Thursday, March 11, 1999:
The NORML Foundation Weekly Press Release (Judge denies California AIDS patient's urgent plea for medical marijuana; Marijuana successfully treats Tourette's Syndrome, study shows; New Hampshire considers medical marijuana, decriminalization legislation; Federal judge allows medical marijuana class action suit to proceed; questions why government supplies medical marijuana to some patients, not others)
Making A Hash Of The Law (A staff editorial in the Bend, Oregon, Bulletin says the newspaper still thinks voters erred last November in approving the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act. But the attempt by state representative Kevin Mannix to gut the law by introducing HB 3052 with the support of the Oregon Association of Chiefs of Police is a terrible idea too. His objections may be valid, but the decision of voters to ignore them last fall clearly indicates that Measure 67 reflects their will. Mannix should respect it. Subverting it will merely encourge future petitioners to forsake statutory initiatives and play around with the Constitution instead.)
Oregon class sizes grow (The Oregonian says limited data show Oregon's classroom student-teacher ratios, already the fourth worst in the nation, are still deteriorating. If you don't understand the connection to the war on marijuana users, check out Portland NORML's "Oregon Services Plundered for Drug War" page.)
Schoolrooms feel the squeeze (The Oregonian, which, like Oregon legislators, would rather bankrupt public education than end the war on some drug users, says Oregon lawmakers Wednesday held their first hearing this session on reducing large classes in crowded schools. Supposedly nobody knows where more money for schools can be found.)
Police seek way to halt traffic stop race bias (According to the Oregonian, Oregon State Police Superintendent LeRon Howland and Portland Police Chief Charles Moose say that documenting traffic stops would help determine how frequently minorities are stopped for no other reason than the color of their skin. But don't expect that to happen in Oregon anytime soon. Characteristically, the newspaper doesn't even mention it's the drug war that leads to such profiling.)
May 1st Marijuana Rally in San Francisco (A bulletin from California NORML publicizes the Million Marijuana March, co-sponsored by the Drug Peace Campaign and California NORML as part of a coordinated worldwide effort to promote reform.)
States Push Medical Marijuana Challenge (UPI notes Alaska this week joined the small but growing list of states with medical marijuana laws in effect that defy the federal government. The Minnesota legislature is also considering similar legislation. Efforts to get the federal government to change its position on medical marijuana include a bill introduced by Rep. Barney Frank March 2 to lift the federal ban and reclassify marijuana as a Schedule II drug. And in Philadelphia, U.S. District Judge Marvin Katz on Wednesday allowed a class-action suit seeking to legalize the herb's use for medical reasons to proceed.)
The Drug War: Suppression Tactics Will Never Work (An op-ed in the Arizona Daily Star by Rodney S. Quinn, the former Maine secretary of state and a retired Air Force officer, notes Thomas Constantine, the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, blames the failure of the war on some drug users on a public that is unwilling and unable to fight the war. It seems more likely the public is willing to fight, but dissatisfied with current tactics. From the beginning, official exaggerations and manipulation of statistics have guided the drug war, elevating "drugs" in the public consciousness from a behavioral and psychological concern to a major national depravity. These essentially natural products that have been with us for history have suddenly become evil incarnate - the 20th century snake in the American Garden of Eden. The war on drugs is simply not winnable as long as we insist on using the tactics of suppression. The true measure of drug availability is cost. For the past 20 years, the street price of drugs, in constant dollars, has hardly kept up with inflation.)
Judge Wants Pot Explanation (The Philadelphia Daily News says U.S. District Judge Marvin Katz ruled yesterday that the federal government must explain why it provides marijuana to some sick people for medicinal reasons, but not to others. The Compassionate Investigational New Drug program stopped taking new applicants in 1992 and only about eight people continue to participate. Katz's ruling stems from the class action lawsuit for medical marijuana filed on behalf of 170 plaintiffs by Philadelphia public interest attorney Lawrence Elliott Hirsch.)
U.S. Judge Will Allow Pot Lawsuit (A second account in the Philadelphia Inquirer says U.S. District Judge Marvin Katz refused yesterday to dismiss a class-action medical-marijuana lawsuit, ruling that the plaintiffs deserved the chance to prove the government had no reason to deny the drug to seriously ill people. The victory for Philadelphia attorney Lawrence Elliott Hirsch keeps alive the lawsuit that many legal experts assumed had no chance of success when it was filed in July.)
Judge declines to dismiss medical marijuana lawsuit (A slightly longer version of the Philadelphia Inquirer article, apparently from a different edition)
Breaking News: Judge rules against government in medical marijuana class action suit (A list subscriber posts a URL where Judge Katz's decision is located, and summarizes key elements of his decision.)
Ann Landers: Views On Marijuana Come In All Varieties (The nationally syndicated advice columnist based at the Chicago Tribune shares a variety of "pro" and "con" responses to her recent column calling for the reform of marijuana laws.)
Nightline: Getting Straight (ABC News' last night of a three-part series by Dave Marash continues last night's focus on Rafael Flores, a freelancer who combs the streets of New York at night trying to con addicts into accepting treatment and treatment centers into giving them a bed. Flores is also a walking barometer of our own failure. No matter how much we succeed in cutting the supply, no matter how many dealers we throw in prison, until we make drug treatment accessible to those who need it, we're losing the war.)
Bytes: 86,500 Last updated: 5/13/99
