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

The NORML Foundation Weekly Press Release (House Of Commons holds first ever
debate on medical marijuana - considers motion to legalize drug for medical
purposes; British MP backs marijuana by prescription; House rejects South
Dakota governor's plan to impose mandatory jail time for pot offenses; Alaska
medical marijuana law takes effect this week)

From: NORMLFNDTN@aol.com
Date: Fri, 5 Mar 1999 18:19:46 EST
Subject: NORML WPR 3/5/99 (II)

The NORML Foundation Weekly Press Release

1001 Connecticut Ave., NW
Ste. 710
Washington, DC 20036
202-483-8751 (p)
202-483-0057 (f)
www.norml.org
foundation@norml.org

March 5, 1999

***
	
House Of Commons Holds First Ever Debate On Medical Marijuana
Considers Motion To Legalize Drug For Medical Purposes

March 5, 1999, Ottawa, Ontario: Canada's House of Commons debated
yesterday a motion to recommend that the government "undertake all
necessary steps to legalize the use of marijuana for health and medical
purposes." The House will vote on the motion, M-381, in June. The
hearing was the first time the House of Commons has debated legalizing
medical marijuana.

"We must now assume our responsibility as elected representatives by
inviting the federal government to pass concrete measures without delay
that will allow the therapeutic use of marijuana," bill sponsor MP
Bernard Bigras (Bloc Quebecois-Rosemont) said. "The Controlled
Substances Act is totally devoid of understanding and compassion toward
the chronically ill, who want nothing more than to live in dignity. This
act must be changed as soon as possible, in order to allow the medical
use of marijuana by those who need it."

Bigras testified that the Canadian AIDS Society, the Canadian
Hemophilia Society, and several prominent doctors "unambiguously" favor
legalizing medical marijuana. He also attacked statements made by Health
Minister Allan Rock one day earlier regarding the development of federal
guidelines for medical marijuana clinical trials. Bigras called Rock's
statements a stalling tactic.

"How can we have any faith in [the Health Minister's] words when, in
the past, the Minister's actions did not fall in line with his
commitments?" Bigras asked. "Every time the issue of legalizing the
therapeutic use of marijuana [comes] up, the Minister of Health or the
Minister of Justice [tries] to duck it. Their answer [is] always: they
[are] open to the issue, their officials [are] studying it, and they hope
to be able to announce a plan or something more specific in a few months,
all the while hoping that the issue would go away."

Bigras said that Rock has ignored requests from seriously ill
patients who have applied to receive medical marijuana under the Health
Canada special access program. Recently, AIDS patient James Wakeford
launched a civil suit against the federal government for the right to use
medical marijuana after receiving no response from Rock's office. "We
know that there is no indication whatsoever that the Minister listens to
patients," Bigras concluded.

Minister of Health Secretary Elinor Caplan argued that existing
federal law already allows for the regulated distribution of medical
marijuana if the drug "is of good quality and originates from a legal or
licit licensed supplier." She said she intends to amend Bigras' motion
to urge the government to develop guidelines for conducting medical
marijuana research.

Debate over M-81 will continue on two separate days schedule for
later this spring.

For more information, please contact either R. Keith Stroup, Esq. or
Paul Armentano of NORML @ (202) 483-5500.

***

British MP Backs Marijuana By Prescription

March 5, 1999, London, England: Member of Parliament Paul Flynn
(Labour Party-Newport West) urged colleagues last week to support
legalizing medical marijuana. Flynn recently introduced legislation to
allow seriously ill patients to use marijuana legally.

"The tens of thousands of multiple sclerosis, AIDS, and cancer
sufferers should not have to wait ... for a natural medicine which has
been used by millions of people for thousands of years," he said. "They
want a medicine of their choice now so they can get pain relief, so that
they can get a good night's sleep, or so they can stop feeling nauseous
from the side effects of chemotherapy."

The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee requested
Parliament to legalize prescriptive access to medical marijuana in
November, but government officials said they would not amend federal law
before completing additional research. Parliament recently approved
human trials to determine marijuana's ability to control muscle spasms in
multiple sclerosis patients and provide relief to post-operative pain
sufferers. Researchers said they expect to present their findings within
two years.

For more information, please contact either Allen St. Pierre or Paul
Armentano of The NORML Foundation @ (202) 483-8751.

***

House Rejects South Dakota Governor's Plan To Impose Mandatory Jail Time
For Pot Offenses

March 5, 1999, Pierre, SD: The House of Representatives tabled
legislation yesterday that would have imposed mandatory jail sentences
for all marijuana offenders, including children. The House deep-sixed
the proposal despite heavy lobbying by Gov. William Janklow (R), who
introduced the bill, and majority support from the Senate and House State
Affairs Committee.

NORML Executive Director R. Keith Stroup, Esq. praised the House's
decision to kill the proposal. "Marijuana smokers work hard, raise
families, and contribute to their communities," he said. "They are not
part of the crime problem and we should not treat them like criminals.
This proposal would have needlessly wrecked the lives, careers, and
families of thousands of otherwise law abiding citizens in South Dakota
who smoke marijuana."

The House voted 40 to 29 to table the legislation.

Senate Bill 210 stated that any individual convicted of a marijuana
violation shall serve ten days in jail. Janklow's initial proposal
mandated a 30 day sentence for all offenders, but the Senate amended the
measure before passing it 22 to 11 last month. The bill also
appropriated $1 million to the Governor's office to pay informants up to
$1,000 for evidence leading to arrest and conviction of anyone guilty of
a marijuana violation.

"Rather than imposing harsh and mandatory jail sentences for minor
marijuana offenders, we should develop a policy that distinguishes
between use and abuse, and which reflects the importance we have always
attached in this country to the right of the individual to be free from
the overreaching power of the state," Stroup concluded.

For more information, please contact either Keith Stroup of NORML @
(202) 483-5500 or South Dakota dairy farmer and local NORML coordinator
Joe Stein @ (605) 882-3936.

***

Alaska Medical Marijuana Law Takes Effect This Week

March 5, 1999, Juneau, Alaska: A voter-approved law shielding
medicinal marijuana patients from criminal prosecution took effect
yesterday. It was one of four state initiatives passed in November
protecting patients who use medical marijuana under a doctor's
supervision.

Alaska's new law allows patients to legally possess up to one ounce
of marijuana or cultivate three mature plants for medical use. It
encourages patients to enroll in a confidential registry where they will
be issued a state identification card indicating they may legally possess
medical marijuana. The law also provides a legal defense for
non-registered patients who have a doctor's recommendation to use
marijuana.

The Alaska Nurses Association lobbied for the law. "Our position as
nurses is that we listen to what the patients tell us and patients tell
us this works," ANA spokeswoman Ileen Self said.

Although the law orders the Department of Health and Social Services
to issue identification cards to qualified patients, the office is not
yet accepting applications, the Associated Press reported.	

Proponents say it is unlikely that state officials will mount any
serious challenges to the law because state law limits the Legislature's
ability to significantly alter voter-approved initiatives.

For more information, please contact either R. Keith Stroup, Esq. or
Paul Armentano of NORML @ (202) 483-5500.

				- END -

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

Aiming to alter pot law (The Juneau Empire says that, on the same day medical
marijuana became legal in Alaska, state senator Loren Leman, an Anchorage
Republican, introduced Senate Bill 94, which would severely restrict the new
law.)

Date: Sun, 7 Mar 1999 12:20:18 -0900
To: dpfor@drugsense.org
From: Ed Glick (gina@proaxis.com)
Subject: DPFOR: Fwd: republicans know best
Sender: owner-dpfor@drugsense.org
Organization: DrugSense http://www.drugsense.org/
From: "Peter Branson" (peterbranson@hotmail.com)
To: gina@proaxis.com
Subject: republicans know best
Date: Sat, 06 Mar 1999 00:09:38 PST

Are the republinazis trying a similar approach here?

***

Web posted Friday, March 5, 1999

Aiming to alter pot law

By MARK SABBATINI
THE JUNEAU EMPIRE

On the same day medical marijuana became legal in Alaska, a legislative
measure was introduced placing limits on its use.

Among the restrictions that would be added to the law approved by voters
last fall is requiring a physician to conclude ``there are no other
legal treatments that can be tolerated by the patient that are as
effective.''

Senate Bill 94 is intended to close loopholes that could lead to abuse
of the new law, said Sen. Loren Leman, an Anchorage Republican who
introduced the bill Thursday.

``It does what I think a majority of Alaskans want, which is make sure
those who claim they need it and get a doctor to agree will be able
to,'' he said today.

Patient registration with the state would be mandatory instead of
optional and police would have greater access to the registry if Leman's
bill passes. Marijuana use would be limited to patients' homes or the
homes of their caretakers, or while under supervision at a medical
facility.

Those restrictions will likely scare off or keep many legitimate
patients from using marijuana, said Jim Kentch, one of three co-sponsors
of the initiative approved by 59 percent of voters in November. He said
it constitutes unwarranted government intervention between a doctor and
patient.

``I don't know what makes Loren Leman think he knows or understands or
can be cognizant of what the majority of Alaskans thought when they
voted for this initiative,'' Kentch said. ``If the majority of Alaskans
didn't like it the way it was, they wouldn't have voted for it.''

David Finkelstein, a former state representative and another co-sponsor
of the ballot initiative, said the bill could deny cancer patients
medical marijuana because morphine can be perceived as equally effective
and tolerable by patients. He said that doesn't take into account
morphine's side effects.

The state constitution doesn't allow the Legislature to repeal a ballot
initiative until two years after it becomes law, said Dean Guaneli,
chief assistant attorney general for the Department of Law's criminal
division. He said lawmakers can change the newly enacted law, however,
as long as its basic structure and purpose remains.

Leman said the bill does impose ``a fairly high standard'' for medical
marijuana use and legislative hearings are needed to determine if all of
the bill's provisions are constitutional. But he said hearing from
doctors and other experts will lend a degree of expertise to the debate
not possible during the election.

``I very much support the initiative process, but I also recognize there
is a danger because you don't have the detailed hearing process you have
in the Legislature,'' he said

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

Medical Marijuana Legislation Dead In Hawai'i For 1999 Session (A media
advisory from the Drug Policy Forum of Hawai'i blames stiff opposition from
cops and a "lack of political will" by the chairs of the Hawaiian
legislature's house and senate judiciary committees for blocking a public
hearing on a medical marijuana bill.)

Date: Mon, 08 Mar 1999 07:20:07 -0500
To: DRCNet Medical Marijuana Forum (medmj@drcnet.org)
From: Richard Lake (rlake@mapinc.org)
Subject: Medical Marijuana Legislation Dead In Hawai'i For 1999 Session
Reply-To: medmj@drcnet.org
Sender: owner-medmj@drcnet.org

Drug Policy Forum of Hawai'i
P.O. Box 61233
Honolulu, Hawai'i
96839
top@lava.net
Website: www.drugsense.org/dpfhi
Voice & Fax to 808-988-4386

MEDIA ADVISORY
Friday, March 5, 1999

CONTACT: DON TOPPING @ (808) 988-4386 or 637-9822

***

MEDICAL MARIJUANA LEGISLATION DEAD IN HAWAI'I FOR 1999 SESSION
Proponents Lament "Lack of Political Will" by House & Senate Judiciary
Committee Chairs

HONOLULU - The medical Cannabis (AKA marijuana) issue is sidelined
until Y2K in Hawai'i after stiff opposition from law enforcement. Dr.
Donald Topping, President of the Drug Policy Forum of Hawai'i said,
"We have heard all of the law-enforcement arguments and they simply
would not have stood up under the scrutiny of a public hearing. With
the health issues seemingly resolved, we were hopeful that the bills
would have a fair hearing in the Judiciary Committees where the law
enforcement issues could be addressed."

The two model bills had earlier sailed through the House and Senate
Health Committees after testimony by many patients about the medical
benefits of medical Cannabis. Senator Suzanne Chun-Oakland, Chair of
the Senate Health Committee said, "I was not entirely convinced until
after I had heard the patients speak."

Clearly the issue had run up against formidable opposition from state
and local federal law enforcement. In a letter to Representative Paul
Oshiro, Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Dr. Richard S. Miller,
wrote, "Law enforcement officials are not necessarily the most
knowledgeable experts on state policy. Their job is to execute the
laws, not to make policy. To defer to the views of law enforcement
officials, to not hear opposing views supported by knowledgeable
experts, and to prevent concerned and ailing citizens who would
benefit by the bill to testify is very dangerous in a democratic
society." Miller, former Dean and Professor Emeritus of the Richardson
School of Law developed the Senate-incorporated language legally
protecting Hawai'i physicians, whether they choose to recommend
marijuana or not to patients. Fearing possible legal ramifications,
the Hawai'i Medical Association had opposed the legislation.

Ironically, the stonewalling by the Hawai'i legislature was playing
out at the very moment the medical marijuana issue is garnering
unprecedented attention and support around the world. Efforts to
permit the legal use of medical marijuana gained great momentum in
November when voters in Alaska, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington joined
Californians in approving initiatives exempting patients who use the
plant from criminal penalties. Voters in Arizona reaffirmed a medical
marijuana initiative passed two years ago, and rejected a legislative
requirement banning physicians from prescribing marijuana until the
drug receives approval from the Food and Drug Administration. Medical
marijuana has been overwhelmingly approved in virtually every
jurisdiction around the country in which the issue has been put to a
vote.

Recently, leaders of 17 national AIDS organizations called on White
House officials to legalize medical marijuana for seriously ill
patients, and only last week, a United Nations International Drug
Control Board report called for "clinical tests of marijuana" and
"recommends ending the politicized debate over using marijuana for
medical needs by conducting in-depth and impartial scientific research
into its possible benefits for some patients." Clinical tests are also
underway in Britain, but in some other European nations therapeutic
use of marijuana is already allowed. Earlier this week, Canada's
Health Minister, Allan Rock announced in the House of Commons that he
would officially support clinical trials for marijuana in order to
"ease the pain and symptoms of such debilitating diseases as glaucoma,
multiple sclerosis, cancer, epilepsy, AIDS or arthritis" of the
estimated 20,000 Canadians who use marijuana for their medical
conditions. "Canadians who are suffering deserve government help," the
health minister said.

On March 2, 1999, Representative Barney Frank (D-Mass) reintroduced
legislation in the U.S. Congress to provide for the medical use of
marijuana. Frank noted, "What we need to do to get marijuana into the
hands of people suffering is to set aside the federal controls on
marijuana, so the states can determine this issue for themselves." R.
Keith Stroup, Esq., who worked with Frank's office in drafting the
bill said the legislation is a streamlined effort to get marijuana to
those who require it. "Historically, states have been more receptive
to the medical use of marijuana than has the federal government,"
Stroup explained, noting that 36 state legislatures have passed laws
recognizing marijuana's medical value. "This legislation effectively
gets the federal government out of the way of those states that wish
to make marijuana available as a medicine."

In stark contrast, Hawaii's U.S. Representative Neil Abercrombie only
recently voted in favor of the mean-spirited House Resolution-117
which describes marijuana as "a dangerous and addictive drug and
should not be legalized for medical use." Representative Patsy Mink
voted against.

On March 1, twelve members of the Big Island's Cannabis For Health
patient organization made the painful trek to O'ahu in a vain attempt
to convince individual State House and Senate Judiciary Committee
Members to "at least hear the bills." Co-Founder, Glenn Robinette
said, "Our U.S. Senator Dan Inouye supports medical Cannabis, Governor
Cayetano introduced and would have likely signed the legislation, both
the House and Senate Judiciary Committees had excellent bills before
them - drafted after having had the benefit of six other states
experience with the issue - and some of Hawaii's finest legal minds
have had direct input. The only thing lacking was the political will
in the Legislature. Once again, Hawai'i has missed the boat and people
here will continue to suffer."

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

Customs Seeks Own Intelligence Unit (According to the Associated Press, U.S.
Customs Director Ray Kelly said Thursday that current tip-sharing
arrangements with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the CIA do not give
him the tactical information he needs, so the Customs Service should be able
to gather its own overseas drug intelligence.)

Date: Fri, 5 Mar 1999 10:10:35 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: Wire: Customs Seeks Own Intelligence Unit
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: General Pulaski
Pubdate: Fri, 05 Mar 1999
Source: Associated Press
Copyright: 1999 Associated Press
Author: ANNE GEARAN Associated Press Writer

CUSTOMS SEEKS OWN INTELLIGENCE UNIT

WASHINGTON (AP) The Customs Service should be able to gather its own
overseas drug intelligence, without piggybacking on other federal agencies,
the agency's director believes.

Current tip-sharing arrangements with the Drug Enforcement Administration
and the CIA do not give him the tactical information he needs to foil drug
smugglers, Customs Director Ray Kelly said Thursday.

"We need what's coming across between 12 and 8 o'clock, and what's the color
of truck that's bringing it in, and what's the port of entry," Kelly said in
an interview with The Associated Press that also touched on the battle
against child pornography and polishing his agency's troubled image.

"We have the need for real-time intelligence" about shipments headed for
U.S. borders, Kelly said. "We need stuff that's coming in quickly, and we're
not getting it."

White House drug policy adviser Barry McCaffrey recently commissioned a
study of overseas drug intelligence that recommended a separate unit for
Customs, a government source said later.

The report, which has not been made public, was the starting point for
recent discussions between senior officials at the Treasury and Justice
departments, the source said. Separate meetings are scheduled next week
between Customs and DEA.

On other topics:

Kelly said his agency is doubling the size of a special unit tracking child
pornography on the Internet. Customs has long experience in anti-pornography
efforts, because many illegal photos and videos are produced overseas.
Customs agents and inspectors used to look for such contraband at the
borders or in airports, "but now it's coming in over the Internet," Kelly
said.

Kelly said he is tackling cronyism within the Customs ranks and making
changes quickly to reform the agency he took over last year.

"The cronyism," he said, comes about partly "because of local hiring, local
promotion, local discipline and local rulings."

Kelly said he is reshuffling managers, improving accountability and setting
up clearer chains of command. And he is cracking down on those who fall down
on the job. He cited the example of Customs employees in El Paso who broke
the rules recently by leaving a commercial incineration plant before their
cargo of seized marijuana was destroyed.

"We're looking to fire them," he said.

Kelly, a tough-talking former New York City police commissioner, said
Customs enjoys "a good relationship" with the DEA. But he said he would
prefer to have his employees, who are already stationed in more than two
dozen countries, gather their own information.

The two agencies have separate, overlapping duties at the nation's ports and
border crossings. Customs inspectors are the front line of drug
interdiction, searching baggage and people. The DEA investigates and helps
prosecute drug activity. The two agencies also serve different masters;
Customs is part of the Treasury Department and DEA is part of the Justice
Department.

Customs also gets some "strategic" information on drug smuggling from the
CIA, but Kelly said it has little relevance to specific seizure operations.

Kelly said he is "kind of in negotiations and discussions" with higher-ups
at Treasury and Justice about a Customs intelligence unit. "Will we do that?
I don't know," he said.

DEA spokesman Terry Parham said he is not familiar with the idea, but said
the current system works well.

"I think we are jointly working together, closely together," Parham said.
"We do work toward the same end and to achieve the same goal: Seize drugs
and put those responsible in jail."

There is no information on the structure, cost or other practical
considerations of a separate Customs unit.

Kelly said a dedicated Customs intelligence unit would gather information on
all contraband coming to the United States, but would focus on drugs.

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

Clinical Trials Of Marijuana Will Not Halt Arrests Of Terminally Ill (The
National Post, in Canada, says that despite Health Minister Allan Rock's
announcement Wednesday that his office will conduct clinical trials on the
medical use of marijuana, police will continue to arrest terminally ill
Canadians who are growing and smoking marijuana. According to Eugene
Oscapella, a founding member of the Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy, Mr.
Rock has the power, under section 56 of the Controlled Drugs and the
Substances Act, to exempt any person from the application of the law.)

Date: Fri, 5 Mar 1999 19:23:25 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: Canada: Clinical Trials Of Marijuana Will Not
Halt Arrests Of Terminally Ill
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Craig (csn@hempseed.com)
Pubdate: Fri, 05 Mar 1999
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: Southam Inc.
Contact: letters@nationalpost.com
Website: http://www.nationalpost.com/
Forum: http://forums.canada.com/~canada
Author: Joel-Denis Bellavance

CLINICAL TRIALS OF MARIJUANA WILL NOT HALT ARRESTS OF TERMINALLY ILL

Law remains the same

Police officers will continue to arrest terminally ill Canadians who are
growing and smoking marijuana even though Allan Rock, the Health Minister,
has approved clinical trials on the medical use of the drug.

The federal government has not instructed the RCMP to refrain from laying
charges against patients who use marijuana to fight the symptoms related to
their disease.

"The law remains the same for now," said Derek King, a spokesman for the
health minister.

Mr. Rock announced on Wednesday that his officials will conduct clinical
trials on the medical use of marijuana to determine whether the drug can
help relieve medicinal side-effects for patients being treated for terminal
illnesses such as AIDS and cancer.

No timetable has been set yet, but Mr. Rock said scientists will gather
evidence "as soon as possible" and develop appropriate guidelines for the
medical use of the drug and to provide access to a safe supply.

Eugene Oscapella is a founding member of the Canadian Foundation for Drug
Policy, which supports the decriminalization of many drugs for medical
purposes. Yesterday he blasted the Liberal government for not showing more
"compassion" toward terminally ill patients.

"This is appalling," said Mr. Oscapella.

"The word compassion seems to be lacking from the vocabulary of this
government."

Mr. Oscapella said that Mr. Rock has the power, under section 56 of the
Controlled Drugs and the Substances Act, to exempt any person from the
application of the law.

"Why doesn't the minister do that?" Mr. Oscapella said.

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

The Changing Face of the Drug Trade (Inter Press Service says the Peruvian
government has officially notified Washington that it will not allow the
United States to set up an anti-drug military airbase in Peru. Washington has
sounded out several other Central American countries about the possibility of
obtaining authorisation for the installation of military bases - negotiations
that are no longer based on the concept of "hemispheric security," but on
"cooperation" in the war on some drug users.)

Date: Sun, 14 Mar 1999 17:54:26 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: Peru: Wire: The Changing Face of the Drug Trade
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: isenberd@DynCorp.com (Isenberg, David)
Pubdate: Fri, 5 Mar 1999
Source: Inter Press Service
Copyright: IPS-Inter Press Service
Author: Abraham Lama

THE CHANGING FACE OF THE DRUG TRADE

LIMA, Mar 5 (IPS) - The Peruvian government has officially notified
Washington that it will not allow the United States to set up an anti-drug
military airbase here, said Public Affairs Officer John Dickson at the US
embassy in Lima.

The head of the Southern Command of the U.S. armed forces, Gen. Charles
Wilhelm, met Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori last December to extend an
official request for authorisation to install an airbase in Peru.

The U.S. armed forces are seeking new installations to replace their bases
in Panama, which are to be abandoned by May as part of the 1977 treaties
which stipulate that Washington must hand over the Panama canal and
facilities in the area to the Panamanian government by Dec 31, 1999.

Washington has also sounded out several other Central American countries,
as well as Ecuador, on the possibility of obtaining authorisation for the
installation of military bases - negotiations that are no longer based on
the concept of ''hemispheric security,'' but on ''cooperation'' in the
fight against drugs.

Peru was certified as an ally in the ''war on drugs'' this year in
Washington's annual certification exercise. The praise of Peru's successful
anti-drug efforts, contained in the report released by the U.S. government
last week, is expected to lead to an increase in financial, technical and
military aid for Lima.

In spite of the certification, Lima has stood firm in its refusal to allow
the United States to set up an airbase in Peru.

But ''that 'no' does not mean the government of Fujimori is not willing to
commit Peru's armed forces to take part in an expedition against Colombia's
guerrillas, based on the pretext of their alleged association with drug
traffickers,'' said Flavio Solorzano, a sociology professor at the San
Martin de Porres University.

Mirko Lauer, who has a column in the left-leaning daily 'La Republica',
agrees. Lauer pointed to Fujimori's recent criticism of preliminary peace
talks between Colombian President Andres Pastrana and the two main
guerrilla groups active in that country, which is in the grips of a
decades-old civil war.

Solorzano and Lauer believe Fujimori would be willing to participate in
joint operations between the armed forces of the United States, Colombia
and Brazil.

Over the past few weeks, the Peruvian army has reinforced its military
garrisons along the border with Colombia, and deployed several artillery
units along the Putumayo river that forms the border between the two
countries.

Ricardo Soberon, an expert in drug trafficking issues and frequent
contributor to the local daily 'Gestion', stressed that the question of a
U.S. airbase had arisen at a time of major changes in the drug trafficking
scene in Peru.

Areas of production are shifting and new smuggling routes taking shape to
adapt to the new conditions in the international cocaine trade.

''Over the past few years, illegal coca production has gradually taken root
in Colombia, where the international intermediaries of the past now control
the production, refinement and exportation of cocaine,'' he said.

Raul Serrano, who works with the non-governmental organisation DESCO, the
leading body involved in prevention of drug abuse in Peru, said that ''when
Peru was the world's leading producer of cocaine, the drug scene here was
limited to the central jungle region.

''But now the problem has branched off into two directions: production has
shifted to the south-central jungles, and enforcement efforts have moved
northwards, to the border with Colombia.''

The crackdown on exports from clandestine airstrips in Peru's central
jungles has forced Colombian traffickers to plant coca at home.

''The drug trafficking gangs that remained in Peru also moved toward a
formerly secondary coca production zone, the tropical valleys of the
Apurimac river, hundreds of kilometres to the south, and are trying to open
new export routes from there,'' said Serrano.

Soberon said a favourable evolution of the incipient peace talks between
the government and main insurgent groups in Colombia could lead drug
cartels there to abandon plantations at home and return to Peru.

Representatives of the U.S. State Department and delegates of the Pastrana
administration and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) - the
largest and oldest rebel group in that country - recently met in Costa
Rica, said Soberon.

He pointed out that in the meeting, FARC reportedly agreed to promote a
reduction of coca crops in the territory under its influence.

With respect to the new routes being used by Peruvian traffickers since the
clandestine air routes into Colombia were cut off, Soberon said sources
with the Fujimori administration had informed him of efforts by smugglers
to create a maritime route for exports toward Mexico and the United States.

''Installations and labs for refining basic cocaine paste have been
discovered in pseudo-poultry farms on the coast, in Huaral and Chincha,
where choral hydrate of cocaine - the final product, which fetches the
highest prices on the world market - was being developed,'' he said.

''The mechanisms of U.S. assistence and cooperation for maritime control of
large-scale exportation of cocaine will possibly arrive soon, so the
Peruvian navy will be roped into the police work of cracking down'' on the
drug trade, Soberon concluded.

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

The Week Online with DRCNet, Issue No. 81 (The Drug Reform Coordination
Network's original publication featuring drug policy news and calls to action
includes - HEA reform campaign gains momentum - DRCNet attacked by Republican
Rep. Souder; Hundreds rally against Rockefeller drug laws; Amnesty
International charges that women behind bars suffer "rough justice"; Drug
policy coalition calls for reversal of budget priorities; Federal bill
reintroduced to legalize medical marijuana; Canada's House of Commons debates
medical marijuana; Australian prime minister criticized over FBI invitation;
Sen. Hatch advocates for expansion of maintenance therapies for opiate
dependency; Hemp reform efforts underway; an editorial by Adam J. Smith,
"Million man madness"; and an Errata note)

Date: Fri, 05 Mar 1999 02:41:23 -0500
To: drc-natl@drcnet.org
From: DRCNet (drcnet@drcnet.org)
Subject: The Week Online with DRCNet, Issue #81
Sender: owner-drc-natl@drcnet.org

The Week Online with DRCNet, Issue #81 -- March 5, 1999
A Publication of the Drug Reform Coordination Network

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This issue can be also be read on our web site at
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weekly radio segment at http://www.drcnet.org/drcnn/.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. HEA Reform Campaign Gains Momentum -- DRCNet Attacked by
Republican Rep. Souder
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/081.html#heareform

2. Hundreds Rally Against Rockefeller Drug Laws
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/081.html#kunstler

3. Amnesty International Charges that Women Behind Bars
Suffer "Rough Justice"
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/081.html#aireport

4. Drug Policy Coalition Calls for Reversal of Budget
Priorities
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/081.html#coalition

5. Federal Bill Reintroduced to Legalize Medical Marijuana
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/081.html#fedbill

6. Canada's House of Commons Debates Medical Marijuana
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/081.html#commons

7. Australian Prime Minister Criticized Over FBI Invitation
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/081.html#fbivisit

8. Sen. Hatch Advocates for Expansion of Maintenance
Therapies for Opiate Dependency
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/081.html#buprenorphine

9. Hemp Reform Efforts Underway
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/081.html#hempreform

10. EDITORIAL: Million Man Madness
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/081.html#editorial

11. Errata Note
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/081.html#errata

***

1. HEA Reform Campaign Gains Momentum -- DRCNet Attacked by
Republican Rep. Souder

A student-led campaign that seeks to overturn a
controversial provision in the Higher Education Act of 1998
gained momentum this week as college newspapers from across
the nation ran stories, and a Republican congressman who was
instrumental in passing the provision responded with faulty
statistics and an ad hominem attack against DRCNet in the
University of Virginia's newspaper, the Cavalier Daily.

A provision in the HEA, signed into law by President Clinton
on October 7, will deny or delay eligibility for federal
financial aid for any student convicted of a drug offense,
no matter how minor. Students on more than 100 campuses are
already participating in a campaign, coordinated by DRCNet,
to have the law overturned. Students are seeking the
endorsements of their student governments for a resolution
calling on the 106th Congress to repeal the provision. Thus
far, the resolution has been presented to five student
governments and has been endorsed by all five.

The campaign bases its opposition to the new law on four
main issues. First, the campaign views the restriction of
access to education as a counterproductive approach, given
that education is the surest route into the mainstream for
students at risk. Next, the law singles out drug offenders
-- the vast majority of whom are convicted of non-violent
possession offenses -- as the only class of offenders to
lose eligibility for financial aid. Third, the law
represents an extra-judicial penalty affecting only those
students of low to moderate means, as the educational
opportunities of wealthier students will be unaffected by
the loss of financial aid. Finally, and most perniciously,
drug law enforcement is practiced most aggressively against
non-whites, making it certain that the law will have a
racially discriminatory impact.

Mark Souder, a member of the House Education Committee who
was instrumental in the provision's passage, responded to
the campaign by submitting an op-ed to the Cavalier Daily
that ran on February 25. In it, Souder cites the Department
of Justice as the source of statistics indicating that in
1995, "approximately 60% of defendants convicted of drug
offenses were white and 38% were black." These figures lead
Souder to proclaim, "Gross disparities in conviction rates
do not exist."

The truth is that those statistics reflect only federal
cases, which account for just 13% of all drug convictions.
Overall (state and federal inclusive) more than 55% of those
convicted of drug offenses in the United States in 1995 were
indeed African American, despite the fact that African
Americans comprise only 13% of the population and a
proportional percentage of all drug users. The federal
statistics cited by Souder are further misleading as they do
not separate out Latinos, who comprise more than 35% of
those convicted on federal drug charges, and who are
overwhelmingly classified as "white" for the particular
numbers cited by Souder.

Chris Maj, President of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy
at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, where
the resolution has already been endorsed, told The Week
Online, "If Representative Souder intentionally used false
statistics to convince college students that the drug war is
not a racially discriminatory policy, that is an outrage.
If, on the other hand, he is truly unaware of the racial
disparities, then that is an indication of just how out of
touch with reality many of our elected leaders are."

In addition to statistical manipulation, Rep. Souder took
the opportunity to attack the campaign, the reform movement
in general and DRCNet specifically in his op-ed.
Unwittingly, perhaps, Souder gave some indication of the
broad interest in the campaign on college campuses
nationally when he wrote:

"There are those organizations, though, who work to create
controversy and twist common sense principles in order to
advance their own agendas. Take the Drug Reform
Coordination Network, for example. My office has received
calls from college newspapers from all over the country who
have been fed propaganda by this group."

"In the past, these organizations have used the sick and the
dying to promote the use of so-called medicinal marijuana in
their continual effort to weaken the drug laws. Now they
see the opportunity to take advantage of college students
who receive financial aid by enlisting them in their doomed
campaign. Their latest tactic is to assert that the drug-
free student loan provision of the Higher Education Act is
racist. Apparently they believe minority college students
who receive financial aid are more likely to use and sell
drugs."

But Chris Maj had a different interpretation. "It doesn't
take a brain surgeon or a member of Congress to look at this
issue and realize that something is seriously wrong with our
policies. When today's college students were born, the US
prison population was one eighth of its current size. That
increase, the imprisonment of literally hundreds of
thousands of non-violent people, was undertaken in our name,
as a way of protecting us from drugs. But there isn't a
college student in this country who came from a city or a
town where drugs weren't available to kids. We weren't
protected and we know it."

"College students aren't as tied to the status quo as older
generations are," Maj added. "We're open to new solutions,
and, on the whole, we're committed to making sure that those
solutions make sense. Keeping people from educating
themselves because they use the wrong substances doesn't
make sense. Filling prisons with non-violent people because
they use the wrong substances, even if their use rises to
the level of addiction, doesn't make sense. And any policy
with an outcome as racially divisive and discriminatory as
ours has, is not going to be very popular with our
generation. We're just getting started educating our peers
about this, and letting them know that they can make a
difference."

DRCNet expects the number of student governments endorsing
the resolution to grow substantially over the next month,
and is also expecting the campaign to receive the
endorsements of national organizations in the next several
weeks.

Adam Smith, DRCNet's associate director, is confident that
the campaign, far from being "doomed," has real political
promise. "One can only surmise that legislators pass laws
such as this to look 'tough' to their constituents, while
counting on students to simply roll over and accept the fact
that they are being used as pawns in a failed drug war
strategy. Given the speed at which the campaign is growing,
I'd say that there are some legislators who are about to
discover that they've made a serious error in judgment."

Learn more about the HEA reform campaign and how to get
involved, at http://www.u-net.org.

***

2. Hundreds Rally Against Rockefeller Drug Laws

A crowd of about 500 people gathered on the steps of the New
York State Capitol Building in Albany last Tuesday, March
2nd, to protest the state's draconian drug laws, named after
then governor Nelson Rockefeller. The rally, sponsored by
the William Moses Kunstler Fund for Racial Justice, featured
Rev. Al Sharpton, retired State Supreme Court Judge Jerome
Marks, Rev. Herbert Daughtry of Brooklyn, Bishop Howard
Hubbard of Albany, actor Al Lewis of "Munsters" fame,
Margaret Tarbet of the Kunstler fund, and others, as well as
family members of prisoners serving lengthy mandatory prison
terms under the laws.

According to the Daily Gazette, Jaheen Hilts, a 12-year old
whose father and uncle are both serving time in state prison
and sale and possession of cocaine, held a poster with his
father's picture and sentence, 15 to 30 years. Hilts
entered prison when his son was age 5, and will not be
eligible for parole until he is 20.

The Associated Press quoted 10-year-old Lisa Oberg, whose
mother Arlene is serving a 20 years to life, saying, "This
law is mean and unfair and cruel." The AP also reported
that protesters booed Rockefeller's name whenever a speaker
mentioned it.

"Words alone cannot relay the emotion, the electricity, the
anger and determination of the Rockefeller Drug Rally
participants," commented DRCNet member Jeffrey Seymour, who
attended the rally.

The Week Online spoke with Randy Credico of the Kunstler
Fund, who said that their amount of mail soared as the
Albany rally approached. The Fund is planning a "Seven Days
in May" demonstration, consisting of vigils with family
members from Monday, 5/8 through Friday 5/12 in different
locations in New York City, a rally on Saturday 5/13 at the
State Building in Harlem, and a rally on Sunday 5/14 outside
the the Bedford Hills correctional facility. May 8 is the
26-year anniversary of the law's signing. Vigils will be
held around the state, especially the north, throughout the
month of April.

To learn more or find out how to get involved, visit
http://www.kunstler.org on the web, e-mail
vigil@kunstler.org, or call the Vigil Action Initiative
Update hotline at (212) 539-8441.

For more information on mandatory minimum sentences, visit
the Families Against Mandatory Minimums web site at
http://www.famm.org. The FAMM workshop will take place
from March 27-29 in Washington, DC.

***

3. Amnesty International Charges that Women Behind Bars
Suffer "Rough Justice"

The following is a news release issued by Amnesty
International this Thursday 3/4:

"My feet were still shackled together, and I couldn't get my
legs apart. The doctor called for the officer... No one
else could unlock the shackles, and my baby was coming...
Finally the officer came and unlocked the shackles from my
ankles. My baby was born then."

("Maria Jones" describing how she gave birth while an inmate
of Cook County Jail, Chicago, 1998)

The use of shackles on pregnant inmates is just one example
of the cruelty and ill-treatment many women suffer in US
jails and prisons, Amnesty International said today in a new
report issued as part of its international campaign against
human rights violations in the United States.

As well as the use of restraints on pregnant and sick
prisoners, Amnesty International's report -- "Not part of my
sentence" -- details human rights violations including
sexual abuse, lack of medical care and lengthy periods of
confinement in so-called super-maximum units.

Reports of rape and other forms of sexual abuse -- including
sexually offensive language and male staff touching women's
breasts and genitals during searches or watching them when
they are naked -- are widespread in US prisons and jails.

"Cases of sexual abuse actually reported are probably only
the tip of the iceberg as victims are often reluctant to
complain for fear of not being believed or suffering
retaliation," Amnesty International said.

"The overwhelming majority of complaints concern male staff,
reflecting the fact that many guards and other prison
employees are male," the organization added.

The number of women in US jails and prisons has been growing
dramatically, largely as a result of the war on drugs. In
1997 the figure was at 138,000 -- a three-fold increase
since 1985. This amounts to about 10 times the number of
women prisoners in Western European countries, which
combined have a female population the same size as the USA.

"Authorities around the USA have been spending large sums of
money building new prisons and jails but have not provided
adequate funds for the health, welfare and rehabilitation of
the people they are locking up," Amnesty International said.

As the world celebrates International Women's Day on 8
March, Amnesty International is calling on US federal, state
and local authorities to make a strong commitment to
implement the measures required to effectively protect the
safety, health and dignity of all women in custody.

Concerns expressed in the report include:

* Sexual abuse: rape of an inmate by staff is
internationally recognized as a form of torture and violates
US federal and state criminal laws, yet reports of rape and
other forms of sexual abuse are common in US prisons and
jails. Amnesty International is calling for female inmates
to be supervised by female staff only, and for victims to be
more effectively protected from retaliation if they report
abuses.

* Medical care: access to a doctor is often conditional on
permission by non-medical staff, who may underestimate the
seriousness of the case or be inclined not to believe
inmates. In some cases, delays are reported to have had
serious health consequences. In 1998 an inmate in an
Arizona Jail wrote to Amnesty International reporting that
she had lost her baby -- and almost bled to death -- after
her call for urgent medical attention was left unheeded for
hours. Amnesty International is urging that all women in
custody have access to free and adequate medical care.

* Mental health care: there are concerns about the use of
psychotropic drugs and a reported lack of counseling.
Amnesty International is calling for an inquiry into prison
mental health services and for women suffering from severe
mental illnesses to be transferred to mental health
institutions.

* Use of physical restraints on sick and pregnant women:
handcuffs and shackles are often used on women both during
transport and in hospital even if they do not have a history
of violence or escape. In the case of pregnant women,
restraints pose a serious health threat. Amnesty
International is calling for the use of restraints to be
limited to cases in which the inmates' conduct makes them
necessary.

* Super-maximum security units: some women appear to be
sent to such units -- where conditions are particularly
harsh -- for comparatively minor infractions. Some of the
rules in those units -- such as the one requiring that
prisoners be "in full view" all the time -- violate the
inmates' privacy and dignity, and their isolated nature can
increase the opportunities for abuse.

(Learn more about Amnesty International's US campaign at
http://www.rightsforall-usa.org/.)

***

4. Drug Policy Coalition Calls for Reversal of Budget
Priorities

Clinton Drug Plan Fails to Prevent Adolescent Drug Use or
Reduce Disease

Washington, DC: The war on drugs has failed to protect
America's children from drug abuse and has failed to reduce
the availability of cocaine and heroin, according to a new
report titled "The Effective National Drug Control
Strategy." The report was released on March 3, 1999,
coinciding with Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey' testimony before
a House Subcommittee on his year 2000 budget request.

The "Effective Strategy" recommends spending two out of
every three dollars of the drug control budget on prevention
and rehabilitation. It also recommends tripling funding for
adolescent drug use prevention programs, with the emphasis
on investing in America's youth through after school
programs, mentor programs and honest drug education.

"Contrary to General McCaffrey's claims, the drug war still
relies overwhelmingly on incarcerating drug users and trying
to interdict drugs -- the two least effective methods of
reducing drug abuse," said Kevin Zeese, President of Common
Sense for Drug Policy and one of the report's lead authors.
"We know what works, but General McCaffrey keeps investing
in strategies that are destroying families, hurting kids and
undermining the Constitution."

The Network of Reform Groups (NRG), - a coalition of two
dozen organizations working for more sensible drug policies,
examined government data and independent research and
concluded that the drug war has not deterred children from
using illegal drugs, nor has it resulted in fewer deaths and
injuries from drug use.

The report found that:

* The U.S. government spent $3.6 billion on the drug war in
1988, and will spend $17.9 billion in 1999 -- $2 out of
every $3 on law enforcement.

* From 1985 to 1995, 85 percent of the increase in the
federal prison population was due to drug convictions. Due
to mandatory sentencing, drug offenders spend more time in
jail (average 82.2 months) than rapists (average 73.3
months).

* Drug overdose deaths are up 540 percent since 1980, 33
people per day are infected with HIV from injection drug
use, which is becoming the engine for a new epidemic,
Hepatitis C.

* The price of heroin and cocaine has dropped dramatically
since 1981, while purity of both drugs has increased.

The report recommends that the Drug Czar create a non-
partisan panel of experts to evaluate current drug control
efforts and consider the full range of alternative policy
options, and recommends a reversal of the federal drug
budget priorities, as well as a range of reforms including
eliminating mandatory minimum drug sentences, lifting the
ban on use of federal AIDS funds for needle exchange
programs, reversing the trend toward cutting school budgets
to invest in prisons and enacting "family friendly" laws
that keep families together, kids in school and social
networks intact.

The Effective Strategy can be found on line at
http://www.csdp.org/edcs/.

***

5. Federal Bill Reintroduced to Legalize Medical Marijuana

(reprinted courtesy of NORML, http://www.norml.org)

March 2, 1999, Washington, DC: Representative Barney Frank
(D-MA) reintroduced legislation today in the new Congress to
provide for the medical use of marijuana. The bill is
titled the "Medical Use of Marijuana Act."

"I support the medical use of marijuana," Rep. Frank
announced. "What we need to do to get marijuana into the
hands of people suffering is to set aside the federal
controls on marijuana, so the states can determine this
issue for themselves."

The proposed legislation states:

"No provision of the Controlled Substances Act [or] ... the
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act shall prohibit or
otherwise restrict --

(A) the prescription or recommendation of marijuana by a
physician for medical use,

(B) an individual from obtaining and using marijuana from a
prescription or recommendation of marijuana by a physician
for medical use by such individual, or

(C) a pharmacy from obtaining and holding marijuana for the
prescription of marijuana by a physician for medical use
under applicable state law in a State in which marijuana may
be prescribed or recommended by a physician for medical use
under applicable State law."

The legislation reschedules marijuana from Schedule I to
Schedule II under federal law, thereby making it legal for
physicians to prescribe. "This legislation ... recognize[s]
that there are valid and important medicinal uses for
marijuana," a statement issued by Frank's office said. "The
effect of [this] bill would be to make fully operative the
laws in those states which permit the medical use of
marijuana, without the preemptive and controlling
restrictions currently in place in federal law on the
possession, use, prescription, or sale of marijuana," Frank
added.

NORML Executive Director R. Keith Stroup, Esq., who worked
with Frank's office in drafting the bill's language, said
the legislation is a streamlined effort to get marijuana to
those who require it. "Historically, states have been more
receptive to the medical marijuana issue than the federal
government," Stroup explained, noting that 36 state
legislatures have passed laws recognizing marijuana's
medical value. "This legislation addresses this paradigm
and effectively gets the federal government out of the way
of those states that wish to make marijuana available as a
medicine."

Efforts to permit the legal use of medical marijuana gained
momentum in November when voters in Alaska, Nevada, Oregon,
and Washington joined Californians in approving initiatives
exempting patients who use medical marijuana from criminal
penalties. Voters in Arizona reaffirmed a medical marijuana
initiative passed two years ago, and rejected a legislative
requirement banning physicians from prescribing marijuana
until the drug receives approval from the Food and Drug
Administration. Recently, leaders of 17 national AIDS
organizations called on White House officials to legalize
medical marijuana for seriously ill patients.

The Medical Use of Marijuana Act also mandates federal
officials to supply marijuana for medical research projects
approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Recently, the
United Nations International Drug Control Board recommended
that the US and others conduct impartial scientific research
to determine marijuana's potential medical benefits.

Congressman Frank has been joined in cosponsoring this
legislation by Reps. Tom Campbell (R-CA), John Conyers (D
MI), John Olver (D-MA), Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Pete Stark (D-
CA), and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA).

For more information, please contact either Keith Stroup or
Paul Armentano of NORML at (202) 483-5500. Rep. Barney
Frank's office may be contacted at (202) 225-5931.

***

6. Canada's House of Commons Debates Medical Marijuana

The Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy reported on March 3,
1999, that Canada's House of Commons would begin a debate on
legalization of medical marijuana on Thursday, March 4, at
5:30pm, focusing on a motion by MP Bernard Bigras. The
motion reads as follows:

M-381 - March 25, 1998 - Mr. Bigras (Rosemont) - "That, in
the opinion of this House, the government should undertake
all necessary steps to legalize the use of marijuana for
health and medical purposes."

The debate on the motion is limited to three hours. The
first hour of debate will occur on March 4, with the
remainder on two separate days to be announced later. Since
this is a "votable" motion, there will be a vote after the
debate. If the majority of MPs support the motion, it will
create pressure on the federal government to take
legislative steps to legalize the use of marijuana for
health and medical purposes.

House of Commons transcripts and media reports about the
announcement by the federal Minister of Health that he has
asked his officials to develop a plan that will include
clinical trials for medical marijuana, appropriate
guidelines for its medical use and access to a safe supply
of this drug can be found on CFDP's web site at
http://fox.nstn.ca/~eoscapel/cfdp/mar399hc.htm. The site
also contains links to research and other reports on
medicinal marijuana.

***

7. Australian Prime Minister Criticized Over FBI Invitation

The Australian organization Families and Friends for Drug
Law Reform criticized Prime Minister John Howard on the
occasion of US FBI Director's Louis Freeh's visit to
Australia on the Prime Minister's invitation.

"I am angry and sad that the Prime Minister, Mr. Howard,
seeks out meetings with people like Mr. Louis Freeh,
Director of the FBI when he has refused to meet and listen
to groups such as our own," said Marion McConnell. Howard
has ignored three requests since 1997 to meet with
representatives of FFDLR.

"Mr. Howard's statements of recent days have confirmed our
impression that he is a man determined not to listen to
points of view with which he disagrees. How else," Mrs.
McConnell continued, "is it possible to explain his
instructions to Australian diplomatic missions to seek out
arguments for asserting that the Swiss heroin trial has
failed?"

"With all these outcomes, just what is it, Mr. Howard, that
your want? We can only conclude," added McConnell, "that
his stubborn refusal to accept this evidence -- or permit a
trial to be conducted in Australia to double check the
results -- is because they challenge the very basis of his
law and order approach".

(Learn more about the outcome of the Swiss heroin
maintenance program from our archives at
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/063.html#swissheroin.

FFDLR concludes that "Switzerland has shown heroin
prescription to be the only known treatment that constitutes
a safety net across a chasm into which 700 young Australians
a year -- including many of our family members -- have
plunged to their death.

The AAP reported on 3/2 that Prime Minister Howard denied
that Australia had lost the war on drugs and indicated that
he would veto any attempt by Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett
to introduce a heroin trial.

Families and Friends for Drug Law Reform is online at
http://www.adca.org.au/ffdlr/.

***

8. Sen. Hatch Advocates for Expansion of Maintenance
Therapies for Opiate Dependency
- Scott Ehlers, Drug Policy Foundation, ehlers@dpf.org,
http://www.dpf.org

In a surprise display of bipartisan unity in dealing with
addiction as a health, rather than a criminal justice
matter, Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Carl Levin (D-MI), and
Daniel Moynihan (D-NY) have joined forces to expand the
provision of maintenance therapy for opiate dependency. The
three senators are cosponsoring S. 324, the "Drug Addiction
Treatment Act of 1999," which was introduced on January 28
and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The bill would, for the first time since the passage of the
Harrison Narcotics Act of 1914, allow a general practitioner
to maintain an opiate-dependent patient on a narcotic, in
this case a Schedule IV or V drug. The sponsors of the bill
are particularly interested in allowing physicians to
prescribe buprenorphine and a buprenorphine/naloxone
combination to maintain or detoxify patients. Buprenorphine
is a mild, Schedule V narcotic that has been used in
maintenance therapy for heroin addicts in France.

Under the Narcotic Treatment Act of 1974, physicians must
now get a DEA registration and approval by the US Department
of Health and Human Services to use approved narcotics in
drug abuse treatment. Additionally, state agencies are
involved in the regulation process. This burdensome
regulatory scheme has resulted in "a treatment system
consisting primarily of large methadone clinics located in
big cities, and preventing physicians from treating patients
in an office setting or in rural or small towns, thereby
denying treatment to thousands in need of it," according to
Sen. Levin (CR, p. S1091).

The current system also prevents new FDA-approved addiction
treatment drugs from being utilized. Alan Leshner, Director
of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, noted in a memo to
Sen. Levin that the burdensome regulations have prevented
drugs like LAAM from making an appreciable impact on the
"treatment gap" since the drug's introduction in 1993.

S. 324 would require a physician to: (1) notify the
Secretary of Health and Human Services ("Secretary") that
s/he intends to dispense approved drugs for maintenance or
detoxification treatment; (2) have, "by training or
experience," the ability to treat and manage opiate-
dependent patients; (3) have the capacity to refer patients
to appropriate counseling and other services; and (4) limit
the number of patients treated at one time to 20, unless the
Secretary changes the number through the regulatory process.

The bill would require drugs in Schedule IV or V to: (1) be
approved under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act or section
351 of the Public Health Act for maintenance or
detoxification treatment; and (2) not be subject to an
"adverse determination" by the Secretary and Attorney
General.

To determine the effectiveness of the law and whether it
should remain in effect, the Secretary is required to
determine the effectiveness of the treatments and if
treatment availability has increased. The Attorney General
is required to monitor doctor and patient compliance with
the regulations, including the diversion of prescribed
maintenance drugs. The Secretary or Attorney General can
end the program at any time, and states can prevent
physicians from treating patients through the passage of
legislation.

Although buprenorphine maintenance won't help many of the
persons being maintained on methadone today, it could help
lower-level, younger users who haven't developed a high
tolerance to opiates, according to Dr. Marc Shinderman,
medical director of the Center for Addictive Problems in
Chicago. He added, "This legislation would allow patients
and doctors to develop a therapeutic alliance in an office-
based setting, and provide a low-threshold treatment option
which is now not possible with methadone due to governmental
over-regulation."

Edith Springer, Senior Trainer at the Harm Reduction
Training Institute and a board member of the Drug Policy
Foundation, also welcomed the legislation. "Although the
bill doesn't go far enough in allowing doctors and patients
to decide on the treatment of their choice, passage of this
legislation would set a precedent that can only help us.
Some people have found buprenorphine to be helpful and
patients should have it available as a mode of treatment."

***

9. Hemp Reform Efforts Underway
- Marc Brandl, brandl@drcnet.org

Hemp reform efforts are off to a vigorous start in 1999. 12
state legislatures have started off the new legislative
session with various bills and resolutions that would
reclassify hemp, urge the federal government to reconsider
hemp and encouraging more research and test plots. Two
states have recently passed resolutions that were signed.

In Virginia, House bill HJ-94 passed the state Senate 40-0,
in mid-February after it had earlier passed the House by a
76-23 margin. The bill will be sent to several relevant
federal agencies including ONDCP, the DEA and the Secretary
of Agriculture and urges them, "To revise the necessary
regulations so as to permit the controlled, experimental
cultivation of industrial hemp in Virginia." The bill also
gives the Commonwealth of Virginia the option of becoming a
member of the North American Industrial Hemp Council
(NAIHC).

"I think its fine," said a confident Erwin Sholts, the
chairman of the NAIHC, "a lot of state farm bureaus, Fortune
500 companies, and universities are members because we are
being driven by agriculture, and not anything else. This
[agriculture] industry is in very bad trouble. I get calls
from farmers all over saying they need alternative crops.
The English, German and Canadian parliaments have debated
this and found this is not a drug crop. When you get past
emotion and into the facts, these bills pass easily. I can
understand why Virginia would pass this bill."

A primary sponsor of the bill in the Virginia state
assembly, Del. Mitchell Van Yahres (D) mirrored much of the
sentiment of Sholts when he talked to the WOL and voiced his
frustration with the federal governments position. "The
present conditions are totally out of place. They are being
totally unrealistic. Government encouraged farmers to grow
this during World War II because it was a valuable crop.
The only reason it has negatives is the word 'hemp' is
involved. This is not a drug issue."

A similar bill in the Montana legislature also was passed
into law recently by a vote of 95-4. H.R. 2 calls on the
federal government to, "Repeal restrictions on the
production of industrial hemp as an agricultural and
industrial product." The primary sponsor of this resolution
Rep. Joan Hurdle was not available for comment as of press
time but stated in an e-mail message announcing the passage,
"Now all the farmers in Montana are asking about growing it
and want to start this spring!"

In other news, a civil lawsuit seeking to allow Kentucky
farmers to grow hemp was dismissed by U.S. District Judge
Karl S. Forester. Andy Graves, a plaintiff in the case and
a member of the Kentucky Hemp Growers Cooperative
Association told local newspapers that he was not surprised
with the ruling and the case will be appealed.

***

10. EDITORIAL: Million Man Madness
- Adam J. Smith, Associate Director, ajsmith@drcnet.org

A report issued this week by the National Center on
Institutions and Alternatives shows that by the year 2000,
the number of African American adults behind bars will reach
one million. At that time, roughly one in ten black men
will be imprisoned. Not since the days of slavery have so
many people of African decent lived in shackles. And no
other nation on earth, as far as anyone can tell, is keeping
so large a percentage of any ethnic or racial minority
locked up in cages.

Clearly, something is wrong.

Last week, Congressman Mark Souder of Indiana, who
represents a district that is over 92% white, wrote of the
drug war that "gross disparities in conviction rates
(between blacks and whites) do not exist." Oh, but they do.
Drug offenses are the largest single category of crimes for
which Americans are serving time. And blacks comprise more
than 55% of those convicted for those offenses, even while
reliable studies show that rates of drug use among African
Americans are proportionate to their numbers in society.

Congressman Souder, by virtue of the statement above, falls
into one of two categories of American lawmakers. First, it
is possible that he is wholly uninformed about the realities
of a policy for which he is partially responsible. That he
might not know the impact of drug prohibition on the Black
community is understandable, but inexcusable. Souder comes
from one of the most lily-white districts in America. The
problems of African Americans are not the problems of his
constituents. The majority of his constituents, in fact,
probably do not come into much contact with black folks.
Unfortunately for the nation, however, Representative Souder
gets a vote on drug war legislation just like all the other
members of Congress. Just as unfortunate is the likelihood
that when Souder talks about drug policy back home, he talks
about "zero-tolerance" and "toughness" and "sending a
message" to a population who, through no fault of their own,
will never have any better idea of the ramifications of such
rhetoric than Souder does himself.

The other possibility is worse. That is, that Rep. Mark
Souder knows very well that the drug war is being waged
against people who don't look like him, who don't look like
his constituents, and who don't vote in his district. It is
possible that to him, prisons are less a place of residence
to an enormous percentage of black people than they are a
jobs program for prison guards, a boon to the construction
industry, and an easy answer to the problems of poverty,
illiteracy and substance abuse. There exists the
possibility that Mark Souder does not want people to know
that there is a gross disparity in conviction rates between
blacks and whites under our drug policies, because then
people just might want to know why.

Let us assume, however, that Representative Souder simply
doesn't know. Let us assume that the fact that the United
States is committing acts of war against black people in the
name of protecting white children is something that he just
never considered. That leaves us with a question. Would
Representative Souder, and all of the elected
representatives who continue to call for a tougher approach
to the drug war, notice if ten percent of the white
community were behind bars? Would "zero tolerance" sound so
sweet if the doors being kicked in, the families being
broken up, the opportunities being foreclosed, the extra-
Constitutional tactics being used were happening in his
district? How many junior high school students in Mark
Souder's 92% white district are being stopped and frisked on
the street? Are we to believe that his district is "drug
free?" Perhaps we are not locking up enough of his
constituents.

By the year 2000, one out of every ten African American
males will be living in a cage. One million blacks in total
will be behind bars. As of yet, no call for a re-
examination of the wisdom of drug prohibition has gone up in
Congress. No task forces have been created to study
alternatives to our precious, vicious war. Perhaps our
legislators, people like Mark Souder, are simply unaware of
the damage that their policies are doing. Let us hope that
they become aware before they imprison them all.

***

11. Errata Note

Last week's issue incorrectly referred to "The Institute of
Medicine's 1998 Consensus Report on Heroin Addiction." The
correct name is "The National Institutes of Health 1997
Consensus Statement on Effective Medical Treatment of Opiate
Addiction." The statement can be found online at
http://odp.od.nih.gov/consensus/cons/108/108_intro.htm.

***

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