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

Suit may change how landlords operate (The Oregonian says Gregory Amerson and
his sisters talked to at least eight attorneys before they finally found one
who would take their groundbreaking case against the landlord of a suspected
drug house in Northeast Portland. Now, without even being fully litigated,
the case seems likely to increase the price for Portland landlords and
tenants of the war on some drug users. The law firm that represented
Amerson's family has already used it to encourage another landlord to evict
tenants from a problem house.)

Pubdate: Wed, Mar 31 1999
Source: Oregonian, The (OR)
Copyright: 1999 The Oregonian
Contact: letters@news.oregonian.com
Address: 1320 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97201
Fax: 503-294-4193
Website: http://www.oregonlive.com/
Forum: http://forums.oregonlive.com/
Author: David R. Anderson of The Oregonian staff

Suit may change how landlords operate

* A settlement, in a case where a man fleeing a problem residence caused a
woman's death, serves as a warning

Gregory Amerson and his sisters talked to at least eight attorneys before
they finally found one who would take their groundbreaking case against the
landlord of a suspected drug house in Northeast Portland.

It was a lawsuit that apparently had never been tried in Oregon, maybe never
in the United States, as far as anyone could tell. And a lot of lawyers
thought it was a stretch.

The issue? Was the landlord liable for the death of Amerson's mother, E.
Jean Amerson, who was killed in December 1996 when a criminal suspect left
the house, sped from police and crashed into the 68-year-old woman's car? If
the landlord knew or should have known drugs were being dealt out of the
house, should he have evicted the tenants and possibly prevented the fatal
crash?

The case went to trial last week in Multnomah County Circuit Court. But
before a jury could answer those questions, Amerson's four adult children
settled the lawsuit. The landlord, Charles Bernards of Tigard, and his
company, Venture B.C. Inc., settled for $250,000. Insurance will cover
$150,000. But Bernards, who owns at least eight Portland rental properties,
must pay $100,000.

Because the lawsuit was settled, it does not have the precedent value of a
case tried, appealed and ruled on by an appellate court. Still, the case has
the potential to change the way landlords do business. Already, the law firm
that represented Amerson's family has used it to encourage another landlord
to evict tenants from a problem house.

The case might even convince some landlords to get out of the business, said
Emily Cedarleaf, executive director of the Multifamily Housing Council of
Oregon, the largest trade association for rental property owners in Oregon.

At the least, she said, landlords are going to be responsible for more
community policing. "For us, it's going to mean that landlords are going to
be held to a higher standard," Cedarleaf said. "This one is going to be scary."

Law enforcement officials already see the case as another tool to fight drug
houses. Jim Hayden, the neighborhood deputy district attorney for North and
Northeast Portland, hopes that neighbors of suspected drug houses will take
the next legal step and sue landlords for the disruption and diminishment of
property values the houses cause.

"I think the implications are tremendous," Hayden said. "I intend, when I
deal with landlords who are not minding their p's and q's, to tell them
about this case."

Screening tenants

For Circuit Judge Michael Marcus, who was assigned the case and is an expert
in landlord/tenant law, the message to landlords is to screen tenants. In
this case, Venture B.C. and Bernards were negligent because they never
discovered that the tenants were evicted from their previous rental unit
because of drug activity, according to court documents filed by Amerson's
lawyers.

But for the defendants, this is a case of small-business owners who felt
squeezed by the legal system. Bernards said no one has ever proved to him
that drugs were being sold by the tenants living in the house at that time.
He settled the lawsuit, he said, because he could not borrow money while the
lawsuit was pending, because the strain was tremendous and because of many
other reasons. But he still says he didn't do anything wrong.

"We're not willing to spend five years of our lives on something that we had
nothing to do with," Bernards said.

There is conflicting evidence about whether the house in the 4800 block of
Northeast 22nd Avenue was a drug house in 1996 and how much Bernards knew.

The house has a history of complaints. Portland police began keeping a log
of drug-related complaints on the house in 1989, a year before Bernards
bought it. Then twice in 1993, police wrote Bernards about tenants suspected
of dealing drugs. Officers also served a search warrant in February 1993.
Bernards said that he evicted the tenants who were the subject of the search
warrant and that the subsequent tenants moved out before he could evict them.

Then in early 1996, police received complaints from a neighbor of late-night
activity, people walking out of the house with small plastic bags and
syringes lying in the yard. In the police log, two officers noted in June
1996 that someone probably was dealing methamphetamine from the house and
that stolen vehicles often were parked in front.

On Aug. 30, 1996, the Drugs and Vice Division wrote Venture B.C., notifying
the landlord that police had received complaints of drug activity and
warning that the city might shut down the house under its drug house
ordinance if the landlord failed to act. Bernards returned the call but had
trouble hooking up with the officer assigned to the case.

Bernards said he repeatedly visited the house in late 1996 and never saw any
evidence of drugs. At least twice, police tried to buy drugs at the house
using an informant but were unsuccessful.

On Dec. 13, 1996, police had the house under surveillance. When officers ran
a check on the license plate of a car parked in front, they found the
registered owner had an arrest warrant. Another man, whom police later
identified as Michael Eric Nitschke, walked out of the house and got into
the car. Police followed and tried to pull him over. But Nitschke sped away,
and police broke off the chase. At the intersection of Northeast 29th Avenue
and Bryce Street, Nitschke smashed into Jean Amerson's car. The
great-grandmother was on her way to buy Christmas presents. She died the
next day.

Manslaughter conviction

Nitschke was convicted of first-degree manslaughter, driving under the
influence of intoxicants and six other charges.

Amerson's family first sued the city and the Police Bureau for chasing
Nitschke. But they dropped that suit after learning that police followed
their policies and broke off the pursuit within seconds of Nitschke speeding
away because it was too dangerous, Gregory Amerson said.

Then they sued Venture B.C.,Bernards and a partner. Later, they amended the
suit to drop the partner and demand $2.5 million.

The family claimed the landlord was liable under two theories, common-law
negligence and violation of a state law that makes it a crime to knowingly
allow a property to be used to sell illegal drugs. Prosecutors almost never
charge people with the crime because it is so difficult to prove that a
person knew beyond a reasonable doubt, said Mark McDonnell, a Multnomah
County senior deputy district attorney who heads the drug unit. But in a
civil case, the proof is only a preponderance of the evidence, meaning that
it is more likely than not that the landlord knew. The key issues the
Amerson family had to prove were whether the landlord failed to use
reasonable care and whether it was foreseeable that the negligence could
lead to Amerson's death.

"It was a difficult legal question, no doubt about it," said Bernard Jolles,
the lawyer who eventually took on the case for Amerson's family.

The Dram Shop Act

The case is similar to lawsuits based on Oregon's Dram Shop Act, which says
restaurant and tavern operators can be held liable for a patron's actions
off the premises if the nightspot served the patron while he or she was
visibly drunk.

The most analogous case was a dog-bite lawsuit in which a family sued a
landlord after their daughter was bitten by a tenant's dog in a parking lot
next to the rental property. The Oregon Supreme Court ruled in 1993 that a
landlord could be held liable for an injury the tenant's dog caused off the
rental property only if the landlord allowed the tenants to have a dog and
knew the dog caused an unreasonable risk to people off the property. In that
case, the landlord knew the county had posted a "potentially dangerous dog"
sign on the landlord's property.

In the case against Bernards, Gregory Amerson said the family sued not for
money but to show landlords they have a responsibility to the larger community.

"It was about having this case prevent this from happening to another
family," Amerson said. "It was the fact that we wanted our mother's death to
mean something."

You can reach David Anderson at 503-294-7663 or by e-mail at
DavidAnderson@news.oregonian.com.

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

Latest jail fight pits sheriff vs. board (The Oregonian says a disagreement
between Multnomah County Sheriff Dan Noelle and the county Board of
Commissioners over 300 beds for inmates receiving treatment for alcohol and
other drugs may impede planning for a $55 million, 225-bed, medium-security
jail next to Bybee Lake in North Portland.)

Pubdate: Wed, Mar 31 1999
Source: Oregonian, The (OR)
Copyright: 1999 The Oregonian
Contact: letters@news.oregonian.com
Address: 1320 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97201
Fax: 503-294-4193
Website: http://www.oregonlive.com/
Forum: http://forums.oregonlive.com/
Author: David Austin of The Oregonian staff

Latest jail fight pits sheriff vs. board

* The dispute focuses on transitional beds for substance abusers, which Dan
Noelle does not want in the medium-security facility

In the three years it's taken Multnomah County officials to pick a spot for
a new jail, they've run into a laundry list of obstacles: angry residents,
environmentalists, budget constraints and business owners who don't want the
jail near them.

Most of those problems have been smoothed over. But an in-house feud from
last year has erupted again. It stands to threaten what happens next with
the $55 million, 225-bed, medium-security jail that's likely to go up next
to Bybee Lake in North Portland.

The latest chapter pits Sheriff Dan Noelle against the Board of
Commissioners over whether to place an additional 300 beds for alcohol and
drug treatment at the jail.

Roughly 25 of those would be transitional beds for people almost done with
treatment. They would be allowed to leave the facility to look for jobs or
visit family.

Noelle said he'll accept putting the beds at the jail, but he wants to cut
out the transitional housing for security reasons and have the entire
facility under his control. Four of the five commissioners don't think the
beds, which are controlled by the county's Adult Community Justice
Department, need to be handed over to the sheriff.

Sheriff leaves talks

In the past month, at board Chairwoman Beverly Stein's urging, Noelle and
his staff have been working with community justice officials to come up with
a solution. But Noelle has ordered his staff to pull out of the negotiations.

It's the second time that Noelle has had a showdown with the board over the
alcohol and drug beds.

In June, Noelle nearly persuaded the county's Charter Review Committee to
ask voters to consider consolidating the entire corrections system and
putting it under his control. But a deal was brokered, and the sheriff
withdrew his takeover bid.

Now the re-emerging dispute threatens plans to get the jail built.

Cruz worries about public

Commissioner Serena Cruz, who represents the district where the jail
probably will go, said she's more concerned about the effects the squabble
will have on the public.

"Our jails are filling up more and more with alcohol and drug addicts," Cruz
said. "It will continue to happen if we don't try to stop it. That's
supposed to be our job as county government."

Noelle said he plans to keep his commitment to the community that inmates
won't be able to come and go. "I'm not interested in having an outpatient
facility," he said.

But Stein called Noelle's words divisive. She said by raising the security
issue, he's unjustly scaring the public into thinking residents would be in
danger.

"This should not be an argument over whether this is secure or not," Stein
said. "Of course, it will be secure. But we are trying to model our own
program of how we deal with things on the tail end of treatment.

"I think it's unfortunate that the sheriff has cut off the discussions
before things were even finished. He apparently doesn't think there's anyone
who can make this facility secure enough other than his people. I don't
believe that's the case."

The plan to build a jail hasn't been easy since voters passed a measure in
1996 providing $55 million for it.

The leading site was owned by the Port of Portland, but Port officials had
no interest in having a jail near their property. They threatened to tie up
the jail siting process with legal wrangling unless the county backed off.

A citizens siting advisory committee appointed by the county instead picked
a 35-acre wetland called Radio Tower. The county spent $1.5 million to show
the site was viable, but the board yanked its support because building there
would harm the wetland.

The Port then re-entered the picture and agreed to sell the county a 22-acre
site along Bybee Lake. The board was eager to get going with the plans until
the dispute erupted recently.

"I think we need to make a decision soon about what this facility is going
to be," said Commissioner Lisa Naito, who supports putting at least a
portion of the alcohol and drug beds at the Rivergate site. "We need to let
the citizens know what direction we're going."

Groups bless site

Despite wrangling over the placement of the jail from some North Portland
residents, a number of other neighborhood and business organizations have
given their blessings.

Environmental groups, such as the Columbia Slough Watershed Council and the
Audubon Society, have approved putting the jail along Bybee Lake as long as
certain improvements are made to sustain wildlife in the area.

Now Stein and the board face the daunting task of trying to reach an accord
among themselves. Although a unanimous vote isn't necessary to purchase the
land, another element is at play: The board is considering putting a massive
public safety levy before the voters next year.

A portion of the money would be used to operate the jail, and the
commissioners acknowledge that the public might not buy into the levy if the
commissioners don't pose a united front.

Noelle wouldn't discuss in detail why he pulled out of the talks with the
Adult and Community Justice Department. He said he wants to move ahead with
the jail plans and thinks a solution can be reached.

Stein has turned the matter over to Cruz, who said she's hopeful a solution
can be reached.

"I think the burden of our inability to reach an appropriate solution is
borne by the sheriff, the board, community justice staff and the other
players at the county," Cruz said. "If we're unable to work out what should
be some relatively simple agreements, then I'm not sure what we're all doing
here."

The board will vote May 6 on whether to purchase the Port property.

You can reach David Austin at 221-5383 or by e-mail at
davidaustin@news.oregonian.com.

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

Company documents prove key to verdict (According to the Oregonian, jurors
say it was Philip Morris' own documents - some of them decades old - that led
them to award $81 million to the estate of a Portland man who died of lung
cancer. One juror, April Dewees, a science teacher at Sherwood High School,
said she and other jurors were upset by documents that showed that Philip
Morris apparently knew about the addictive properties and cancer-causing
potential of cigarette smoke but avoided telling its customers.)

Pubdate: Wed, Mar 31 1999
Source: Oregonian, The (OR)
Copyright: 1999 The Oregonian
Contact: letters@news.oregonian.com
Address: 1320 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97201
Fax: 503-294-4193
Website: http://www.oregonlive.com/
Forum: http://forums.oregonlive.com/
Author: Patrick O'Neill and Joe Rojas-Burke of The Oregonian
staff

Company documents prove key to verdict

* Some jurors say they thought the tobacco-maker wasn't forthright about the
danger of cigarettes

For nearly 21/2 days, 12 jurors wrestled with facts gleaned from four weeks of
testimony.

They had piles of their own notebooks crammed with details of expert
testimony from physicians, specialists in addiction, historians and even an
expert on growing tobacco plants and harvesting their leaves.

But in the end, it was Philip Morris' own documents -- some of them decades
old -- that persuaded the jury to award $81 million to the estate of a
Portland man who died of lung cancer.

One juror, April Dewees, a science teacher at Sherwood High School, said she
and other jurors were upset by documents that showed that Philip Morris
apparently knew about the addictive properties and cancer-causing potential
of cigarette smoke but avoided telling its customers.

Juror Debra Barton agreed. "I'd have to say it was the documents," she said.

Dewees said she thinks that over the years, the tobacco company -- much like
medical science -- discovered the disease-causing potential of cigarettes.
But instead of warning customers, she said, company officials decided they
would "keep going until they couldn't go any further."

Jurors found that Jesse Williams and the tobacco company were equally
negligent in causing Williams' death.

"Of course, Jesse was at fault," Dewees said. "But Philip Morris does
business with the public and has a responsibility to be forthright about the
product."

Attorneys for the family portrayed Williams as a man who believed Philip
Morris' pronouncements that there was no scientific link between smoking and
lung cancer and who felt deeply betrayed when he was diagnosed with cancer.

Dewees said jurors "felt that Philip Morris misrepresents the facts and
makes it easy for people to have conflicts in their mind about what's really
true.

"I'm not so much bothered by the fact that they put the product out," she
said. "But the fact that they muddy the water I find unacceptable."

Dewees thought tobacco company witnesses hid behind semantics, refusing to
admit that their products are addictive and saying only that some smokers
have a difficult time quitting.

Jurors also were angered by what they perceived as the company's refusal to
admit that their product causes a disease, she said.

Another juror, Alisa Duffy, was one of the three who opposed awarding
punitive damages to the Williams family. Duffy, a Portland resident who
works as a customer service representative, said tobacco-makers shouldn't be
blamed for an individual's decision to use their products. She said she
found the confidential Philip Morris documents unconvincing.

"This is basically what it boils down to for me: personal responsibility,"
she said. "I don't want to offend any of my fellow jurors -- I respect their
decision," Duffy said.

But she added, "I just think Philip Morris and the tobacco industry have
become an easy target."

You can reach Patrick O'Neill at 503-221-8233 or by e-mail at
poneill@news.oregonian.com.

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

A Few Bills We Like (Willamette Week, in Portland, supports Oregon Senate
Bill 529, sponsored by Sen. Lenn Hannon, R-Ashland, which would require
insurance companies to increase coverage for mental-health and
substance-abuse treatment programs.)

Newshawk: Portland NORML (http://www.pdxnorml.org/)
Pubdate: Wed, Mar 31 1999
Source: Willamette Week (OR)
Contact: mzusman@wweek.com
Address: 822 SW 10th Ave., Portland, OR 97205
Fax: (503) 243-1115
Website: http://www.wweek.com/
Author: Patty Wentz
Newshawk note: this is excerpted from a sidebar to a cover story titled,
"Royal Flush: 4,000 bills are making their way through the bowels of Salem.
Here are five that should be canned."

A Few Bills We Like

Let's be fair. There is some *good* legislation coming out of Salem, too.
Unfortunately, most of it is bottled up in committees. Here are five good
bills that deserve consideration. We've also listed a contact person for
getting more information and the legislator who has the power to give the
proposal a fair hearing. -- PW

[snip]

Senate Bill 529

MENTAL HEALTH PARITY

Lead Sponsor: Sen. Lenn Hannon (R-Ashland)

Description: SB 529 Would force insurance companies to increase coverage for
mental-health and substance-abuse treatment programs. Hannon took a personal
interest in the issue after his own battle with alcoholism ("Drinking and
Voting," WW, March 3, 1999).

Status: Hannon's bill has been languishing in the Senate Health and Human
Services Committee since Feb. 12. For more info: Hannon (503) 986-1726;
e-mail: hannon.sen@state.or.us

To voice support: Sen. Bill Fisher, Chair of the Health and Human Services
Committee: 503. 986-1723; e-mail: fisher.sen@state.or.us

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

County Seeks Medical Pot Study Appproval (The San Mateo Independent says San
Mateo County, California, submitted a proposal to the National Institute on
Drug Abuse on March 19 seeking approval for a clinical study of the medical
use of marijuana by AIDS and cancer patients. If it can obtain NIDA approval,
the county will next seek the blessing of the Food and Diug Administration.
Clinical trials in the county could start this summer at the earliest.)

Date: Thu, 1 Apr 1999 06:18:54 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US CA: County Seeks Medical Pot Study Appproval
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: tjeffoc@sirius.com (Tom O'Connell)
Source: San Mateo Independent (CA)
Contact: smiedit@aol.com
Address: 824 Cowan Road, Burlingame, CA 94010
Fax: (415) 692-7587
Pubdate: Wed, 31 Mar 1999
Author: David Burruto, Independent Newspapers

COUNTY SEEKS MEDICAL POT STUDY APPPROVAL

Supervisor Nevin hopes clinical trials will help change U.S. law

San Mateo County has submitted a proposal to the National Institute on Drug
Abuse seeking approval for a clinical study of the medical use of marijuana.

The county-sponsored protocol - a formal proposal and set of guidelines -
was submitted to NIDA on March 19.

Approval from NIDA is crucial to conducting the study, as it is the sole
federal agency responsible for legally providing the drug for such surveys.

With NIDA approval, the county will then seek the blessing of the Food and
Diug Administration. Clinical trials in the county could start this summer
at the earliest with approval from both agencies.

The protocol outlines how to monitor the effects of smoking marijuana on
subjects with such medical conditions as chronic nausea, anorexia or
ameliorating weight loss stemming from AIDS treatments and cancer treatments
such as chemo or radiation therapies.

County Supervisor Mike Nevin has helped to spearhead the push for the
clinical trials to be conducted under the auspices of the county government
in county facilities.

"What hat we've done is we have pushed the envelope as San Mateo County is
the first governmental entity that's been willing to put its money up to
conduct clinical trial," said Nevin.

"Our hope is that these clinical trials will ultimately lead the United
States of America to change the law."

The state of California itself has been at the forefront in support of the
legal medical use of marijuana, having passed Proposition 215 in 1996 to
that effect. Proposition 215 came two years in advance of similar measures
passed in Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon and Washington states,

The study will include a group of 60 volunteer subjects being treated for
AIDS or cancer. The subjects will be divided into two groups of 30. One
group will begin taking the drug immediately and continue for six weeks,
stop, and then continue in the trial for another six weeks without taking
the drug.

The second group of 30 will go through the trial in the reverse order.

The marijuana will be obtained from NIDA, the sole legal grower of marijuana
in the country with farms in Mississippi. Under the current proposal, the
test subjects will be able to smoke their prescribed marijuana cigarettes at
home.

"We submitted the protocol so that they do not smoke on-site, they would be
given a supply of 28 cigarettes a week." said Dr. Scott Morrow, the San
Mateo County Health Officer and co-author of the proposal.

"We submitted it like that because if they were required to smoke on-site
that would limit our ability to get as many subjects as possible."

Morrow suggested, however, that the protocol will be subject to modification
due to the constraints that NIDA or the FDA will likely impose.

The study, according to Morrow, is not the first of its kind but is part of
a nationwide effort to investigate the drug's usefulness weighed against its
harmful side effects.

Only days ago the National Academy of Science's Institute of Medicine - the
private, nonprofit organization that provides health policy advice to the
federal government under a congressional charter - released a report
affirming the beneficial uses of marijuana in specific medical cases and
called for continued clinical trials.

The report warned, however, that smoking marijuana is a poor system of
delivery due to harmful side effects, such as an increased risk for cancer
and lung damage.

The Institute of Medicine report also suggested that trials should be
limited to patients likely to benefit from marijuana most and only for
short-term use.

The county has allocated $50,000 for the initial submission of the protocol
and is prepared to allocate up to $500,000 for the clinical trial, should it
be approved. The trial will, according to Morrow, likely be done on an
outpatient basis through county clinics. The County Health Services
Department will hire between two and three research specialists to run the
trial.

A second protocol will be submitted in April that will focus on possible
pain relief benefit I of marijuana.

The push to investigate the possible medicinal benefits of marijuana is not,
according to Nevin, part of an effort to legalize the drug for recreational
use, but rather an opportunity for the medical community to put it to test.

"We haven't given the medical profession chance to breathe or a chance to,
in fact, a conclude that marijuana does work in specific cases," said Nevin.

"It's not my intent to suggest that marijana should be legal, but this
substance has some ingredients that work in specific cases. it makes sense
that it should be an option any other drug."

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

House Panel Dumps Hemp Bill After Hearing Crime Concerns (The Minneapolis
Star-Tribune says the Minnesota House of Representatives' Crime Prevention
Committee voted 10 to 7 Tuesday against the hemp bill sponsored by Rep. Steve
Dehler, R-St. Joseph, after Tim McCormick, the head of the Minneapolis office
of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, testified there is no difference
between marijuana and its fiber-crop cousin.)

Date: Thu, 1 Apr 1999 21:45:43 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US MN: House Panel Dumps Hemp Bill After Hearing Crime
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Mike Clark
Pubdate: 31, March 1999
Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune (MN)
Copyright: 1999 Star Tribune
Feedback: http://www.startribune.com/stonline/html/userguide/letform.html
Website: http://www.startribune.com/
Forum: http://talk.startribune.com/cgi-bin/WebX.cgi
Author: Conrad deFiebre

HOUSE PANEL DUMPS HEMP BILL AFTER HEARING CRIME CONCERNS

After hearing from Minnesota's top federal narcotics official that
there's no difference between marijuana and its fiber-crop cousin, a
House committee Tuesday voted down a bill to allow the University of
Minnesota to conduct research into industrial hemp.

"As far as our laws are concerned, hemp, marijuana, whatever you want
to call it, it's the same plant," said Tim McCormick, head of the
Minneapolis office of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. "An
illegal drug under a different name is still an illegal drug."

He said any move to promote hemp production could compromise efforts
to stem increasing marijuana use by young people. Even hemp raised
for paper, rope, clothing, and other fiber products may contain enough
of marijuana's active ingredient, THC, to produce a high, he said.

A broader bill to license Minnesota farmers to grow demonstration
plots of hemp overwhelmingly passed the Senate earlier this month. But
Rep. Rich Stanek, a Minneapolis police captain and leading opponent of
legalizing hemp, said senators didn't hear from McCormick before voting.

Stanek, R-Maple Grove, heads the House Crime Prevention Committee,
which voted 10 to 7 against the hemp bill sponsored by Rep. Steve
Dehler, R-St. Joseph. Dehler said university research could lead to
THC-free hemp and a much-needed new rotation crop for Minnesota farmers.

Dehler said he was disappointed over the panel's action and might try
to amend the hemp issue to another bill.

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

ISU Financial Aid, Professors Don't Approve Of New Ban (The Indiana Statesman
at Indiana State University examines the ramifications of the misguided U.S.
Higher Education Act, which forbids loans and oher financial aid to students
convicted of possessing marijuana.)

Date: Wed, 31 Mar 1999 19:44:31 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US IN: ISU Financial Aid, Professors Don't Approve Of New Ban
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: bradmanzenberger@hotmail.com
Pubdate: Wed, 31 Mar 1999
Source: Indiana Statesman (Indiana State University)
Website: http://web.indstate.edu/statesman/
Contact: saseditr@scifac.indstate.edu
Author: Michele Holtkamp, Indiana Statesman

ISU FINANCIAL AID, PROFESSORS DON'T APPROVE OF NEW BAN

ISU Director of Financial Aid Norman Hayes isn't looking forward to
implementing the new financial aid mandates against students convicted
of possessing or selling drugs.

"Most financial aid administrators feel that this is unjust because
the students being affected by this are those in need of assistance,"
Hayes said. "If it is mandated, we will do it."

But he won't like it. And those working in the criminal justice system
in America probably won't either.

Nearly two-thirds of those in the federal system are incarcerated for
drug and alcohol offenses, said Melissa Benningfield, an instructor in
the ISU Criminology Department.

But the offenders won't be there forever, and they should have an
equal shot at a new life when they are released, Hayes said.

"We can't just throw people away, lock the door and throw away the
key," he said.

Offenders hope to go through the system, pay their debt to society and
be able to begin a new life.

"But after they are released, now the cards will still be stacked
against them," Benningfield said.

Convicted offenders are led to believe that everyone is against them
and society is set up to fail them, she said.

Hayes said that the people serving time in prisons are generally those
who are under-educated or uneducated. That education, Hayes said, can
serve as the next step in rehabilitation.

"We as a concerned society should support programs that are going to
rehabilitate those who are incarcerated, because they are going to
come back out," Hayes said.

A college education could do nothing but help former drug users,
Benningfield said.

So why has Congress passed this law?

Benningfield assumes that this provision is just part of America's
"so-called war on drugs." Lawmakers believe that banning convicted
drug users and sellers from financial aid is another way to deter drug
use by showing that drugs are bad, Benningfield said. But deterrence
doesn't work, she added.

The provision is scheduled to go into effect in the fall of 2000. In
fact, it was originally planned to begin in the fall of 1999 and has
been postponed for a year.

That is encouraging, Hayes said.

The next year will give the lawmakers time to work out a solution and
decide on the definition of a rehabilitation program.

It is that definition that scares people, Hayes said.

Benningfield believes in a working definition of rehabilitation- an
attempt to teach someone a skill or educate the person through the
punishment so that the offense doesn't happen again.

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

Drug convict gets new trial (The Associated Press says U.S. District Judge J.
Garvan Murtha, in Vermont, set aside the 1992 conviction of Robert A. Bloomer
Jr., who is free after serving seven years in federal prison for
manufacturing and conspiring to distribute methamphetamine. Bloomer's appeal
concerned the jury instructions of now-retired U.S. District Judge Franklin
S. Billings, who said the jury "may" rather than "must" acquit if government
prosecutors failed to prove Bloomer's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Billings, a former Vermont Supreme Court justice, also equated "reasonable
doubt" with "substantial doubt," something the Second Circuit ruled was
"clearly and ... obviously constitutionally deficient." Bloomer faces a new
trial in six months.)

From: "Bob Owen@W.H.E.N." (when@olywa.net)
To: "_Drug Policy --" (when@hemp.net)
Subject: VT Drug convict gets new trial
Date: Wed, 31 Mar 1999 12:03:47 -0800
Sender: owner-when@hemp.net

Drug convict gets new trial
By Associated Press, 03/31/99 13:30

BRATTLEBORO, Vt. (AP) - Robert A. Bloomer Jr. has been freed after seven
years in federal prison on a drug conviction, but is slated to face a new
trial in six months.

U.S. District Judge J. Garvan Murtha set aside Bloomer's 1992 conviction on
charges that he manufactured and conspired to distribute methamphetamine.

Bloomer, acting as his own appeals attorney, challenged the instructions
given to the jury by now-retired U.S. District Judge Franklin S. Billings,
and faulted the work of his trial and appeals attorney, David A. Gibson of
Brattleboro, for failing to identify and object to Billings' mistakes.

Bloomer, 51, has served close to seven years in a variety of federal prisons
and work camps. He was convicted in 1992 of charges he manufactured and
distributed methamphetamine at his West Rutland home. He was sentenced to
nearly 16 years in prison.

Federal agents raided his home on Aug. 11, 1990, confiscated the contents of
his private laboratory, including chemicals and equipment.

While no methamphetamine was found during the police raid, traces of the
drug were found in the lab. During the trial several people testified they
bought the drug from Bloomer.

Bloomer said he believed he would hire an attorney to defend him in his
upcoming trial, and not try to represent himself.

He said a fellow inmate who acts as "street lawyer" had helped him with his
appeal and examination of the trial record.

"What better place to learn about the law?" he said of his time in prison.

"I've decided to take it step by step and worry about today, today and
tomorrow, tomorrow," he said.

Bloomer, who is not a lawyer, comes from a prominent Rutland County family
of lawyers and politicians. Both his father, Robert Sr., and his late uncle,
John Bloomer, have served as president pro tempore of the Vermont Senate.
His cousin, John Bloomer, is one of Rutland County's three senators.

Murtha's decision regarding Bloomer is expected to be repeated in other
Vermont drug cases that Billings tried.

Billings made similar mistakes in jury instructions in at least seven other
Vermont drug trials, some of which are still under appeal, according to
assistant U.S. Attorney David Kirby.

Billings had told the jury that it "may" rather than "must" acquit if
government prosecutors failed to prove Bloomer's guilt beyond a reasonable
doubt.

Billings, a former Vermont Supreme Court justice, also equated "reasonable
doubt" with "substantial doubt," something the Second Circuit ruled was
"clearly and ... obviously constitutionally deficient."

Gibson took the stand briefly Tuesday and said he wasn't aware of a recent
federal court decision that laid the groundwork for Bloomer's appeal.

"You missed it?" asked Kirby.

"That's fair to say," said Gibson.

"A number of us missed it," Kirby said.

With that, Murtha said he had no choice but to order a new trial.

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

Phila. Man Guilty Of Dealing From Cell (The Philadelphia Inquirer says
Michael Diaz, who admitted he set up cocaine sales from behind bars in a
Philadelphia jail, was sentenced yesterday to two to four years in Bucks
County Prison.)

Date: Wed, 31 Mar 1999 19:32:12 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US PA: Phila Man Guilty Of Dealing From Cell
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: General Pulaski
Pubdate: Wed, 31 Mar 1999
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer (PA)
Copyright: 1999 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc.
Contact: Inquirer.Opinion@phillynews.com
Website: http://www.phillynews.com/
Forum: http://interactive.phillynews.com/talk-show/
Author: Mark Binker

PHILA. MAN GUILTY OF DEALING FROM CELL

Michael Diaz Set Up Cocaine Sales From Curran-Fromhold Prison.

A man who admitted he set up cocaine sales from behind bars in a
Philadelphia jail was sentenced yesterday to two to four years in
Bucks County Prison.

Michael Diaz, 37, of Grant Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia, pleaded
guilty to drug charges last month and admitted he used a cell phone to
arrange cocaine transactions -- including one in Bensalem -- while
he was an inmate in Curran-Fromhold Prison.

Bucks County Court Judge Isaac S. Garb authorized Diaz yesterday to
participate in a work-release program. Diaz was a carpenter before he
was sent to jail.

Diaz was in prison on rape and kidnapping charges -- that have since
been reduced to simple assault by a Philadelphia judge -- when he was
approached by a man whom Deputy District Attorney Ellis B. Klein
described as a "confidential informant." Klein declined to identify
the man.

Diaz told Garb yesterday that the man was a potential witness in his
assault trial who had called him in prison to say that he would appear
in court only if Diaz arranged for him to buy some cocaine. Diaz said
he asked fellow inmate Hector Castillo, 21, of North Philadelphia, for
help. Prosecutors said Castillo, in turn, arranged for William Pena,
31, of Northeast Philadelphia, to deliver cocaine to the informant,
once at strip mall near Bustleton Avenue in Bensalem and at a Bensalem
hotel.When Bensalem police arrested him, the man whom authorities
described as a confidential informant agreed to help police gather
evidence against the others.

Garb sentenced the other two men to prison in February -- Castillo
received four to eight years, Pena seven to 14 years.

Besides arranging the transactions, prosecutors said, Diaz also
destroyed evidence -- the cellular phone that had been smuggled into
the prison for Castillo and used to arrange the transactions.

Initially, Diaz's sentencing was delayed when he agreed to cooperate
with authorities and testify against Pena and Castillo. That became
unnecessary when the other two pleaded guilty.

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

Murder Suspect "Panicked" (UPI says the attorney for Roy Lee Carver, an
Okeechobee, Florida man charged with the 1998 murder of Christian Giotis,
a Clementsville cultivator, says Carver "panicked" when Glotis confronted him
in the course of a marijuana rip-off, and he shot Glotis six times.)

Date: Fri, 2 Apr 1999 15:09:27 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US FL: Wire: Murder Suspect ``Panicked''
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: General Pulaski
Pubdate: Wed, 31 Mar 1999
Source: United Press International
Copyright: 1999 United Press International

MURDER SUSPECT ``PANICKED''

STUART, Fla., March 31 (UPI) - An Okeechobee man charged with the
1998 murder of a Clementsville resident while trying to steal
marijuana ``panicked'' according to his lawyer.

Roy Lee Carver stumbled onto the remote home of Christian Giotis where
a high-quality marijuana-growing operation was centered.

Carver returned to the Giotis home to steal some marijuana when he was
confronted by Giotis.

Carver's attorney Cynthia Marvin told the jury Carver ``panicked''
during the confrontation and shot Giotis six times.

In convicted Carver faces life in prison.

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

The IOM report 'Marijuana and Medicine' on line (A list subscriber posts the
URL for an .html version of the Institute of Medicine report released March
17.)

Date: Wed, 31 Mar 1999 05:21:02 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: The IOM report 'Marijuana and Medicine' on line
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/

Newshawk: Richard Lake, Sr. Editor rlake@mapinc.org
Source: The Media Awareness Project of DrugSense
Pubdate: Wed, 31 Mar 1999

THE INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE REPORT 'MARIJUANA AND MEDICINE' ON LINE

Dear Readers,

Last night the first of several websites which will have the report in a
much more readable format than the image file on the 'official' website
came on line. It is at the Hemp in Japan website at:

http://www.taima.org/nas/marimed.htm

If others who are also making the report available will send me a note with
the link, I will provide a more complete list of sites in a few days.

Thanks to those who went thru the major effort of OCRing the report and
providing it to websites!

Richard Lake
Senior Editor
MAPnews, MAPnews-Digest and DrugNews-Digest
email: rlake@mapinc.org
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/ 20,309 articles online!
For subscription information see:
http://www.MAPinc.org/lists/
Quick sign up for DrugNews-Digest, Focus Alerts or Newsletter:
http://www.DrugSense.org/hurry.htm

***

Date: Wed, 31 Mar 1999 21:02:33 -0500
To: hemp-talk@hemp.net
From: Richard Lake (rlake@mapinc.org)
Subject: HT: WSJ Success! and IOM Report on line
Sender: owner-hemp-talk@hemp.net

Last night the first of several websites which will have the report in a
much more readable format than the image file on the 'official' website
came on line. It is at the Hemp in Japan website at:

http://www.taima.org/nas/marimed.htm

This was quickly followed by DrugSense which posted it at:

http://www.drugsense.org/iom_report/

Please drop me a note if you are aware of other webmasters who are making
this report available on their website so I may provide a more complete
list. Already I have seen links to the report at the above websites on
other websites. This is far from the first time that governments have
published reports about marijuana, but past reports have been largely
buried by prohibitionists. This time, with the availability of the 'net, it
will be a little harder to make the report go away!

***

Date: Wed, 31 Mar 1999 22:33:08 EST
Sender: friends@freecannabis.org
From: aahpat (aahpat@enter.net)
To: Multiple recipients of list (friends@freecannabis.org)
Subject: Re: WSJ Success! and IOM Report on line

http://prop1.org/thomas/iom_report/iomlv.htm

***

Date: Thu, 01 Apr 1999 16:33:44 -0600
To: hemp-talk@hemp.net
From: "Carl E. Olsen" (carl@commonlink.net)
Subject: Re: HT: WSJ Success! and IOM Report on line
Sender: owner-hemp-talk@hemp.net

I've posted copies of it on my web sites:

http://www.commonlink.com/~olsen/MEDICAL/IOM/
http://www.calyx.com/~olsen/MEDICAL/IOM/

Sincerely,
Carl Olsen

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

Amazon Tribal Leaders Challenge U.S. Patent (The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says
Amazon medicine men adorned in shell necklaces and exotic bird feathers
visited the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in suburban Washington Tuesday
in order to challenge the validity of a patent awarded a California
entrepreneur for the main ingredient of their healing potion - the
hallucinogenic plant ayahuasca. The 13-year-old patent has become an issue of
such magnitude that it has stirred physical threats, led to the cancellation
of U.S. aid to South American tribes and all but shut down "bioprospecting"
for valuable plants in Peru, Ecuador and the rest of the Amazon basin.)

Date: Sat, 3 Apr 1999 17:49:38 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: Amazon Tribal Leaders Challenge Us Patent
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: General Pulaski
Pubdate: Wed, 31 Mar 1999
Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO)
Copyright: 1999 Post Dispatch
Contact: letters@pd.stlnet.com
Website: http://www.stlnet.com/
Forum: http://www.stlnet.com/postnet/index.nsf/forums

AMAZON TRIBAL LEADERS CHALLENGE U.S. PATENT

They say America has no right to plant used in healing

In this land of tailored suits, the scene Tuesday was extraordinary:
Amazon medicine men adorned in shell necklaces and exotic bird
feathers chanting a religious ceremony and sipping potions.

The tribal leaders achieved the real purpose of their long journey
just before their depiction of a ceremony. They visited the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office in suburban Washington to challenge the
validity of a patent awarded a California entrepreneur for the main
ingredient of their healing potion - the hallucinogenic plant ayahuasca.

"Our ancestors learned the knowledge of this medicine and we are the
owners of this knowledge," said Antonio Jacanamijoy, who heads a
council representing more than 400 tribes and indigenous groups in
South America.

Ayahuasca (pronounced eye-yuh-WAHS-cuh) looks like any bushy tree
sprouting in the jungle. But to indigenous peoples in South America,
it is a sacred plant whose name translates to "vine of the soul." They
likened the patent in question to patenting the Christian cross.

The 13-year-old patent has become an issue of such magnitude that it
has stirred physical threats, led to the cancellation of U.S. aid to
South American tribes and all but shut down "bioprospecting" for
valuable plants in Peru, Ecuador and the rest of the Amazon basin.

The fallout has been felt in St. Louis. The Missouri Botanical Garden,
Monsanto Co. and Washington University all have found it more
difficult to arrange bioprospecting ventures to South America in
recent years to collect plants for new drugs and for traits that can
be genetically engineered into crops. Many of the world's best-
selling pharmaceuticals and most of its cancer drugs are from the
tropics.

Jim Miller, who directs the Missouri Botanical Garden's global
bioprospecting, said that many people in South America had wrongly
associated the ayahuasca controversy with legitimate plant collecting.
"It's sure got people fired up," he said. Miller, too, questioned
whether the patent is valid.

The events started unfolding in the mid-1980s when Loren Miller, then
a graduate student in pharmacology, brought home a variety of the
plant from Ecuador. Miller founded the International Plant Medicine
Corp. in California and applied for a U.S. patent, which was awarded
in 1986. He had no plans to sell it as a hallucinogenic drug; he says
he believed that the plant might contain properties that would be
effective in psychotherapy and possibly in treating cancer.

Not until 1994 did the tribes learn of the patent. They decided it
meant that Miller would control what had been part of their culture
for centuries. Word even went out that shamans wanting to use
ayahuasca would need his permission, which was untrue.

By 1996, feelings ran so hot that the council of tribes declared
Miller "an enemy of indigenous peoples." A statement by the group
warned that if Miller or his associates returned to the region, tribes
"will not be responsible for the consequences to their physical safety."

The matter would not die down and last year, because of the threat,
the U.S. government's Inter-American Foundation cut off aid to the
tribal council after giving it more than $500,000 in recent years.

Miller asserted Tuesday that he has been a victim of misdirected
anger. He said that he had not stolen the plant; it had been given to
him from the garden of a tribe that he wouldn't identify. He also said
that tests had found no valuable properties in the plant and that he
has no plan to use the patent.

"If they say the patent is no good, I don't care. This is so
ridiculous. ... I've never sold anything," he said.

Nonetheless, the tribal leaders say they have been violated. And they
worry, they said, that the plant could be misused and cause harm. They
likened it to coca, another South American cultural staple and the
plant from which cocaine is derived.

David Downes, a lawyer in Washington representing the group, contended
that Miller's patent is flawed and therefore should be revoked. The
patent was awarded after Miller reported finding a new variety with
flowers differently colored. William Anderson, a University of
Michigan botanist supporting the challenge, said he had concluded that
no new variety had been discovered.

Downes noted that several patents issued in the United States have
infuriated people around the world. For instance, patents were awarded
to companies on turmeric, a spice, and for basmati rice, both staples
in India.

"When people claim as private property something that is sacred
knowledge of thousands of people, we fear that patents have gone too
far into the public domain," Downes said.

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

Cop probe launched (The Calgary Sun says the Edmonton Police Commission wants
Alberta Justice to direct another police service to investigate allegations
of coverups and possible criminal activity made against the capital's police
service by one of its own. Yesterday, the commission held an emergency
closed-door meeting to discuss what to do about a formal complaint made
against Edmonton Chief John Lindsay by 24-year veteran Det. Kenneth
Montgomery.)

From: creator@islandnet.com (Matt Elrod)
To: mattalk@listserv.islandnet.com
Subject: Cop probe launched
Date: Wed, 31 Mar 1999 09:29:27 -0800
Lines: 100
Newshawk: creator@mapinc.org
Source: Calgary Sun (Canada)
Contact: callet@sunpub.com
Pubdate: Wednesday, March 31, 1999
Author: Linda Slobodian

Cop probe launched

By LINDA SLOBODIAN, Calgary Sun The Edmonton Police Commission wants
Alberta Justice to direct another police service to investigate
allegations of coverups and possible criminal activity made against
the capital's police service by one of its own.

Yesterday, the commission emerged from an emergency closed-door
meeting held to discuss what to do about a formal complaint made
against Edmonton Chief John Lindsay by 24-year veteran Det. Kenneth
Montgomery.

The letter dated March 9, 1999, detailed numerous serious
allegations, including internal coverup of criminal actions by police,
senior officers associating with convicted criminals and members of
outlaw motorcycle gangs, a confidential source's identify being
leaked, and an investigation being blown after a senior Edmonton
Police Association official allegedly warned subjects involved.

The commission's vote to call on Justice Minister Jon Havelock for
help was unanimous. And the right thing to do.

The commission explained why in its brief statement yesterday: "It is
not the police commission's role, at this time, to make findings of
fact, not findings of fault with respect to the allegations."

Initially, the commission set an April 21 date to deal with the
eight-page letter it received March 10 from Montgomery.

After some of the contents of the letter were published in this column
last Friday, the commission called an emergency meeting. Sad, isn't
it, that it takes media attention to create an urgency?

When I contacted commission chairman Bob Dean last week he said he had
the letter "somewhere," then called back to say the letter, which had
been in the commission's mitts 16 days, was just faxed to him. When
allegations are so serious, shouldn't the commission chairman know
about them pronto?

Montgomery, who has medals and commendations for exemplary service and
devotion to duty, was suspended for discreditable conduct with pay
since May 19, 1998.

Amazingly, he is still waiting for a hearing -- even though Edmonton
Coun. Allan Bolstad approached Dean last fall, wanting to know about
the delay.

In his letter to the commission, Montgomery said he has been targeted
be-cause of sensitive investigations he was involved in and his
refusal to "participate in an internal coverup."

Yesterday, he welcomed the commission's decision and stated he was
willing to fully co-operate in getting to the bottom of his
allegations.

So did Acting Chief Colin Vann, who in the absence of a vacationing
Chief Lindsay, issued a brief statement. He said EPS welcomes the
commission's decision, eagerly awaits the opportunity to participate
in the process and hopes allegations will be resolved.

Good! Everyone's in agreement. Getting to the truth will benefit the
public police are paid to protect. Hardworking EPS members are trying
to do just that.

Ironically, some police called to say thank you for writing about
Montgomery's allegations.

One of the questions that must be addressed is why a veteran cop felt
he had to take the drastic step of turning to the police commission.

Another question that begs an answer is what will happen with another
veteran detective's shocking claims.

On the heels of the revelation of Montgomery's letters came the
admission by EPS that they are investigating Det. Ron Robertson's
allegations that the Hells Angels may have infiltrated the service and
there are links between EPS members (sworn and civilian) and Hells
Angels and their associates.

Robertson raised concerns with his superiors last July. An EPS
spokesman said an investigative team started looking into them
"approximately" a month ago.

One of the reactions by EPS to Robertson's allegations was to move him
out of the unit which investigates bikers.

Robertson, whose policing record is praised by many other police, sent
a letter to his colleagues across Canada briefly outlining his
concerns.

So, what is it? Two veteran cops with big imaginations? Or serious
problems within EPS.

Time -- and proper investigations -- will tell.

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

Cannabis 'No Longer Rebellious' (According to the Independent, in Britain,
Keith Hellawell, the British drugs tsar, admitted yesterday that the use of
cannabis is so commonplace among British schoolchildren that smoking it is
no longer regarded as an act of rebellion.)

Date: Thu, 1 Apr 1999 11:30:15 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: UK: Cannabis 'No Longer Rebellious'
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Martin Cooke (mjc1947@cyberclub.iol.ie)
Pubdate: Wed, 31 Mar 1999
Source: Independent, The (UK)
Copyright: Independent Newspapers (UK) Ltd.
Contact: letters@independent.co.uk
Website: http://www.independent.co.uk/
Author: Ian Burrell, Home Affairs Correspondent

CANNABIS 'NO LONGER REBELLIOUS'

The use of cannabis is so commonplace among British schoolchildren that it
is no longer regarded as an act of rebellion, the drugs tsar Keith Hellawell
admitted yesterday.

Addressing the Home Affairs Select Committee, Mr Hellawell said many
children did not even associate smoking cannabis with drug-taking.

"It's almost as if it has become marginalised," he said. "Everybody does it.
You are not actually beating the system and being a rebel or radical if you
are taking the substance."

In a frank exchange with MPs, Mr Hellawell, the UK's anti-drugs
co-ordinator, admitted that the Government's strategy for fighting drugs was
unlikely to show any signs of success within three years.

He said no community was safe from the growing problem of heroin use and
some youngsters were taking it as their first illegal drug. Although many
new heroin users have been introduced to the smokable form of the drug, some
young users were now choosing to inject heroin to satisfy their increasing
craving, Mr Hellawell said.

The drug tsar promised MPs that more of the UKP1.4bn spent annually on
fighting drugs would be allocated to education, which receives only 3 per
cent of the budget.

Mr Hellawell said ground had been lost by the reluctance of schools to take
on board anti-drug messages. He said: "Up to four or five years ago it was
taboo in schools to talk about drugs. It was outlawed by parents who said,
'If they are talking about drugs in school, it's a druggy school and I will
take my kids away'."

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

Anti-Drugs Chief Backs 'Medicinal' Cannabis (The Times, in London, says Keith
Hellawell, the Government's chief anti-drugs campaigner, endorsed the medical
use of cannabis yesterday, saying doctors should be allowed to prescribe the
class B drug to ease pain and suffering. "There appear to be many qualities
within the herb that are likely to have an impact on different suffering," he
told the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee.)

Date: Thu, 1 Apr 1999 11:30:14 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: UK: Anti-Drugs Chief Backs 'Medicinal' Cannabis
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Martin Cooke (mjc1947@cyberclub.iol.ie)
Pubdate: Wed, 31 March 1999
Source: Times, The (UK)
Copyright: 1999 Times Newspapers Ltd
Contact: letters@the-times.co.uk
Website: http://www.the-times.co.uk/
Author: Richard Ford, Home Correspondent

ANTI-DRUGS CHIEF BACKS 'MEDICINAL' CANNABIS

The medical use of cannabis won the backing of the Government's chief
anti-drugs campaigner yesterday. Keith Hellawell, a former chief constable,
said doctors should be allowed to prescribe the class B drug to ease pain
and suffering, provided the beneficial effects were proven by research.

"There appear to be many qualities within the herb that are likely to have
an impact on different suffering," he told the Commons Home Affairs Select
Committee.

Mr Hellawell, UK Anti-Drugs Co-ordinator, recently visited a farm where
cannabis is being grown for medical research under a special licence issued
by the Home Office. Five thousand plants have been sown in a secure
glasshouse in southern England.

The Government allowed the trial because of increasing evidence that
cannabis could be useful as a painkiller and in treating illnesses such as
multiple sclerosis and epilepsy.

Mr Hellawell also told MPs that the popularity of cannabis was declining
among 15 to 25-year-olds because of its widespread use, and that smoking
heroin was frequently the first choice of drug.

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

[End]