Portland NORML 1998 News Index, March 5-11

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1998 News
About Cannabis and Drug Policy
March 5-11

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Thursday, March 5, 1998

NORML Weekly News Release (House Republicans Continue Assault On States' Rights, Medical Marijuana Research - House Judiciary Okays Resolution Calling Marijuana A 'Dangerous And Addictive Drug'; Canadian Farmers Will Grow Commercial Hemp Plots For First Time In 50 Years, Health Minister Vows At Agriculture Conference; Nearly Half Of All Americans Say That Marijuana Is "Hot" In Annual Poll)
The Oregon Medical Marijuana Act (Text Of Ballot Initiative Filed In Salem By Oregonians For Medical Rights)
Oregon Medical Marijuana Initiative Criticism (Comments By List Subscriber)
Court Widens Police Search Powers ('The Oregonian' Notes US Supreme Court Wednesday Made A Unanimous And Final Ruling In A 1994 Case From Boring, Oregon, That Overturns Oregon Judge's Decision And Expands Rights Of Police Officers - If Armed With A Search Warrant, They Can Now Kick Down Your Door Without Even Knocking)
Court Decision - Narcs Must Return Marijuana (List Subscriber Posts Text Of Mendocino County, California Municipal Judge Henry M. Nelson's Court Order Directing The Sheriff To Return 300 Grams Of Medical Marijuana To A Patient Protected Under Proposition 215)
Cannabis And The Cops (Staff Editorial In 'Orange County Register' Says A Close Reading Of Two Recent California Judicial Rulings Against Dennis Peron's San Francisco Cannabis Cultivators Club Shows The Decisions Were Not Black And White - And Highlights Need For Local Governments To Develop Policies That Make It Possible For Medical Patients To Acquire Cannabis Or Marijuana Legally, In Line With State Law)
The DEA's Pitch For Medical Marijuana (Letter To Editor Of 'San Francisco Chronicle' Says That, While The Federal Government Is Doing Everything In Its Power To Deny Medical Marijuana To Sick And Dying People, Apparently To Send The 'Right Message To Our Children,' Politicians And The Media Are Guilty Of A Cultivated Historical And Cultural Amnesia)
Four Accused Of Hauling $2 Million In Cocaine ('San Jose Mercury News' Doesn't Say Why California Highway Patrol Stopped Car On Interstate 5 Near Mount Shasta, Nabbing 55 Pounds Of Cocaine)
Counties Given Go-Ahead On Tobacco Suit - The Issue - Reimbursement For Medical Costs ('San Jose Mercury News' Says A Federal Judge In San Francisco Ruled Wednesday That Twelve California Counties May Proceed With The First Such Local-Level Lawsuit Accusing Tobacco Companies Of Fraud For Hiding The 'Fact' That Smoking Is Addictive)
Anti-Smoking Effort Lags ('San Jose Mercury News' Notes California's Method Of Using Tobacco Taxes To Insult, Demean And Dehumanize Smokers Will Soon Yield A Television Commercial Defending State's Unique Prohibition On Smoking In Bars)
Corcoran Prison Guards Have Advantage, Experts Say ('Orange County Register' Notes Prisoners Who Would Testify At Any Trial Involving California Prison Guards Accused Of Staging Inmate Fights Are At Disadvantage Because Officers Said They Were Only Following Policy, Motives Of Whistle-Blowers Are Suspect, And Courts And Jurors Assume Prisoners Are Liars)
Society Is Hypocritical About Users Of Drugs (Letter To Editor Of 'Honolulu Star-Bulletin' About Olympic Snowboarder Ross Rebagliati Says Denying The Achievements Of Drug Users To Send The Right Message To Our Children Is Foolish - To Be Consistent, We Would Have To Censor Works Of Hash Smokers Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, Louisa May Alcott, Yeats, Wilde And Eugene Delacroix, Who Painted 'Liberty Leading The People')
No Retrial For Big Isle Marijuana Advocate ('Hawaii Tribune Herald' Notes Judge Dismisses Felony Drug Charge Against Aaron Anderson, Reform Activist Selectively Prosecuted For 25 Pounds Of Legal Hempseeds)
Point Missed (Letter To Editor Of 'Daily Oklahoman' Corrects Assertion That Illegal Drug Laws Are Based On Public Health Concerns, Made By Mark Woodward, Public Information Officer For Oklahoma Bureau Of Narcotics And Dangerous Drugs Control)
Worker Drug-Testing Bill In Branstad's Hands ('Waterloo Courier' Says Iowa Governor Terry Branstad Is Expected To Sign Republican Bill Allowing Businesses To Test Workers Randomly, Without Cause - Supporter Claims 43 Other States Have Similar Laws)
Drug Test Proposal Sent To Branstad ('Des Moines Register' Version)
Dangerous Drug Raid - Three Detroit Cops Shot, Suspect Killed In Drug Raid - Three Others Caught ('Detroit News' Front Page Digest Says Shooting Began As Cops Began Searching Suspects For Weapons)
Shootings, Raids A Part Of Life ('Detroit News' Drug War Dispatch Says Shoot-Out In Southwest Detroit Neighborhood Leaves One Man Dead, Three 'Narcotics' Police Officers Wounded)
Reaction - Families Of Officers Can't Stop Worrying - Spouse Of Injured Cop Says She Knows Her Husband Loves His Work ('Detroit News' Article About Three 'Narcotics' Police Wounded During Raid)
Reno Open To Daley's Anti-Drug Plan ('Associated Press' Says Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley Pitched To Attorney General Janet Reno In Washington, DC, On Thursday The Idea Of Sending Special Teams Of Federal Prosecutors To Key Cities To Crack Down On Money Laundering By Drug Dealers)
Turn In Your Neighbors? (List Subscriber Posts URL For Chicago Cops Who Want You To Do Their Work For Them Busting Marijuana Sellers And Other 'Drug Traffickers' - You Know What To Do)
Reinventing American Tobacco Policy - Sounding The Medical Community's Voice (Explicitly Utopian Editorial By Former US Surgeon General C. Everett Koop And Others In 'Journal Of The American Medical Association' Notes Tobacco Use Is Ultimate Underlying Cause Of Nearly One In Every Five Deaths In United States Year After Year - But Seems To Want To Increase That Rate By Urging Fellow Physicians To Lobby Congress For Prohibitionist Policies Disguised As Regulation Of Tobacco Industry)
Legalize Marijuana For Medicinal Purposes (Letter To Editor Of 'Daily Gazette' In Schenectady, New York, Responds To US House Subcommittee's Recent Resolution On Scientific Issues Regarding Cannabis - About Which None Of The Republican Politicians Knew Anything)
By Default, Jails Become Mental Institutions (Lengthy 'New York Times' Article About The Almost 200,000 People Behind Bars - More Than One In 10 Of The Total - Who Are Known To Suffer From Schizophrenia, Manic Depression Or Major Depression, The Three Most Severe Mental Illnesses - Jails Are Increasingly Used To Warehouse Them - Advocates For Mentally Ill Say The Clock Is Being Turned Back To The 19th Century, When It Was Common In The United States To Confine People With Mental Illness In Jails)
A Boulevard Leads To Drugs And Death (Op-Ed In 'New York Times' Notes Open Air Drug Dealers Are Still Hanging Out In Newark, New Jersey, Waiting For Suburban 'Junkies' In Cars - Prohibitionists Can't Abrogate Laws Of Supply And Demand But Won't Even Consider Regulatory Reforms That Would Eliminate Neighbors' Problems)
'New York Review Of Books' March 5 (List Subscriber Gives URL For Magazine, Recommends Keeping Eye Out For Review Of Three Books On Blacks In The Criminal Justice System, Including 'Search And Destroy - African-American Males In The Criminal Justice System,' By Jerome Miller)
Mexico Drug Certification Eyed ('Associated Press' Says Two Republicans In US House Of Representatives, Clay Shaw And John Mica, Both Of Florida, Have Introduced Bill To Reverse Clinton Administration's Certification Of Mexico As An Ally In War On Some Drugs)
Student Loans Safe (Letter To Editor Of 'Calgary Herald' Rebuts Cop's Assertion That A Conviction For A Drug Offense Prevents Young People From Getting A Student Loan In Alberta)
On Contrasting Marijuana With Tobacco And Alcohol (Op-Ed In Toronto 'Globe And Mail' By One Of Three Scientists Who Wrote WHO Paper Reportedly Suppressed By US NIDA Stands By Its Conclusion Cannabis Is Safest, But Says Report Wasn't Suppressed And Pot Is Harmful - Based On Speculative 'Suspected' Effects And One Explicit Assertion Cannabis Addictive - This Is Science?)
Re - Weed Is Healthier Than Alcohol Or Tobacco (Letter To Editor Of 'Now' Magazine In Canada By Medical Marijuana Activist And Multiple Sclerosis Patient Lynn Harichy Says Suppressed WHO Report Only Documents What Is Common Knowledge To Anyone Who Has Studied The Marijuana Issue)
Re - Marijuana Flap Gets Pot Boiling At WHO (Letter To Editor Of Toronto's 'Globe And Mail' Says WHO And Its Sister UN Organization, The International Narcotics Control Board, Appear To Have No Interest In Engaging In A Balanced Debate About Cannabis)
1998 Global Days Against The Drug War! June 6, 7, 8 (International Demonstration Includes Public Rallies And Related Events In New York, San Francisco, Amsterdam, Tel Aviv, Dallas, Stockholm, Brussels, Colville, Tallinn, Eugene, Texoma, London, Bonn, Sidney, Wellington, Paris, Ilmenau, Washington)
Majority Of Young Have Taken Drugs ('Irish Independent' Notes Survey Carried Out For National Youth Council Of Ireland Found Just Over Half Had Tried Illegal Drugs, And 45 Percent Said Some Drugs Should Be Legalised, Especially Cannabis)
Young People Concerned About Jobs And Drugs (Lengthier 'Irish Times' Account Of Survey Commissioned By National Youth Council Of Ireland Says 'Over Half Of Those Questioned Said They Have Taken Illegal Drugs' - 'Drugs' Number One Concern Of 23 Percent, Compared To 46 Percent Who Think It's Jobs)
Ballymun Anti-Drugs Activists Praised ('Irish Times' Says Members Of 18 Drugs Block Watches In North Dublin Who Have Set Up Watches To Prevent Illegal-Drug Dealing Were Presented With Commendation Certificates Yesterday By Garda)
Dublin Traders Settle Action Against Drug Centre ('Irish Times' Notes Mixed Success Of Dublin Neighborhood Merchants' Attempt To Reduce Friction With Clients Of Local Drug Treatment Center)
Police Arrest Drug-Smuggling Mules ('Reuters' Says Greek Police Have Arrested 12 Trained Mules Carrying About Two Tonnes Of Cannabis Near The Border With Albania)
Bytes: 182,000 Last updated: 7/11/98

Friday, March 6, 1998:
The Oregon Cannabis Tax Act Needs You! (Update From Paul Stanford, An OCTA Chief Petitioner, On State Initiative Ballot Measure That Would Regulate And Tax Cannabis For Medical, Nonmedical And Industrial Uses)
Injured Officer Counts Blessings - Kim Keist, Shot Twice During A January Drug Investigation, Concentrates On Recovery ('The Oregonian' Interviews Portland Cop Wounded Not During An 'Investigation,' But After Breaking Down A Door Without A Warrant With Others On Marijuana Task Force Who Swore Suspect Was Burning Cannabis In His Fireplace In An Attempt To Destroy Evidence - Paper Still Refuses To Say If Burned Cannabis Was Found In Fireplace Or Not)
Federal Judge Denies Cancer Patient Prescription Medication Marinol (Bulletin From Medical Marijuana Activist Todd McCormick Of Bel Air, California, Charged With Cultivating Marijuana Despite Proposition 215, Conveys Verdict Tuesday On His Pretrial Motion - Things Are Worse Than Ever, Judge Won't Even Let Him Use Legal Marinol, Nor Consume Legal Hempseed Oil)
Ninety-Eight Percent Of California Judges Are Former Prosecutors (Steve Kubby, Libertarian Candidate For Governor Of California, Expresses Support For Todd McCormick, Says Judge James McMahon Is Torturing The Cancer Patient And Is 'Bigoted And Corrupt' And Says, 'I Blame Judges For This Miserable, Phony War')
Pothole Awaits Attorney General In Drive For Governor ('Washington Post' Update On California Gubernatorial Race Suggests Candidate Dan Lungren, The Republican Attorney General And Anti-Medical Marijuana Zealot, Will Have A Hard Time Winning A State Where Voters Have Already Endorsed Medical Marijuana)
Prison System Out Of Control (Op-Ed In 'San Diego Union Tribune' By Dan Walters Of 'The Sacramento Bee' Says The Indictment Of Eight Corcoran State Prison Guards Suggests The California Penal System Appears To Be Out Of Control, And The Semi-Official Line From The State Department Of Corrections And The Governor's Office, That If There Was Wrongdoing, It Was Solely The Misdeeds Of Rogue Guards, Is Not Acceptable)
Drunk On Power (Staff Editorial In 'San Jose Mercury News' Notes US Senate On Wednesday Voted To Tie Federal Highway Funding To States' Tightening Drunken-Driving Standard, Violating States' Rights)
Many Who Had Transfusions May Be Infected ('Associated Press' Item In 'Seattle Times' Says Hundreds Of Thousands Of Americans Who Had Blood Transfusions Years Ago Will Receive Letters Warning They May Have Been Infected With Hepatitis C, A Serious Liver Disease That Often Shows No Symptoms For Years - List Subscriber With The Virus Notes Efficacy Of Cannabis In Ameliorating Its Symptoms)
Government To Warn Hepatitis C Victims (Version In Southern Massachusetts' 'Standard-Times')
Snowboarders Released From Jail ('Associated Press' Update On Two International Snowboarders Arrested For Two Grams Of Cannabis And A Pipe In Nevada, Says A Conviction For The First-Time Drug Felony Mandates Probation, But Could Effectively Kill Their Snowboarding Careers)
Bill Would Beef Up Drug-Testing Laws ('Des Moines Register' Gives Details On Iowa Urine Testing Legislation Awaiting Governor's Expected Signature - Rehab For Those Testing Positive For Alcohol, Pink Slips For Other Substances)
Wiretap Suit Against Police Settled ('Standard-Times' Says City Of Fall River, Massachusetts, Settled Out Of Court This Week A 1994 Lawsuit Brought By A Former Hospital Billing Clerk Who Claimed She Lost Her Job As A Result Of An Illegal Police Wiretap And False Allegations By Police)
State Police - For 50 Years The Force Has Been With Us ('Lexington Herald-Leader' Notes That, Until 1948, Kentucky Survived Without A State-Chartered Police Force, Which Now Handles Many Major Criminal Cases Outside Urban Areas, Maintains Special Units For Drug And Corruption Investigations, Runs The State's Crime Labs, Eradicates Marijuana And Patrols Highways)
Officers Say Ruling Hurts Drug Efforts (Lengthy 'Dallas Morning News' Article About Americans Who Travel To Mexico To Purchase Over-The-Counter Drugs Available Only By Prescription, Or Not At All In United States, Notes A Decision By The 4th Court Of Appeals In San Antonio Has Affirmed Citizens' Right To Bring Such Drugs Back To United States For Personal Use, Which Rather Ticks Off The Drug Warriors)
Canadian Medical Marijuana Challenge Starts April 27 (Supporters Seek Donations For Constitutional Challenge By Lynn Harichy, Multiple Sclerosis Patient In London, Ontario)
Caine Judgement Due March 6 (Expected Arrival Of Decision In Randy Caine's Constitutional Challenge To Canadian Marijuana Laws Has Been Moved Up From March 16)
Caine Trial Adjourned Again (Until April 15)
City Adopts Substance Abuse Policy ('Vancouver Sun' Notes City Council In Vancouver, British Columbia, Approved New 'Two Tier' Drug Testing Policy For Workers In 'Safety Sensitive' Jobs - Council Members Can Still Have Two-Martini Lunches)
Courts Weeding Out Marijuana Offenders ('Toronto Sun' Says Canadian Federal Justice Officials In Toronto Are Diverting People Convicted Of Cannabis Possession To Community Service Instead Of Hitting Them With Criminal Records)
Risk Getting Arrested To Protest Laws That Restrict The Free Use Of Marijuana (Letter To The Editor Of 'Calgary Sun' From 'A Poor, Unhealthy Man')
Rebels Crush Colombian Troops In Jungle Ambush ('San Francisco Chronicle' Says Government Suffered Its Worst Defeat In Three Decades, Losing 70 Of Its Best Troops From The Third Mobile Brigade In A Battle With The Country's Largest Rebel Group, The Revolutionary Armed Forces Of Colombia)
Colombia Troops Seek Massacre Site ('San Jose Mercury News' Version)
Lords To Study Cannabis Risks (Britain's 'Independent' Notes Formal Announcement Of House Of Lords' February Decision To Hold Scientific Inquiry Into Medical, Nonmedical Risks)
Therapeutic Use Of Cannabis (Letter To Editor Of Britain's 'Lancet' Says Argument For Synthesized Cannabinoids Versus Natural Cannabis Is Based On A Wish To Restrict Those Who Want Cannabis Use To Be Legalised, Not On Any Medical Evidence - Maybe It Is Based On Fear Of Not Being Taken Seriously By The Scientific Community, But In Fact This Fear May Undermine Credibility Of Scientific Argument)
Special Drug Units Demanded ('Irish Times' Says, According To An Irish Psychiatric Nurses' Union Representative, 'Addicts,' Some As Young As 16, Are Supplying Cannabis To Patients In Acute Psychiatric Units In Cork, Kerry, Limerick And Tipperary, And He Wants 'Drug Addicts' To Be Treated In Specialist Units And Not In Psychiatric Hospitals)
The Week Online With DRCNet, Issue Number 32 (News Summary For Activists, From The Drug Reform Coordination Network - Original Articles Include - Violent Week In Giuliani's New York Drug War; Federal Agent Cleared In Shooting Of Candy Bar-Holding Teen - Plus - An Interview With Robert Godosky, The Teen's Attorney; Professor's Penn State Pot Protest Continues; California Inmates Get Ruling, But No Justice, In Sexual Assault Case; French Artists, Intellectuals Sign Petition Challenging Drug Laws; Irish Priest Urges Legalization; Quote Of The Week - Who's The Most 'Silly Son-Of-A-Bitch' In Colorado Politics? And Editorial, A Real Live Shooting War In America, By Adam J. Smith)
Bytes: 137,000 Last updated: 3/14/98

Saturday, March 7, 1998:
Brief Protest Report (Account Of Demonstration Friday In Downtown Portland Held To Protest Marijuana Task Force, Sponsored By American Antiprohibition League)
Orange County's First Medical Marijuana Trial Stayed ('Orange County Register' Says 4th District Court Of Appeal In Santa Ana, California, Ordered A Stay Thursday In The Case Against David Herrick, Charged With Selling Cannabis To Members Of The Orange County Cannabis Co-Op, So It Can Consider Whether The Prosecution Misused Evidence Provided By The Defense To File More Serious Charges)
California Conference Of Medical Cannabis Providers (Bulletin From Scott Imler Of The Los Angeles Cannabis Buyers Club Invites Medical Marijuana Patients, Affirmed Providers And Proposition 215 Supporters To A Gathering In San Francisco On Tuesday, March 24, To Protest The Federal Lawsuit That Seeks To Close Six Northern California Dispensaries)
Jury Activist Turney Faces 15 Years ('The Fairbanks Daily NewsMiner' Says Fully Informed Jury Activist Frank Turney Was Convicted Of Three Counts Of Felony Jury Tampering For Distributing The Hotline Number Of The Fully-Informed Jury Association Outside A Fairbanks, Alaska, Courthouse In 1994)
Seizure Of Hotel Sets Precedent - 'Tacit Consent' For Drug Deals Alleged ('Houston Chronicle' Notes The US Government Is Attempting To Forfeit The Red Carpet Inn In Southwest Houston Despite A Lack Of Any Allegation That The Hotel Owners Took Part In Any Crimes)
Attorney Sentenced For Role In Drug Ring ('Houston Chronicle' Says Houston, Texas, Lawyer Jose Carl Aaslatten, 31, Has Forfeited $900,000 And Will Spend Eight Years In Prison For Helping Launder Millions Of Dollars As Part Of A Group That Manufactured Ecstasy Tablets In Tijuana, Mexico, And Distributed Them In Houston)
Children Aren't The Problem (Letter To Editor Of 'Houston Chronicle' Explains Why Certification Doesn't Work - Blaming Other Countries For Illegal Drug Use In The United States Is An Attempt To Escape From Reality - To Claim That $30 Billion Worth Of Cocaine Is Poisoning US Children Each Year Is An Attempt To Produce An Emotional Gut Reaction Rather Than An Intelligent Decision)
Kentucky Firm, Two Others Bid To Privately Run Iowa Prisons ('Associated Press' Article In Lexington, Kentucky, 'Herald-Leader' About Private Prison Industry Pitches To State Of Iowa Notes US Corrections Corporation Of Louisville, Kentucky, Proposed A Budget With A Per Diem Cost Per Prisoner Of $42.19, Compared To $42.75 Per Day For Corrections Corporation Of America Of Nashville, $46.90 Per Day Per Prisoner For Florida-Based Wackenhut And $47 Per Day For Iowa Corrections Department)
A Lesser Crime? (Letter To Editor Of 'New York Times' Responds To Its Staff Editorial, 'NBA Violence,' Suggesting League Is Saying To Kids That 'Threatening To Kill Your Coach Is Bad - But Not That Bad, So Long As You're Not On Drugs Or Gambling While You Do It')
Ex-Police Detectives Plead Guilty ('Boston Globe' Says Two Veteran Boston Police Detectives Were Sentenced To Three-Year Jail Terms Friday In Federal Court, Pleading Guilty To Using Their Badges To Steal More Than $200,000 From Drug Dealers, Small-Time Gamblers, And Innocent Bystanders That They'd Set Up By Lying To Secure Phony Search Warrants)
Getting Under The Skins Of Junkies ('New Scientist' Suggests Heroin Addicts May One Day Be Treated With A Polymer Implant Instead Of Taking A Daily Dose Of The Heroin Substitute Methadone - Researchers At Johns Hopkins School Of Medicine In Baltimore Have Developed A Button-Sized Implant That Releases A Steady Stream Of Hydromorphone For Up To Three Months)
Brief Report On New FDA Approach (Rick Doblin Of The Multidisciplinary Association For Psychedelic Studies Says Scientists Who Would Like Research Controlled Substances Now Must Leap Even More, Higher Hurdles - 'A Clear Shift To A More Cautious, Conservative Attitude At The FDA')
Study Casts A New Light On Drug Traffic (New York Times News Service Says The Federal Government's First Study To Compare Illicit Heroin And Cocaine Markets In Six US Cities From The Consumer's Perspective, Based On Interviews With 2,056 Arrested Adults Who Tested Positive For Drugs, Was Released Friday By The National Institute Of Justice, A Research Arm Of The Department Of Justice - The Interviews, In Chicago, Portland, San Antonio, San Diego, Washington, And Manhattan, Also Underscore Regional Differences In Patterns Of Drug Use)
Firm Eyes Building Hemp-Processing Plant ('Winnipeg Free Press' Says Consolidated Growers And Processors In Winnipeg Is Planning To Spend At Least $500,000 To Build A Processing Plant For Hemp - Nothing Can Be Done Until March 16 When Health Minister Allan Rock Is Expected To Announce Regulations Decriminalizing Hemp)
Rebels, Soldiers Battle In Colombian Jungle ('Orange County Register' Says President Ernesto Samper, In The War Zone Friday, Made An Impassioned Plea To Industrialized Countries To Stop 'Selling Weapons And Buying The Drugs That Finance These Belligerent Acts Of War And Death')
Colombia Hopeless Against Rebels ('San Francisco Chronicle' Says The Stunning Defeat Inflicted On The Colombian Army By Guerrilla Forces This Week Is Prompting Soul-Searching Throughout The Country As Top Government Officials Acknowledge That The Military Appears To Be Incapable Of Ending The Three-Decades-Old Conflict)
Bytes: 61,400 Last updated: 7/11/98

Sunday, March 8, 1998:
Assembling A Drug Policy (Op-Ed In 'Orange County Register' By Ethan A. Nadelmann Of The Lindesmith Center In New York City Rebuts The Drug Warriors Who Often Point To The 1980s As A Time When Punitive Polices And 'Just Say No' Messages Led To A 12-Year-Decline In Illegal Drug Use By Teenagers - And Recommends Instead A Policy That Focuses On Reducing Not Illicit Drug Use Per Se But The Crime And Misery Caused By Both Drug Abuse And Prohibitionist Policies)
Narcs Provide Raw Material For Meth Lab - 'Sting' By State Put Drugs On The Street - Undercover Work Raises Questions ('Sacramento Bee' Says Lawyers For Two California Men Arrested And Indicted After A Raid On A Methamphetamine Lab In Rural Shasta County Are Calling The Narcotics Agency's Conduct In The Case Illegal, Immoral And An Illustration Of The Dark Side Of The War On Drugs)
The High Life On Drug Cash ('The Blade' In Ohio Says The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority Has Spent Large Amounts Of Assets Seized From 'Drug Dealers' On Such Things As A $26,500 Sport Utility Vehicle For The Director Of Toledo Express Airport, $20,000 In Exercise Equipment To Outfit A Gym For Airport Police, And A $2,226 Desk For The Downtown Office Of The President Of The Port Authority - And Then There's The $279 Bill To Clean A Urine-Stained Carpet At An Airport Police Officer's Home After Buster, The Airport's Drug-Sniffing Dog, Had An Accident)
Day Of Humiliation ('New York Times' Columnist: Bob Herbert Recaps Recent 'Drug' Bust In Which Police Broke Down Bronx Man's Door, Subjecting The Innocent Man Living There To One Degradation After Another Such As Repeatedly Addressing Him As Nigger And Black Mother-So-And-So - When He Begged To Be Allowed To Put On Some Clothes, The Officers Told Him, 'You're Nothing But An Animal, Nigger, You Don't Deserve Any Clothes')
Release Ordered Of Many More Tobacco Papers ('Orange County Register' Says A Ramsey County District Judge In St. Paul, Minnesota, Ordered Cigarette Makers Saturday To Release About 39,000 More Internal Documents, Including Some That The Plaintiffs In Minnesota's Tobacco Trial Call The Most Significant To Emerge In The Case)
Tobacco Vs. Marijuana (Letter To Editor Of 'Daily Herald' In Arlington Heights, Illinois, Explains Why Popular Views About Tobacco And Cannabis Defy Logic)
Women's History Month - Pauline Morton Sabin (List Subscriber Forwards Story From 'Dictionary Of American Biography' About Woman Who Founded The Women's Organization For National Prohibition Reform And Helped Lead The Fight To End Alcohol Prohibition)
A Few Pills From Death ('Ottawa Citizen' Says The Most Recent And Potentially Most Serious Challenge To Canada's Drug Laws Comes Not From A Long-Haired Hippie Bent On Bringing Down The Establishment, But From A Dying Man Who Has Spent Most Of His Life Helping Kids Stay Away From Alcohol And Drugs - On Thursday, Jim Wakeford, A 53-Year-Old Toronto AIDS Patient Whose Doctor Says He Might Die Without Marijuana, Filed A Civil Suit In The Ontario Court Of Justice Against The Canadian Government Demanding That He Be Exempt From Laws Against Cannabis, And More Audaciously, That The Government Be Required To Supply The Drug To Patients Who Need It - His Case Is Scheduled To Be Heard On May 4)
High Time For Hemp ('Edmonton Sun' Columnist Kerry Diotte Sees The Ross Rebagliati Affair And The Imminent Legalization Of Industrial Hemp Giving New Impetus To The Argument That Canada Should Look At Decriminalizing Marijuana)
LeDain Stands By '71 Report ('Edmonton Sun' Interviews Gerald LeDain, Now Retired In Ottawa, The Former Head Of The Canadian Commission That Recommended Decriminalization Of Marijuana In 1971, Only To Be Ignored By The Government That Had Sought Its Findings)
Colombian Army Suffers One Of Worst Defeats In Combat With Rebels ('Houston Chronicle' Says Members Of An Elite Colombian Army Counterinsurgency Battalion Were Picked Off, One By One, During Five Days Of Jungle Combat Last Week - So Far, Just Nine Of The 153 Army Troops Have Been Rescued)
Drugs Tsar Targets Jails And Schools (Britain's 'Sunday Times' Says The Government Is Preparing Its Biggest Assault On Drugs With A £50M Plan To Take The Anti-Drug Message To Children As Young As Six And To Segregate Addicted Prisoners In Britain's Jails)
Cannabis Campaign - Young Want Change (Britain's 'Independent On Sunday' Continues Its Weekly Push For Reform Of Marijuana Laws, Noting The First Nationwide Poll Of BBC Radio 1 Listeners Has Found They Are Overwhelmingly Against Legal Restrictions On Drug Taking)
Cannabis Campaign - Heed Our Rallying Cry (Britain's 'Independent On Sunday' Provides More Details On Its Previously Announced Public March Through The Heart Of London On Saturday, March 28, To Rally Support For Decriminalising Cannabis)
Music Mogul Sounds Out Cannabis Campaign Album ('Scotland On Sunday' Says Scots-Born Alan McGee, Founder Of Creation Records And The Man Who 'Discovered' Oasis, Is Compiling A Band Aid-Type Album As Part Of An On-Going Campaign For The Decriminilisation Of Cannabis Inspired by Britain's 'Independent On Sunday' - McGee Has Already Approached Top British Acts Such As Paul Weller, Cast, Super Furry Animals, And Asian Dub Foundation)
Knock Knock - It's The Rave Squad (Translation Of An Article From Sweden's 'Nojesguiden' About Special Police Squads That Target Illegal Drug Users At Youth Events, Armed With The Power To Search And Demand Urine Tests Of Anyone At Any Time)
In Their Own Words (Another Article About Sweden's Rave Squads, Translated From 'Nojesguiden,' Makes One Wonder If Drug Warriors Are The Same Racist, Insensitive Louts The World Over)
Bytes: 131,000 Last updated: 5/16/98

Monday, March 9, 1998:
Sixty Protesters Speak Out Against Marijuana 'Thug' Force - Mayor Katz, 'Oregonian' TV News Ignore Event (Bulletin From Portland's American Antiprohibition Action League Says Protests To Continue Every Friday From 4 PM To 6 PM In The Park Between The Multnomah County Courthouse And The Justice Center At 1120 SW Third Avenue)
Get Gun Facts Right - Deplorable Situation Made Worse By Errors Describing Problem And Proposed Solution (Letter To Editor Of 'The Oregonian' Criticizes Paper's Coverage Of Warrantless Break-In By Portland Marijuana Task Force That Left One Cop Dead, Two Wounded, Before Suspect Died In Police Custody)
They Say If You Used Drugs As A Teen, Lie ('Press-Enterprise' In Riverside, California, Describes Parenting Lessons Taught By Three Cops In Murrieta, California, Sponsored By The Murrieta Valley Unified School District)
Employees Angry Over Proposed Ban On Smoking At Hospital ('Associated Press' Article In Everett, Washington, 'Herald' Says Employees Of The Naval Hospital In Bremerton Are Upset Officials Are Planning To Close The Only Designated Smoking Area July 4 As Part Of A Larger Plan To Ban Smoking Everywhere On The 49-Acre Property)
DWI Law Is Only Eyewash (Letter To Editor Of 'Houston Chronicle' Agrees With Staff Editorial Opposing Bill Clinton's Extortion Plan To Get States To Pass Lower DWI Blood-Alcohol Limit Laws Under The Threat Of Withholding Highway Tax Funds)
Let's Look Again At The Cost Of Jailing Drug Offenders (Letter From New York State Senator Alton Waldron, Jr., To 'Times Union' Notes New York's Mandatory Minimum Sentences For Drug Offenders Were Meant To Address Two Problems, But Have Not Achieved The Anticipated Results - Suggests Coerced Treatment Without Incarceration Would Be Cheaper)
More Teen Girls Use Marijuana ('Reuters' Says A Report Presented At A Meeting Of The Society For Adolescent Medicine In Atlanta, Georgia, Suggests Pot Use Is Declining Among Urban African-American Teenage Males, But Is Increasing Among Adolescent African-American Girls - Washington Researchers Concluded That Having Multiple Sexual Partners Had The Strongest Association With Recent Marijuana Use)
Policing For Profit - The Drug War's Hidden Economic Agenda (Article In 'The Nation' Magazine By Eric Blumenson, A Professor At Suffolk University Law School, And Eva Nilsen, An Associate Clinical Professor At Boston University School Of Law, Provides A Devastating Assessment Of Congress's 1984 Decision To Rewrite The Civil Forfeiture Law To Funnel 'Drug' Money And 'Drug Related' Assets Into The Police Agencies That Seize Them)
CIA Clears Self Of Drug Charge ('The Nation' Magazine Suggests The Most Damaging Part Of The CIA's Self-Exoneration Concerns The 'Frogman' Case, A Contra-Drug Story Broken In 1986 By 'The San Francisco Examiner' And Reprised By Gary Webb For 'The San Jose Mercury News' - The CIA Intervened In A Law Enforcement Matter To Smother An Embarrassing Exposure Of A Contra-Drug Link - And Almost As An Aside The CIA's Report Notes That When Senator John Kerry's Subcommittee Requested Information On The Frogman Case In 1986, The CIA Refused To Provide It And Succeeded In Obstructing A Major Congressional Investigation)
War On Drugs Hero - James McDougal Dies Refusing Drug Test ('Associated Press' Notes Passing In Solitary Confinement At Federal Medical Center In Fort Worth, Texas, Of Savings-And-Loan Operator Tied To Clinton Administration Scandals)
How Tobacco Firms And The Web Created A New Day In Disclosure ('Washington Post' Says Last Week The First Installment Of More Than 30 Million Pages Of Internal Tobacco Industry Documents Hit The World Wide Web On An Industry-Created Web Site - Documents Were Collected By The State Of Minnesota And That State's Blue Cross And Blue Shield In Their Landmark Lawsuit Against The Tobacco Industry)
2,000 Miles Of Disarray In Drug War ('Washington Post' Says An Effort Initiated In 1996 To Coordinate Mexican And United States Illegal Drug Interdiction Efforts Is In A Shambles, According To US Law Enforcement And Congressional Sources)
Ritalin Puts Some Kids Into Zombie-Like State (Despite The Characteristic Mass Media Sensationalism, Article In 'Calgary Herald' Contains Some Interesting Details, Such As The Assertion That Novartis, The Manufacturer Of Ritalin, Or Methylphenidate, Admits There Are No Studies That Have Followed A Group Of Specific Individuals For Even Two Years While They Were Taking The Drug)
Colombians Vote For Congress As Rebels Rage ('San Francisco Chronicle' Notes Colombians Yesterday Chose New Representatives To Congress, The Institution Widely Considered The Country's Most Corrupt - President Ernesto Samper's Liberal Party Was Expected To Maintain Its Majority In Both Houses)
The Trail Of Drugs That Affects Us All ('The Age' In Australia Interviews Chief Commissioner Of Victoria Police, Who Says That During Two Decades Working As A Police Officer, He Has Been Locked Into A Hard-Line Approach To Drug Users, But He Now Admits The Approach Has Not Worked And 'I Have In Recent Years Changed My Mind Quite Considerably')
We've Lost Drug War - Comrie ('The Age' Gives More Details About The 'Radical Statewide Plan' Victoria's Police Commissioner Is Set To Introduce, And What Led To It)
Drop In Drug Use Among Young (Britain's 'Times' Says A New Survey From Exeter University Released Today Reports Only One-Quarter Of 14- And 15-Year-Olds In Britain Used Illegal Drugs, Compared To One-Third In 1996, The First Decline In Use Rate In Five Years)
Cabinet To Get US-Style Drug Court Proposals ('Irish Times' Notes Ireland Is Continuing Its Policy Of Importing America's Drug Policies, And Problems - At Least Two Drug Courts, In Texas And Oregon, Receive Funding For Coerced Treatment Programmes From Assets Seized By The State From Offenders)
Heroin Remains Hardest Habit To Break ('Irish Times' Says That Despite Operation Dochas With Its Increased Garda Street Presence, Community Drug Watches And The Efforts Of The Health Board And Dublin Corporation, Heroin Is Still Sold Openly In Parts Of Dublin - And Is 50 Percent To 75 Percent Cheaper Now Than It Was Five Years Ago)
My Mother Flew Home To Arrange The Funeral ('Irish Times' Interviews One Heroin Addict, Ravaged By Prohibition, Who Says Ecstasy Was The Gateway Drug To His Addiction)
15 Years Of Heroin Addiction Captured In Photo Albums ('Irish Times' Captures A Despairing Portrait Of A Dublin Woman And Her Family, One Of Many Ravaged By Heroin Prohibition, AIDS)
Drugs Seizures Could Be Tip Of Iceberg (Ireland's 'Examiner' Notes Fears That The Many High Profile Drug Seizures In The Country Over The Past 18 Months May Not Have Had A Significant Impact On Street Supply Lines - Recent Figures Released In America Claim The International Drugs Trade Is Now Bigger Than The International Car Trade)
German SPD On The Run Over Greens' Petrol Tax ('Reuters' Notes The German Green Party Agreed At A Weekend Congress, Held To Prepare For September's General Election, To Triple Gasoline Taxes, Wind Down NATO, Slash The Size Of The German Army And Legalize Marijuana)
The Rave Commission - The Only Culture Police In The Western World (Translation Of Article From Sweden's 'Arbetaren' About The Most Drug-Crazed Country In The World, Where Young Narco-Nazis Can Oblige Anyone To Take A Urine Test On Demand - Or Force Their Way Into Your House On 'Reasonable Suspicion')
Secretary-General Kofi Annan Appoints High-Level Experts To Review Progress Of United Nations Efforts Against Illicit Drugs (UN Information Service Says The Experts Will Undertake A Comprehensive Review Of How The Efforts Against Illicit Drugs Have Evolved Within The United Nations System Since The General Assembly Established The United Nations International Drug Control Programme, UNDCP, In 1991 - Primary Aim Of Their Work Will Be To Recommend How To Strengthen Future International Cooperation)
Bytes: 157,000 Last updated: 3/26/98

Tuesday, March 10, 1998:
NORML Special Legislative Alert - Contact Congress Today! - House Of Representatives To Debate The Medical Use Of Marijuana (Vote On Sense Of The House Resolution Expected March 17 - How To Contact US Representatives, Sample Letter)
Harassment Of Methadone Patients Escalates (News Release From American Antiprohibition League In Portland Notes Increasing Numbers Of People Impeding Others' Access To Medical Care)
House Panel Kills Needle Exchange Bill ('Rocky Mountain News' Says Despite The Testimony Of Doctors, State Health Officials, AIDS Patients And Others, Republicans On The Colorado House Of Representatives' Health, Environment, Welfare And Institutions Committee Killed The Measure On A 7-4 Party-Line Vote)
Needle Exchange Bill Dies ('Denver Post' Version)
Tonight, March 10 - Miss Montana In Hemp At Miss USA Pageant (Director Of Miss Montana USA Pageant Invites You To See The Competition Tonight On CBS - Miss Montana Will Wear Hemp And Silk Gown Designed By Victor Stapleberg Of Hong Kong)
America Is Losing The War On Drugs ('The Oklahoma Observer' Gives A Belated But Excellent Critique Of The 1997 National Drug Control Strategy)
Inmates As Organ Forms (Syndicated Columnist Ellen Goodman Ponders A Bill Proposed In Missouri That Would Commute The Sentences Of Death Row Prisoners To Life Without Parole If They Give Up A Kidney Or Bone Marrow)
Clinton Pushes Tobacco Settlement ('Associated Press' Says That, Before Setting Off For A Democratic Fund-Raising Dinner At The Home Of A Lawyer Friend Who Represents Smokers, The Over-Eating Cigar Smoker Requested Anew That Congress Act Soon On A Tobacco Settlement That Would Cost Tobacco Consumers $368 Billion While Legally Limiting Cigarette Advertising And Marketing)
WHO Denies Suppressing Secondhand Smoke Study ('Associated Press' Article In Lexington, Kentucky, 'Herald-Leader' Notes World Health Organization Officials In Geneva Have Denied Allegations In London's 'Sunday Telegraph' And Yesterday's 'Times Of London' That WHO Suppressed A Seven-Year Study Showing That Secondhand Cigarette Smoke Doesn't Cause Lung Cancer)
Woman Waits For Support For Medicinal Pot ('Calgary Herald' Update On Multiple Sclerosis Patient Lynn Harichy, Who Is Planning To Open A Civilly Disobedient Medical Marijuana Dispensary In London, Ontario, And Who Will Appear In Court On Cannabis Possession Charges April 27)
Re - Woman Waits For Support For Medicinal Pot (Letter Sent To Editor Of 'Calgary Herald' Rebuts Ignorant Assertion Of Ontario's Mayor That Cannabis Is A 'Narcotic With A Lot Of Deleterious Health Effects')
Medical Pot Club Awaits Support (Version From 'London Free Press' In Ontario)
Small Towns Not All Model Communities ('Toronto Star' Account Of Small-Town Glue Addict Serves As A Reminder Of What To Expect If 'Dangerous Drugs' Ever Disappear)
Hells Angels, Police Try To Use Media For Own Ends ('Vancouver Sun' Says Vancouver Police Are Trying To Drum Up Fear Of Motorcycle Organization In Order To Increase Their Budget, Despite The Fact That None Of The More Than 90 Hells Angels In British Columbia Are Currently In Prison - A Number Of Them, Including Associates And Members Of So-Called 'Puppet' Clubs Are Facing A Variety Of Charges, But The Club's Spokesman Has A Point When He Asks, 'Where Are The Arrests?')
Mexico Declares War On Drug Cartel ('Los Angeles Times' Says Mexico's Anti-Drug Czar, Mariano Herran Salvatti, On Monday Announced An Offensive To Dismantle One Of The Country's Main Drug-Trafficking Groups, The Juarez Cartel, Including Dozens Of Arrest Warrants And Big Rewards For Ringleaders - Authorities Invoke New Organized-Crime Law)
Elections Different In World's Narco-Democracy ('Toronto Star' Notes The Only South American Country Never To Have Defaulted On Its Debt Has Been Run By Civilian Presidents Since 1957, Making It One Of The Longest Uninterrupted Democracies In Latin America - But When It Comes To Democracy, Is Colombia's Glass Half Full Or Half Empty?)
Comrie Wins Support For Drug Cautions ('Australian Associated Press' Says Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Neil Comrie Today Won Strong Support For A System Of Cautions To Illegal Drug Users, After Conceding That The Hardline Approach Had Not Worked)
Drugs Expert Backs Marijuana Policy Change ('The Melbourne Age' In Australia Says The Man Who Headed The State Government's Drug Taskforce, Professor David Penington, Backs Plans By Victoria's Police Commissioner To Soften The Police Stand Against Marijuana Use)
Police Chief's New Realism On Drugs (Editorial In 'The Age' Backs Proposal By Victoria's Chief Commissioner Of Police, Neil Comrie, To Caution Rather Than Prosecute People Caught For The First Time With Small Quantities Of Marijuana ForTtheir Own Use)
Drug Dogs Muzzled ('The Advertiser' Says South Australian Police Have Suspended Random Drug Searches Using Sniffer Dogs After A District Court Judge Ruled That One Such Search Of Luggage On An Interstate Bus Travelling From Adelaide To Sydney Was Unlawful)
Former Drugs Squad Chief Wants All Drugs Legalized (Op-Ed By Edward Ellison, Former Head Of Scotland Yard's Anti-Drugs Squad, In Britain's 'Daily Mail')
Man 'Invested' Compensation In Dealing ('Irish Times' Says A Dublin Cannabis Retailer In The Business For Just Six Weeks Gets A Five-Year Suspended Sentence After A Judge Takes The Last £5,000 Of His Compensation And Gives It To The St. Vincent De Paul Society)
Cannabis User Says Drug Is Great For Relaxing ('Irish Times' Interview With Unnamed Cannabis Consumer Begs The Question Why The Newspaper Relentlessly Portrays 'Drugs' As A Public Health And Safety Menace)
From Asian Hills To Veins Of Addicts ('Irish Times' Marvels Law Of Supply And Demand Is Stronger Than That Of Governments - In Recent Years, Turkish Gangs Have Come To Account For 95 Per Cent Of The Heroin Brought Into Northern Europe)
Review Aimed At Tightening Money Laundering Net ('Irish Times' Says Officials In The Irish Department Of Justice Are Examining The 1994 Criminal Justice Act With A View To Strengthening Its Powers - The Review Could Result In Solicitors, Accountants And Estate Agents Being Obliged To Report Suspicious Transactions To The Garda And Revenue Commissioners)
Banking Secrecy Highly Valued By The Launderers ('Irish Times' Fails To Ask What Will Happen To Ireland's Banking Industry As Capital Flees To Liechtenstein, Which Has No Agreement With Ireland And Will Not Help With What It Sees As Revenue Offences)
Celebrate Millennium By Tackling Drugs (Editorial In 'Irish Times' Calls For All-Out War On Some Irish Drug Consumers, Using An 'Integrated Approach Involving State Bodies, Voluntary Agencies And The Community')
Bytes: 126,000 Last updated: 5/6/98

Wednesday, March 11, 1998:
Who Should Police East Palo Alto? ('Palo Alto Weekly' Update On Struggle Between San Mateo County Sheriff's Office And City Police - Each Has Independently Formed A Special Drug Enforcement Team)
SB 6136 - Including Drug Offenses In Background Checks (Washington State List Subscriber Notes Governor Gary Locke Has Signed A Bill Unanimously Passed By The House And Senate)
AIDS Activist Vows Needle-Exchange Civil Disobedience ('Denver Post' Says Paul Simons, Director Of An HIV Prevention Group In Denver, Has Vowed To Expand Underground Needle Exchanges As Acts Of Civil Disobedience In The Wake Of The Colorado Legislature's Refusal To Revise State Law To Accommodate Such Exchanges Legally)
Activist Vows Needle Exchange, Law Or No Law ('Rocky Mountain News' Version)
Police-State Seizure Wrong (Letter To Editor Of 'Houston Chronicle' About Seizure Of Houston Hotel Even Though Owners Never Broke Any Laws Says 'It Is Time To Stop This Federally Controlled Government')
McDougal Had Refused To Give Sample ('Associated Press' Notes James McDougal, Former Bill Clinton Crony, Died Of An Apparent Heart Attack At Federal Medical Prison In Fort Worth, Texas, While Doing Seven Days In Solitary Confinement - Failed Drug Test Because He Couldn't Urinate On Demand Within Two-Hour Limit)
Four States Share New Border Agents ('Associated Press' Notes 1,000 New Immigration And Naturalization Service Agents In Texas, Arizona, California And New Mexico Will Help Push Total Up To 7,000 By Year's End - Double The Number Five Years Ago)
Study Tracks Hardcore Drug Use ('Associated Press' Reports US Drug Czar McCaffrey On Wednesday Released Federal Research Using New Survey Methods In Chicago And Surrounding Cook County, Illinois - Results Suggest The Number Of People Using Heroin, Cocaine, Crack Cocaine, May Be Three Times Previous Estimates, 330,000 Rather Than 117,000)
Drugs Drive Repeat Offenders ('Standard-Times' In Southern Massachusetts Says That, According To The Sentencing Project, 57 Percent Of Those Sentenced To Jail In 1989 Said They Were Under The Influence Of Alcohol Or Other Drugs At The Time They Committed Their Offense, And According To The Bureau Of Justice Statistics, A Study Of 108,580 Persons Released From Prisons In 1983 Found That 62 Percent Were Arrested For A Felony Or Serious Misdemeanor Within Three Years, 46 Percent Were Reconvicted And 41 Percent Were Sent Back To Jail Or Prison)
Feds Expected To Take Case Against Westport Drug Lab ('Standard-Times,' In Southern Massachusetts, Notes Bust In Westport, Rhode Island)
McCaffrey Blasts Any Commercial Use Of Hemp (Louisville, Kentucky, 'Courier-Journal' Quotes General Barry McCaffrey, US Drug Czar, Saying 'The Cultivation Of Hemp Is Economically Not Feasible In The United States,' After Appearing At A 'Drug Summit' At Louisville's Commonwealth Convention Center)
Everyone Wants To Do Something About Tobacco, But Few Agree On What ('New York Times' Update On Congressional Negotiations Over Fate Of Tobacco Industry And Tobacco Consumers)
Key Drug Launderer Arrested ('Associated Press' Says Mexican Police Have Arrested A Businessman, Amado Cruz Anguiano, On Suspicions Of Laundering Millions Of Dollars For The Arellano Felix Drug Cartel)
Decriminalization Of Marijuana (Canadian Minister Of Health Allan Rock Says He And Department Of Justice Consider Medical Marijuana A Serious Issue, Are Studying It, And Will Present A Policy 'In Coming Months' For Consideration By All Members Of The House)
Hemp Should Be Legal This Friday ('Ontario Farmer Daily' Says Canadian Health Minister Allan Rock Is Expected To Announce New Hemp Regulations At A March 13th News Conference At 4 PM At Tillsonburg's Annandale House)
The Record Crop A City Isn't High On - Nowhere East Of Vancouver Has More Grass Growing Under Its Feet Than Winnipeg (Toronto 'Globe And Mail' Says More Locally Grown Marijuana Was Seized In The Capital Of Manitoba Last Year Than In Any Other Canadian City Outside Vancouver - Sergeant Trakalo And His Colleagues In The Drug Squad Also Grow Their Own Pot But Last Year Broke Up 106 Other Grow Operations And Carted Off A Record $11-Million Worth Of Weed, Compared With Vancouver's $26 Million And Edmonton's $2.5 Million - Police In Toronto, With Five Times The Population, Came Up With Little More Than Half Of The Winnipeg Figure)
Re - The Record Crop A City Isn't High On (Letter Sent To Editor Of 'Globe And Mail' Faults Logic Of Detective Sergeant Ron Trakalo Of The Winnipeg Drug Squad)
Police Wasting Resources On WoD (Letter To Editor Of 'Halifax Daily News' Questions The Priorities Of A Police Force That Spent So Much Time And Money On A One-Year Investigation That Turned Up $55,000 In Illegal Drugs)
Harmless Dope (Letter To Editor Of Britain's 'Independent' Says Daily Cannabis Smokers In Morocco Showed No Demotivating Or Dispiriting Effects)
Ninth International Harm Reduction Conference March 15-19 In Sao Paulo, Brazil (URL Posted For Those Interested In Discussing Issues With Participants Or Asking Questions)
Brazil Battles Drugs On Borders, Streets ('Washington Post' Notes Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso Has Ordered The Creation Of A Special Government Body To Coordinate Drug Policy - Brazil's Congress Already Has Passed Legislation Aimed At Curbing Traffickers' Activities By Identifying 'Dirty' Money And Setting Prison Terms Of Three To 10 Years For Money Laundering.- Cardoso Also Approved A Law Thursday Authorizing Government Agencies To Shoot Down 'Hostile' Aircraft)
US Woman To Be Sentenced In Peru ('Associated Press' Notes 20-Year-Old Aspiring Model From Danville, Illinois, Who Agreed To Work As A 'Mule' For $5,000 Was Caught In September 1996 With About Eight Pounds Of Cocaine In Her Luggage As She Tried To Board A Plane To Miami At Lima's Jorge Chavez Airport - Mandatory Minimum Is Six Years But Prosecutor Wants 10)
A Drug-Free World - We Can Do It (Description Of UN Special Session On Drugs As The United Nations' Drug Control Program Describes It)
DrugSense Weekly, Number 37 (Summary Of Drug Policy News For Activists, Including Original Commentary And Articles Such As Feature Piece, 'Harm Reduction and Hepatitis C, Part 3 - What Must We Do, To Change What We Do . . . ?' By Joey Tranchina and Dr. Tom O'Connell)
Bytes: 144,000 Last updated: 4/6/98

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