Portland NORML 1998 News Index, August 20-26

PDX NORML

1998 News
About Cannabis and Drug Policy
August 20-26

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Thursday, August 20, 1998

The NORML Foundation Weekly Press Release (Relative Safety Of Moderate Marijuana Smoking Not Challenged By New Study; Best Selling Author Jailed On Medical Marijuana Charges Expected To Post Bail Tonight; West Australia Decriminalizes Marijuana On 'Trial' Basis)
Law Threatens Right To Pain Relief, Groups Say ('Reuters' Says Doctors, Nurses And People Suffering From Chronic Pain Testified Thursday Against Bills Before Congress To Nullify Oregon's Unique Assisted Suicide Law)
Peter McWilliams Is Out On $250,000 Bail (The Federal Medical Marijuana Defendant Posts A Brief Message From Los Angeles)
Marijuana Initiatives Bloom Around West (A 'Seattle Times' Roundup On Medical Marijuana Ballot Measures Facing Voters In Washington State, Oregon, Alaska, Nevada And, Potentially, Colorado, All Sponsored By Americans For Medical Rights)
CAMP Report Attacks 215 (A Bulletin From California NORML Says A Draft Report From The Office Of Attorney General Dan Lungren, 'Marijuana - California's Growing Problem,' About California's Annual Campaign Against Marijuana Planting, Provides Useful Insight Into Lungren's Strategy Of Attack Against Proposition 215 - Its Major Finding Is That CAMP Saw A 40 Percent Increase In The Number Of Marijuana Plants It Eradicated In 1997)
Aggressive Probe Of Shooting Demanded ('The Houston Chronicle' Said Members Of The Mexican-American Bar Association Of Houston Demanded During A News Conference Wednesday That Harris County Prosecutors Be Aggressive When They Present Grand Jurors With The Case Of Pedro Oregon Navarro, An Innocent Man Who Was Shot 12 Times - Nine Times In The Back - By Houston Prohibition Agents Who Broke Into His Home Without A Warrant)
Town Stamps Out Smoking Ban ('The Hartford Courant' Says A Ban On Teenage Smoking In Seymour, Connecticut, That Divided Neighbors And Pushed The Limits Of Local Anti-Tobacco Legislation In The State Was Repealed 1,366-545 In A Referendum Wednesday)
Florida - Medical Marijuana ('The Tampa Tribune' Says The Drug Free America Foundation, Opponents Of A Florida Initiative To Legalize Marijuana For Medicinal Use, Proclaimed Victory Thursday Because Proponents Failed To Collect The 435,000 Signatures Needed To Get On The November 3 Ballot, But Toni Leeman, Chairwoman Of Floridans For Medical Rights, Said The Fort Lauderdale-Based Group Is Aiming To Place The Measure On The State Ballot In 2000, Not This Year)
Response From MPs And MLAs (Randy Caine, Whose Constitutional Challenge To Canadian Cannabis Prohibition Is Under Appeal, Shares Three Responses He Received After Writing To Numerous British Columbian Politicians About His Case)
State Declares War On Teen Drug Use ('The Courier Mail' Says Somebody - It's Not Quite Clear Who - Announced Wednesday That A Ministerial Think Tank Would Be Set Up To Fight An Alleged Increase In Drug Use By Teenagers In Queensland, Australia)
Huge Police Drugs Raid Took Months Of Planning ('The Age' Says More Than 200 Police In Victoria, Australia, Took Action Early Yesterday Against A Sophisticated Amphetamine Manufacturing Ring With 20 Arrests And Raids In Three States, Including 32 Houses And One Business In Victoria)
Only One Solution To Drugs Problem (A Letter From An Extreme Prohibitionist To The Editor Of 'The Evening News' In Norwich, England, Says All Sellers Of All Recreational Drugs Should Be Sent To Prison For Life, With All Their Property Forfeited)
Bytes: 61,300 Last updated: 9/6/98

Friday, August 21, 1998:
Not Proper Image (A Bulletin From Oregonians For Personal Privacy In Eugene Says Lane County Fair Officials Ordered The Group To Take Down Its 'Jail Booth' Yesterday, Quashing Attempts To Bring Attention To The Plight Of Drug War Prisoners, To Collect Signatures For A Political Initiative, And To Promote A 'No' Vote In November For Ballot Measure 57, The Recrim Bill)
Bill Would Allow DEA To Block Assisted Suicide (A Staff Editorial In 'The Orange County Register' Opposes Congressional Legislation That Would Nullify Oregon's Unique Law)
Atascadero Eyes Ban On Pot Clubs ('The San Luis Obispo County Telegram-Tribune' Says The City Council In Atascadero, California, Will Consider Temporarily Banning Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Tuesday)
Palo Alto's Marijuana Agent? (The Bay Area 'Palo Alto Weekly' Says Mark Steinkamp, An Insurance Broker And Medical Marijuana Patient, Wants Palo Alto To Designate Him As An Officer Of The City, Citing The Strategy Used By Oakland, California, To Protect The Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative)
$13 Million Of Pot Seized In Shasta County ('The Sacramento Bee' Says Prohibition Agents In Shasta County, California, Seized 5,000 Marijuana Plants They Valued At $13 Million - $2,600 Each, And Arrested Three Mexican Nationals In The County's Largest Bust Of The Year)
DEA Seeks Informants On Drug Trafficking ('The San Diego Union Tribune' Says To Call 619-671-4622 To Inform On Your Friends And Neighbors - You Know What To Do)
No New Trial For DEA Agent Killer ('The Associated Press' Says Ruben Zuno Arce, The Brother-In-Law Of Former Mexican President Luis Echeverria Who Was Convicted In The 1985 Torture-Murder Of Enrique Camarena, Was Denied A Request For A New Trial Wednesday By Judge Edward Rafeedie, Even Though The Judge Admitted A Witness Had Changed His Story Three Times And That His New Statements Were Obtained Under Dubious Circumstances)
A Test Of Wills Over Drug Legislation ('The New York Times' Recounts The Struggle Between Arizona Voters And Legislators Over Drug Policy Reform Leading Up To November's Vote On Proposition 300)
Prosecutor Says Federal Informant Policies Being Reviewed (According To 'The Associated Press,' The US Attorney In Boston, Donald K. Stern, Says It's Time To Take A Second Look At Informant Policies - 'Personally, I Am Going To Argue That Some Changes Will Have To Be Made,' He Commented At A News Conference Thursday After A Former Reputed Mob Leader, Stephen 'The Rifleman' Flemmi, Testified About His 25 Years As An FBI Informant)
US Government Survey Shows Youth Drug Use On Rise ('Reuters' Breaks The News About The Annual Release Of The National Household Survey On Drug Abuse, Conducted By The Department Of Health And Human Services, Which Based Its Conclusions On A Poll Of 24,505 Individuals - Rates Were Up Slightly, Except Among Those Most Heavily Targeted With Anti-Drug Propaganda, Ages 12 To 17, Whose Illicit Drug Use Rose To 11.4 Percent In 1997 From 9 Percent In 1996 - Cigarette Use, Though Not Included In The 'Illicit' Category, Despite Being Illegal For Minors, Also Increased, And 'Reuters' Leaves Out The Rate Of Underage Alcohol Consumption - Overall, An Estimated 13.9 Million Americans, About 6.4 Percent Of The US Population 12 And Older, Were Current Users Of Illicit Drugs Last Year, Up Slightly From The 13 Million Estimate In 1996)
Survey Shows Teen Drug Use Rose ('The Associated Press' Version)
Survey Data On Arizona And California (A News Release From The Drug Policy Foundation Notes The 1997 National Household Survey On Drug Abuse Includes A New Section With Data From Arizona And California Designed To 'Measure The Potential Impact Of Voter Intiatives' On Drug Use In Those States - Rates Were Higher Than The National Average, But The Government Doesn't Mention That's Nothing New)
DPF Release On Household Survey (A Different News Release From The Drug Policy Foundation Cautions That Increased Use Of Marijuana By Young People Should Not Be Taken By Policy Makers In Washington As Reason To Forge Ahead With The Current Drug Strategy)
The Marijuana Policy Project Offers An Opposing Viewpoint To The Government's Spin Of The Annual Household Survey Data (The Washington, DC, Lobbying Group Says Its New Report, 'Marijuana Prohibition Has Not Curtailed Marijuana Use By Adolescents,' Shows That The Government's Prohibitionist Strategy Has Failed To Achieve Its Stated Goals - Annual Surveys Since 1975 Have Consistently Found That About 85 Percent Of The Nation's High School Seniors Consider Marijuana Easy To Obtain)
Re - Grant Krieger (A List Subscriber Says The Saskatchewan Multiple Sclerosis Patient Convicted Of Trafficking Marijuana In June Won't Be Sentenced Until October 15 - The Judge Asked For More Information On Marijuana Versus Marinol - The Defendant Could Use Your Financial Contribution)
Police Sweep Massive Grow Operation ('The Vancouver Province' Says Prohibition Agents Seized About 10,000 Marijuana Plants During The Biggest-Ever Drug Raid In Langley, British Columbia)
Peasant Coca Growers Suspicious Of Bogota's 'Marshall Plan' ('The New York Times' Explains Why Colombia's Coca Cultivators See American-Inspired Talk About 'Crop Substitution' As A Joke)
US Officials Deny Direct Colombia Aid ('The Dallas Morning News' Says The US State And Defense Departments Yesterday Denied The Newspaper's Allegation Wednesday That The Clinton Administration Had Launched A Multimillion-Dollar Covert Program To Help Bolster The Colombian Armed Forces After A Series Of Devastating Defeats By Guerrillas)
Cannabis Trade Out Of Control (A Translation Of An Article In The Finnish Newspaper, 'Hufvudstadsbladet,' Says Hans Haahr, Chief Of Greenland's Drug Squad, Made A Statement To Radio Greenland That It Is Impossible To Fight The Massive Cannabis Trade Because It Involves The Whole Of Society - The Drug Squad Estimates The Trade In Cannabis Is Worth Nearly 10 Per Cent Of The Annual Gross National Product And Is Greenland's Third Largest Industry)
General Practitioners Give Prozac To Teenagers For Exam Nerves (Britain's 'Times' Says That, According To Psychiatrists And Mental Health Groups, Family Doctors Are Increasingly Prescribing Antidepressants Such As Prozac To Teenagers To Help Them To Cope With Anxiety During School Examinations)
Claim That A Glass Of Wine Can Cause Infertility Leaves Drinkers Confused (Britain's 'Independent' Describes A Study Published In 'The British Medical Journal' In Which Moderate Drinkers Who Consumed One Glass Of Wine Or Beer A Day Were Half As Likely To Get Pregnant Within Six Months As Those Who Drank Nothing)
The Week Online With DRCNet, Issue Number 55 (The Drug Reform Coordination Network's Original News Summary)
Bytes: 99,100 Last updated: 9/3/98

Saturday, August 22, 1998:
Parents Sue Six In Teen's Drinking Death ('The Associated Press' Says A Couple From Baker City, Oregon, Whose Teen-Age Son Died Of An Alcohol Overdose Ago Have Filed A $1.5 Million Lawsuit Accusing Former Major League Baseball Star Joe Rudi, His Wife, Teen-Age Son And Three Others Of Negligence)
Cancer Patient Says He Had Legal Right To Grow Marijuana (An 'Associated Press' Story In 'The Fresno Bee' Suggests San Bernardino County, California, Is Refusing To Comply With Proposition 215 In Prosecuting Timothy Weltz For Growing More Than 20 Plants)
New Government Survey Shows No Increase In Marijuana Use In California Since Proposition 215 - Teen Drug Use Below National Average - Attorney General Lungren's Claims Refuted (A Press Release From California NORML Responds To Statistics In The New National Household Survey On Drug Abuse)
Re - Atascadero Eyes Ban On Pot Clubs (A Letter Sent To The Editor Of 'The San Luis Obsispo County Telegram-Tribune' Rebuts The Contention Of Deputy District Attorney Dennis Schloss That Proposition 215 Applies Only To Possession Of Marijuana, Not Cultivation, Sale Or Distribution)
Pot Bust Worth At Least $20 Million ('The Modesto Bee' Says Two Mexican Nationals Were Busted And Six Other Suspected Cultivators Got Away Friday When State And County Prohibition Agents In Calaveras County, California, Swooped Down On More Than 10,000 Plants At A Sierra Hillside Plantation About Three Miles Outside Of San Andreas - Agents Valued The Crop At $2,000 To $3,000 Per Plant, Or $20 Million To $30 Million, Nearly Triple The Previous Biggest Pot Bust In Calaveras County, And The Biggest In The State This Year)
Judge Dismisses Most Of Lawsuit Against Contractor ('The Associated Press' Says Pierce County Superior Court Judge Thomas Felnagle On Friday Dismissed Most Of A Lawsuit Brought By George Joseph Phillips, Who Alleged That Police In Tacoma, Washington, Conspired With Furnace Installers To Illegally Search His Home For A Methamphetamine Lab, When All He Had Were Darkroom Chemicals For Developing Film - Phillips Will Be Allowed To Pursue Claims Of Defamation And Negligent Infliction Of Emotional Distress Against Washington Energy Services And Northwest Water Heater)
State Teen Drug Use Highest In US ('The Arizona Republic' Discusses The Latest Statistics In The National Household Survey On Drug Abuse, Which Found That 13.1 Percent Of Arizonans Ages 12 To 17 Said They Had Used Marijuana In The Past Month, And 16.8 Percent Said They Had Used 'Any Illicit Drug,' Including Cocaine, Inhalants Or Heroin, A Rate Nearly Double That In California And One-Third Higher Than The National Average)
State Officials Are Skeptical Of Numbers ('The Arizona Republic' Says Some Arizona Officials Don't Believe The Latest Statistics From The New National Household Survey On Drug Abuse Showing That One In Six Arizona Teenagers Used Illicit Drugs In The Past Month Compared To About One In 10 Nationwide - Joe Gfroerer, Director Of Population Surveys At The Substance Abuse And Mental Health Services Administration, Acknowledged There Were Differences In The Arizona Poll Because A Larger Sample Was Needed To Obtain Statistically Significant Numbers - One-Third Of The Total Survey Was Done In Just Two States, Arizona And California, And Arizona, Which Accounts For About 2 Percent Of The US Population, Provided One-Sixth Of The Responses)
State Says Jail Population Increases Again (According To 'The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,' A Report From The Wisconsin Office Of Justice Assistance Says More Than A Third Of County Jails Were Full Or Overcrowded As The Inmate Population Increased To 11,000 Last Year - The Newspaper Omits A Percentage For The Increase But Barron County Sheriff Jerry Johnson Said, 'I Can Tell You That It's A Trend That Isn't Going To Go Away')
State Drug Arrests Figures Remained The Same Last Year ('The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel' Doesn't Break Down What Substances Were Involved In What Proportion Of Arrests, But Says There Were 21,527 People Busted For 'Drugs' In Wisconsin Last Year, About 115 More Than The Year Before, According To A Report Released Friday By The Office Of Justice Assistance - The Increase Was Far Less Than In Previous Years, When Arrests Increased By The Thousands)
Cop Dies Week After Being Shot On Stakeout ('The Chicago Tribune' Says Chicago Police Officer Michael Ceriale Died Friday Night, A Week After He Was Shot While Watching 'Drug' Deals - Three Unnamed People Are Now Charged)
Two People Charged With Growing Marijuana Near Police Station (A Cautionary Tale From 'The Associated Press' Says Deborah J. Bouchez And Jason J. Heacock Were Arrested Friday After A Snitch Telephoned Police About Three Small Marijuana Plants On Their Back Porch, Less Than 100 Yards From The Police Headquarters In Winsted, Connecticut)
Drug Use Among Teens Rose In 1997, Study Says (A Slightly Different Version Of Yesterday's 'Associated Press' Story In 'The Seattle Times' About New 1997 Statistics From The National Household Survey On Drug Abuse)
Drug Use Among Teens Rose In 1997, Survey Finds (Another Slightly Different 'Associated Press' Version In 'The Chicago Tribune')
Teen-Age Drug Use On The Rise, New Government Survey Reports ('The New York Times' Version Of Yesterday's News About The New National Household Survey On Drug Abuse)
Teen Drug Use Continued To Increase In 1997 ('The Orange County Register' Version)
Twist Seen In Pot Trial ('The Calgary Sun' Notes Alberta Judge Bob Davie Has Delayed Sentencing Multiple Sclerosis Patient Grant Krieger Of Saskatchewan Until October 19 To Allow His Attorney, Adriano Iovinelli, To Gather Information About The Medical Benefits Of Cannabis - Krieger Was Arrested Over A Year Ago For Sparking Up A Joint In A Protest Outside A Calgary Courthouse, But Faces Trafficking Charges Because He Admitted Giving Another Man Marijuana)
Judge Wants More Data On Marijuana As Medicine ('The Calgary Herald' Version)
Judge Holds Off ('The Lethbridge Herald' Version)
Canadian Media Addresses (A List Subscriber Posts A Collection Of E-Mail Addresses For Major Canadian Newspapers, Who Want To Hear Your Thoughts About The Grant Krieger Case)
Bytes: 72,500 Last updated: 8/26/98

Sunday, August 23, 1998:
From Around The County (A Letter To The Editor Of 'The Orange County Register' Sees A Double Standard Of Justice In The Fact That An Undercover Prohibition Agent Posing As A Cancer Patient Can Legally Arrest Marvin Chavez Of The Orange County Patient, Doctor, Nurse Support Group, While The Same Tactic Used By The FBI To Snag Corrupt Politicians Taking Bribes Was Ruled Illegal In The Aftermath Of ABSCAM)
Gravely Ill Cancer Patient Prosecuted For Growing Pot ('The Arizona Daily Star' Notes San Bernardino County, California, Is Refusing To Comply With Proposition 215 In Prosecuting Timothy Weltz, An Elevator Installer And Former Navy Medical Corpsman In Rancho Cucamonga, California)
One Last Gasp - Oakland Tries A New Medicinal Marijuana Strategy (A Staff Editorial In 'The Sacramento Bee' Says Oakland's Designation Of Staff At The Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative As Officers Of The City, In Accordance With The 1970 Controlled Substances Act, Is Likely To Be Nullified By Courts Or Congress)
Oakland Tenants Fight Feds' Policy ('The San Francisco Examiner' Recounts The Legal Victory Against The Federal Government's 'One Strike You're Out' Public Housing Policy Obtained By Herman Walker, A Retired Minister In Oakland, California, Whom The Government Tried To Evict Because A Caretaker Was Busted For Crack Cocaine Possession)
Pot Propositions On State Ballots (A Background Piece In 'The Chicago Sun-Times' About The Medical Marijuana Initiatives Facing Voters In November In Arizona, Nevada And Washington State)
Texas Congressman May Revive Case Of Marine Border Slaying ('The San Diego Union Tribune' Says US Representative Lamar Smith, The Republican Head Of The House Subcommittee On Immigration, Which Oversees The Immigration And Naturalization Service And The Border Patrol, Is Looking Through 20 Boxes Of Evidence And Information To Determine Whether Congress Should Investigate The Shooting Death Of 18-Year-Old Esequiel Hernandez Jr. In May 1997, By Camouflaged Marines On An Anti-Drug Border Patrol In Texas)
Public's Fear Of Violence Serves Varied Interests ('Los Angeles Times' Columnist Beth Shuster In 'The San Jose Mercury News' Describes The Common Interests Shared And Exploited By Police, Mass Media, And Politicians That Have Created And Perpetuated A Self-Aggrandizing Police State And Military-Incarceration Complex)
Nation's Drug Forfeiture Law Turning Cops Into Robbers (Syndicated 'Fort Worth Star-Telegram' Columnist Molly Ivins Urges Readers To Write To Their Congressional Representatives About How The War On Drugs Is Ripping Up The Constitution, Endangering American Liberty And Encouraging Law Enforcement Officers To Act Like Bandits - Of Special Consideration Is Asset Forfeiture, Which Took Off In 1984 When Congress Passed The Comprehensive Crime Control Act, Allowing Drug Money And 'Drug-Related Assets' To Be Funneled Into The Police Agencies That Seize Them)
August Pray For Peace Foundation News (The August Newsletter Of The Interfaith Religious Organization 'Committed To The Legalization Of Sacred Natural Medicines For Spiritual Healing, For All People')
Valley Farmers High On New Hemp Crop ('The Halifax Daily News' Says Many Local Farmers Are Considering Adding Hemp To Their Fields Next Year Because Of Its Lucrative Potential - A Farmer Could Yield More Than $1,000 Per Acre Of Hemp, While It Can Cost As Little As $300 To Grow, Depending On Soil Condition)
Bytes: 51,300 Last updated: 9/8/98

Monday, August 24, 1998:
Alternative Medicine Isn't Just On Fringes Anymore ('The Oregonian' Says Practitioners Of Naturopathic Medicine Are Gathering In Portland For Their Annual Convention This Week - Portland And The Rest Of The Northwest Have Been In The Forefront Of The Movement, And A Study Released This Year By Landmark Healthcare In Sacramento, California, Found That 42 Percent Of American Adults Use Some Form Of Alternative Medicine, Spending $13.7 Billion A Year)
Peter Baez Defense Fund (A List Subscriber Forwards A Plea For Legal Donations For The Co-Founder And Volunteer Director Of The Santa Clara Medical Cannabis Center - Plus Links To A Few Articles About The Case)
Update - Chavez/Herrick (A List Subscriber Forwards Coverage Of Today's Court Hearing In Orange County, California - Medical Marijuana Defendant Marvin Chavez Has Fired His Expensive, Pro Bono Attorney In Favor Of A Public Defender - And Convicted Orange County Medical Marijuana Defendant David Herrick Has A New Prison Address)
If A Guest Uses Drugs, Out You Go ('The San Francisco Examiner' Recounts The Case Of A Public Housing Tenant Who Almost Became Homeless Because, Unknown To Her, A Guest Possessed Heroin - With Help From San Francisco's Volunteer Legal Services Program, Which Took Her Case For Free, She Was Able To Put Her Case To A Jury, Which Rescued Her From The Federal 'One Strike You're Out' Housing Policy)
New Drug Use Statistics Versus McCaffrey Assumptions (Dave Fratello Of Americans For Medical Rights Quotes The US Drug Czar In November 1996 Pledging To 'Inform All States' Of The 'Consequences Of The Referenda' Over Medical Marijuana In California And Arizona - So What Will Happen Now That The New National Household Survey On Drug Abuse Shows California Kids Use Less Pot?)
Hemp Gets Its Day In The Summer Fun (The Seattle 'Post-Intelligencer' Says 35,000 People Attended The Annual Seattle Hempfest Sunday At Myrtle Edwards Park On The Waterfront)
Thousands Turn Out For Marijuana Festival ('The Associated Press' Version)
Counselor Arrested In El Reno ('The Oklahoman' Quotes FBI Spokesman Dan Vogel Saying Glen Brummett, A Counselor For The Federal Correctional Institution In El Reno, Oklahoma, Was Arrested Sunday On Complaints Of Conspiracy To Manufacture, Possess And Distribute Methamphetamine And Introduce Contraband Into A Federal Correctional Center)
Pregnant Smokers' Deadly Legacy ('The Scotsman' Says Research Carried Out At The University Of Minnesota Cancer Center In Minneapolis And Presented At The Annual Meeting Of The American Chemical Society In Boston Found By-Products Of A Nicotine-Derived Chemical Called NNK, One Of The Strongest Carcinogens In Tobacco Smoke, In The Urine Of Infants Born To Smoking Mothers - The New Findings Are The First To Show That A Cancer-Causing Substance Specific To Tobacco Is Transmitted To The Foetus)
Pregnant Smokers Pass Carcinogen To Baby ('The Washington Post' And 'Associated Press' Version In 'The Seattle Times')
Pregnant Smokers Transmit Toxins (The New Bedford, Massachusetts, 'Standard-Times' Version)
Lawyer Sues US To Overturn Ban On Marijuana ('The Philadelphia Inquirer' Discusses The Federal Class-Action Lawsuit Seeking To Overturn The Federal Prohibition On Medical Marijuana, Filed By Public Interest Lawyer Lawrence Elliott Hirsch Of Philadelphia)
Constantine On C-Span Wednesday Morning (A List Subscriber Publicizes An Appearance By The Head Of The Drug Enforcement Administration 7-10 AM Wednesday EST, 4-7 AM On The West Coast)
Alcohol-Related Driving Deaths At Record Low (An 'Associated Press' Article In 'The Seattle Times' Says The US Department Of Transportation Reported Today The Percentage Of Traffic Fatalities Caused By Drunken Driving Dropped To A Record Low In 1997 - There Were 16,189 Alcohol-Related Traffic Deaths In 1997, 38.6 Percent Of The Total, Down From 40.9 Percent In 1996 And 57.3 Percent In 1982)
McGwire Takes Hormone, Says Everybody Does (The 'Associated Press' Article, Reprinted In 'The International Herald-Tribune,' That Broke The News Of Mark McGwire, The St. Louis Cardinal Pursuing Baseball's Home-Run Record, Using Androstenedione, A Legal, Performance Enhancing Substance)
Children DARE No Tolerance ('The North Shore News' Portrays The Drug Abuse Resistance Education Program In West Vancouver, British Columbia, Which Eats Up $300,000 A Year Out Of The $5.5 Million West Vancouver Police Budget - DARE Police Receive Much Less Training Than Professional Educators, And There Is No Good Evidence Supporting The Program's Efficacy)
Mother Questions DARE Program (According To 'The North Shore News,' A Mother Of A DARE Student Criticizes The Program, And Notes Her Daughter Was Prevented From Delivering Her Essay At DARE Graduation Ceremonies When The DARE Constable Said It Was 'Unacceptable' And Might Lead To Misunderstanding Because She Wrote That Marijuana Was Useful As A Medicine)
Dares To Be Different ('The North Shore News' Prints The Suppressed Essay On DARE Written By A 10-Year-Old From Bowen Island Community School In West Vancouver, British Columbia)
Police Recruit Horses In Race To Find Drugs ('The Toronto Star' Says Ontario Provincial Police Officers Will Soon Be Using Retired Racehorses To Search Areas Where Marijuana Is Being Grown That Are Inaccessible To Police Four-Wheel Drive Vehicles)
Prohibition Is The Problem, Not Illegal Drugs (Four Letters To The Editor Of 'The European' Agree With An Op-Ed By British Member Of Parliament Paul Flynn, Vice-Chairman Of The Parliamentary All-Party Drugs Misuse Group)
Ancient Egypt On Ecstasy (Britain's 'Independent' Says Party-Goers In Ancient Egypt Might Have Induced An Ecstasy-Like State With The Help Of A Sacred Plant Called The Blue Lily - Egyptologists Had Thought It Was Used Only For Decoration, But Tests On Volunteers Have Found That The Blue Lily Can Cause Psychotropic Effects Similar To The Modern Party Drug MDMA, Or Ecstasy)
Bytes: 94,400 Last updated: 8/30/98

Tuesday, August 25, 1998:
Student Survey Names Reed Top US School In Academics (Confounding Prohibitionists' Oft-Stated Assertion That Marijuana Use Impairs Learning Ability, 'The Oregonian' Notes Reed College In Portland Was Named The Country's Top Academic School For Undergraduates This Year By 'The Princeton Review' - The Private, Liberal Arts School Also Placed Third In The Survey's 'Reefer Madness' Category For Marijuana Use)
Reed College Tops In Survey ('The Associated Press' Version Broadcast By KOIN, Portland's CBS Affiliate)
Top Pot Colleges (The Institutions Of Highest Learning In The United States, According To 'The Princeton Review')
Ballot Title For General Election, November 7, 2000 (Text Of The Ballot Title Approved By The Oregon Secretary Of State For An Initiative Petition To Amend The Constitution Sponsored By Oregonians For Personal Privacy That Would Allow The Private Manufacture, Possession And Consumption Of Cannabis)
Alternative Medicine Spreading, Particularly In Northwest (An 'Associated Press' Article In The Eugene, Oregon 'Register-Guard' Says Practitioners Of Naturopathic Medicine Are Gathering In Portland For Their Annual Meeting This Week - Oregon Is Considered A Leader In A Growing Shift Away From Mainstream Medicine - This Year, A Study Released By Landmark Healthcare In Sacramento, California, Found That 42 Percent Of American Adults Use Some Form Of Alternative Medicine, Particularly Chiropractic And Herbal Therapies, Spending $13.7 Billion A Year On Such Treatments)
In More Than 3,000 Cases, Neighbors Not Notified ('The Associated Press' Notes Oregon State Police Are Too Busy Busting Pot Smokers To Protect The Public From Sex Offenders)
Officer Charged With Stealing Cocaine (According To United Press International, Los Angeles County Prosecutors Say Rafael Antonio Perez, A Nine-Year Veteran Of The Los Angeles Police Department Was Charged Today With Stealing Cocaine Valued At $800,000 From The Property Room At Police Headquarters)
Los Angeles Policeman Accused Of Stealing Cocaine From Headquarters (The 'Reuters' Version)
Low Settlement Likely In Shooting ('The San Francisco Examiner' Says San Francisco Is Expected To Pay $110,000 To The Family Of An Unarmed Man Shot In The Head When A Prohibition Agent's Gun 'Accidentally' Went Off As The Man Fled An Attempted Drug Bust - 75 Other Police Officers Were Needed To Rescue The Killer And His Partner After They Were Trapped In Their Police Van By 200 Angry Neighbors)
Will Foster Update And Letter Writing Request (Meg Foster, The Wife Of The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Defendant Sentenced To 93 Years In Prison For Cultivation, Confirms He Has Been Granted Parole By The Parole Board, But Needs Your Letters To Persuade Governor Keating To Sign The Papers - Oops, Belay That Request)
Grand Jury Looking At Oregon-Navarro Case ('The Houston Chronicle' Says Grand Jurors On Monday Began Investigating The Homicide Of Pedro Oregon-Navarro, Killed By Six Houston Prohibition Agents Who Burst Into His Home Without A Warrant And Shot Him 12 Times From Behind)
Daughter Of Governor's Running Mate Faces Marijuana Charge (According To 'The Associated Press,' New York Governor George Pataki's Running Mate, Former Rensselaer County District Attorney Mary Donohue, Said 'We Will Address This As A Family,' But Didn't Explain Why Therefore She And Pataki Support Policies That Mandate Continued Police Interference With Her Family And Others)
Police Fire Shots At Boy Holding Water Gun ('The San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune' Says 16-Year-Old Michael Jones Was In Critical Condition Monday And Charged With Menacing, Criminal Possession Of A Weapon And Possession Of Marijuana After Police In New York Mistook His Squirt Gun For A Real Weapon, And Fired 17 Shots At Him, Hitting Him Six Times)
Changes Expected In Drug-Trafficking Fight ('The Orange County Register' Says The US Drug Czar, General Barry McCaffrey, Was Expected To Propose 'Changes' In The Nation's Interdiction Strategy Today In El Paso, Texas - In Fact, The Default Strategy Of More Guns And Less Butter Prevails, Including Deployment Of A New Corps Of Federal Officials To Coordinate Prohibition Activities Along The US-Mexico Border)
Border Drug Plan Set To Be Unveiled ('The San Antonio News-Express' Version)
Mexico Rejects Conditions On US Anti-Drug Efforts ('The Associated Press' Says Mexico's Foreign Relations Secretariat On Monday Once Again Just Said No To US Demands That American Prohibition Agents Be Allowed To Carry Arms In Mexico, Rejecting A Bribe Proposed By Two Republican Lawmakers, Senator Mike DeWine Of Ohio And Representative Bill McCollum Of Florida, Which Would Have Provided New Helicopters To Mexico)
Mac Hikes Drug Sales ('The Toronto Star' Says Revelations Of Androstenedione Use By Mark McGwire, The St. Louis Cardinal Who Is Boosting Attendance With His Dramatic Home Run Chase, Is Also Boosting Sales Of The Testosterone-Producing Supplement)
Ruth And McGwire - Different Times, Drugs ('Toronto Star' Sports Columnist Dave Perkins, A Fan Of Legalisms, Says Baseball's Mark McGwire Hasn't Broken Any Rules By Using Androstenedione - Unlike Randy Barnes, The US Shotputter Barred For Life For Using The Same Steroid, Or Babe Ruth, Who Probably Violated Alcohol Prohibition)
East Germans Pioneered The Use Of 'Andro' - Swimmer - 'It Was Like A Volcanic Eruption' ('The Toronto Star' Says That Although East Germans Made The Use Of Androstenedione Mandatory For Athletes Before The Seoul Olympics, There Are No Published Studies About The Adrenal Hormone)
Help For Hemp Industry ('The Chatham Daily News' Says Ontario's Small But Growing Commercial Hemp Industry Received A Financial Boost Monday With A $60,000 Federal Government Grant To Kenex Ltd. Under The Agricultural Adaptation Council's Can-Adapt Program)
Olympic Boss Calls For War On Drug Cheats (According To 'The Australian,' John Coates, President Of The Australian Olympic Committee, Demanded Monday That Drug-Cheating Athletes Be Jailed And Their Dealers In Anabolic Steroids Face Life Sentences)
Bytes: 68,600 Last updated: 9/8/98

Wednesday, August 26, 1998:
Re - Dope With Dignity (Two Letters To The Editor Of 'Willamette Week' Respond To The Newspaper's Article About The Campaign For The Oregon Medical Marijuana Act)
Don't Be Fooled By Marijuana Smoke Screen (A Letter To The Editor Of 'The Headlight-Herald' In Tillamook, Oregon, Publicizes An Anti-Medical-Marijuana Video At The Local Public Utility District Building, While Spreading Easily Disproved Falsehoods In An Attempt To Sway Voters Against The Oregon Medical Marijuana Act And Drum Up Support For Measure 57, The Recrim Referendum)
Crime And Justice - Black And Blue ('Willamette Week,' Aspiring To Be The Mouthpiece For Portland's Law Enforcement Community, Looks At Last Week's Standoff Between Protesters And Police - And Finds A Division Within Portland's African-American Community)
Patient Advocates Want Viagra Back On Oregon Health Plan List (According To 'The Associated Press,' A Group Of Men Who Say They Need Pfizer's New Drug For Impotence Plan To Argue Thursday Before The Oregon Health Services Commission That It Was Wrong To Reclassify Impotency As A Psychological Rather Than A Medical Condition And To Take It Off The List Of 574 Illnesses Covered By Oregon's State-Funded Health Insurance Plan For Poor People)
Viagra Death Toll Up To 69 By July (The Bend, Oregon, 'Bulletin' Cites US Food And Drug Administration Figures On Pfizer's New Drug For Impotence - The Real Toll Could Be As High As 123 Out Of More Than 3.6 Million Prescriptions For Viagra Dispensed Between Late March And July Of This Year)
War On Drugs Slammed At The Seattle Hempfest ('The Queen Anne/Magnolia News' In Seattle Covers Last Weekend's Festival At Myrtle Edwards Park)
An Evening With Joan Baez (The Famed Folk Singer Is Featured At An Intimate Dinner And Concert October 1 At The Silver Creek Valley Country Club To Benefit The Defense Fund Of Her Cousin, Peter Baez, The Co-Founder And Volunteer Director Of The Santa Clara County Medical Cannibas Center)
Update On Chavez (A Staff Editorial In 'The Orange County Register' Scoops The News Department In Confirming That Medical Marijuana Defendant Marvin Chavez Has Fired His Two Pro Bono Attorneys)
The Judge Hallucinates (A Letter To The Editor Of 'The Orange County Register' Expresses Outrage Over Judge Frank F. Fasel's Decision Ruling Out Proposition 215 In The Defense Of Marvin Chavez - There Never Would Have Been An Orange County Patient, Doctor, Nurse, Support Group If It Hadn't Been For Proposition 215)
Retire The Idiot (A Letter To The Editor Of 'The San Francisco Bay Guardian' Urges California Voters Not To Elect As Governor The State's Current Attorney General, Dan Lungren, Nemesis Of Proposition 215)
Prison Officers Get Raise; Other Workers Stymied ('The San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune' Says One Day After California Governor Pete Wilson Vetoed Increases For Other State Workers, He And Negotiators For State Correctional Guards Agreed To A One-Year, 12 Percent Raise)
Correction - Medical Marijuana Club Ban ('The San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune' Notes Medical Marijuana Patients In California Can Grow Or Possess Pot After All)
Teen Was An Innocent Prisoner Of Community's War On Crime ('Los Angeles Times' Columnist Dana Parsons Is Disturbed That An Innocent 19-Year-Old Man Was Removed From His Car And Spent The Night In Jail Because Police Drug Recognition Experts Incorrectly Deduced He Was Under The Influence - Lieutenant Tom Garner, Speaking For The Orange County Sheriff's Department, Said, 'It Happens')
Los Angeles Police Department Officer Arrested In Drug-Evidence Theft ('The Los Angeles Times' Elaborates On Yesterday's News About The Bust Of Officer Rafael Antonio Perez For Stealing Three Brick-Size Kilograms Of Cocaine)
Judge Drops Drug Charge, Lashes Former US Attorney ('The San Francisco Examiner' Says US District Judge Justin Quackenbush Ruled Tuesday That Former US Attorney Michael Yamaguchi Had Engaged In 'Reckless Disregard' For The Constitutional Rights Of Alleged Oakland Cocaine Kingpin Anthony Flowers, And Dismissed The Most Severe Charge Against Flowers - Operating A Continuing Criminal Enterprise, Which Carried A Mandatory Minimum Sentence Of 20 Years In Prison)
Drug Czar Seeking Unity In Plan For Guarding Border ('The Dallas Morning News' Says General Barry McCaffrey Met With Border Officials In El Paso, Texas And New Mexico Tuesday To Begin Firming Up His Plan, Which Centers On The Creation Of A 'Border Czar' To Coordinate Efforts Along The Entire US-Mexico Border)
Drug Czar Meets With Border Officials ('The Associated Press' Version)
Texas Executes Man For 1988 Murders ('The Associated Press' Says Reputed Marijuana Smuggler Genaro Ruiz Camacho Was Executed By Injection In Huntsville, Texas, Wednesday For Murdering A Man Who Unwittingly Stumbled Into A Kidnap Plot That Also Left A Woman And Her 3-Year-Old Son Dead)
Study Questions DARE Program ('The Houston Chronicle' Says An Independent Report By University Of Houston Social Sciences Professor Bruce Gay, Released Wednesday, Found Houston's $3.7 Million-A-Year DARE Program May Not Be Working In Steering Youngsters From Substance Abuse)
Cumberland County Jail Medical Staff Defend HIV Drug Policy (An Excerpt From A 'Boston Globe' Article Says AIDS Patient David McNally Is Suing Jail Officials In Maine For Denying Him Anti-HIV Medications - The Opinion Of Jail Personnel Caught Practicing Medicine Without A License Is Described As 'Complete Nonsense' By McNally's Doctor)
Parolees Given Surprise Drug Test ('The Associated Press' Notes Surprise Urine Tests Administered By The Rhode Island Department Of Corrections Will Result In 28 Of 78 Parolees Going Back To Prison - The Idea Was To Save Money By Complying With Federal Requirements For Crime Fighting Grants, But The News Service Doesn't Mention The Final Estimated Loss In State Revenue, Nor That The New Prisoners Will Be Classified As Parole Violators Rather Than Drug Offenders)
Decline Is Seen In Legal Help For City's Poor ('The New York Times' Says That Three Years After New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's Administration Instituted Changes It Said Would Improve Legal Services For The Poor And Save Money For Taxpayers, An Eight-Member Committee Appointed By The Appellate Division Of The State Supreme Court Has Released A Report, Unidentified By The Newspaper, That Concludes The Quality Of Legal Help For Indigent Defendants In Manhattan Is Actually Getting Worse)
Defense Attorneys 'Decided To Go For The Hail Mary Pass' ('The Roanoke Times' In Virginia Describes The Jury Acquittal Of O'Neil Henry, Busted On Interstate 81 In Wythe County While Driving A Truck Loaded With Just Under A Ton Of Marijuana That Prohibition Agents Valued At $6.5 Million, The Largest Highway Seizure Of Pot In State History)
Success Is Unacceptable If It's Not Our Way ('The Los Angeles Times' Prints An Excerpt From Mike Gray's Book, 'Drug Crazy,' Describing A Successful Heroin Maintenance Program In Liverpool, England, Shut Down By The Narco-Imperialistic United States After It Was Publicized On America's '60 Minutes')
Just Say No, Mac ('Toronto Star' Sports Reporter Randy Starkman Says Mark McGwire, The St. Louis Cardinal Pursuing Baseball's Home-Run Record While Using Androstenedione To Enhance His Performance, Is A Pharmaceutically Enhanced Marvel Who Should Not Be Measured Against Roger Maris)
McGwire's Spiked Swing Raises Health Questions ('The Chicago Tribune' Tries The Fear-Mongering Approach To Baseball Star Mark McGwire's Use Of Androstenedione)
Natural Supplement Boom Is Real, Not Showing Any Signs Of Abating ('The Chicago Tribune' Says Androstenedione, The Testosterone Producing Pill Taken By St. Louis Cardinals Slugger Mark McGwire, Is Just A Tiny Fraction Of The Burgeoning Market Ushered In By The Dietary Supplement Health And Education Act Of 1994)
Drug May Combat Severe Social Shyness (A 'Newsday' Article In 'The Seattle Times' Notes Research Published In This Week's 'Journal Of The American Medical Association' About Clinical Tests Funded By SmithKline Beecham Of Its Drug, Paroxetine, Or Paxil, Suggested The Antidepressant May Be Helpful To People With Severe Social Anxiety)
Mayor In Colombia More Like A Fugitive ('The Houston Chronicle' Says That With Rebels, Paramilitaries And The Army All Fighting For Power In Colombia's Remote Towns And Villages, Nestor Hernandez And Other Mayors Have Found Themselves In A Crossfire)
Prisoners Sew Lips Shut To Protest Ecuador's Justice System ('The Associated Press' Says A 51-Year-Old Woman Arrested For Drug Trafficking Became The 16th Prisoner In The Last Two Weeks To Sew Her Lips Shut At Ecuador's Guayaquil Prison)
Ecstasy Users Get Mixed Message ('The West Australian' Says The National Drug And Alcohol Research Centre Will Soon Release New Safety Guidelines On How Much Fluid Intake Should Accompany Ecstasy Use)
DrugSense Weekly, Number 61 (A Weekly Summary Of Drug Policy News From The Media Awareness Project)
Bytes: 171,000 Last updated: 9/8/98

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