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

A Grass-Roots Effort To Legalize Hemp (The Santa Barbara News-Press,
in California, spreads the news about industrial hemp as related by Al
Espino, the owner of Hempwise, an Isla Vista store that sells hemp clothing.
The article also publicizes the hemp bash today in Anisq' Oyo' Park in the
heart of Isla Vista. According to a report in the Washington Post, worldwide
sales have gone from $5 million in 1993 to $75 million in 1995.)

Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 00:10:58 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US CA: A Grass-Roots Effort To Legalize Hemp
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Jo-D Harrison Dunbar
Pubdate: Tue, 20 Apr 1999
Source: Santa Barbara News-Press (CA)
Copyright: 1999 Santa Barbara News-Press
Contact: jlankford@newspress..com
Website: http://www.newspress.com/
Author: Barry Bortnick, News-Press Staff Writer

A GRASS-ROOTS EFFORT TO LEGALIZE HEMP

Al Espino sees a day when marijuana plants will cover the rolling hills of
Santa Barbara County.

But don't hit the panic button and call the police just yet, because
Espino's daydream involves the plant people wear, not the stuff that goes up
in smoke.

Espino, owner of Hempwise, an Isla Vista clothing store that specializes in
products made from the nontoxic form of cannabis sativa, is a man on a
mission, spreading the word about hemp's good qualities and advocating its
legalization for agriculture use.

Though hemp is legally grown throughout the world, it can't be cultivated in
the United States. The weed was outlawed in the late 1930s. Today, hemp is
classified as a "schedule I controlled substance."

The government of Canada allowed farmers to begin growing thousands of acres
of hemp about a year ago. Canadian farmers ship the raw fiber to the United
States where it is fashioned into a wide range of products.

Espino's little shop on Trigo Road offers everything from shirts to
skateboards, and tennis shoes to backpacks. Again, everything is made from hemp.

"Anything we make from trees can be made with hemp," Espino said as he led
visitors around his store. "But hemp is cheaper and better."

Those interested in learning more about the weed's history and many uses can
attend a hemp bash today in Anisq' Oyo' Park in the heart of Isla Vista. The
party goes from 2 to 9 p.m.

"It's going to be a nice day in the park," said Espino, who is a walking
encyclopedia of hemp lore. "There's gonna be a pot luck meal. There will be
speakers and bands."

The local festival coincides with similar gatherings in other states as
advocates begin a push to separate the image of hemp from its narcotic
cousin, marijuana.

Although some might confuse the two plants, Espino and those well-versed on
the issue know that hemp can't get you high. The benign plant contains only
a fraction of tetrahydrocannabinol -- the ingredient that gets people high,
commonly called THC.

"People come in and ask if they can smoke hats made of hemp," Espino said.
"You'd have to smoke between five to 10 plants to get a headache."

Hemp did not always have a bad reputation. In fact, it may be the oldest
crop known to man, according to Espino, as well as various pro-hemp Web
sites and several books on the subject.

The Chinese invented fish nets with hemp in 4500 BC. Hemp was the top crop
in Asia, Europe and the Americas from 1500 to 1800. Sails were made from
hemp, so were books, maps and lamp oil. Cannabis was once the most popular
plant in colonial America. Thomas Jefferson risked life and limb to smuggle
hemp seeds out of China. George Washington cultivated the crop. A draft of
the Declaration of Independence was written on paper made from hemp,
according to various sources.

Impressive stuff, yet there are those within the United States government
who fear the product.

According to a report in The New York Times, the White House's Office of
National Drug Control Policy has opposed legalizing hemp because it believes
such a move would send the wrong message about drugs to American youth.

Officials with the Drug Enforcement Agency have raised worries as well,
saying farmers might take advantage of any change in the law and grow
illegal marijuana amid their hemp fields.

Hemp advocates scoff at such notions, pointing out that hemp does not look
like marijuana and can be easily detected from the air by law enforcement
surveillance planes or helicopters.

Despite the DEA alert, hemp is gaining political might. Farmers in North
Dakota have pushed for cultivation rights. Similar efforts have taken place
in the state houses of Hawaii, Minnesota, Montana, Vermont and Virginia.

Just last month, the California Democratic Party endorsed the use of
industrial hemp following a vote at its annual state convention in
Sacramento. While that may sound impressive, a spokesman for the party said
the hemp measure was one of many items nonchalantly approved at the
convention's conclusion.

"We passed several dozen resolutions and I am not even sure most delegates
could remember all the resolutions," said Bob Mulholland, a campaign adviser
to the Democratic Party of California. "The American Farm Bureau Federation
feels strong about it (hemp), but I am not sure the delegates paid much
attention."

The Farm Bureau has 4.5 million members and is well aware that hemp sales
have grown over the past several years. According to a report in the
Washington Post, worldwide sales have gone from $5 million in 1993 to $75
million in 1995.

The future of hemp seems green indeed, which is why advocates like Espino
consider the crop a glorious plant wrongly punished.

"People have talked about this issue for 10 years," Espino said. "It has
taken a long time to get into the mainstream because people are afraid to
talk about cannabis. People used to joke about it all the time, but finally
we are getting serious about the plant."

William Stern, a professor of botany with the University of Florida in
Gainesville, confirmed hemp's helpful qualities. He said early American
settlers made homespun cloth from the plant, which is much stronger than cotton.

"Hemp has been cultivated for a long time," Stern said.

While advocates do their part to put a happy face on hemp, it is hard to
discuss the product without linking it to Cheech and Chong movies or Deadheads.

People are afraid to mention smoking, but I have found that most people who
want to legalize hemp are also open to the idea of pot smoking, Espino said.

While the vast majority of products sold at Hempwise are garments, Espino's
store does pay small homage to pot. There are humorous bumper stickers in
the shop that show President Clinton toking a joint. There are also other
far-out odds and ends one might expect to find in a store near the UCSB campus.

For now, the hemp beat goes on. It is summarized perfectly in a clever
bumper sticker that states: "God made grass. Man made booze. Who do you trust?"

F.Y.I.

What: Hemp Expo in the Park
Where: Anisq' Oyo' Park in Isla Vista
When: 2 to 9 p.m.

Fun facts about hemp, according to the Hemp Industries Association of
Occidental, Calif., Website at http://thehia.org

Hemp is among the oldest crops, dating back 10,000 years.

George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew hemp.

Hemp seeds are more nutritious than soybeans.

Hemp grows well without the need for herbicides.

Hemp produces more pulp per acre than timber.

China is the largest exporter of hemp paper and textiles.

Romania is the largest commercial producer of hemp in Europe.

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Mass E-Mail Protest Targets Rule Requiring Reports (The Salt Lake Tribune
says civil libertarians and other groups are flush with their success in
forcing regulators to drop the proposed "Know Your Customer" rules on
tracking bank customers' habits, and are organizing a campaign to end
reporting requirements for cash transactions. Legislation proposed by Rep.
Ron Paul, R-Texas, would repeal the Bank Secrecy Act, which requires banks to
report customers' cash transactions of $10,000 or more, as well as
"suspicious activities" to law-enforcement authorities.)

Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 09:17:11 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US: Mass E-Mail Protest Targets Rule Requiring Reports
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: General Pulaski
Pubdate: Tue, 20 Apr 1999
Source: Salt Lake Tribune (UT)
Copyright: 1999, The Salt Lake Tribune
Contact: letters@sltrib.com
Website: http://utahonline.sltrib.com/
Forum: http://utahonline.sltrib.com/tribtalk/

MASS E-MAIL PROTEST TARGETS RULE REQUIRING REPORTS ON CASH DEALS

WASHINGTON -- Flush with their success in forcing regulators to drop
proposed rules on tracking bank customers' habits, civil libertarians and
other groups are organizing a big e-mail campaign to end reporting
requirements for cash transactions.

Law-enforcement authorities, in response, are warning against any weakening
of the Bank Secrecy Act.

Officials of the Justice and Treasury departments and the U.S. Customs
Service are expected to tell Congress today that the 1974 law is an
essential tool for detecting and prosecuting money launderers and drug
traffickers. They are scheduled to testify at a hearing of the House
Banking subcommittees on oversight and financial institutions.

For example, the Customs Service says it used about 80 suspicious activity
reports filed by banks under the law to identify bank accounts of money
launderers targeted in Operation Casablanca. That enabled Customs agents to
locate suspects' assets that were seized and forfeited in the 1998
operation, which was the biggest drug money-laundering case in U.S. history.

Far-reaching legislation pushed by Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, would repeal the
Bank Secrecy Act, which requires banks to report customers' cash
transactions of $10,000 or more, as well as suspicious activities, to
law-enforcement authorities.

The law is designed to combat money-laundering techniques used by drug
traffickers and other criminals to hide illegal profits.

But Paul maintains it violates the Fourth Amendment prohibition against
unreasonable search and seizure and that at any rate, it has failed to help
catch drug dealers, who he says "are smarter than most bankers."

The Libertarian Party, the American Civil Liberties Union, privacy advocacy
associations and other groups are mobilizing to generate support for Paul's
bill.

"We will try to inundate Congress with another torrent of e-mails,"
Libertarian Party spokesman George Getz said Monday.

Getz was referring to the earlier blitz of some 225,000 e-mail messages and
letters, nearly all in opposition, received by the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corp. on proposed anti-money laundering rules that would have tracked the
transaction patterns of bank customers.

Bowing to the public outcry over privacy, the FDIC and three other federal
banking agencies scrapped the proposal last month.

This time, Getz said, the Libertarians want people to contact their member
of Congress, since the Bank Secrecy Act already is law and there is no
request for public comment from the banking regulators.

"We've got a bigger gun this time," he said, explaining that the group can
draw on the people who earlier protested the so-called "Know Your Customer"
rules.

Gregory Nojeim, legislative counsel for the ACLU, said the group recently
started a "Know Your Banker" campaign on its Web site to help consumers
understand banks' current monitoring practices and encourage competition
among banks based on their privacy policies.

Legislative prospects for Paul's bill appear dim, as they do for a companion
measure he proposed that would let people see the files on them created by
the federal Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

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

Norwalk Drug-Ed Officer Charged (The Des Moines Register says Thomas Nolan, a
police sergeant and DARE officer in Norwalk, Iowa, was charged with
possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia after the Marion-Warren County
drug task force searched his home Sunday. Sgt. Dave Murillo of the Des Moines
Police Department, who lives in Norwalk, said he learned from one Norwalk
officer that "narcotics" evidence had been disappearing from the Norwalk
department.)

Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 15:08:32 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US IA: Norwalk Drug-Ed Officer Charged
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Carl Olsen
Pubdate: Tue, 20 Apr 1999
Source: Des Moines Register (IA)
Copyright: 1999, The Des Moines Register.
Contact: letters@news.dmreg.com
Website: http://www.dmregister.com/
Author: Amanda Pierre

NORWALK DRUG-ED OFFICER CHARGED

Norwalk, Ia. - Thomas Nolan, a Norwalk police sergeant and
drug-education officer, was charged with possession of marijuana and
drug paraphernalia after the Marion-Warren County drug task force
searched his home Sunday, Warren County sheriff's officials reported.

Nolan, 44, of 9129 Oakwood Drive, was released from the Warren County
Jail after posting bond of $2,925. He could not be reached for comment.

Mayor Jerry Starkweather said Nolan had been suspended from his job
without pay. Starkweather would not comment on whether Nolan would
return to the force.

City Attorney Jim Dougherty said some Norwalk police officers brought
suspicions about activities involving drugs and the Norwalk police to
the attention of city officials two weeks ago. The city asked Warren
County officials to investigate the matter.

Sgt. Dave Murillo of the Des Moines Police Department, who lives in
Norwalk, said he learned from one Norwalk officer that narcotics
evidence had been disappearing from the Norwalk department.

Warren County sheriff's officials would give no other details about
the case, referring all questions to Dougherty.

Nolan, a member of the Norwalk Police Department for 12 years, served
as the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) officer at Lakewood
Elementary School for more than five years, according to Tom Fish,
school district superintendent. Nolan conducted classes on the risks
of drug abuse.

Fish said he was surprised to hear of the allegations against Nolan
and suspected that Nolan's students would find it hard to see the
situation unfold. "I guess they can also see that there are
consequences," Fish said.

Warren County Deputy Randy Spurr will be Lakewood's DARE officer for
the remaining weeks of the program.

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

Veteran State Police Officer Pleads Guilty To Corruption Charges (UPI says
Richard Corey Jr., of East Falmouth, a veteran Massachusetts state police
officer, pleaded guilty today to charges of taking payoffs from a cocaine
dealer in exchange for feeding him confidential information about police
undercover agents and informants.)

Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 19:40:58 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US MA: WIRE: Veteran State Police Officer Pleads Guilty To
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: General Pulaski
Pubdate: Tue, 20 Apr 1999
Source: United Press International
Copyright: 1999 United Press International

VETERAN STATE POLICE OFFICER PLEADS GUILTY TO CORRUPTION CHARGES

A veteran state police officer pleaded guilty today to federal
corruption charges. Richard Corey Jr., 41, of East Falmouth, was
charged with taking payoffs from a cocaine dealer in exchange for
feeding him confidential information about police undercover agents
and informants.

Corey could get up to five years in prison when he's sentenced in
June.

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

Massachusetts State Police Sergeant Pleads Guilty (A lengthier version on PR
Newswire)

Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 19:41:02 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US MA: WIRE: Massachusetts State Police Sergeant Pleads Guilty
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: General Pulaski
Pubdate: Tue, 20 Apr 1999
Source: PR Newswire
Copyright: 1999 PR Newswire

MASSACHUSETTS STATE POLICE SERGEANT PLEADS GUILTY TO CORRUPTION CHARGE

Reports U.S. Attorney

BOSTON, April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- An eighteen year veteran and Sergeant
with the Massachusetts State Police, pled guilty today to a corruption
charge.

United States Attorney Donald K. Stern; L. Wayne Nicks, Acting Special
Agent in Charge of the Boston Field Office of the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration; Colonel Reed V. Hillman, Superintendent
of the Massachusetts State Police; Philip A. Rollins, District
Attorney for Barnstable County; Frederick Aufiero, Chief of the U.S.
Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation Division; and
Steven J. Pirotte, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, announced that RICHARD COREY, JR., age
41, of 88 Fresh Pond Road, in East Falmouth, Massachusetts, pled
guilty today before Chief U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young
to a one count superseding Information charging him with corruption
from 1994 through 1998.

The Information charged COREY with depriving the taxpayers of
Massachusetts and the Massachusetts State Police, of his honest
services over the four year period by accepting cash payments from
Edwin Jones, a/k/a Fast Eddy, a cocaine dealer operating on Cape Cod,
in exchange for providing Jones with confidential and investigative
law enforcement information and other assistance.

U.S. Attorney Stern stated: "Richard Corey was getting paid for
feeding sensitive law enforcement information to a drug dealer. He
will go to federal prison for his crime. But nothing will ever erase
the dishonor he brought to his badge."

At the change of plea hearing today, the government stated that the
information and assistance that COREY provided to Jones included, but
was not limited to, the following:

-- COREY disclosed and/or confirmed to Jones the identity of
an undercover officer who was negotiating an undercover drug buy from one
of Jones' associates.

-- COREY disclosed to Jones the identity of an individual who
was providing information about Jones' illegal activities to law
enforcement officers.

-- COREY disclosed to Jones that a witness, identified by
name, had come into the Massachusetts State Police barracks in Yarmouth,
Massachusetts to report that Jones had threatened that witness and
that Jones was engaged in illegal narcotics activity.

-- COREY informed Jones that a license plate provided by
Jones belonged to an undercover surveillance vehicle. Jones told COREY that
he wanted the license plate information because he believed that the
car bearing that license plate surveilled him after he left the
COREY's residence.

-- throughout the period in which COREY devised and executed
this scheme to defraud, he passed on to Jones discussions that he heard
about Jones and investigative information he had pertaining to Jones
or Jones' associates. For example, when Jones bailed an associate of
his out of jail, he asked COREY to listen for any talk concerning
Jones at the State Police barracks. Shortly thereafter, the defendant
warned Jones that people at the barracks had, in fact, been talking
about Jones having bailed his associate out and COREY told Jones that
the State Police were unhappy with Jones for doing so.

-- throughout this period, Jones also sought information
from COREY about State Police speed traps and surveillance positions and
COREY provided Jones with such information.

-- from in or about 1994 through May 29, 1998, Jones provided
the defendant with cash payments in exchange for the defendant's
disclosure of confidential and investigative law Enforcement
information and other assistance that the defendant provided to Jones.

Chief Judge Young scheduled sentencing for June 29, 1999 at 2 p.m.

COREY faces a maximum sentence of five years' imprisonment and a $250, 000
fine.

This case was investigated by the Massachusetts State Police and the
Barnstable District Attorney's office, with the assistance of the U.S.
Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Internal Revenue Service, and
U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. The case is being
prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily R. Schulman of Stern's
Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, and Alex Whiting of
Stern's Public Corruption and Special Prosecutions Unit.

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

Useful excerpts from the IOM medicinal marijuana report (The Marijuana Policy
Project, in Washington, D.C., publicizes its new online guide, "Questions
about medicinal marijuana answered by the Institute of Medicine's report."
Despite a statement at the IOM's March 17 news conference by Principal
Investigator Dr. John Benson that "we concluded that there are limited
circumstances in which we recommend smoking marijuana for medical uses," and
a Gallup poll conducted March 19-21 that showed 73 percent of Americans
support "making marijuana legally available for doctors to prescribe in order
to reduce pain and suffering," the latest issue of Psychiatric News says the
Drug Czar's office still endorses arresting medical marijuana users. Chuck
Thomas of the MPP said that at first, the drug warriors pretended to like the
IOM report, but for the past month they've been ignoring it and outright
maligning it.)

Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 15:10:22 -0400
From: Marijuana Policy Project (MPP@MPP.ORG)
Organization: Marijuana Policy Project
Sender: owner-mppupdates@igc.apc.org
Subject: useful excerpts from IOM medicinal marijuana report
To: MPPupdates@igc.org

Special thanks to everyone who responded to MPP's request for donations
to help us continue making the most of the Institute of Medicine's
(IOM's) landmark report on medicinal marijuana.

More than a month after its March 17 release, the IOM report is still
making news. And according to a Gallup poll conducted March 19-21, 73%
of Americans support "making marijuana legally available for doctors
to prescribe in order to reduce pain and suffering." Yet, according to
the latest issue of _Psychiatric News_, the Drug Czar's office still
endorses arresting medicinal marijuana users. (Please see MPP news
release below.)

MPP has just published "Questions about medicinal marijuana answered by
the Institute of Medicine's report" -- which is available on-line at
http://www.mpp.org/science.html. This document, a compilation of the
best excerpts from the IOM report, reaffirms that the science is on our
side. Consequently, the IOM report will be a useful tool that we can all
use to change the laws.

Please read the aforementioned document and let your three members of
Congress know the truth. In particular, please ask your U.S.
representative to co-sponsor U.S. Rep. Barney Frank's (D-Mass.) new
bill, H.R. 912, which would allow states to determine their own
medicinal marijuana laws without federal interference. (Please see
http://www.mpp.org/912alert.html for specifics.)

Finally, please read the following news release to see the kind of
cruelty and dishonesty that we are fighting against. Thank you.

***

This news release appears on the Web at http://www.mpp.org/nr042099.html

***

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE APRIL 20, 1999

NATIONAL DRUG WAR LEADERS DISREGARD SCIENCE
IN MEDICINAL MARIJUANA DEBATE

One Month After Institute of Medicine Endorsed
Legal Access to Medicinal Marijuana, Drug Czar's Office
Reaffirms Policy of Arresting Patients

WASHINGTON, DC -- The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy
(ONDCP) endorses the continuing arrest of medicinal marijuana users,
according to the April 16 issue of _Psychiatric News_, the newspaper of
the American Psychiatric Association (APA).

A full month has passed since the National Academy of Sciences'
Institute of Medicine (IOM) released its landmark report -- yet national
drug war leaders maintain their hard-line stance against medicinal
marijuana users. ONDCP Deputy Director Donald Vereen told _Psychiatric
News_, "It doesn't matter what the excuse is," and, drawing an analogy
to "using cocaine to treat depression," he said that "you are going to
get arrested just as fast."

"The prestigious Institute of Medicine recognized marijuana's
medical value and endorsed giving seriously ill people legal access
to the plant," said Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) co-director
Chuck Thomas.

Indeed, at IOM's March 17 news conference, IOM Principal
Investigator Dr. John Benson said, "[W]e concluded that there are
limited circumstances in which we recommend smoking marijuana for
medical uses."

"The nation's drug warriors first pretended to like the report, but
for the past month they've been ignoring it and outright maligning it,"
said Thomas. "Medicinal marijuana users remain criminals, and there is
no change to these laws in sight."

In addition, a new Gallup poll, conducted after the IOM report was
released (from March 19-21), found that 73% of the American people
support "making marijuana legally available for doctors to prescribe in
order to reduce pain and suffering."

"Drug Czar McCaffrey and his ilk are completely out of touch with
the American people, as well as the science," said MPP's Chuck Thomas.

Below is a sampling of some opinions recently expressed by national
drug war leaders. (Note: When statements from the IOM report follow the
drug warriors' opinions, the page numbers refer to the "pre-publication
copy" of the IOM report, released on 3/17/99.)

* "[IOM's report] is little more than a `thinly veiled effort' to
promote legalization of the drug, [U.S.] Rep. Bob Barr (R-Ga.)
said," according to an Associated Press article that appeared in
the _Atlanta Journal_ on March 19. "Barr argued that the panel
was heavily influenced by the Marijuana Policy Project, which
advocates legalization of marijuana for medical uses."

* According to a March 22 _USA Today_ article, U.S. Rep. John Mica
(R-Florida) "announced plans to hold hearings in late April on
drug legalization and medical marijuana and called the Institute
of Medicine report `the biggest waste of money in the entire war
on drugs'." (MPP hopes to have the opportunity to testify in
defense of the science supporting medicinal marijuana.)

* According to a March 18 UPI article, "[U.S. Rep. Bill] McCollum
[R-Florida] says the report may encourage people to smoke pot."
(In actuality, the IOM report said, "The existing data are
consistent with the idea that this would not be a problem if the
medical use of marijuana were as closely regulated as other
medications with abuse potential" [page ES.7].)

* "Officials with the [U.S.] Department of Health and Human
Services almost immediately responded by saying they would not
dispense marijuana to individual patients until more clinical
research showed it was safe," according to a Knight Ridder
article that ran in the _Nashville Tennessean_ on March 21
(despite the fact that the IOM report said that "although a drug
is normally approved for medical use only on proof of its `safety
and efficacy,' patients with life-threatening conditions are
sometimes [under protocols for `compassionate use'] allowed
access to unapproved drugs whose benefits and risks are
uncertain" [page 1.3]).

* According to the _Washington Post_ "For the Record" feature on
March 19, Attorney General Janet Reno was grilled at a March 18
news conference with the question, "In light of the government-
ordered study that was released yesterday on the medical uses of
marijuana, should federal law, which criminalizes medical use of
marijuana, be amended?" Though she was asked essentially the same
thing three different times, Reno never gave a straight answer as
to whether or not patients should be arrested. After skirting the
question three times, she said, "And I think it is an important
report for us to focus on and to figure what is the next step,
what's the appropriate step." (Now that a month has passed, MPP
believes it is time for the Attorney General to answer the
question and say what the next step is -- continuing to
criminalize patients or not?)

* Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) President Joseph
Califano's op-ed published in the _Wall Street Journal_ on
March 26, criticized "the press's sloppy summaries of it" and the
report itself, saying that IOM "fails to discuss mounting
statistical and scientific evidence that children who smoke pot
are much likelier than those who don't to use drugs like cocaine,
heroin and LSD." (In actuality, the IOM report considered all
worthwhile data -- apparently rejecting bogus research like
CASA's -- and concluded that marijuana "does not appear to be a
gateway drug to the extent that it is the most significant
predictor or even the cause of heavy drug abuse," noting that, in
the rare instances that marijuana users are exposed to other
drugs and give them a try, "[I]t is the legal status of marijuana
that makes it a gateway drug" [pages 3.24 and 3.22,
respectively].)

* "The push for `medical marijuana' laws is not about relieving
suffering. It's about decriminalizing pot and, ultimately, other
illicit drugs. And those driving the issue are recreational-
marijuana smokers. The latest weapon in their arsenal is a report
from the Institute of Medicine," wrote Family Research Council's
Robert Maginnis in a _USA Today_ "Opposing View" column on
April 12. "Legalizing smoked marijuana for medicinal purposes ...
could boost the use of pot by teenagers," he said (despite the
fact that the IOM report concluded that "there are no convincing
data to support this concern" [page ES.7]).

* A March 18 article in the _Boston Globe_ quotes Partnership for a
Drug-Free America Executive Vice President Steve Dnistrian saying
that "the report's findings could send the wrong message about
marijuana to children" (despite the fact that the IOM report said
that "there is no evidence that the medical marijuana debate has
altered perceptions among adolescents about the risks of
marijuana use" [page 3.28]).

* Continuing to promote the same unfounded assertion, Phoenix House
President Mitchell Rosenthal implied that IOM's recommendations
are "going to make marijuana use by adolescents a more likely
event," in a March 19 _New York Times_ article.

* Long-time, international anti-marijuana activist Gabriel Nahas,
M.D., issued a news release on March 25 criticizing the IOM
report for numerous "serious omissions." Nahas then argued that
"the IOM principal investigators were very attentive to the
opinions of a Mr. Chuck Thomas who heads the Marijuana Policy
Project," and he even accused MPP of using "Nazi" rhetoric.

MPP cites the aforementioned comments as evidence that the federal
government has no intention of changing its medicinal marijuana laws in
accordance with IOM's recommendations.

Despite ONDCP Director Barry McCaffrey's claim that he was
"delighted" with the report (in his March 17 news release and countless
media interviews), his deputy director is now asserting that patients
should be arrested. In fact, McCaffrey even told California Attorney
General Bill Lockyer that he "would be violating federal law and risking
arrest" if he provided confiscated marijuana to scientists in California
who want to conduct medicinal marijuana research, according to an
April 2 editorial in the _Orange County Register_.

"McCaffrey is obviously set on maintaining criminal penalties for
medicinal marijuana-using patients," said MPP's Chuck Thomas. "As the
months tick away, it will become more and more obvious that we need to
continue changing state laws until the federal government has no choice
but to change its inhumane medicinal marijuana laws."

"My personal case history was featured in the IOM report, and IOM
said that AIDS patients like me should have legal access to marijuana,"
said Greg Scott, an MPP member residing in Florida. "McCaffrey's office
has refused to budge. So I continue to live in fear of being arrested."

***

MPP's challenge: If asked "Should patients who use medicinal
marijuana be arrested, 'yes' or 'no'?", none of the
aforementioned drug warriors will go on record saying, "Yes,
they should," or "No, they should not," -- because their true
answer is obviously "yes," which they don't want to admit.
That is why it is remarkable that ONDCP Deputy Director
Donald Vereen actually went so far as to say that he supports
the existing policy of arresting patients.

***

For relevant excerpts from the IOM report, please see
http://www.mpp.org/science.html.

				- END -

***

HOW TO SUPPORT THE MARIJUANA POLICY PROJECT:

To support MPP's work and receive the quarterly newsletter,
"Marijuana Policy Report," please send $25.00 annual
membership dues to:

Marijuana Policy Project (MPP)
P.O. Box 77492
Capitol Hill
Washington, D.C. 20013

http://www.mpp.org/membrshp.html
202-232-0442 FAX

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Pot Advocate Called Refugee From U.S. 'War' (The Vancouver Province, in
British Columbia, says a legal battle began yesterday in the B.C. Supreme
Court to keep Renee Boje, a 29-year-old California woman, from being deported
to the U.S. to face marijuana-related charges in connection with the 1997 Bel
Air bust of Todd McCormick.)

Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 08:57:21 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: Canada: Pot Advocate Called Refugee From US 'War'
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Chris Clay (chris@thecompassionclub.org)
Pubdate: Tues, 20 April 1999
Source: Vancouver Province (Canada)
Copyright: The Province, Vancouver 1999
Contact: provletters@pacpress.southam.ca
Website: http://www.vancouverprovince.com/
Author: Jack Keating, Staff Reporter
Note: Renee Boje's website is http://www.thecompassionclub.org/renee/

POT ADVOCATE CALLED REFUGEE FROM U.S. 'WAR'

The fight to keep a 29-year-old California woman from being deported to the
U.S. to face marijuana-related charges began yesterday in B.C. Supreme Court
in Vancouver.

"She's a refugee from the American war on drugs," lawyer John Conroy said of
Renee Boje's bid to stay in Canada.

Boje, an advocate of medicinal marijuana, was caught up in a high-profile
case in Los Angeles in 1997 when Todd McCormick, also a medicinal-marijuana
advocate, was caught growing pot at a Bel Air mansion. He said he grew it to
relieve the pain of cancer.

The use of marijuana for medical purposes became legal in California in
1996, but federal authorities are fighting the law.

The U.S. government's formal request for extradition to California, where
Boje would face a minimum 10 years in jail if convicted, was made yesterday
before Associate Chief Justice Patrick Dohm.

Dohm adjourned the case to May 5 to set a date for the extradition hearing,
which is being fought on grounds that Boje would face cruel and unusual
punishment in California.

Conroy said similar charges here would result in a fine and/or a minimal
jail sentence. He also pointed to two recent reports by the United Nations
and Amnesty International that condemn "the systematic abuse of female
prisoners" in the U.S.

Boje said she was held for 72 hours at the Federal Corrections Facility for
Women in downtown Los Angeles, where she was strip-searched 15 times. Two of
the searches were done in the presence of male officers, who made lewd and
threatening remarks, she said.

Boje, who is free on $5,000 bond, said: "I am hoping that Canada will
provide me a safe haven, as it did for the conscientious objectors to the
Vietnam War."

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

Western Canadian Hemp Acres Could Be High As A Kite (Resource News says good
yields from the first Canadian hemp crop and depressed prices for traditional
crops like canola and wheat will fuel dramatic growth in hemp production this
summer on the Western Canadian prairies. Bruce Brolley, a new crops
specialist with the Manitoba provincial agriculture department, says he's
estimating about 15,000 acres will be planted in the province this spring, up
from approximately 1,300 acres last summer.)

Date: Thu, 22 Apr 1999 21:38:21 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: Canada: Western Canadian Hemp Acres Could Be High As A Kite
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: General Pulaski
Pubdate: Tue, 20 Apr 1999
Source: Resource News
Copyright: Resource News
Author: Gord Gilmour

WESTERN CANADIAN HEMP ACRES COULD BE HIGH AS A KITE

Winnipeg--Apr 20--(RESNEWS)--Good returns to pioneer hemp producers
and depressed prices for traditional crops like canola and wheat are
fuelling dramatic growth in that crop's production on the Western
Canadian prairies according to industry watchers.

Bruce Brolley, a new crops specialist with the Manitoba provincial
agriculture department, says he's estimating about 15,000 acres will
be planted in the province this spring - only the second year
producers can legally plant the crop.

That's up from approximately 1,300 acres last summer.

The explosive growth concerns Brolley, who says it's important that
any production jump be offset with market development.

"There's an old saying that nothing fixes high prices like high prices
- people see a strong market and they jump in to service it," Brolley
said. "We want to make sure we're developing a sustainable industry
and if we grow slowly we've got a better chance than by jumping from
1,300 to 15,000 acres in one year."

Brolley also expressed concern that markets that have been touted for
the crop may fail to materialize.

"I'm not sure these potential markets will turn into actual [ones],"
he said.

Part of the Manitoba growth in hemp is fuelled by a recent
announcement by Consolidated Growers and Processors (CGP), a company
contracting hemp acreage with producers, that they would be building
a hemp processing facility near the city of Dauphin in northwestern
Manitoba.

Doug Campbell, president of CGP, says the company will be increasing
it's contracted acreage substantially in the three prairie provinces
this spring.

"We had about 600 acres (under contract) last year," he said. "We're
going to have over 18,000 acres this year. That works out to a
300-fold increase."

Campbell says about 80% of those acres have been contracted in
Manitoba, with the remainder in the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Of the Manitoba acreage Campbell says the lion's share will be within
100 kilometers (60 miles) of the plant site.

With the CGP plant announcement, it's expected most of the growth in
new acreage will concentrate in the province of Manitoba, Brolley said.

Campbell agrees that at least in the short term that's where the
growth will be, but says the other prairie provinces shouldn't be
counted out yet.

"It's not that producers there can't grow the stuff," he said. "It's
just been a little slower to take off."

Ray McVicar, a new crops specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture and
Food (SAF) in Regina, says he's expecting somewhere between 3,000 and
4, 000 acres to be planted in that province.

That's up from an estimated 500 acres last year.

In Alberta Dr. Stan Blade, a spokesman for Alberta Agriculture, says
roughly 2,500 acres of hemp are expected to go into the grounnd this
spring.

Campbell downplays concerns about market instability that could
accompany quick growth, saying CGP has large scale customers lined up
for its processed products.

End uses for the product include fiber going into pulp and paper,
cardboard manufacturing, auto parts and building materials. A separate
facility at the same Dauphin site will be dedicated to producing oil
for the food and cosmetic markets.

"There's tremendous opportunity in the big world-scale markets,"
Campbell said.

The Dauphin plant is scheduled to be completed by the spring of 2001,
though Campbell says there is a chance construction will be completed
by 2000.

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[End]