-------------------------------------------------------------------
Jury awards $81 million in Oregon smoking suit (The Associated Press says a
jury in Portland, Oregon, ordered Philip Morris to pay a record $81 million
to the family of Jesse Williams, who died of lung cancer in 1997 after
smoking Marlboros for four decades. No similar verdict against the tobacco
industry has survived on appeal.)
From: "Bob Owen@W.H.E.N." (when@olywa.net)
To: "_Drug Policy --" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: $81 million in OR smoking suit
Date: Tue, 30 Mar 1999 20:03:55 -0800
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net
Posted at 12:55 p.m. PST; Tuesday, March 30, 1999
Jury awards $81 million in Oregon smoking suit
by William McCall
The Associated Press
PORTLAND - A jury today ordered Philip Morris to pay a record $81 million to
the family of a man who died of lung cancer after smoking Marlboros for four
decades.
It was the biggest verdict ever won on behalf of an individual in a
smoking-liability case.
The court victory by the wife and children of Jesse Williams, who died in
1997, was the second major hit against Philip Morris this year. A San
Francisco jury awarded $51.5 million last month to a Marlboro smoker who has
inoperable lung cancer.
Although no similar verdict against the tobacco industry has survived on
appeal, Wall Street analysts were watching the Portland case closely to see
if public opinion had turned.
The Williams family, who sought $101 million, alleged the company knew its
cigarettes could cause cancer.
Testimony portrayed Williams, a former janitor with the Portland school
system, as a three-pack-day Marlboro smoker who believed the manufacturer
wouldn't sell a harmful product and who was heavily addicted to nicotine.
Williams died just five months after he was diagnosed with small-cell
carcinoma of the lungs. He was 67 and left behind a wife, Mayola Williams,
and six adult children.
The 12-member Circuit Court jury, which included three smokers and four
former smokers, spent a little more than two days reviewing a month of
technical and often conflicting testimony from experts in such areas as
cancer diagnosis, radiology and the chemistry of tobacco smoke.
Much of the medical testimony on both sides was aimed at showing that
Williams' cancer arose either before or after 1988. If the jury concluded
that Williams' cancer was caused by cigarettes smoked before 1988, Philip
Morris could not be held liable under Oregon law.
That's because Oregon law allows plaintiffs to seek damages going back only
eight years before the filing of a product-liability suit.
Besides the San Francisco case, U.S. juries have awarded damages in
smoking-liability cases only three times - twice in Florida and once in New
Jersey. All three verdicts were overturned on appeal.
In closing arguments in the Portland case, attorneys for the Williams family
cited internal Philip Morris documents to bolster their claim that the
company long knew about the cancer-causing potential of cigarettes and chose
to hide that information from its customers.
Raymond Thomas called the tobacco company "willful, malicious, sneaky" in
its efforts to keep smokers hooked.
Walter Cofer, an attorney for Philip Morris, said Williams was well aware
that smoking could harm his health and had been warned of that by doctors
and family members.
Cofer dismissed claims that Williams was addicted to nicotine as
"psychobabble." The lawyer said Williams could have quit "if he'd wanted to
badly enough."
Oregon's product-liability laws require a plaintiff to be no more than 50
percent at fault to win damages. In California, a plaintiff can be as much
as 99 percent at fault and still win damages.
The tobacco industry reached a $206 billion legal settlement with states in
November, but cigarette makers still face individual and class-action
claims.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Prisoner allowed to cultivate while on probation (A San Francisco Bay area
list subscriber recounts the case of Greg Richey. Busted for cultivation a
year ago in San Bernardino County, California, Richey was sentenced yesterday
to 250 days in jail and three years' probation. The court ruled that under
Proposition 215, Richey could, while on probation, cultivate, use and possess
marijuana - just what he was busted for.)
From: "ralph sherrow" (ralphkat@hotmail.com)
To: ralphkat@hotmail.com
Subject: Prisoner allowed to cultivate while on probation
Date: Tue, 30 Mar 1999 12:15:30 PST
Hi boys and girls, Greg Richey was arrested for cultivation about a year
ago. He went to court yesterday, march 29th 1999. He appeared in front
of Judge Ashworth in the high desert court of San Bernardino county in
Victorville California. He was sentenced to three years probation &
serve 250 days in jail. He was told by the court that he could, while on
probation, cultivate, use & possess marijuana. He is a felon from
previous bout with the law, but he is still able to cultivate, use &
possess marijuana. Pretty good, huh?
The judge stayed the execution of sentence while he appeals the
decision.
One of the reporters pointed out the fact that he is being allowed to do
exactly what he was arrested for. Weird. Ralph
***
[. . . but not unprecedented. -- Portland NORML]
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The Smoke Clears: Marijuana Can Be Medicinal, But The Smoke Is Not (A staff
editorial in the Sacramento Bee infers that the political challenge posed by
the March 17 Institute of Medicine report is "how to handle marijuana" in the
coming years before a "real," that is, pharmaceutical, alternative to herbal
cannabis is on the market. The report doesn't resolve the ongoing legal
deadlock. The IOM does, however, provide considerable ammunition for relaxing
federal law to allow states, which now regulate the practice of medicine, to
decide medicinal uses of marijuana as well.)
Date: Wed, 31 Mar 1999 19:20:05 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US CA: Editorial: The Smoke Clears: Marijuana Can Be
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Mark Greer
Pubdate: Tue, 30 March 1999
Source: Sacramento Bee (CA)
Copyright: 1999 The Sacramento Bee
Contact: opinion@sacbee.com
Address: P.O.Box 15779, Sacramento, CA 95852
Feedback: http://www.sacbee.com/about_us/sacbeemail.html
Website: http://www.sacbee.com/
Forum: http://www.sacbee.com/voices/voices_forum.html
THE SMOKE CLEARS: MARIJUANA CAN BE MEDICINAL, BUT THE SMOKE IS NOT
A new report on marijuana by the Institutes of Medicine offers a rational
approach to one of the nation's most controversial substances. In the most
comprehensive review to date by a panel of distinguished medical experts,
the IOM has concluded that certain chemicals inside marijuana known as THC
and cannabinoids are, indeed, medicine. The medical challenge now is to
isolate all of marijuana's helpful ingredients from the harmful ones in some
new form, such as a pill or vapor that is inhaled. The political challenge
is how to handle marijuana in the coming years (and they may be many) before
a real alternative to the joint is on the market.
The IOM's first conclusion undoubtedly will please the marijuana advocates:
"Scientific data indicate the potential therapeutic value of cannabinoid
drugs, primarily THC, for pain relief, control of nausea and vomiting and
appetite stimulation." This caveat, however, will please marijuana's foes:
"Smoked marijuana, however, is a crude THC delivery system that also
delivers harmful substances."
Neither conclusion is shocking nor unexpected. What is important is that it
comes from the nation's medical establishment, which for years avoided the
marijuana controversy until voters in California, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada,
Oregon and Washington sought to make the drug available for certain medical
conditions.
The report doesn't resolve the ongoing legal deadlock. Although a growing
number of states seek to legalize the drug for certain patients, federal law
bans the drug and designates marijuana as one of the nation's most
controlled substances. The IOM does, however, provide considerable
ammunition for relaxing federal law to allow states, which now regulate the
practice of medicine, to decide medicinal uses of marijuana as well.
The IOM, for example, found "no conclusive evidence that the drug effects of
marijuana are causally linked to the subsequent use of other illicit drugs."
Neither did it buy the argument that medicinal use of marijuana would
increase its use in the general population.
It remains unclear whether the government is willing to fund studies to
isolate marijuana's medicinal components. Even if the government did, would
a drug company be willing to gamble on investing in a product that might
prove less popular than the joint? Under the most optimistic of
circumstances, this process will take years.
In the meantime, the case becomes more compelling for Congress to let states
experiment with various ways to regulate marijuana while researchers work on
finding a better, safer and less controversial alternative.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Cop Who Planted Drugs Wins Round (The Cincinnati Post says Hamilton County
Common Pleas Court Judge Robert Ruehlman granted a motion Monday to suppress
a statement by fired Cincinnati police Sgt. John Sess in which he admitted
planting marijuana in 1984 on Shadarle Ragan.)
Date: Tue, 30 Mar 1999 23:33:02 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US OH: Cop Who Planted Drugs Wins Round
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Patrick Henry (resist_tyranny@mapinc.org)
Source: Cincinnati Post (OH)
Contact: postedits@cincypost.com
Website http://www.cincypost.com/
Pubdate: Tue, 30 Mar 1999
Author: Kimball Perry, Post staff reporter
COP WHO PLANTED DRUGS WINS ROUND
But prosecutor will appeal ruling
A prosecutor said today he will appeal a ruling that could lead to dismissal
of charges that fired Cincinnati police Sgt. John Sess planted drugs on a
suspect.
Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Robert Ruehlman granted a motion
Monday to suppress a statement by Sess in which he admitted planting
marijuana in 1984 on Shadarle Ragan.
That means Special Prosecutor James Beaton, from Warren County, can't use at
the trial Sess' statement - or any evidence gathered as a result of that
statement.
'My feeling is his ruling effectively kills the case,' Beaton said after
Ruehlman ruled.
Today, though, Beaton said he would appeal Ruehlman's ruling to a higher
court.
'The state would have ultimately found this information out at some later
time,' Beaton said. Sess attorney James Perry argued, with supporting
testimony from former and current Cincinnati police officers, that Sess only
admitted to the specifics about the charges against him after police began
an internal, non-criminal case and promised Sess immunity from prosecution.
Sess was a 24-year police veteran when he applied for a job with the
Regional Enforcement Narcotics Unit.
As he was about to be given a lie detector test as part of his job
application, he was asked if he'd done anything that could embarrass the
unit.
That's when he said he planted marijuana on Ragan 13 years earlier.
When cops read Sess his rights, he demanded a lawyer and refused to talk.
Later, after police said they were conducting an internal investigation and
granted him immunity, Sess gave them details.
But Hamilton County prosecutors, who were later replaced by the special
prosecutor, said they - not police - would decide if Sess received immunity.
He didn't and they presented evidence against him to a Hamilton County grand
jury, which then indicted him on that evidence in 1997.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Marijuana May Yield Medicines, Panel Says (The Washington Post conservatively
interprets the Institute of Medicine report released March 17.)
Date: Tue, 30 Mar 1999 16:30:46 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: OPED: Marijuana May Yield Medicines, Panel Says
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: emr@javanet.com (Dick Evans)
Pubdate: March 30, 1999
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 1999 The Washington Post Company
Address: 1150 15th Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20071
Feedback: http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/letters/letterform.htm
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Author: Susan Okie
MARIJUANA MAY YIELD MEDICINES, PANEL SAYS
Marijuana is too dangerous to the lungs to make smoking "grass" a safe
long-term treatment for illness--but some of the active ingredients in
the weed could sprout into a whole new family of medicines.
Those are among the conclusions of a landmark report issued this month
by an expert panel on the medical uses of marijuana, a topic that has
pitted patients and pro-legalization activists against the federal
government.
Marijuana's active ingredients belong to a chemical family called the
cannabinoids. In recent years, scientists have found that these
chemicals--as well as receptors on cell surfaces that respond to
them--are found naturally in the brain, where they probably play a
role in memory, control of movement and pain perception.
Scientific knowledge of cannabinoids has exploded, far outstripping
the few well conducted medical studies of marijuana's therapeutic
effects in patients, according to the pair of scientists who headed
the panel. Together, the new laboratory findings and the clinical
results suggest that some cannabinoids could be developed into
promising drugs for pain control, the relief of nausea and vomiting
and stimulation of appetite in people who have lost weight because of
AIDS or other diseases.
Some patients currently smoke or eat marijuana to treat those
problems, a situation that has produced conflict between states that
want to legalize medical use of the drug and the federal government,
which has opposed any legalization.
"There are real clinical opportunities" to develop new drugs from
cannabinoids, said Stanley J. Watson, co-director of the Mental Health
Research Institute at the University of Michigan and co-chairman of
the panel that conducted the review for the Institute of Medicine
(IOM), an independent advisory body.
The IOM report had been eagerly awaited by both sides in the ongoing
debate over whether marijuana should be made legally available for
people with certain intractable symptoms, such as nausea caused by
chemotherapy or wasting associated with AIDS.
To the delight of many activists who have urged legalization of
medical use of the drug, the panel concluded that some of marijuana's
constituents are potentially effective therapies. Nevertheless, the
report strongly opposes the use of smoked marijuana except in
short-term scientific studies lasting less than six months, citing the
dangers posed by tar, carcinogens and other substances present in the
smoke.
"Numerous studies suggest that marijuana smoke is an important risk
factor in the development of respiratory disease" and is associated
with an increased risk of cancer, lung damage and poor pregnancy
outcomes, the report states.
It calls for the rapid development of an inhaler that could deliver
cannabinoids into the lung--from which they are quickly absorbed into
the bloodstream--thus allowing patients to obtain the desired effects
without smoking.
"While we see a future in the development of . . . cannabinoid drugs,
we see little future in smoked marijuana as a medicine," said panel
co-chairman John A. Benson, an emeritus professor of medicine at
Oregon Health Sciences University.
How might cannabinoid drugs be used? "Analgesia [pain relief] may be
the biggest market for commercial exploitation," Benson said.
Animal studies show that cannabinoids can relieve mild to moderate
pain, working about as well as codeine. Because they act upon a
different set of brain receptors than the opiates (such as morphine
and codeine), they are unlikely to have the same side effects and
might be used in combination with opiate drugs. The report calls for
additional human studies in this area, saying the few trials conducted
in humans so far are inconclusive.
For nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy, cannabinoids are
mildly effective, but for most patients, neither marijuana or THC (an
active ingredient of marijuana) works as well as other anti-nausea
drugs currently available, the report found. Those drugs are effective
in more than 90 percent of patients, Benson said, while THC is
effective only in about 25 percent. (THC, or dronabinol, sold under
the brand name Marinol, is approved by the Food and Drug
Administration for control of severe nausea in chemotherapy patients
who don't respond to other drugs.)
But cannabinoids might enhance control of nausea when combined with
other drugs, the panel concluded, and delivering cannabinoids by
inhaler might be an effective route for people who are already too
nauseated to swallow. It called for further research on the topic.
Although many patients with AIDS say smoking marijuana has improved
their appetite and has helped them regain weight, the first clinical
trial of marijuana in such patients--conducted by Donald Abrams of the
University of California at San Francisco--has not yet been completed.
Marinol was approved by the FDA for this purpose in 1992, but some
people with AIDS find its psychological effects too intense and say it
takes too long to act, the report said. The panel urged further
research on the use of cannabinoids in AIDS, saying they could be
helpful both as appetite stimulants and to reduce pain, nausea and
anxiety.
The panel also cited an abundance of anecdotal reports that marijuana
and THC can relieve painful muscle spasms in patients with multiple
sclerosis, but said that to date there have been no good animal
studies or well conducted clinical trials.
Marijuana has been advocated to treat a number of other conditions,
but the panel found the evidence for its benefits weak. It was not
impressed with cannabinoids' potential for treating glaucoma,
migraines or movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease or
Huntington's disease.
The report recognizes the dilemma faced by patients who have turned to
marijuana because they cannot get relief from legal medicines, and
said such patients "will find little comfort in a promise of a better
drug 10 years from now."
In some states, people using marijuana to treat diseases such as AIDS
or multiple sclerosis have been arrested. Eight states have laws
permitting doctors to prescribe marijuana, and five more passed
medical marijuana initiatives last fall. Under federal law, however,
marijuana is classified as an illegal drug with no legitimate medical
use; doctors can face prosecution for prescribing it, and patients for
possessing it. Yet, some patients with chronic illnesses insist that
marijuana has made their symptoms bearable and has even prolonged
their lives. In such cases, if there is no alternative treatment, the
panel suggested establishing a system under which marijuana could be
provided on a compassionate basis, as an experimental drug, and
patients' condition would be monitored closely.
Greg Scott, 37, a Florida man with AIDS, said that smoking marijuana
helped him gain weight and thus avoid having to be fed intravenously
through a tube that carried a high risk of infection.
"I am living proof that in some cases, smoking marijuana is a viable
and beneficial alternative," he said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Pot users take fewer road risks than drunks study says (The Toronto Star says
a new University of Toronto study suggests that while marijuana, like
alcohol, impairs performance, people who drive after smoking moderate
amounts of pot compensate for any impairment by driving more slowly and
cautiously.)
Date: Tue, 30 Mar 1999 09:37:08 -0500
To: mattalk@islandnet.com
From: Dave Haans (haans@chass.utoronto.ca)
Subject: TorStar: Pot users take fewer road risks than drunks study says
Newshawk: Dave Haans
Source: The Toronto Star (Canada)
Pubdate: Tuesday, March 30, 1999
Page: A3
Website: http://www.thestar.com
Contact: lettertoed@thestar.com
Author: Joseph Hall, Toronto Star Transportation Reporter
Pot users take fewer road risks than drunks study says
Getting high on marijuana doesn't lower the ability to drive nearly as much
as drinking alcohol, a new University of Toronto study suggests.
While marijuana, like alcohol, impairs performance, people who drive after
smoking moderate amounts of pot compensate by driving more slowly and
cautiously, says Alison Smiley of the mechanical and industrial engineering
department.
Smiley, who has studied transportation safety issues for 25 years, says
``the more cautious behaviour of subjects who received marijuana (in
studies) decreased the drug's impact on performance. Their behaviour is
more appropriate to their impairment, whereas subjects who received alcohol
tend to drive in a more risky manner.''
Smiley, who does not advocate the general legalization of marijuana, says
her study should be considered when contemplating mandatory drug testing
for heavy equipment, train and truck operators or the decriminalization of
marijuana for medical use.
Smiley, who compiled her paper by analyzing her own data plus several
controlled international studies, found moderate pot users typically
refrained from passing cars and drove at a more consistent speed than when
not using pot.
But Toronto Constable Barry White, who co-ordinates the city's RIDE
program, says that marijuana at any level negatively impairs driving
ability.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Pot called less risky than booze on the road (The Globe and Mail version)
From: Carey Ker (carey.ker@utoronto.ca)
Reply-To: carey.ker@utoronto.ca
To: mattalk@islandnet.com
Subject: Canada: Pot called less risky than booze on the road
Date: Tue, 30 Mar 1999 09:14:40 -0500 (EST)
Newshawk: carey.ker@utoronto.ca
Source: The Globe and Mail, Page A2
Contact: letters@globeandmail.ca
Pubdate: Tuesday, March 30, 1999
Author: Kim Honey, Science Reporter, Toronto
An ergonomics expert who has 25 years studying driving behavior says
smoking marijuana and driving is not nearly as deadly as drinking and
driving.
And although Alison Smiley does not condone the combination of car
and cannabis, she does say her research has implications for random
drug tests on truck drivers and other employees who operate heavy
machinery.
"I have a lot of concerns about urine screens being used by employers
to imply some responsibility due to the consumption of a drug," said
Dr. Smiley, president of Human Factors North Inc., an ergonomics
consulting company, and an adjunct professor of engineering at the
University of Toronto. "Not just because of these findings, but
because drugs can stay in the urine for far, far longer than they
affect behavior."
It's not that marijuana doesn't impair performance. Like alcohol, it
causes drivers to wander in the lane, makes it difficult for the
driver to divide his or her attention and slows response to the
unexpected.
But there is a difference in the way people respond to the drugs, Dr.
Smiley said in an interview from Washington.
"With alcohol, people tend to take more risks. They tend to speed up,
pass more, that kind of thing. With marijuana, they tend to slow
down, reduce risk taking."
After examining accident statistics from two large studies, one from
Australia in 1992 (1,900 people injured in accidents) and one in the
United States from 1992 (2,500 people killed in accidents), Dr.
Smiley found that drivers who smoked marijuana were no more
responsible for the accidents they were involved in than those who
were stone-cold sober. The drinkers, however, were responsible 98 per
cent of the time they were involved in a crash.
The other interesting finding was related to the drivers' perception
of their impairment. After tests under the influence of marijuana or
alcohol, drivers were asked to rate their performance. Those high on
marijuana felt their driving had been affected, while those
who had been drinking felt they had done fine.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Mexican banks to plead guilty to laundering drug money (The Los Angeles Times
says that with their trial in Los Angeles just days away, two of Mexico's
biggest banks have agreed to plead guilty to laundering millions of dollars
for the Cali and Juarez drug cartels. Indicted as a result of the United
States' "Operation Casablanca" sting, Bancomer will pay $9.9 million in fines
while Banca Serfin will pay $4.7 million. Bancomer is the second-largest bank
in Mexico and Banca Serfin is the third-largest. After the indictments were
issued, U.S. authorities instituted forfeiture actions against the U.S.
assets of 14 Mexican and Venezuelan banks and confiscated more than $68
million, including $16 million from Bancomer and $9.5 million from Banca
Serfin.)
From: "Bob Owen@W.H.E.N." (when@olywa.net)
To: "_Drug Policy --" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: Mexican banks to plead guilty to laundering drug money
Date: Tue, 30 Mar 1999 19:59:56 -0800
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net
Posted at 06:52 a.m. PST; Tuesday, March 30, 1999
Mexican banks to plead guilty to laundering drug money
by David Rosenzweig
Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES - With their trial just days away, two of Mexico's biggest banks
have agreed to plead guilty to laundering millions of dollars for the Cali
and Juarez drug cartels, sources close to the case said.
Bancomer will pay $9.9 million in fines while Banca Serfin will pay $4.7
million as part of their separate deals with federal prosecutors in Los
Angeles.
In a related development, the government has agreed to drop all criminal
charges against a third Mexican financial institution, Banca Confia, in a
civil settlement of the money-laundering case.
Confia, which sold most of its assets to Citibank after it was indicted, has
agreed not to fight the U.S. government's earlier seizure of $12.1 million
from its U.S. holdings.
A hearing was scheduled for today before U.S. District Judge Lourdes Baird
to enter the guilty pleas.
All three banks were indicted last May with more than 100 people, mostly
Mexicans, in Operation Casablanca, the Customs Service's 2 1/2-year probe of
international drug money laundering.
Twenty-two bankers from a dozen Mexican and two Venezuelan financial
institutions were implicated.
When it became public, Mexican officials complained of being kept in the
dark about the cross-border operation. Customs agents said they deliberately
withheld information because they feared a leak by corrupt Mexican law
officers.
In addition to fines arising from their criminal pleas, Bancomer and Banca
Serfin face hearings before the Federal Reserve Board to decide whether they
should be barred from operating in the United States.
Under a 1992 law, any foreign bank convicted of money laundering is subject
to a mandatory license-revocation hearing before the Fed.
Bancomer, with close to $30 billion in assets, is the second-largest bank in
Mexico. It maintains offices in Los Angeles and New York and is a partner
with the U.S. Postal Service in Dinero Seguro, a program that enables people
in the United States to transfer money electronically to Mexico.
Banca Serfin is the third-largest Mexican bank with $16.7 billion in assets
and has offices in New York.
After the indictments were issued, federal authorities instituted forfeiture
actions against the U.S. assets of all 14 Mexican and Venezuelan banks whose
employees were accused of participating in the money-laundering network.
More than $68 million was confiscated, including $16 million from Bancomer,
$12.1 million from Banca Confia and $9.5 million from Banca Serfin.
Despite the plea agreements with the banks, the trial is expected to start
Thursday against six Mexican bankers and businessmen, the remaining
defendants in this case.
Eleven defendants have entered guilty pleas while 20 more are fugitives.
Three separate trials are in the works later this year for suspected members
of the Cali cartel, the Juarez cartel and four Venezuelans accused of money
laundering.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Cannabis Growers Bask In Spotlight (The New Zealand Herald says two Northland
growers wanted to show the world the "honest and authentic" New Zealand, so
they led a BBC travel show crew to a cannabis plot in the bush. But when the
show screened in Britain recently, it upset expatriate New Zealanders who
protested that it showed "the wrong image.")
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 19:38:32 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: New Zealand: Cannabis Growers Bask In Spotlight
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: David Hadorn (hadorn@dnai.com)
Pubdate: 30 Mar 1999
Source: New Zealand Herald (New Zealand)
Copyright: New Zealand Herald
Contact: editor@herald.co.nz
Website: http://www.herald.co.nz/nzherald/index.html
Author: Angela Gregory
Page: A3
CANNABIS GROWERS BASK IN SPOTLIGHT
WHANGAREI - Green, but not clean - that was the twist to New Zealand's
pristine image that two Northland growers wanted to show the world.
The men led a BBC travel show crew to a cannabis plot in the bush. The
show, which has just screened in Britain, has upset expatriate New
Zealanders, who say it shows the wrong image of the country.
But the cannabis growers, tracked down by the New Zealand Herald yesterday,
were proud of an "unforgettable" contribution to tourism.
They agreed to take the BBC crew to their patch because the cannabis
segment would make the "honest and authentic" tourism programme stand apart.
The half-hour A Rough Guide to New Zealand featured just a few minutes of
the trek in the bush last November.
The two men wore balaclavas to conceal their identities and the crew and
journalist Dimitri Doganis were made to tape over their sunglasses and
travel at night so they would not know where they were being taken.
After the show screened, New Zealanders complained to the Tourism Board in
Wellington and London.
Other subjects covered included bungi-jumping, fashion designed Karen
Walker and the America's Cup.
The growers said the crew were impressed with the bush and the 150 cannabis
seedlings, worth up to $40,000 when mature. "They even got to hear a dawn
chorus and kiwi. They were quite blown away."
The Mayor of the Far North, Yvonne Sharp, said the growers could have badly
damaged the image of the area and had dubious motives.
"They just wanted to thumb their noses at authority."
She doubted that the show would attract any tourists.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
[End]
to the 1999 Daily News index for March 26-April 1