1998 News
About Cannabis and Drug Policy
March 19-25

Thursday, March 19, 1998:
• NORML Weekly News (Drug Testing Industry Running Scared, Calls On Congress To Prohibit Legal Hemp Products; Local Pressure In Support Of California CBCs Mounts As Federal Hearing To Close Clubs Approaches; 'Journal Of The American Medical Association' Reports That Majority Of Americans Favor Legal Access To Medical Marijuana)
• Rally To Stop The Federal Veto Of Proposition 215 (Marijuana Policy Project Publicizes Public Demonstration Tuesday In San Francisco In Opposition To The Federal Lawsuit Against Six Northern California Medical Marijuana Dispensaries)
• Mayors Ask Clinton To Leave Pot Clubs Alone ('Associated Press' Article In 'San Jose Mercury News' Says The Mayors Of San Francisco, Oakland, Santa Cruz and West Hollywood Have Asked The President To Call Off The Federal Lawsuit Against Six Northern California Medical Marijuana Dispensaries)
• Mayors Ask Clinton To Allow Pot Clubs To Stay Open (A Different 'Associated Press' Account In 'Orange County Register')
• Four California Mayors Urge Clinton To Stop Lawsuits Against 'Cannabis Clubs' ('Washington Post' Version)
• Four Mayors Call On Clinton To Stop Pot Club Prosecutions ('San Francisco Chronicle' Version)
• SF To US - Back Off On Medical Marijuana Law ('Los Angeles Times' Tries To Make It Seem Like It's San Francisco Officials Violating The Law By Standing Up For Proposition 215 Rather Than The State And Federal Bureaucrats And Politicians Who Are Trying To Shut Down The City's Medical Cannabis Dispensaries)
• Update On Orange County Medical Marijuana Co-Op Case (Local Correspondent Notes Delay In Marvin Chavez Case)
• Medical Marijuana Wars (Staff Editorial In 'San Francisco Chronicle' Says 'The Humane Use Of Marijuana To Allay Pain Is The Goal Here' And Urges California Lawmakers To Unite Behind State Senator John Vasconcellos' Bill)
• Lungren's Campaign (Letter To Editor Of 'Orange County Register' Notes California Gubernatorial Candidate Lungren Has Thwarted The Will Of 56 Percent Of Voters Who Supported Proposition 215)
• Cops Dare To Be Cool With Van ('San Jose Mercury News' Uncritically Suggests DARE Police In San Carlos, California, Reduce Kids' Drug Use With The Help Of A Flashy, Expensive Automobile)
• FBI To Probe Role Of Prison Guards In Beatings And Killings Of Inmates ('San Jose Mercury News' Says The Federal Bureau Of Investigation Is Launching A Civil Rights Investigations At California's Pelican Bay And Susanville Penitentiaries To Probe The Role Of Prison Guards In The Beatings And Killings Of Inmates)
• 'Corcoran'-Style Carnage Continues In California - FBI Probes Deaths At Two More State Prisons ('Los Angeles Times' Version In Bend, Oregon, 'Bulletin')
• Tribe Puts Hopes In Tobacco ('New York Times' Article In 'San Jose Mercury News' Notes The Omaha Indian Tribe In Nebraska Has Gone Into The Cigarette Manufacturing Business - It Will Soon Be Joined In The Same Business By The Confederate Tribes Of The Chehalis Reservation, Near Seattle)
• False Marijuana Claims (Letter To Editor Of 'Daily Herald' In Illinois Cites Evidence Contradicting Newspaper's Junk Science)
• Drug Summit - Time Is Right To Find Effective Solutions ('Dallas Morning News' Notes The National Alliance For Model State Drug Laws Is Meeting In Dallas, And Will Submit A Package Of Anti-Drug Laws And Policies For The Texas Legislature To Consider In 1999)
• Treat Drug Addicts - It's Good Advice But We Ignore It (Staff Editorial In 'San Jose Mercury News' Says That, As A Nation, We Have Ignored The Advice Of Physicians To Give Drug Addicts Treatment Rather Than Jail, And Consequently We're Paying The Price For It)
• Dodging Lawyers 'Bullets' In The Schools (Letter To Editor Of 'Orange County Register' Suggests That Zero Tolerance School Policies Are Instituted So Administrators Won't Have To Think - They Are Afraid To Make Decisions About Degrees Of Culpability For Fear Of Prompting Lawsuits)
• US Said To Be Harming Drug Fight In Mexico ('Los Angeles Times' Says A General Accounting Office Investigator Told A Joint House-Senate Hearing Wednesday That Mexico Was Accomplishing Little In The War On Drugs And That The Pentagon Had Hindered The Effort By Supplying Mexico With Useless Ships And Helicopters)
• Mexico's Efforts In Drug War Criticized ('Orange County Register' Says A New Report By Benjamin Nelson Of The US General Accounting Office Concludes Corruption Is Rampant And Little Has Been Done To Stem The Flow Of Illegal Drugs To The United States)
• Mexico, Pentagon Criticized In Report ('San Francisco Examiner' Version)
• Newly Available GAO Reports And Testimonies (US General Accounting Office Gives URLs For New Report, 'Drug Control - Status Of US International Counternarcotics Activities')
• Hemp Supporters Look North ('Associated Press' Interviews North Dakota Advocates Of Industrial Hemp Who Hope Its Legalization And Success In Canada Will Spur Its Reintroduction In The United States)
• Lynn's Witness List (Update On Lynn Harichy's Constitutional Challenge To Medical Marijuana Prohibition In Canada Notes Her Witnesses Will Include Doctors Morgan, Petro And Mechoulam)
• Holy Smoke! A Church? ('Nelson Daily News' In British Columbia Says The Holy Smoke Hemp Store Has Become The Holy Smoke Mission Of God, A Branch Of The Church Of The Universe, Established In 1969, Known For Its Marijuana-Smoking Devotees)
• Methadone Program - Baby Molly's Family Favors Controls On Addicts' Fertility ('Victoria Times Colonist' In British Columbia Says The Family Of The Baby Born Dependent On Methadone Was Denied Custody In Favor Of A Foster Mother Ignorant Of Her Needs Who Shook The Infant So Hard She Was Left Blind And Severely Brain Damaged)
• Penguin Puts Dealers On Ice In $82Gs Drug Bust ('Ottawa Sun' Notes A 12-Month Undercover Investigation Dubbed 'Project Penguin' In The Suburban Ottawa Community Of Carleton Place Has Resulted In 25 Arrests, A Small Amount Of Cash, Plus Cannabis And Cocaine Allegedly Worth $82,500 - Newspaper Omits Cost Of Investigation Or Prosecutions)
• Feeding Habit Nets Prison Term ('London Free Press' Says A Judge Sentenced A 32-Year-Old London, Ontario, Cocaine Addict To Two And A Half Years In Prison, Alleging Crack Is 'The Most Addictive And Dangerous Drug In Our Community')
• Alligators Snapped Up By Drug Dealers (Britain's 'Telegraph' Says The Supposed New Trend Among American Drug Sellers Was 'Accentuated' When Don Johnson Kept Elvis The Alligator As A Companion On His Boat In The Television Crime Series, 'Miami Vice')
• Drug Offenders To Be Dealt With At Special Court (Britain's 'Independent' Notes That Apparently, Britain's Ruling Class Likes The Way The War On Some Drug Users Is Playing Out In Florida, Since They Are Establishing 'Drug Courts' Imported From There)
• Cannabis As Medicine (Dr. Roger Pertwee, President Of The International Cannabinoid Research Society, Informs Readers Of 'The Scotsman' Why Marijuana Is Medicine)
  Bytes: 132,000 Last updated: 4/8/98
  

  Friday, March 20, 1998:

• Stop The Marijuana Task Force, Week Three (American Antiprohibition League In Portland Will Continue To Sponsor Weekly Demonstrations Against The Marijuana Task Force And Its 'Knock And Talk' Policies 4-6 PM Fridays Outside The Downtown Justice Center - Supporters Include US Senate Candidate, Newspaper, Attorneys)
• MAMA Is Coming To Your Community (Sandee Burbank, Founder And Director Of Mothers Against Misuse And Abuse, A Widely Praised Drug Education Program, Is Planning A Series Of Community Presentations Around Oregon From April 20 Through May 9 - Now Is The Time To Arrange For A Presentation In Your Town)
• FBI Widens Its Probe Of Violence At Prisons ('Orange County Register' Says Federal Bureau Of Investigation Will Look Into Whether California Guards Violated Inmates' Civil Rights During A Melee Last Month At High Desert Prison That Left One Prisoner Dead, And Whether Guards At Pelican Bay Prison Encouraged Fights Between Inmates)
• Corcoran Conundrum - Why Is Corrections Paying Prison Guards' Legal Fees? (Reprint Of 'Sacramento Bee' Staff Editorial In Bend, Oregon, 'Bulletin,' About Alleged Brutality At California Prison)
• Two Held In Sale Of Marijuana To Costa Mesa Boy ('Orange County Register' Doesn't Say How Police Detectives Caught A California Man Selling Marijuana To A 14-Year-Old Inside A Car)
• FACTS Storms State Democratic Convention (News Release From Families To Amend California's Three Strikes Says FACTS Made A Strong Presence At California's State Democratic Convention In Downtown Los Angeles, Receiving Endorsements From The African American Caucus, Children's Caucus, Disabilities Caucus, And The Arab American Caucus)
• Locke Signs Bills On Meth Labs And Sex Offenders ('Associated Press' Says Washington Governor Gary Locke Today Signed A Bill Increasing Penalties For Methamphetamine Producers, Although He Declined For The Second Year In A Row To Make The Crime A 'Three Strikes' Offense - Washington State Patrol Investigated 102 Meth Labs In 1996 And Seized 50,000 Grams Of The Drug, Up From 26 Labs And 3,000 Grams Seized In 1991)
• Seattle City Attorney Responds To 'Seattle Times' Columnist (He Says Michelle Malkin's Column About Police Betraying The Owner Of Oscar's II Tavern With A 'Drug-Abatement Action' Doesn't Tell The Full Story)
• No Illegal Needle Exchanges (Staff Editorial In 'Rocky Mountain News' Criticizes Vow By Needle Exchange Activists To Carry On Despite Ignorant Vote By Colorado Legislators)
• Daytona Beating Tied To Pot Deal ('London Free Press' In Ontario Says A 22-Year-Old Man From Orangeville, Ontario, Sustained Serious Head Injuries After Trying To Buy Cannabis From Two Indiana Drifters On The Beach At Daytona, Florida - After They Beat And Robbed Him, Police Thought He Was Drunk And Locked Him Up For Nearly 11 Hours)
• Paul Harvey And Hemp (Venerable ABC Radio Commentator Gives A Glowing Report On Industrial Hemp)
• Lifting Of Hemp Ban Sought ('Los Angeles Times' Says The North American Industrial Hemp Council And Other Groups In The United States Are Preparing To Petition The Drug Enforcement Administration To Remove Hemp From The Controlled Substance List)
• Lifting Of Hemp Ban Sought ('Associated Press' Version)
• Treatment Versus Jail (Staff Editorial In 'Orange County Register' Discusses Two Reports This Week, One Suggesting Treatment For Drug Addiction Works, And The Other Suggesting The Public Favors Prison Over Treatment, And Summarizes, 'This Week's News Showed The Dimensions Of The Gap Between How People Feel And What Actually Might Work')
• Fall And Recovery Lie Behind New Documentary Television Series ('New York Times' Says Bill Moyers' Upcoming Series On Addiction, 'Close To Home,' Was Inspired By His Son's Experience With Polydrug Abuse)
• Leading For Life, Citing Grim AIDS Statistics, Sounds Alarm That Black Silence Equals Black Death (Harvard AIDS Institute Bulletin Issued Via PRNewswire Says Media, Religious, Community, Medical And Academic Leaders Gathered This Week At The W.E.B. Du Bois Institute For African American Studies In Cambridge, Massachusetts, For A Program Titled, 'The Untold Story - AIDS And Black Americans, A Briefing On The Crisis Of AIDS Among African Americans' - The Epidemic Is Worsening - 58 Percent Of African Americans Characterize AIDS As A 'More Urgent Problem Today Than In The Past,' AIDS Is The Leading Killer Of Blacks Age 45 And Younger - And Half Of Black Americans Support Needle Exchange Programs)
• Secondhand Smoke Death Claim Rejected ('Associated Press' Article In 'San Jose Mercury News' Says A Jury In Muncie, Indiana, Ruled Thursday That The Tobacco Industry Was Not Liable In The Cancer Death Of A Non-Smoking Nurse Exposed To Secondhand Smoke At A Veterans Hospital - Lawsuit Believed To Be The First That Went To Trial In Which Secondhand Smoke Was Blamed For An Individual's Death)
• Snuff Out Tobacco Altogether (Op-Ed In 'San Francisco Chronicle' By Anti-Smoking Clinician Urges Prohibitionist Taxes As A Way To Achieve A Utopian Tobacco-Free America)
• Buckley - Curious Aspects Of The Tobacco Settlement (Rambling Essay By William F. Buckley In 'Orange County Register' Also Endorses Higher Taxes As A Means To Achieve Prohibition)
• Cover-Up Alleged (Brief Item In 'Orange County Register' Says The Arrest Last Year Of Mexico's Top Anti-Drug Official May Have Been Instigated By Other Officials Fabricating Evidence To Cover Up An Embarrassing Investigation)
• Mexicans Hail US Admission On Drug Demand ('Dallas Morning News' Notes Mexican Health Secretary Juan Ramon De La Fuente Spoke At The Opening Of A Two-Day Bilateral Conference In El Paso, Texas, On Reducing Drug Demand, And Said A US Admission That Its Domestic Demand Drives The Hemisphere's Drug Trade Has Opened A New Era In Cooperation With Mexico)
• NAFTA Is Causing Traffic Congestion At Borders ('New York Times' Notes Increasing Drug Interdiction Efforts At US-Mexico Border Are Causing Long Delays In Cross-Border Trade - 185,000 Trucks Crossed At Laredo, Texas, A Decade Ago, While Now Nearly One Million Trucks Cross Each Year - US Customs Seized More Than 607,000 Pounds Of Marijuana And 46,000 Pounds Of Cocaine In Its Border Regions Last Year)
• Jabbar Busted For Pot - Former NBA Star Nabbed At Pearson Airport ('Toronto Sun' Says The National Basketball Association's All-Time Leading Scorer, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 50, Was Busted With Six Grams Of Marijuana By US Customs While Leaving Canada On His Way Back To Los Angeles)
• Abdul-Jabbar Arrested On Marijuana Charge ('Associated Press' Version)
• Ex-NBA Star Arrested In Marijuana Incident ('Reuters' Version)
• Officer Shot During Drug Bust (Toronto's 'Globe And Mail' Says A Toronto Cop Was Wounded Last Night During A Drug Sting, Allowing The Suspect To Get Away)
• Rebagliati Blowing Smoke ('Calgary Sun' Columnist Eric Francis Notes The Canadian Snowboarder Who Won An Olympic Gold Medal And Almost Lost It For Supposedly Testing Positive For Cannabis Is Enjoying Popular Support And Making A Fortune On Product Endorsements, Including 'A Four-Year Deal With Roots And Making Appearances Based On Your Famed Drug Involvement')
• VLTs Not Much Different Than Selling Heroin ('Calgary Sun' Suggests Video Gaming Machines Are Both More Addictive And Pay Back Less To Gamblers Than Any Form Of Wagering That Existed Before The Government Of Alberta Took Over The Industry - A Petition To Hold A Plebiscite On VLTs Is Circulating In The Province)
• Nobody Can Play God (Staff Editorial In 'Victoria Times Colonist' Says The Birth Of A Baby Dependent On Methadone Doesn't Justify Letting The State Play God By Compelling Use Of Contraceptives - Where Would The Line Be Drawn? After The Addicts, Do We Force Contraception On The Mentally Ill? On Criminals? Welfare Moms?)
• Entrapment By Journalists Mitigated Sentence (Britain's 'Independent' Says A Judge Reduced A Heroin Addict's 12-Month Sentence To Six Months, Accepting Her Appeal And Ruling That Her Entrapment By Journalists From 'News Of The World' Should Have Been Taken Into Account As A Mitigating Factor, And Her Sentencing Judge Should Have Referred To It Expressly In His Sentencing Remarks)
• The Week Online With DRCNet, Issue Number 34 (The Drug Reform Coordination Network's News Summary For Activists Features 14 Original Articles Including - Heicklen Update - Penn State Professor Still Challenging System; Federal Agency Finds International Drug War A Total Failure; American Choice For President Of Colombia Quits Campaign; And Editorial By Adam J. Smith, 'When Science Is Political')
  Bytes: 162,000 Last updated: 4/6/98
  

  Saturday, March 21, 1998:

• Incredible Donations (Paul Stanford, A Chief Petitioner For The Oregon Cannabis Tax Act, Opens The Bidding On Three Cars And A Bunch Of Parts Donated To The Campaign)
• Abdul-Jabbar Caught Carrying Marijuana At Toronto Airport ('Los Angeles Times' Version Of Yesterday's News)
• DA Hopeful Arrested On Drug Charge ('Dallas Morning News' Says The Challenger In The Race For Denton County, Texas, District Attorney Was Arrested Friday And Charged With Delivery Of Marijuana - No Drugs Were Found In His Possession And Stephen Hale Says, 'I Don't Know What It Was About - I Wasn't Shown An Arrest Warrant')
• Marijuana Book Sparks Debate (Biased 'MSNBC News' Article About 'Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts - A Review Of The Scientific Evidence,' By Lynn Zimmer, Ph.D., And John Morgan, M.D., Notes Zimmer Worked On The Book While Employed By The City University Of New York, Which Is Obliged By Law To Force-Feed Its Students Information Contradicted By Her Research)
• Petition To Make Hemp Legal Prepared (Lexington, Kentucky, 'Herald-Leader' Elaborates On Yesterday's News About The North American Industrial Hemp Council And Other Groups In The United States Preparing To Petition The Drug Enforcement Administration To Remove Hemp From The Controlled Substance List)
• Hemp Backers Seek To End Ban On Growing Controversial Plant ('New York Times' Version)
• Drug Syndicate's Shadow Falls Across Mexican Elite ('Los Angeles Times' Says A Series Of Accusations This Week Linked Mexico's Most Notorious Drug Cartel To Money-Laundering Scams That Touch The Highest Levels Of The Nation's Political, Financial And Labor Elite)
• President's Brother Denies Making Cartel Deal ('Washington Post' Says Rodolfo Zedillo, The Younger Brother Of Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo, Said In A Letter Released Thursday Night That Alleged Money Launderers For Mexico's Largest Drug Mafia Offered To Finance A Hotel Construction Project With Him Two Years Ago - The First Concrete Evidence That A Cartel Had Tried To Buy A Bank And That Its Reach Had Touched President Zedillo's Family)
• BC Pot Boom Forces US Customs To Crack Down At Border Crossings ('Vancouver Sun' Says British Columbia's Multi-Million-Dollar Marijuana Industry Is Forcing US Customs To Crack Down At Border Crossings, Leading To Increasingly Long Delays - Pot Smugglers Busted Recently Have Included People With Young Children And Even A Couple In Their 70s)
• Cost Of Cleaning Up Site Said Coming Next Week ('The Record' In Ontario, Canada, Notes The City Of Cambridge, Ontario, Is Trying To Figure Out What To Do With A Former Foundry Unloaded For $1 Several Years Ago - Extent Of Toxic Contamination Will Be Known Next Week, The Owner Owes $900,000 In Back Taxes And Hydro Bills, And Shares The Property With The Church Of The Universe And Its Pot-Smoking Members - URL For Church Included)
• Plans For Pot Club Go Ahead ('London Free Press' Says A Civilly Disobedient Group Planning To Open A Medical Marijuana Buyers Club In London, Ontario, Will Start Distributing Applications On Monday)
• 'Zero Tolerance' At Imperial Oil - Drug-Testing Policy Riles Refinery Workers ('Canadian Press' Says Imperial Oil Is Still Forcing A Tough Drug-Testing Policy On Employees Across Canada Despite A Court Ruling That The Program Is Discriminatory)
• Cannabis - MP Wants Research Into Medicinal Use (Britain's 'Eastern Daily Press' Notes Dr. Ian Gibson, A Labour Party Member Representing North Norfolk In Parliament, Has Questioned The Evidence On Which Home Secretary Jack Straw Continues To Rule Out Legalising Cannabis, And Has Called On The Government To Commission A Study Of The Evidence)
• Time To Unlock The Secrets Of Cannabis (Companion Piece In Britain's 'Eastern Daily Press' Does A Good Job Of Briefly Summarizing The Home Secretary's Statements Replete With Junk Science References, And Contrasting Them With What The Peer-Reviewed Science Suggests)
• MP's Public Admission On Cannabis Is Welcome (Letter To Editor Of Britain's 'Evening News' In Norwich Commends North Norfolk's Conservative Member Of Parliament, David Prior, For Publicly Admitting He Smoked Cannabis In His Youth)
• Ethical Debate - Sex, Drugs, And The Invasion Of Privacy ('British Medical Journal' Discussion About The Efficacy Of Cannabis In Helping Multiple Sclerosis Patients Focuses On Whether Nurses Should Inspect A Hospitalized Patient's Baked Goods - And Concludes 'Silence May Be The Best Advocacy')
• Policemen Who Sold Ecstasy Are Spared Jail (Britain's 'Times' Says The Judge In The Case Condemned A Third Officer Who Set The Other Two Up And Sold The Story To 'News Of The World' Newspaper)
• £600 Million Needed To Fight Drug Scourge ('Irish Independent' Says Fergus McCabe Of The Inner City Community Told The Irish National Crime Forum Yesterday That Resources On The Order Of Those Allocated To Prisons Must Also Be Made Available To Communities Fighting The Ravages Of 'Drugs')
• Pros And Cons For Legalising Cannabis ('Irish Times' Says A Law Professor At University College Cork Believes The War On Some Drug Users Is 'In The Final Stages Of A Failed Social Experiment - I Have Children Myself - I Would Prefer My Son To Take Cannabis Rather Than Alcohol - It Is Unethical For Us To Continue With This Policy And The Use Of The Criminal Law In This Way')
• Academic Calls For Moves To Legalise Cannabis (Version In 'The Irish Independent')
• Revamped Drugs Group Attacked ('The Scotsman' Notes The New And Improved Version Of Scotland Against Drugs Still Doesn't Have Any Steering Committee Members Who Know Anything About Drugs)
• Pharmrunoff - Studying Environmental Effects Of Drugs In Human Waste (Scripps Howard News Service Article In 'Minneapolis Star Tribune' Cites Weekly Magazine 'Science News' Which Reports Today That Scientists Are Looking For And Finding Leftover Pharmaceutical Drugs In Rivers, Lakes And Ground Water Supplies In Europe - A Chemist At The Municipal Water Lab In Wiesbaden, Germany, Screened Waste And Treated Water, Plus Samples From Lakes And Streams, For 60 Common Pharmaceuticals And Found 30 Of Them, Including Several Antibiotics)
• WHO Accused Of Slowness In Evaluating Swiss Heroin-Addiction Treatment (British Medical Journal, 'Lancet,' Says The Swiss Federal Office Of Public Health Is Irritated By WHO's Slowness In Evaluating Switzerland's Policy Of Distributing Heroin To Addicts Under Medical Supervision - Begun In 1994, The System Is Officially Acclaimed As Successful)
• Tobacco Corporations Step Up Invasion Of Developing Countries (Britain's Medical Journal, 'The Lancet,' Notes Transnational Tobacco Companies Are Increasingly Marketing Their Products In Developing Countries)
  Bytes: 110,000 Last updated: 4/10/98
  

  Sunday, March 22, 1998:

• Marijuana Initiatives Growing Like Weeds - This Initiative Season, Oregonians Might Decide To Inhale ('The Sunday Oregonian' Summarizes Five State Voter Initiatives That May Be On The November Ballot, Interjecting Quotes By Documented Liar Darin Campbell, Spokesman For Oregon Chiefs Of Police, Even Though It Violates Spirit Of State Version Of Hatch Act Prohibiting Public Employees From Influencing Elections)
• Number Of State Police On Highways Down Drastically ('Associated Press' Bears Witness To How Oregon's Policy Of Focusing Its Law Enforcement Budget On Building Prisons And Enforcing Illegal-Drug Laws Has Paradoxically Reduced Services And Increased The Risks To Public Safety - The Number Of Drunken Driving Citations Is Down By 63 Percent)
• Four Mayors Ask Clinton To Stop Suit Against Marijuana Clubs ('New York Times' Version Of Last Week's News Notes A White House Spokesman, Barry Toiv, Said The Lawsuit Against Six Northern California Medical Cannabis Dispensaries Would Move Ahead As Planned)
• San Francisco To Defend Medical Pot Clubs ('Sacramento Bee' Version Notes A Rally In Support Of Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Is Set For Tuesday Morning Outside The Federal Courthouse In San Francisco)
• Medical Marijuana Battle Heats Up (NBC News Version)
• 'Homegrown' In Hollywood (An Excellent 'San Francisco Chronicle' Review Of The New Movie 'Homegrown' By Its Screenwriter, Jonah Raskin, Focuses On Marijuana Prohibition And The Film Industry - You Can Show All The Violence You Want, But Wave A Joint Around And The Industry's Self-Appointed Censors Go Ballistic)
• Colorado Therapeutic Cannabis Act Of 1998, Title And Summary (Text Of Ballot Title And Summary For Medical Marijuana Initiative Sponsored By Colorado Citizens for Compassionate Cannabis - Plus URL For Complete Text Of Initiative)
• States Eye Arizona Drug Policy ('The Tribune' Says Maricopa County Attorney Richard Romley, Who Championed Efforts Against Arizona's Proposition 200, Said He Has Received Dozens Of Calls From States Such As Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Maine, Nevada, Oregon And Washington, That Are Facing Similar Propositions In November)
• Addicted Spiritual Leaders Need Healing, Support And Forgiveness (Religion Columnist For 'Minneapolis Star-Tribune' Gives Advice On How To Deal With Spiritual Leaders Impaired By Use Of Alcohol Or Other Drugs, But Erroneously Asserts That Most Religious Traditions Forbid The Use Of Illegal Drugs)
• Junior High Principal Charged With Marijuana Possession, Carrying A Gun ('Associated Press' Says Police Pulled Over The Truck Of The Cleveland, Texas, Man Because Of An Obstructed License Plate, But Then He Aroused More Suspicion When He Leaned Over And Appeared To Be Hiding Something Under The Front Seat)
• Drug Charge Gets Principal A Suspension ('Waco Tribune-Herald' Version)
• Parents Called Key To Fighting Drugs ('Dallas Morning News' Says Some Families Lack Parental Involvement)
• Zero Tolerance's Negative Side ('Washington Post' Says A Resident Of Northwest Washington, DC, Who Pleaded For Eight Years For Police Patrols To Stop Drug Dealing Near His Home Ended Up With $150 In Traffic Tickets And A Higher Auto Insurance Rate After Police Responded With Zero Tolerance Patrols - Drug Dealing Continued Unabated However)
• The Netrovert - Information On Politics Easy To Get (Columnist For 'Northwest Florida News' Notes Drug Policy Reformers On The Internet Have Obliterated The Influence Of The Political Culture Of Sound Bites And Spin Doctors - Online, It's Very Difficult To Find Someone To Defend The Massively Destructive And Massively Expensive Social Experiment Known As The War On Drugs, And Impossible To Find Someone Who Can Defend It Ably - The Drug Warriors Have Nothing But Reefer Madness Propaganda To Support Their Position, And On The Internet, With Its Instantaneous Access To Scientific Materials, This Is An Overwhelming Disadvantage)
• Operation Intercept - Multiple Consequences Of Social Policy (Clifford Schaffer Has Posted On The World Wide Web The Noteworthy Report On Nixon's Attempt In 1969 To Interdict All Marijuana Crossing The Mexican Border - Use Of Cannabis Dropped But Use Of Other, More Dangerous And Addictive Drugs Increased)
• Cocaine Eradication (Letter To Editor Of 'Austin American-Statesman' Notes That Most Americans Can't Keep Crab Grass Out Of Their Own Back Yards, Yet They Continue Funding A Glorified Weed-Pulling Program In A Tropical Jungle Approximately The Size Of The United States East Of The Rocky Mountains)
• Group Seeks Crop Status For Nonintoxicating Hemp ('New York Times' Version Of Last Week's News About A Coalition Of Agricultural, Commercial And Environmental Groups Pushing The Clinton Administration To Overturn The Prohibition On The Cultivation Of Industrial Hemp)
• US Asked To Lift Hemp Ban ('Associated Press' Version In 'Detroit News')
• Probationers Surveyed On Drug Use ('Associated Press' Article To Be Partly Printed In Tomorrow's 'Boston Globe' Says The First National Survey Of Probationers, Conducted For The US Bureau Of Justice Statistics, Found That 46.8 Percent Of Probationers Had Used Alcohol Or Other Drugs At The Time Of Their Offense)
• Protests At Prison Supplier Trade Shows (The November Coalition Publicizes New Direct Action Response To The War On Some Drug Users)
• Pot Activist Stays Free ('Sunday Province' In Vancouver, British Columbia, Says David Malmo-Levine, Convicted Of Marijuana Trafficking For Running The Harm Reduction Club Out Of His Basement, Testified During A Two-Day Sentencing Hearing That He Intends To Resume Operating The Club)
• Cannabis Campaign - The March Gains Momentum (Britain's 'Independent On Sunday' Continues Its Weekly Push For The Decriminalisation Of Marijuana With More Details On The March And Rally In London It's Sponsoring Next Saturday, March 28)
  Bytes: 111,000 Last updated: 4/6/98
  

  Monday, March 23, 1998:

• Signature Count (Paul Loney, A Chief Petitioner For The Oregon Cannabis Tax Act, Notes The Ballot Initiative Campaign Has 21,364 Registered Voters' Signatures - Follow-Up From Paul Stanford Says Assets Are In Hand To Get 40,000 More Of 73,261 To 105,000 Necessary By July)
• No-Knock Victory (List Subscriber Comments On The Stephen Dons Case In Portland, Which Began January 27 When Marijuana Task Force Members Broke Into A House Without A Warrant, Only To Be Met By A Hail Of Bullets That Killed One Officer And Wounded Two - Suspect Died Suspiciously In Police Custody - Case Law May Suggest Warrantless Break-In Was Illegal)
• Pot Clubs Face Tough Legal Challenge ('San Jose Mercury News' Says The Federal Lawsuit Being Heard Tomorrow Against Northern California Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Will Be Tough To Overcome, But Ignores The Consequent Likelihood That A California Jury Will Ultimately Decide The Issue)
• Hailing San Francisco Pot Policy (Physician's Letter To Editor Of 'San Francisco Examiner' Applauds Hallinan's Notice That City May Distribute Medical Marijuana If Feds Shut Down CBCs - 'The Bold Entrance Of Municipal Government On The Side Of Reason And Decency Is Eagerly Awaited')
• West Hollywood Mayor Steve Martin To Participate In Pro-Medical Marijuana Rally In San Francisco On March 24 ('Business Wire' Press Release)
• San Francisco's Plan On Medical Marijuana (Two Letters To The Editor Of 'The Los Angeles Times' Support San Francisco's Struggle To Protect Medical Marijuana Dispensaries)
• Lawyer - Teen Slain While Undercover ('Associated Press' Says Narcotics Officers In Brea, California Pressured A 17-Year-Old Boy Into Undercover Work During Which He Was Tortured And Strangled And His Girlfriend Raped, Shot And Left For Dead - He Agreed To Narc To Get Charges Against Himself Dropped)
• Teen Died Working For Cops, Mom Says ('San Diego Union Tribune' Version)
• Plano Undercover Officer Took Teen To Buy Heroin (According To The 'Dallas Morning News,' A Female Undercover Police Officer In Plano, Texas, Took A 16-Year-Old Boy With Her Six Times To Buy Heroin, Then Allowed Him To Use It)
• Salt Lake City Anti-Marijuana Leaflet Draws Wrath Of Education Foundation (Salt Lake Education Foundation Wants Its Name Removed From Pamphlet Alleging That 'Excessive Preoccupation With Social Causes, Race Relations, Environmental Issues' Indicates Someone Smokes Pot)
• California's Ban On Pot Selling Is A Plus (Ignorant Staff Editorial In 'Dallas Morning News' Seems To Say Cancer Patients Who Think Cannabis Quells Their Nausea Could Be Mistaken, Let Them Gag Until The Science Meets The Newspaper's Unspecified Standards)
• Supreme Court To Decide Search Laws ('Associated Press' Says US Supreme Court Will Review Case Of Iowa Man Whose Car Yielded Marijuana During A Police Search To Decide Whether Police Can Be Given Blanket Permission To Search People's Cars Without Consent After Stopping Them For Routine Traffic Violations)
• Groups Ask US To Allow Hemp Farming, Now Illegal ('Reuters' Says The North American Industrial Hemp Council And The Resource Conservation Alliance, An Environmental Group Affiliated With Consumer Advocate Ralph Nader, Filed Petitions Monday With The Drug Enforcement Administration And The Agriculture Department Seeking To Allow Farmers To Grow Hemp)
• Representative Thielen Argues In DC For Legal Hemp ('Honolulu Star Bulletin' Notes Hawaii State Representative Cynthia Thielen Joined A National Effort In Washington, DC, To Persuade The DEA To Allow Industrial Hemp Cultivation)
• Alcohol, Drugs Tied To Crimes, US Report Says ('Associated Press' Item In 'Boston Globe' Says The First National Survey Of Probationers, Conducted For The US Bureau Of Justice Statistics, Found That 46.8 Percent Of Probationers Had Used Alcohol Or Other Drugs At The Time Of Their Offense - Article Doesn't Mention That's A Figure Considerably Lower Than That Cited Recently By Califano, CASA And McCaffrey; And Fails To Dispel An Implied Causal Relationship By Omitting The Exponentially Greater Proportion Of People Who Used Alcohol Or Other Drugs Who Committed No Crimes)
• Probationers Surveyed On Drug Use ('Los Angeles Times' Version)
• Why Send Drug Addicts To Prison? ('San Diego Union Tribune' Editorial Columnist Laurence M. O'Rourke Says The Recent Calls By Physicians For Medical Treatment Rather Than Jail For Addicts Goes Against Prevailing Attitudes On Capitol Hill To Imprison Addicts)
• Treat, Don't Jail, Drug Abusers (Staff Editorial In Schenectady, New York, 'Daily Gazette,' Doesn't Want To Suggest That Everyone Who Commits A Drug-Related Crime Be Spared Jail Time, Or Let Out Early, Only That A Lot More Money Needs To Be Spent On Treatment, Both In And Out Of The Penal System)
• White House Drug And AIDS Advisers Differ On Needle Exchange ('New York Times' Says Sandra Thurman, The White House Director Of National AIDS Policy, Advocates Funding Needle Exchange Programs, But Is Opposed By General McCaffrey, Director Of The Office Of National Drug Control Policy - Both Have Agreed To Let Final Decision Be Made By Donna Shalala, Secretary Of US Department Of Health And Human Services, Who Has Sided With McCaffrey On Other Drug Policy Questions)
• Brazen Traffickers Want The Run Of The Border ('San Diego Union Tribune' Says US Customs Agents And Other Law Enforcement Officials Are Examining A Sharp Upsurge In Illegal Drug Trafficking In The Past Month Or Two Along The Mexican Border, Trying To Figure Out What It All Means - 'We Don't Know If We're Dealing With A Short-Term Phenomenon Or A Longer-Term, Cyclical Increase')
• Coastal Watch Big Responsibility For RCMP ('The Guardian' Says Illegal Drug Smuggling Is Increasing At Prince Edward Island And Elsewhere Along The East Coast Of Canada, So The RCMP Is Stepping Up The Promotion Of Its Coastal Watch Program, Which Tries To Enlist The Eyes And Ears Of Fishermen, Pleasure Boaters And Cottage Dwellers To Join Police In The War On Some Drug Users)
• Waging A War On Drugs (Op-Ed In Australia's 'Canberra Times' By Ian Mathews, Co-Author Of 'Drugs Policy - Fact, Fiction And The Future,' Says That Harm Minimisation Is A Far More Effective Approach To Substance Abuse Than The Government's 'Get Tough' Measures)
  Bytes: 84,600 Last updated: 3/27/98
  

  Tuesday, March 24, 1998:

• Closing The Dons Case - Marijuana Task Force, Business As Usual - Activists Advocate 'Suspension And Review' Of Task Force (Bulletin From American Antiprohibition League In Portland Cites Second Death In Wake Of Warrantless Break-In By Marijuana Task Force, Notes Protests Continue Weekly 4-6 PM Fridays - Mayor Invited To Community Forum Against The Task Force 7 PM Wednesday, April 8, And Monthly Thereafter, To Be Shown On Cable Access, Web TV)
• California Medical Marijuana Clubs Head To Court ('Reuters' Notes The Hearing Scheduled Today In San Francisco In The Case Of A Federal Lawsuit Against Six Northern California Dispensaries Coincides With A Public Rally And The Arrest By San Jose Police Of Peter Baez, Co-Founder Of The Santa Clara County Medical Cannabis Center, Charged With Repeatedly Selling Marijuana To A Man Who Had No Doctor's Prescription)
• US Challenges California Medical Marijuana Law (Different 'Reuters' Version Notes A Ruling Is Expected After April 15)
• Pot Club Hearing - Video (KRON-TV In San Francisco Offers RealAudio Broadcast About San Francisco Rally And Federal Lawsuit Hearing)
• One Jailed In San Jose Pot Club Raid ('San Jose Mercury News' Says Santa Clara County Cannabis Club Co-Founder Peter Baez Was Booked Into A Santa Clara County Jail On One Felony Count Of Illegally Selling And Furnishing Marijuana - Police Say They Found No Evidence Of A Doctor's Authorization For A Patient Named In The Case, But Club Officials Say They Did Have Approval)
• San Jose Police Raid Cannabis Club ('San Francisco Examiner' Version)
• Senate Hearing On Bar Smoking Ban ('San Francisco Examiner' Says The Bill That Would Repeal California's Unique Prohibition On Smoking In Bars, AB 297, Which Passed The State Assembly In January, Is Slated To Get Its First Hearing In The Senate On Wednesday, But Observers Say The Bill Lacks Support On The Committee That Will Consider It)
• Initiative Number 692, Yes - On To Victory In November (Washington State Secretary Of State Has Assigned A Number To The Medical Use Of Marijuana Initiative - Ballot Title And Ballot Summary Released)
• Initiative 692 Web Site (Campaign Coordinator For Washington State Medical Marijuana Initiative Sponsored By Washington Citizens For Medical Rights Posts URL For Web Site With Initiative Text, More)
• Letter From Jim McDermott (List Subscriber Posts Endorsement Of Medical Marijuana By District 7 US Representative From Washington State, A Physician)
• What Does Mark Sidran Have Against The McCoys? ('Seattle Times' Columnist Michelle Malkin Continues Her Expose On How The City Of Seattle's Lawsuit To Close Oscar's II With A 'Drug-Abatement Action' Victimizes The Owner, Who Poured Everything Into Working With Police And The City, Only To Have Them Abandon Him)
• 'Cocaine Mom' Hearing Closed ('Milwaukee Journal Sentinel' Notes That, Despite The Constitutional Prohibition On Secret Trials, A Wisconsin Circuit Judge, J. Mac Davis, Closed Monday's Hearing And Later Declined To Make Public Any Decision In The Case Of A Woman Who Is Seven Months Pregnant Who Is Thought To Have Tested Positive For 'Drugs')
• Plano Chief Defends Drug Stings ('Dallas Morning News' Says Plano, Texas, Police Chief Bruce Glasscock On Monday Defended His Department's Undercover Stings In Plano High Schools, But Attorney Phillip Wainscott Said An Undercover Detective Knew A 16-Year-Old Boy Was Battling A Two-Year Addiction To Drugs When She Lured Him Into Using Heroin Again, Giving Him The Cash To Buy It, Driving Him In A Little Red Sports Car To The Pushers Who Sold It And Then Allowing Him To Use It)
• Instructor Charged With Cocaine Trafficking (Massachusetts' 'Standard-Times' Says A New Bedford, Connecticut, Vocational School Substitute Teacher Was Popped With Almost A Pound Of Cocaine At His Residence)
• Drug Abuse Policy (Letter To Editor Of Spokane, Washington, 'Spokesman-Review' From Nora Callahan Of The November Coalition Says Addiction Is A Medical Problem And It's Far Past Time To Let The Medical Establishment Take The Reigns From Legislators And Law Enforcement - Are We Going To Build Schools Or Prisons For Our Children?)
• Reno Wants Inmate Drug Treatment ('Associated Press' Notes US Attorney General Janet Reno And US Health And Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala On Tuesday Urged Public Support For President Clinton's Proposal To Allow States To Use Prison Construction Money For Drug Treatment)
• Drug Treatment Not Likely To Replace Jails (Version In 'Daily Arizona Star' Would Seem To Ignore Arizona Voters Who Endorsed Proposition 200 By A Two-To-One Ratio)
• Kicking The Quick Fix - War On Drugs (Staff Editorial In 'Saint Louis Post-Dispatch' Contrasts Two Studies Released This Month, One Showing Addiction Treatment Works, Another Showing The Public Prefers Punishment)
• A Kinder, Gentler FDA - Firms Say New Policies Make It Easier To Handle ('San Francisco Chronicle' Article Notes The US Food And Drug Administration Is Changing Its Procedures To Better Cater To Pharmaceutical Companies - Preceding Comments By List Subscriber Contrast Agency's Mendaciousness With Its Past Contortions Regarding Marijuana)
• Needle Exchanges Can Save Lives (Op-Ed In New York's 'Newsday' Notes Federal Legislation Prohibiting Federal Support For Needle Exchange Expires On March 31, And Gives Several Reasons US Health And Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala On April 1 Should Authorize Needle Exchange Programs To Fight AIDS And Reduce Drug Abuse)
• What The Antismoking Zealots Really Crave (Is Prohibition, According To 'Boston Globe' Columnist Jeff Jacoby In A Review Of Jacob Sullum's Book, 'For Your Own Good,' A Lucid And Superbly Researched Critique Of The Antitobacco Jihad)
• Bloc Demands Marijuana Debate ('Ottawa Citizen' Says Bloc Quebecois Wants A Full Debate In Canada's Parliament On The Legalization Of Marijuana For Medicinal Purposes)
• Police Get Corporate Sponsorship ('Vancouver Sun' Says Police All Across Canada Are Accepting Everything From Cell Phones To Vehicles)
• But We Still Love Our Men In Blue ('Ottawa Sun' Says An International Survey By Statistics Canada Shows - Surprise! Canadians Rate Their Police The Best In The World)
• Pot Growing Transplant Man Is Freed (Britain's 'Times' Says A Judge At Nottingham Crown Court Last Week Allowed A Liver Transplant Patient And Father Of Six To Go Free After He Admitted Growing And Using Cannabis To Ease His Pain - The Judge Said, 'It Does Seem From A Number Of Cases That Appear Before Me That It Is Of Benefit To A Number Of Persons,' But A Spokesman For Home Secretary Jack Straw Said, 'There Has Been No Compelling Research')
• Protests Greet First Police Roadside Tests For Drug-Taking ('The Scotsman' Says That While Scottish Motorists Were Tested For Illegal Drugs For The First Time Yesterday, The Scottish Human Rights Centre Protested The Use Of New 'Drug' Detection Swabs For Cannabis As Having No Value In Determining Impairment)
  Bytes: 106,000 Last updated: 6/3/99
  

  Wednesday, March 25, 1998:

• Heaven Can Wait ('Willamette Week' Suggests The Multnomah County Sheriff's Department Has Conclusively Proved Beyond Any Doubt It Was Suicide That Killed Stephen Dons In A Jail Medical Bed, Partly Paralyzed By Portland Police After He Killed One Officer And Wounded Two Others January 27 During A Warrantless Break-In By The Marijuana Task Force)
• Medical Marijuana Backers March In San Francisco ('Los Angeles Times' Notes Nearly 200 People Prayed, Rallied And Marched Down Market Street To The Federal Building In San Francisco Tuesday In Support Of California's Cannabis Clubs As The Federal Government Asked US District Court Judge Charles Breyer To Shut The Dispensaries Down)
• Marijuana Club's Fate Motivates Rally In Downtown San Francisco (Longer Version Of 'Los Angeles Times' Article)
• Marijuana Clubs' Fate Up To Judge ('San Francisco Chronicle' Version)
• Feds Hit Court To Shut Down Pot Clubs ('San Francisco Examiner' Version)
• Federal Judge Delays Ruling On Pot Clubs ('Sacramento Bee' Version Notes US District Judge Charles Breyer Said He Would Postpone His Decision On The Fate Of California CBCs Until After April 16)
• Mayors For Medical Pot (Letter To Editor Of 'San Francisco Examiner' Praises Politicians Who Support Will Of People By Defending Medical Marijuana Dispensaries)
• Pot Center Stays Open Despite Arrest ('San Francisco Chronicle' Says Peter Baez, Director Of A Santa Clara County Medical Marijuana Dispensary, Has Been Arrested For Selling Pot To A Patient Without A Prescription, Although Proposition 215 Allows Doctors To Orally Recommend Marijuana - Plus Commentary By Richard Cowan Of 'Marijuananews.com')
• Pot Club's Co-Founder 'Shaken-Up' ('San Jose Mercury News' Says Peter Baez Of The Santa Clara County Medical Cannabis Center Doesn't Understand Why He Was Arrested, And Will Take A Leave Of Absence Because His Health Was Affected By Being Locked Up For 13 Hours Without Medicine For His Colon Cancer - Plus More Details On Federal Lawsuit Hearing)
• San Jose Men Face Drug Charges ('San Jose Mercury News' Says A Three-Month Investigation Led To Arrests Of Seven Men On Heroin, Methamphetamine Charges)
• Kids Shouldn't Be Informants (Staff Editorial In 'Los Angeles Times' Says The Recent Murder Of 17-Year-Old Chad MacDonald Jr. Of Yorba Linda Proves That Police Use Of Teenage Informants In Drug Cases Is Bad Policy And Should Be Abandoned)
• Debate Flares After Orange County Teen Informant Dies (Related 'Los Angeles Times' News Article)
• Teens In The Drug War (Staff Editorial In 'Orange County Register' Says That, Until We're Ready To Rethink The War On Drugs, Tragedies Such As The Killing Of A 17-Year-Old Yorba Linda Boy Coerced Into Being An Informant By Police In Brea, California, Will Continue To Occur)
• Washington State HB 2772 Alert (List Subscriber Notes A Bill To Outlaw 'Drug Paraphernalia' Has Passed The Washington Legislature And Awaits Governor Gary Locke's Signature, Unless You Act - Plus Commentary From Other List Subscribers)
• Protesters - Store Sells Drug Wares - Puyallup Residents Picket New Shop They Say Stocks Drug Paraphernalia (Undated Tacoma 'News Tribune' Article From Last Year Provides Some Background On HB 2772)
• They Tried To Ban Them In 1985 Too! (List Subscriber Posts Two 'Seattle Times' Articles From 1985 About Another Pipe Shop Targeted By Extremists)
• Text Of Washington State HB 2772 (Contact Governor Locke's Office And Ask Him Not To Sign It)
• Call The Governor (Washington State List Subscriber Posts Toll Free Telephone Number, E-Mail Address, Gives Instructions On How To Ask Governor Locke To Veto HB 2772)
• Veto HB 2772 (Sample Letter To Washington Governor Gary Locke From A List Subscriber)
• Moore Teacher Arrested, Faces Cocaine Charge ('The Oklahoman' Says A Second-Grade Teacher From Norman, Oklahoma, Was Released From The Cleveland County Jail Tuesday After Being Charged With Possessing Crack Cocaine And Drug Paraphernalia And Public Intoxication)
• Sheriff Plans To Use Garage As Jail Space ('The Oklahoman' Says Garvin County Sheriff Bob Davis Is Planning To Convert His Department's Parking Garage Into An 18-Inmate Holding Cell - His Budget From The County Won't Even Cover Salaries, But He Plans To Make Ends Meet Anyway, Partly By Charging Inmates For Phone Calls)
• Upstairs-Downstairs Dispute Overturns Drug Conviction ('Associated Press' Article In 'Minneapolis Star-Tribune' Says A Wisconsin Man's Conviction For Possessing Marijuana Has Been Overturned By The Third District Court Of Appeals Because The Search Warrant Was For The Downstairs Apartment, Not The Upstairs Apartment - Previously, Marathon County Circuit Judge Greg Grau Ruled The Warrant Was Close Enough For Government Work)
• Professor Gives History Lesson In Tobacco Industry Versus Minnesota ('Associated Press' Article In 'The Herald' Says Tobacco Companies On Trial In St. Paul, Minnesota, Opened Their Defense Tuesday By Calling A History Professor Who Said People Have Known The Health Risks Of Tobacco For Centuries - The State And Blue Cross/Blue Shield Of Minnesota Are Suing The Tobacco Industry For $1.77 Billion Spent Treating Smoking Related Illnesses, Plus Punitive Damages, Even Though Smokers Use Fewer Health Benefits Because They Die Younger)
• Hempstock VIII August 13-16 At Harry Brown's Farm In Starks, Maine (A Press Release From Maine Vocals Lists The Band Schedule And More Details)
• Punishment And Treatment (Staff Editorial In New York's 'Times Union' Says That, If The Pataki Administration Wants To Save New York Money By Curtailing The Rockefeller Mandatory Minimum Laws, Instead Of Focusing On The Practice Of Paroling And Then Deporting Illegal Immigrants Convicted Of Big-Time Drug Offenses Before They Serve Even Their Minimum Sentences, It Should Instead Look At Paroling The Many Low-Level Drug Offenders Serving Equally Long Sentences)
• Prince George's Needle Plan Wins Vote - Maryland House Backs Exchange Program ('Washington Post' Notes The Maryland House Of Representatives Yesterday Approved A Needle Exchange Program In Prince George's County - Washington, DC, And Baltimore Have Such Programs, But Prince George's Would Be The First Suburban County In The DC Area To Institute Such A Program)
• Needle-Exchange Issue Shows Clinton's Lost His Edge (Cox News Service Columnist Tom Teepen In 'Minneapolis Star-Tribune' Suggests President Clinton's Scandals Inhibit Him From Showing Courage On Needle Exchange Issue)
• Book Review In 'Journal Of The American Medical Association' Of The Revised 'Marihuana - The Forbidden Medicine,' By Grinspoon And Bakalar (Reviewer Says Grinspoon And Bakalar's Summary Of The Safety And Toxicology Data Is 'Clinically And Logically Unassailable,' But Believes The Medical Marijuana Issue Has Advanced Since The First Edition And The New Edition Should Consider Implementation Issues More Seriously)
• In Favor Of Medical Marijuana (Staff Editorial In 'Glendale News-Press Leader' Opposes US House Resolution 372, Opposing Medical Marijuana, And Criticizes US Representative James Rogan, Who Reversed His Previous Support For Medical Marijuana In Order To Endorse The Resolution)
• Congress Hears Impassioned Testimony On Substance Abuse ('Minneapolis Star-Tribune' Says Apollo 11 Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, Actress Mackenzie Phillips, Television Journalist Bill Moyers And His Son, William Cope Moyers Of The Minnesota-Based Hazelden Foundation, Spoke Tuesday Before The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee On Labor, Health And Human Services And Education In Support Of Legislation That Would Require Group Medical Insurance To Cover Substance Abuse Treatment At The Same Level As For Most Other Illnesses)
• Gingrich Names Own Anti-Drug Force ('Dallas Morning News' Notes The Former Pot-Smoking Speaker Of The US House Of Representatives Has Appointed A 30-Member Task Force That Will Propose Legislation Designed To Cut The Flow Of Illegal Drugs Into The United States By 80 Percent Within Three Years, And To Cut Use By 40 Percent)
• Re - Gingrich Names Own Anti-Drug Task Force (Letter Sent To Editor Of 'Dallas Morning News' Says The Republican US House Speaker's Pledge To Beat The Problem In Three Years Recalls President Nixon's Statement In 1972 That 'We've Finally Turned The Corner In The War On Drugs')
• Drug Lords Infiltrating Mexico's Banks ('Chicago Tribune' Says Information From Mexican Officials Seems To Indicate Drug Barons Are Laundering Billions Of Dollars Through Mexican Banks)
• Drug Ring Infiltrated Mexico's Bank System (Slightly Different Version In 'Orange County Register')
• Cannabis Cafe Is On A Roll In British Columbia ('Toronto Star' Feature Story About The Cannabis Cafe In Vancouver, Where The Tolerant Atmosphere Attracts Hempsters From All Over, Including Some University Of Oregon Students Who Choose To Spend Their Spring Vacation There)
• Exercise Addicts 'Damaging' Health - Quest For Perfect Body Leads Canadians Into Grinding Regimes, Professor Says ('Ottawa Citizen' Says University Of Toronto Physical Education Professor Brian Pronger Will Release A Book Next Week, 'Body Fascism - The Culture And Science Of Physical Fitness,' Pointing Out One More Thing People Get Obsessive About)
• Legalisation Campaign Rally (Britain's 'Independent' Says That On Saturday, The Nation's Cannabis Debate Will Take To The Streets Of Central London For The First Time In 30 Years, As Supporters Of The Campaign Sponsored By The 'Independent On Sunday' To Decriminalise Britain's Most Popular Illicit Drug Travel From All Over The Country To Hyde Park For A March Through The Capital And A Rally In Trafalgar Square)
• Cannabis As Medicine (Cancer Patient's Letter To Editor Of Britain's 'Independent' Asks For Logical Reason He Can Use Heroin But Not Cannabis)
• Police Chiefs Urge Ban On Cannabis Seed Sales (Britain's 'Independent' Says The British Association Of Chief Police Officers Is Lobbying For New Laws To Ban The Sale Of Cannabis Seed And Marijuana-Growing Equipment, And To Force People Caught In Possession Of Cannabis To Have Anti-Drug Counselling)
• DrugSense Weekly, Number 39 (Summary Of Drug Policy News For Activists, Including Original Commentary)
  Bytes: 180,000 Last updated: 9/22/98
  

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