1998 News
About Cannabis and Drug Policy
January 29-February 4

Thursday, January 29, 1998:
• NORML Weekly News Release (Medical Marijuana, Hemp Legislation Pending In Several States - Summary Of Bills Introduced In California, Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Kansas, Iowa, Colorado, Nevada, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, New York And District Of Columbia)
• Police Acted To Preserve Drug Evidence (That's What Cops Tell 'The Oregonian' After Warrantless Home Invasion By Marijuana Task Force Leads To Fatal Shooting - Two Days Needed To 'Process' Crime Scene - Task Force's 'Knock And Talk' Pursuit Of Forfeiture Money Prompts Local Attorney To Note, 'For 10 Years We've Been Saying Someone Was Going To Be Killed If The Cops Keep Doing This')
• 'Burning Marijuana' Prompted Police Break-In - Shooting Suspect Charged Several Counts Of Murder, Assault ('Associated Press' Version Broadcast By KOIN, Portland's CBS Affiliate)
• Wounded Officer's Condition Improves (Fortunately, 'The Oregonian' Says Kim Keist Will Recover, Despite Serious Wounds From Portland Shootout - Husband Says 'He Was Glad When His Wife Joined The Marijuana Task Force - Meth Dealers And Cookers Tend To Be Violent People - You Deal With A Different Class Of People - Doctors, Lawyers - When You Do Marijuana - I Thought It Would Be Safer)
• Shooting Suspect's Condition Downgraded - Criminal Record Shows Steven Don Had Many Brushes With The Law (Prejudicial Newscast By KOIN, Portland's CBS Affiliate, Ignores Question Of Whether Dons Might Be Innocent By Failing To Address Essential Factual Issue - Had Marijuana Been Burning In His Fireplace, As Marijuana Task Force Alleged, Or Was Their Basis For Warrantless Break-In A Lie, Meaning Dons Couldn't Be Convicted Of Using Deadly Force Against Criminals With Badges?)
• Series Of Shootings Leaves Police Feeling Vulnerable (Portland Police Chief Charles Moose Confides In A Touchy-Feely 'Oregonian' Interview After Fatal Shooting Of Marijuana Task Force Officer, 'Fear Is A Real Part Of Our Decision-Making')
• Television Review - Local TV News Get Wings Clipped Over Siege Coverage ('Oregonian' Television Columnist Pete Schulberg Criticizes Portland Stations' Broadcasts Of Botched Marijuana Task Force Warrantless Break-In - If Suspect With Hole In His Chest Had Wanted To Watch TV, He Could Have Seen Police Positions Around His House)
• Politicians Urge Tighter Gun-Control Laws (Shooting Death Of Officer With Portland's Marijuana Task Force Inspires Gun Prohibitionists - Mayor Katz Also Wants $250,000, Apparently So Police Can Take High Powered Rifles To Suspected Marijuana Cultivation Sites During 'Knock And Talks')
• Lars Larson On KXL (Newscaster Commenting On Portland Marijuana Task Force Shootings Sparks Search For Old News Articles And Other Details About Botched Raid Circa 1979 By Portland's Then-Narcotics Task Force, Disbanded After Warrantless Raid On Outsiders Motorcycle Club Preceded Cop's Shooting Death And Planting Of Cocaine By Task Force Members)
• Marijuana Task Force, A Deadly Mistake (Press Release From American Anti-Prohibition League Blames Portland Mayor Vera Katz, Police Chief Moose And Multnomah County District Attorney Michael Schrunk For Prior Endorsements Of Task Force's 'Knock And Talk' Tactics - Past Victims Of Task Force To Speak At Friday Press Conference)
• Re - Prohibition War Zone (Commentary From List Subscribers Regarding Fatal Marijuana Task Force Raid In Portland)
• La Cucaracha (Proponent Of Medical Marijuana And Industrial Hemp Gets An Article Published By The Bend, Oregon, 'Source')
• Plant Patents (List Subscriber Responds To Claim In 'La Cucaracha' That Plants Can't Be Patented By Citing Recent Statute That Indeed Allows Such Patents)
• 'Seattle Weekly' Endorses Senator Kohl's Medical Marijuana Bill (But Says Chances For Washington State SB 6721 Not Good - Plus, Call Congress Toll-Free At 1-800-522-6721)
• Editorial Notebook - Notes From A Funeral ('Seattle Times' Writer Attending Funeral Of Medical Marijuana Activist Ralph Seeley Sympathizes With His Quest For Reform)
• Experts Support Legalizing Medical Marijuana ('Reuters' Article About Medical Marijuana Bill Recently Introduced To New York Legislature And A Talk To New York State Bar Association By The Bill's Sponsor, Richard Gottfried, Chair Of New York State Assembly Committee On Health)
• Garden Grove Makes Move To Pull Cannabis Club's License ('Los Angeles Times' Notes City Council Approves Ordinance Revoking Business Licenses Of Companies Violating Local, State Or Federal Laws, Even Though No Jury Has Found A CBC In Violation Since Proposition 215 Became Law - Vote Expected To Force Orange County Patient, Doctor And Nurses Support Group To Vacate)
• No Smoking Law Blamed For Layoffs ('San Francisco Chronicle' Says Bay 101, A Casino In San Jose, Blames California's New Ban On Smoking In Bars For Dismissal Of 75 Workers)
• Assembly Votes To Lift Smoking Ban ('Los Angeles Times' Says After The 42-24 Vote Wednesday, The Bill To Allow Tobacco Use Again In California's 35,000 Bars Goes To State Senate, Where A Vote Isn't Expected For Weeks)
• Assembly OKs Repeal Of Smoking Ban In Bars ('San Francisco Chronicle' Version)
• State Of The Union Address And Response, Re - Drug Policy (Excerpts From The Cigar-Smoking Overeater's Speech To Congress - Lott Responds For GOP, 'Narcotics Problem Far Greater Threat To Teens' Than Tobacco' - No Mention Of Record Number Of Marijuana Arrests Every Year Since 1994)
• Re - State Of The Union (List Subscriber Hears One Clinton Quote Worth Repeating - 'Medical Decisions Should Be Left To Medical Doctors')
• Clinton - 'Let Medical Doctors Make Medical Decisions' (Heard On KQED, San Francisco's National Public Broadcasting Affiliate - List Subscriber Recommends Pointing Out Inconsistency Regarding Medical Marijuana Policy)
• Drug Arrests In State Rose Slightly In '97, Report Says ('Milwaukee Journal Sentinel' Notes 10,782 People Were Arrested For Drugs - Mostly Marijuana - In Wisconsin In First Six Months Of 1997, Up Less Than 1 Percent, But Trafficking Busts Dropped 15.5 Percent While Possession Busts Were Up 6.2 Percent)
• Arrests For Drug Selling Drop, Those For Possession Rise ('St. Paul Pioneer Press' Story On Wisconsin Arrest Numbers)
• Bill Would Get Tough On Teen Pot Use ('Rocky Mountain News' Says Colorado Legislature Will Consider New Law That Would Take Away Licenses Even Of Teens Too Young To Drive)
• DC's Medical Marijuana Initiative Gears Up! (News Release From ACT UP! On Organizing Meetings For Initiative 59 Campaign January 31 And February 4)
• Another Weapon In Drug War ('Washington Post' Gives Publicity To Prosecutor Urging Residents Of Montgomery County, Maryland, To Use Five-Year-Old 'Nuisance Abatement' Law Allowing Them To Utilize Civil Courts To Harass Suspected Drug-Law Offenders And Make Them Homeless)
• Bobby Brown Convicted Of Driving Under Influence ('Associated Press' Says Jury In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Convicts Singer Of Driving Drunk - Five Days In Jail, Forced Rehab, Fine, Community Service)
• CIA Finds No Link To Nicaraguan Cocaine Traffic ('San Jose Mercury News' Says US Government Intelligence Agency Won't Confirm Its Series On Contra Trafficking That Implicated The Agency)
• US Struggles To Extradite Drug Suspect From Mexico ('Dallas Morning News' Notes That, Although Attorney Generals Janet Reno And Jorge Madrazo Signed An Amendment To The US-Mexico Extradition Treaty In November Calling For 'Temporary' Extraditions Of Criminals, Many Suspects Still Avoid Removal North - Case Of American Cited By Paper Obfuscates Issue - Most Extradition Requests Are For Non-US Citizens)
• North Vancouver Students To Be Excluded From Survey About Sex, Drugs ('Vancouver Sun' Says North Vancouver School Board Has Refused Request From McCreary Centre Society - Controversial Questions About Private Behavior Might Encourage Students To Participate In Such Activities)
• Slain Man's Widow Not Surprised Officer Wasn't Charged ('Vancouver Sun' Article Says RCMP Officer Who Killed Unarmed, Compliant Suspect Violated Policy But Is Still On Drug Squad)
• Melfort To Host Discovery '98 Agri-Food And Fibre Forum (Saskatchewan City Is Site Of February 6 Exposition For Farmers, Businesses Interested In New Crop Options And Value-Added Uses For Such Non-Wood Fibres As Industrial Hemp, Flax, Wheat Straw, Switchgrass. - Guest Speakers To Attend From United States, Poland, Germany, Canada)
• Antiprohibitionist Action Report, Year 4, Number 2 (Monthly Summary For Activists Of International Drug Policy Reform News, From CORA In Italy)
  Bytes: 135,000 Last updated: 5/22/98
  

  Friday, January 30, 1998:

• Officers Sought To Stop Burning Marijuana Before Shootout ('Associated Press' Says Victim Of Warrantless Raid By Portland's Marijuana Task Force May Be Paralyzed From Waist Down - Condition Downgraded To Critical - No Word On Whether Chimney Will Be Tested For Traces Of Cannabis)
• Weapons, Ammunition And Marijuana Grow Operation Found In House ('The Oregonian' Doesn't Say Weapons Were Illegal And Doesn't Give Number Of Plants But Police Admit It Was 'Not A Huge Grow' That A Portland Marijuana Task Force Officer Died For)
• Officer's Family Mourns, Remembers (Feature In 'The Oregonian' About Member Of Portland's Marijuana Task Force Killed Tuesday By The War On Some Drugs)
• Funeral Today For Slain Police Officer - City Mourns Officer Waibel (KOIN Notes Ceremony In Portland For Fallen Drug Warrior, Killed During Warrantless Break-In By Marijuana Task Force)
• Almost 5,000 Pay Respects To Slain Officer - Standing Room Only To Honor Colleen Waibel (Newscast By KOIN, Portland's CBS Affiliate, Notes Funeral For Cop Killed During Warrantless Break-In By Marijuana Task Force)
• Sorrow Shadows Mayor During Crisis ('The Oregonian' Fails To Ask Portland Mayor Vera Katz If She Sought An Actuarial Estimate Of How Many Doors The Marijuana Task Force Might Break Down Without A Warrant Before It Could Expect To Encounter Some Lunatic With A Gun)
• E-Mail Address For Portland Police Department (Plus Commentary On The Botched Marijuana Task Force Raid By Southern Oregon Militia Liaison And Others)
• Where's The Marijuana? (And Other Commentary From List Subscribers About The Portland Marijuana Task Force Shootings)
• Medical Marijuana Forum In Vancouver, Washington, February 19, 1998 (Oregon Doctor Who Will Share Forum On 'Medical Marijuana - Myth Or Medicine' With Clark County Prosecutor And Washington State Pharmacy Board Member Says News About A Medical Marijuana Initiative In Oregon Will Be Made Public In About A Month)
• War On Drugs Seems More Than Metaphor In Border Towns (Kevin Zeese In 'Christian Science Monitor' Recounts Shooting Death Of Teenage Goatherder In Texas, Which Is Leading To Reduced Use Of Camouflaged, Armed Marines To Interdict Drugs)
• Prison Cook Arrested In Drug Inquiry ('Ft. Worth Star Telegram' Story On Indictment Of Employee At Ft. Worth, Texas, Prison - Charged With Smuggling In Liquor, Marijuana, Cocaine And Heroin Since 1995 - Officials Won't Say Whether Some Inmates Still Test Positive)
• Seattle-King County Felony Marijuana Prosecutions And Convictions (Hemp.Net Publicizes Numbers For 1991-1997 From King County Prosecuting Attorney)
• Mendocino County Backs Ukiah Medicinal Cannabis Club, Calls On Congress for Marijuana Legalization Hearings (Unattributed Wire Story Posted To CJUST)
• Re - Mendocino County (Commentary From Law Student)
• Colorado Compassionate Therapeutic Cannabis Act (Text Of CTCA Ballot Initiative Filed Today By Colorado Citizens for Compassionate Cannabis)
• Dads Are Helpful (List Subscriber Seeks Details On Indiana Congressman Dan Burton's Son's Two Arrests For Marijuana Transporting And Cultivation - Son Got Kid-Glove Treatment - Burton, An Outspoken Proponent Of Life Sentences For Some Pot Offenses, Is Chairman Of House Government Reform And Oversight Committee, Now Leading Ethics Investigation Of Clinton Administration)
• Pair Sentenced For Drug Dealing ('Milwaukee Journal Sentinel' Notes West Bend, Wisconsin, Man And Wife Popped With Three Pounds Of Cannabis Will Be Saved From Drugs By Loss Of Each Other, His Job - Receive Mandatory Minimum Terms, Fines, Coerced Treatment, Probation, Public Humiliation)
• Report - Pain Modulation By Cannabinoids (Summary Of Minnesota Research Suggesting Potential Of Marijuana As Medicine, From 'Science Week')
• Does Marijuana Have A Place In Medicine? (Mostly Evenhanded Article In 'Patient Care' By Doctors Lisa Capaldina, Donald Tashkin, William Vilensky And Lori D. Talarico Cites Gabriel Nahas In Footnotes And Hypothetical Dangers Of Cannabis But No Real Dead Bodies)
• Book Review, 'The CIA's War At Home' ('Bay Area Express' Writes About Angus Mackenzie's Posthumously Published Book, Which Describes How CIA Domestic Operations - Illegal Under Its Charter - Played Central Role In Transforming American Government Into Its Present Secretive State)
• CIA Finds No Significant Drug-Contra Tie ('Los Angeles Times' Article On First Part Of Self-Investigation By US Intelligence Agency Implicated In 'San Jose Mercury News' Series - Representative Maxine Waters Not Satisfied)
• CIA Report Concludes Agency Knew Nothing Of Drug Dealers' Ties To Rebels ('New York Times' Sees No Evil, Hears No Evil)
• CIA Finds Nothing To Confirm '96 MN Report ('San Jose Mercury News' Version)
• Mr. Giuliani's Budget Choices ('New York Times' Staff Editorial Says $35 Billion Proposal Submitted By New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani Increases 'Anti-Drug' Expenditures, Threatens To Shut Down Community Colleges)
• Tobacco Execs Acknowledge Addiction ('Los Angeles Times' Says Industry Still Wants National Settlement On Claims - Issue Of Whether Smoking Is Addictive Or Unhealthy Is Irrelevant - US House Of Representatives Seems More Likely To Heed Representative Henry Waxman, D-California, Whose 'Only Goal' Is 'To Pass Legislation That Protects Our Children')
• Smoking Ban Could Be Tough To Snuff ('San Francisco Chronicle' Says California Senate Likely To Reject Repeal Of California's Unique Prohibition On Smoking In Bars)
• Behind Fuming Bar Owners Is Savvy, Well-Heeled Group ('Los Angeles Times' Says National Smokers' Alliance, Backed By Tobacco Industry, Orchestrates Much Of Opposition To California's New Prohibition On Smoking In Bars)
• Don't Let The Packs Back (Staff Editorial In 'San Francisco Examiner' Says California Senate Shouldn't Endorse Assembly's Vote To Repeal Unique Prohibition On Smoking In Bars)
• Buyers' Clubs To Hawk Marijuana ('Ottawa Citizen' Says Ontario Activists Will Risk Convictions, Fines, Jail Time, In Attempt To Oblige Canadian Politicians To Act - Recent Ontario Court Ruling Gave Terry Parker, Toronto Man With Epilepsy, Constitutional Right To Grow, Smoke Marijuana)
• Multiple Sclerosis Medical Smoker Faces Trial ('Calgary Herald' Says Saskatchewan Man And Wife Charged With Marijuana Trafficking)
• Yes, Cannabis Is Stronger Now (Letter To Editor Of 'Canberra Times' Cites Unreferenced 1995 Australian Government Propaganda In Response To Earlier Letter)
• Ghost Squad Uncovers Web Of Police Corruption (Britain's 'Independent' Says London's Metropolitan Police Admitted Yesterday That Corrupt Police Officers And Retired Detectives Have Been Working With Major Drug Dealers And Armed Robbers)
• The Week Online With DRCNet, Issue Number 27 (News Summary For Activists, From The Drug Reform Coordination Network - Original Articles Note Mendocino County Board Of Supervisors Has Gone On Record In Support Of Ukiah Medicinal Cannabis Buyers' Club - And Has Called On Congress To Conduct Hearings On Legalization; Chicago Police Department's Web Page For Turning In Drug Dealers; Penn State Professor's Second Protest Got Him Assaulted By Campus Police Chief; Editorial, 'Prosecutorial Discretion And The Death Of Common Sense,' By Adam J. Smith; And A Plea To Act On Behalf Of Recovered Addict Arrested And Incarcerated For Fleeing Treatment - In 1972)
  Bytes: 218,000 Last updated: 5/22/98
  

  Saturday, January 31, 1998:

• Prison Funding Gets OK ('Associated Press' Says Oregon Legislature's Emergency Board Approved $151 Million For Bonds For 1,100-Bed Facility In Wilsonville But Doesn't Say What Ultimate Cost Of Bonds Will Be With Interest Or Why Legislators Weren't Called Into Special Session To Authorize So Much Money Off-Budget For What Already Consumes Largest Portion Of State's Budget)
• Police Mourn The Loss Of First Woman Killed In Line Of Duty ('Associated Press' Story On Funeral Of Portland Marijuana Task Force Officer Killed Tuesday In Warrantless Raid)
• Farewell To A Fallen Hero - Thousands Honor The First Portland Policewoman Killed In The Line Of Duty ('The Oregonian' Covers Funeral Of Officer Killed During Portland Marijuana Task Force Warrantless Break-In)
• Paid Petitioning Costs Vs. Volunteer Petitioning (Paul Stanford Of The Oregon Cannabis Tax Act Initiative Campaign Seeks Funding, Quotes Probable Oregon GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Bill Sizemore Saying, 'I Would Have Signed' Recriminalization Bill, Too)
• Medical Marijuana - How Can We Deny Relief Of Pain To Devastatingly Ill Citizens? (Letter To Editor Of 'Seattle Times' About Failure Of Washington Senate Bill 6721)
• State Marijuana Law Upheld In Split Ruling ('Honolulu Advertiser' Says Hawaii Supreme Court Rejects Constitutional Challenge To Marijuana Laws Based On 1978 Privacy Amendment)
• When Justice Is Too Blind ('Washington Post' Notes Two Different Justice Systems In US For Rich And Poor, As Shown By Contrasting Cases Of Monica Lewinsky-Bill Clinton And A DC Mother Of Nine Facing Mandatory Minimum)
• Professor Can't Get Arrested For Marijuana In Public ('Marijuananews.com' Recounts Case Of Protesting Penn State Professor)
• Police, Marijuana-Sniffing Dog Sweep Through Madison High (Nine Madison, Wisconsin, High School Students Face Disciplinary Action, According To Cleveland's 'Plain Dealer')
• Vanderbilt Man Wants Drug Counts Dropped ('Tribune Review' Recounts Case Of Western Pennsylvania Man Popped For Three Pounds Of Pot Received By Post)
• Chatroom For Activists (Media Awareness Sponsors Online Event Saturday-Sunday Nights)
• C-SPAN Features Shultz, Friedman, Nadelmann (Program Your VCR)
• Buyers Clubs Illegal - Medicinal Marijuana Still Falls Outside Law, Police, Politicians Say ('Ottawa Citizen' Notes Responses To Yesterday's Announcement By Ontario Activists That They Would Open Clubs To Force Politicians To Act)
• Overdose Strategy - Intranasal Naloxone ('British Medical Journal' Proposes Dispensing Emergency Resuscitation Drugs To Heroin Addicts And Their Close Contacts - Would Prevent 'A Thousand Deaths From Heroin Overdose Each Year' In Britain - In Emergency, Watch 'Pulp Fiction' And Use Travolta's Technique)
  Bytes: 55,500 Last updated: 2/16/98
  

  Sunday, February 1, 1998:

• Methods, Safety Scrutinized After Shootout ('The Oregonian' Examines Tactics Of Portland's Marijuana Task Force In Wake Of Officer's Death During Warrantless Break-In - 'Knock-And-Talks' Result In Busts Only Half The Time - Electric Company Acts As Member Of Task Force - In 1996, Task Force Arrested 733 People, Confiscated $2.1 Million In Cash, Property, Including 42 Houses, 14,425 Cannabis Plants Valued At Nearly $29 Million - $2,000 Each)
• Methods, Safety Scrutinized After Shootout - Taking Precautions (Different Version Of 'Oregonian' Article On Shooting Death During Portland Marijuana Task Force Warrantless Break-In)
• Oregon Police Rights Invasion ('Associated Press' Article On Cops In McMinnville, Oregon, Strip-Searching As Many As 30 Teenage Girls, Plus Commentary From Sender Comparing Incident To Warrantless Raid In Portland By Marijuana Task Force)
• Girl Treated For Alcohol Overdose ('The Daily Olympian' Notes An 11-Year-Old Girl Has Mixed Vodka And Whiskey In Olympia, Washington)
• Freedom Fighters Of The Month ('High Times' Writes Up Cheryl And Jim Miller And Their Struggle For Medical Marijuana For Cheryl's Multiple Sclerosis - Trenton, New Jersey Demonstration One Of Many During Boston-to-Washington Wheelchair Crusade)
• Pending Medical Marijuana Legislation (Letter To Editor Of 'Baltimore Sun' Gives Update On $1 Million Marijuana Study By Institute Of Medicine Commissioned By Drug Czar, Urges Support For US Representative Barney Frank's Federal Medical Marijuana Bill, HR 1782)
• Health - The Straight Dope - Is Marijuana An Evil Weed, Or An Untapped Weapon In Our Medical Arsenal? (A Positive Special Report On Medical Marijuana In The February Issue Of The Fitness Magazine, 'Shape')
• The Case For Medical Marijuana (The February Issue Of 'The Canadian Pharmaceutical Journal' Describes The Recent History Of The Campaign For Medical Marijuana In Canada)
• Pot And Policy (A Staff Editorial In The February Issue Of 'The Canadian Pharmaceutical Journal' About The Journal's Cover Story On Medical Marijuana Notes A Strong Majority Of Canadians, 83 Percent, Support Legalizing Marijuana For Medical Use, While 51 Per Cent Want It Legalized Outright - And Says A Rational, Open Debate On Marijuana Is Welcome And Long Overdue)
• Like Smoking, Drugs Can Be Beaten (A Letter To The Editor Of 'The Canberra Times' By A Retired Drug Warrior Cites A 1993 Handbook To Support His Contention That Marijuana Potency Has Increased - He Says The Australian Illicit Drugs Report Shows Harm Minimalisation Policies Have Been In Effect For 13 Years And Blames Them For The Current Extent Of The Drug Problem)
• Cannabis Campaign - The Drugs World War - What Went Wrong? Britain's 'Independent On Sunday' Continues Its Weekly Push For Marijuana Decriminalization With Second Of Two- Part Historical Overview - 93-Year Sentence Of Will Foster By Oklahoma Is Cited, As Well As 1996 US Attempt To Stop Australian 'Backsliding')
• Cannabis Campaign - Letters (Four Letters To Britain's 'Independent On Sunday' In Support Of Its Push For Marijuana Decriminalisation Include One From Son Of Former Home Secretary)
• Campaign Supporters (Britain's 'Independent On Sunday' Prints The Names Of Some Of The People With Medical And Academic Associations Who Are Standing Up In Support Of Its 'Cannabis Campaign' To End Marijuana Prohibition)
  Bytes: 99,400 Last updated: 9/7/98
  

  Monday, February 2, 1998:

• Knock And Talk (Staff Editorial In 'The Oregonian' Says Death Of Portland Marijuana Task Force Officer After Warrantless Break-In 'Ought To Cause A Thorough Rethinking Of The Warrantless-Search Policy')
• Stop The Violence, End Prohibition, Again! (A Second Statement From Floyd Ferris Landrath Of American Anti-Prohibitionist League Regarding Shooting Death Of Portland Marijuana Task Force Officer During Warrantless Break-In)
• A Heartfelt Thanks ('The Oregonian' Conveys Gratitude To Community Of Families Of Officers Shot During Portland Marijuana Task Force Warrantless Break-In)
• PGE Pinpoints Power Thieves - Police And Power Company Sometimes Work Together (Newscast By KOIN, Portland's CBS Affiliate, In Wake Of Fatal Shooting Of Marijuana Task Force Cop, Notes The Electric Company Has Voluntarily Enlisted In The War On Some Drug Users)
• Bookseller Sentenced For Marijuana ('The Oregonian' Says Hungarian Refugee From Communism Living In Odell, Oregon, Gets 21 Months In Sate Prison For 'Supplying' Pot To Teens Who Left Him In Pool Of Blood For It - Plus 20 Days For Contempt Of Contemptible Court)
• Police Strip-Search Teen Girls At Oregon Middle School (Article About Lack Of Rights In McMinnville, Oregon, From The March 'American Family Association Journal' Reprinted From The 'Daily Journal' In Tupelo, Mississippi)
• Cannabinoid Investigations Entering The Mainstream (Article In 'The Scientist' Recounts Research Developments In 1980s-1990s That Revealed New Promise Of Cannabis As Medicine, Particularly Progress Arising From Discovery Of Cannabinoid Receptor Sites In Brain)
• Therapeutic Cannabis Initiative Proposed For Colorado Ballot (Colorado Citizens For Compassionate Cannabis File Ballot Initiative - Text Online - Not Associated With Americans For Medical Rights)
• Smoke Screen - Decriminalizing Marijuana Makes Sense (University Of Washington 'Daily' Editorial Says It's Not A Hoax After All - 'High Times' Really Has Co-Sponsored Petition DEA Used To Order Re-Evaluation Of Marijuana's Legal Status)
• The Ralph Seeley Memorial Site (Washington State Hemp.Net Web Site Announces Cyber Shrine For Late Tacoma Lawyer, Medical Marijuana Activist)
• Citizen Lobby Day On Wednesday, 4 February 1998 (Hempsters And Activists Can Lobby At Event In Olympia, Washington, Sponsored By People For Puget Sound)
• San Jose Pot Center Avoids Shutdown (Student Paper At San Jose State University Notes Santa Clara County Medical Cannabis Center Wasn't Among Those Targeted By Federal Lawsuits Filed January 9 Against Northern California Cannabis Clubs, But Ax May Fall Soon)
• Where Have The Criminals Gone? ('San Francisco Chronicle' Looks At Declining Rate Of Violent Crime Across United States And Ponders Possible Causes)
• Night Cabbie (Third Item In Taxi Driver's Regular Column For 'San Francisco Examiner' Mentions Picking Up CBS Reporter, Who Admits War On Drugs Is Failing)
• Wilson Signals Support For Smokers' Bar `Sanctuaries' ('Sacramento Bee' Says Cigar-Smoking California Governor May - Or May Not - Support Repeal Of New Ban On Tobacco Use In Bars)
• Protesters Assail Rising Use Of Police Cameras ('New York Times' Says More Than 200 New York City Residents Rallied In Washington Square Park Sunday Against Giuliani Administration's Increasing Use Of Surveillance Cameras To Fight Crime)
• Satchmo! (List Subscriber Offers Cannabis Quotes From Biography Of Louis Armstrong, America's 'Ambassador Of Good Will')
• '90s Moonshiners Add Drugs And Guns To Recipe ('New York Times' Says Making Illicit Whiskey Still Endures In Much Of South - Markets Established As Far North As New York - One Agent Estimates 500,000 Gallons Distilled In Virginia, Much Of It In Franklin County, Widely Considered Moonshine Capital Of The South - Street Value $25 Or More A Gallon)
• NIDA Boss Touts Addiction Studies ('The Scientist' Interviews Alan Leshner, Director Of US National Institute On Drug Abuse, Who Insists Marijuana Is Addictive 'Because It Causes Compulsive Use')
• Just Say 'Research' - Antidrug Program Stresses Science ('The Scientist' Looks At 'Mind Over Matter,' A New Program From US National Institute On Drug Abuse Purporting To Use Neuroscience Research Results To Teach, Rather Than Preach To, Students About Dangers Of Addictive Drugs)
• Ming The Merciless Will Keep Going ('Irish Times' Feature About Luke Flanagan, Marathon Runner And Galway Campaigner For Cannabis-Law Reform)
  Bytes: 128,000 Last updated: 4/18/98
  

  Tuesday, February 3, 1998:

• Volunteer Help Needed/OCTA Mailout Tuesday Night (Update On Oregon Cannabis Tax Act Ballot Initiative)
• Shootout House Yields Small Arsenal ('The Oregonian' Says Portland Marijuana Task Force Cop Lost Her Life For 51 Cannabis Plants - Video Surveillance Camera May Have Captured Warrantless Break-In)
• Cameras May Have Caught Shootout - Court Documents List 'Arsenal' Of Weapons, Drugs Found On Site (Newscast By KOIN, Portland's CBS Affiliate, Ignores The Issue Of Whether There Was Any Evidence The Target Of The Marijuana Task Force's Warrantless Break-In Was Indeed Attempting To Destroy 51 Marijuana Plants In His Fireplace, Or Whether Police Lied About That In Order To Break Down His Door)
• Police Violated Rights Of Portland Suspect (Letter To Editor Of Salem 'Statesman Journal' Regarding Victim Of Marijuana Task Force Warrantless Break-In)
• Oakland's Hidden Pot Club ('San Francisco Chronicle' Update On Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative, One Of California's Largest Dispensaries Of Medical Marijuana)
• Oakland Impounds 14 Autos In Drug Sting ('San Francisco Chronicle' Notes In June, Oakland Became First California City To Allow Police To Confiscate Vehicles Of Illegal-Drug Buyers And Sell Them - Regardless Of Any Conviction)
• Lungren - Medical Pot Spurs Teen Drug Use ('Sacramento Bee' Quotes California Attorney General's Final 'State Of The Public Safety' Address)
• Lungren Says Marijuana Law Sparks Rise In Teen Drug Abuse (Scripps-McClatchy News Service Also Shows Its Inability To Check Facts Or Ask The Other Side For Comment)
• Fetal Crack Exposure Effects Questioned ('Reuters' Says New Report In February 'Pediatrics' From University Of Florida In Gainesville Concludes 'None Of The Findings In The Current Study Point To Extreme Damage')
• Medicinal Use Of Marijuana Isn't Drug Abuse (Letter To Editor Of 'Tacoma News Tribune' From Washington State Senators Kohl And Thibaudeau, Co-Sponsors Of SB 6721)
• Actor Daniel Baldwin Hospitalized ('Associated Press' Says Actor Who Played Detective On 'Homicide,' Brother Of Actors Alec, Billy And Stephen, In Stable Condition After 'Apparent Drug Overdose' In New York)
• Say No To Dope (Letter To Editor Of 'Lethbridge Herald' In Alberta By 17-Year-Old Favors Continuing Cannabis Prohibition Because Such A Stance Shows Youth Today 'Have Values')
  Bytes: 46,700 Last updated: 5/22/98
  

  Wednesday, February 4, 1998:

• Body Count Goes Up (Letter To Editor Of 'The Oregonian' Regarding Death Of Portland Marijuana Task Force Officer In Warrantless Break-In Observes, 'If We Know Anything About Human Nature, We Should Expect That When Such Force Is Brought To Bear In Such Circumstances, Uncivil And Irrational Behavior, Inexcusable In Itself, Is Likely To Result')
• Shootout Coverage Turns Lens On TV Tactics ('The Oregonian' And Portland City Officials Try To Refocus Public Emotion On Alleged Errors Of Broadcast Media, Away From Policies That Led To Shooting Death Of Marijuana Task Force Officer, Before Coverage Began)
• Knock And Walk (Editorial In Portland's 'Willamette Week' About Fatal Cop Shooting During Marijuana Task Force Warrantless Break-In Says, 'It's The Public - Not The Police - That Is Most Likely To Be Harmed By Warrantless Searches')
• NewsBuzz - On The Web ('Willamette Week' Says Portland NORML Daily News Is One Source Of Information About Cop Killed During Warrantless Break-In By Portland Marijuana Task Force - But Prints Incorrect URL - Other Sites Listed With More Information On Knock And Talks, Helicopter News Coverage)
• NewsBuzz - In The Air - Cops And Choppers ('Willamette Week' Says Portland Television News Stations May Be Getting Bad Rap For Their Helicopters' Coverage After Last Week's Cop Killing Occasioned By Marijuana Task Force's Warrantless Break-In - FAA Records Show Helicopters Complied Promptly With Four Separate Requests)
• Oregon Cannabis Tax Act Update (Petitions, Printing Press Stuff)
• Marijuana Eased Dad's Last Days (Letter To Editor Of 'Tacoma News Tribune' In Response To Its 'Leave Medical Pot Issue To Science' Editorial )
• DC Activists Renew Rx Marijuana Effort - Billionaires Forbes And Soros Continue Opposition From Outside The District (ACT UP In Washington, DC, Announces Start Of Initiative 59 Campaign - Web Site Online - 17,000 Signatures Needed To Get On September 1998 Ballot)
• Marijuana Petitions Short On Signatures (Maine Secretary Of State Says Mainers For Medical Rights Short Of Signatures - MMR Says Petitions Yet To Be Certified May Push Them Over Top)
• Maine Citizens For Medical Marijuana Initiative Fails For '98 Ballot (Press Release From Don Christen Of Maine Vocals Blames Lack Of Signatures, MMR's Competing Initiative)
• New Hampshire Hemp Bill Moves Forward (Press Release From Hemp Company Of America Notes Industrial Hemp Cultivation Bill, HB 1576, Co-Sponsored By Representatives Tim Robertson, Derek Owen, Will Be Considered By Full House After Being Passed Today By Committee On Environment And Agriculture In 10-8 Vote - Plus, Addendum Suggests 'New Hampshire' Means 'New Hemp State')
• Ventura Sues To Stop Cannabis Club ('Orange County Register' Says Lawsuit Filed By County Charges Ventura County Cannabis Center In Thousand Oaks With Violating Federal, State Law - Allowing It To Remain Open Would Cause 'Great Or Irreparable Injury' To Public)
• Prosecutors Claim Marijuana Store Is Unlawful ('Associated Press' Version In 'Sacramento Bee' Says Andrea Nagy Of Ventura County Medical Cannabis Center Will Fight Lawsuit Against 11362.5 At Wednesday Hearing)
• Thousand Oaks Council Votes To Bar Pot Clubs ('Ventura County Star' Version)
• Drug Seizure Drop Worries US Customs ('Los Angeles Times' Says 84 Percent Decline In Cocaine Interdicted At Mexican Border In 1997 May Bring Backlash From Congress)
• Update On Kriho Appeal (Appeal Of Colorado Juror Convicted Of Contempt Of Court Delayed Third Time By Attorney General)
• New York City Replaces Democrat With Democrat ('Associated Press' Says Former 'Narcotics' Prosecutor Gregory Meeks Wins Special Election To Fill US House Seat Of Floyd Flake, Who Resigned Last Year)
• Home-Grown Pot Discovered ('London Free Press' Says Police In Ontario City Find About 70 Plants And One Cultivator)
• Take Drugs Out Of The Hands Of Criminals (Letter To Editor Of 'Canberra Times' Corrects Earlier Letter Writer's Confusion About Harm Minimalisation And Australian Drug Policy)
• Huge Implications Of Tests For Drugs (Letter To Editor Of 'Scotsman' From Physician Expresses Surprise Motorists Can Be Tested For Anything Other Than Alcohol - 'There Are No Blood Level Values For Any Drug Other Than Alcohol At Which An Individual Commits A Crime When He Drives,' And 20 Percent Of Population Is On 'Drugs' That May Impair Them At Any Time)
• EU Concerned Over Hemp Aid And Marijuana Link ('Reuters' Quotes Spokesman For European Union Farm Commissioner Saying Industrial Hemp Production Has Grown From Around 22,200 Acres In 1995-96 To As Much As 100,000 Acres In 1998-99 - So Either Subsidies Aren't Needed, Or More Controls Are To Prevent Production Of Drug Varieties Of Cannabis)
• DrugSense Weekly, Number 32 (Summary Of Drug Policy News For Activists - Includes Original Article, 'The Value Of Letters To Editors,' By Mark Greer)
  Bytes: 115,000 Last updated: 5/22/98
  

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