Portland NORML 1998 News Index, January 15-21

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1998 News
About Cannabis and Drug Policy
January 15-21

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Thursday, January 15, 1998

NORML Weekly News Release (US Files Civil Suits To Shut Down California Cannabis Buyers' Clubs; State Senator Calls For Summit On 'Responsible Medical Marijuana Distribution'; HHS To Conduct Binding Review Of Marijuana's Prohibitive Status)
DEA Marijuana Decision - More Sober Assessments (By Kevin Zeese, Rick Doblin)
Jon Gettman Responds To Zeese And Doblin's Negative Assessments (Of His DEA Petition To Reschedule Marijuana)
Re - DEA Petition Story (Where To Find A One-Page Summary About The Case To Give To Media While Seeking Coverage)
HHS To Conduct Binding Review Of Marijuana (Press Release From American Medical Marijuana Organization)
New Medicinal Marijuana Bill Hits Senate (Washington State Senator Jeanne Kohl, D-Seattle, Is Proposing Senate Bill 6271, To Give Patients Who Use Medical Marijuana - And Physicians Who Recommend It - Immunity From State Prosecution)
Medical Marijuana Patient Ralph Seeley Writes To Washington State Senator Deccio (Chair Of Health And Long Term Care Committee, On Senator Kohl's Senate Bill 6271 And Gettman's DEA Petition To Reschedule Cannabis)
Another Letter By Ralph Seeley (To Washington State Senator Dan McDonald)
Ralph Seeley's Letter To Members Of Committee On Health And Long Term Care (On Why Washington Voters' Rejection Of I-685 Didn't Mean A Rejection Of Medical Marijuana)
Meth Tools Found On Roads (It's Not Drugs, It's Prohibition That Leads To Dumping Of Toxic Methamphetamine Byproducts Along Rural Washington State Roadways)
Dying Need Compassion (AIDS Patient Caregiver Writes To Editor Of 'Oakland Tribune' About Attorney General Lungren's Lack Of Compassion, Praises Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative)
San Francisco Pot Club Owner Starts Campaign - Peron's Gubernatorial Run Begins In Santa Cruz ('San Francisco Chronicle' Quotes Dennis Peron As He Bids For California GOP Nomination - 'Real Republicans Want Government To Butt Out Of Issues Like Sexual Choices And Marijuana Use')
Inmate Population Outpaces Prisons, Jails (California's State Prisons And County Jails Have Not Kept Up With An Inmate Population That Has Increased Sixfold Since 1980, Reports 137-Page Study By 'Little Hoover Commission' - Despite A Boom In Construction That Has Crippled Funding For Schools And Public Services)
Watchdogs Say Prisons And Jails Too Crowded (Report On California Corrections By The Little Hoover Commission)
What Does Charles Manson Know About Drugs In Prison That Bill Clinton Doesn't? (News Release From US Libertarian Party Denounces Proposed New $197 Million Federal Outlay And Failure Of War On Some Drugs)
Defense Department To Urge End To Border Patrol (Senior US Defense Official Says 'It's Not Worth The Legal Liability For Our Soldiers, And The Actual Amount Of Drugs Seized' By Marines Along Texas Border 'Proved To Be Modest')
Senate Votes To Censure Abernathy (The Democrat From Atlanta, Georgia, Son Of A Beloved Civil Rights Leader, May Still Face Impeachment Proceedings For Attempting To Conceal Marijuana In His Underpants After Flight Home From Jamaican Vacation)
Miami Schools Water Down Drug Tests ('Associated Press' Says Threat Of Lawsuit From Florida ACLU Persuades Miami-Dade County School District To Make Urine Tests Voluntary)
Drug Suspect Shot by Undercover Officer (Local News From 'The Houston Chronicle')
Drinkers Who Start At An Early Age More Likely To Become Alcoholics, Study Says ('Associated Press' Reports On New Paper From US National Institutes Of Health)
Anti-German Sentiment Aided Prohibition's Approval ('Milwaukee Journal Sentinel' Historical Piece On How Wisconsin Was 'Dragged Kicking And Screaming Into Temperance,' Although 'The Ink On The New Law Was All That Stayed Dry,' Part Of Series On Wisconsin's Sesquicentennial)
National Smokers Alliance (Drug Policy Reformers Should Learn From Organization Promoting Rights Of Tobacco Consumers)
Lock Up Smokers (Sarcastic Letter To Editor Of California's 'San Luis Obispo New Times' Quotes Joe Califano Of CASA - Tobacco Is The True 'Gateway' Drug - 'With More Than 642,000 Arrests For Marijuana Last Year, Incarceration Is A Very Popular Program And Should Be Applied To Tobacco Smokers As Well')
Cigarette Maker Targeted Teens, Records Suggest ('Los Angeles Times' Reports RJ Reynolds Tobacco Targeted Smokers As Young As 13 For The Past 25 Years, According To Internal Company Documents Released Yesterday)
Joe Camel Designed To Lure Teens ('San Francisco Chronicle' Version Says City Attorney Louise Renne Released The Documents As Part Of A Settlement Between San Francisco, Other Plaintiffs And RJ Reynolds, Which Will Pay $10 Million To San Francisco, Other California Cities And Counties To Finance Youth Anti-Smoking Campaigns)
RJR Went After Teens ('San Jose Mercury News' Version)
Memos Show Teens Targets For Tobacco ('Houston Chronicle' Rewrite Of 'New York Times' Version)
Ottawa Assailed Over British Columbia Drug Deaths (BC Chief Coroner Larry Campbell Urges Canadian Government To Identify Addiction As A Health Problem)
Launch Of Australian Illicit Drugs Report (Justice Minister Amanda Vanstone Today In Canberra Releases A Joint Commonwealth And State Law Enforcement Study)
Words And The Corruption Of Justice (Comments From List Subscriber About Australian Illicit Drugs Report, Excerpts From Which Ensue)
Key Quotes From Illicit Drug Report (List Subscriber Posts Excerpts From Australian Illicit Drugs Report)
Drug Charge Defendants Changed Plea To Guilty (Ireland's 'Examiner' Reports Local Cannabis Conviction)
English Drugs Mule Jailed For Three Years ('Irish Times' Says 19-Year-Old Woman From Manchester Smuggled £190,000 Of Hash Into Ireland From Spain For £1,000 Fee From 'A Major Criminal Gang')
The Week Online With DRCNet, Issue Number 25 (News Summary For Activists From The Drug Reform Coordination Network)
Bytes: 185,000 Last updated: 5/14/98

Friday, January 16, 1998:
Felony Charges Are Filed Against Pot Group Leader ('Orange County Register' Reports Bust Of Martin Chavez Of The Orange County Cannabis Co-Op)
Authorities Crack Down On Two Pot Clubs ('Associated Press' Reports Marvin Chavez Of The Orange County Cannabis Co-Op Is Arrested, While Thousand Oaks Mayor Mike Markey And City Councilman Andy Fox Ask Federal Prosecutors To Investigate Ventura County Medical Cannabis Center)
US Seeks To Close Cannabis Clubs (Two Letters To The Editor Of 'The Los Angeles Times' Fault State And Federal Attempts To Close California Medical Marijuana Dispensaries)
East Palo Alto Police Debate Flares ('San Jose Mercury News' Says City Council Meeting Thursday Where Police Chief Showed Off Cache Of Seized Drugs Was Scene Of Debate Over Whether City Should Contract Out Police Services To San Mateo County Sheriff's Department - Minority Community Prefers Local Control)
Two Held, One Sought After Agents Seize Narcotics ('San Jose Mercury News' Roundup Of Police News Notes Monterey County Narcotics Enforcement Unit Busts Cocaine, Marijuana - While A Monterey County Sheriff's Deputy Is Injured By An Alleged Drunken Driver)
Legislature '98 ('Associated Press' Roundup On Bills Facing Washington State Lawmakers Mentions That Prospects For Approval Of Jeanne Kohl's Senate Bill 6271 'Appear Dim')
An Act Relating To Medical Marijuana (Text Of Washington State Senate Bill Report On SB 6271, Authorizing Use Of Medical Marijuana, Co-Sponsored By Senators Kohl, Thibaudeau)
Update On Alan Carter-McLemore (Texas Medical-Marijuana Prisoner Still Denied Legal Prescription For Marinol)
Broken Arrow Man Gets Prison Term In Drug Case ('Tulsa World' Reports Oklahoma Resident Carrying 55 Pounds Of Cannabis For $1,500 Gets Sentence Of 21 Months In Prison, $4,000 Fine)
Plant Pots Filled With Planted Pot (The Husband Of A Woman In Porter County, Indiana, Confined To Bed With A Back Injury Takes The Rap When Her Emergency Call Results In Police Finding 10 Small Cannabis Plants)
Professor Takes Part In Smokeout (Julian Heicklen, A 65-Year-Old Penn State Chemistry Professor, Attracts A Crowd Of About 50 As He Smokes His First Marijuana Joint, Saying, 'We Have A Right To Make Free Choices' - Not Arrested, He Vows To Return)
Cigarette Nicotine Levels Posted On Internet ('Reuters' Reports That, Thanks To A New Massachusetts Law, The American Cancer Society Is Publicizing Nicotine Levels Of 85 Brands, Showing Many 'Light' Brands Have High Levels Of The Drug)
Hooked On Young Smokers ('New York Times' Editorial Calls On US Justice Department To Determine Whether Perjury Charges Are Warranted Against RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company Officials Who Testified Under Oath To Congress The Company Did Not Go After Underage Smokers)
Indict The Liars ('San Jose Mercury News' Recommends Same Action Against Tobacco Executives Its Readers Might Recommend Against Newspaper Executives)
Tobacco Ads Targeted Kids - Hardly A Shock (Op-Ed By Jim Trotter In 'San Jose Mercury News' Says He Thinks His 21-Year-Old Son Smokes In Part Because Tobacco Ads Told Him It's Cool)
Settlement On Tobacco 'A Done Deal' (Texas May Get $15 Billion From US Cigarette Smokers, Tobacco Companies Get To Continue Making Profits, Keep Toxic Additives Secret)
Declare War On Cigars (Letter To Editor Of 'Arizona Daily Star' Over Increase In 'Cuban Cigar-Related Crime' Sarcastically Urges Drug-War Approach To Problem)
Social Zealots Are Wrong (Letter To Editor Of 'The Herald' In Everett, Washington, Faults Ideology Behind Anti-Smoker Manipulators And California's New Ban On Smoking In Bars)
Foes Of Smoking Ban Snuffed Again ('San Jose Mercury News' Says Superior Court Judge 'Doesn't Find Anything In The Bar-Smoking Ban That Was In Conflict With The Constitution' And Refuses Pretrial Request Of Bar Owners To Block Enforcement Of New California Law)
Media Should Join With The Government To Push Anti-Drug Message (Drug Czar McCaffrey Launches Government's $195 Ad Campaign Shilling For Freebies - Doesn't Mention It Was Mass Media Who Began And Have Sustained US War On Some Drugs By Promoting Fear, Sensationalism And Ignorance Since Their Consolidation Of Power In Early 20th Century)
New National Anti-Drug Campaign Kicked Off At Local School ('Houston Chronicle' Article On Your Tax Dollars At Work)
'Cocaine Mom' Bill Approved In Assembly, Sent To Senate ('Milwaukee Journal Sentinel' Says If Law Passes, Wisconsin Would Become First State To Allow Judges To Order Incarceration Of Pregnant Women Addicted To Alcohol, Other Drugs)
Study Finds Link In Age, Alcoholism ('San Jose Mercury News' Article On Report By Researchers Bridget F. Grant And Deborah A. Dawson Of National Institute On Alcohol Abuse And Alcoholism, In January Issue Of 'Journal Of Substance Abuse' - The Younger A Person Starts Drinking, The More Likely He Or She Will Abuse Alcohol Later)
Drugs In Users' Systems Could Be Basis For Charges ('Ft. Worth Star Telegram' Reports A Heroin 'Overdose' In Tarrant County, Texas, May Now Lead To Possession Charges Against The Victim)
Pentagon Expected To End Border Troops ('Houston Chronicle' Version Of News From Yesterday And The Day Before)
Draft Regulations Announced For Hemp ('Ontario Farmer Daily' Reports Health Canada Has Announced Draft Legislation That Will Lead To Establishment Of A Licensing System In Time For The 1998 Growing Season)
Police 'Ready To Soften On Cannabis' ('Canberra Times' Article On The New Illicit Drugs Report Issued By Australian Law Enforcement)
It's Softly, Softly On Cannabis Law ('Sydney Morning Herald' Article On The New Illicit Drugs Report From The Australian Bureau Of Criminal Intelligence, Which Recommends Cannabis Decriminalisation)
Youth Who Was Selling Drugs Given Five Years ('Irish Times' Article About One Dubliner Who Wishes He Was Son Of British Home Secretary)
European Parliament To Delay Cannabis Vote ('Reuters' Says Vote In Strasbourg On Whether To Recommend Decriminalisation In The EU Could Be Postponed As Anti-Prohibition Supporters Seek More Time To Win Round Reticent British Labour Deputies)
Bytes: 102,000 Last updated: 2/28/98

Saturday, January 17, 1998:
Medical Marijuana Club Left Low And Dry (Deputy District Attorney Carl Armbrust Files Charges Against Marvin Chavez, Founder Of The Orange County Cannabis Co-op And Champion Of The Indigent, Saying, 'He Cannot Sell It, And That Means Not Taking Donations')
Court Rejects Permit For Pot Outlet ('Los Angeles Times' Reports Ventura County Medical Cannabis Center in Thousand Oaks, California, Loses Bid In Superior Court To Obtain Occupancy Permit - City Council To Revisit Issue At January 27 Meeting)
Yamaguchi Has It Wrong Two Letters To Editor Of 'San Francisco Chronicle' Protest US Justice Department Lawsuits Against California Medical Marijuana Dispensaries - First Letter Quotes 10th Amendment, Challenges US Attorney To Cite What Power Has Been Delegated To US To Control What Plants Californians May Or May Not Grow, Sell, Or Ingest Within Their Own State)
Medical Marijuana - Unpublished Federal Study Found THC-Treated Rats Lived Longer, Had Less Cancer ('AIDS Treatment News' Obtains 126-Page Study, 'NTP Technical Report On The Toxicology And Carcinogenesis Studies Of 1-Trans-Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol, CAS No. 1972-08-3, In F344/N Rats And B6C3F(1) Mice, Gavage Studies')
Chavez Released, Phone Poll Results Are In ('Orange County Register' Says Marvin Chavez, Founder Of Orange County Cannabis Co-op, Released - District Attorney Intends To Proceed With Jury Trial Despite 'Register' Poll Showing 99 Percent Disapproval)
State Drug Tax Ruled Unconstitutional ('Greensboro News & Record' Says North Carolina Law - Which Has Raised $26 Million In Eight Years - Has Been Ruled Unconstitutional Double Jeopardy By Fourth US Circuit Court Of Appeals)
Massive Report On Fatal Collision Lays Blame On Driver (A Fiery Two-Car Collision That Left 11 Dead Near Lompoc, California, Is Blamed On One Driver's Excessive Speed And Ingestion Of Heroin, Cocaine And Marijuana - Though The Driver Of The Other Auto Had Also Used Cocaine)
DA Files Murder Charges Against Fiorella (If, Like Most Murders In California, This One Were Attributable To Alcohol, And Marijuana Wasn't Involved, The 'San Luis Obispo County Telegram-Tribune' Wouldn't Have Bothered)
National Politics Now Defined By An Absence Of Hot Issues ('San Jose Mercury News' Essay Notes Polls Show Few If Any Issues Top Priority To More Than 10 Percent Of US Public, Possibly Prompting Special-Interest Groups To Push Their Goals More Forcefully, Against A Divided Government Unable To Agree On The Problems, Let Alone Solutions)
Clinton - Smoking Initiative Needed (The Overeating Cigar-Smoker Purportedly Wants To Protect Kids By Giving FDA Authority To Regulate Tobacco As A Drug - 'Los Angeles Times' Does Not Mention Any Need For Constitutional Amendment As With Alcohol)
Scared Of Lawsuits? Terrorize The Kids (Two Letters To Editor Of 'Washington Post' Fault Zero-Tolerance Policies At Schools In Fairfax County, Virginia)
'Washington Week In Review' (Transcript Of Three-Part Program About The US War On Drugs To Be Available Online)
Drug Prohibition Hasn't Worked (Letter To Editor Of Canada's 'Financial Post' Disagrees With Physician's Column That Mentioned 'Soft' Drug Laws)
Right To Toke (Letter To Editor Of Canada's 'Financial Post' Disagrees With A Different Article - The Nanny State Has No Right To Prohibit Its Citizens From Taking Risks)
Addict Died After Rapid Opiate Detoxification ('British Medical Journal' Identifies New Peril For Heroin Users - Addiction Specialists Ask For Review Of Controversial Treatment)
Cannabis Is A Killer On The Roads (Britain's 'Evening News' Publicizes Ignorant, Fear-Mongering Warnings From A Norwich 'Charity')
Controlled Clinical Trials On Cannabis (A Physician's Letter To The Editor Of 'The Scotsman' Agrees There Is A 'Strong Case For Further Scientific Investigation Of Cannabis As A Medical Drug')
Boy, 13, Dies From Heroin Overdose ('The Scotsman' Reports A Pit Bull Mauled The Glasgow Youth's Body Before Its Discovery - Residents Nearby Say It May Have Been The First Time He Experimented With Heroin)
Life After Drugs ('Irish Times' Feature On People With Drug Problems Attending Narcotics Anonymous - Established In Venice Beach, California, In The 1950s And Imported To Ireland In 1978)
Family's Legacy Of Tragedy From The Boxer ('Irish Times' Rationalizes 18-Year Sentence For Drug Seller Called 'The Boxer' By Citing Dublin Parents Who Lost Four Of Their Five Children To Street Heroin)
Heroin Purity Warning As Overdose Cases Soar (Australia's 'Sydney Morning Herald' Reports Surge In Sydney Heroin Deaths - Police Blame Increasing Purity, But National Drug And Alcohol Research Centre Points To Impurities, Mixing With Other Drugs Such As Alcohol)
Bytes: 86,600 Last updated: 3/3/98

Sunday, January 18, 1998:
Underdog Battles Forces Of Darkness (Veteran Journalist's Op-Ed Column Explains Need For Cannabis Clubs, Praises Two On City Council In Thousand Oaks, California, Who Compassionately Changed Their Votes, Keeping Open The Ventura County Medical Cannabis Center)
A Public Policy Preview - At Issue In '98 - The Dope On Buyers (Senior Editorialist For 'The Orange County Register' Says Local Government May Have To Pick Up The Ball, Since California And US Officials Have Ignored Proposition 215's Mandate 'To Implement A Plan To Provide For The Safe And Affordable Distribution Of Marijuana To All Patients In Medical Need')
Lawmakers' Social-Issues Agenda Brimming ('Associated Press' Notes Washington State Legislature Has Scheduled An Unusual Evening Hearing Tuesday On SB 6271, The Medical-Marijuana Bill, By The Senate Health & Long Term Care Committee)
Washington State Senator Kohl Discusses Medical Marijuana 11 AM Monday On KIRO In Seattle (Call Toll-Free About SB 6271 Or Listen On RealAudio)
Dear Abby (Syndicated US Advice Columnist Reassured 95 Percent Of Physicians Agree With Dr. Gorback Of Houston's Center For Pain Relief - Narcotics Restorative, Not Harmful, To Chronic-Pain Patients' Sleep - Real Problem Is State And Federal Regulatory Agencies, Overzealous Bureaucrats)
'Weed Wars' Is Back At CNN (Text Of Recent Broadcast Now Online)
For Your Information - Alcohol Taxes ('Kane's Beverage Week' Says US Federal Revenue From Alcohol Declined To $7.6 Billion In Fiscal 1997, While 'Chain Drug Review' Notes Sales At 20,000 Drugstores Nationwide Rose 8.7 Percent, To $89 Billion)
The Reach Of Roe, How The Court's Ruling Has Transformed Privacy Rights ('Washington Post' Essay Notes That, While The Roe-Wade Decision's Establishment Of A Constitutional Right To Privacy Or 'Bodily Integrity' Has Influenced Other Legal Issues, Its Impact On Marijuana Prohibition Has Been Nil)
Prosecutor Goes After Pregnant Addicts For Abuse ('Houston Chronicle' Article On Charles Condon, South Carolina's Attorney General - Using Crack Babies As A Possible 'Wedge' To Reconsider Roe-Wade?)
Hair Tests For Drug Usage Raising Concerns ('Orange County Register' Notes That Although The FDA Says 'Hair Analysis For The Presence Of Drugs Is Unproven, Unsupported By Scientific Literature Or Controlled Trials,' It's Increasingly Popular, Thanks Largely To Sustained Lobbying And Marketing Efforts By Florida Entrepreneur H. Wayne Huizenga, Founder Of Blockbuster Entertainment, Whose Psychemedics Corp. Of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Dominates The Hair-Testing Market)
DARE-ing To Rethink Drug Classes (Two-Year Study By Educators In Colorado Springs Finds That When Local Fifth-Graders - The Only Students Who Take Part In DARE - Move On To Middle School, They Are Suspended And Expelled For Drugs, Weapons, Fighting And Other Offenses At Higher Rates Than Even High School Teens)
Popular 'Rave' Drug, Alcohol Deadly Mix (Although No Incidents Are Reported And Police In Denver, Colorado, Have Seen Little Of The Drug, 'The Gazette' Launches Advertising Campaign To Make Gamma-hydroxybutyric Acid, Or GHB, Popular With Teens)
Bishop Finds Ash Street Jail Conditions A 'Growing Concern' (Roman Catholic Bishop Sean P. O'Malley Of New Bedford, Massachusetts, Takes Seriously Jesus' Teaching To Help Prisoners)
Prohibition's Inroads In State Ran Into Heavy Resistance ('Milwaukee Journal Sentinel' Historical Piece On Era Of Alcohol Prohibition, Part Of Series On Wisconsin's Sesquicentennial)
Illegal Drugs - What Should We Do Now? (Staff Editorial In Pennsylvania's 'Centre Daily Times' Invites Readers To Take Part In A 'National Issues Forum' January 31 In College Township)
A Century Of Drug Use And Drug Policy ('Centre Daily Times' Publishes Chronology Outlining US Drug Laws And Highlights Since 1900)
To Win The Drug War, We Must Fight The Battles ('Centre Daily Times' Series Features Pennsylvania Prosecutor Saying Step Up Enforcement To Finish The Job)
Send One Strong Message, And Share The Responsibility ('Centre Daily Times' Series Features Pennsylvania Health Educator Saying Change Attitudes About Illegal Drugs, Encourage Prevention)
Treat Complex Problem As A Public Health Issue ('Centre Daily Times' Series Features Author Theodore Vallance Promoting Harm Reduction)
We Can't Just Ignore The Devastation Of Drugs (Three Letters To The Editor Of 'The New York Times' Responding To Milton Friedman)
Was Troubled Son Kidnapped Or Rescued? (Alameda County, California Judge Will Rule On Parental And Children's Rights In Case Of Drug-Abstaining Oakland High School Freshman With Attention Deficit Disorder Sent To 'Tough Love' Type Camp In Jamaica By Fundamentalist Parents)
Pot Eased My Anxious Son's Mood Swings (Letter To Editor Of Britain's 'Independent On Sunday,' Contrasts The Case Of Jack Straw's Son With That Of A Woman In Sussex Whose 17-Year-Old Uses Cannabis To Alleviate A Mood Disorder - She Now Fears Her Conviction For Possessing 13 Plants With Intent To Supply Will Devastate Their Lives)
Labour 'Must Lead The Way On Law Reform' (Britain's 'Independent On Sunday' Reports Actor And Labour Party Stalwart Michael Cashman Said On BBC TV's 'Question Time' That The Labour Government Is Treating The Subject Of Cannabis Law Reform The Same Way The Previous Tory Administrations Dealt With Gay Rights Issues)
Addicts Face Jail Or Cure By Heroin Blocker ('The Independent On Sunday' Says British Home Secretary Jack Straw Impressed By Singapore Claims, Will Consider Practicing Medicine Without A License In Trial Treatment Programmes Coercing Offenders To Use Naltrexone As Condition Of Probation)
A Tale Of Two Drug-Dealing Children (Writer Of Letter To Editor Of 'Sunday Times' Contrasts Treatment Her 16-Year-Old Daughter Received For Selling Cannabis With That Received By The 17-Year-Old Son Of Jack Straw, The British Home Secretary, For The Same Offense)
Earlier Pub Closing 'No Cure For Violence' ('Scotland On Sunday' Reports Study Of Alcohol Users By Doctors At Royal Infirmary Of Edinburgh Also Confirmed Suspected Link Between Alcohol And Violence)
Scots Gangs Join Loyalist Drugs For Arms Network (England's 'Sunday Times' Alleges Pro-British Paramilitary Groups In Northern Ireland Have Cut Deals With Glasgow Drug Dealers To Import Large Quantities Of Cocaine And Heroin Into The Territory To Finance Their Terrorist Activities Against Pro-Irish Catholics)
Cartels May Use Gold To Launder Profits ('New York Times' Reports US Officials Believe The Rapid Increase In The Amount Of Gold Coming To America From Guyana Is Attributable To Colombian And Bolivian Drug Syndicates)
Bytes: 141,000 Last updated: 2/16/98

Monday, January 19, 1998:
How To Testify At Washington State Legislature's Tuesday Night Hearing In Olympia (On Senator Kohl's Proposed Medical-Marijuana Bill, SB 6271)
As Crime Rate Falls, Number Of Inmates Rises ('New York Times' On New US Justice Department Study - Crime Declined For Last Five Years But Number Of Inmates In Jails And Prisons Rose To 1,725,842 As Of June 1997 - Incarceration Rate For Drug Arrests Up 1,000 Percent Since 1980 - National Incarceration Rate Now 645 Per 100,000, More Than Double 1985's Rate Of 313 Per 100,000)
Prison Population Up Nearly 100,000 Nationally In 1997 ('Orange County Register' Version Notes Inmate Count Increased Nearly 5 Percent Overall And 9.4 Percent In Local Jails - One Of Every 155 US Residents Behind Bars In Mid-1997)
US Prison, Jail Populations Up 6 Percent In '97 ('Houston Chronicle' Version Notes Hawaii Recorded The Biggest Increase - 21.6 Percent)
Firefighter's Death, Drugs Shock Friends ('Boston Globe' Reports The 'Knock-Out' Brand Of Heroin Found On The Dead Man Is Potentially Lethal And Behind A Rash Of So-Called 'Overdose' Incidents The Same Afternoon)
Anti-Drug Film Speaks From Grave ('Arizona Daily Star' Story About Late Death-Row Inmates' 'Anti-Drug' Video - Protagonist Of 'It Could Happen To You' Started Drinking At Age 10, By High School, He Was Drinking Heavily)
Critics Attack New York's Tough Drug Laws ('New York Times' Marks 25th Anniversary Of Mandatory Minimum Laws Sponsored By Governor Nelson Rockefeller, Observing That Drug Dealers, Prosecutors And Defense Lawyers Have Increasingly Found Ways Of Working Around Them)
A Way Out For Junkies? ('Time' Magazine Reports Government, Scientists From Drugmaker Reckitt & Colman Recently Began Costly Clinical Trials Needed For Government Approval Of Buprenorphine, Which Blocks Heroin-Withdrawal Cravings - Results So Positive Clinicians Stopped Giving Placebos To Control Groups)
Drug House In Gary Razed With Federal Money ('New York Times' Fails To Mention That US Policy Of Destroying The Village In Order To Save It Probably Won't Work In Indiana Any Better Than It Did In Vietnam)
'Washington Post' Archive (11 Years Of News Goes Online - Free For Brief Period)
DEA Raids Prelude Press Over Pot Book - 'From Publishers Weekly' (More About Assault By Federal Thugs Of Cancer/AIDS/Medical Marijuana Patient And Best-Selling Author Peter McWilliams And His Publisher)
Pot Game's No Bust (After Hearing A Ream Of Vancouver Island Pot-Growing Stories, Two Canadian Men Have Come Up With 'The Cultivation Game,' A Board Game Satirizing Sooke-Area Marijuana-Growing Operations - Players Cope With Police Helicopters, Hungry Animals And Hikers)
US Data Show Cultivation Of Cocaine's Raw Material Rose In Colombia ('Washington Post' Says Figures From CIA Overflights And Satellites 'Virtually Guarantee Colombia Will Not Be Certified' As Cooperating In Counter-Drug Efforts, Imperiling Aid From US)
Bytes: 58,600 Last updated: 2/16/98

Tuesday, January 20, 1998:
Happy 78th Birthday, Alcohol Prohibition! (Now You Know)
Cop, Youth Killed In SWAT Raid ('Fresno Bee' Article About Death Of 16-Year-Old California Teen And 33-Year-Old Cop - Police Lieutenant Rejects Criticism About Department Investigating Itself, But Autopsies Still Not Completed - Incident Provokes Re-Examination Of Special Weapons And Tactics Teams - Peter Kraska Of Eastern Kentucky University Says Use Of SWAT Teams Increased From 3,000 Deployments Nationwide In 1980 To 30,000 In 1995)
More Scientific Evidence Cannabis Is Effective Medicine As Feds Try To Close Buyers Clubs ('Marijuananews.com' Highlights January 9 Press Release From HealthWire Citing Article In January 1998 'Arthritis & Rheumatism' Describing Anti-Inflammatory Effects Of CT-3, A Non-Psychoactive Synthetic Derivative Of A Metabolite Of Tetrahydrocannabinol)
AMR And Initiative 57 Sponsors Reportedly Compromise On Language For Washington, DC Medical-Marijuana Initiative (Dave Fratello Of Americans For Medical Rights Says Extensive Meetings Result In 'Composite Text' To Be Online Later This Week - New Language Still Prevents Doctors From Deciding Who Is Helped)
DARE We Admit It? Drug War Is A Bust With Our Children (Kendra Wright Of Fam Watch Recounts The Failures Of DARE And The Failure Of Politicians To Act)
DARE (Sandee Burbank Of Mothers Against Misuse And Abuse In Mosier, Oregon, Says Wasco County's New Sheriff Has Shut Down Its DARE Program)
Students Challenge Effectiveness Of Anti-Drug Ads (Thumbs Down 'Associated Press' Review Of New $195 Million US TV Ad Campaign As It Premieres In Atlanta, Georgia - McCaffrey Says Ads Also Being Tested In Baltimore, Boise, Denver, Hartford, Houston, Milwaukee, Portland, Oregon; San Diego; Sioux City, Iowa; Tucson And Washington, DC)
Mark Twain On Opium Smuggling (List Subscriber Posts Historical News Article From 'San Francisco Daily Morning Call' Of July 9, 1864)
Woman Attacked By Policeman Loses Appeal Over Damage Award (US Supreme Court Refuses To Review Case Of Motorist Sexually Assaulted By Cop Who Claimed To Find Marijuana - Which She Never Used)
Doctors Could Help Break The Drug Oligopoly (Letter To Editor Of 'New York Times' Rebuts Critic Of Milton Friedman's January 11 Essay - Reduce Harm By Making Users Obtain Drugs From Doctors)
Cannabis Certainly No Soft Drug (Drug Warrior's Letter To Editor Of 'Canberra Times' Refers To Junk Science To Exaggerate Health Risks To Australians, Implying Such Risks Are Best Addressed By Continuing Failed Policy Of Mass Incarceration)
The Ultimate Betrayal? Tories Took Money From A Heroin Baron (Britain's 'Independent' Quotes The Sister Of One Of Southeast Asia's Most Notorious Drug Smugglers Saying Ma Sik-chun Donated £1 Million In 1994)
Drive Safely With Cannabis (Letter To Editor Of Irish 'Examiner' Cites Evidence Refuting Garda Assumption That Cannabis Impairs Motorists)
A Culture Of Depraved Drouthiness (Op-Ed By Tom Morton In 'The Scotsman' Ponders Pub Closing Hours And The Varieties Of Human Behavior)
Pop Star's Cocaine Tale Changes French View Of The World (Johnny Hallyday, The Perpetual French Rock Star, Member Of The Legion Of Honour, And Friend To President Jacques Chirac, Shakes Up France With A Candid Interview In 'Le Monde')
Bytes: 60,200 Last updated: 2/16/98

Wednesday, January 21, 1998:
For Someone Like Ralph (Cancer Patient And Medical-Marijuana Activist Ralph Seeley Dying - 'Seattle Times' Editorial Endorses Washington Senate Bill 6271 - Also, Tuesday's Senate Hearing On SB 6271 Now Online)
We Don't Need To Wait On Medical Marijuana (Seattle 'Post-Intelligencer' Endorses Medical Marijuana, Urges Washington State Senator Alex Deccio To Allow Vote On SB 6271)
Marijuana Mercy Campaigner Lies In A Coma - New Bid For Medical Use Of Pot Likely To Be Shelved (Seattle 'Post Intelligencer' Capitol Bureau Reports Imminent Deaths Of Ralph Seeley And Washington State SB 6271 - Dr. Rob Killian, Sponsor Of Last Fall's Initiative 685, Says He's Supporting Kohl's Bill, But If It Fails He'll Be Back With A New Voter Initiative)
Kohl Flies Solo In Push For Medical Marijuana Bill (University Of Washington 'Daily' Interviews Co-Sponsor Of Medical Marijuana Bill, SB 6271 - And Several Of Its Opponents)
Senate Panel Hears Testimony On Measure To Legalize Medical Use Of Marijuana ('Associated Press' Report On The January 20 Hearing In Olympia On SB 6271 By Washington State Senate Health And Longterm Care Committee)
Rogue Of The Week (Regular Feature In Portland's 'Willamette Week' Focuses On Buckman Community Association For Protesting Delta Methadone Clinic First And Asking Questions Later)
Let Government Respect The Law (Letter To Editor Of 'Oakland Tribune' On Federal Lawsuits Against California Medical-Marijuana Dispensaries)
Mr. Gingrich Goes To Hollywood (Columnist Arianna Huffington In 'San Diego Union Tribune' Hilariously Satirizes 'Sheer Banality' Of The GOP Speaker Of The US House And 'Shallowness Of His Analysis Of The Drug Problem')
Democratic Hopeful Davis Calls For Student Drug Tests ('San Francisco Chronicle' Notes Gubernatorial Candidate Lieutenant Governor Gray Davis's Proposal Is For 'Voluntary Drug Tests For California High School Pupils - If Both They And Their Parents Agree')
Lungren Tells Trading Card Manufacturer To Get Off The Pot ('Oakland Tribune' Belatedly Reports California Attorney General's Attack On Free Speech And Free Enterprise Rights Of InLine Classic Cards - One Card Reads, 'We Hope We Haven't Made Lungren Mad, That Could Be Dangerous In California')
Split Grows Inside Pot's Grass Roots ('Los Angeles Times' Emphasizes Personalities In Opposing Medical-Marijuana Initiatives In Maine)
System At Its Worst ('Oakland Tribune' Editorial Notes Recent Study By Joan Petersilia, Criminologist At University Of California-Irvine, To Denounce California's 'Three Strikes' Law And How It And State Prison System Are Especially Cruel And Unusual In Their Impact On The Mentally Impaired)
Into The Tank, Cold Turkey (Three Letters To Editor Of 'Wall Street Journal' - Including One From Steve Buckstein Of Portland's Cascade Policy Institute - Respond To Sally Satel's Letter On Coerced Treatment, 'For Addicts, Force Is The Best Medicine')
Surveillance Cameras Quietly Becoming A Fixture In NYC (Keeping An Eye On Drug Dealing Inside Washington Square Park - Norman Siegel Of New York ACLU Notes Parks And Other Public Spaces Also Serve As Meeting Areas For Lawyers And Clients, Reporters And Sources, Business People And Politicians Who Want To Talk Privately)
Webber Arrested - Wizard Charged With Marijuana Possession ('San Jose Mercury News' Reports Pepper-Spraying And Arrest Of Washington Wizards Basketball Pro Chris Webber - Also Charged With Assault After Allegedly Resisting Prince George's County, Maryland Police Trying To Take Him Into Custody And Impound His Car)
Webber Faces Assault, Marijuana Charges ('USA Today' Version Notes The Basketball Star Is Having An All-Star Year As The Wizards' Leading Scorer And Rebounder)
Florida Cabinet To Fight Medical Marijuana Proposal ('Reuters' Reports Governor And Henchmen To Oppose Voter Initiative From Floridians For Medical Rights To Amend Constitution)
Hemp Symposium Live On The Net (Anyone Online With RealAudio Who Obtains An 'Internet Delegate Pass' Can Take Part In Canadian Non-Wood Fibre Symposium January 29 In Montreal, As Well As Commercial & Industrial Hemp Symposium II February 18-19 In Vancouver, British Columbia)
HIV Epidemic Among Drug Users At 'Saturation' ('CNews Online' Notes Canadian Health Officials Say HIV Outbreak Among Drug Addicts In Vancouver, British Columbia, Appears To Have Peaked - Levels Of New Infection Have Fallen 5 Percent Since Late Part Of 1997)
Growing In Popularity ('Reuters' Version Of Story On Pair From Victoria, British Columbia, Marketing 'Cultivation Game,' Which Pokes Fun At Multimillion-Dollar Marijuana Industry In West Coast Canadian Province)
DrugSense Weekly, Number 30 (Summary Of Drug Policy News For Activists)
Bytes: 125,000 Last updated: 2/21/98

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