------------------------------------------------------------------- State sees more neglected children, many left to wander (The Oregonian prints a classic piece promoting the war on some drug-using parents, alleging that throughout Oregon, "Parents who can't hear their children crying through a fog of drugs or alcohol" leave "Toddlers wandering alone in busy parking lots. Children living in homes full of garbage, rats and lice." The newspaper avoids discussing one aspect of the impossible task faced by caseworkers, who give the highest priority to removing children from the homes of parents who use cannabis or other illegal substances, failing to note the actual numbers involved or the fact that the vast majority of parents who use alcohol or other drugs do so responsibly.) 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/ State sees more neglected children, many left to wander * The death of 7-year-old Ashley Ann Carlson opens a window on thousands of children never removed from their parents but whose circumstances still spark real concern Saturday February 27, 1999 By Kate Taylor of The Oregonian staff Toddlers wandering alone in busy parking lots. Children living in homes full of garbage, rats and lice. Parents who can't hear their children crying through a fog of drugs or alcohol. Caseworkers hear such stories more and more in Oregon. But these conditions of child neglect usually aren't cause enough for the state's child protective agency to move children into foster care. Child neglect is on the rise in Oregon, but the state remains limited in how it can respond and is able to react only to the most severe cases. The state has a limited number of caseworkers and receives thousands of calls about neglect each year. State law also says the agency can only intervene if there is an immediate threat to the child's safety or when the parents have proved through repeated failure that they will not be able to parent adequately. The death of Ashley Ann Carlson, found strangled in the home of a 16-year-old neighbor earlier this month, calls attention to the thousands of neglected children in this state, because of reports that the 7-year-old spent time wandering alone. On the day she disappeared, Ashley's mother had turned herself in to police because she had missed appointments with a parole officer. A boyfriend who was caring for Ashley said he gave the girl $5 to go to McDonald's with the sister of the teen later arrested as a suspect in the case. A woman who provided child care said Ashley's mother once took off for a month, leaving Ashley in the care of a boyfriend. Calls to the State Office for Services to Children and Families worried the agency enough to investigate the family and open a case on Ashley. The agency would not comment on the case because it is under investigation, but Ashley's family said that she was never in foster care. Most calls of concern yield no response from the agency, and even fewer result in a child being removed from his or her home. Neglectful parents get many more chances than those who inflict abuse that's more apparent, such as cigarette burns or broken arms. Families caught letting a toddler wander out into the crowded parking lot of an apartment complex, or living in conditions that are dangerously filthy, often get a few warnings before they lose their child, said Victor Congleton, program manager for child protective and family treatment services. In 1997, the most recent year with complete figures, the state received a record number of 12,128 cases of child abuse and neglect. More and more of those are neglect cases; neglect jumped from 49 percent to 68 percent of all cases in 1997. Caseworkers and child experts say the rise of child abuse and neglect stems from poor parenting skills, alcohol and drugs, and single parenthood. Of all children entering foster care, 72 percent come from families where parents were abused or neglected themselves and never learned how to care for children, according to the agency's 1997 annual report on the status of Oregon's children. "If you've been neglected, you never learn what proper interaction is like," said Karen Cellarius, program evaluator at Portland State University's Child Welfare Partnership. "Some of these parents don't even know to look their children in the eyes when they talk, or sit down for a meal." Parents of about 62 percent of children entering care have drug and alcohol problems. Ashley's mother, Tessa Carlson, had two convictions for possession of illegal drugs and had spent at least a month at one rehabilitation center, according to family members. About 51 percent of children entering care have single parents who are so overwhelmed with work that they can't meet their children's' needs. Many are single mothers, working long hours at low-paying jobs and with poor or no child care. The state passes thousands of cases of lower-level abuse and neglect to community outreach volunteers and takes no action on thousands of even lower-level cases, said John Richmond of Multnomah County's child abuse hot line. The volunteers visit families where children are doing poorly in school or are beginning to have trouble with the law. They counsel parents on child care and offer drug and alcohol treatment. Poverty is the overarching problem causing child neglect, said Kristine Nelson, a professor of social work at Portland State University. "There's a syndrome of helplessness-hopelessness," she said. "They feel like there's nothing they can do to make a difference." In the past two years, many families have grown poorer as welfare reform has forced them off assistance and into low-paying jobs, said Tonia Hunt, policy associate at Children First for Oregon, a statewide non-profit children's group. "They're working more hours and not necessarily getting ahead," Hunt said. Kirby Crawford, a protective caseworker at the agency's Portland metro branch said: "There's a real fine line between what's neglect and what's poverty. When there's a house full of garbage you have to look at, 'Is the house full of garbage because of mental health issues or because the garbage bill cannot be paid?' " The three most important changes to help these families would be to provide adequate low-income housing, to strengthen volunteer networks and to provide adequate drug and alcohol treatment. "You can't just go into these homes and tell parents who are depressed and distracted that they are lousy parents," she said. "You have to kindle hope, give them some choices, offer supportive services." Yet there are countless times when caseworkers have to turn away a case because it isn't urgent enough, and simply referring families to community services doesn't feel like enough. Crawford often leaves a family filled with frustration and anxiety for the children. "You ask yourself, 'Did I do enough?' " she said. "'Is walking away my only alternative here?' And you keep your fingers crossed and hope for the best." You can reach Kate Taylor at 294-7692 or by e-mail at katetaylor@news.oregonian.com.
------------------------------------------------------------------- Moose reiterates volunteer policies (The Oregonian says Portland Police Chief Charles Moose alerted staff Friday that background investigations must be carried out on all civilian volunteers. Moose's memo comes in the wake of the arrest for bank robbery of Louie Lira Jr., a former gang outreach worker and police volunteer who turned out to have re-entered the country illegally after being expelled for robbery and drug convictions in California.) 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/ Moose reiterates volunteer policies * In the wake of the Lira accusations, the police chief reminds the staff to make complete background checks Saturday February 27, 1999 By Maxine Bernstein of The Oregonian staff In a written memo posted throughout the Portland Police Bureau on Friday, Chief Charles Moose alerted staff that background investigations must be done on all civilian volunteers before they are allowed to work for the bureau. The memo, which reiterates a standing policy, comes in the wake of the arrest of Louie Lira Jr., a former gang outreach worker who served as a volunteer with the Portland Police Bureau's Crisis Response Team for the past four years. Federal authorities arrested Lira on Jan. 8, accusing him of illegally re-entering the country. The Federal Bureau of Investigation also suspects Lira monitored a police scanner and served as a lookout for his brother and some acquaintances, who are accused of holding up a Portland bank in November. "Certainly, it's caused us to double-check our procedures, and make sure nobody does any background checks that aren't approved by our personnel division," Moose said Friday. "There was a problem, and you try to do things to make sure you don't have any future problems." Northeast Precinct Cmdr. Derrick Foxworth had said police checked Lira's background but did not run his fingerprints when he was accepted as a volunteer with the bureau's Crisis Response Team in 1995. As a volunteer, Lira was called out to defuse retaliatory violence after gang-related shootings and was given a police volunteer identification card, a police jacket and a pager. A full inquiry would have shown that Lira, under his real name of Gerardo Morales Alejo, was an illegal immigrant who had been deported to Mexico in 1985 from California, where he had been convicted of robbery and drug charges. Lira also never had a driver's license but had numerous motor vehicle violations in Portland. Police records show the bureau was aware of Lira's real name in 1993, before he began his volunteer work. Moose's memo reiterates current bureau policy that background investigations be managed by the bureau's personnel division. Other commanders may be authorized to perform the checks, but the personnel division is ultimately responsible. "Volunteers frequently have access to bureau buildings, work unsupervised, and have use of bureau computers, records, telephones, etc.," Moose wrote in the memo. The memo identifies civilian volunteers as Police Explorer scouts, foot patrol members, college interns, work-study students, Crisis Response and Crisis Intervention Team members, bureau advisory council members and clerical volunteers. The chief advised all Police Bureau managers to add the memo to their manual of police rules and procedures. You can reach Maxine Bernstein at 503-221-8212 or by e-mail at maxinebernstein@news.oregonian.com.
------------------------------------------------------------------- Smokers responsible for plight (A letter to the editor of the Oregonian raises an issue the newspaper ignored in its sympathetic article about the $110 million lawsuit against the tobacco company, Philip Morris, which went to trial last week in Portland. Namely, how the family of Jesse Williams, a man who smoked Marlboros for 42 years, apparently until he died, in 1997, can get around the issue of personal responsibility as defined by tort law.) The Oregonian http://www.oregonlive.com/oped/ Smokers responsible for plight Saturday February 27, 1999 My blood boils every time I hear about those people suing the tobacco industry for millions of dollars and developing cancer. Did anyone twist their arms and force them to smoke? Why don't they sue the booze industry for forcing them to drink? We could go on and on. Herb Doering Northeast Portland
------------------------------------------------------------------- No space: Jail sends 19 home (The Herald, in Everett, Washington, says the Will County jail has exceeded its 318-bed limit by more than 100 prisoners. Will County Executive Chuck Adelman said, "When I first came on the county board, law enforcement accounted for a third of the budget. Now it accounts for about three-quarters. . . . We've got some tough decisions in the next few years." Ending the war on some drug users apparently hasn't occurred to anyone, however.) From: "Bob Owen@W.H.E.N." (when@olywa.net) To: "_Drug Policy --" (when@hemp.net) Subject: No space: IL jail sends 19 home Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 14:02:54 -0800 Sender: owner-when@hemp.net Newshawk: ccross@november.org Source: The Herald News Pubdate: Saturday, February 27, 1999 Online: http://www.copleynewspapers.com/heraldnews/top/j26jail.htm No space: Jail sends 19 home Will County: Overcrowding extreme; sheriff says expansion needed By Nick Reiher ASSISTANT CITY EDITOR JOLIET -- With the population of the 10-year-old Will County Jail at its highest rate, Sheriff Brendan Ward warns an expansion will be needed soon. The number of prisoners has been steadily rising during the past year, Ward said. But in the last few weeks, the population of the 318-bed jail has exceeded 400 for the first time. To be exact, 449, said Doug DeBoer, first assistant state's attorney. So many, he said, that Ward asked if there were any prisoners who could have bonds reduced to ease jail overcrowding. DeBoer said they identified 19 prisoners, mostly misdemeanor cases and a few smaller felony narcotics cases. Bonds were reduced Thursday for those prisoners, who were subsequently released pending trial. That helps, Ward said. But that still means the jail is housing more than 100 prisoners over the limit. As such, he added, more often that not, prisoners have to double up in cells, with one sleeping on the floor on a mattress. That defeats the purpose of a direct supervision-type pod where one correctional officer on each floor is able to oversee 23 prisoners. In turn, Ward said, that has meant adding more correctional officers and forcing overtime situations. The county has approved more officers, he said, including 16 now being trained. But he's more concerned about the long term. With projected growth in the county and law enforcement agencies doing quality work, Ward said he might soon get into a situation where he has to pay to send prisoners to other adult detention facilities. One thing that will also help, he added, is the opening of the county's new juvenile detention center on McDonough Street. A few years after the new $25 million county jail opened in 1989, the county set aside one of the facility's six pods for juveniles. The new juvenile facility would open up 46 cells for adults at the jail. But Ward said it will take some time to renovate the pod for adults again. And while 46 more cells would help, he added, it still would not be enough to handle even the current population. To make matters worse, Ward said, they first have to take care of Y2K problems at the jail. The current computer security system, state-of-the-art in 1989, not only has been rigged countless times, he said, but is not Y2K compliant. And it will be "close," he added, whether the system will be compliant by Jan. 1, 2000. "If not, we'll have to open and close the doors manually," Ward said. "It's not like the doors will open and we'll have prisoners in the streets." Will County Executive Chuck Adelman said he's sympathetic, but he doesn't know where the money would come from to build new jail pods. There are other necessary services in need of more money as well, he said. "When I first came on the county board, law enforcement accounted for a third of the budget," he said. "Now it accounts for about three-quarters. ... We've got some tough decisions in the next few years." Among them, solving the space crunch, not only at the jail, but at the county building and the courthouse. The only way to do that would be funding the projects, including the jail expansion, through the Will County Public Building Commission, said County Board Member James Moustis, R-Frankfort Township, a commission member. The building commission, which has sold bonds for renovations to the county building, Eagle Building, Sunny Hill Nursing Home, new jail and juvenile jail, does not have the taxing limits the county does, Moustis said. With tax caps now in place, Moustis said, the county still is limited in the amount of bonds it can sell for projects. The building commission can sell the revenue bonds, which then are paid off by leases to the county. "We can't mortgage," Moustis said, "but we can lease. ... The jail would be just one of the projects. The building commission is the way to go." Nick Reiher 02/26/1999 *** When away, you can STOP and RESTART W.H.E.N.'s news clippings by sending an e-mail to majordomo@hemp.net. Ignore the Subject: line. In the body put "unsubscribe when" to STOP. To RESTART, put "subscribe when" in the e-mail instead (No quotation marks.)
------------------------------------------------------------------- Renegade Jurors (A letter to the editor of the Washington Post from Laura Kriho corrects the newspaper's recent article about jury nullification, noting her conviction in Colorado was for an unprecedented crime - sitting on a jury and not reading the mind of a prosecutor and not volunteering information that wasn't asked.) Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 12:17:38 -0700 (MST) From: Jury Rights Project (jrights@levellers.org) To: Jury Rights Project (jrights@levellers.org) Subject: WP LTEs: "Renegade Jurors" (2/20, 2/27) 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 Published: Saturday, February 27, 1999; Page A19 Letters to the Editor Renegade Jurors (Cont'd) The article about my case ["One Juror's Convictions; Holdout in Colo. Case Found Guilty of Obstructing Justice," news story, Feb. 8] contained several errors. The most important error was in stating that I was convicted of obstruction of justice. I was convicted of contempt for failing to volunteer information about my background and political knowledge of jury nullification to the court during jury selection, even though I was asked no questions related to those issues. I answered all the questions they asked me truthfully, and I was cleared of the perjury aspect of the contempt charge. Your article portrayed me as somebody eager to serve on the jury to promote an agenda. My only "agenda" that morning was to go home. My mistake was in failing to understand during jury selection that I was under an obligation to try to read the minds of the attorneys and volunteer answers to questions they had not thought to ask. The judge took four months and nine single-spaced pages in my case to invent this new crime and convict me, its first victim. The issue is not so much in what I failed to volunteer but in the government's reaction to it. What point have we reached in our society that it is acceptable to prosecute jurors for allegedly not applying the law? Prosecuting jurors was common practice in medieval times, but since the case of the William Penn jurors in 1670, prosecuting jurors for their verdict has been taboo. Until my case. If prosecutors and judges are worried that jurors will fail to apply the law, isn't the problem with the law? If my conviction is upheld, will all potential jurors be under the obligation to read minds and volunteer information, even if not asked, or face criminal prosecution? If citizens stop convicting people of violating certain laws (as they did during alcohol prohibition and slavery), doesn't that send a message to legislatures that the laws are out of step with what the people want? In my case, it seems the government is trying to send a message to the people that you had better convict, or we will investigate you and find out something you didn't "volunteer" during jury selection and prosecute you. It's a scary message. -- Laura Kriho *** 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.
------------------------------------------------------------------- DEA Is Sued Over Border Shooting (The Associated Press says the family of Abecnego Monje Ortiz, an unarmed 18-year-old Mexican man shot in the back and paralyzed last month by Wilbur Honeycutt, a drug task force officer stationed in Texas on the U.S.-Mexico border, is seeking $25 million from the Drug Enforcement Administration.) Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 12:49:36 -0800 From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews) To: mapnews@mapinc.org Subject: MN: US TX: Wire: DEA Is Sued Over Border Shooting Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/ Newshawk: General Pulaski Pubdate: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 Source: Associated Press Copyright: 1999 Associated Press DEA IS SUED OVER BORDER SHOOTING SAN ANTONIO (AP) The family of an 18-year-old Mexican man shot in the back by a drug task force officer as he crossed the Rio Grande last month is seeking $25 million from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. A bullet struck Abecnego Monje Ortiz between the shoulder blades as he ran through a rural area of Maverick County on Jan. 25, leaving him paralyzed. He had just crossed the river in an inner tube with about 14 other people. "I crossed the border in order to seek work in the United States, carrying nothing more than a jug of water," Monje says in the claim, which was filed as the first step toward a possible lawsuit. "At the moment I was shot, I was running in the opposite direction from the man who shot me." Wilbur Honeycutt, an officer assigned full-time to a multiagency drug task force of the DEA, shot Monje about 13 miles north of Eagle Pass, according to the DEA. The FBI, the Maverick County Sheriff's Office and the Department of Public Safety are investigating. But authorities declined to say if Honeycutt was on or off duty at the time of the shooting, or to provide more details before the inquiry is complete. The area around Eagle Pass has been designated a "High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area," where agencies are trying to stop undocumented immigrants and drugs from entering the country. The shooting happened less than two years after the fatal shooting of 18- year-old Esequiel Hernandez near Redford along the West Texas border. The teen- ager was herding his family's goats when a U.S. Marine in an anti-drug patrol shot him to death. Amid a national outcry over the 1997 shooting, the Pentagon suspended armed military patrols on the Southwest border. To settle a claim filed by Hernandez's survivors, the government bought a $1 million annuity for the family.
------------------------------------------------------------------- Ex-tobacco executive charged in smuggling scheme (The Associated Press says Leslie Thompson, a former R.J. Reynolds marketing executive, was arrested this week in Detroit on money laundering charges for allegedly helping smugglers scheme to sell nearly $700 million worth of cigarettes on the Canadian black market. Two dozen people have been convicted in the case and are awaiting sentencing. In December, Northern Brands International, an R.J. Reynolds subsidiary, admitted helping the smuggling ring and paid $15 million in fines and forfeitures.) From: "Bob Owen@W.H.E.N." (when@olywa.net) To: "_Drug Policy --" (when@hemp.net) Subject: Ex-tobacco executive charged in cig smuggling scheme Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 13:51:53 -0800 Sender: owner-when@hemp.net Saturday, 27 February 1999 Ex-tobacco executive charged in smuggling scheme SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) - A former R.J. Reynolds marketing executive was charged with helping smugglers scheme to sell nearly $700 million worth of cigarettes on the Canadian black market. Leslie Thompson, 51, was arrested this week in Detroit on money laundering charges. If convicted, he could get 20 years in prison. He is the first tobacco industry executive charged in the federal government's investigation into tobacco and alcohol smuggling through the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation in northern New York. The smugglers avoided paying excise taxes to the United States by telling customs agents that the Canadian cigarettes they were carrying were being brought into the country for export to Russia. Instead, they were shipped to the St. Regis reservation and smuggled across the St. Lawrence River back into Canada, thus cheating the Canadian government of taxes as well. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory West said yesterday that it appeared Thompson was preparing to flee the country when arrested. Thompson was ordered held without bail. The government also is seeking to seize $87 million in illicit assets from Thompson, West said. Two dozen people have been convicted in the case and are awaiting sentencing. In December, Northern Brands International, an R.J. Reynolds subsidiary, admitted helping the smuggling ring and paid $15 million in fines and forfeitures. Thompson was placed on leave after the company began an internal investigation into Northern Brands, and Adam Bryan-Brown, a spokesman for R.J. Reynolds, said the allegations against Thompson run "completely contrary" to corporate policy. *** When away, you can STOP and RESTART W.H.E.N.'s news clippings by sending an e-mail to majordomo@hemp.net. Ignore the Subject: line. In the body put "unsubscribe when" to STOP. To RESTART, put "subscribe when" in the e-mail instead (No quotation marks.)
------------------------------------------------------------------- Veteran Bensenville Police Officer Is Accused Of Evidence-Tampering (The Chicago Tribune says William Wassman, a 14-year veteran of the police department in Bensenville, Illinois, was charged Friday with switching evidence that eventually was used to convict an unnamed defendant in a 1995 cocaine possession case. Steps are being taken to vacate the conviction, according to Joseph Birkett, a DuPage County state's attorney.) Date: Mon, 1 Mar 1999 06:26:06 -0800 From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews) To: mapnews@mapinc.org Subject: MN: US IL: Veteran Bensenville Police Officer Is Accused Of Evidence-Tampering Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/ Newshawk: Steve Young Pubdate: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 Source: Chicago Tribune (IL) Copyright: 1999 Chicago Tribune Company Contact: tribletter@aol.com Website: http://www.chicagotribune.com/ Forum: http://www.chicagotribune.com/interact/boards/ VETERAN BENSENVILLE POLICE OFFICER IS ACCUSED OF EVIDENCE-TAMPERING A 14-year veteran of the Bensenville Police Department was indicted Friday on charges that he switched evidence that eventually was used to convict a defendant in a 1995 cocaine possession case. Officer William Wassman, 38, was charged with one count of obstruction of justice and four counts of official misconduct, said DuPage County State's Atty. Joseph Birkett in announcing the indictment. Birkett said the cocaine evidence was requested for trial, but a search for the package was unsuccessful. Wassman, who was assigned to the evidence room of the Bensenville Police Department, produced an envelope containing cocaine a short time later, Birkett said. Wassman allegedly had taken the cocaine from an unrelated case and marked it so it could be used in the trial. The officer allegedly had destroyed the original evidence after it had been used in an earlier trial to convict a co-defendant in the possession case. Wassman was covering that mistake, Birkett said. The defendant in the possession case was convicted and sentenced to probation. Steps are being taken to vacate the conviction, Birkett said. Wassman could face up to 5 years in prison if convicted of both obstruction and official misconduct.
------------------------------------------------------------------- Agitation for softening harsh drug statutes more vocal than ever (The Associated Press says vocal opposition to New York state's mandatory minimum Rockefeller Drug Laws has never been louder. Calls for reform from the chief judge of the state's highest court, Judith Kaye, and the state's newly elected attorney general, Eliot Spitzer, have been seconded by Human Rights Watch and a group that includes Warren Anderson, Douglas Barclay and John Dunne, three former Republican state senators who voted in favor of the laws when they were first passed 25 years ago.) From: "Bob Owen@W.H.E.N." (when@olywa.net) To: "_Drug Policy --" (when@hemp.net) Subject: Softening NY drug statutes more vocal than ever Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 14:41:31 -0800 Sender: owner-when@hemp.net Agitation for softening harsh drug statutes more vocal than ever By Joel Stashenko Associated Press 02/27/99 13:56 ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - At no time since the adoption of the New York statutes that have become known as the Rockefeller Drug Laws have as many voices been raised in favor of reform as this year. Added to the quarter-century-long opposition of inmate advocates and minority activists has come criticism from influential circles which have been largely silent before, even as New York's prisons have swelled to 130 percent of capacity thanks in part to the continuing flow of drug offenders. The chief judge of the state's highest court, Judith Kaye, and the state's newly elected attorney general, Eliot Spitzer, have both called in recent weeks for the laws to be reworked. The Human Rights Watch, more typically concerned with humanitarian violations in central America, China and the Balkans, has also condemned the New York drug laws as being "so disproportionately severe as to violate internationally recognized human rights." And, several coalitions are lobbying in Albany for an overhaul of the drug laws. One group includes Warren Anderson, Douglas Barclay and John Dunne, three former Republican state senators who voted in favor of the laws when they were created. The laws they made include a provision calling for a mandatory 15-year-to-life sentence for people dealing more than 2 ounces or possessing more than 4 ounces of a controlled substance. "We shared Governor Rockefeller's frustration that nothing else seemed to be working," Dunne, the former head of the U.S. Justice Department's civil rights division, said. "When he called for that action he thought that these heavy, draconian penalties would drive the dealers from the street because they would not place their lives in jeopardy." What became clearer over time, Dunne said, was that "for every seller who is swept off the street, there are three or four volunteers willing to take their place." When former Gov. Nelson Rockefeller proposed the 15-year-to-life drug sentence in 1973, he told the Legislature it was time to inject "brutal honesty" into the war on drugs. At the time, there were 12,500 inmates in state prisons. Today, there are more than 70,000 state prisoners, more than 22,600 of them serving time for drug offenses. Three new 1,500-inmate prisons, costing $180 million each, are either under construction or on the drawing board. According to the anti-Rockefeller Drug Law state Correctional Association, 9,225 inmates at the end of 1998 were serving 15-year-to-life drug sentences in New York. Another 11,458 drug offenders were locked up under the state's second felony offender law, typically serving 4-to-9-year sentences for trying to sell or for possessing narcotics. Blacks and Latinos comprise more than 94 percent of the inmates in prison for drug raps, leading activists to decry the drug laws as a vehicle to subjugate young minority males and to supply the inmates for the prisons that so many white-dominated upstate communities have come to rely on economically. "We think the problem of drugs, of substance abuse, should be a public health problem rather than a criminal problem," said Eddie Ellis, a former Black Panther who has worked with teens and parolees in New York City after serving 25 years in state prison. "People who use drugs are sick people." Ellis is among the drug law opponents who believe that most of the people serving time for drug offenses "could be released tomorrow without any appreciable danger to public safety." Treatment is what they need, not incarceration, Ellis argued. The Correctional Association estimates that about half the people being sent to prison for drug offenses have never been arrested for a violent felony in their lives. It is here where the differences over retaining or revamping the drug laws are sharpest. Advocates for change say that the laws have served to fill state prison cells with thousands of nonviolent people who are taking up space that should be occupied by truly dangerous felons. But hard-liners dispute that notion. "A lot of these people are people with violence in their past who maybe have never been convicted of violence or people who have been able to evade the law for a few years," Republican state Sen. Dale Volker said. Volker said it was not uncommon in his day as a sheriff's deputy in Erie County for authorities to resort to arresting known violent offenders for drug possession when police knew suspects were carrying narcotics. "Just to get them off the street, we'd bust them with the drugs on them," Volker said. "It was pretty effective." Volker is chairman of the Senate's codes committee, which would have to approve of changes to the drug laws before the full Senate could vote on the legislation. Volker said he and other leaders in the Republican-controlled Senate are willing to discuss modest alterations to the drug laws. "But we are not willing to acknowledge somehow that there are these huge amounts of people sitting in the prison system that shouldn't be sitting there," he said. "We will look at questions of overkill and injustices. But the principle of putting drug dealers, sellers and big possessors away for long periods of time we think is a good one and is a major reason why violence in New York is dropping off," Volker said. Another Republican senator, John DeFrancisco of Syracuse, has filed a bill this session to increase the weight limits of the drugs people need to be caught possessing or selling in order to qualify for a mandatory 15-year-to-life sentence. Where possession of four ounces of a narcotic currently triggers the most stringent penalties under the law, DeFrancisco's bill would raise that limit to eight ounces. Republican Gov. George Pataki is keeping his options open. Early on in his first term he said the drug laws should be reviewed, but he has never put his weight behind a campaign to make sure that is done. It remains open to speculation whether Pataki - who talks exhaustively about a 29 percent drop in violent crime in New York during his administration - would accede to a weakening of drug laws at a time when he is hoping to be courted by Republicans nationally as a presidential or vice presidential candidate in 2000. Kaye's proposal would provide for automatic judicial review of all 15-year-to-life drug sentences and a reduction of minimum sentences to five years in cases where judges see a "miscarriage of justice." More significantly, she said thousands of second felony offenders could be diverted away from prison and into drug treatment programs, if they have no backgrounds of violence and the prosecutor in their case agrees with the sentencing judge that prison would not be the best option in the convict's case. Pataki called the Kaye proposal "thoughtful" and "intelligent." "I am not at this point prepared to endorse it," Pataki said. "But it's certainly one that warrants further review."
------------------------------------------------------------------- AIDS Epidemic Hitting African-Americans The Hardest (The Baltimore Sun covers the first medical conference on AIDS among black Americans, where about 1,000 health care providers and activists gathered in Washington, D.C. AIDS in the United States is evolving from a disease that once mostly affected white homosexuals into one largely of poor blacks, often infected from dirty drug needles or heterosexual encounters. Blacks make up about 14 percent of the U.S. population but a devastating 45 percent of new AIDS cases, receive poorer care than whites and die faster. Prisons are one cause of the disproportionate spread of AIDS to black women. Disproportionate allocation of medical resources outside black communities is another.) Date: Mon, 1 Mar 1999 06:26:00 -0800 From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews) To: mapnews@mapinc.org Subject: MN: US MD: AIDS Epidemic Hitting African-Americans The Hardest Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/ Newshawk: General Pulaski Pubdate: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 Source: Baltimore Sun (MD) Copyright: 1999 by The Baltimore Sun, a Times Mirror Newspaper. Contact: letters@baltsun.com Website: http://www.sunspot.net/ Forum: http://www.sunspot.net/cgi-bin/ultbb/Ultimate.cgi?action=intro AIDS EPIDEMIC HITTING AFRICAN-AMERICANS THE HARDEST Conference lures activists, health care providers eager to reverse trend WASHINGTON -- Black Americans are becoming infected with AIDS at record rates, receiving poorer care than whites and dying faster. Now, almost two decades into the AIDS epidemic, about 1,000 health care providers and activists gathered for the first medical conference on AIDS among black Americans -- a frantic hunt for ways to fight the exploding racial divide. AIDS in the United States is evolving from a disease that once mostly affected white homosexuals into one largely of poor blacks, often infected from dirty drug needles or heterosexual encounters. Blacks make up about 14 percent of the U.S. population but a devastating 45 percent of new AIDS cases. AIDS has been the leading killer of blacks between 25 to 44 for most of the decade. One in 50 black men and one in 160 black women are estimated to be infected. `A daunting challenge' "This is no less a daunting challenge than we faced in the civil rights movement," said Emory University's Dr. Stephen Thomas. The doctors, social workers and activists sought practical, day-to-day advice on fighting HIV, the AIDS virus, in communities often racked by poverty and drugs, where a legacy of racism has left distrust of the medical system. How do you get a drug user or a homeless person tested for HIV? How do you treat the hotel maid who can't afford the time off to go to a clinic only open weekdays? "We're talking about reaching people who might not have had a meal since noon yesterday, and they're still sitting in the clinic" for four hours because the doctor overbooked, complained Debra Hickman of Baltimore's Sisters Together and Reaching. HIV in prisons Then came the thorny issue of preventing and treating HIV in prisons. "Our men are in the jails. They do come home to their wives and girlfriends," warned a California AIDS worker, describing one reason HIV infection is growing fast among black women. Nor do many black doctors specialize in AIDS, complained a Colorado nurse who described herself as the only black AIDS health worker in her town. White doctors "do care, but they don't understand when I say, `Patients don't trust you.' " President Clinton has declared AIDS among minorities a crisis. The administration is spending $156 million this year and seeking $171 million next year to fight back. Needle exchange funding But Clinton refused last year to use federal money to buy clean needles for drug addicts, one way to prevent HIV's spread. Frustrated at the ban, administration doctors urged local communities Thursday to raise the money themselves for needle exchanges. And critics questioned whether the government's work is fair: One new program calls for 35 percent of AIDS research sites to be in minority communities, but two-thirds of new infections now occur in those communities.
------------------------------------------------------------------- Health Workers Fight An AIDS Racial Divide (A lengthier version in the Austin American-Statesman identifies the source as Cox Interactive Media.) Date: Tue, 2 Mar 1999 04:00:41 -0800 From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews) To: mapnews@mapinc.org Subject: MN: US DC: Health Workers Fight An Aids Racial Divide Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/ Newshawk: General Pulaski Pubdate: Sat,27 Feb 1999 Source: Austin American-Statesman (TX) Copyright: 1999 Cox Interactive Media, Inc. Contact: letters@statesman.com Website: http://www.Austin360.com/ HEALTH WORKERS FIGHT AN AIDS RACIAL DIVIDE Epidemic Among Blacks Is As Daunting As The Struggle For Civil Rights, Doctor Tells Conference WASHINGTON - Black Americans are becoming infected with AIDS at record rates, receiving poorer care than white Americans and dying faster. Now, almost two decades into the AIDS epidemic, about 1,000 health-care providers and activists gathered for the first medical conference on AIDS among black Americans -- a frantic hunt for ways to fight the exploding racial divide. AIDS in the United States is evolving from a disease that once mostly affected white homosexual people into one largely of poor black people, often infected from dirty drug needles or heterosexual encounters. Black people make up 12 percent of the U.S. population but a devastating 45 percent of new AIDS cases. AIDS has been the leading killer of black people between 25 to 44 for most of the decade. One in 50 black men and one in 160 black women are estimated to be infected. "This is an historic event," Phill Wilson of the National Black Lesbian and Gay Leadership Forum told the conference Thursday. "What we do . . . will determine whether or not we make a difference." "This is no less a daunting challenge than we faced in the civil rights movement," said Dr. Stephen Thomas of Emory University. The doctors, social workers and activists sought practical, day- to-day advice on fighting HIV, the AIDS virus, in communities often wracked by poverty and drugs, where a legacy of racism has left distrust of the medical system. How do you get a drug user or a homeless person tested for HIV? How do you treat the hotel maid who can't afford the time off to go to a clinic only open weekdays? How do you get the bus driver to keep taking AIDS medicine when the main side effect is diarrhea? "We're talking about reaching . . . people who might not have had a meal since noon yesterday, and they're still sitting in the clinic" for four hours because the doctor overbooked, said Debra Hickman of Baltimore's Sisters Together and Reaching. Then came the thorny issue of preventing and treating HIV in prisons. "Our men are in the jails. They do come home to their wives and girlfriends," said a California AIDS worker, describing one reason HIV infection is growing fast among black women. Nor do many black doctors specialize in AIDS, said a Colorado nurse who described herself as the only black AIDS health worker in her town. White doctors "do care, but they don't understand when I say, `Patients don't trust you.' " President Clinton has declared AIDS among minorities a crisis. The administration is spending $156 million this year and seeking $171 million next year to fight back. But Clinton last year refused to use federal money to buy clean needles for drug addicts, one way to prevent HIV's spread. Frustrated at the ban, administration doctors urged local communities Thursday to raise the money themselves for needle exchanges. And critics questioned whether the government's work is fair: One new program calls for 35 percent of AIDS research sites to be in minority communities, but two-thirds of new infections now occur in those communities. The conference's main goal was to empower workers on the front lines of AIDS, providing information and resources to help their communities, said Cornelius Baker of the National Association of People With AIDS. "We need to make care more culturally appropriate," he said. "Maybe clinics need Sunday hours, or you could give health care at church after Sunday services." And grass-roots doctors who don't often get to the fancy international AIDS meetings hungered for the latest data, questioning experts on which drugs to use. "We can be flexible," said Dr. Joel Gallant of Johns Hopkins University. Not everyone needs that much-publicized but expensive "protease inhibitor" cocktail right away, he said. Newly infected patients with low HIV levels might be all right not starting drugs for a while. Got a patient who won't swallow 15 pills a day? Some new drugs require far fewer. But there were no easy solutions. Take Gallant's advice for doctors to test even newly diagnosed patients' blood to see if their HIV will resist certain drugs. The immediate response: Medicaid and other programs don't pay for those tests, so how can doctors use them?
------------------------------------------------------------------- Details Surface Of Deputy's Drug Arrest (The Charlotte Observer says Sgt. Bryant Reginald Hudson, a sheriff's deputy in Sumter County, North Carolina, was arrested Wednesday for allegedly selling cocaine to pay for his sick child's medical expenses.) Date: Sun, 28 Feb 1999 18:07:41 -0800 From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews) To: mapnews@mapinc.org Subject: MN: US NC: Details Surface Of Deputy's Drug Arrest Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/ Newshawk: General Pulaski Pubdate: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 Source: Charlotte Observer (NC) Copyright: 1999 The Charlotte Observer Contact: opinion@charlotte.com Website: http://www.charlotte.com/observer/ DETAILS SURFACE OF DEPUTY'S DRUG ARREST SUMTER--A Sumter County sheriff's deputy arrested Wednesday for allegedly selling cocaine did so to pay for his sick child's medical expenses, according to court records obtained by The Item of Sumter. A sworn statement by a special agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration also alleges that Sgt. Bryant Reginald Hudson, 35, used a known Sumter drug dealer to sell crack and tried to enlist another deputy to pick up cash from the sales. Hudson, a 13-year veteran, was taken into custody on federal charges of distribution of crack cocaine and cocaine, and conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine and cocaine. He has been suspended without pay pending the outcome of the case, Sheriff Tommy Mims said. If convicted, Hudson faces five years to life in prison. An investigation began in April 1997 and was a joint effort by the Sumter County Sheriff's Department, the DEA and the regional drug task force. Mims said the investigation is ongoing, and he has not ruled out the possibility that others, including other officers, will be charged. Hudson originally approached the drug dealer in 1992 when his 10-year-old son was ill, according to a DEA agent's statement. Hudson asked how he could make money, and the dealer said he could turn $300 into $500 in a week. The relationship grew from there, the agent's statement said.
------------------------------------------------------------------- McCaffrey Wants Mexico Certification (The Associated Press says the Clinton administration was expected to announce today that it would certify Mexico as a fully cooperating ally in the United States' war on some drug users. The White House drug czar, General Barry McCaffrey, warned drug warriors in Congress that refusing to certify Mexico would send an unwise and wrongheaded political message.) Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 12:49:29 -0800 From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews) To: mapnews@mapinc.org Subject: MN: US: Wire: McCaffrey Wants Mexico Certification Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/ Newshawk: General Pulaski Pubdate: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 Source: Associated Press Copyright: 1999 Associated Press Author: CASSANDRA BURRELL Associated Press Writer MCCAFFREY WANTS MEXICO CERTIFICATION WASHINGTON (AP) Refusing to certify Mexico as a fully cooperating partner in the fight against drug trafficking would send an unwise and wrongheaded political message, White House drug policy director Barry McCaffrey says. The Clinton administration was scheduled to announce today whether it would certify that Mexico, America's second-largest trading partner behind Canada, was fully cooperating with U.S. anti-drug efforts. "I don't expect any surprises," White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said Thursday when asked if President Clinton would certify Mexico's anti-drug efforts. The U.S. ambassador to Mexico, Jeffrey Davidow, also indicated Thursday that Clinton would certify Mexico. "Mexico's efforts in fighting narcotics are appreciated in the United States," Davidow told the American Chamber of Commerce in Mexico City. "Acting alone, we cannot face, we cannot confront and beat the narcotics traffickers. We have to do this in a cooperative fashion." Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., expressed disappointment with the expected certification. "Why is this administration rewarding Mexico with U.S. trade and foreign aid when they are dramatically increasing their heroin production and significantly lowering their seizures of illegal drugs?" he asked in a written statement. He is chairman of the House Government Reform Committee's panel on criminal justice, drug policy and human resources. By law, the president must judge the performance of all foreign drug- producing and transiting countries by March 1. Countries not certified as fully cooperating and not given a national security waiver would be hit with economic penalties. Some members of Congress have expressed doubt about Mexico's commitment to stop narcotics trafficking. But McCaffrey said Thursday the country is struggling to rid itself of drug-related corruption. "We're trying to work in practical cooperation with men and women of good will who share our view that this drug threat is a terrible menace to their own political institutions and their own children," he told Mica's subcommittee. Lawmakers who contend Mexico has failed to meet its responsibilities may move to block its certification. "I'm going to have to ask the Senate, 'Is it time to say no, you do not get recertified?"' Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., said Thursday. "They're not doing what they're supposed to be doing on the drug wars." Meanwhile, House Speaker Dennis Hastert criticized McCaffrey's goal of reducing U.S. illegal drug use and availability by 50 percent by 2007. "As Republicans, we have insisted that the nation's drug czar meet achievable performance standards by 2003," said Hastert, R-Ill. "Moreover, we need the Clinton-Gore administration to share our commitment to fight to win the war on drugs." Hastert also announced that Mica and Reps. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Bill McCollum, R-Fla., would lead the new Drug-Free America Working Group, a task force of House Republicans working on the drug issue.
------------------------------------------------------------------- Many Mexicans See Little Use For Certification (Reuters says there is a growing realization among all classes that the United States' annual certification ritual is not a viable policy with regard to Mexico. One thing is for sure. Next year's certification exercise, which will coincide with the start of a presidential election campaign, will be far more stormy. If the United States were to take the plunge and decertify Mexico, it could play straight into the hands of Mexican politicians with a nationalist agenda, analysts said.) Date: Mon, 1 Mar 1999 16:07:23 -0800 From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews) To: mapnews@mapinc.org Subject: MN: Mexico: Wire: Many Mexicans See Little Use For Certification Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/ Newshawk: General Pulaski Pubdate: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 Source: Reuters Copyright: 1999 Reuters Limited. Author: Andrew Hurst MANY MEXICANS SEE LITTLE USE FOR CERTIFICATION MEXICO CITY, - The United States' annual ritual of "certifying" countries who pass muster in their anti-drug efforts is considered by many Mexicans an indignity that serves little useful purpose. Mexico cleared this year's certification hurdle on Friday when the Clinton administration approved it as an ally in the drug war despite falling seizures of cocaine, increased opium poppy cultivation and corruption in the judicial system. While the news, although widely expected, was greeted with relief in Mexico, there is growing realization that "decertification" -- blacklisting countries that do not do their best to fight illegal drugs -- is not a viable policy for the United States to pursue with its neighbour Mexico. The two countries cooperate closely in fighting drug traffickers, raising doubts as to what the United States could gain from decertifying Mexico. Countries that fail to make the certification grade can be punished with economic and trade sanctions. Decertification would have meant a suspension of all U.S. aid except for counter-narcotics work and U.S. opposition to lending to Mexico by multilateral institutions. "The level of cooperation (between the United States and Mexico) is so high, with such an intense set of activities in this area of law enforcement, that decertification makes no difference," said Federico Estevez, a political science professor at Mexico City's ITAM university. Mexico's chief public prosecutor, Jorge Madrazo, said the annual review by the United States did nothing to help the fight against drug-trafficking. "So long as the anti-drug policy is based on looking out for which country is guilty, collaboration will not be what it should be," Madrazo told reporters at a conference on corruption. Mexican politicians were quick to react to the announcement from Washington. "It's a farce. Certification is not going to fundamentally resolve the problems of drug-trafficking and corruption which, regrettably, predominate in Mexico," said Samuel Maldonado, a parliamentary deputy with the leftist Revolutionary Democrat Party (PRD). The Foreign Ministry also slammed the certification ritual. "The Mexican Foreign Ministry rejects these unilateral procedures of certification," a source at the ministry told Reuters. What rankles with many Mexicans is that the annual certification saga is a painful reminder of their country's subordinate position with the United States. "We can't tell them to take a running jump. We know that the government has to bend to the desires of the United States. There is a widely held view that this is unjust," said Jose Antonio Crespo. One thing is for sure. Next year's certification exercise, which will coincide with the start of a presidential election campaign in Mexico, is set to be far more stormy. If the United States were to take the plunge and decertify Mexico it could play straight into the hands of Mexican politicians with a nationalist agenda, analysts said. "There will be a hullabaloo," said Estevez. "All the Mexican presidential candidates will accuse the gringos (Americans) of sniffing too much cocaine and will insist that Mexico has its prerogatives." But Estevez said he believed that without certification, introduced in 1986 after the murder of a U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency operative in Mexico, cooperation between the two countries in fighting drug-trafficking might not have been so close. "It (certification) makes more visible the level of unease that one side or the other is feeling. It ended up serving a purpose, but not the one that was intended," he said.
------------------------------------------------------------------- Despite Flood Of Drugs, U.S. Says Mexico Is Staunch Ally (According to the Wilmington Morning Star, in North Carolina, President Clinton certified Mexico and Colombia Friday as fully cooperative allies in the United States' war on some drug users, even though most "hard drugs" flooding the United States come from those countries.) Date: Mon, 1 Mar 1999 21:26:19 -0800 From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews) To: mapnews@mapinc.org Subject: MN: US: Despite Flood Of Drugs, U.S. Says Mexico Is Staunch Ally Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/ Newshawk: General Pulaski Pubdate: 27 Feb 1999 Source: Wilmington Morning Star (NC) Contact: mseditor@wilmington.net Website: http://starnews.wilmington.net/ DESPITE FLOOD OF DRUGS, U.S. SAYS MEXICO IS STAUNCH ALLY IN FIGHT WASHINGTON - President Clinton on Friday certified Mexico and Colombia as fully cooperative allies in fighting illegal drugs, even though most hard drugs flooding the United States come from those countries. The president's declaration illustrates the extent to which Washington's paramount interests, from regional stability to trade, influence its annual assessment of the drug threat posed by foreign countries. On Capitol Hill, two senators who led a failed attempt last year to overturn Mexico's certification dropped their opposition, and the House speaker, Dennis Hastert, signaled that he was not seeking a fight with the administration over the issue. The senators, Paul Coverdell, R-Ga., and Dianne Feinstein, D- Calif., were muted compared with their demeanor last year. Senate aides said there was little chance that opponents of certification could muster a majority to reverse Mr. Clinton's decision, much less a two-thirds vote to override a presidential veto of any reversal. The recertification came as President Clinton, speaking in San Francisco, defended his efforts to cooperate with Mexico in fighting drugs, to engage with China to promote political freedom and to threaten force to bring peace to Kosovo. Mr. Clinton attempted to locate coherent themes in a foreign policy that his critics have complained reacts to world events more than it anticipates them and abides the abuses of nations more than it prevents or punishes them. Twice in his 50-minute speech, the president spoke of the "inexorable logic of globalization." He warned that while increased trade and economic growth might knit nations closer together, they would not guarantee peace, wealth or environmental protection. "The promise of our future lies in the world," Mr. Clinton said. "Therefore, we must work hard with the world - to defeat the dangers we face together and to build this hopeful moment together."
------------------------------------------------------------------- Mexico, Colombia Certified As Anti-Drug Allies (The New York Times version in the San Jose Mercury News) Date: Sun, 28 Feb 1999 09:59:34 -0800 From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews) To: mapnews@mapinc.org Subject: MN: US: Mexico, Colombia Certified As Anti-Drug Allies 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: 27 Feb 1999 Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA) Copyright: 1999 Mercury Center Contact: letters@sjmercury.com Website: http://www.sjmercury.com/ Author: Christopher S. Wren, New York Times MEXICO, COLOMBIA CERTIFIED AS ANTI-DRUG ALLIES Regional stability an influence WASHINGTON -- President Clinton on Friday certified Mexico and Colombia as fully cooperative allies in fighting illegal drugs, even though most hard drugs flooding the United States come from those countries. The president's declaration illustrates the extent to which Washington's paramount interests, from regional stability to trade, influence its annual assessment of the drug threat posed by foreign countries. On Capitol Hill, two senators who led a failed attempt last year to overturn Mexico's certification dropped their opposition, and the House speaker, Dennis Hastert, signaled that he was not seeking a fight with the administration over the issue. The senators, Paul Coverdell, R-Ga., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., were muted compared with their demeanor last year. New standards sought They joined six Republicans in sending a letter Friday to Clinton urging the White House to incorporate new standards for evaluating Mexico's cooperation, including prosecution of the leaders of smuggling operations and extradition of traffickers wanted in the United States. "The government of Mexico has taken steps to improve its law enforcement cooperation," the letter said. "But far more, we believe, needs to be done." Senate aides said there was little chance that opponents of certification could muster a majority to reverse Clinton's decision, much less a two-thirds vote to override a presidential veto of any reversal. Feinstein and Coverdell had other reasons for avoiding a fight over drug policy. Feinstein, her aides say, does not believe that a divisive floor battle would be fruitful. Coverdell is the chair of a U.S.-Mexico legislative conference in Atlanta this spring and does not want to anger the Mexicans taking part. The administration's decision is likely to run into sharper opposition in the House, where Rep. John L. Mica, R-Fla., is to hold hearings next week. "I'm hearing more and more members of Congress express dismay about Mexico's performance," said Mica, who predicted that the administration was "in for a very rough time on Capitol Hill." 2 nations don't make cut The administration refused certification to only two countries, Afghanistan and Burma, also called Myanmar, which together supply 90 percent of the world's opium. In theory, decertification disqualifies a country from receiving American economic aid or multilateral development loans. But Washington already has frosty relations with Afghanistan and Burma and provides no direct aid. Four other countries -- Cambodia, Haiti, Nigeria and Paraguay -- were judged not to have done enough to stanch the drugs smuggled through their territory. But sanctions against all of them were waived in the American national interest, largely because of their political and economic fragility in moving toward democratic rule. Haiti's case Although Haiti has become a significant shipment point for cocaine and other drugs smuggled into the United States, the State Department said the sanctions mandated by decertification would mean eliminating American programs propping up the battered Haitian economy. "All of us are deeply concerned about that country's deteriorating situation," Attorney General Janet Reno said Friday at the briefing announcing the certification decisions. Mexico remains the primary transport route for Colombian cocaine smuggled into the United States, as well as a major source of heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine and a center for laundering drug money, according to the annual International Narcotics Control Strategy Report released Friday by the State Department.
------------------------------------------------------------------- Clinton OKs Mexico's Effort At Fighting Drugs (The Des Moines Register version) Date: Tue, 2 Mar 1999 05:18:10 -0800 From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews) To: mapnews@mapinc.org Subject: MN: US: Clinton OKs Mexico's Effort At Fighting Drugs Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/ Newshawk: General Pulaski Pubdate: 27 Feb 1999 Source: Des Moines Register (IA) Copyright: 1999, The Des Moines Register. Contact: letters@news.dmreg.com Website: http://www.dmregister.com/ CLINTON OKS MEXICO'S EFFORT AT FIGHTING DRUGS Washington, D.C. - Despite strong opposition on Capitol Hill and in some parts of his own administration, President Clinton said Friday he is certifying that Mexico is "fully cooperating" with the United States in combating narcotics trafficking. "Mexico is cooperating with us in the battle for our lives," Clinton said in San Francisco. The president's decision came two days after senior administration officials told a special Senate panel that corruption in Mexico has reached unprecedented levels and that the Mexican government has made little progress in combating cocaine cartels. Yet in an address to California business leaders, Clinton praised Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo, saying he was "working hard to tackle the drug traffickers headlong." "He cannot win this battle alone," the president said. "And neither can we." Yet at the Senate hearing Wednesday, Drug Enforcement Administration Director Thomas A. Constantine said that corruption in elite Mexican antinarcotics units trained by the United States has reached such a high level that American law-enforcement agencies no longer trust their counterparts across the border. "The power of the Mexican criminal organizations has grown virtually geometrically" over the past five years, resulting in corruption "unparalleled to anything I've seen in 39 years of law enforcement," Constantine said. The DEA chief's comments caused some members of Congress to question whether Mexico deserves certification. Rep. John Mica, a Republican from Florida, issued a statement Friday questioning why the administration was rewarding Mexicans "with U.S. trade and foreign aid when they are dramatically increasing their heroin production and significantly lowering their seizures of illegal drugs." Mica is chairman of the House Government Reform Committee's panel on criminal justice, drug policy and human resources. On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, a Republican from Mississippi, said he will consider asking the Senate to overturn the decision to certify Mexico. He said of Mexican officials, "They're not doing what they're supposed to be doing on the drug wars."
------------------------------------------------------------------- Clinton Praises Mexico As He Certifies It As Partner In Drug War (The Associated Press version in the Orange County Register) Date: Tue, 2 Mar 1999 03:57:15 -0800 From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews) To: mapnews@mapinc.org Subject: MN: US CA: Clinton Praises Mexico As He Certifies It As Partner In 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: 27 February,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 33 Author: George Gedda-The Associated Press CLINTON PRAISES MEXICO AS HE CERTIFIES IT AS PARTNER IN DRUG WAR Narcotics: The decision is expected to be opposed in Congress,where lawmakers believe the nation hasn't done enough. Washington-Despite large-scale, cross-border drug smuggling and a decline in drug seizures, President Clinton certified Mexico on Friday as a fully cooperating partner with U.S. counternarcotics efforts. The decision, part of an annual evaluation of drug problem countries, could touch off strong opposition in Congress, where many lawmakers are exasperated by Mexico's inability to stem U.S. bound narcotics flows. To overturn the president's decision, a two-thirds vote of both houses is required. By law, countries found not to be fully cooperative are "decertified" and can be subject to economic sanctions unless the president grants them a waiver on national interest grounds. "Mexico is cooperating with us in the battle for our lives," Clinton said in a speech in San Francisco. Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo is "working hard to tackle the corruption traffickers headlong," he said, adding, "He cannot win this battle alone. And neither can we." In justifying the Mexico decision, Barry McCaffrey, who heads the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said that last year, Mexico implemented legislative reforms, arrested numerous drug traffickers and sustained massive interdiction and eradication programs. He told a news conference that outright decertification of Mexico would devastate efforts to build long-term cooperation. Nonetheless, official figures indicate that cocaine seizures in Mexico were down 35 percent last year and that eradication of opium poppy did not keep pace with new cultivation. The overall harvest increased 25 percent, government figures show. Meanwhile, a group of eight senators, led by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate caucus on drug issues, wrote to Clinton and recommended that in next year's certification process, Mexico be judged more by results instead of efforts. They recommended that the evaluation be measured by strict criteria, including Mexico's willingness to extradite drug chieftains, its ability to arrest and prosecute money launderers and leaders of narcotics syndicates, and its record on drug eradication and seizures. Joining seven Republicans in signing the letter was Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. Mexico was one of 28 countries evaluated by Clinton. Colombia was certified as being fully cooperative after being decertified last year. At the time, Clinton waived the economic penalties against Colomia. The country's clean bill of health reflects the close ties the Clinton administration has established with President Andres Pastrana, who took office six months ago. All told, 22 countries were certified as fully cooperative with American counterdrug efforts. Meanwhile, a State Department study released simultaneously said Mexico continues to be the primary route for northbound South American cocaine and is a major source of marijuana, heroin and methamphetamine. The report is issued annually and evaluates international narcotics control efforts. It said the United States and its allies made solid gains in controlling narcotics trafficking in 1998, citing progress in crop reduction, drug interdiction and other areas.
------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. Certifies Mexico As Drug War Ally (The Cox Interactive Media version in the Austin American-Statesman) Date: Mon, 1 Mar 1999 21:26:19 -0800 From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews) To: mapnews@mapinc.org Subject: MN: US: U.S. Certifies Mexico As Drug War Ally Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/ Newshawk: General Pulaski Pubdate: 27 Feb 1999 Source: Austin American-Statesman (TX) Copyright: 1999 Cox Interactive Media, Inc. Contact: letters@statesman.com Website: http://www.Austin360.com/ U.S. CERTIFIES MEXICO AS DRUG WAR ALLY Colombia also gets nod, showing priority on keeping relations WASHINGTON -- President Clinton Friday certified Mexico and Colombia as fully cooperative allies in fighting illegal drugs, even though most hard drugs flooding the United States come from those countries. The president's declaration illustrates the extent to which Washington's paramount interests, from regional stability to trade, influence its annual assessment of the drug threat posed by foreign countries. Congress, which has 30 days to overturn the ruling, has never rejected a presidential certification. On Capitol Hill, two senators who led a failed attempt last year to overturn Mexico's certification dropped their opposition, and the House speaker, Dennis Hastert, signaled that he was not seeking a fight with the administration over the issue. The senators, Paul Coverdell, R-Ga., and Dianne Feinstein, D- Calif., were muted compared with their demeanor last year. They joined six Republicans in sending a letter Friday to Clinton urging the White House to incorporate new standards for evaluating Mexico's cooperation, including prosecution of the leaders of smuggling operations and extradition of traffickers wanted in the United States. "The government of Mexico has taken steps to improve its law enforcement cooperation," the letter said. "But far more, we believe, needs to be done." Senate aides said there was little chance that opponents of certification could muster a majority to reverse Clinton's decision, much less a two-thirds vote to override a presidential veto of any reversal. Sens. Feinstein and Coverdell had other reasons for avoiding a fight over drug policy. Feinstein, her aides say, does not believe that a divisive floor battle would be fruitful. Coverdell is the chairman of a U.S.-Mexico legislative conference in Atlanta this spring and does not want to anger participating Mexicans. The administration's decision is likely to run into sharper opposition in the House, where Rep. John L. Mica, R-Fla., is to hold hearings next week. "I'm hearing more and more members of Congress express dismay about Mexico's performance," said Mica, who predicted that the administration was "in for a very rough time on Capitol Hill." "The situation has gotten worse rather than better," Mica said. "I'm really concerned (the Mexicans) may be on the verge of losing control of their country. You could have the creation of another narco-terrorist state. When it's along our border, you have a very serious problem." House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., an ally of the White House, said he will oppose Clinton's decision. "The law requires that we objectively assess what the Mexican government has done over the past year, not put our hopes in what progress may come in the future," he said. But Clinton pledged unstinting support for Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo's efforts to crack down on the drug trade. "As I certify to Congress today, Mexico is cooperating with us in the battle for our lives," Clinton said in a speech in San Francisco, "and I believe the American people will be safer in this, as in so many other ways, if we fight drugs with Mexico rather than walk away." Of 28 countries evaluated in the drug scorecard this year, the only ones Clinton chose to punish with economic sanctions were Myanmar and Afghanistan, which together supply 90 percent of the world's opium. Certification has become an annual, angst-ridden rite since Congress enacted a law in 1986 requiring the president to evaluate the level of counter-narcotics cooperation of countries deemed to be major producers or transit points for the lucrative worldwide drug trade. In theory, decertification disqualifies a country from receiving American economic aid or multilateral development loans. But Washington already has frosty relations with Afghanistan and Myanmar and provides no direct aid. Four other countries -- Cambodia, Haiti, Nigeria and Paraguay -- were judged not to have done enough to staunch the flow of drugs smuggled through their territory. But sanctions against all of them were waived in the U.S. national interest, largely because of their political and economic fragility in moving toward democratic rule. Although Haiti is a significant shipment point for cocaine and other drugs smuggled into the United States, the State Department said the sanctions mandated by decertification would mean eliminating American programs propping up the battered Haitian economy. Twenty-two other countries identified with drug production or trafficking were certified by Washington on the grounds that their governments were grappling with the problem. They include Pakistan, which reduced opium cultivation by 26 percent last year, and Peru and Bolivia, where cultivation of coca leaf, the raw ingredient for cocaine, fell 26 percent and 17 percent respectively. Mexico remains the primary transport route for Colombian cocaine smuggled into the United States, as well as a major source of heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine and a center for laundering drug money, the State Department said.
------------------------------------------------------------------- Mexico Grumpy But Pleased With Drug Certification (An Associated Press article in the San Diego Union Tribune quotes an undersecretary at the Foreign Secretariat saying Mexico was happy "that an obstacle has not been imposed to cooperation." "It should be us who certify the United States," said Vicente Yanez, the president of the National Chamber of Manufacturing Industries.) Date: Sun, 28 Feb 1999 18:07:36 -0800 From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews) To: mapnews@mapinc.org Subject: MN: Mexico: Mexico Grumpy But Pleased With Drug Certification Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/ Pubdate: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA) Copyright: 1999 Union-Tribune Publishing Co. Contact: letters@uniontrib.com Website: http://www.uniontrib.com/ Forum: http://www.uniontrib.com/cgi-bin/WebX Author: John Rice, Associated Press MEXICO GRUMPY BUT PLEASED WITH DRUG CERTIFICATION MEXICO CITY - Mexicans expressed grumpy relief Friday after President Clinton's certification of their country as a partner in drug fighting. The importance of the decision was reflected in the television reporting on the announcement and in the headlines of afternoon dailies. "Gracias, Uncle Sam," declared El Universal Grafico. "CERTIFIED," announced Ovaciones. Juan Rebolledo, undersecretary at the Foreign Secretariat, said Mexico was happy "that an obstacle has not been imposed to cooperation." Clinton is required each year to certify whether Mexico and other countries are fully cooperating in the fight against narcotics trafficking. A negative decision may have led to financial sanctions against Mexico. Mexican officials argue that certification and the threat behind it is an insult to their own good will and sovereignty, and they say it has damaged cooperation against drugs. "It should be us who certify the United States," Vicente Yanez, president of the National Chamber of Manufacturing Industries, said in an interview with the Formato 21 radio station. Mexican officials often complain that U.S. demand for drugs fuels the illegal drug trade between the two countries.
------------------------------------------------------------------- Quebec Judge Sentenced To 3 Years (The Associated Press version of yesterday's news about Robert Flahiff, a Quebec Superior Court judge, remaining free on bail pending his appeal of a three-year sentence for laundering more than $1 million in drug money while he was still a lawyer) Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 11:14:15 -0800 From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews) To: mapnews@mapinc.org Subject: MN: Canada: Wire: Quebec Judge Sentenced To 3 Years Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/ Newshawk: General Pulaski Pubdate: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 Source: Associated Press Copyright: 1999 Associated Press QUEBEC JUDGE SENTENCED TO 3 YEARS MONTREAL - A Quebec Superior Court judge was sentenced Friday to three years in prison for laundering more than $1 million in drug money. Robert Flahiff, 51, was convicted of laundering the money between 1989 and 1991 while he was a lawyer for a cocaine dealer. The judge, who will remain free on bail pending an appeal, is still receiving his salary despite his suspension from the bench two years ago. He became a judge in 1993. Flahiff's defense lawyers had pleaded for leniency, but Quebec Court Judge Serge Boisvert said the offense deserved a stiff sentence. "You submit that imprisonment could be more difficult for you than for an ordinary citizen, given that you are a Superior Court judge," said Boisvert. "This argument cannot be considered." According to testimony, Flahiff began taking satchels of cash to a branch of the Bank of Montreal in 1989. A former bank official testified that Flahiff was allowed to enter the branch after business hours with a sports bag containing thousands of dollars. The bills were turned into bank drafts that ended up in Swiss banks. The defense acknowledged that Flahiff transferred money to Switzerland for client Paul Larue, a cocaine dealer arrested in 1993, but denied that Flahiff knew the funds were proceeds of crime. Larue faced life imprisonment in the United States after he was caught in a cocaine sting in 1993 in Burlington, Vt. He got 14 years after agreeing to become a police informant against Flahiff.
------------------------------------------------------------------- Are cannabis and psychosis linked? (The Lancet, in Britain, continues its unscientific revisionism on cannabis issues, asking an epidemiological question and finding an Australian drug warrior to provide a subjective answer that ignores what little epidemiological evidence exists. Wayne Hall, executive director of National Drug and Alcohol Studies at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, makes the classic error of focusing only on the schizophrenia patients for whom cannabis was not effective. Using the same logic and methodology, one could blame Thorazine for causing or exacerbating psychosis by studying only those whom it didn't help. And both Hall and the Lancet examine the issue without context or degree, as if it hadn't been established long ago that alcohol use is much more prevalently associated with psychosis.) Date: Sun, 28 Feb 1999 01:06:08 +0100 From: Help End Marijuana Prohibition (hempSA@va.com.au) Subject: [pot-news] ART: Australia: Are cannabis and psychosis linked? To: linda@anamika.freeserve.co.uk From: webbooks@paston.co.uk Subject: ART: Australia: Are cannabis and psychosis linked? Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 02:00:39 +0000 Newshawk: Martin Cooke (mjc1947@cyberclub.iol.ie) Source: The Lancet Copyright: The Lancet Ltd Pubdate: 27 February 1999 Contact: lancet.editorial@elsevier.co.uk Website: http://www.thelancet.com/ Author: Peter Harrigan The Lancet Volume 353, Number 9154 27 February 1999 Are cannabis and psychosis linked? By Peter Harrigan Wayne Hall, executive director of National Drug and Alcohol Studies at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, has re-kindled the argument about whether heavy use of cannabis can cause "cannabis psychosis", and whether the use of cannabis can precipitate schizophrenia or exacerbate its symptoms. At the inaugural international conference on cannabis and psychosis (Melbourne, Feb 16-17), Hall enlisted support for the "cannabis psychosis" hypothesis. Apparent precipitation of acute psychotic symptoms by heavy use of cannabis remit after abstinence, he noted. But are these symptoms a "toxic psychosis" induced by cannabis, rather than a functional psychosis, he asked? It is also possible, he added, that concurrent use of amphetamines could cause a toxic psychosis, mistakenly attributed to cannabis alone. "If cannabis-induced psychoses exist, it seems that they would require very high doses of THC [tetrahydrocannabinol], the prolonged use of highly potent forms of cannabis, or a pre-existing vulnerability", Hall suggested. Cannabis might have a causal link with psychosis in vulnerable people [eg, adolescents and young adults], he said, but the nature of this vulnerability has yet to be identified. Hall referred to research indicating a linear relation between the frequency of use of cannabis before age 18, and the risk of being diagnosed with schizophrenia by the age of 33. "It is unclear whether this means that cannabis precipitates schizophrenia, whether it is a form of self-medication [of an existing psychosis], or whether the association is because of the use of other drugs, such as amphetamines, which heavy cannabis users are more likely to use", he reported. Although there is evidence that cannabis dependence is associated with a some-time diagnosis of schizophrenia, there is better evidence that cannabis use can exacerbate the symptoms of schizophrenia. The onset of such symptoms are more likely to be acute rather than insidious among heavy users of cannabis, said Hall. *** [The Lancet begs several rather obvious questions in addition to those posed by previous marginalia. For example, how could a substance for which human beings have developed receptors in the brain cause or exacerbate schizophrenia? Since schizophrenia generally manifests itself in adolescence or early adulthood, why do not natural cannabinoids such as anandamide precipitate psychosis before that - or, for that matter, after that, in the absence of cannabis use? The reefer maniacs also fail to address why and how cannabis could cause or exacerbate psychosis while at the same time real scientists are finding it to be so beneficial for victims of head trauma, stroke, nerve gas, Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, depression and other mood disorders, Tourette's Syndrome, and many additional mental disorders, including schizophrenia, for which California physicians are currently writing recommendations for medical marijuana. Finally, the Lancet is ethically remiss in failing to ask Mr. Hall if he thinks schizophrenia patients are better off rotting in jail or prison or facing other criminal sanctions for self-medicating with cannabis. Does Mr. Hall favor reforming the marijuana laws? If not, does he think patients should also be jailed for triggering a psychotic episode by consuming alcohol? How does he justify his position in view of the Hippocratic Oath to "do no harm"? Is he really interested in what's best for patients or only how to make money for his rehab clinic? For what other diseases does he think prison should be part of the potential therapeutic regimen? To pretend that the question of marijuana's relative harm can be viewed apart from the very serious trauma often inflicted on psychiatric medical marijuana patients by the law is morally specious. - ed.]
------------------------------------------------------------------- Start Heroin Trials, Urges Australian Politician (The Lancet says Jeff Kennett, the premier of Victoria, where heroin-related deaths outnumber traffic fatalities so far this year, has lent his support to national heroin maintenance trials.) Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 20:59:52 -0800 From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews) To: mapnews@mapinc.org Subject: MN: Australia: Start Heroin Trials, Urges Australian Politician 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: 27 Feb 1999 Source: Lancet, The (UK) Contact: lancet.editorial@elsevier.co.uk Website: http://www.thelancet.com/ Author: Bebe Loff and Stephen Cordner Issue: Volume 353, Number 9154 START HEROIN TRIALS, URGES AUSTRALIAN POLITICIAN At the launch of new heroin overdose prevention and training strategies in Victoria, Australia, on Feb 18 the premier of Victoria, Jeff Kennett, lent his support to national heroin trials these involve the provision of heroin to users. Already, this year, 63 people have died from overdosing on heroin, outnumbering road-traffic fatalities as a cause of death in Victoria. The "Heroin Overdose Prevention Initiative" advises injecting drug-users to: avoid using heroin alone; not to combine heroin with other drugs or alcohol; and to test the dose. Users are also advised that their tolerance levels will be lower if they have not used heroin for a while. Kennett disagrees with Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, who reaffirmed his opposition earlier this year to trials despite an increase in drug-related deaths. Howard pointed to the success of his "Tough-on-Drugs" strategy which has produced a record number drug seizures. A National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre report, released on Feb 9, stated that heroin-related deaths have increased by 73% over the past decade. Kennett has called a meeting of premiers to discuss the issue of trials next week.
------------------------------------------------------------------- Acne and Ecstasy - Spots might show that drugs are destroying your liver (In a monument to reductionist thinking, New Scientist, in Britain, uses the cases of two German patients exposed to a street drug supposed to be MDMA to assert that a rash that looks like acne may identify people who risk suffering severe side effects from ecstasy. Not mentioned - the same sort of rash is a not uncommon side effect of some antidepressants. As well as, one assumes, whatever contaminants tainted the street drugs used by the two German patients.) Date: Thu, 04 Mar 1999 18:05:53 +0000 To: editor@mapinc.org From: Peter Webster (vignes@monaco.mc) Subject: [] New Scientist: Acne and ecstasy Newshawk: Peter Webster Pubdate: 27 Feb, 1999 Source: New Scientist (UK) Page: 25 Copyright: New Scientist, RBI Limited 1999 Contact: letters@newscientist.com Website: http://www.newscientist.com/ Author: Jon Copley ACNE AND ECSTASY Spots might show that drugs are destroying your liver A RASH that looks like acne may identify people who risk suffering severe side effects if they take ecstasy, according to a German dermatologist. Uwe Wollina of the University of Jena first noticed the symptoms when a woman was admitted to the university hospital with liver failure after taking ecstasy. "She developed a facial rash that resembled acne, but wasn't," says Wollina. The rash vanished when the woman received treatment for her liver failure. Another ecstasy user being treated for drug-induced psychosis developed a similar rash. It cleared up within a few days, by which time the drug had left the patient's system. In both cases, the reddish pimples only appeared on the face and throat (Dermatology, vol 197, p 171). Wollina suspects he knows why ecstasy users can be plagued with spots. "The underlying mechanism may be in the seratonin pathways," he says. Ecstasy stops nerve cells reabsorbing the neurotransmitter seratonin, so high concentrations can build up in the brain and other tissues. Wollina suggests that high levels of seratonin enhance blood flow to the face, boosting the activity of the sebaceous glands that can produce spots when they become blocked. While it may be difficult to distinguish normal teenage spots from the drug-fuelled variety, Wollina believes the pimples can reveal ecstasy use among older people. "If a patient with acne turns up in the surgery who has never before had spots on the face, one should be wary," he says. However, only a urine test for metabolites of the drug can prove someone is using ecstacy. Wollina believes the condition indicates that the body is under stress from taking the drug. He suspects that people who break out in spots after taking ecstasy will develop other symptoms more readily, even if they are not heavy users. "The side effects are not dose-dependent," he says. Other researchers are intrigued by the idea that Wollina has found a marker for ecstasy-induced liver damage. "There have been several cases of liver failures from ecstasy that went on to require liver transplants," says Robert Forrest, a forensic pathologist at the University of Sheffield who has been called in to investigate a number of ecstasy-related deaths. Forrest says that up to 10 per cent of Caucasians lack an enzyme that protects the liver from damage by ecstasy. But they are not the only ones at risk: a letter published in The Lancet (vol 353, p 593) earlier this month describes three cases of ecstasy-induced liver failure in people with apparently normal enzymes. If spots on the face really do identify those at risk, users could receive an early warning of the dangers they face.
------------------------------------------------------------------- Weekly Action Report on Drug Policies, Year 5, No. 8 (A summary of European and international drug policy news, from CORA, in Italy) Subject: CORAFax #8 (EN) Date: Mon, 01 Mar 1999 17:23:13 +0100 From: CORAFax (cora.belgique@agora.stm.it) To: CORAFax (EN) (cora.belgique@agora.stm.it) ANTIPROHIBITIONIST OF THE ENTIRE WORLD .... Year 5 #8, February 27 1999 *** Weekly Action Report on Drug Policies Edited by the CORA - Radical Antiprohibitionist Coordination, federated to - TRP-Transnational Radical Party (NGO, consultive status, I) - The Global Coalition for Alternatives to the Drug War *** director: Vincenzo Donvito All rights reserved *** http://www.agora.stm.it/coranet mailto:cora.news@agora.stm.it *** CORA NEWS BURMA - Many countries, among which also Italy, don't want to participate in the UN Conference on Drugs. They want to avoid legitimization of the local Government. Italy, nonetheless, is not taking any serious step. On the contrary, the Secretary of the DS (Left-wing Democrats) party has met with a delegation of the Burma military regime. What could have they said to each other? ITALY- PIEDMONT- The CORA has deposited an account of facts in all the Court Houses of the region. Why isn't the law on public services for drug addicts been applied, and why are methadone treatments being negated? ITALY - A number of VIPs from the religious and journalistic world have participated in a high fashion show organized against drugs. The CORA replies that fancy clothes are of no use. Prohibitionism has failed, the King is naked, and so are they. *** NEWS FROM THE WORLD *** 000497 18/02/99 E.U. ADDICTION EL PAIS In an interview Gerges Estevienart says that cocaine is an expanding market for all those people who don't consider themselves real addicts, like heavy drinkers. Use of synthetic drugs, especially of 4MTA, which is hard to track down, is rising among young people. Use of heroin, with its million consumers in the Europeaan Union, is stable. *** 498 24/02/99 CONSUMERS EL PAIS, HERALD TRIBUNE / NEUE ZUERCHER Z. / LIBERATION, SUEDDEUTSCHE Z. The UN Agency on Drugs has released the news that in 1998 use of hashish has risen and that in northern America smoking heroin is becoming a frequent phenomenon. Also the use of synthetic drugs has gone up toghether with that of stimulants and tranquilizers in such a quantity that no therapeutic use can be justified. *** 000499 22/02/99 E.U. / SPAIN JURISPRUDENCE EL PAIS Having seen the penal irrelevancy of the act, the Tribunal Supremo has established that drug consumption among a group of addicts does not constitute a crime. The crime is instead committed when drugs are offered to someone who is not an addict. *** 000496 18/02/99 AMERICA / CUBA LAWS NEUE ZUERCHER Z. 18/02 / LE MONDE 19/02 The Cuban Parliament has approved a law that introduces the death penalty for possessing, producing and trafficking drugs. *** 000500 24/02/99 ASIA / MYAMAR / RANGOON MARKET FRANKFURTER The Fourth Interpol Conference on Heroin Traffic is being boycotted by many western countries that don't want to give the local military regime a chance to gain worldwide attention. This absence has been criticised by the delegates of 28 Asian countries. They say that especially the USA and Great Britain, where consumption of drugs is so high, should collaborate. *** 000501 25/02/99 ASIA / AFGHANISTAN PRODUCERS PANORAMA With the 'Theology Students' in power, Afghanistan has become the world's number one heroin producer. It is this business that keeps arms traffic and an endless war going on. In the meanwhile the UN and various humanitarian organisations have evacuated Kabul, leaving the population to its dreadful destiny. *** 000502 20/02/99 AMERICA / COLOMBIA WAR ON DRUGS THE ECONOMIST While the US ambassador says that the American anti-drug policy in Colombia is a wasted effort, the Colombian Government recieves a good will certificate for collaborating in the war on drugs. This policy is not only followed by the DEA, but also by the CIA and various Republican representatives. Nonetheless the coca plantations are still growing, in every sense. *** CORAFax 1999 "To be removed from further mailings simply click on the link below; or just (only) type Remove in the subject!" mailto:cora.belgique@agora.stm.it?subject=CORAFax_Remove-Me-NOW! -------------------------------------------------------------------
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