1998 News
About Cannabis and Drug Policy
July 2-8

Thursday, July 2, 1998:
• Oregon Turn-In (Dr. Rick Bayer, Chief Petitioner For The Medical Marijuana Initiative Sponsored By Oregonians For Medical Rights, Says The Group Turned In 97,721 Signatures Today, Of Which 73,261 Must Be Legitimate - State Verification Due By July 17)
• Opposing Groups Object To Ban On Drug Use In Assisted Suicides ('The Oregonian' Says That, For Different Reasons, Both The American Medical Association And The Compassion In Dying Federation Are Opposing Legislation Introduced In Congress That Would Prevent Physicians From Prescribing Drugs For Use In Assisted Suicides)
• Double Hanging In Public Shocks Witnesses In Portland ('The Oregonian' Notes A Man And Woman Who Hung Themselves Wednesday Afternoon From The Steel Bridge Downtown Left Behind A 13-Page Suicide Note Written By The Man, Detailing His Heroin Addiction)
• 250,000 Washington Signatures (Timothy W. Killian, Campaign Manager For Initiative 692, The Medical Marijuana Ballot Measure Sponsored By Washington Citizens For Medical Rights, Gives An Upbeat Campaign Update After Turning In Far More Than The 179,284 Signatures Needed To Get On The November Ballot)
• Medical Use Of Marijuana Act On Track For The November Ballot (Official Press Release From Timothy W. Killian, Campaign Manager For Initiative 692 In Washington State)
• Marijuana Initiative On Track For Fall Ballot ('The Associated Press' Says Washington Citizens For Medical Rights Turned In 245,000 Signatures Today For Initiative 692, The Washington State Medical Marijuana Ballot Measure)
• Man Rethinks Guilty Plea In Drug Case ('The Spokesman-Review' Says Multiple Sclerosis Patient Samuel Dean Diana, Of Cheney, Washington, Was Arraigned In Federal Court For Growing 170 Marijuana Plants For Medicine, But Balked At Entering A Guilty Plea, Saying, 'I Don't Feel I've Committed A Crime')
• Doonesbury (Garry Trudeau's Syndicated Cartoon Addresses The Medical Marijuana Issue For The Fourth Day In A Row)
• Ex-Police Sergeant Depicted As A Liar ('The Fresno Bee' Gives An Update On The Trial Of Former Woodlake, California, Police Sergeant Ken Chipchase, Charged With 13 Counts Of Perjury After A Two-Month Investigation Into The Disappearance Of Marijuana, LSD, Heroin, Cocaine And Methamphetamine From The Evidence Room)
• Watchdogs Say Cop Acted Wrong ('The San Francisco Examiner' Rewrites And Cuts Its Story That Ran Yesterday)
• Seven San Francisco Cops Facing Disciplinary Action ('The San Francisco Chronicle' Version Of Yesterday's News About Police Who Allegedly Neglected Their Duty Toward Drug Counselor Mark Garcia, Who Died In Custody Two Years Ago After Being Doused With Pepper Spray)
• Evil Weed No More - Hemp Plants Are Ideal For Creating Beauty Products ('The Houston Chronicle' Says Cannabis Sativa Is One Of The Best Moisturizers Around, Jam-Packed With Essential Fatty Acids And Amino Acids, Making It An Ideal Ingredient For Soaps, Face Creams, Shampoo, Healing Salves And Lip Balm)
• They Speak For The Fallen In War On Drugs ('The Boston Globe' Says The Case Of Kemba Smith, A Young Black Woman Sentenced To 24 Years In Prison, Even Though She Never Used, Handled, Or Benefited From Her Boyfriend's Illegal Cocaine Business, Is Galvanizing Activists, Students, Mothers, And Criminal-Justice Advocates Across The Country To Call Not Only For Her Release But For Radical Reform Of The Mandatory Drug Sentencing Laws)
• Court Briefs - Marijuana Possession ('The Centre Daily Times' Says Retired Penn State Professor Julian Heicklen Will Be Arraigned July 27)
• Peddling Viagra Online (According To 'The San Francisco Chronicle,' Authorities In California And Colorado Said Yesterday They Are Beginning An Investigation Of An Online Pharmacy, Performance Drugs Inc., Which Has Been Supplying Viagra And Other Medicines Over The Web Without Prescriptions - The Sensationalist Newspaper Alleges 'Viagra And The Internet Appear To Be Ushering In A New Brand Of High-Tech Drug Abuse')
• For The Record ('The Washington Post' Prints The Remarks Of US Attorney General Janet Reno At The DEA's 25th Anniversary Bash Yesterday)
• DEA Administrator - 'Hell' For Medical Marijuana Advocates (Former NORML Director Jon Gettman Covers A Panel Discussion On CSPAN2 Yesterday Held On The 25th Anniversary Of The Drug Enforcement Administration, At Which Current DEA Chief Thomas Constantine Said, 'Because From My Era Everybody Smoked And Everybody Drank And There Was No Drug Use')
• DEA Panel - The Future Of Drug Law Enforcement (A Second, Somewhat Different Commentary By Jon Gettman About The Panel Discussion Broadcast Yesterday On CSPAN2)
• Newly Available GAO Reports And Testimonies (A List Subscriber Posts The URLs For Two New Studies From The US General Accounting Office - 'Drug Control - An Overview Of US Counterdrug Intelligence' - And 'Law Enforcement - Information On Drug-Related Police Corruption')
• Guilty ('The Orange County Register' Says Former Mexican Federal Police Director Adrian Carrera Fuentes Was Found Guilty Of Having Tortured A Suspect Later Convicted For Involvement In The 1994 Murder Of A Ruling-Party Politician)
• Cannabis Day Picnic `A Great Party, Man' ('The Halifax Daily News' Covers The Third Annual Event In Support Of Marijuana Law Reform Yesterday At Halifax Common)
• Pot Protester Smoked Out ('The London Free Press' Says Provincial Police Busted Ron McInnes The Night Before A 'Smoke-Out' He Had Planned Yesterday In Conjunction With Canada Day Festivities At Couchiching Beach Park In Orillia, Ontario)
• Americans Addicted To Hypocrisy (An Op-Ed In Britain's 'Daily Telegraph' Says America's Political Class Has Slipped The Bonds Of Sanity About Smoking - A Simple Question Of Choice - For Example, In Florida, The Government Is Using £130 Million To Pay For Maoist Propaganda To Persuade Children Not To Smoke, Including Little Red Books About The Evils Of Smoking.)
• Europe's Biggest Drugs Haul In Croatian Capital (The Irish 'Examiner' Says Customs Officers In Zagreb Discovered Over 16 Tons Of Top-Quality Marijuana And Arrested One Man In What Has Been Described As Europe's Biggest Drug Bust This Year)
• Anger As Schools Call In Sniffer Dogs To Fight Drug Abuse ('The Age' In Australia Says At Least Six High Schools In Victoria Have Introduced Sniffer Dogs To Combat 'Drug' Use Among Students, Prompting Criticism From Parent Groups And Teachers)
• The Week Online With DRCNet, Issue Number 48 (The Drug Reform Coordination Network's Original News Summary For Activists, Including The Original And Fascinating Article, 'FDA Orders Books Destroyed')
• Weekly Action Report On Drug Policies, Year 4, Number 18 (Summary Of International Drug Policy News, From CORA In Italy)
  Bytes: 145,000 Last updated: 7/16/98
  

  Friday, July 3, 1998:

• NORML Weekly News (House Approves Spending Program To Encourage Drug Testing For Small Businesses; Medical Marijuana Distribution Bill Defeated In State Assembly; Hemp Organization Issues Report To Counter White House Misinformation Campaign; 29th Annual Rally, March, And Concert To End Hemp Prohibition Will Take Place In Washington, DC, On July 4)
• OCTA Ends Drive Short By 3,169 Signatures (Paul Stanford, A Chief Petitioner For The Oregon Cannabis Tax Act, Notes The Initiative Campaign Has Failed A Second Time - The Third Time's A Charm)
• Lebanon Farm Raided For Marijuana (The Salem, Oregon, 'Statesman Journal' Notes The Valley Interagency Narcotics Team Busted A Couple Near Lebanon, Oregon, With 40 Plants Throughout Their 20-Acre Property, Seizing Marijuana, Weapons, Three Children And 11 Dogs)
• Doonesbury (Garry Trudeau's Syndicated Cartoon, The Fifth In A Series On Medical Marijuana)
• The Trip ('LA Weekly' Recounts The Experimental Psychiatric Use Of LSD Between 1954 And 1962 By Cary Grant And Hundreds Of Other Patients Under The Care Of Dr. Oscar Janiger - Now, Proponents Of Scientific Research With Psychedelics Are Pinning Their Hopes On A Follow-Up Study On The Original Subjects, To Be Completed Later This Year By The Multidisciplinary Association For Psychedelic Studies)
• Viagra Online (A Staff Editorial In 'The San Francisco Chronicle' Says Federal And State Officials Should Crack Down On The Internet Pharmacy The Newspaper Wrote About Yesterday That Sells Pfizer's New Impotence Pill With A 'Physician Review' Instead Of A Traditional Prescription)
• Wage, Marijuana, Abortion Initiatives May Make Ballot ('The Seattle Times' Says The Initiative 692 Campaign To Legalize Marijuana For Medical Purposes Delivered An Estimated 245,000 Signatures To The Washington Secretary Of State's Office In Olympia Yesterday, Far More Than The Required 179,248 Valid Signatures Needed To Get The Issue Before Voters In November)
• Man Gets 29 Years In Slaying Of Pierce Deputy ('The Seattle Times' Says Brian Eggleston Was Sentenced To 29 Years In Prison Yesterday For Fatally Shooting Pierce County, Washington, Sheriff's Deputy John Bananola During An October 1995 Marijuana Raid - The Sentence Will Run In Addition To A 20-Year Sentence Eggleston Was Given Earlier For The Assault On Another Deputy - Eggleston's Family And Friends Maintain He Only Acted In Self Defense)
• November Ballot Has 15 Measures ('The Arizona Republic' Notes State Voters In November Will Cast Ballots Again On Medical Marijuana, As Well As The Voter Protection Act, Which Will Restrict The Legislature From Amending Initiatives Approved By Voters, As Happened With Proposition 200)
• Legalized Pot Backers Raise Good Points, But . . . ('Arizona Republic' Columnist Steve Wilson Defends Cannabis Prohibition)
• Peaceful Protest Criticizes Drug War ('The Dallas Morning News' Covers A Demonstration Wednesday In Dallas Sponsored By The Drug Policy Forum Of Texas Protesting The 25th Anniversary Of The Drug Enforcement Administration)
• Time Arrives For Changes In Drug Lifer Law (Three Letters To The Editor Of 'The Detroit News' About Drug Policy, The First Two Of Which Praise The Michigan House Of Representatives For Voting 77-26 In Favor Of Reforming Michigan's Harsh Mandatory Minimum Sentence For Drug Offenders, And Urge The State Senate To Approve The Bill)
• Re - Opiates For The Masses (A Letter To The Editor Of 'The Wall Street Journal' From Two Physicians Responds To The Letter Opposing Heroin Maintenance Written By Notorious Prohibitionist Dr. Sally Satel, Saying It Demonstrates 'Her Lack Of Medical Ethics, Compassion And Professional Expertise')
• Two Amish Men Enter Their Pleas In Drug Case (A 'New York Times' Article In 'The Orange County Register' Says The First Two Members Of Pennsylvania's Amish Community To Be Arrested For Involvement With Cocaine And Methamphetamine Were Arraigned Thursday Along With Eight Members And Associates Of The Pagans Motorcycle Gang)
• Aging `Hippie' Jailed For Cultivating Pot (A Typically Biased Article In Ontario's 'London Free Press' Notes A 60-Year-Old Man Got 90 Days For Growing 10 Plants In His Backyard And Basement)
• Re - Aging `Hippie' Jailed For Cultivating Pot (A Letter Sent To The Editor Of 'The London Free Press' Alludes To Cannabis's Low Toxicity Compared To Alcohol And Valium)
• Cop Used Bait In Drug Bust ('The Hamilton Spectator' Says A Halton, Ontario, Police Officer Who Posed As A High School Student To Entrap Other Students In A Drug Sting Baited His Trap By Illegally Selling Cigarettes To Teens At Discount Prices)
• Tired Tactics Won't Stop Kids From Lighting Up (A Letter To The Editor Of 'The Toronto Star' Protests Ontario Legislation That Would Mandate Suspensions For Student Tobacco Consumers - 'If Keeping Drug Users From Participating In Society Worked, We Would Have Licked The Adult Drug Problem Already, Right?')
• Iran Sets Fire To 51 Tonnes Of Illegal Drugs ('Reuters' Notes Iranian Officials On Thursday Torched A Pile Of Heroin And Opium Valued At $700 Million, Supposed To Be Equal To One Year's Consumption In Britain, Italy And France Combined - Decades Of Prohibition In Iran Have Produced A Rising Rate Of Heroin Use, With Up To A Million Addicts In The Country Of 60 Million People)
  Bytes: 121,000 Last updated: 7/16/98
  

  Saturday, July 4, 1998:

• Rethink The War On Drugs (Letter To The Editor Of The Bend, Oregon, 'Bulletin,' Praises Last Sunday's Op-Ed)
• Doonesbury (Garry Trudeau's Syndicated Cartoon, The Sixth In A Series About Medical Marijuana)
• Was Prison Probe A Whitewash? ('The San Francisco Examiner' Suggests California Governor Pete Wilson And Attorney General Dan Lungren, Arch Enemies Of Medical Marijuana, Improperly Stymied An Investigation Into Murders And Other Crimes By Guards At Corcoran State Prison)
• Court Rules Out Promises Of Leniency (An 'Associated Press' Article In 'The Orange County Register' Says The 10th US Circuit Court Of Appeals In Denver Ruled 3-0 Wednesday That It Is Illegal For The Government To Promise Leniency To Witnesses In Exchange For Testimony - 'This Is A Bombshell,' Said Denver Defence Attorney Larry Pozner - 'This Is How The Government Is Operating, And We Have Said For 40 Years, If You Say To Somebody In Criminal Trouble, I'll Give You A Free Pass, Or I'll Let You Go If You Tell Me The Story I Want To Hear, They'll Tell You Whatever They Need To Say To Get Out Of Trouble')
• Promises Of Leniency For Testimony Ruled Illegal ('Seattle Times' Version Leaves In One More Paragraph)
• Court Bars Leniency Pledge To Witnesses ('Washington Post' Version, Yet More Complete)
• Camping Out For The Right To Assemble ('The Los Angeles Times' Covers The Annual Gathering Of The Rainbow Family At Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest Near Carnero Lake, Arizona)
• Freedom Is More Than A Free-For-All (A Letter To The Editor Of 'The Centre Daily Times' Says Pot Protestor And Retired Penn State Professor Julian Heicklen's Belief That People Have The Freedom To Uninhibited Pleasure Is Un-American - 'Freedom Is About Collective, Informed Decision-Making, And Not About Individual Personal Pleasure')
• Replace Drug War With Health Policy (A Second Letter To The Editor Of 'The Centre Daily Times' In Pennsylvania Regarding The Bust Of Retired Professor Julian Heicklen For Protesting Marijuana Prohibition Says 'His Cause Is Liberty')
• Profits Waiting If Hemp Legalized, UK Study Says (According To 'The Lexington Herald-Leader,' A New 18-Month University Of Kentucky Study Released Yesterday, 'Economic Impact Of Industrial Hemp In Kentucky,' Says Hemp Might Be The Best Thing For Farmers Since Tobacco - John Gilderbloom, A University Of Louisville Economics Professor Who Wrote A Foreword Endorsing The Study, Said 'This Is The Premier Study Done On The Impact Of Hemp')
• Hurds Could Be Kentucky Product ('The Lexington Herald-Leader' Says A Report On The Economic Impact Of Industrial Hemp In Kentucky, Released Yesterday, Points To Central Kentucky's Proximity To The Thoroughbred Horse Industry To Suggest Kentucky Farmers Would Have A Logistic Advantage In Marketing Hemp Hurds For Horse Bedding, Currently One Of The Major Uses For Hurds In Europe)
• Cannabis 'Is Stroke Hope' (Britain's 'Guardian' Says A Team Of Researchers At The US National Institute For Mental Health, In Maryland, Has Discovered Two Active Components Of Marijuana, THC And Cannabidiol, They Think Could One Day Be Used Routinely To Prevent Brain Damage After Strokes)
• Dope Hope For Stroke Victims (The BBC Version Quotes Dr Aidan Hampson Of The National Institute Of Mental Health Saying, 'We Have Found That Cannaboids Are Very Powerful Anti-Oxidants - In Fact They Appear To Be More Powerful Than Vitamin C Or Vitamin E')
• £56,000 Crop Of Cannabis In Flat (Britain's 'Daily Telegraph' Says Former Army Officer David Brown Was Sentenced To Seven Years In Jail Yesterday For Growing 758 Cannabis Plants Found At A Flat He Owned In Glasgow)
• Randomised Trial Of Heroin Maintenance Programme For Addicts Who Fail In Conventional Drug Treatments ('The British Medical Journal' Reports A Subgroup Of Severely Addicted People Who Failed Repeatedly In Conventional Drug Treatments Fared Better Than Patients In Conventional Drug Treatments When They Participated In A Heroin Maintenance Programme In Geneva, Switzerland - Improvements Included Reduced Use Of Street Drugs, Better Mental Health, Social Functioning, And Reduced Illegal Activities)
  Bytes: 87,500 Last updated: 7/16/98
  

  Sunday, July 5, 1998:

• Rainbow Confab Concludes ('The Arizona Republic' Says A Crowed Estimated At 22,000 By The Forest Service Attended The Annual Gathering Of The Rainbow Family This Weekend At Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest - Including A Lot Of Drunk Party Crashers Who Took Advantage Of The Group's Leaderless Ethos)
• Marijuana's Healing Properties (According To 'The Associated Press,' Scientists At The National Institutes Of Mental Health Have Found A Substance In Marijuana, Cannabidiol, Which Lacks Any Mind-Altering Effects But May Be Useful For Protecting The Brain From The Damaging Effects Of Stroke And Disease, As Reported In The July 7 Issue Of 'The Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences')
• Book Review - 'Drug Crazy' Challenges Mind-Set Of Policymakers ('The Dallas Morning News' Joins The List Of Mainstream Media Lavishing Praise On Mike Gray's New History Of The Drug War)
• Drug Exports Drop But Local Consumption Rises (Inter Press Service Says The Amount Of Land In Peru Used For Coca Growing Has Fallen By 40 Percent To 50 Percent In Recent Years, But Prices Have Also Fallen)
• Cannabis Campaign - Safer Than Many Tranquillisers (Britain's 'Independent On Sunday' Continues Its Weekly Push For The Reform Of Marijuana Laws By Noting Campaigners Against The Drug Benzodiazepine, Many Of Whom Have Suffered From The Side Effects Of Taking The Tranquilliser, Will Argue At A Conference On Drug Safety To Begin Friday In London That Cannabis Would Be Far Safer For Doctors To Prescribe, If Only It Were Legal)
• Cannabis Campaign - Clergy Deplore Drugs Epidemic (Britain's 'Independent On Sunday' Says The Motion Passed By The Church Of England's General Synod Yesterday Was The First Attempt To Address The Issue In The Synod's 27-Year History)
  Bytes: 25,600 Last updated: 7/25/98
  

  Monday, July 6, 1998:

• School Pays Students For Tips On Guns, Drugs (An 'Associated Press' Article In 'The Seattle Times' Says Salem, Oregon, High School Principal Rey Mayoral Pays Informants $30 For Information About A Weapon, $20 For A Drug Tip And $10 For Vandalism)
• Lawyer Lets Grief Propel His Fight For Medical Pot ('The Los Angeles Times' Interviews Robert L. Kennedy, The Attorney Representing Marvin Chavez Pro Bono - As Director Of The Orange County Patient, Doctor And Nurse Support Group, A Cannabis Club Based In Garden Grove, Chavez Supplied Kennedy's Son-In-Law With Medical Marijuana As He Was Dying From Brain Cancer, Prolonging And Enhancing His Life)
• Jesse Jackson Endorses Kubby Efforts On Proposition 215 (News Release From Medical Marijuana Activist And California Gubernatorial Candidate Steve Kubby Says The Reverend Jesse Jackson Endorsed 'Kubby's Efforts To Implement Proposition 215,' If Not His Candidacy)
• Ex-Guard Tells Of Brutality, Code Of Silence At Corcoran ('The Los Angeles Times' Says The Conscience Of Former Corcoran State Prison Guard Roscoe Pondexter Has Reawakened And He Has Decided To Expose Corcoran's Brutality, Talking To 'The Times' And Testifying Before A Federal Grand Jury, Pointing The Finger Not Only At Himself But At Those Above Him Who He Says Sanctioned The Systematic Brutality, Including Encouraging Inmates Who Were Sexual Predators To Rape Other Inmates)
• Alice's Brownies (A Letter To The Editor Of 'The San Francisco Chronicle' Notes Alice B. Toklas's 'Cannabis-Spiked Brownies' Didn't Make Her Famous - Her Recipe Was For 'Haschich Fudge')
• Shhh! We Don't Discuss The Drug Biz Here ('Time' Magazine Notes Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist Has Put The Kibosh On Any Substantive Discussion Of A New Study About The Inner-City Drug Trade By Criminologist John Hagedorn Of The University Of Illinois At Chicago)
• New York City Judge's Likeness Featured On Heroin Packets ('Reuters' Says Drug Dealers Have Decorated Thousands Of $10 Bags Of Heroin With The Likeness Of New York State Supreme Court Judge Leslie Crocker Snyder, Known For Meting Out Tough Sentences To Gang Members)
• DC Initiative 59 To Appear On November Ballot (A News Release From Colorado Citizens for Compassionate Cannabis Notes Volunteers In Washington, DC, Have Filed Enough Signatures To Put A Local Medical Marijuana Measure Before Voters)
• Marijuana Might Protect Brain, Study Finds (The 'Reuters' Version Of Recent News About Scientists At The National Institute Of Mental Health Who Have Reported In 'The Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences' That Cannabidiol And THC, The Only Two Cannabinoids Tested, Could Prevent Cell Damage In The Brain When Oxygen Is Cut Off, As Happens In A Stroke)
• Pot Substance May Stay Strokes (Version In The Everett, Washington, 'Herald')
• Science Notebook (A Brief 'Washington Post' Version)
• Cannabis Cuts Brain Damage ('The New Zealand Herald' Version)
• Cannabis May Limit Damage From Strokes (Version In Britain's 'Independent')
• Losing The Drug War ('Calgary Sun' Columnist Bill Kaufmann Writes About Vancouver, British Columbia, Police Constable Gil Puder, Who Now Opposes The War On Some Drug Users)
• Awaiting Trial - American's Two Years In Latin Jail ('The Christian Science Monitor' Says James Williams, A Fish Importer From Jacksonville, Florida, Has Been Held In A Prison In Ecuador Without Trial For Nearly Two Years In What He Says Began As A Campaign By FBI Agents To Pressure Him Into Testifying Against A Suspected Drug Trafficker)
• Heroin Users Are Younger - Survey (According To 'The Age' In Australia, The Victorian Drug Trends 1997 Report Indicates Heroin use Is Increasing In Melbourne, And Users Are Younger And Increasingly Female - Although Many Addicts Say Heroin Is More Easily Available And Getting Cheaper, Supposedly 'Addicts Are Using More Potent Cocktails Of Drugs, Including Anti-Depressants,' But It Doesn't Explain Why, Since It Takes Weeks For Most Anti-Depressants To Affect People Who Are Prescribed Them)
• Dutch Foreign Affairs Ministry Report On UNGASS - Plus Appendix (A Dutch List Subscriber Posts A Translation Of The Report To The Dutch House Of Commons On The United Nations' Recent Special Session In New York To Expand The Global War On Some Drug Users - Plus A Passage From The Netherlands' Official Statement Presented At UNGASS On June 10)
• Cheating At The Olympics - Should History Be Rewritten? (The Transcript Of An ABC 'Nightline' Discussion Focusing On Revelations That The East German Swim Team In The 1970s And 1980s Won So Many Gold Medals By Using Banned Performance Enhancing Drugs)
  Bytes: 105,000 Last updated: 8/25/98
  

  Tuesday, July 7, 1998:

• State Prison Back On Track A Year After Abuse Scandal ('The Oregonian' Suggests The Drug Smugglers And Other 'Animals' Who Populate The Intensive Management Unit At The Oregon State Penitentiary Are The Worst Of The Worst, But The Bad Apples Who Used To Abuse Them Are Gone After A 1997 Investigation Triggered Five Grand Jury Indictments Leading To The Dismissal Of Five Officers, Two Security Staff, And The Resignation Of Five More Officers, Including The Whistleblower Whose Complaint Sparked The Investigation)
• No Viagra For Oregon Poor ('The Associated Press' Notes Changes Proposed By The Oregon Health Services Commission To The Oregon Health Plan, The State's Health Insurance Program For 340,000 Poor People, Would Eliminate Payments For Pfizer's New Impotence Drug)
• Feds File Motion To Close Cannabis Clubs Immediately - Oakland Adopts Liberal Medical Marijuana Guidelines (A Press Release From California NORML Notes Two Important Developments Regarding Proposition 215)
• Oakland Permits 144 Plants And Six Pounds Per Patient (Oakland Attorney Robert Raich Says The Oakland City Council Today Enacted A Policy Permitting Medical Marijuana Patients Protected By The California Compassionate Use Act To Possess Realistic Quantities Of Processed Cannabis And Cannabis Plants, Based On The Amounts Provided To Eight Patients By The US Government's Investigative New Drug Program)
• Boardwatch (An Excerpt From The City Hall Roundup In 'The San Francisco Chronicle' Notes The San Francisco City/County Board Of Supervisors Yesterday Approved A Resolution Sponsored By Supervisors Mark Leno And Sue Bierman Urging The Legislature And Governor Pete Wilson To Approve A Bill Allowing Cities And Counties To Distribute Medical Marijuana)
• State Drug Agent Held; Suspected In Cocaine Case ('The Los Angeles Times' Says Richard Wayne Parker, A California Bureau Of Narcotics Enforcement Officer Who Worked At The Agency's Riverside Office When 415 Kilos Of Cocaine Vanished, Has Been Charged With Trafficking After Four Other Suspects Snitched On Him)
• Police Say Agent Was Part Of Plot ('Orange County Register' Version)
• Law Enforcement - Sting Operation Set Up In A Garage Effects State Officer's Capture (Sidebar In 'The Orange County Register' Provides More Details About The Bust Of The California Narcotics Officer Charged With Selling Cocaine He Stole From A Riverside Evidence Room)
• The Unwinnable War (A Staff Editorial In 'The Orange County Register' Says The Case Of Richard W. Parker, The California Bureau Of Narcotic Enforcement Officer Busted In Pasadena For Cocaine Trafficking, Demonstrates The Need To Look At Alternatives To The Costly War On Some Drug Users)
• Restaurant Owner Sues Drug Task Force Over 1996 Raid ('The Associated Press' Says The Owner Of The Top Hat Restaurant And Lounge In Pasco, Washington, Has Sued The Tri-City Metro Drug Task Force And Others, Claiming They Violated Customers' Civil Rights And Tried To Force His Business To Close Because It Operates In The Vicinity Where Drug Usage And Prostitution Have Occurred)
• 85,000 Signatures In Colorado (Dave Fratello Of Americans For Medical Rights Says The Medical Marijuana Initiative Campaign Sponsored By AMR's Colorado Organization Turned In 30,000 More Signatures Today Than The 55,000 Valid Signatures Required)
• Subway Advertisement For Needle-Exchange Program Provokes Debate ('The New York Times' Says Positive Health Project, An HIV-Prevention And Needle-Exchange Center On Manhattan's West Side, Will Sponsor 1,140 Advertisements To Appear In Subway Cars Through This Month To Publicize Needle-Exchange Services In The City)
• On The Ballot In DC (A List Subscriber Says A Last Minute Push Delivered The Signatures Needed To Qualify Medical Marijuana Initiative 59 For The Ballot In Washington, DC)
• Some Of The Chemicals In Marijuana May Protect The Brain (Brief Item In 'The Orange County Register' Notes Research By The National Institute Of Mental Health Reported In 'The Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences')
• Marijuana 'Protects Brain' ('The Irish Independent' Version Of Recent Research By The National Institute Of Mental Health Incorrectly Describes NIMH As British Rather Than American)
• Marijuana Protects Brain Cells During Strokes - Scientists (Version In Ireland's 'Examiner')
• Native Americans Lead Ethnic Groups In Drug Abuse Cases, Study Shows ('Reuters' Says The First-Ever Breakdown Of 'Drug And Alcohol Use' By Specific Ethnic Groups In The United States, Carried Out By The Substance Abuse And Mental Health Services Administration, Shows Overall, 11.9 Percent Of All Americans Over The Age Of 12 Abused 'Drugs Or Alcohol' In 1991 Through 1993, But 19.8 Percent Of American Indians - Overall, 30 Percent Smoke Tobacco - 'Regardless Of Racial/Ethnic Subgroups, Relatively High Prevalences Of Illicit Drug Use Are Found In Individuals Who Live In The West, Reside In Metropolitan Areas With Populations Greater Than One Million, Lack Health Insurance Coverage, Are Unemployed, Or Have Nine To 11 Years Of Schooling')
• Corruption Clouds Anti-Drug Efforts (An 'Associated Press' Article In 'The Los Angeles Times' Says Corruption Of Local Officials Throughout The Caribbean Has Been One The Chief Obstacles Facing The Clinton Administration In Its Efforts To Counter The Growing Problem Of Illegal Drug Trafficking)
• ACLU Action Update (The American Civil Liberties Union Asks You To Send A Free Fax From Its Web Site Opposing HR 3717, A Bill Which Would Ban Any Federal Funding Of Needle Exchange Programs)
• Soaring Drug Use Changes Attitudes ('The Age' In Australia Says Police Superintendent Neil Comrie's Force Is Backing Yesterday's Announcement By The Premier, Mr Jeff Kennett, That First Offenders With Small Amounts Of Cannabis Will Not Face Charges In Victoria - The Force Is Also Backing A New Pilot Program In Melbourne's Northern Suburbs That Will Result In People Caught With Harder Drugs, Such As Heroin, Receiving A Caution)
  Bytes: 76,300 Last updated: 8/4/98
  

  Wednesday, July 8, 1998:

• Police Sting Nabs Small-Store Owners ('The Oregonian' Notes A Three-Month Sting Operation Involving 50 Portland Police Led To The Arrest Of The Owners Of Just About Every Mom And Pop Store In Portland's Old Town - Seven Of The 27 Stores Investigated Allegedly Bought Stolen Cigarettes And Other Shoplifted Goods From Heroin Addicts)
• Nine Out Of Ten Young Voters . . . Don't (An Article In 'Willamette Week' Of Interest To Reformers Working To Change The Law Discusses The Low Voter Turnout Among Young People In Portland And Oregon - Without Mentioning How The War On Some Drug Users And The Media's Need To Manufacture Consensus For It Precludes Their Participation)
• Oakland OKs Lax Medical Pot Law ('The San Francisco Examiner' Notes The Oakland City Council Tuesday Established California's Most Permissive Medical Marijuana Guidelines, Allowing Patients With A Physician's Recommendation To Possess Up To One And A Quarter Pounds And Grow 48 Plants Indoors Without Fear Of Arrest)
• Oakland Allows Medical Pot Users To Keep Three-Month Supply ('The Associated Press' Version In 'The Sacramento Bee')
• Oakland Lets Patients Keep Marijuana ('Reuters' Version)
• Residents Say Drugs Persist At Dolores Park ('The San Francisco Chronicle' Says San Francisco Police Have Beefed Up Patrols At Dolores Park, Prosecutors Have Stiffened Penalties And Nearby Residents Have Formed Neighborhood Watch Groups, But Nothing Has Kept Marijuana Sellers And Buyers From Returning To The More Secluded, Tree-Shrouded Areas Of The 13-Acre Park In The Mission District)
• Assembly OKs Limits On Teen Informants ('The Orange County Register' Says A Bill Was Passed Tuesday By The California Assembly That Would Prohibit Law Enforcement Agencies From Using Juvenile Informants Under Age 15 And Impose Other Restrictions - Though There Is Apparently Nothing In The Bill That Would Have Prevented The Death Of The 17-Year-Old Orange County Narc That Inspired The Legislation)
• Orange County Police Officials Back Bill (A Sidebar In 'The Orange County Register' Notes Cops In The Jurisdiction Where Chad MacDonald Was Coerced Into Becoming A Snitch Are Cool With The Proposed Legislation Limiting The Use Of Teen Drug Informants, Since It Implies Local Police Did Nothing Wrong)
• Methadone Clinic Sues Antioch ('The San Francisco Chronicle' Says Bay Area Addiction Research And Treatment Filed Suit In US District Court In San Francisco On Monday Accusing The Antioch City Council Of Violating The 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act When It Imposed A Temporary Ban On Clinics Near Homes)
• Public Housing Or Drug Bazaar? (A Staff Editorial In 'The San Francisco Examiner' Notes San Francisco Is The Only Large City To Have Had Its Application For Funding For Drug Prevention And Education Programs For Youngsters In Public Housing Rejected By The US Department Of Housing And Urban Development, A Development The Newspaper Says Should Force The City To Quit Ignoring A Long-Time Social Disaster)
• Demonstration July 14 In Seattle In Support Of Oscar's II Restaurant (A Seattle List Subscriber Asks Your Help In Preventing The Loss Of A Family Business Due To The Way Seattle Has Enforced Washington State Drug Abatement Laws)
• Medicinal Marijuana Drive Awaits Decision ('The Las Vegas Review-Journal' Says That Despite A Tuesday Deadline, The Fate Of Nevada's Medical Marijuana Initiative Remains Uncertain - Secretary Of State Dean Heller Was Expected To Look At The Issue Today And Decide How To Proceed)
• Cannabinoid Pain Studies (A Registered Nurse Cites Three Recent Scientific Research Reports Published In The Journal 'Pain')
• Drug Policies Violate Rights (A Letter To The Editor Of 'The Capital Times' In Wisconsin Says In View Of How Drug Prohibition Has Turned Out, President Clinton Lecturing Chinese Leaders About Human Rights Is Hypocritical)
• Researcher Opens New Debate On Drug Crimes ('The Chicago Tribune' Recounts The Recent Study By University Of Illinois At Chicago Criminologist John Hagedorn, Casting Inner City Sellers Of Illegal Drugs As Entrepreneurs Who Operate Rationally, And Noting The Angry Response Of Milwaukee, Wisconsin Mayor John Norquist)
• Cities Condone Police Brutality, Group Says ('The Orange County Register' Says A Study Issued Tuesday By Human Rights Watch Shows Police Departments In New York And Other Major US Cities Fail To Hold Officers Accountable For Abusive And Brutal Behavior, Much Of It Targeted At Minorities)
• Three Officers Jailed In Marijuana Probe At Prison ('The Commercial Appeal' In Memphis, Tennessee, Says The Three Officers Stung At The Shelby County Correction Center Were Arrested Separately Tuesday And Charged With Trying To Bring Marijuana Inside - Their Price? $100 Each)
• Did The US Government Deal Cocaine? (Best-Selling Author Peter McWilliams Says A Six-Month Investigation By Forrest Sawyer To Be Featured Wednesday Night On ABC's 'Primetime Live' Will Document The Government's Role In Putting Billions Of Dollars Of Cocaine On America's Streets)
• Doublecross - US Customs Embarrassed By Smuggling Informant (Transcript Of The ABC News 'Primetime' Feature With Forrest Sawyer, Documenting The Government's Role In Putting Billions Of Dollars Of Cocaine On America's Streets)
• Nicotine's Grip Tighter For Blacks? ('The Orange County Register' Says Research At The University Of California In San Francisco And Elsewhere, Reported In Two Studies Published In Today's 'Journal Of The American Medical Association,' Indicates African Americans Appear To Absorb More Nicotine Per Cigarette Than Smokers Of Other Races)
• Study - Blacks Absorb More Nicotine ('Washington Post' Version In 'The San Jose Mercury News')
• Blacks Absorb More Nicotine Than Others, Studies Say ('Associated Press' Version)
• British Columbia Uses Scanners To Keep Jails Drug Free ('Canadian Press' Says Attorney General Ujjal Dosanjh Pledged Wednesday That Ion Scanners, Which Can Supposedly Detect Illegal Drugs With One Touch, Would Be Introduced Within The Next Week As Part Of A Package Of Measures To Enforce Prohibition In The Province's 19 Jails)
• Drug Sting Nets Midway Workers ('The Calgary Sun' Notes The Bust Of Two Calgary Stampede Ride Operators For Selling Marijuana On The Job After The Drug Undercover Street Team Received A Complaint From A Mother On The Grounds)
• Kennett Faces Backbench Drug Revolt ('The Australian' Says Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett Is Getting Increasing Resistance To His Liberalised Drug Laws, With Three MPs Publicly Denouncing The Plan)
• Cannabis Abusers Helped By Intensive Therapy (An Uncritical And Scientifically Illiterate Article In 'The Sydney Morning Herald' Says Australia's First Controlled Trial On Treating Marijuana Dependence Involved A Study Of 100 Long-Term Users Conducted By The National Drug And Alcohol Research Centre, Which Concluded That Heavy Cannabis Users May Require Intensive Brainwashing In Order To Stay Off The Drug - No Mention Is Made Of Whether The Treatment Was Coerced, Or How Many Of The Subjects May Have Been Using Cannabis Medically For Psychological Disorders, Even Though After Cessation, 'Many Exhibited Symptoms Of Depression')
• £10M North Drug Haul's Route Traced (The Aberdeen, Scotland, 'Press And Journal' Describes A Cannabis-Smuggling Group Involved In Germany, Morocco, Britain And France, Uncovered After Police In Hamburg, Germany, Popped Two Teens For Selling A Small Amount Of The Drug)
• Marijuana Substance May Save Brain Cells ('The South China Evening Post' In Hong Kong Relates Last Week's News About The US National Institute For Mental Health Finding A Component Of Marijuana That Might Be Useful In Preventing Brain Damage Due To Strokes, Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease And Even Heart Attacks)
• DrugSense Weekly, Number 54 (Summary Of Drug Policy News For Activists)
• Pray For Peace Foundation News, July 1998 (The June Newsletter Of The Interfaith Religious Organization 'Committed To The Legalization Of Sacred Natural Medicines For Spiritual Healing, For All People')
  Bytes: 160,000 Last updated: 8/10/98
  

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