Portland NORML 1998 News Index, July 30-August 5

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1998 News
About Cannabis and Drug Policy
July 30-August 5

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Thursday, July 30, 1998

NORML Weekly News (MS Patients To Receive Whole Smoked Marijuana In English Trials; Oakland City Council Votes To Shield Local Cannabis Dispensary From Federal Prosecution; North Carolina Appeals Court Rules Cops Can't Lie 'In Good Faith' To Secure Search Warrants; Off Campus Pot Arrest Not Grounds For Expulsion, Connecticut Supreme Court Rules)
Doctor-Aided Suicide Is Backed In Poll ('The Washington Post' Says A New Nationwide Poll Shows An Overwhelming Majority Of Americans Oppose Legislation Before Congress That Would Nullify Oregon's Unique Assisted Suicide Law - Sixty-Six Percent Of Respondents Said They Approved Of Oregon's Law And Would Favor Similar Legislation In Their Own State, While 30 Percent Disapproved Of The Oregon Law And The Introduction Of A Similar Law In Their State)
Poll - Nation Sides With Oregon On Suicide Issue ('The Oregonian' Version)
Urgent Alert - DEA Versus Pain Treatment (The Drug Reform Coordination Network Asks You To Join With The The American Medical Association And The American Geriatrics Society And Write To Your Senators And Congressional Representative To Stop HR 4006, Would Nullify Oregon's Unique Assisted Suicide Law And Have A Disastrous Effect On Pain Management)
Action Alert - Oppose Bills That Threaten Effective Pain Management (The Common Sense For Drug Policy Version Distributed By The Drug Policy Foundation)
Washington State Initiative Qualifies (Dave Fratello Of Americans For Medical Rights Breaks The News That Initiative 692, AMR's Medical Marijuana Measure, Has Been Certified For The November Ballot, And Includes An Update On The Current Status Of AMR Medical Marijuana Initiative Campaigns In Other States)
Medical Marijuana On Washington State Ballot ('Reuters' Says Initiative 692, Sponsored By Washington Citizens For Medical Rights, Has Been Certified For The November Ballot)
Medicinal Marijuana Initiative Qualifies For Fall Ballot ('The Associated Press' Version)
Davis Tops Lungren In Examiner Poll ('The San Francisco Examiner' Says Its Poll On Who's Leading The Race To Be California's Next Governor Finds Democrat Gray Davis Ahead 48 Percent To 39 Percent Against Dan Lungren, The Nemesis Of Proposition 215 - But In The Past, California Republicans Have Shown Summer Polls Don't Mean Much)
Judicial Illogic (A Staff Editorial In 'The Orange County Register' Faults Superior Court Judge Robert Fitzgerald For Denying Medical Marijuana Patient And Orange County Cannabis Co-Op Founder Marvin Chavez The Ability To Invoke Proposition 215 In His Defense)
No Marijuana Joints In Concord, Even Without Ordinance ('The Contra Costa Times' Confusingly Suggests City Officials In The San Francisco Bay Area Community Of Concord Will Not Comply With The Mandate In The California Compassionate Use Act To Find A Way To Provide Safe And Affordable Medical Marijuana To Patients Who Need It, And In Particular Will Not Allow Any Dispensaries To Open)
Tainted Drug Justice (A Letter To The Editor Of 'The San Francisco Examiner' Says The War On Some Drug Users Would Become Nearly Impossible Should The Recent Ruling By The 10th Circuit Court Of Appeals Stand, That The Judicial Process Is Tainted And Justice Thwarted When Testimony Is Purchased With Offers Of Leniency)
Ex-Prison Officers Say State Ignored Charges ('The Los Angeles Times' Says Two Former Supervisors And A Former Guard At Corcoran State Prison Told A Legislative Hearing Wednesday That Their Attempts To Draw Attention To Questionable Inmate Shooting Deaths By Guards Were Ignored At The Highest Levels Of The California Department Of Corrections, As Well As By An Unnamed Official In The Wilson Administration Who Sounds A Lot Like Attorney General Dan Lungren)
At Hearing, Ex-Prison Director Defends Actions In Probe ('The San Francisco Chronicle' Says The Second Day Of A Special Legislative Hearing Investigating Violence At Corcoran State Prison Yesterday Featured Former Corrections Department Director James Gomez Defending His Handling Of An Investigation Of Violence At The San Joaquin Valley Prison - Explosive Growth In The Number Of Inmates And Guards Has Made The State Prison System Unmanageable, He Said)
When Busts Go Bad - The Heat Takes Some Heat - Well-Publicized Drug Raids Come Up Empty ('New Times' In San Luis Obispo County, California, Suggests Local Prohibition Agents Have More Zeal Than Competence)
War Of Words Heats Up On State's Drug Proposition ('The Arizona Daily Star' Says Proposition 300 Is Unlike Proposition 200 In 1996, Which Included Other Drug-Law Changes, And Notes A Hearing On The Lawsuit Over The Analysis Of Proposition 300 In The State Voters Pamphlet Is Scheduled Tomorrow)
Group Fights Listing Of Drugs ('The Arizona Republic' Version)
Luther Drug Bust Nets Teacher, Wife ('The Oklahoman' Says Police In Luther, Oklahoma, Busted The Owner Of A Home Day-Care Center And Her Husband, A Teacher, Wednesday For Possession And Cultivation Of Marijuana - The Couple Were Still In Jail Wednesday Evening, But There's No Word On What Authorities Did To Their Three Children)
Watts' Kin Gets Term Suspended ('The Associated Press' Says The Sister Of US Representative JC Watts, A Republican From Oklahoma, Pleaded Guilty To Six Charges Apparently Involving Possession And Distribution Of Marijuana, Methamphetamine, Drug Paraphernalia And Maintaining A House Where Drugs Were Kept, And Has Been Given A Seven-Year Suspended Sentence After Successfully Completing A Boot Camp Program For Non-Violent Offenders)
FBI Arrests More Texas Jailers Accused Of Abuse ('The Associated Press' Says Three More Current And Former Guards Have Been Charged In A Videotaped Shakedown Of Missouri Inmates Contracted Out To The Brazoria County Jail South Of Houston)
Missing Cocaine A Mystery ('The Houston Chronicle' Says Police In Montgomery County, Texas, Have No Explanation For How Almost 20 Pounds Of Cocaine Valued At Up To $3 Million Disappeared Last Year From Their Evidence Room)
Juvenile Drug Cases Increasing (A Letter To The Editor Of 'The Altoona Herald-Mitchellville Index' In Iowa From The Altoona Police Chief Says Statistics Recently Released By The US Department Of Justice Reveal That 1995 Juvenile Drug Offense Cases Jumped 145 Percent From Those Reported In 1991 - But Doesn't Mention How Much Funding Increased During The Same Period To Round Up Such Suspects)
Lawyer Convicted Of Marijuana Charges ('The Associated Press' Says A Federal Jury In Springfield, Massachusetts, Found 68-Year-Old New York City Lawyer Herbert Derman Guilty Of Conspiracy In A Large Marijuana Growing Operation In The Berkshires, And Decided He Should Also Forfeit His North Egremont Farm Because Marijuana Was Found There, Even Though He Was Acquitted Of Intent To Distribute)
New York City Lawyer Found Guilty In Largest Marijuana Cultivation Operation Ever In New England (The 'Business Wire' Version Notes Derman Faces A Mandatory Minimum 10-Year Sentence)
Despite No Memory Of Crimes, Cop Admits Seven Bank Robberies ('The Associated Press' Says Trenton, New Jersey Police Officer Christopher Kerins, An Undercover Narcotics Officer, Pleaded Guilty Wednesday To The Robberies, And Also Awaits Sentencing In Ohio, Where He Pleaded Guilty In 1996 To Robbery And Drug Charges)
Medical Marijuana - Suit Filed Against Marijuana Laws ('The Associated Press' Breaks The Media Silence About The Class Action Lawsuit Filed By Public Interest Attorney Lawrence Elliott Hirsch In Philadelphia, Demanding That Laws Prohibiting The Medical Use Of Marijuana Be Struck Down As Unconstitutional)
Cannabis A Minor Risk To Mentally Unstable - Doctor ('The New Zealand Herald' Says Several Physicians And Public Health Officials Testified Yesterday Before The Parliamentary Committee Holding An Inquiry Into The Mental Health Effects Of Cannabis That Cannabis Use Causes No Significant Harm, And At Worst Could Worsen The Condition Of Some Schizophrenics, About One In 10,000 Of The Population - Though Cannabis Did Not Cause Schizophrenia And Led To Fewer Problems Than Tobacco And Alcohol - Research Has Not Shown That Cannabis Use Damages The Brain Structure, And It Is Well Accepted For Stress Relief And Other Therapeutic Uses)
Cannabis Effect On Mental Illness Slight - Doctor (A Slightly Different Version In The New Zealand 'Evening Post')
Cannabis Use Not A Serious Risk To Health Says Ministry ('The Dominion' Version)
Drug Has 'Calming Influence' ('The New Zealand Herald' Says Detective Superintendent Harry Quinn Told A Parliamentary Select Committee Inquiry Into Cannabis Yesterday In Wellington That 'We Don't Have Any Definitive Evidence That Says That Cannabis Use Is In Itself A Violent Behaviour - And I Think Our Evidence Would Be That It Has A Calming Influence In Some Respects' - He Said It Was The Violent Criminal Activity Surrounding Cannabis Dealing That Was Of Concern)
Public Meeting August 24 - Future Of South Australia's Hemp Laws (A Local Correspondent Describes The Meeting In Adelaide In The Context Of The Relatively Progressive Policies Recommended By The Sackville Royal Commission, Set Up By The South Australian Labor Government In 1976)
Triumph On World Cup Stage Forgotten As France Fails The Dope Test ('The Scotsman' Sumamrizes The Doping Controversy Surrounding The Tour De France Competition)
Tour Protest Forces Police To Alter Inquiry Tactics ('The International Herald-Tribune' Says The Tour De France, Plagued By Doping Scandals, Was Stopped Twice Wednesday By Rider Protests And Faced A Premature End For The First Time In Its 95-Year History - 'We Haven't Been Treated Like Human Beings . . . If The French Police Want To Ruin Their National Race, They're Doing It,' Said Bobby Julich, An American In Second Place)
Riders Put Tour In Chaos ('The Los Angeles Times' Version Of The Tour De France Doping Controversy)
Riders' Protest Forces Organizers To Nullify 17th Stage ('The Associated Press' Version In 'The San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune')
Weekly Action Report On Drug Policies, Year 4, Number 22 (Summary Of International Drug Policy News, From CORA In Italy)
Bytes: 160,000 Last updated: 8/19/98

Friday, July 31, 1998:
Oregon Marijuana Ballot Measure Learns From The California Experience ('The Associated Press' Suggests The Proposed Oregon Medical Marijuana Act, Which Would Benefit About 500 People, Is Superior To The California Compassionate Use Act Of 1996, Approved By 56 Percent Of Voters, Because The OMMA Would Arbitrarily Limit Physicians From Recommending Cannabis For Many Life-Threatening Illnesses, Would Arbitrarily Limit The Amount Of Medicine A Patient Could Possess Or Grow, And Would Require Patients To Register With The State, Like Jews In Nazi Germany)
Marijuana Measure Foes Say State Costs Understated ('The Associated Press' Notes Backers Of A Ballot Measure That Would Nullify The Oregon Legislature's Bill To Recriminalize Marijuana Are Trying To Correct The Lawmakers' Underestimate Of What The Bill Would Cost Taxpayers, Scheduled To Appear In The State Voters' Pamphlet)
Democratic Party Of Oregon Opposes Recrim, Takes No Position On Medical Marijuana (A Portland List Subscriber Relays Information From A Press Release About The DPO State Central Committee Meeting This Weekend In Tillamook - Measure 57, Recriminalizing Possession Of Less Than An Ounce Of Marijuana, Has 'Nothing To Do With The Real Problems Of Crime In Our State')
Joe Camel Turns Up In Portland Nightclubs ('The Oregonian' Is Shocked, Shocked To Learn That Some Portland Nightclubs Are Accepting Advertising Money From Tobacco Companies - Just As The Newspaper Itself Did For About A Hundred Years, Until Recently - But Fails To See Any Double Standard In Its Own Endorsement Of Similar Events And Promotions For Alcohol Manufacturers)
Medicinal Pot Measure Makes November Ballot (An 'Associated Press' Story In 'The Seattle Times' Notes Initiative 692, Sponsored By Washington Citizens For Medical Rights, Has Been Certified For The November Ballot)
Marijuana Initiative On Fall Ballot ('The Olympian' Version)
Washington To Vote On Medicinal Marijuana ('The Orange County Register' Version)
Marijuana Use For Medicine On Washington State Ballot (The 'Reuters' Version In 'The Los Angeles Times')
Jailed AIDS And Cancer Patient Peter McWilliams Scheduled For Hearing To Reduce Bail Friday, July 31 (Fellow Medical Marijuana Defendant Todd McCormick Says The Los Angeles Author Will Be Submitting A Motion To Lower His Bail From A Quarter Of A Million Dollars To $50,000)
Peter McWilliams - Issues And Update (A California Physician Discusses The Medical Situation Facing The Incarcerated Medical Marijuana Defendant And The Doctor's Attempt To Go Through The Federal Gulag To Learn More)
Federal Prosecutor Lies To Judge About AIDS Patient Peter McWilliams' In-Prison Medical Treatment . . . Judge Denies Motion To Reduce Bail (Today's Second News Release From Todd McCormick, McWilliams' Co-Defendant)
A Clockwork Orange - Here We Go Again (An 'OC Weekly' Update On The Kafkaesque Local Prosecution Of Medical Marijuana Patient Marvin Chavez, Founder Of The Orange County Cannabis Co-Op)
Millionaires Push Drug Legalization ('Arizona Republic' Columnist David Leibowitz Rants Against The Financial Backers Of Proposition 300, Pretending Two-Thirds Of Arizona Voters Who Supported Proposition 200 Were Duped)
State Takes Baby (Yahoo States News Service Says Oklahoma Has Taken Custody Of A Newborn Because The Baby And Its Mother Tested Positive For Marijuana)
Marijuana Is Found In Mother, Newborn ('The Tulsa World' Version)
Kids And The Politics Of The Drug War (An Op-Ed In 'The Austin American-Statesman' By Kendra E. Wright, The Director Of Family Watch, Who Critiques The US Government's New $1 Billion Drug War Advertising Campaign From The Perspective That The War On Some Drug Users Has Failed)
No Drugs Or Alcohol Found In Man Slain By Officers (A 'Houston Chronicle' Update In The Case Of Pedro Navarro Oregon, An Innocent Man Shot 12 Times - Nine Times In The Back - By Houston Prohibition Agents Who Burst Into His Apartment Without A Warrant)
Corn Cover - Too-Tall Marijuana Plants Bring Call To The Sheriff (A Cautionary Tale In The Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 'Journal Sentinel' Says The Clark County Sheriff's Department Had Little Trouble Finding 35 Tall Pot Plants After An Informant Told Them She Suspected Someone She Knew Was Growing Marijuana)
Female Inmates To Be Sent Out Of State ('The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel' Says Wisconsin Soon And For The First Time Will Send 120 Female Inmates To A Prison Out Of State, In Virginia, To Ease Severe Crowding, Under A Contract Approved Thursday By A Legislative Committee That Will Cost $58.30 Per Inmate Per Day)
O'Hare Cargo Gets Custom Search Job ('The Chicago Tribune' Describes The US Customs Service's Elaborate Search For Contraband In Every One Of The 37 Passenger Planes And 11 Cargo Planes Landing At O'Hare International Airport Over 24 Hours That Ended At Midnight Thursday, Which Apparently Turned Up Nothing)
A Detective Is Allowed To Resign ('The New York Times' Says New York City Detective John K. Wrynn Quit After Fending Off Police Investigators And Federal Prosecutors For More Than Five Years, Rather Than Face A Departmental Trial On Charges That He Leaked Top-Secret Information About Undercover Detectives And Confidential Informers To Organized Crime Associates In The Bronx)
Youngsters Playing Drug Deal Get Busted By Police ('The Associated Press' Says Broward County Sheriff's Lieutenant James Chinn 'Rounded Up' A Dozen Youngsters In Pompano Beach, Florida, Who Were Playing Drug Dealer, Selling Slivers Of Plastic 'Crack' For 20 Tree Leaves - The Kids, Ranging In Age From 4 To 11 Years Old, Also Knew How To Flee When Police Rolled By)
Canada And The US - A World Apart On Hemp (An Article In 'The Carbohydrate Economy,' A Publication Of The Institute For Local Self-Reliance, About Why Farmers Get To Grow Industrial Hemp In Canada But Not The United States Notes The Health Officials Calling The Shots In Canada Don't Have A Vested Interest In Prohibition, As Does The DEA In The United States)
DEA Official Becomes Rich At The Expense Of Agency ('The Wall Street Journal' Describes How David Bowman Of The Drug Enforcement Administration Ripped Off The US Government For More Than $6 Million)
'Harm Reduction' Strategy Won't Work ('The Bulletin' In Bend, Oregon, Prints The Boilerplate Op-Ed By The US Drug Czar, General Barry McCaffrey)
A 'War' On Drugs, But Only A Murmur On Booze ('The San Francisco Examiner' Notes After Football Star Don Rogers And College Basketball Sensation Len Bias Died Within A Week Of Each Other From Cocaine Overdoses In 1986, Congress Drastically Increased Penalties For Crack Cocaine And Other Drugs, But In The Wake Of Seven Publicized College Binge-Drinking Deaths Last Year, The Demogogues Were Silent - Here's Some Interesting Statistics About Alcohol And Kids That Illustrate The Commonly Held Double Standards About Alcohol And 'Drugs')
Efforts To Stem Drugs Are A Bust (A Staff Editorial In 'The Surrey/North Delta Leader' Calls For Reform In British Columbia, Elaborating On Vancouver Police Chief Bruce Chambers' Statement This Week That 'We Cannot Pretend To Be Winning Anymore - We're Not Even Having Decent Skirmishes')
St. Kitts Drug Boss Threatens To Kill Americans (According To Cable News Network, The US State Department Said Thursday That Charles Miller, Who Is Wanted In Florida For Cocaine Smuggling, Has Threatened To Murder At Random American Veterinary Students On The Caribbean Island If The US Government Attempts To Extradite Him)
Alleged Drug Lord Threatens Americans ('The Los Angeles Times' Version)
Alleged Drug Chieftan Threatens To Kill Americans ('The Associated Press' Version In The New Bedford, Massachusetts, 'Standard-Times')
Drug Dealer Threatens Americans ('The Miami Herald' Version)
One Death A Week In Police Custody (Britain's 'Independent' Says A New Report From The Home Office Shows 47 Per Cent Of The Deaths Of Black People In Custody Occurred When A Police Officer Was Present, While Only Seven Per Cent Of Deaths Of White Detainees Were Linked To Police Actions - 34 Per Cent Of Deaths Were A Result Of Deliberate Self Harm, 29 Per Cent Were Due To The Detainee's Previous Medical Condition, 'Drug' Abuse Was A Factor In Nine Per Cent Of Deaths, Alcohol In 19 Per Cent, And Police Actions Were A Factor In Six Per Cent Of Cases)
Tour De France Field Takes Yet Another Hit (An 'Associated Press' Article In 'The San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune' Says The International Bicycle Race Continued Thursday Amid The Bucolic Surroundings Of Switzerland After Two More Teams Withdrew To Protest Police Behavior - Investigators For The First Time Prevented A Cyclist From Competing After Finding Unspecified 'Drugs' In His Possession)
The Week Online With DRCNet, Issue Number 52 (The Drug Reform Coordination Network's Original News Summary For Activists)
Bytes: 181,000 Last updated: 8/18/98

Saturday, August 1, 1998:
Senators Debate Bill To Bar Use Of Drugs To Aid Suicide ('The Associated Press' Describes The Ongoing Efforts In Congress To Nullify Oregon's Unique Assisted-Suicide Law)
Senator Hatch Seeks Help In Blocking Suicide Law ('The Oregonian' Version)
Judge Says Jailed Medical Marijuana Advocate Must Receive Medication ('The Fresno Bee' Notes Medical Marijuana Defendant Peter McWilliams Vomited Repeatedly In Court Friday, But Fails To Even Mention That The Prosecutor Lied To The Judge, Only That McWilliams 'Complained He Wasn't Regularly Receiving His Required Medication,' As If He Couldn't Prove It And It Didn't Endanger His Life)
Taqueria Owner Arrested In Big Cocaine Bust ('The San Francisco Chronicle' Notes Two Men From Daly City, Just South Of San Francisco, Each Face 34 Years In Federal Prison And Up To $6.25 Million In Fines)
Drug Legalization (Three Letters To The Editor Of 'The Los Angeles Times' Rip A Recent Op-Ed By The US Drug Czar, General Barry McCaffrey)
Drug Mergers Blocked ('The San Francisco Examiner' Says A Merger That Would Have Consolidated The United States' Top Four Drug Wholesalers Into Two Companies Has Been Blocked By A Federal Judge - According To The Federal Trade Commission, The Two Surviving Companies Would Have Controlled More Than 80 Percent Of The Drug Wholesale Market Nationwide And Almost 100 Percent In Some Regions)
Judge Blocks Two Drug Company Mergers ('The Associated Press' Version)
Lawmakers Rejected, Head For High Court (A Blatantly Biased 'Arizona Daily Star' Article Notes Antidemocratic Arizona Officials Who Are Publishing The State's Election Pamphlet Will Appeal To The Arizona Supreme Court A Ruling Friday By Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Joseph Howe That The Official Description Of Proposition 300 Appears To Be An 'Advocacy Document' Because It Singles Out The Names Of Drugs Most Associated With Serious Abuse)
Texas-Based Border Czar Is Proposed ('The Dallas Morning News' Says The US Drug Czar, General Barry McCaffrey, Is Proposing A Southwest Border Czar, A New Presidential Appointee Who Would Be Based In El Paso And Coordinate Federal Agencies Trying To Interdict The Flow Of Illegal Drugs And Immigrants Crossing The Border From Mexico)
FBI Arrests 44 Cleveland Cops ('The Associated Press' Says 44 Cleveland-Area Police Officers, Sheriff's Deputies And Prison Guards Face Up To 10 Years Each On Charges Of Conspiracy To Distribute Cocaine Because They Accepted Up To $3,700 From An Undercover FBI Agent For Protection While He Supposedly Bought And Sold Drugs - One East Cleveland Officer Was Late To A Deal In The Sting Operation Because He Was Giving An Anti-Drug Presentation)
Researchers Test Drug That May Ease Alcoholic Cravings ('The Associated Press' Says The Food And Drug Administration Is Conducting A Study Of Acamprosate In Boston And 20 Other Cities In The United States - If Approved, It Would Be The Third Drug Used Specifically In The Treatment Of Alcoholism, Along With Antabuse And Naltrexone, Which Can Cause Seizures And Liver Damage, Respectively)
Prescribing The Forbidden Medicine - A Doctor Challenges The Feds (An Account In The August Issue Of 'Playboy' Magazine By Dr. Lester Grinspoon Of Harvard Medical School About His Own Son's Use Of Cannabis While Undergoing Chemotherapy)
Nintendo Neurology ('Scientific American' Says Paul M. Grasby And His Colleagues At Hammersmith Hospital In London Have Found That Video Games Are Like Amphetamines In That Both Are Associated With A Surge Of Dopamine Secretion)
A Duty To Censor - UN Officials Want To Crack Down On Drug War Protesters (The August-September Issue Of 'Reason' Magazine Gives Some Much-Needed Coverage To Proposals For Criminalizing Opposition To The War On Drugs, Made By The United Nation's Anti-Drug Apparatus, Including The Drug Control Program, The Commission On Narcotic Drugs, And The International Narcotics Control Board, Or INCB, Which Wants To Wipe The World Free Of Dissent As Well As Drugs)
Morality Has No Place In Solving Health Epidemic (A Staff Editorial In The Victoria 'Times-Colonist' About Heroin Use In British Columbia Suggests That As Long As We Let 'Morality' Color Our Decision-Making On Drug Use, We Will Spend Far More Than We Have To Fighting A Battle In Which Victory Is Impossible - In The Meantime, Hundreds More Will Die And Hundreds More Will Contract Lifelong Diseases, Including Many Who Have Never Used Intravenous Drugs)
Marijuana Worth Millions Grows Wild ('The Ottawa Citizen' Says Yesterday, For The Fifth Year In A Row, Surete Du Quebec Officers Chopped Down A Wild Field Of 2,025 Marijuana Plants Near Papineauville - Somebody Planted About 200 High-Quality Plants In 1992, Which Police Killed, But Seeds From Each Year's Crop Keep Sprouting And Increasing The Size Of The Stand Despite Annual Eradication Efforts By Police)
Colombia On The Brink (Britain's 'Economist' Says The Challenges Facing Colombian President-Elect Andres Pastrana, Due To Take Office August 7, Include Not Just A 30-Year Civil War But A Sluggish Economy, A Treasury Deficit, Chaotic Public Life, Corruption, And 'Drugs' As Menacing As Ever - Yet The Financial Magazine Believes, Mostly Because Of The Change In Administration, Colombia Has Better Prospects Today Than In Years - If Its Elite, Its Plain People, Its Rebels And Its New President Have The Courage To Grab Them)
School Students Strip-Searched In Drug Raid ('The Australian Associated Press' Says Nothing Was Found When Eight Manjimup Senior High Students Ages 14-16 Were Strip-Searched And Their West Australian School Searched By Sniffer Dogs During Police Raids To Find Marijuana)
Mayors Prescribe New Tactics In Drugs Battle ('The Courier Mail' Says The Capital City Lord Mayors Conference In Brisbane, Australia Yesterday Backed The View That Current Methods Used To Combat Drug Abuse And Associated Crime Had Not Worked, And Unanimously Supported Heroin Maintenance Trials As It Resolved To Move Towards Radical Change In The Handling Of Australia's Drugs Crisis)
Accused Tells Of Killing Drug Dealer ('The Courier Mail' In Australia Says A Video-Taped Police Interview Played In Southport Magistrates Court Yesterday Showed An Emotional Andrew Ian Jeffries Describing How He Killed Invalid Pensioner George Green In February While Buying A $25 Bag Of Marijuana)
Possible Cannabis Research In Britain (A 'British Medical Journal' Account Of Progress In Parliament Toward Setting Up Clinical Trials Notes If And When The Benefits Of A Cannabis Based Medicine Are Scientifically Proved And A Marketing Authorisation Issued By The Medicines Control Agency, The Home Office Said That It Would Be Willing To Come Forward With A Change In The Law To Allow The Prescribing Of Such A Medicine)
Drug Pedalling Hurts The Tour ('The Toronto Star' Thinks The Prestige Of The Tour De France Has Been Harmed By Allegations Of Athletic Doping)
Tour Cyclist And Team Doctor Charged (An 'Agence France-Presse' Article In 'The International Herald-Tribune' Says A Tour De France Cyclist And The Doctor For A Team Of Cyclists Were Charged In A French Court Friday Night Under The 1989 Drug Act - The Dutch Government Said It Was Setting Up An Inquiry Into The French Authorities' Handling Of The Drugs Scandal, And Juan Antonio Samaranch, President Of The International Olympic Committee, Said That He Was Calling A Crisis Meeting Of The IOC Executive Board To Discuss The Use Of Drugs In Sport)
Olympics Chiefs Call For Drugs Summit After Tour Scandals ('The Scotsman' Says The International Olympics Committee President, Ivan Antonio Samaranch, Prompted By The Tour De France Drug Scandals, Has Convened The Meeting On August 20 With A Single Item On The Agenda - The Fight Against Doping In Sport)
Drugs (A Frenchman's Letter To The Editor Of 'The Scotsman' Expresses Astonishment That The President Of The International Olympics Committee, Antonio Samaranch, Wants To Maintain Sanctions Only On Those Athletes Who Use 'Performance-Enhancing Drugs That May Cause Permanent Harm To The Athlete,' While Earlier This Year He Successfuly Campaigned To Have Cannabis Added To The List Of Prohibited Drugs)
McLeish Delivers His Crackdown On Criminals ('The Scotsman' Notes The Crime And Disorder Act Became Law Yesterday In Scotland, Inspired In Part By The War On Some Drugs)
Bytes: 138,000 Last updated: 9/13/98

Sunday, August 2, 1998:
Tying Physicians' Hands (A Staff Editorial In The Waco, Texas 'Tribune-Herald' Opposes Congressional Efforts To Nullify Oregon's Unique Assisted Suicide Law)
Praise And Pillory (A Staff Editorial In The Long Beach, California 'Press-Telegram' Criticizes The Recent Decision By Orange County Superior Court Judge Robert Fitzgerald That Marvin Chavez, The Founder Of The Orange County Cannabis Co-Op, Cannot Use Proposition 215 As A Defense In His Trial On Charges Of Selling Marijuana)
Marijuana Arrests Up For Sixth Straight Year As District Attorneys Attack Medical Marijuana Clubs - Lungren Calls For More Of The Same (A News Release From California NORML Says Newly Released Figures From The Bureau Of Criminal Statistics Show There Were 57,667 Marijuana Arrests In California In 1997, Up From 56,956 In 1996, And California Has Spent More Money Trying To Persecute Medical Marijuana Patients Than Trying To Implement Proposition 215)
Tough Laws Create 'Recipe For Disaster' ('The Oakland Tribune' Says The Parolee Recidivism Rate In California Is The Highest In The Nation, A By Product Of The Explosion In California's Prison Population Caused Largely By Tough Anti-Drug And Three-Strikes Sentencing Laws Introduced Since The 1980s)
Feds Jail Popular Author/Patient - Action Alert Updates (The Media Awareness Project Posts A Collection Of New And Old Information About The Federal Persecution Of Peter McWilliams And Urges You To Write Letters On His Behalf)
Los Angeles Case Raises Concerns About Wiretaps (An Update In 'The Los Angeles Times' About Repercussions From The Discovery That Federal Prohibition Agents For Years Have Given 'Hand Offs' To Los Angeles Prohibition Agents About Illegal Drug Offenders They Have Gathered From Illegal Wiretaps)
Criminal Justice - Hoary Stories From California's State Prisons (An Editorial By John Jacobs, Political Editor Of McClatchy Newspapers, In 'The Orange County Register,' Says The Details That Have Emerged About Guard's Actions Against Inmates At Corcoran Prison Are Too Outrageous To Ignore - The Ultimate Question Is Whether The Wilson Administration, And To A Lesser Extent Attorney General Dan Lungren, Covered Up Or Whitewashed Allegations Of Serious Wrongdoing In The Department Of Corrections)
'Supermax' Prisons Typify US Attitudes On Crime (According To 'The Chicago Tribune,' The Minimum-Contact, 'Supermax' Prison Epitomized By The Federal 'ADX' Penitentiary In Florence, Colorado, Illustrates The Growing Popularity Of A Costly, Profound Reversal In American Attitudes - For Most Of This Century, Rehabilitation Was The Overarching Goal, But By 1980, The People Who Manufacture Consensus In America Enbraced Mandatory Minimum Sentencing, Removing Exercise Equipment, Barring Pell Grants For Inmates' Higher Education, And, Finally, Implementing Solitary Confinement Throughout Entire Prisons, Causing Severe Psychiatric Harm)
Legalization Of Drugs Wrong, Regardless Of How It Is Done (A Slightly Different Version In 'The Houston Chronicle' Of The Boilerplate Op-Ed Mischaracterizing Harm Reduction By The US Drug Czar, General Barry McCaffrey)
Nuanced Welcome In The Hamptons (A 'New York Times' Article In 'The San Jose Mercury News' Notes Parenthetically That A Marijuana-Law Protester Haunted President Clinton's Recent Fund-Raising Trip To East Hampton, New York)
Truth Is The First Casualty (A Letter To The Editor Of 'The Edmonton Sun' Describes The Lies Recently Promulgated About Dutch Drug Policy By The US Drug Czar, General Barry McCaffrey)
Accused Drug Thug Threat To Canucks? ('The Toronto Sun' Says Canadian Authorities Are Concerned That Canadians On The Caribbean Island Of St. Kitts May Be Mistaken For The American Veterinary Students Supposedly Threatened By An Alleged Cocaine Trafficker Worried About Being Extradited To The United States)
Cannabis Campaign - Lords Hear The Medical Evidence (Britain's 'Independent On Sunday' Continues Its Weekly Push For Reforming Cannabis Laws With An Account Of Tuesday's Presentation To The House Of Lords' Science And Technology Sub-Committee By Dr Geoffrey Guy, Who Last Month Won The First Licence To Farm Cannabis For Medical Research In Britain)
Objection, Mr Straw (Trevor Grove, Author Of 'The Juryman's Tale,' Writes In Britain's 'Independent On Sunday' That Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair And Home Secretary Jack Straw Are Reviving A Conservative Proposal To Curtail The Right To Choose A Trial By Jury)
Bytes: 97,600 Last updated: 8/14/98

Monday, August 3, 1998:
Action Alert Number Two - Pain Management, Doctor/Patient Relationship and States' Rights Under Attack (The Drug Policy Foundation In New York Asks You To Write To Your Congressional Representatives And Ask Them To Oppose HR 4006, The Lethal Drug Abuse Prevention Act Of 1998 Intended To Nullify Oregon's Unique Assisted-Suicide Law)
It Is The Love Of Freedom, Not The Hatred Of Tyranny . . . (A Jailhouse Letter From Peter McWilliams, The Best-Selling Author And Los Angeles AIDS And Cancer Patient Being Held For A Quarter Million Dollars Bail On Federal Marijuana Conspiracy Charges, In Spite Of Proposition 215)
McCormick Stands On Proposition 215, Claims Innocence (MSNBC Says Cancer Patient Todd McCormick, One Of Eight Co-Defendants With Peter McWilliams, Pleaded Not Guilty Today To Federal Marijuana Charges)
Jury Selection Coming Up In Medicinal Marijuana Trial (The Long Beach, California 'Press-Telegram' Says Jury Selection Could Begin Today In The Case Of Marvin Chavez, Co-Founder Of The Orange County Patient-Doctor-Nurse Support Group - Defense Attorney Robert Kennedy Said Time, Money And Resources Were Too Limited To Appeal Superior Court Judge Robert R. Fitzgerald's Ruling That Chavez Could Not Cite The California Compassionate Use Act In His Defense)
Marvin Chavez Update (A Local Correspondent Says Jury Selection Was Postponed Until Tomorrow In The Trial Of The Medical Marijuana Patient And Orange County Cannabis Co-Op Founder)
California Attorney General's Race (A List Subscriber Notes Former State Senate Democratic Leader Bill Lockyer Would Be Far Preferable To Other Candidates Because He Says He Would De-Emphasize 'Narcotics' Enforcement And Is The Strongest Supporter Of Proposition 215)
Allow Medical Marijuana (A Letter To The Editor Of 'The San Jose Mercury News' By Joseph S. Farina, Libertarian Candidate for California Attorney General, Also Expresses Strong Support For Proposition 215)
Medical Marijuana To Appear On Nevada Ballot ('The Associated Press' Says Nevada's Secretary Of State On Monday Qualified A Medical Marijuana Proposal For The November Ballot After His Office Found A Mathematical Error By Nye County In Counting Names, And Improper Rejection Of Some Signatures There And In Lyon County)
Nevada Initiative Qualifies! (Dave Fratello Of Americans For Medical Rights Breaks The News That AMR's Medical Marijuana Initiative Will Be On The November Ballot)
Ex-Prison Psychologist Gets Probation On Drug Count ('The Deseret News' In Utah Says Roger Thomas Pray, An 18-Year Department Of Corrections Employee, Was Given Probation For A Pill Bottle Containing Five Marijuana Cigarettes That Police Found When He Was Arrested June 13 While Engaged In A $20 Sex Act With A Male Prostitute On A Seldom-Used Dirt Road)
MAP Focus Alert Number 76 - Drug Czar Distorts The Facts In Los Angeles And Houston (The Media Awareness Project Asks You To Write A Quick Letter Responding To General Barry McCaffrey's Latest Boilerplate Op-Ed In 'The Houston Chronicle,' And Last Week's Version In 'The Los Angeles Times')
Maine - A Student, A Sailor, A Recent Emigree (Dave Fratello Of Americans For Medical Rights Says AMR's Maine Medical Marijuana Initiative Didn't Make The November 1998 Ballot Because The State Challenged The Residency Of Three Signature Gatherers - But The Measure Only Needs 5,000 Signatures To Get On The 1999 Ballot Because The State's Initiative Rules Allow 1998 Signatures To Be Used Again)
Cops Not Always Clear On Right To Silence ('The Associated Press' Describes How Police In New Hampshire Seem To Be Willfully Illiterate And/Or Determined To Violate Suspects' Miranda Rights)
Connecticut Couple Works To Change Nation's Drug Laws (An 'Associated Press' Feature Article About Cliff Thornton, Whose Mother Died From A So-Called Heroin Overdose While He Was In High School - 'For Years . . . I Wanted Drugs Wiped Off The Face Of The Earth,' He Says, But Now The 53-Year-Old Retiree Spends Much Of His Time On A Crusade To Legalize Drugs Such As Marijuana, Heroin And Cocaine)
Let's Just Say 'No' To Us Drug-War Justice (An Op-Ed In 'The Christian Science Monitor' Describes The Injustice Inherent In American Forfeiture Laws Inspired By The War On Some Drug Users, Noting The US Justice Department Alone Collected Close To $2 Billion Of Property Seized In Drug-Related Forfeitures Between 1993 And 1997 - In Most Cases Without Anyone Being Charged With Anything)
Prison Population Tops 1.2 Million (A Dubious 'Associated Press' Article In The New Bedford, Massachusetts 'Standard-Times' With The Foxes' Latest Numbers On Henhouse Populations Quotes The US Justice Department Saying Yesterday The Overall Increase In State And Federal Prisons Was 5.2 Percent - But The Actual Figure Is 1.7 Million And The Total Correctional Population, Including People On Probation, Parole, House Arrest, Work Release And So Forth, Is Omitted - No Source Is Offered For A Claim That Russia Incarcerates A Higher Percentage Of Its Citizens - Oregon, Amid A $1 Billion Prison Building Binge, Supposedly Incarcerated Fewer People In 1997 - Bureau Of Prisons Statistician Allen J. Beck, Co-Author Of The Report, Says 'Contrary To Popular Belief, The Greatest Source Of Growth In State Prisons Is In Violent Offenders Not Drug Violators,' Ignoring The Subterfuge Of State Officials And Prosecutors Who Categorize Some Drug Offenses As 'Violent' And Belying His Own Report Showing A Decrease In Arrests For Murder, Rape, Robbery, Burglary, Larceny And Auto Theft, While The Largest Increase In Arrests Was For 'Drug Abuse,' Up 28 Percent, And Ignoring The Role Of Inaccurate Urine Tests In Putting Probationers Back In Prison, Technically A Non-Drug Category)
Prison Population Continues Increase To Over 1.2 Million (A Different 'Associated Press' Account In 'The Orange County Register' Confirms The Government Is Engaging In Orwellian Revisions - While Admitting Incarceration Has Increased, New Bureau Of Justice Statistics Don't Explain Why The Same Statistical Report Published Only Two Years Ago Said The Prison Population Had Climbed To 1.6 Million Nationwide in 1995, Out Of A Total Correctional Population Of 5.4 Million)
Report - Experts Fear Widespread Fudging Of Crime Data (According To 'The Associated Press,' Today's 'New York Times' Says Accusations Of Falsified Crime Statistics Have Forced The Resignation Or Demotion Of High-Ranking Commanders This Year In New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, And Boca Raton, Florida, And Law Enforcement Officials Worry That Many Police Departments, Under Pressure To Lower Crime Rates, May Be Fudging The Numbers)
Possible Manipulation Of Crime Data Worries Top Police ('The New York Times' Says A Common Thread Running Through Many Of The Incidences Of Police Officials Altering Crime Statistics Has Been That Police Commanders Have Downgraded Felonies Like Aggravated Assault And Burglary, Which Are Reported To The FBI, To Misdemeanors Like Vandalism - Gil Kerlikowske, The Former Police Commissioner Of Buffalo, New York, Says, 'There Is Too Little Focus On Lesser Crimes, Which Are Not Counted By The FBI, Like Drug Sales')
Nimbin General Practitioner Backs Medicinal Cannabis Survey (A Media Release From The HEMP Embassy In Nimbin, Australia, Says Dr Harry Freeman, Regional Director Of Psychiatric Services, Will Be Supporting Dr David Helliwell, A Nimbin General Practitioner, In Launching The Embassy's Medicinal Cannabis Survey 1 PM Saturday, August 8)
Cannabis 'Uniquely Safe,' City Man Tells Jury In Drug Trial ('The Evening News' In Norwich, England, Says A Jobless Norwich Man Who Told Jurors Cannabis Was Not A Drug And Should Be Legal Was Convicted Of Two Offences Of Possessing It)
Suicide Link To Alcohol By Boys (The Irish 'Examiner' Says A New Report In 'The British Journal Of Psychiatry' Indicates Suicidal Boys Tend To Drink, Or Use Cannabis, But Whether They Do So At Rates Greater Than The Rest Of The Population Isn't Addressed, And The Long-Established Tendency Of Depressives And People Suffering From Bipolar Disorder To Self-Medicate Inappropriately With Alcohol, Or Appropriately With Cannabis, Is Not Discussed)
Drugs And Sport - Time For A Rethink? ('New York Times' Columnist Robert Lipsyte In 'The International Herald-Tribune' Comments On The Tour De France Doping Scandal, Asking, 'If Drugs Like Prozac And Viagra Can Be Taken Without Apology By Everyday People Who Want To Enhance Their Performance In A Competitive World, Why Shouldn't Athletes, Prized As Models Of Human Capacity, Be Allowed, Nay, Encouraged, To Try Out Drugs For The Rest Of Us?')
Bytes: 97,800 Last updated: 8/29/98

Tuesday, August 4, 1998:
Marvin Chavez Offered Plea With No Jail Time (A Local Correspondent Who Attended Today's Court Hearing Says The Medical Marijuana Patient And Former Director Of The Orange County Cannabis Co-Op Will Tell The Court Tomorrow Whether He Will Go To Trial And Risk 12 Years In Prison Or Take A Plea Bargain Entailing Five Years' Probation)
McCormick Denies Plans To Sell Pot ('Reuters' Briefly Notes Bel Air, California, Medical Marijuana Patient Todd McCormick Has Pleaded Not Guilty To Federal Marijuana Charges)
Medical Marijuana Advocate Pleads Innocent To Charges ('The Sacramento Bee' Version)
Witnesses Say Probe Hindered By Guards ('The San Francisco Chronicle' Says Four California Prison Investigators Testified Yesterday Before A State Senate Hearing That They Were Blocked In Their Probe Of Guard Brutality Against Inmates And A Subsequent Coverup Alleged At San Joaquin Valley Prison, And Were Hampered By Inept Management And Unclear Ground Rules While Examining Allegations Of Wrongdoing At Corcoran State Prison)
Marijuana Use Measure Not Gone To Pot ('The Las Vegas Review-Journal' Notes Yesterday's News That The Medical Marijana Initiative Sponsored By Americans For Medical Rights Has Qualified For The November Ballot)
Nevada Medical Marijuana Proposal Qualified ('The Orange County Register' Version)
Oral Arguments Scheduled In Juror Contempt Appeal (A Bulletin From The Jury Rights Project Invites You To Protest August 10 In Denver, Just Before Oral Arguments Begin In The Appeal Of Laura Kriho, The First Juror Convicted In Over 300 Years Based On Evidence Of How She Voted And Deliberated In The Jury Room)
Voter Pamphlet `Bias' Ruling Pending ('The Arizona Daily Star' Says The State Supreme Court Will Decide Today Whether The Description Of Proposition 300, Written By The Same Officials Who Nullified Proposition 200, Is Biased Because It Singles Out Certain Schedule 1 Drugs Such As Heroin And LSD, Out Of 116 Listed In The Measure)
Drugs Everywhere (A Letter To The Editor Of 'The Dallas Morning News' About The Massive Crackdown On Heroin Sellers In Plano, Texas, Points Out The Same Law Enforcement Resources Are Not Being Expended In Other Communities)
Drug Courts ('The Dallas Morning News' Says County Commissioners Agree That Drug Trafficking Is Reaching The Crisis Level, But They Cannot Agree That Funding Two Courts Strictly For Drug-Related Trials Is Fair, When There Are So Many Other Major Criminal Cases Waiting To Be Heard - But District Attorney John Vance's Office Has Said It Is Willing To Commit Cash From Drug Forfeitures To The Budget For The Two Specialized Dallas County Courts)
State Prison Population Grows ('The New Haven Register' Version Of Yesterday's New Numbers On Prison Populations Reported By The US Department Of Justice's Bureau Of Justice Statistics Notes The Local Angle - Connecticut's Adult Prison Population Grew 3.8 Percent In 1997)
Drugs (A Letter To The Editor Of 'The Ottawa Citizen' Says It's Better To Declare Victory And Withdraw Than To Admit Defeat And Fight On)
Department Of National Defence Botched Drug Probe At Spy Base, Memo Confirms (According To 'The Ottawa Citizen,' CTV News Said Last Night That Newly Obtained Government Documents Confirm That Military Police Botched A Drug Investigation Last Fall Involving Staff At Canadian Forces Station Leitrim, One Of Canada's Top-Secret Spy Bases Outside Ottawa)
Heroin's New Image Hooks Teenagers (Britain's 'Times' Says A Report Released Monday By The Home Office, 'New Heroin Outbreaks Amongst Young People in England and Wales,' Suggests A Key Aspect To Heroin's New Popularity Is Its Increasingly Cheap Price, But Ignores The Role Of Prohibition In Bringing Down Its Price)
French Police Question TVM Riders And Officials ('The International Herald Tribune' Says A Day After The Tour De France Ended, Police Questioned 14 Members Of The Dutch TVM Team In Reims, France, In Connection With The Bicycle Competition's Doping Scandal)
Tracing Money, Swiss Outdo US On Mexico Drug Corruption Case ('The New York Times' Says The Anticipated Success Of A Swiss Detective Team In Showing Raul Salinas De Gortari Made Money By Assuring The Safe Transport Of Cocaine Through Mexico To The United States Has Turned An Unflattering Mirror On Washington's Handling Of What US Officials Once Described As A Watershed Effort To Combat Not Just The Flow Of Drugs Through Mexico Into The United States, But The Complex System Of Official Corruption That Has Long Allowed It To Flourish)
Bytes: 73,800 Last updated: 8/23/98

Wednesday, August 5, 1998:
The Damages Of War (A Letter To The Editor Of The Bend, Oregon 'Bulletin' Points Out The Willful Blindness Of The US Drug Czar, General Barry McCaffrey, Revealed In His Recent Boilerplate Op-Ed Against Harm Reduction)
House Panel Votes To Block Suicide Law ('The Oregonian' Says A Bill That Would Block Oregon's Physician-Assisted Suicide Law Passed The US House Judiciary Committee By Voice Vote Tuesday And Was Sent To The Full House)
Petition Signatures Gathered By Non-Voters Remain Valid ('The Associated Press' Says The Oregon Court Of Appeals On Wednesday Rejected An Attempt By A Salem Tobacco Company Lobbyist To Nullify A Successful 1996 Initiative Increasing Cigarette Taxes)
Camas Schools Consider Random Drug Tests ('The Columbian' In Vancouver, Washington, Says The Camas School Board Is Tentatively Scheduled To Discuss A Proposal August 24 That Would Allow Students Who Run Afoul Of School Drug And Alcohol Rules To Be Able To Reduce Their Penalties Or Re-Enter School Sports And Activities Sooner If They Agree To Drug Testing)
Man Who Says Viagra Made Him Sexually Functional Faces Sex Charge ('The Associated Press' Says A 72-Year-Old Man In Olympia, Washington, Who Told Police That Pfizer's New Drug For Impotence Had Made Him Sexually Functional Again, Faces A Maximum Of 13 Years In Prison For Attempted Rape)
Marvin Chavez's Choice (A Staff Editorial In 'The Orange County Register' Recounts Yesterday's News About The Medical Marijuana Patient And Founder Of The Orange County Patient, Doctor Nurse Support Group Being Offered A No-Jail Plea Bargain)
Marvin Chavez Refuses Plea Deal, Case Transferred To New Judge (A Local Correspondent Who Attended Today's Court Hearing Says The Medical Marijuana Patient And Former Director Of The Orange County Cannabis Co-Op Will Risk 12 Years In Prison Rather Than Admit Guilt Or Take A Plea Bargain Entailing Five Years' Probation - A New Judge May Reverse The Ruling That Would Prevent Chavez From Invoking Proposition 215)
Chavez Offered Plea Bargain ('The Los Angeles Times' Version)
Drug Activist To Reject Offer (The Long Beach, California 'Press-Telegram' Version)
Return To Custody . . . . Parole Violation (A List Subscriber Forwards A Plea From A California Woman Seeking Help In The Case Of A Nonviolent Marijuana Offender Sent Back To Prison For Possessing A Utility Tool With A Blade More Than Two Inches Long)
Judges OK Listing Of Heroin, LSD In Referendum Pamphlets ('The Associated Press' Says A Three-Judge Arizona Supreme Court Panel Tuesday Approved The State's Listing Of Schedule 1 Drugs Such As Heroin And LSD In Pamphlets Explaining A Referendum On What's Commonly Referred To As A Medical Marijuana Measure)
Pot Backers Lose Proposition 300 Suit ('The Arizona Republic' Version)
Proposition 300 Wording Stands (The United Press International Version)
Officers Work To Wipe Out Pot Plant Explosion (According To 'The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,' A Bumper Crop Of Wild And Cultivated Marijuana Has Prompted Waukesha County, Wisconsin Prohibition Agents To Destroy 20,000 Plants So Far This Growing Season, More Than 10 Times Last Year's Amount)
No Trading Of Testimony For Leniency, Judge Says ('The Sun Sentinel' In Florida Says US District Judge William J. Zloch Ruled In Fort Lauderdale Tuesday That The Government Can No Longer Promise Sentencing Leniency To Witnesses In Return For Testimony Against Co-Defendants - Zloch's Decision Follows The July 1 Singleton Decision By A Three-Judge Federal Appellate Panel In Denver)
Don't Just Say No (A 'San Francisco Bay Guardian' Article About Berkeley Researcher Dr. Joel Brown, One Of The Country's Foremost Authorities On Drug-Prevention Education, Who Questions The Effectiveness Of The Federal Government's Antidrug Education Policies And New $1 Billion Drug-War Advertising Campaign)
Drug Czar Not A Straight Shooter (A Letter To The Editor Of 'The Houston Chronicle' Responds To General Barry McCaffrey's Recent Anti-Harm-Reduction Op-Ed That Appeared In The 'Chronicle' And Other Newspapers Around The Nation, Rebutting A Few Of His Big Lies)
US Drug Control Chief Warns Against Dutch Policies ('Reuters' Notes The US Drug Czar, General Barry McCaffrey, Is Still Unchecked In His Campaign Of Lies Against Dutch Drug Policy - To See Through His Willful Fabrications, Read Through The Almost-Daily Updates In This Archive Starting About July 11)
The Prison Population Is Rising - Politicians Must Be Very Proud ('Boston Globe' Columnist David Nyhan Discusses The Latest US Figures On State And Federal Prisoner Populations)
Addicted To Abolition / MAP Focus Alert Number 76 (A Review Of Mike Gray's 'Drug Crazy,' A New History Of The War On Some Drug Users, By The Notorious Prohibitionist, Dr. Sally Satel, In 'The Wall Street Journal,' Combined With A Request From The Media Awareness Project To Write A Letter To The Editor)
House Overwhelmingly Passes Measure To End DOJ Attempts To Hold Itself Above The Law (A List Subscriber Forwards News That Today, The US House Of Representatives Approved A Proposal In The Department Of Justice Spending Bill, Requiring The Department To Hold Its Lawyers To A Standard Of Ethical Conduct Applicable To Other Lawyers - Since 1989, DOJ Has Claimed That Its Lawyers Can Ignore The Fundamental Ethical Prohibition Against Contacting Represented Persons Without Their Lawyers, In Order To Intimidate And Interrogate Them)
House Balks At Drug Tests For Members (United Press International Says Today, Republican Cosponsors Of A Resolution Calling For Drug Testing Members Of Congress And Their Staffs Attacked Their Own Party Leadership For Stalling The Bill Before It Came To A Final Floor Vote)
Drug Testing Plan Held Up ('The Associated Press' Version Says 'Many Lawmakers Have Complained That The Measure Is Unnecessary And Insulting,' Even Though Lawmakers Approved Drug Testing For Everyone Else Just Recently)
Barton Attempts To Force Drug Testing Vote (The Version In The Washington, DC, 'Roll Call Online')
Man Takes Ottawa To Court Over Medical Marijuana ('The Canadian Press' Notes AIDS Patient Jim Wakeford's Federal Court Battle Begins Today In Toronto - Building On The Successful Constitutional Challenge By Epileptic Terry Parker In December, Wakeford Is Demanding That The Canadian Government Provide Him With Cannabis)
Suit Says Government Should Supply Clean, Safe Pot ('The Associated Press' Version)
Marijuana Helped To Save My Life, Prominent Harvard Scholar Says ('The Ottawa Citizen' Says Geologist And Popular Author Stephen Jay Gould Testified Today In Toronto In Support Of AIDS Patient Jim Wakeford's Lawsuit Against The Canadian Government, Saying Medical Marijuana Helped Him To Become One Of The First People On Earth To Survive Abdominal Mesothelioma, A Deadly And Inoperable Form Of Cancer)
Police Ease Stance On Decriminalising Dope ('The Evening Post' In Wellington, New Zealand, Says Assistant Commissioner Of Police Ian Holyoake Told A Parliamentary Inquiry Into The Mental Health Effects Of Cannabis That Police Were Opposed To Legalisation Of The Drug, But He Believed Decriminalisation Warranted Further Investigation)
Why Banning Drugs Makes The Problem Even Worse (An Op-Ed In 'The European' By British Member Of Parliament Paul Flynn, Vice-Chairman Of The Parliamentary All-Party Drugs Misuse Group)
'Regulating Cannabis - Options For Control In The 21st Century' Conference September 5 In London (A Bulletin From The Lindesmith Center In New York Publicizes The International Symposium)
Medicinal Use Of Cannabis (A Letter To The Editor Of 'The Irish Independent' From A Representative Of GW Pharmaceuticals Says The British Company With A Licence To Cultivate Medical Marijuana Has Never And Will Never Advocate Smoking As A Means Of Drug Delivery)
DrugSense Weekly, Number 58 (A Weekly Summary Of Drug Policy News, Including The Second Part Of An Original Three-Part Feature Article By Jeffrey A. Schaler, PhD, 'The Drug Policy Problem')
Bytes: 166,000 Last updated: 10/5/98

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