WORLD.WIDE.WEED

Will the easy availability of drugs on the Internet open the door to a
depraved new world? If current trends are any indication, U.S. drug policy
is an endangered species.

It came in a plain brown wrapper--two varieties of high-grade marijuana
totaling a quarter ounce, delivered to a downtown San Francisco office
building via regular mail. The pot had been ordered off a website in
Amsterdam, members.xoom.com/drugsstore/, which is designed to look just like
a Dutch coffee-shop menu. The site offers two types of weed and five types
of hash, all pictured and listed on a pull-down order form with boxes to let
buyers specify how many grams of each kind they want. After ordering,
customers receive an email with an address on it. They're instructed to send
cash. It's a risk, but in this case it paid off. The twentysomething
professional who ordered it found the marijuana to be not only a bargain at
$92 including delivery, but sweet, green and potent.

Of course, buying marijuana online is illegal. But enforcing marijuana
prohibition online isn't easy, especially when sellers live in countries
with more tolerant drug laws, such as the Netherlands. Even harder to detect
is the flourishing online seed trade, since packages of pot seeds are
usually undetectable by the U.S. Department of Customs drug dogs. The result
is that the Internet, which for years has been making national borders
increasingly porous, is slowly helping to subvert marijuana prohibition. The
new trade is thriving on two fronts: filling up the stash boxes of
recreational users who want the same convenience buying their weed that they
have purchasing books and CDs at amazon.com, and supplying medical marijuana
patients, especially those in places like San Jose without a local pot
dispensary.

"The government is going to learn what the music industry is learning. The
net is a wall buster," says technology journalist Jon Katz, who wrote the
Netizen column for Hotwired and who now writes for the tech news site
Slashdot. "It's not policeable. There are not enough cops in the world to
monitor all the communications and digital commerce that's going on. The
effort to control the flow of drugs into the U.S. is a complete failure with
or without the Internet. The Internet is just going to make it harder. There
are millions of new ways for consumers and retailers to find each other. The
DEA can sniff all the packages it wants, but it can't make more than a
fraction of a dent in the business."

In real life, a person without a regular marijuana connection may spend days
or weeks searching for a dealer. Online, it takes just a few clicks. Though
he's never done it, Katz says he would feel comfortable buying pot online.
"I feel I can buy almost anything online safely," he says. "I know enough
people online that could get almost anything for me in minutes."

In fact, Katz believes that the Internet is going to force a reconsideration
of domestic marijuana policy. "That's the power of the Net--it's really not
for the government to be telling people whether they should be using
marijuana or not, and the Internet makes it possible for people to make
these judgments on their own. The Internet has killed off traditional
notions of moral policing."

International Marketplace

OF COURSE, THE ONLINE marijuana business is just the latest example of ways
the Internet has made national borders amorphous and national laws hard to
enforce. The wide distribution of prescription drugs online without
prescriptions is well documented but difficult for the government to fight,
especially with Internet doctors willing to write virtual prescriptions
after brief questionnaires.

There are dozens of online overseas pharmacies that will ship drugs which
are controlled in the United States but not abroad. Try typing "Viagra" or
"Xanax" into a search engine and see how many offers come up. In a recent
issue of The Industry Standard, James Ledbetter wrote, "There's a pile of
drugs on my desk. Dozens of pills of different shapes, sizes and colors,
designed to treat obesity, baldness and erectile dysfunction. My doctor did
not prescribe them, and--knock on wood--I have no medical need for any of
them. How did they get here? Through the magic of the World Wide Web."

Online gambling, another illegal activity in many states, also thrives.
Though a congressional commission recently recommended a ban on Internet
gaming, they couldn't come up with a viable way to enforce it. Writes Declan
McCullagh in Wired News, "The commission identified overseas betting sites
as a major problem. Such sites are often located in countries that license
those businesses, as the state of Nevada does for physical casinos. The
group appears to have recognized that the only way to stop eager Americans
from connecting to offshore sites would be to censor all overseas links,
much as Singapore and China do when restricting access to information that
their governments find objectionable. The report notes that such a law 'may
be easily circumvented.'"

The same is true, it seems, for marijuana laws.

Chain of Contraband Command

WHEN I CALL the San Francisco office of the Drug Enforcement Agency and the
Postal Inspection Service they both claim to be unaware of the Internet
marijuana trade, suggesting how easy it is for digital dealers to escape
notice. And even if they are caught, the DEA has no jurisdiction outside the
United States. Not that they're admitting powerlessness. "In cooperation
with authorities in other countries, we can arrest and extradite dealers,"
says Evelyn James, DEA special agent and public information officer. Dutch
police, she points out, have shut down marijuana websites before, usually at
the request of foreign governments.

Nevertheless, the possibility of legal trouble doesn't much worry Joey
Phdfort, a 35-year-old Amsterdam man who runs a website
(people.A2000.nl/lpafort/) where people from around the world can order
weed. "I live in the Netherlands, where cannabis is allowed. I do nothing
wrong," he says. Phdfort, who is suffering from liver cancer, believes he is
doing humanitarian work. "In Holland, doctors give cancer patients cannabis
and it helps. I can help other people who need it also. Most of the people
who are buying from me are ill. Most of them have cancer themselves. That is
why they buy it on the Internet." He points out the logistical troubles that
many cancer patients have in acquiring marijuana. It's not like they can
call up an old college pal who knows where to score. "If somebody is 40 or
50 years old, how can he buy it if the government won't allow it?" he asks.
"If you are sick and you need it and you know that it helps, why not?"

Phdfort says that he used to send out 1,000 packages a week, but now that
his sickness has progressed, he only has time to serve a few dozen regular
customers, making about 25 mailings a week. Customs, he says, are rarely a
problem--he estimates that 99 percent of the marijuana he sends out makes it
to its addressee intact. In the case of the order placed from and delivered
to San Francisco, the marijuana came in small, plastic zipper bags, placed
inside a padded envelope. Nothing fancy about it.

Recipients in the United States are obviously subject to our drug laws, but,
although importing drugs is a federal crime, buyers are unlikely to face
penalties much stiffer than they would for possession of the same amount in
their city and state. "The whole purpose for having federal law enforcement
as opposed to state, county or municipal law enforcement is so that we can
most efficiently and effectively utilize taxpayer resources. It is not
appropriate for federal-level resources to be used to prosecute someone in
possession of one joint," concedes DEA spokeswoman James. "That does not
mean we won't arrest you and prosecute you through the state system. If
you're using the mail, that's a separate crime that you can be charged
with."

But the Postal Inspection Service, the government agency in charge of
investigating crimes involving the mail, is also unlikely to throw the book
at minor buyers, especially those with a medical excuse. "If a website is in
Amsterdam we don't have any jurisdiction there," says U.S. Postal Inspector
Linda Joe. "If marijuana does come here and if customs doesn't catch it and
we do, then of course we'll seize it. There we run into the issue of whether
it will be prosecuted. That varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
Sometimes if the U.S. attorney's office doesn't want to prosecute, a local
DA will. It would depend on the quantity of drugs and how often a person had
been receiving them. We'd definitely look into it to see if this was a
one-shot deal or if they'd been getting packages every week."

The Postal Inspection Service is much more concerned, it seems, with dealers
sending huge packages via the mail to other dealers. A quote from the chief
postal inspector published in the agency's 1998 annual report reads:
"Marijuana is the most prevalent drug found in the mail, and Postal
Inspectors focus investigative efforts on the large quantities associated
with drug dealers." Last year, for instance, three Californians were
arrested for mailing 11,000 pounds of pot to the East Coast. Of the 651
marijuana-related arrests that the postal service made last year, most were
of members of huge drug-trafficking rings, like the 106 people busted in
Southern California in a sting involving the seizure of 2,824 pounds of
weed.

The fact that the feds are unlikely to prosecute small-time recipients isn't
always good news for buyers. Joe recalls one case in which a man in Virginia
was receiving pot in the mail from a relative in New Jersey. The sender's
case, which the government considered more serious because he was dealing,
was prosecuted federally, and he got probation. Since the feds weren't
interested in going after the recipient, his case was pursued by his own
county DA in Virginia, and he ended up getting six years.

Locally, Santa Clara County's prosecutors say they'll certainly go after
those ordering pot online for fun. "Without hesitation we would prosecute
them. We prosecute people who possess marijuana every day," says assistant
district attorney Karyn Sinunu. But she throws in the caveat that her office
would probably leave those with legitimate doctor recommendations alone. "If
someone has marijuana and they have a recommendation to have it, under state
law we're not going to prosecute," she says. "We don't have any state
agencies investigating what goes through the mail, so if the feds have a
hands-off policy, there probably wouldn't be a prosecution. I'd have to see
an actual case and make a determination based on the person's criminal
history, medical need, the amount and whether they had a legitimate
[medical] recommendation. I truly believe that marijuana has some medical
purpose, and I truly believe that some people are abusing Proposition 215
[the proposition legalizing possession of medical marijuana]. Legitimate
patients should be able to use medicinal marijuana without being hassled by
the police."

Medical Quandary

EVER SINCE San Jose police shut the Santa Clara County Medical Cannabis
Center down in March of 1998, it is unclear where San Jose's medical
marijuana patients have been getting their pot. Buying marijuana online may
be the best option for those who can't score on the street or through
friends or make the journey to Santa Cruz or San Francisco.

"Patients are scattering. It's all underground. They're just getting it off
the street," says Suzie Andrews, owner of Rainbow Smoke Shop, a store on
West San Carlos Street that sells marijuana accessories. Andrews is
currently working to open a new dispensary in San Jose--she hopes to be
operating by the end of the year. Until then, she says, "People will try to
gain access any way they can."

Of the online marijuana trade, Andrews says, "I think it's a great idea, as
long as what they're selling is what they're advertising. Patients don't
have too many choices these days." Andrews says patients often come into her
shop asking where they can buy marijuana. "We go through all the options,"
she says. "I talk to people about growing, tell them about the right lights
to use. A lot of people can't grow their own so they try to find out who is
selling it. It breaks my heart that they have to scramble around like that."

Right now, Sinunu is recommending that patients grow their own. "One of the
problems with 215 is they say you can have marijuana for medicinal purposes,
but where the hell is it supposed to come from?" Sinunu says. "You're either
going to have to grow it or have a caregiver grow it for you. Right now
that's all the law permits." Besides sticking to the letter of the law, she
adds, patients who grow their own can be sure that their marijuana is free
of additives that could exacerbate their illnesses. "I had a very good
friend use marijuana at the end of her life, and you want your marijuana to
be clean; you don't want people who are already sick to have stuff that
might be contaminated. Some of the stuff that comes up from Mexico is often
padded with other ingredients, really foul ingredients. That's why I always
recommend to bona fide patients that they grow it themselves."

Growing the Grass

WHILE GROWERS can always pick through a bag of pot for seeds, if they want
to know exactly what they're raising, the Internet can be a huge help. There
are dozens of seed banks online based both in the Netherlands and in Canada,
where possession of marijuana seeds is legal. The seed trade is flourishing
both because seeds, tiny and odorless, are easy to ship, and also because
selling seeds is more profitable than selling actual marijuana.

"In the economics of marijuana, cultivating for seeds is a better industry
than cultivating for bud," remarks John Entwistle, legislative analyst for
Californians for Compassionate Use and one of the authors of Proposition
215. "Those little seeds are just worth so much money. It takes years to get
them because you have to do all this genetic work--when you buy seeds,
you're buying knowledge of what the plant is. If they tell you, for example,
that the plant will mature in exactly 92 days, it generally will."

Indeed, the language on seed sites drips with the kind of reverent
connoisseurship often found among wine snobs. On Heaven's Stairway
(www.hempqc.com), a strain called Amstel Gold that sells for $50 per packet
of 10 seeds is described as "soft with a citruslike aroma and a good high.
Easy to grow, grows with long compact resinous buds." The more expensive
Durban Poison ($75 for 10 seeds) is said to be "100% Sativa. Large long bud
leaves, buds are also large and long with lots of resin. A sweet licorice or
anise flavor. 'Up' high similar to Thai. ... Also does very well under
artificial light." To order, you simply send an international money order or
certified check (all prices are in U.S. dollars) to a post office box in
Quebec.

Self-Regulation

FOR MANY WOULD-BE Internet pot buyers, even those who aren't afraid of
running afoul of the law, the fear of being scammed is a strong deterrent.
But unlike the real-life black market, the Internet fosters a community of
users who constantly rate sites and trade advice. "The odds online
overwhelmingly favor the buyer," Katz says, based on his observations of the
online drug community in action. Discussions flourish at www.yahooka.com and
www.cannabis.com, and on newsgroups such as alt.drugs.pot.cultivation.
There's even a Zagat guide of sorts for seed banks at
www.suresite.com/ca/r/razzmat/, where online seed stores are rated for
reliability, speed of delivery and convenience of ordering. Here you can
learn which sites take checks, which take money orders at no extra charge
and which provide free shipping. Additionally, the webmaster warns users
against sites known to burn would-be buyers.

Joel, a recreational grower who buys seeds online, used the site as a guide
and was very pleased with the results. "I went with one of his five-star
guys. It took about a month, but I got my product and I was very happy with
it. They did an excellent job." Before the Internet, Joel says, buying seeds
could be difficult "unless you knew someone, went to Canada or flew over to
Amsterdam."

The Internet also makes growing easier by providing access to a group of
experts ready to answer questions from novices growing the first plant or
from veteran cultivators attempting new, more difficult strains. "The guys
on the cultivation newsgroup are really nice," Joel says. "It's the greatest
source on the Internet for growing advice. There are four or five guys who
are really cool and will answer pretty much any question."

Anyway, he adds, growing pot, even indoors, is pretty simple. "It's easier
than growing a house plant," he says. "I'd kill a house plant. Marijuana
literally grows like a weed. You can buy a cheap fluorescent light and keep
it over your seeds and in a 120 days you'll have a cheap, jumbo crop."

Anyway, he adds, growing pot, even indoors, is pretty simple. "It's easier
than growing a house plant," he says. "I'd kill a house plant. Marijuana
literally grows like a weed. You can buy a cheap fluorescent light and keep
it over your seeds and in a 120 days you'll have a cheap, jumbo crop."

Anyway, he adds, growing pot, even indoors, is pretty simple. "It's easier
than growing a house plant," he says. "I'd kill a house plant. Marijuana
literally grows like a weed. You can buy a cheap fluorescent light and keep
it over your seeds and in a 120 days you'll have a cheap, jumbo crop."

Paranoid Collusions

STILL, MOST OF THOSE involved in the fight for marijuana legalization
caution against buying anything illegal through the Internet. "I would be
very cautious about putting my name out there as a consumer of marijuana,"
Entwistle says.

"We have run several messages on our website saying that one of the
stupidest things you can do is buy pot through the Internet. It's even
riskier than going up to somebody in the street," says John Holmstrom,
multimedia director for High Times magazine. "Who knows who's behind the
website? What if it's a government agency and they're keeping a list of
everyone they're sending pot to?"

Suspicions run especially high around sites that offer to ship marijuana
domestically, because people worry that such sites are government sting
operations. Arizona Company Medical (www.medical-marijuana.com), for
example, is a pot website registered to an address in Anaheim, Calif. It's
run by Anaheim resident Mike Aranov, who refused to answer questions except
to say that his site ships to people throughout the country, which is,
obviously, illegal. To order, buyers must send a check or money order along
with a copy of a medical report or a doctor's note and "proof of ID" (what
constitutes proof is unclear) to 5051 E. Orangethorpe Ave., Suite E, in
Anaheim. The prices are low, starting at $65 for a quarter ounce. One Bay
Area marijuana dispensary worker said that he'd heard about successful buys
through the site, but he doesn't recommend using it. "I met a gentleman from
the company who said they were doing fine. It's strange that they're able to
survive," he says. "I have hesitations because of the federal government's
ability to tap into it. They might even be dealing with a narc to catch
people who are propositioning them. You don't know what you're getting
into."

Enwistle said he's been getting lots of inquiries lately from people who
want to know whether Arizona Medical is safe. "While in theory the idea of
being able to click for pot is good and in practice it is happening, it's a
very temporary thing, I suspect. I wouldn't do it. It's frightening. I think
that people should be clear about what they're doing. When you're breaking
the law, you shouldn't let yourself get caught. The government can just
trace where the clicks came from and round up enormous numbers of people. It
lends itself to a conspiracy prosecution. People get away with breaking the
law for a period of time, but it does catch up to you."]

Net Scum

BESIDES PROBLEMS WITH the law, online buyers must also be wary of scams.
Seed buyers tend to protect themselves by constantly exchanging information,
but those who actually order pot online are less likely to fess up to it.
"Most of my clients have been ripped off many times on the Internet before
they came to me," says Phdfort. "There's a lot of scum on the Internet."

Indeed, if you do a web search for the words "buy marijuana online," many of
the resulting links will be to a site called the "Netherlands High Shoppe,"
which had dozens of separate URLs. The site even promises free samples. But
before you get in, you have to buy something called an "adult check ID" for
$20, which, in addition to providing access to the Netherlands High Shoppe,
also lets you in to a variety of porn sites. The ID won't, however, get you
any closer to actual marijuana, because all the Netherlands High Shoppe
offers are the phone numbers of U.S. companies selling legal herbal
marijuana substitutes with names like "Wizard Smoke."

And as with Arizona Medical, buyers on some sites are required to provide
far more information than they'd ever dream of giving to a guy skulking
around the park with a pocket full of dime bags. A few months ago, an email
was circulating with the URLs of two websites, civildisobedient.net and
antae.org, said to be working in concert, that promised to deliver free
medical marijuana to patients in San Jose. "This is one more step in our
movement to launch a pacifist guerrilla medi-pot dispensary for the chronic
suffering patients of San Jose, but which we will operate from a virtual
location," said the email's attachment. At first, it seemed thrilling. But
no local activists knew anything about it, no phone number was given, and
there was no response to repeated requests for more information. Users were
instructed to send a signed, notarized copy of their photo identification, a
signed "oath" with the name of their primary caregiver, and a "Police or
Police Agent Waver (sic) form signed" (what this means is unclear) to
CivilDisobedient.net, c/o Mahlon, Gen Del PO, Washington DC, USA 20090.

It turns out that both domains are registered to the same person, one
'Mahlon Coats.' People who register domain names are required to provide
phone numbers, and of the numbers Coats used, one is for a Motel 6 in
Oakland and the other is for an Internet company in Australia.

But most disturbing of all is the fact that Mahlon Coats writes like a
schizophrenic. "If our website seems slightly irreverent toward the so
called 'drug war' (and so called 'drug warriors') we apologize but we needed
the dark humor for novel extents of parabolic range and breadth," it says on
www.antae.org. "And the Internet novel approach is intended to hopefully
bring a quicker end to any unnecessary suffering of patients today,
now--before even more of them join the already-deceased patients (who now
feel no more pain, but) who were forced (as a result of political
positioning) to endure their suffering without a safe source for this simple
herbal remedy. If our web sites also seem slightly fanatical at times, it is
because the stratified contradictions in the so called 'Drug War' become
hilarious when exposed. And this is also to heighten the novel experience."

The bizarre ramblings continue on civildisobedient.net: "For those who
believe that we who used an illegally smoked mantra as a unifying element,
especially those who used it with us but then after our goals were achieved
in halting the Vietnam War, should have stopped the smoke, I argue that our
next goal needed to be to expose the government complicity in causing such a
benign substance to be so feared and maligned--and thereby better prepare
the government against such a flawed policy 'Achilles heel,' from future
protester strengths against the government."

This, needless to say, is probably not a person many would want to trust
with their name, address and medical history.

"The Internet can't gloss over the fact that it's not Walgreens on the other
end of the line. It's still just a drug dealer with a home page," Entwistle
says. But for some, especially the old and the ill, a drug dealer with a
home page is easier to find than a drug dealer on the street. As long as
there are people who want pot badly enough to send cash blindly through the
mail, there will be people all over the world more than happy to sell it to
them.