-------------------------------------------------------------------
Actor Harrelson, Judge Clash In Pot Trial (The Sacramento Bee finally gets
around to covering the prosecution on federal cultivation charges of B.E.
Smith, yet another medical-marijuana patient who thought he was protected by
Proposition 215. As Woody Harrelson testified Thursday during the trial in
Sacramento, an angry confrontation erupted between him and U.S. District
Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. "I'm just wondering why you're keeping the truth
from the jury," said Harrelson, referring to a pretrial ruling by Burrell
that Smith could not invoke Proposition 215. Smith's is the first
marijuana cultivation trial in a federal court in California since the
passage of Proposition 215. The U.S. Justice Department wants to establish a
precedent so it can continue to ignore California law. The jury got the case
in midafternoon Thursday and will continue deliberating today. Plus,
several messages from list subscribers who attended kangaroo court today
provide more details and note the jury later returned a guilty verdict.)
Date: Fri, 21 May 1999 16:31:57 -0700
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US CA: Actor Harrelson, Judge Clash In Pot Trial
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Chris Clay (http://www.thecompassionclub.org/)
Pubdate: Fri, 21 May 1999
Source: Sacramento Bee (CA)
Copyright: 1999 The Sacramento Bee
Contact: opinion@sacbee.com
Address: P.O.Box 15779, Sacramento, CA 95852
Feedback: http://www.sacbee.com/about_us/sacbeemail.html
Website: http://www.sacbee.com/
Forum: http://www.sacbee.com/voices/voices_forum.html
Author: Denny Walsh
ACTOR HARRELSON, JUDGE CLASH IN POT TRIAL
An angry confrontation between Woody Harrelson and a federal judge erupted
Thursday during a marijuana cultivation trial in a Sacramento courtroom,
nearly landing the actor in jail.
U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. ultimately warned Harrelson, who
first gained fame on the "Cheers" sitcom, that he might find himself behind
bars if he continued to defy the court.
"How do you sleep at night?" Harrelson shot back before stepping down from
the witness stand.
Harrelson, known for his eco-activism as well as his roles in movies ranging
from "Indecent Proposal" to "Natural Born Killers," appeared as a defense
witness Thursday in the trial of Trinity County resident B.E. Smith.
Smith's is the first criminal marijuana trial in a California federal court
since the passage of Proposition 215, a state law allowing pot to be smoked
by those obtaining medical authorization.
Eventually, the case could establish a precedent for how the California
measure will be handled in federal courts.
Harrelson called Smith, an outspoken advocate of medicinal marijuana, "my
good friend and mentor" and the "last free man in America."
The fireworks ignited when Harrelson disobeyed Burrell's orders, then
verbally attacked the judge after he was admonished from the bench.
Leading up to the tense exchange, Assistant U.S. Attorney R. Steven Lapham
objected to some questions from defense lawyer Thomas Ballanco and Burrell
sustained the objections.
A couple of times, Harrelson answered anyway. "Are you surprised to see Mr.
Smith on trial here today?" asked Ballanco.
Lapham's objection was sustained, but Harrelson said, "Certainly, for a
medical marijuana case, I consider it odd."
Burrell told Harrelson he must obey rulings on objections.
"I'm just wondering why you're keeping the truth from the jury," said
Harrelson, referring to a pretrial ruling by Burrell that Smith would not be
able to cite medicinal use and Proposition 215.
At that point, Burrell excused the jury and quoted case law to Harrelson on
a judge's power to control courtroom behavior.
"I didn't think you had much respect for the law," the actor fired back.
"You have attempted to put issues before the jury I have ruled
non-admissible," said Burrell, warning Harrelson that he might be arrested
if his defiance continued.
"Do you understand?" Burrell demanded.
Harrelson gave the judge a hard stare, then looked away.
Burrell refused to allow Ballanco to continue questioning Harrelson
regarding Smith's reputation as an honest, law-abiding citizen.
He ruled such testimony would be cumulative since Harrelson had already said
that Smith is "always truthful" and "has a great deal of integrity."
"I suspect you've brought this witness here to disrupt this trial," the
judge told Ballanco.
Burrell directed Harrelson to step down but, as he departed the witness
stand, the actor hurled his parting shot regarding Burrell's sleeping
habits, suggesting he lacked conscience.
Harrelson is no stranger to controversy.
He and others were arrested in November 1996 after causing a massive traffic
jam by scaling the Golden Gate Bridge to demand that the government protect
the 60,000-acre Headwaters redwood grove.
Harrelson also has posted a $500,000 bond for a cancer patient facing
criminal pot charges and he is an outspoken advocate for industrial uses of
hemp.
He came to federal court Thursday already angry at Burrell's handling of the
case. In a recent letter to The Bee, Harrelson said the judge had shown
"blatant disregard for the precepts of our forefathers."
"Apparently in Judge Burrell's courtroom, he is not content for lady justice
to be blind; she must also be deaf, dumb, bound, gagged, raped and
dismembered," he wrote.
The courtroom drama was reminiscent of some maverick roles taken on by the
37-year-old Harrelson, who parlayed his Emmy-winning success on "Cheers"
into major movie stardom.
He recently enjoyed critical acclaim for his portrayal of Big Boy, an
untamed and doomed New Mexico cowboy home from World War II, in "Hi-Lo Country."
Earlier Thursday, Smith testified that smoking marijuana has successfully
curbed his abuse of alcohol. He did not make a secret of growing it for
himself and others after passage of Proposition 215, he said.
Smith, 52, said he served as an infantryman in Vietnam and is a "political
activist" who worked in the campaign for the pro-marijuana initiative.
Harrelson testified that he met Smith when both were involved in the 1996
Headwaters protest.
The following year, Smith planted an 87-plant marijuana garden on land in
Denny that he leased from a friend, Martin Lederer.
In September 1997 the government seized the plants and, two months later,
Smith and Lederer were charged in a federal grand jury indictment.
The case has been marked by open friction between Burrell and defense counsel.
The judge found that California's 3-year-old measure does not constitute a
viable defense in a court governed by federal law, which does not make an
exception for using marijuana under a doctor's care.
After Burrell ruled that Smith's prescription for the drug and its medicinal
value generally were not to be presented, Lederer pleaded guilty to
misdemeanor possession and is awaiting sentencing.
Smith's attorneys moved last week to disqualify Burrell, saying the judge
took the case out of the jury's hands by stripping Smith of his defense.
Burrell has addressed the defense "with such an extreme degree of anger and
disdain that it would be impossible for the jury" not to be influenced and
prejudiced, the attorneys claimed.
The judge denied their motion and trial commenced Tuesday. Harrison
[Harrelson] was the final witness.
The jury got the case in midafternoon Thursday and will continue
deliberating today.
***
From: "Brian Hill" (bhill@igc.org)
To: "Mark Greer" (MGreer@mapinc.org)
Date: Fri, 21 May 1999 09:29:54 -0700
BE Smith Medicinal Marijuana Trial in Sacramento -
Hanging Judge Burrell loses it to Woody Harrelson and the Denny People.
We have most of the front page of the Sacramento Bee today - see
(http://www.sacbee.com/www.sacbee.com) - and are on most of the TV stations
in Sacto. NBC may show the local coverage tonight. The judge threw Woody
out of court because Woody said, after the judge told him to shut up,
"judge, I don't see why you are trying to keep the truth from the jury."
Then on the way out he said, "I hope you sleep well at night."
Woody also called BE the "last freeman in American," and that BE was his hero.
I will forward messages to BE and Tom Ballanco for more detailed descriptions.
The verdict is expected in a few hours.
The judge would only let them use character as a defense, no 215, no
medicinal, no indica/sativa even though the gov expert witness said
marijuana is cannabis sativa. The judge will not let the jury see the fed
law that says mj is illegal except for.... He would only let them see the
illegal part and not the exceptions. Everyone agrees that this is the most
outrageous travesty of justice we have seen yet. Burrell, the judge, has a
mic in his ear and seems to be taking orders from above.
***
From: "Peter McWilliams" (peter@mcwilliams.com)
Subject: B. E. Smith guilty
Date: Fri, 21 May 1999 16:17:28 -0700
Vietnam veteran B.E. Smith, who uses medical marijuana to treat his
post-traumatic stress disorder, was found guilty today in federal court. He
now faces a 10-year mandatory-minimum sentence for growing less than 50
plants. The government did not permit him to use any evidence of his medical
condition as a defense.
Smith, a California resident, had the permission of his local sheriff to
grow medical marijuana. This is the first successful federal challenge to
Proposition 215, enacted in 1996 by 56.4 percent of the voters.
"It is a sad day for state's rights, medical freedom, and compassion," said
Peter McWilliams, and AIDS-cancer patient who faces similar federal charged.
"My heart goes out to B.E. and his family."
***
Date: Fri, 21 May 1999 21:29:56 EDT
Originator: friends@freecannabis.org
Sender: friends@freecannabis.org
From: Jim Rosenfield (jnr@insightweb.com)
To: Multiple recipients of list (friends@freecannabis.org)
Subject: B. E. Smith guilty
This is an outrage against the people of California and it is an outrage
against humanity.
It shocks the conscience. No wonder children learn to consider the rule of
law a big game always won by the wealthy and powerful and no wonder they
learn to laugh about "land of the free and home of the brave". The Feds
will reap the whirlwind.
***
From: "Todd McCormick" (todd737@earthlink.net)
To: "DRCTalk Reformers' Forum" (drctalk@drcnet.org)
Subject: BE Smith found Guilty of Medical marijuana in federal court
Date: Fri, 21 May 1999 18:19:57 -0700
Dear Friends,
I just received sad word from Tom Ballanco that the jury returned a verdict
of guilty on both counts of manufacture and possession in Federal Court. The
Judge ordered BE Smith into custody and denied him an appeal bond. Speaking
to my lawyer, David Michael, he told me that is was uncommon for a defendant
to be remanded into custody pending sentencing except in cases of violence.
BE was never released on a cash bond but was instead out on his Own
Recognizance or, OR for short. Violence was never an issue, and BE is the
victim of a cruel judge and a ruthless prosecutor that had to hide the truth
of the matter from the jury or a guilty verdict would have been
inconceivable.
We will post more information about who to call, e-mail and fax to protest
this massive injustice later this weekend.
Below is a note from BE and his lawyers prior to trial. Following that is
today's front page story of the case from the Sacramento Bee.
BE Smith is one of the sweetest, kindest caring men I have ever met. In
Northern California he has a reputation of helping others like no one else I
know. He has put his neck on the line many times for many causes, while
strong enough to "do a year standing on his head" we need to take note and
rally beside him. Because he was the first Federal Prosecution to go to
trial post 215 the federal government pulled all of his defense at the risk
of a political loss.
We should expect to see this happen in every state that passed an
initiative, every state that is, that has at least one person who believes
in democracy and the electoral vote.
BE's "crime" was a public planting of 87 plants.
Todd
***
"The moment the slave resolves that he will no longer be a slave, his
fetters fall. He frees himself and shows the way to others. Freedom and
slavery are mental states."
Mahatma Gandhi - Violence in Peace and War vol. 2, ch. 5
***
Dear Friends,
Please circulate this press release far and wide. It is just a generic one,
please feel free to add to or change it anyway you like. As many of you
already know, Judge Burrell has denied every one of our defenses and has
prohibited us from mentioning Prop. 215, though that is obviously
the central issue in the case.
Our only hope at this point lies in the Californians who will comprise the
jury (the judge has also denied us the ability to conduct voir dire of
prospective jurors, he will ask all the questions). We need a packed
courtroom and we need the press to make sure that B.E. does not go quietly
into the night. We also need the prayers and good intentions of all who
care, united we stand. . . .
You are the Paul Reveres out there
Thanks for your help,
Tom, B.E. and Booker
***
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
VIETNAM VETERAN ON TRIAL IN FIRST MEDICAL MARIJUANA CASE TO GO TO FEDERAL
JURY TRIAL SINCE PASSAGE OF CALIFORNIA PROPOSITION 215
DATE: May 18, 1999 @ 9:00 A.M.
LOCATION: U.S. District Court Sacramento, CA (5th/I St.)
Jury selection begins today in a case so contentious that defense attorneys
have twice asked for U.S. District Court Judge Garland Burrell to recuse
himself. [Burrell gained notoriety as the judge who presided over the
prosecution of Unabomber Ted Kaczynski.] During the last pretrial hearing,
Burrell ordered U.S. Marshall's to forcibly remove defense counsel from the
podium.
Defendant B.E. Smith is charged with cultivation of marijuana in violation
of federal law. Smith, a Vietnam veteran who suffers from Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder, treats his anxiety with medical marijuana under his
doctor's orders. In June 1997, he planted a small medical marijuana garden
on land he leased in the backwoods of Trinity County California. Smith, an
outspoken advocate of medical marijuana notified state and local authorities
and appeared on national television before planting his garden.
State authorities declined to prosecute Smith because of his compliance with
the parameters of California Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act.
Instead the case was turned over to law enforcement officers of the U.S.
Forest Service, a federal agency, so that Smith might be
prosecuted under federal law which, the government maintains, is not
effected by Prop. 215.
The U.S. Government is seeking to make an example out of Smith to discourage
others from attempting to implement Proposition 215.
Smith's case is bolstered by the release last month of the National
Institute of Health Institute of Medicine Report that found medical
marijuana to be an effective remedy in treating a variety of ailments
including stress, anxiety and loss of appetite.
Smith expects to call country music star Merle Haggard and actor Woody
Harrelson, both long-time friends and admirers, as witnesses during the
trial.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The Week Online with DRCNet, Issue No. 91 (The Drug Reform Coordination
Network's original drug policy newsmagazine features these stories - Two-year
anniversary of Hernandez shooting; Legislation in Alaska will restrict
state's medical marijuana law; Australia: Police force closure of safe
injection room; Somali-Canadian community under attack by khat enforcers;
Canadian medical group wants doctors to prescribe more pain meds; Higher
Education Act reform campaign update; Conviction of juror in nullification
case overturned; New York: No Rockefeller reform this year, presentations in
Westchester area by ReconsiDer; and an editorial by Adam J. Smith, Growing
pains, on the rapid increase in new drug-policy-reform groups.)
Date: Fri, 21 May 1999 04:49:12 +0000
To: drc-natl@drcnet.org
From: DRCNet (drcnet@drcnet.org)
Subject: The Week Online with DRCNet, Issue #91
Sender: owner-drc-natl@drcnet.org
The Week Online with DRCNet, Issue #91 - May 21, 1999
A Publication of the Drug Reform Coordination Network
-------- PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE --------
(To sign off this list, mailto:listproc@drcnet.org with the
line "signoff drc-natl" in the body of the message, or
mailto:kfish@drcnet.org for assistance. To subscribe to
this list, visit http://www.drcnet.org/signup.html.)
This issue can be also be read on our web site at
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/091.html. Check out the DRCNN
weekly radio segment at http://www.drcnet.org/drcnn/.
If you haven't yet signed the following legislative petition
alerts, please visit them and join the thousands who have --
and be sure to use the Tell Your Friends page to get the
word out to as many reform supporters as possible!
Asset Forfeiture Reform: http://www.drcnet.org/forfeiture/
HEA Drug Provision: http://www.RaiseYourVoice.com/
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Two-Year Anniversary of Hernandez Shooting
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/091.html#esequiel
2. Legislation in Alaska Will Restrict State's Medical
Marijuana Law
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/091.html#sb94
3. Australia: Police Force Closure of Safe Injection Room
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/091.html#closure
4. Somali-Canadian Community Under Attack by Khat Enforcers
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/091.html#somalis
5. Canadian Medical Group Wants Doctors to Prescribe More
Pain Meds
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/091.html#painmeds
6. Higher Education Act Reform Campaign Update
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/091.html#heacampaign
7. Conviction of Juror in Nullification Case Overturned
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/091.html#jurors
8. New York: No Rockefeller Reform This Year, Presentations
in Westchester Area by ReconsiDer
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/091.html#nyreform
9. EDITORIAL: Growing Pains
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/091.html#editorial
***
1. Two-Year Anniversary of Hernandez Shooting
Residents of the border town of Redford, Texas, mourned
yesterday the two-year anniversary of the fatal shooting of
Esequiel Hernandez by US Marines on anti-drug patrol.
Hernandez was 18 at the time of his death, and was out
herding the family sheep when he was tracked and killed by a
camouflaged, four-marine patrol on the lookout for drug
smugglers and illegal aliens. Hernandez was carrying an old
.22 rifle that he used to scare off snakes and other
predators. The killing was the first of an American citizen
by an active duty soldier.
Rev. Mel LaFolette, a resident of Redford, and a member of a
delegation that visited Washington after the shooting in
1997, told the Week Online, "The community is still outraged
at what happened. Even though there's been a payment of
money by the government, no one believes that justice has
been done."
Rev. LaFolette believes, "it's both a complete irresponsi-
bility and recklessness at the level of administration and
poor training, but I believe the individuals also have some
responsibility for what happened. There's plenty of guilt
to go around."
Some observers believe the Marines acted according to their
training, but were deployed on a type of mission -- civilian
law enforcement -- for which the military is wholly
unsuited, causing them to make a complete misreading of the
situation, leading to the tragedy.
Residents are also angered by the way the Border Patrol
characterized their community to the Marine patrollers --
full of narcotraffickers, a hostile entity, be suspicious of
everybody. "We were slandered by the Border Patrol," said
LaFolette. Nevertheless, the Border Patrol has made "no
apology for the calumniation of the people of Redford."
LaFolette remarked that "everybody on the border, including
tourists, fits the [Border Patrol's] description of a drug
trafficker," explaining, "Any tourist with a backpack first
the description. A woman with a plastic bag of groceries
fits the description."
We've been told, but have not confirmed, that a demonstra-
tion will take place this Saturday (5/22), noon, in the park
straddling El Paso and its sister city across the border,
Juarez, Mexico. To confirm, and for information, call the
Immigration Law Enforcement Monitoring Project (ILEMP) El
Paso office at (915) 577-0724.
The following is a statement from the American Friends
Service Committee (of which ILEMP is a project), followed by
an excerpt from ILEMP director Maria Jimenez's comments to
In-Motion magazine, the statement of Rep. James Traficant
(D-OH) supporting legislation he introduced that would
dramatically increase the level of militarization of the
border, and links to extensive background information on the
Hernandez tragedy and an online photo gallery in memory of
Esequiel Hernandez and the tragedy.
STATEMENT OF THE AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE
Today, the American Friends Service Committee remembers
Esequiel Hernandez, Jr. of Redford, Texas. On this day two
years ago, Hernandez, an 18 year old goatherd, was shot and
killed in his own field by a US Marine working on a drug
surveillance operation.
Outcry from the Redford community and from sympathetic
voices nationwide led to a Pentagon statement earlier this
year that the use of ground troops for armed, covert anti-
drug efforts would be suspended. However, the AFSC remains
very concerned that such operations could easily resume
without the knowledge of the communities in which they take
place. There is no legal bar to doing so, and no external
oversight policy exists to inform the public about such
activities. The operations are only identified after
something goes wrong -- like the Hernandez shooting.
Despite the obvious reluctance of the Pentagon to continue
such operations, Rep. James Traficant of Ohio has
reintroduced a bill this year that would ease the way for
military troops to help patrol the border. He claims such
aid is "desperately needed" to stem the wave of drugs into
the US.
AFSC is also concerned about the continued partnership of
the military, the Border Patrol, and local law enforcement
(including the sharing of equipment, intelligence, and
training) in the name of drug enforcement. This collusion
contributes to the overall militarization of border
communities, endangering and infringing on the civil and
human rights of all members of the community.
EXCERPT FROM MARIA JIMENEZ INTERVIEW IN IN-MOTION MAGAZINE
That problem, the problem of the national perception of
viewing the border as a war zone and immigrants as enemies
and subsequently border communities -- you can conclude when
you have military patrols in your town that somehow somebody
thought you were the enemies of this country -- that was why
we were losing.
The Esequiel Hernandez case highlighted the very serious
nature of how we were defining our border politics with
respect to, in this particular case, the drug issue.
Redford had not seen an arrest of a drug trafficker in ten
years according to the DEA (federal Drug Enforcement
Administration).
Again it's because of these perceptions that people have in
the interior of the country. There's drugs in Washington
DC, why don't they put covert military operations in
Washington, DC? The border is viewed as a war zone, where
evil enters, as if economic problems ended and began at the
border. Particularly the populations at the border are seen
as suspect.
I remember the words of Enrique Madrid, one of the residents
of Redford who went to Washington, when he said, "My
grandfather was one of the original founders of Redford".
He had the charter that his grandfather had for the land at
Redford. Generations grew up in Redford. He served his
country in the military. In many different ways they built
the community. Now all of a sudden there are covert
operations, "My God we suddenly realized we were an enemy."
The perception is that there are expendable populations in
terms of what we would call democratic institutions. With
all its sophistication, the military in the training of
these Marines could not tell the difference between the good
guy and the bad guy, so to speak. This shepherd fit the
profile of a drug-runner. So if he fit the profile of a
drug-runner then it means everybody on the border fits the
profile of a drug-runner. There are stereotypic views that
are concretized into policy and institutionalized.
STATEMENT OF REP. JAMES A. TRAFICANT, JR.
in the House of Representatives
TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 1999
Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of
legislation I introduced on February 8, 1999, which would
authorize the deployment of US troops to assist law
enforcement in patrolling US borders. I urge all Members to
cosponsor this important piece of legislation.
Our current program to stop drugs from coming into America
is a joke. Eighty percent of the cocaine and heroin
smuggled into America is transited across the US-Mexico
border. We are losing the war on drugs. If hundreds of
thousands of US soldiers can be sent all over the world to
protect other countries, certainly a few thousand can be
redeployed here in the US to help protect America from the
scourge of drugs.
My bill, H.R. 628, authorizes the Department of Defense to
assign US troops to assist federal law enforcement in
monitoring and patrolling US borders, and inspecting cargo,
vehicles and aircraft at points of entry into the US Under
the bill such assistance could be provided only at the
express request of the US Attorney General or Secretary of
the Treasury. The bill also mandates special law
enforcement training for troops deployed to border areas,
requires all US troops patrolling the border to be
accompanied by federal law enforcement agents, bars soldiers
from making arrests, and requires the federal government to
notify state and local government officials of any
deployment of US troops. Last year the House overwhelmingly
approved a similar provision that I sponsored as an
amendment to the FY 1999 DoD bill. The amendment, however,
was dropped during a House-Senate conference.
Make no mistake about it, the Border Patrol, INS and Customs
Service desperately need the help our military could
provide. For example, only three out of every 100 trucks
coming into the US from Mexico are inspected. In addition,
recent news reports reveal that the INS is considering
releasing thousands of dangerous illegal aliens currently
being held in detention centers because of funding and
manpower shortages. And finally, in just the last year,
federal agents in one border sector alone seized 132 tons of
marijuana and more than 3 tons of cocaine worth a total of
$408 million.
I recently cosigned a letter with a number of my colleagues
imploring the President to fill a backlog of vacant Border
Patrol positions. But clearly this is not enough. By the
time those positions are filled with qualified candidates,
who knows how many more illegal drugs will hit our streets
and reach our children?
Mr. Speaker, it's time to put a stranglehold on our borders
once and for all. I urge all members to cosponsor H.R. 628.
LINKS FOR FURTHER BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
American Friends Service Committee Immigration Law
Enforcement Monitoring Project
http://www.afsc.org/pdesc/pd139.htm
Esequiel Hernandez Memorial Photo Gallery
http://www.mapinc.org/DPFT/hernandez/gallery/
Interview with Border Militarization Scholar Timothy Dunn
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/077.html#dunn
War on Drugs: Military Perspectives and Problems, by Joseph
Miranda for DRCNet
http://www.drcnet.org/military/
National Drug Strategy Network news coverage: Extensive
coverage available in the Newsbriefs archives, visit
http://www.ndsn.org/search.html and perform search on
Esequiel Hernandez.
Week Online news coverage:
8/22/97: No Indictments for Marines Who Shot Hernandez
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/008.html#military
9/13/97: House Passes Bill Increasing Border Militarization
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/011.html#borderwar
11/2/97: Plan to Put 10,000 US Troops on the Texas-Mexico
Border Dies in Committee
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/017.html#border
1/15/98: Pentagon Proposes Ending Military Border Patrols
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/025.html#pentagon
2/27/98: No Federal Charges to be Filed Against Marine Who
Shot Hernandez
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/031.html#hernandez
9/11/98: Texas Paper Releases Scathing Pentagon Review of
Esequiel Hernandez Shooting
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/058.html#hernandez
2/5/99: Pentagon Restricts Use of Troops in Border Drug War
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/077.html#pentagon
***
2. Legislation in Alaska Will Restrict State's Medical
Marijuana Law
A little over two months after Alaska's medical marijuana
initiative, Proposition 8, went into effect, the Alaska
House and Senate have passed legislation that would restrict
its implementation. The bill, S.B. 94, passed the Senate on
May 13 and was approved with amendments by the House on
May 17. The Senate passed the amended version of the bill
the next day, and now awaits final approval by the governor.
Under S.B. 94, patients who want to use marijuana will be
required to register with the state, and will be allowed to
possess a maximum of one ounce of marijuana or six plants
for their personal use. Sale or distribution between
patients will be prohibited.
Supporters of Prop 8. said they were disappointed with the
restrictions, but noted that it could have been much worse.
The original bill, as introduced by state Senator Loren
Leman, would have given police broad access to the patients'
registry, and another provision would have forced doctors to
testify that their patients had exhausted every "legal"
treatment before trying marijuana. Further, only specific
conditions such as AIDS, cancer, and glaucoma would have
qualified as a "debilitating medical condition" that
justified marijuana use.
"The burden that would have been placed on doctors would
have made the law unworkable," said Gina Pesulima,
spokeswoman for Americans for Medical Rights.
Pesulima credited patients and voters who supported Prop. 8,
many of whom testified before the legislature in debates on
S.B. 94, with making sure the most onerous restrictions did
not get through. "Overall, we're not happy that it passed,
but we are happy that in the process, a lot of patients came
out in support of the law & giving it a chance to work."
Another positive result of the amendment process, she said,
is a provision that will allow physicians' assistants and
nurse practitioners to make official recommendations for
patients who need marijuana. This is particularly helpful
in Alaska, where many patients live in remote areas with
limited access to doctors.
Alaskans for Medical Rights, which sponsored Prop. 8, is on
the web at http://www.alaskalife.net/AKMR/.
***
3. Australia: Police Force Closure of Safe Injection Room
- Peter Watney, Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation
Prior to the opening of the T-room at the Wayside Chapel,
Kings Cross, Sydney, the Premier of New South Wales had
announced the holding of a Drug Summit to be held at
Parliament House, Sydney from 17th to 21st May.
Last week the police continued to attend the T-room
openings, and after being denied entry on the Monday,
returned with a warrant on the Wednesday. They charged one
of the users of the room.
The organising committee announced that they would close the
T-room during the term of the Drug Summit, and would make
decisions as to whether they would reopen depending on the
results of the Summit.
After the closing of the T-room its need was underlined by
the discovery of a man in one of the outside toilets, dead
from a drug overdose. It was assumed that the presence of
the police had discouraged him from using the T-room.
Names of the participants and transcripts of the Summit can
be seen at http://www.nsw.gov.au/drugsummit1999/.
***
4. Somali-Canadian Community Under Attack by Khat Enforcers
Members of Toronto, Canada's Somali community are in shock
over a sudden police crackdown against the substance khat,
with attendant civil liberties abuses, and are seeking to
have police searches of homes reined in and the legislation
that banned the substance last year repealed. And article
in the May 3rd issue of the Toronto Star reported that 50
Somalis had met the previous day and were planning to meet
with police to discuss the problem.
The Week Online spoke with Farah Khayre, executive director
of Midaynta, Association of Somali Service Agencies. Khayre
explained, "Khat in the Somali culture has traditionally
been used socially, much like coffee in the western culture.
It has no criminality associated with it, and on the
contrary helps to create a friendly environment, even to
help resolve disputes." Used primarily by adult males,
Khayre continued, "It's like getting together over coffee or
beer to share ideas." Khat is frequently used while meeting
to plan weddings or engagements.
Khayre believes that the trouble over khat started in 1992,
when US Marines were stationed in Somalia as the principal
agents of a U.N. peacekeeping force. According to Khayre,
US soldiers experimented with khat, and US military
officials put forward khat use as an explanation for
deficiencies in performance. Thus having been brought to
the attention of the DEA and other US drug warriors, the US
government proceeded to place khat in its list of controlled
substances and to pressure foreign governments, including
that of Canada, to crack down on khat.
According to Khayre, "[The law] was passed quietly, not even
fully debated in Parliament, no community information was
sought, and no outreach to the community to information
about this law was made. We just started getting these
calls from people whose had been arrested or their homes
broken into. The wake up call was these calls from our
clients."
Ali Mohamud, of Dejint Beesha Somali Multi-Service Center
Agency, told the Week Online that "police from Toronto have
been raiding apartments and taking gold and money." In
Somali culture, gold is often crafted into ornaments, which
will often take on the same kind of sentimental value as
jewelry and other gifts and heirlooms can have in other
cultures. Mohamud shares the shock and surprise of his
fellow Canadian Somalis. "I did not even think such things
could happen in Canada."
Midaynta's clients have also reported abusive police
tactics. Khayre stated, "What I can say is that in many
cases, according to the reports that we have been receiving
from clients, the professional standards of the police have
not been followed -- break-ins without warrants, no receipts
for confiscated items, not a professional way of conducting
police raids." When asked if he believed Somalis are being
treated differently from other Canadians, Khayre answered,
"If these reports turn out to be on firm ground, then yes,
we can say we have been treated differently."
Somali organizations are seeking repeal of the law
criminalizing khat, and are preparing to challenge the law
in the courts. In the meantime, they acknowledge the right
of law enforcement agencies to enforce the law, but call on
them to halt the abusive tactics and invasions of privacy
that the sudden enforcement effort has entailed. "If they
find [khat] at the airport, they have the right to arrest
people who are found with it in their possession," said
Khayre; but while the court challenge is pursued, "police
should stop invading Somali homes."
Khayre said that "Khat, like any other social thing, every
one has problems, health, economic or otherwise. What's
surprising is that there is absolutely no record of crime as
a result of khat use, while alcohol is the number one such
problem. Is it simply a cultural bias?" Khayre continued,
"Khat helps a lot of Somalis to relieve stress, which is a
major issue in a community that's come to a new culture or
environment. So for them, it's more of a therapy."
Khayre is also surprised at the recent police behavior. "We
work with police, they are decent people, an example of good
behavior. I don't understand how something like this could
happen."
(Read about drug policy and reform efforts in Canada at the
Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy web site, recently
relocated to its own domain at http://www.cfdp.ca/.)
***
5. Canadian Medical Group Wants Doctors to Prescribe More
Pain Meds
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia wants
doctors to prescribe narcotics and other controlled drugs
more liberally when treating patients with extreme or
chronic pain, according to the Globe and Mail newspaper.
At the college's annual meeting last Friday, May 14,
outgoing college president Bill Acker said "There has been a
fear that prescribing narcotics will result in patient
addiction or regulatory sanctions. This has led to patients
being undertreated for pain." College registrar Cameron
Little added, "patients should be given as much medication
as needed to kill pain."
Undertreatment of pain is also a major problem in the United
States, where fear of drug enforcement and regulatory
sanctions has created a "war on drugs" climate in which
adequate pain treatment is discouraged. (See our
introduction to this important topic online at
http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/pain.html.)
Skip Baker, president of the American Society for Action on
Pain, told the Week Online that they often hear from
patients in Canada. "Quite often they have a terrible time
in Canada," Baker said. "Some of them actually come down
here and pay out of their own pocket, because they have a
terrible time getting treated in Canada." Canada's health
care system is government-financed.
"They kind of follow the lead of America, and when was
America went crazy over drugs and was overcome by
narcophobia, Canada followed suit, to the great detriment of
their own people."
Baker had been adequately treated with morphine for
ankylosing spondilitis, an extremely painful bone disease,
until the drug war intensified during the 1980's and early
1990's. The resulting anti-drug political affected the
medical regulatory agencies, frightening physicians who had
previously been willing to prescribe narcotics for pain
relief. Baker's physician told him that the Virginia Board
of Medicine was taking away doctors' licenses and that he
couldn't continue to prescribe for him. Baker was forced to
resort to alcohol for pain control, which affected his
ability to perform on his job as a professional
photographer.
Today, Baker and ASAP help pain patients find doctors who
understand proper pain treatment and are willing to brave
the regulatory and legal risks to provide it. Visit ASAP
online at http://www.actiononpain.org.
(Recent DRCNet coverage of the pain issue:
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/087.html#undertreatment)
***
6. Higher Education Act Reform Campaign Update
- Kris Lotlikar, DRCNet University Coordinator
The Higher Education Act (HEA) reform campaign's campus
activity on campuses has wrapped up for the school year, as
students finished up their final exams and left for the
summer. In only six months, students on over 200 campuses
defined themselves as a valuable part of the drug policy
reform movement as they united in opposition to a law that
delays or denies federal financial aid to drug offenders.
Bill H.R. 1053, sponsored by Barney Frank, which would
repeal the HEA drug provision, gained three new co-sponsors
in the last week and now has the support of 14 congressional
representatives. (Visit http://thomas.loc.gov/ for
information on any federal legislation; search on H.R. 1053
for info on the HEA reform bill.)
The student campaign, coordinated by DRCNet, has been
formally endorsed by ten student governments and two
statewide student associations. Over thirty organizations,
including the American Public Health Association, the
National Organization of Women, the NAACP and the ACLU, have
endorsed a national sign-on letter supporting H.R. 1053.
(Visit http://www.u-net.org/supporters.html for a regularly
updated list of the campaign's and letter's endorsers.)
Being organized primarily online, the HEA reform campaign
has made full use of cyberspace to enhance and expand
tradition activism efforts. Over 11,000 emails and faxes
have been sent to congress calling for reform, from
http://www.RaiseYourVoice.com. (Please visit
RaiseYourVoice.com is you haven't already, and add your vote
to the students' call for sanity.)
Student leaders will not be sitting idle with summer. Many
of the students involved not the HEA reform campaign will be
playing an active roll in developing strategy and materials
to kick off in September. Fall semester of 1999 promises to
be a breakthrough year for campus activism around drug
policy reform. Issues such as prison vs. higher education
spending and harm reduction on campuses offer opportunities
to engage larger numbers of students in a discourse over the
consequences of the drug war. A national student leadership
conference on drug policy reform is being planned at George
Washington University in November.
E-mail discussion groups are being formed for students who
want to get more involved in the HEA reform campaign and
other student efforts. If you have any ideas, questions, or
would just like to play a larger role, send an e-mail to
lotlikar@drcnet.org.
***
7. Conviction of Juror in Nullification Case Overturned
- Marc Brandl
Colorado juror Laura Kriho, convicted in 1997 of contempt of
court for failing to inform attorneys during jury selection
on a drug case of her opposition to the drug laws, has won
her appeal.
In 1994, Laura Kriho was the lone holdout against conviction
in a Gilpin County, Colorado drug possession case. During
deliberations, Kriho told her fellow jurors about the
penalty the defendant faced if convicted, and she told them
that she was opposed to the current drug laws, and that drug
problems should be handled by families, not the courts. She
also shared with them her understanding of legal doctrine
known as jury nullification, which holds that jurors may
judge a law on its merits and to refuse to convict when
doing so would violate their consciences.
When the judge found out what she said, and that she had not
informed the prosecution during jury selection of her views
on the drug war, he charged her with contempt of court. She
was convicted in 1997, and fined $1,200. In his ruling,
judge Henry Nieto wrote that Kriho "deliberately and
willfully withheld and concealed information which was
relevant and important to selecting a fair and impartial
jury, and that Ms. Kriho did so with the intent of serving
on the jury for the purpose of obstructing justice." Last
month (4/29), a Colorado court of appeals disagreed, and
Nieto's ruling was overturned.
Legal experts and nullification activists have kept a close
watch on the case. "What happened to Laura Kriho was
bizarre and completely unfair," said Clay Conrad, a Texas
attorney and author of Jury Nullification: The Evolution of
a Doctrine. "It is obvious from the context of the entire
case they prosecuted her for her verdict. If they can
punish jurors for their verdicts, the jury system is just a
living fossil brought out to harm people. There is nothing
left if jurors can't be independent and vote their own
consciences."
The 62-page appellate ruling was based not on whether
nullification had been used, but whether allowing jurors to
testify about conversations that took place during jury
deliberations violates the sanctity of those deliberations.
"You can't use evidence of juror deliberations in a court
proceeding," explained Eugene Volokh, a constitutional law
professor at the University of California at Los Angeles.
"Certainly, this is something that encourages jurors to be
as candid as possible during the proceeding."
Volokh said he was concerned that the recent popularity of
jury nullification could make the practice too commonplace.
"I think it's right that we can't throw a juror in jail for
nullifying. At the same time, we should also not encourage
jurors to nullify. If jurors would only nullify bad laws
and never nullify good laws, that would be great. The
downside of jury nullification is you are more likely to get
decisions based on racial considerations, or just whether
the person seems appealing or not. These judgments will be
used to invalidate and nullify laws that are actually good
laws."
What effect, if any, jury nullification can have on drug
laws remains a point of contention. While many judges
discourage the practice, Conrad said some may welcome
nullification as a way to counter the effects of mandatory
minimums. "A great many trial judges are opposed to the
sentencing guidelines. A lot of them don't like being
drafted into becoming soldiers of the war on drugs. These
trial judges might just start allowing nullification
arguments in their courtroom," he said. "This allows the
defense some out once they realize they have the prerogative
of allowing such arguments to be made."
Nullification activist Larry Dodge told the Week Online,
"What you're looking at here is a chance for the people to
remark on the laws which govern them, to bring them back in
alignment with the will of the people. Isn't that what
democracy is all about? Here the government is trying to
clean up the juries so the verdict will be pro-government.
We shouldn't be cleaning up juries so the drug war is
prolonged."
But Volokh said the disconnect between jurors and the drug
laws is often overestimated. "It is not as if it is the
good, virtuous jurors against the bad, evil legislator," he
said. "Jurors are also voters and as voters they support
legislators that support the war on drugs. You shouldn't
expect too much from jury nullification."
As for Kriho, she could be retried, but the appeals court
ruled that the opinions she revealed during jury
deliberations, which were used as evidence to convict her,
will not be admissible in any future case against her. "I'm
happy that it was overturned," she said of her conviction.
"I wish it had gone further to protect jurors from being
prosecuted."
For more information on jury nullification, visit the Fully
Informed Jury Association online at http://www.fija.org.
***
8. New York: No Rockefeller Reform This Year, Presentations
in Westchester Area by ReconsiDer
An article in Thursday's New York Times reported that the
Democratic leadership in the state legislature has rejected
a proposal by the Republican governor to enact modest
reforms to the state's harsh Rockefeller Drug Laws,
disappointing members of the party who saw the Pataki
proposal as a rare opportunity to change sentencing laws
that the party has long opposed. A detailed report on the
situation will appear in next week's issue of the Week
Online. Learn about the campaign against the Rockefeller
Drug Laws on the web site of the William Moses Kunstler Fund
for Racial Justice, http://www.kunstler.org/.
The Rockefeller Drug Laws have been criticized by the
respected human rights organization Human Rights Watch. HRW
holds that these and similar mandatory minimum laws violate
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Convention
Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment. Visit Human Rights Watch's Drugs
and Human Rights in the United States Campaign online at
http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/drugs/, including substantial
information on the impact of the Rockefeller laws.
Peter Christ, retired police captain and leading speaker of
the New York State-based ReconsiDer: Forum on Drug Policy,
will be appearing at WESPAC in White Plains, NY, on May
28th, 7:30pm. WESPAC is located at 255 Martin Luther Blvd.,
near E. Post Rd. Contact WESPAC for further information at
(914) 682-0488. Peter is tentatively scheduled to speak at
a residence in Northern Westchester on Thursday, May 27th.
For those interested, contact Jeff at (914) 764-8641.
Contact Mike Smithson at the ReconsiDer speakers bureau at
(315) 488-3630 to schedule further talks.
***
9. EDITORIAL: Growing Pains
Adam J. Smith, Associate Director, ajsmith@drcnet.org
As the issues of drug policy and reform come to the fore in
American political debate, the sunlight shines on an
incredibly diverse and fast-growing movement. Differing
perspectives, varying agendas and widely disparate tactical
imperatives highlight the relationships between the more
than 350 groups and organizations who consider themselves,
in some respect at least, drug policy reformers.
There are groups who are concerned specifically with
marijuana laws (and in some cases, specifically with
marijuana itself). There are groups that work on sentencing
policy, syringe exchange, and broader harm-reduction. There
are groups advocating for study into the therapeutic value
of psychedelics, for access to adequate medication for
chronic pain patients, or against the practice of civil
asset forfeiture. There are organizations concerned solely
with the impact of the drug war on Latin America and its
indigenous peoples, fighting for greater access to
methadone, and for the legalization of industrial hemp. And
of course, there are a growing number of organizations who
advocate for a re-thinking of the entire drug war, to whom
all of these issues are simply symptoms of the disease of
Prohibition.
A reporter called my office this week to ask about this very
phenomenon. "Why so many different groups?", he asked. "Is
the fragmentation a threat to the cause of reform? What of
the disagreements between them?"
There is no doubt that the drug policy reform movement is
larger and more potent than at any time since the "Wets"
rose up and overturned alcohol prohibition. A growing
number of successes at the ballot box, a higher profile in
the mainstream media and a shift in the way various drug
policy issues are being addressed at the national level all
speak to the progress that is being made. "The growing
number of groups working in reform," I told the reporter,
"is most certainly a product of the rise of these issues to
national prominence." A good thing, all in all, though
certainly there are growing pains.
The majority of those growing pains are simply a matter of
the movement's funding not keeping up with its growth. Drug
policy reform is not unique among maturing movements in that
respect, but certainly, the issue's potency has made it more
difficult to raise funds for than, say, cancer research or
the symphony. Larger numbers of activists, therefore, have
found themselves in fierce competition for limited funding,
creating feelings of jealousy and frustration and
highlighting disagreements over priorities.
The other major internal issue has been about tactics.
Should an organization that is fighting for legal syringe
exchange, with AIDS spreading like wildfire through poor
communities and thousands of lives on the line, feel obliged
to put its weight behind broader reforms, even if they agree
wholeheartedly with these, at the risk of alienating
political allies who have not yet come around on these other
issues?
And what of the marijuana rallies? 50,000 people coming
together on the Boston Commons to hear speeches, listen to
music and partake in the civil disobedience of lighting up
in public is a powerful sight and an empowering experience.
But what of the negative repercussions? The stereotyping of
reformers as users, potentially frightening away non-using
supporters who will be necessary in the coming political
battles? What of the adolescents who will undoubtedly be
present, and the impact of their red-eyed, droopy-lidded
pictures in the newspapers? What impact do those pictures
have on the work of other reformers who are working hard to
bring new coalitions to the table in the name of reform?
And yet, marijuana is the single most used illicit
substance, with over 70 million Americans admitting to
having tried it at least once. Don't its users, both
regular and occasional, comprise the largest segment of
those put at risk by punitive prohibition? And what gives
anyone the right to question them for publicly displaying
their outrage, as the government seeks to take their
freedom, their homes, their property and even their families
by force, while users of licit drugs such as tobacco and
alcohol -- who undoubtedly do more damage both to themselves
and to others -- are afforded all of the rights of other
Americans?
The drug policy reform movement stands at an interesting
precipice. Ready to step into the fight as a legitimate and
mainstream issue on the American political scene, it is
dogged by issues both standard for any growing movement and
unique unto itself. The funding will come, and though not
every organization will benefit, those who are having the
most impact will generally be supported. The stigmatization
of the issue, borne of decades of government propaganda as
well as of a concerted effort by many in power to label any
reform effort as "pro-drug," is also beginning to fade.
What will not change is the wide array of issues subsumed
under the rubric of drug policy, and the widely disparate
constituencies that these issues represent. But while
disagreement over tactics and priorities are likely to
continue, the fact is that nearly everyone who comes to the
issue of drug policy -- whether through the prism of AIDS or
incarceration or asset forfeiture or marijuana -- soon
discovers that the problem is the drug war, and the very
paradigm within which our nation has chosen to deal with
substances, the rights of free people to use them, and the
consequences of their abuse.
In the end, then, the movement, such as it is, is headed in
the right direction. We are reaching larger and larger
segments of the population through various, interconnected
issues by the use of tactics of all kinds, some inarguably
more effective than others. At some point in the not-too-
distant future, the melding will occur. Whether it will be
the result of a single, unifying event, or the rise of a
charismatic and nationally recognized leader, or simply by
the process of a national realization, over time, that we
must find a more rational way to deal with drugs -- both
licit and illicit. It is coming. The rapid growth and
burgeoning diversity of the people and organizations who are
advocating for reform is testimony to its inevitability.
***
DRCNet needs your support! Donations can be sent to 2000 P
St., NW, Suite 615, Washington, DC 20036, or made by credit
card at http://www.drcnet.org/drcreg.html. Donations to
the Drug Reform Coordination Network are not tax-deductible.
Deductible contributions supporting our educational work can
be made by check to the DRCNet Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax-
exempt organization, same address.
PERMISSION to reprint or redistribute any or all of the
contents of The Week Online is hereby granted. We ask that
any use of these materials include proper credit and, where
appropriate, a link to one or more of our web sites. If
your publication customarily pays for publication, DRCNet
requests checks payable to the organization. If your
publication does not pay for materials, you are free to use
the materials gratis. In all cases, we request notification
for our records, including physical copies where material
has appeared in print. Contact: Drug Reform Coordination
Network, 2000 P St., NW, Suite 615, Washington, DC 20036,
(202) 293-8340 (voice), (202) 293-8344 (fax), e-mail
drcnet@drcnet.org. Thank you.
Articles of a purely educational nature in The Week Online
appear courtesy of the DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise
noted.
***
DRCNet
***
GATEWAY TO REFORM PAGE http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/
DRCNet HOME PAGE http://www.drcnet.org/
DRUG POLICY LIBRARY http://www.druglibrary.org/
JOIN/MAKE A DONATION http://www.drcnet.org/drcreg.html
REFORMER'S CALENDAR http://www.drcnet.org/calendar.html
SUBSCRIBE TO THIS LIST http://www.drcnet.org/signup.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------
DrugSense Weekly, No. 98 (The original summary of drug policy news from
DrugSense opens with the weekly Feature Article - Drug Policy Foundation
conference 'best ever,' by Mark Greer. The Weekly News in Review features
several articles about Drug War Policy, including - America's altered states;
Drug abuse fight could use cash fix; Legalizing drugs can help us get
control; Drug museum's shining example of decadence; U.S. military opens new
antidrug bases; Assembly passes needle exchange bill. Articles about Law
Enforcement & Prisons include - Students fight ban on college funds for drug
offenders; Why some get busted and some go free; Unequal justice; and, Dalton
hearing in San Francisco. News about Cannabis & Hemp includes - Bill curbs
medical marijuana; Marijuana law is proving to be a pain; Hemp's backers try
for a comeback; and, Bus driver had been fired for drugs; International News
includes - Time to prick a drugs myth; Heroin UK - Close-knit gangs who deal
in death; Australia: At war over drugs; Australia: editorial: Drug blindness;
Canada: Society is committing genocide against intravenous drug users; and,
Canada: Sick can apply for medical use of marijuana. The weekly Hot Off The
'Net provides the URLs for the Orange County Register's recent article,
Cannabis may help combat schizophrenia, including an online poll about
medical marijuana; and Sam Smith's Progressive Review. The Quote of the Week
cites J.S. Mill.)
From: webmaster@drugsense.org (DrugSense)
To: newsletter@drugsense.org
Subject: DrugSense Weekly, May 21, 1999 #98
Date: Fri, 21 May 1999 10:00:15 -0700
Organization: DrugSense http://www.drugsense.org/
Lines: 852
Sender: owner-newsletter@drugsense.org
Reply-To: mgreer@drugsense.org
***
DRUGSENSE WEEKLY
***
DrugSense Weekly, May 21, 1999 #98
A DrugSense publication http://www.drugsense.org/
This Publication May Be Read On-line at:
http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/1999/ds99.n98.html
TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, DONATE OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS PLEASE
SEE THE INFORMATION AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS NEWSLETTER
Please consider writing a letter to the editor using the email
addresses on any of the articles below. Send a copy of your LTE to
MGreer@mapinc.org.
***
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
* Feature Article
DPF Conference "Best Ever"
by Mark Greer
* Weekly News in Review
Drug War Policy-
(1) America's Altered States
(2) Drug Abuse Fight Could Use Cash Fix
(3) Legalizing Drugs Can Help Us Get Control
(4) Drug Museum's Shining Example of Decadence
(5) U.S. Military Opens New Antidrug Bases
(6) Assembly Passes Needle Exchange Bill
Law Enforcement & Prisons-
(7) Students Fight Ban on College Funds for Drug Offenders
(8) Why Some Get Busted and Some Go Free
(9) Unequal Justice
(10) Dalton Hearing in San Francisco
Cannabis & Hemp-
(11) Bill Curbs Medical Marijuana
(12) Marijuana Law Is Proving to Be a Pain
(13) Hemp's Backers Try for a Comeback
(14) Bus Driver Had Been Fired for Drugs
International News-
(15) Time To Prick a Drugs Myth
(16) Heroin UK - Close-Knit Gangs Who Deal in Death
(17) Australia: At War Over Drugs
(18) Australia: Editorial: Drug Blindness
(19) Canada: Society Is Committing Genocide Against Intravenous Drug Users
(20) Canada: Sick can apply for medical use of marijuana
* Hot Off The 'Net
Cannabis may help combat schizophrenia (with MMJ Poll)
Sam Smith's Progressive Review
* Quote of the Week
J.S. Mill
***
FEATURE ARTICLE
DPF Conference "Best Ever"
by Mark Greer
The Drug Policy Foundation Conference in Bethesda MD last week was by
far the best I ever attended. This impression may be partly due to the
fact that it seemed to me that the accolades for Internet activism were
coming from many and varied sources and that for the first time it
seemed that a good percentage of the attendees were cognizant of the
impact that electronic communications has meant and will mean to the
future of reform.
I was also very happy to see a first ever plenary session on Internet
communications. While I realize that electronic communications is only
one of a very wide range of valuable activities that the reform
movement uses to move us towards our objectives, I had the impression
that a very large percentage of those at the conference had come to
realize that this new tool offers a real boon to reform in the areas of
inter-group communication and coordination, building a more cohesive
and organized reform movement, information dissemination, and media
outreach and activism.
Hearty Congratulations to DPF for this excellent conference.
***
WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW
Note:
We took last week off for the DPF Meeting, therefore this issue of the
Weekly covers articles collected by Newshawks and archived by our editors
for two weeks (May 4 thru May 18).
***
Domestic News- Policy
***
COMMENT: (1)
An intelligent and highly personalized look at America's drug policy
by a young writer who had himself used mood altering drugs
therapeutically appeared in the May Harper's Magazine. It offered
further evidence that America's drug policy no longer has much to do
with drugs or their effects.
***
(1) AMERICA'S ALTERED STATES
When Does Legal Relief Of Pain Become Illegal Pursuit Of Pleasure?
Fear and suspicion, secrecy and shame, the yearning for pleasure, and
the wish to avoid men in blue uniforms. This is (in rough, incomplete
terms) an emotional report from the front. The drug wars - which,
having spanned more than eight decades, require the plural - are
palpable in New York City. The mayor blends propaganda, brute force,
and guerrilla tactics, dispatching undercover cops to call "smoke,
smoke" and "bud, bud" - and to arrest those who answer.
[snip]
Here we come to the truth about the line and how it is maintained. With
rare exceptions, everything we know about legal drugs comes from
research sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry. Naturally, this work
emphasizes the benefits and downplays the accompanying risks. On the
other hand, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which funds more than
85 percent of the world's health research on illegal drugs, emphasizes
the dangers and all hut ignores potential benefits.
[snip]
A black market spawns violence,thievery, and illnesses - all can be
blamed on the demon drugs. For a reminder, we need only go to the
movies (in which drug dealers are the stock villains). Or watch Cops,
in which, one by one, the bedraggled junkies, fearsome crack dealers,
and hapless dope smokers are led away in chains.
[snip]
We believe that lashing at the illegal drug user will purify us. We try
to separate the "evil" from the "good" of drugs, what we love and what
we fear about them, to enforce a drug-free America with handcuffs and
jail cells while legal drugs grow in popularity and variety. But we
cannot separate the inseparable. We know the truth about ourselves. It
is time to begin living with that horror, and that blessing.
Pubdate: May 1999
Source: Harper's Magazine
Contact: letters@harpers.org
Web: http://www.harpers.org
Author: Joshua Wolf Shenk
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n480.a03.html (Part 1)
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n482.a07.html (Part 2)
***
COMMENT: (2-3)
Traditionally, except for mavericks like Molly Ivins, Texas newspapers
are tough on drugs- precisely why the decidedly non-traditional
stances taken in these op-eds from the Houston Chronicle and the
Dallas Morning News respectively, are important straws in the wind.
***
(2) DRUG ABUSE FIGHT COULD USE CASH FIX
Almost Everywhere Drugs Go, Money Follows
Money is why farmers produce plants to be processed into illegal drugs
instead of cultivating crops of less-profitable food or fiber. Money
is the motivation driving drug dealers. Stealing for money to buy
drugs is behind that big percentage of crime attributed to substance
abusers.
Fighting drugs is but the flip side of the same coin. Seizing assets
from suspects in drug cases has proved quite lucrative for law
enforcement agencies. This is on top of the vast sums of public money
the government continues pouring into its so-called drug war year
after year, despite an appalling lack of progress to show for it.
Even when it comes to treatment of drug abusers, some high-cost
private facilities have gleaned great profits by keeping drug abusers
until their insurance coverage is exhausted and then releasing them.
[snip]
Pubdate: Sun, 09 May 1999
Source: Houston Chronicle (TX)
Copyright: 1999 Houston Chronicle
Contact: viewpoints@chron.com
Website: http://www.chron.com/
Forum: http://www.chron.com/content/hcitalk/index.html
Author: THOM MARSHALL
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n491.a08.html
***
(3) LEGALIZING DRUGS CAN HELP US GET CONTROL
The struggle against drug trafficking and drug addiction never has
received wholehearted support from our body politic.
Educators, industrialists, physicians and religious leaders probably
are more opposed to the use of life-impairing drugs than are most
families, which cherish the illusion that narcotics never will reach
them.
[snip]
One thing is certain: The drug business won't evaporate by wishing and
hoping. It will dry up when the business no longer is profitable.
If the public wants alternative methods of regulation to those brought
forth by the groups that advocate the legalization of drugs, let those
ideas be discussed and debated.
[snip]
Pubdate: Tue, 11 May 1999
Source: Dallas Morning News (TX)
Copyright: 1999 The Dallas Morning News
Contact: letterstoeditor@dallasnews.com
Website: http://www.dallasnews.com/
Forum: http://forums.dallasnews.com:81/webx
Author: Stanley Marcus
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n499.a04.html
***
COMMENT: (4-5)
The prohibitionists weren't idle- the DEA opened a small museum in DC;
the way one British columnist dutifully reported its revisionist
propaganda must have warmed the heart of its curator, designated DEA
"Historian," Jill Jonnes.
In the Caribbean and elsewhere, the impending loss of Panama as an
"anti-drug" base has the US checking out numerous potential
replacements. No doubt we'll find someone willing to work for the
Yankee dollar.
***
(4) DRUG MUSEUM'S SHINING EXAMPLE OF DECADENCE
By Hugo Gurdon in Pentagon City
THE most telling exhibits in America's newest museum are burnt and bent
teaspoons, stained rags, used soda bottles and a diamond-encrusted Colt
45.
They expose the sordid, deadly reality and phoney glamour of their
subject, which is drugs. Gathered in glass display cases are the
paraphernalia of America's century-long battle for and against the
right to "get high" - bongs, psychedelic posters, liquorice rolling
papers, Tommy guns and grenades.
The Drug Enforcement Administration museum, which opened its doors to
the public on Tuesday, lays bare the willful self-delusion of the 1960s
and 1970s, when Baby Boomers swept aside a mass of historical evidence
and argued that drugs were intrinsic to life, liberty and the pursuit
of happiness, rather than the low road to ruin.
[snip]
Pubdate: 13 May 1999
Source: Daily Telegraph (UK)
Copyright: of Telegraph Group Limited 1999
Contact: dtletters@telegraph.co.uk
Website: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
Author: Hugo Gurdon
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n511.a03.html
***
(5) U.S. MILITARY OPENS NEW ANTIDRUG BASES
Curacao, Aruba, Ecuador, possibly Costa Rica, replace Panama
Ecuador and the Dutch Caribbean islands of Curacao and Aruba are the
new front lines in the U.S. military's war on drugs, the result of the
American troop withdrawal from Panama under the 1977 Panama Canal
treaties.
``We started counter drug air operations effective May 1 from all three
sites,'' Raul Duany, spokesman for the Miami-based U.S. Southern
Command, said Wednesday. That was the day that airfield operations
ended at Howard Air Force Base in Panama, the previous base for counter
drug surveillance flights. Howard is to be turned over to Panama on
Nov. 1.
[snip]
Pubdate: Fri, 07 May 1999
Source: Miami Herald (FL)
Copyright: 1999 The Miami Herald
Contact: heralded@herald.com
Address: One Herald Plaza, Miami FL 33132-1693
Fax: (305) 376-8950
Website: http://www.herald.com/
Forum: http://krwebx.infi.net/webxmulti/cgi-bin/WebX?mherald
Author: Don Bohning, Herald Staff Writer
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n496.a03.html
***
COMMENT: (6)
Needle exchange is the other national issue (besides medical Cannabis)
behind which drug reformers can muster a majority of voters. The
strong probability that newly-elected Governor Davis would sign a
needle exchange bill makes its passage by the legislature especially
important.
***
(6) ASSEMBLY PASSES NEEDLE EXCHANGE BILL
SACRAMENTO, May 13 (UPI) - Previously vetoed legislation that would
authorize needle exchange programs to slow the spread of AIDS and other
infectious diseases has advanced to the California Senate.
The Assembly passed the bill by Assembly woman Kerry Mazzoni, D-San Rafael,
today with two votes to spare over objections that it would condone illegal
drug use.
[snip]
Pubdate: Thu, 13 May 1999
Source: United Press International
Copyright: 1999 United Press International
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n506.a11.html
***
Law Enforcement & Prisons
***
COMMENT: (7-10)
A hallmark of drug prohibition is its unfairness. To the extent the
policy fails to achieve announced goals, it becomes more oppressive -
injuring more people - and thus recruiting new reformers. That college
students are beginning to experience this unfairness is good news for
us; they are far more likely than politically voiceless inner city
youths to organize and raise a fuss.
Another unfair aspect of our drug policy receiving increased attention
from the print media is its easily appreciated racism. This scrutiny
was evidenced by two important articles in the New York Times and the
Baltimore Sun.
The Anderson Valley Advertiser is hardly in their class as a
newspaper, but it reports drug issues accurately - as it did in
revealing the shocking lengths to which the DEA will go for a
conviction.
***
(7) STUDENTS FIGHT BAN ON COLLEGE FUNDS FOR DRUG OFFENDERS
Opposition is growing on college campuses to a provision of the Higher
Education Act that withholds federal financial aid from students
convicted of selling or possessing drugs.
Congress passed the provision in the fall to send a message to young
drug users, but opponents say that it denies money to troubled students
when they need it most to turn their lives around, that it fails to
address drug intervention and education, and that it ignores other
types of criminal behavior.
[snip]
Pubdate: Sun, 16 May 1999
Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
Copyright: 1999 Chicago Tribune Company
Contact: tribletter@aol.com
Website: http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Forum: http://www.chicagotribune.com/interact/boards/
Author: Carol Lewis
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n516.a03.html
***
(8) WHY SOME GET BUSTED AND SOME GO FREE
Drug arrests on the 10 o'clock news tend to show inner-city blacks and
Latinos being led away in handcuffs. But Federal health statistics show
only slight differences in the rates of drug use for whites and people
of color -- and define the typical drug addict as a white male in his
20's who lives in a suburb where drug busts almost never happen.
[snip]
Pubdate: Mon, 10 May 1999
Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 1999 The New York Times Company
Section: Editorial
Contact: letters@nytimes.com
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
Forum: http://www10.nytimes.com/comment/
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n495.a04.html
***
(9) UNEQUAL JUSTICE
Although the American criminal justice system has a long history of
racial bias, the United States is only now starting to take an honest
look at the problem.
THANKS TO the New York police force, Abner Louima and Amadou Diallo
have become household names. Thanks to state police in New Jersey,
Maryland and elsewhere, "Driving While Black" has entered the general
lexicon. For the moment, the nation seems to be taking seriously the
issue of racial bias in the criminal justice system. It's about time.
[snip]
Source: Baltimore Sun (MD)
Copyright: 1999 by The Baltimore Sun, a Times Mirror Newspaper.
Contact: letters@baltsun.com
Website: http://www.sunspot.net/
Forum: http://www.sunspot.net/cgi-bin/ultbb/Ultimate.cgi?actionintro
Author: David Cole
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n517.a02.html
***
(10) DALTON HEARING IN SAN FRANCISCO
MONDAY, MAY 17 at 8 am Redwood Valley resident John Dalton will get a
full evidentiary hearing on Outrageous Government Conduct at the
Federal Courthouse on Golden Gate Avenue in San Francisco. Judge Susan
Illston has ordered the unprecedented hearing to explore the conduct of
the Drug Enforcement Administration agents who busted Dalton two years
ago on a variety of charges related to marijuana production. In their
zeal to bust Dalton, DEA Special Agent Mark Nelson stepped way over the
line of acceptable law enforcement practices; he seduced Dalton's
mentally ill wife, telling her she was a special agent of the DEA.
[snip]
Pubdate: 12 May 1999
Source: Anderson Valley Advertiser (CA)
Copyright: Anderson Valley Advertiser
Contact: ava@pacific.net
Tele: 707-895-3016
Fax: 707-895-3355
Author: Mark Heimann
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n517.a03.html
***
Cannabis & Hemp
***
COMMENT: (11-12)
Anyone who has lived in California since November, 1996 understands
that winning at the ballot box is the easy part; what's hard is
providing legal Cannabis to bona-fide patients; two articles from
states with new initiatives explain why. Alaska's (state) Senator Leman
would make an excellent target the next time he runs for office.
Hemp agriculture is making a bid in California along with several other
states. That the bus driver tested positive for cannabinoids will be
trumpeted by prohibitionists who won't understand that it only confirms
that testing is a complete waste of public funds and says nothing about
the role his use might have played in the accident.
***
(11) BILL CURBS MEDICAL MARIJUANA
SENATE OKs POT LIMIT, MANDATORY REGISTRY
JUNEAU - The state Senate passed a bill Thursday placing new limits on
the medical marijuana law voters adopted last fall.
"I assure members that this does not repeal the law," the bill's
sponsor, Sen. Loren Leman, said. "It makes it work."
[snip]
Pubdate: Fri, 14 May 1999
Source: Anchorage Daily News (AK)
Copyright: 1999 The Anchorage Daily News
Contact: letters@adn.com
Website: http://www.adn.com/
Author: LIZ RUSKIN, Daily News reporter
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n514.a08.html
***
(12) MARIJUANA LAW IS PROVING TO BE A PAIN
Sufferers who want to try Oregon's new program find it hard to get a
doctor's approval or the drug
[snip]
But she's run into two big problems:
She can't find a doctor who'll approve marijuana as a treatment.
The law requires a doctor's permission for a patient to join the program.
She doesn't have any idea where to get marijuana.
[snip]
Pubdate: Fri, May 07 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, The Oregonian staff
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n484.a08.html
***
(13) HEMP'S BACKERS TRY FOR A COMEBACK
Legalization Sought For Cousin Of Pot
In California these days there is the hemp movement and the other hemp
movement -- this second one backing the kind you can't smoke or bake
into brownies for an altered state.
[snip]
Pubdate: Sun, 09 May 1999
Source: San Francisco Examiner (CA)
Copyright: 1999 San Francisco Examiner
Contact: letters@examiner.com
Website: http://www.examiner.com/
Forum: http://examiner.com/cgi-bin/WebX
Author: Katherine Seligman OF THE EXAMINER STAFF
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n490.a05.html
***
(14) BUS DRIVER HAD BEEN FIRED FOR DRUGS
NEW ORLEANS (AP) The driver of a charter bus that crashed and killed 22
people was fired from bus companies in 1996 and 1989 after testing
positive for marijuana four times, authorities said Thursday.
A federal investigator also confirmed a report that Frank Bedell, 46,
tested positive for marijuana when he was hospitalized Sunday after the
bus veered off a highway and plunged into an embankment.
[snip]
Pubdate: Thu, 13 May 1999
Source: Associated Press
Copyright: 1999 Associated Press
Author: Alan Sayre, Associated Press Writer
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n507.a09.html
***
International News
***
COMMENT: (15-20)
Internationally, a thriving global heroin trade (downplayed in the US)
is producing record numbers of overdose deaths and sparking bitter
disputes throughout the English-speaking world. Amazingly, advocates
of "tough on drugs" policies hold up the US experience as a model to
be emulated!
The item from the Times is public health opinion offered by a UK
constable who blames needle exchange for the increase in heroin use;
it's as irresponsible and scurrilous as anything ever penned by
McCzar. The second article from the Independent, details the size of
the UK heroin problem and the degree to which it is out of "control."
Canada and Australia have no better handle on heroin, despite intense
debate. Both are in the grip of stubbornly prohibitionist governments.
Harm reduction measures, while strenuously opposed, are generally more
available than in most locations in the US.
In a non-heroin item, an unusual decision by a Canadian judge may
pressure Health Minister Alan Rock into finally doing something he's
avoided for months- taking an identifiable position on the medical use
of Cannabis. Then again, given Mr. Rock's demonstrated evasive skills-
it may not.
***
(15) TIME TO PRICK A DRUGS MYTH
In 1998, three pharmacies on the fringes of Aberdeen distributed more
than 120,000 hypodermic syringes to people who were injecting illicit
drugs. It is a common and rising statistic throughout the UK's big
cities.
[snip]
Much of the support for NEPs in North America and the UK appears to be
based on anecdotal evidence and the use of statistics, which have been
demonstrated to be unreliable. What is of great concern is that after
12 years there has been no official assessment of this "act of faith"
when there has been a concomitant rise in drug use.
[snip]
Pubdate: 9 May 1999
Source: Sunday Times (UK)
Copyright: 1999 Times Newspapers Ltd.
Contact: editor@sunday-times.co.uk
Website: http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/
Author: Ian Oliver, former chief constable of Grampian Police
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n493.a07.html
***
(16) HEROIN UK - CLOSE-KNIT GANGS WHO DEAL IN DEATH
THE POLICE and MI5 have identified 30 drug gangs who are controlling
the distribution of heroin throughout Britain and Ireland. Detectives
also believe there is a new threat from the South American drug barons,
notably from Colombia, who are planning to ship large quantities of
heroin into Europe for the first time.
[snip]
Pubdate: Thu, 13 May 1999
Source: Independent, The (UK)
Copyright: 1999 Independent Newspapers (UK) Ltd.
Contact: letters@independent.co.uk
Address: 1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5DL
Website: http://www.independent.co.uk/
Author: Jason Bennetto, Crime Correspondent
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n511.a10.html
***
(17) AT WAR OVER DRUGS
Most have lost children to drugs, but this does not give them a common
cause. In fact, as these parents prepare for next week's drug summit,
the battle lines are being dug even deeper. DEBORAH SNOW reports.
TO AN outsider there seems so much to unite them. They are the
battle-scarred veterans of the "war" against illicit drugs, the parents
who've been through the unutterable pain of losing a child to
addiction, or drug-related death. A club, one of them says, that "you'd
never want to join". Having endured it, you ask yourself, how could
they not have a common cause?
[snip]
Pubdate: Thu, 06 May 1999
Source: Cairns Post, The (Australia)
Contact: letters@cairnspost.com.au
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n503.a01.html
***
(18) AUSTRALIA: EDITORIAL: DRUG BLINDNESS
DESPITE their claims to the contrary, it is short-sighted politicians
and religious tub-thumpers like the Rev Fred Nile who are turning the
law into a joke, not the organisers of Sydney's illegal heroin shooting
gallery.
When the law is so completely at odds with reality and has proved
impossible to enforce successfully, it is time to change it - not to
keep trying to ram it down people's throats.
[snip]
Pubdate: Thu, 06 May 1999
Source: Cairns Post, The (Australia)
Contact: letters@cairnspost.com.au
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n503.a01.html
***
(19) CANADA: SOCIETY IS COMMITTING GENOCIDE AGAINST INTRAVENOUS DRUG USERS
Society is committing genocide against intravenous drug users and
everybody knows it, delegates at the eighth annual Canadian conference
on HIV/AIDS research were told Tuesday in Victoria.
"The government has the means to stop it and they are not doing
anything about it," Dr. Martin Schechter told the conference's closing
session.
"If someone from Mars landed here, they'd say this is social murder.
It's going to get very grim."
[snip]
Pubdate: Wed, 05 May 1999
Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (Canada)
Contact: timesc@interlink.bc.ca
Author: Louise Dickson
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n478.a02.html
***
(20) CANADA: SICK CAN APPLY FOR MEDICAL USE OF MARIJUANA
For the first time in Canada, the federal government has set up a process
for sick and terminally ill people to apply for the right to use marijuana
without fear of being prosecuted.
But the guidelines, unveiled yesterday, are already being called seriously
flawed because those who sell pot to sick people can still be charged as
illegal traffickers.
"It's unfair. It's just patently unfair," Mr. Justice Harry LaForme said
yesterday after a senior government official presented the new guidelines
in Ontario's Superior Court.
[snip]
"One gets the impression," LaForme remarked, that Ottawa has reached even
this point "kicking and screaming."
As part of the application process, Ottawa has now asked Wakeford to name
his marijuana supplier.
[snip]
Source: The Toronto Star (Canada)
Pubdate: Friday, May 7, 1999
Contact: lettertoed@thestar.com
Authors: Barbara Turnbull and Tracey Tyler, Staff reporters
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n486.a01.html
***
HOT OFF THE 'NET
***
Thanks to Gary Stork for this heads up:
Major news out of UC Irvine -- Cannabis may help combat schizophrenia.
Related article at the web page below.
There is also an on-line poll "Should Marijuana be legalized for
medical purposes" at the URL below. As is usually the case in all
on-line polls the reform perspective dominates with a whopping 87% Yes
vote
http://home.digitalcity.com/orangecounty/opinion/main.dci?page=marijuan#artic
le
***
Eric Sterling writes:
I am forwarding the URL for Sam Smith's Progressive Review. I suggest
adding it to your bookmark or favorite places list or subscribing to
his email newsletter.
http://emporium.turnpike.net/P/ProRev/index.html
***
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
***
"If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person
were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in
silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be
justified in silencing mankind" - J.S. Mill -
***
DS Weekly is one of the many free educational services DrugSense offers
our members. Watch this feature to learn more about what DrugSense can
do for you.
TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS:
Please utilize the following URLs
http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm
http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm
News/COMMENTS-Editor: Tom O'Connell (tjeffoc@drugsense.org)
Senior-Editor: Mark Greer (mgreer@drugsense.org)
We wish to thank all our contributors, editors, Newshawks and letter
writing activists.
NOTICE:
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior
interest in receiving the included information for research and
educational purposes.
REMINDER:
Please help us help reform. Become a NewsHawk
See http://www.mapinc.org/hawk.htm for info on contributing clippings.
***
NOW YOU CAN DONATE TO DRUGSENSE ONLINE AND IT'S TAX DEDUCTIBLE
DrugSense provides many services to at no charge BUT THEY ARE NOT FREE
TO PRODUCE.
We incur many costs in creating our many and varied services. If you
are able to help by contributing to the DrugSense effort visit our
convenient donation web site at http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm
-OR-
Mail in your contribution. Make checks payable to MAP Inc. send your
contribution to:
The Media Awareness Project (MAP) Inc.
d/b/a DrugSense
PO Box 651
Porterville,
CA 93258
(800) 266 5759
MGreer@mapinc.org
http://www.mapinc.org/
http://www.drugsense.org/
-------------------------------------------------------------------
[End]
Newshawk: Portland NORML (http://www.pdxnorml.org/)
Pubdate: Fri, May 21, 1999
Source: KOIN Channel 6000 (CBS affiliate, Portland, OR)
Copyright: KOIN Channel 6000
Contact: c6knews@koin.com
Website: http://www.koin.com/
Author: Channel 6000 staff
State Issues First Medical Marijuana Permit
Woman With Multiple Sclerosis Becomes First Recipient
PORTLAND, Posted 3:44 p.m. May 21, 1999 -- The state of Oregon issued its
first medical marijuana permit today to a woman with multiple sclerosis.
KOIN 6 News reports Janelle Bluhm can now possess and grow small amounts of
marijuana for personal use without fear of being arrested. She says she's
been smoking marijuana since 1996 to control her muscle spasms.
Oregon voters passed the medical marijuana law in November. However, it says
nothing about where or how cardholders are suppose to get their marijuana.
Bluhm isn't saying where she gets hers either, says KOIN.
It's still illegal to buy or sell pot. Bluhm tells KOIN it's a catch-22 that
will continue to force law-abiding people to the black market.
"Because I have contacts, I know where to go unlike other people. But I'm
not a lawbreaker. I hate dealing with the underground," she says.
According to the television station, it's still now known how police will
deal with the new law. Also, it still remains to be seen if people will try
to abuse the law.
The Associated Press reports that 35 people have completed applications for
the $150 permits.
Even before the medical marijuana law passed, the Multnomah County District
Attorneys' office says it has never prosecuted anyone with a legitimate
medical need for marijuana.
Washington state has a new medical marijuana law, too. But unlike Oregon's
law, it does not require users to have a state-issued permit card.
You can read more on the medicinal marijuana law from the Oregon Medical
Association (http://www.teleport.com/~omr/OMA_guidelines.html).
You can apply for a permit online.
(http://www.proaxis.com/~gina/contigo_p10.html)
to the 1999 Daily News index for May 21-27