPs that
Britain lags behind other European nations on the medical use of cannabis.
Labour MP Paul Flynn introduced the bill under a procedure which
allows parliamentarians to test the views of their colleagues on a
topical issue without a vote on the matter.
Flynn pointed out that earlier this week a British pensioner, Eric
Mann, was sentenced to 12 months in prison for growing cannabis to use
to relieve chronic pain. Flynn slammed the government he normally
supports for refusing to change the law to help such people.
"Governments regard it as electorally damaging if they are seen to be
soft on drugs," Flynn said.
"The government is not tough on drugs, they are tough on multiple
sclerosis patients, they are tough on cancer victims, they are tough
on AIDS victims."
In November, the government made it clear it was not prepared to move
on the cannabis issue.
Commenting on a recommendation from a committee of the House of Lords
for doctors to be allowed to prescribe cannabis, Health Minister
George Howarth said a rigorous test procedure on the effects of the
drug should be undertaken first.
"No drug could be marketed or used in this way without first
undergoing proper and rigorous scientific trials," he said. "We have
not got rigorous scientific evidence that gives us absolute confidence
that it is actually beneficial."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Plea For Cannabis On Prescription (The version in Britain's Independent)
Date: Wed, 24 Feb 1999 18:54:16 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: UK: Plea For Cannabis On Prescription
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Martin Cooke (mjc1947@cyberclub.iol.ie)
Pubdate: Wed, 24 Feb 1999
Source: Independent, The (UK)
Copyright: Independent Newspapers (UK) Ltd.
Contact: letters@independent.co.uk
Website: http://www.independent.co.uk/
Author: Sarah Schaefer
PLEA FOR CANNABIS ON PRESCRIPTION
A Labour backbencher will urge ministers today to allow doctors to prescribe
cannabis for medical purposes.
Paul Flynn, the MP for Newport West, will argue that sufferers of illnesses
such as multiple sclerosis, Aids and cancer should be able to use the drug
to reduce pain.
While the Government had given permission for cannabis to undergo laboratory
tests to see if it could be licensed as a medicine, research would take at
least five years, he will say.
"The tens of thousands of multiple sclerosis, Aids and cancer sufferers
should not have to wait that long for a natural medicine which has been used
by millions of people for thousands of years. They want the medicine of
their choice now so they can get pain relief, so that they can get a good
night's sleep, or so they can stop feeling nauseous from the side-effects of
chemotherapy."
Mr Flynn said cannabis was prescribed until 1973 "without difficulties",
while heroin and cocaine can be legally prescribed. Doctors would be allowed
to prescribe cannabis as an unlicensed medicine, but would have to state the
amount and name the patient.
Mr Flynn's 10-minute rule Bill has little chance of becoming law. A Home
Office spokesman said: "Patient safety remains the top priority. Cannabis
should not be treated any differently to anything else which is reputed to
have therapeutic properties and has to be put through proper licensing
procedures."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
U.N. Drug Board Urges Research on Marijuana as Medicine (The New York Times
version of yesterday's news about the International Drug Control Board in
Vienna recommending that governments conduct impartial scientific research
into the herb's benefits. "The increasingly politicized battle over cannabis
must end, since it has had a negative effect on attitudes toward drug abuse,
particularly from young people," said Dr. Hamid Ghodse, an Iranian-born
psychiatrist working in Britain and speaking without benefit of any
evidence.)
Date: Wed, 24 Feb 1999 22:11:17 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: UN: MMJ: U.N. Drug Board Urges Research on Marijuana as
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: emr@javanet.com (Dick Evans)
Pubdate: 24 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: Christopher Wren
U.N. DRUG BOARD URGES RESEARCH ON MARIJUANA AS MEDICINE
UNITED NATIONS -- The board that oversees international drug control
treaties for the United Nations has recommended that governments sponsor
impartial research into the medicinal benefits of marijuana, which some
users say alleviates the pain and nausea associated with AIDS, cancer and
other diseases.
But the International Narcotics Control Board stressed that such research
must not become a pretext for legalizing cannabis, as marijuana is called
in many parts of the world.
If the drug is determined to have medicinal value, the board said, its use
should be subjected to the same stringent controls applied to cocaine and
morphine, the opiate from which heroin is derived. "Any decision on the
medical use of cannabis should be based on clear scientific evidence," the
board said in its latest annual report, which was made public on Tuesday
through the United Nations.
"Political initiatives and public votes can easily be misused by groups
promoting the legalization of all use of cannabis and/or the prescription
or cannabis for recreational use under the guise of medical dispensation,"
the board said.
Its report appeared in advance of an American study of medicinal properties
of marijuana that the National Institute of Medicine, an arm of the
National Academy of Sciences, is expected to release next month.
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy commissioned that
study, prompting groups that favor marijuana to complain that it would be
biased. The president of the international board, Dr. Hamid Ghodse, alluded
in a statement to the debate in the United States, where voters in eight
states have approved referendums expressing varying degrees of support for
medicinal uses of marijuana.
"The increasingly politicized battle over cannabis must end, since it has
had a negative effect on attitudes toward drug abuse, particularly from
young people," said Ghodse, an Iranian-born psychiatrist working in
Britain. "Should the medical usefulness of cannabis be established, it will
be a drug no different from most narcotic drugs and psychotropic
substances. Cannabis, prescribed for medical purposes, would also be
subject to licensing and other control measures under the international
drug control treaties." The International Narcotics Control Board reported
that marijuana abuse had become widespread in virtually all countries and
that it was the most commonly abused drug in North America. The agency
noted a trend toward higher potency in marijuana cultivated in greenhouses
in Canada and the United States.
While reserving its opinion on the benefits, the board, whose mandate
includes ensuring an adequate world supply of drugs for medical purposes,
said many poor countries had a severe shortage of morphine-based
painkillers needed by patients suffering from terminal diseases. "You're
dealing with terrible physical pain, and the situation in the poorest
countries is a tragic situation that continues to go unnoticed," said
Herbert S. Okun, the sole American on the 13-member board. Its report
simultaneously described a mounting dependence on prescription stimulants
by Americans and on tranquilizers by Europeans. The study said the United
States consumed 85 percent of the methylphenidate, a stimulant marketed
under the trade name of Ritalin. It is prescribed for children, adolescents
and adults who have been given diagnoses of attention deficit and
hyperactivity disorders.
The board further expressed concern about the computer-assisted engineering
of more powerful designer drugs and about drug recipes that circulate on
the Internet. The treaties supervised by the board include the Single
Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, ratified by 166 countries; the
Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971, ratified by 158 countries;
and the Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic Substances of 1988, ratified by 148 countries.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
[End]
to the 1999 Daily News index for Feb. 19-25