THIS JUST IN

COMMENT: (1-4)

MAP's news clippings identify clippings from student newspapers with
"Edu:" because we wish to recognize the work of students, who most
often write without pay while learning the skills of reporting. They
make mistakes we would not expect from major newspapers - like the
reporter who wrote "gypsum weed" instead of jimson weed throughout an
article this week. Our sense is that student newspapers give our
issues more coverage than the average newspaper, and often in a more
favorable light. Two well-written articles lead this section.

A new poll reveals what Canadians think about the government's new
war on some drugs plans.

We find the column about eroding freedoms in the United States scary.

(1) GROUP PUSHES FOR DRUG LAW REFORM

Pubdate: Fri, 19 Oct 2007
Source: Daily Campus, The (UConn, CT Edu)
Copyright: 2007 The Daily Campus
Author: Brittany Dorn

Students Work to Halt Financial Aid Penalties for Drug Offenses

Stationing themselves in different places on campus this week,
members of UConn's chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy
(SSDP) urged their peers to speak out regarding a little-known
provision in the Higher Education Act.

This provision, "The Aid Elimination Penalty" dictates that in
addition to being punished by the law, students convicted of drug
offenses will lose federal financial aid for college.

Punishment is as follows: after a student is convicted of possession
of a controlled substance, they lose their aid for one year. After
their second offense, they lose aid for two years and after a third
offense, they will lose federal aid indefinitely, according to the
SSDP Web site.

Punishment for selling a controlled substance is stricter: the first
offense results in a two-year loss of federal financial aid and after
the second offense the student loses aid indefinitely.

Nearly 200,000 students have been denied financial aid because of
this policy, according to SSDP and in the last year alone, 6,106
students were denied federal aid because of drug convictions.

Students who disagree with the penalty argue that it does more harm
than good, because drug offenders denied a college education are more
likely to turn to illegal activity. They also say the penalty favors
wealthy students who don't rely on financial aid to attend college.

Perhaps most of all, they take issue with the fact that the penalty
applies only to drug offenders.

No other criminal offense causes you to lose financial aid, according
to Tom Angell, spokesperson for SSDP's national office. He said has
found that students are outraged to learn that murderers, rapists and
burglars are eligible for financial aid, while a student convicted
for smoking marijuana is temporarily not. "We think it's a totally
counterproductive and senseless policy," Angell said.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1202/a02.html

(2) STUDENTS MIXED ABOUT POT TAXES, LEGALIZATION

Pubdate: Thu, 18 Oct 2007
Source: Daily Trojan (U of Southern CA Edu)
Copyright: 2007 Daily Trojan
Author: Callie Schweitzer

A New Study Examining the Economics of Pot Raises Questions About Legalization.

Depression, chronic pain, insomnia, stress.

For these and almost anything else that ails you, an alleged umbrella
cure has emerged. It's not a magical pill, Eastern medicine or the
latest marvel - it's marijuana.

But a new study shows marijuana's usage goes beyond medicinal; the
drug can be helpful in the economic realm as well.

Jon Gettman, a longtime policy analyst who holds a Ph.D. in public
policy, has published a new study contending that legalizing
marijuana would create tax revenue and save taxpayers millions of
dollars. If marijuana were legalized and taxed, similar to alcohol
and other commodities, those who use the drug would be paying the
taxes, he said.

The study found that the United States is losing $30 million to
underground marijuana sales and diverting money from the regional
economy, Gettman said.

"Right now, the people who are profiting most, the growers and
sellers, are not paying a dime for the problems their industry
creates," he said.

College and high school students are the ones most affected by
marijuana's illegal status, Gettman said.

"Who do you think gets busted the most? College and high school
kids," he said. "The arrest rate for teens or young adults is three
or four times higher than the rest of the public."

Gettman said he believes youths working to legalize marijuana is
"good citizenship."

"The law hits people who are vulnerable," he said. "College kids need
to realize that this affects them as taxpayers down the road."

[snip]

Complicating matters, prescriptions to purchase and consume marijuana
are being handed out like candy in California.

One USC student, who was first prescribed medicinal marijuana at 18
years old, said the process "was one of the easiest things I've ever
done in my life."

The student, who received his prescription on Cahuenga Boulevard in
Los Angeles, said he walked into the clinic with $150 and his
driver's license. A secretary "rubbed his shoulders" and told him he
"had come to the right place."

While the student, who declined to give his name, said he told the
doctor he needed the prescription to ease chronic back pain, he
admitted to having an ulterior primary goal.

"I got it to smoke pot," he said. "Whether or not it was for a medical reason."

[snip]

Legalizing marijuana won't change how people act, said Bruce
Margolin, director of the Los Angeles chapter of National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

"Everyone already does it," he said. "If it were legalized, people
would sell it and buy it like they do tomatoes."

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1200/a11.html

(3) CANADIANS SAY NO TO 'JUST SAY NO'

Pubdate: Thu, 18 Oct 2007
Source: London Free Press (CN ON)
Copyright: 2007 The London Free Press
Author: Sarah Green, Sun Media

A New Poll Suggests Ottawa's Anti-Drug Plan Should Focus on Treatment
and Prevention.

Just say no to "just say no."

An Angus Reid Strategies poll released yesterday shows Canadians back
some of the federal government's $64-million anti-drug strategy, but
they say the plan needs to stress more than enforcement, treatment
and prevention.

Three-quarters of Canadians support mandatory prison sentences for
serious narcotics offences and 84 per cent favour plans to create
anti-drug campaigns aimed at children.

But more than half of Canadians want the federal government to leave
harm-reduction programs, such as needle exchanges and safe-injection
sites, intact.

[snip]

The poll also found more than half of Canadians support the
legalization of marijuana.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1200/a07.html

(4) 'NO FLY' ON STEROIDS

Pubdate: Thu, 18 Oct 2007
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2007 Los Angeles Times
Author: Patt Morrison

Under Homeland Security's 'Secure Flight,' Your Union Card or Reading
Preferences Could Help Keep You Off a Plane.

Don't look now -- by which, of course, I mean do look now.

[snip]

Haven't heard of Secure Flight? That's the way they like it in D.C.
But some of the people who do know about it are not pleased.

Canadians are peeved: Some airline flights that merely fly over the
United States, without so much as touching a wheel to U.S. soil,
would have to fork over more information about passengers, and do it
as much as three days before the flights take off. Canada already
worked with the U.S. to craft its own no-fly list and security
policies. "What's the point of this cooperative approach if our list
isn't deemed to be good enough for the United States?" asked Air
Transport Assn. of Canada Vice President Fred Gaspar.

[snip]

Finally, businesspeople and the travel industry don't seem thrilled,
judging from Web discourse. The 72-hour government security check and
requests for yet more passenger data will apply to more than just
Canadian overflights. When someone says "government," the word
expeditious doesn't come to mind. What will befall the last-minute
traveler? With all this going on, the one thing we shouldn't do is
put our tray tables up and bury our noses in any old bestseller. Bill
Scannell is with the Identity Project, a privacy-rights group funded
by IT rich guy and civil libertarian John Gilmore. He told me that
customs and border records he's seen for five Identity Project
sympathizers noted that one carried a book called "Drugs and Your
Rights." Another file noted chattily that the passenger had been
traveling for about a month, had gone to a computer conference,
visited friends and is -- in quotes -- a computer software
"entrepreneur." Which, when you put it that way, sounds more alarming
than "union member."

Oh, am I busted. On my recent home-to-mother flights, I read Susan
Faludi's new book, "Terror Dream," about post-9/11 America; the New
Yorker with a piece on Jenna Bush's first book; and a comic volume
called "Unusually Stupid Politicians."

TSA is accepting public comments on Secure Flight's latest plans; the
deadline is Oct. 22. Be careful what you say, unless you don't mind
getting home for Christmas . . . in January.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1198/a04.html

WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW

Domestic News- Policy

COMMENT: (5-9)

Some interesting questions about leadership and moral authority in
the drug war were raised by different news stories last week. It
didn't seem to be widely publicized outside of the Army Times
publication, but the U.S. Defense Department's personnel chief
suggested that many federal legislators would need a moral waiver to
join the army under today's conditions, given the likelihood of past
drug use by that generation. In Colorado, some school authorities
believe they have the authority to take students' cell phones to read
and transcribe text messages on those phones. Even more shady, those
school officials also believe it is OK to impersonate students via
text messages to lay a trap for suspected rule breakers.

After decades of confirmed abuses, the U.S. Congress is suddenly up
in arms over teen boot camps; however, they still don't seem to get
the crack/cocaine disparity, so an expert published a helpful oped
this week. And, finally, a columnist in Pennsylvania gets it.

(5) CHU: SOME LAWMAKERS WOULD NEED MORAL WAIVER

Pubdate: Thu, 11 Oct 2007
Source: Army Times (US)
Copyright: 2007 Army Times Publishing Company
Author: William H. McMichael, Staff writer

The Defense Department's personnel chief says that a "significant
fraction" of members of Congress have probably smoked marijuana and,
if they were somehow age-eligible, would need a waiver to join the
U.S. military today.

David S.C. Chu made the observation in describing the process by
which so-called "personal conduct waivers" are granted to potential
recruits who admit marijuana use. One of the questions recruiters
ask, he told defense reporters during a Pentagon briefing on armed
forces recruiting, is whether a recruit has ever used marijuana. He
said that in the Marine Corps, admission of one use requires a waiver.

"That's a pretty tough standard," said Chu, the undersecretary of
defense for personnel and readiness. "Not to be cheeky about this,
but if we applied that standard to our legislative overseers, a
significant fraction would need a waiver to join the United States
military," Chu said.

CNN reporter Barbara Starr wanted to know the basis for his
contention. "Based upon public statements about past marijuana
usage," Chu said. Starr followed up, asking, "Are you saying that
members of Congress who oversee your department --"

"I'm saying that in our society, experimental drug usage is a
significant issue with young people," Chu said. "We require a review
if you acknowledge that you've done so. That's all I'm saying. That
affects a large fraction of our population."

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1164/a08.html

(6) ACLU: STUDENTS' RIGHTS VIOLATED WHEN SCHOOL READ TEXT MESSAGES

Pubdate: Thu, 11 Oct 2007
Source: Daily Camera (Boulder, CO)
Copyright: 2007 The Daily Camera.
Author: Vanessa Miller

The Boulder Valley School District is standing behind high school
administrators after the American Civil Liberties Union on Wednesday
accused them of "committing felonies" by seizing students' cell
phones, reading their text messages and making transcripts.

The ACLU of Colorado sent a letter Wednesday to the school board
demanding changes at Louisville's Monarch High School after at least
13 students reported having their cell phones taken and their text
messages read at the end of last school year.

Parents of those students contacted the civil-rights group following
the seizures, said ACLU legal director Mark Silverstein. According to
the ACLU, parents say that administrators told students they have no
privacy rights when on school property, meaning officials can seize
phones and read text messages; that they misled students to gain
possession of their friends' cell phones; and that they sent text
messages from confiscated phones to other students, pretending to be
the phone's owner.

[snip]

"Prior to confiscating the students' cellular phones and transcribing
text messages found on them, Monarch administrators contacted the
BVSD legal counsel's office and were told it was indeed legal for
them to take the actions that they were considering," said district
spokesman Briggs Gamblin.

But, Gamblin said, the district will review the incident "and the
district's position" because it "takes very seriously the civil
liberties of each of its more than 28,000 students."

Monarch administrators didn't return calls Wednesday from the Camera.

The ACLU gives the following details of the allegations:

On May 24, a school security officer brought a sophomore to see
Assistant Principal Drew Adams because the student was suspected of
breaking two school rules -- being in a prohibited parking lot and
smoking cigarettes. Adams took the student's cell phone, calling it
a "distraction," and later told the student he had read text messages
that made some "incriminating" mentions of marijuana.

The student's mother learned Adams had written down text messages
from her son's phone, and when she asked for the phone back, she said
Adams insisted on keeping it over the Memorial Day weekend. When the
phone eventually was returned, the student's mother discovered Adams
had sent messages to her son's friends, posing as the student.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1168/a10.html

(7) HOUSE PANEL URGES TOUGH LAWS ON KIDS BOOT CAMPS

Pubdate: Thu, 11 Oct 2007
Source: USA Today (US)
Copyright: 2007 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc
Author: Ken Dilanian, USA TODAY

Tales of Teens' Abuse, Deaths Strike Chord

Members of Congress from both parties reacted with outrage Wednesday
to wrenching testimony from parents of children who died in
residential programs for troubled teens, saying a federal law may be
needed to remedy a lack of oversight.

"I can't think of any testimony that we have heard in this committee
that has caused a greater sense of anger and sorrow," said Democrat
George Miller of California, chairman of the House Committee on
Education and Labor, moments after hearing three parents recount the
deaths of their teenagers in wilderness therapy programs designed to help them.

Rep. Buck McKeon, the ranking Republican from California, said he
does not like to expand the role of the federal government, "but
there are some times when it has to happen."

Several states don't regulate private wilderness programs, boot camps
and therapeutic boarding schools, which enroll thousands of children
each year and have been the subject of what the Government
Accountability Office ( GAO ) called "widespread" allegations of
abuse and neglect. No law prevents operators who have been
disciplined in one state from setting up shop in another -- something
investigators say happens often.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1176/a01.html

(8) 5 MYTHS ABOUT THAT DEMON CRACK

Pubdate: Sun, 14 Oct 2007
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2007 The Washington Post Company
Author: Craig Reinarman

Should judges have the discretion to depart from severe sentencing
guidelines if they lead to unjust results? The Supreme Court wrestled
with this question Oct. 2 during oral arguments in a crack-related
case, Kimbrough v. United States . The case had percolated up
through the lower courts because the trial judge refused to impose a
required sentence he found deeply unfair.

At the peak of the panic over crack cocaine in the mid-1980s,
Congress passed a rash of laws requiring longer prison sentences. One
such law created a 100-to-1 disparity between crack and cocaine
offenses. You have to get caught with 500 grams of powder cocaine --
but only five grams of crack cocaine -- to get a mandatory minimum
sentence of five years.

Crack is often used in impoverished inner cities, and police focus
their surveillance efforts there. The result? Racially discriminatory
sentencing that has packed prisons with African Americans. Many
state and district court judges agree that the disparity is unfair,
and only 13 of the 50 states still legally distinguish between crack
and cocaine. In fact, the 20-year-old crack laws are based on myths:

1. Crack is different from cocaine.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1176/a03.html

(9) COLUMN: LET'S END FAILED & DOGMATIC DRUG WAR

Pubdate: Sun, 14 Oct 2007
Source: Tribune Review (Pittsburgh, PA)
Copyright: 2007 Tribune-Review Publishing Co.
Author: Bill Steigerwald, Tribune-Review

Let's hear it for America's drug police.

Last year our drug warriors made 829,627 marijuana arrests.

That's the most ever, according to the FBI. Arrests for marijuana --
arguably the least dangerous drug ever declared illegal in America --
are up nearly threefold since 1990. Total arrests for all illegal
drugs in 2006 hit 1.89 million, up from 1.08 million in 1990.

If you think those 829,627 Americans were all out selling weed to
10-year-olds at the local strip mall until they were heroically
brought to justice, you've had way too many Bush administration cocktails.

Nearly 90 percent of marijuana arrests last year were for possession
only. About 90,000 citizens were busted for selling or manufacturing
pot, which includes anyone nabbed for growing it for personal use or
for medical use. Since about a third of all marijuana arrestees were
under 19, there's a good chance a kid you know or love is among the
victims of our immoral, irrational and expensive two-front war on
(some) drugs and personal freedom.

But even if the drug war's body count doesn't touch you personally,
its economic costs do.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1185/a08.html

Law Enforcement & Prisons

COMMENT: (10-13)

Despite optimistic headlines, some local reports from police seem to
challenge the current public relations campaign by the Office of
National Drug Control Policy which suggests cocaine supplies are
being reduced around the country. Elsewhere, more corruption; a long
look at the implications of a having a state-wide computerized
drug-data base in South Carolina; and another district attorney
candidate in New York is openly criticizing the drug war.

(10) COCAINE CLAMPS RESTRICT ACCESS

Pubdate: Thu, 11 Oct 2007
Source: Jacksonville Daily News (NC)
Copyright: 2007 Jacksonville Daily News
Author: Lindell Kay

With Mexican authorities targeting suppliers south of the border and
U.S. agencies stopping smugglers at sea, the flow of cocaine into
America is being squeezed, according to federal officials.

But area police say cocaine is still readily available to those who
know where to look.

"End users can still buy cocaine in Onslow County," said Capt. Rick
Sutherland of the Onslow County Sheriff's Department. "They may have
to go to more than one dealer to find it, but it is out there."

The Office of National Drug Control Policy announced last week that
coordinated efforts between the U.S. and Mexico over the summer have
made a major impact on the cocaine market, driving prices up around
the country. The shortage has driven the nationwide price for
cocaine to the highest level in almost 20 years. The average
national cost of cocaine has increased 24 percent from around $95 to
$120 a gram over a six-month period that ended in June, according to
a report by ONDCP.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1167/a09.html

(11) BECK TO RESIGN FROM ZANESVILLE POLICE

Pubdate: Sat, 13 Oct 2007
Source: Times Recorder (Zanesville, OH)
Copyright: 2007 Times Recorder
Author: Kathy Thompson

ZANESVILLE - The second Zanesville police officer who is the target
of a federal investigation will be resigning from the department,
according to the police chief.

Sean Beck, 28, was arrested by FBI agents and charged with one count
of extortion and one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Beck
was immediately transported to the Franklin County Jail and waived
both a preliminary hearing and a bond hearing this past week.

According to Chief Eric Lambes, Beck has notified the department of
his intention to resign in the next few days.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1180/a05.html

(12) CRIMEFIGHTING - OR 'BIG BROTHER'?

Pubdate: Sun, 14 Oct 2007
Source: State, The (SC)
Copyright: 2007 The State
Author: John Monk

The drug war in your medicine cabinet S.C. soon will start tracking
prescription drugs by computer.

Is this a blow against the black market or invasion of privacy?

The hunt for black market pushers and users of prescription drugs
such as OxyContin is going high tech.

As early as January, a new computer at the S.C. Department of Health
and Environmental Control will go online, linking the state's 1,225
independent and chain pharmacies.

From then on, all pharmacies will upload to DHEC information on
everyone in South Carolina who buys painkillers, tranquilizers or
stimulants. This data includes the patient's name, date of birth,
address, kind of medication, dosage and the prescribing doctor.

Some say the new system smacks of "Big Brother," but law officers
love it because it will save them time.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1182/a02.html

(13) MCNALLY SAYS DA'S OFFICE IN DISARRAY

Pubdate: Fri, 12 Oct 2007
Source: Times Union (Albany, NY)
Copyright: 2007 Capital Newspapers Division of The Hearst Corporation
Author: Bob Gardinier

Rensselaer County district attorney candidate backs drug laws reform

COLONIE -- The Democrat running for Rensselaer County district
attorney said the office is in disarray under the current
administration and inexperienced prosecutors are handling local court dockets.

"It is broken at levels they don't even know about," said Richard J.
McNally Jr., a former county prosecutor, public defender and current
county conflict defender. "Prosecution is not something you learn
overnight and the office needs to apply that fundamental concept with
leadership from top to bottom."

McNally of Valley Falls faces Republican Gregory Cholakis in
November. He made the comments to the Times Union editorial board recently.

District Attorney Patricia DeAngelis is not seeking re-election. Her
one term in the $119,600-a-year post has been a bumpy ride. She and
her office suffered several reversals on cases and DeAngelis has been
chastised by higher courts for courtroom antics and prosecutorial errors.

The Rockefeller-era drug laws need scrutiny, McNally said.

"The laws need to be changed because there is not enough flexibility
and more judicial discretion would be appropriate."

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1187/a11.html

Cannabis & Hemp

COMMENT: (14-17)

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger terminated an industrial hemp bill in
California, expressing concern that the proposed law would send the
wrong message to farmers that hemp cultivation is somehow legal under
federal law.

Cannabis eradication has taken a back seat to conflict in Lebanon,
prompting the United Nations Development Programme to renew their
efforts to encourage farmers to grow alternative crops, such as
industrial hemp.

British tabloids continued to hyperbolize the repercussions of
Britain's schizophrenic drug policy, in this case, border
interdiction spawning domestic production of high quality "skunk"
weed, to press for re-reclassification.

Former DEA agent Bob Stutman was dressed for success against casually
attired High Times Magazine editor-in-chief Steve Hagar in another
"Heads vs. Feds" debate.

(14) SCHWARZENEGGER AGAIN VETOES INDUSTRIAL HEMP BILL

Pubdate: Mon, 15 Oct 2007
Source: Oakland Tribune, The (CA)
Copyright: 2007 MediaNews Group, Inc. and ANG Newspapers
Author: Sarah Terry-Cobo, Correspondent

Governor Cites Federal Ban in Rejecting Redrafted Legislation

On Thursday Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the Industrial Hemp
Farming act again, even though the bill's authors said they had
redrafted the legislation from last year's version to address the
governor's concerns.

The bill authorizes farmers in four counties to grow plots of
nonpsychoactive hemp as a pilot project, but has no effect on federal
legislation.

In a statement on his Web site, Schwarzenegger said, "I would like to
support the expansion of a new agricultural commodity in this State.

"Unfortunately, I am very concerned that this bill would give
legitimate growers a false sense of security and a belief that
production of 'industrial hemp' is somehow a legal activity under federal law."

[snip]

Opponents argue biological similarities make it difficult to
distinguish between the two varieties and can hinder law
enforcement. John Lovell, legislative council with the California
Narcotics Officers Association, was pleased with the governor's decision.

"When you talk to experienced narcotics officers, (they) can't tell
the difference" between industrial and drug cannabis plants.

[snip]

Authors of the bill, Assemblymen Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, and
Chuck DeVore, R-Orange County, argue California farmers could benefit
by growing the plant here instead of importing the raw materials from
foreign countries.

[snip]

DeVore said in an interview Friday afternoon, "I understand it may
make things difficult for law enforcement, but so does the Fourth Amendment.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n1192.a02.html

(15) IN LEBANON, A COMEBACK FOR CANNABIS

Pubdate: Tue, 16 Oct 2007
Source: Christian Science Monitor (US)
Copyright: 2007 The Christian Science Publishing Society
Author: Nicholas Blanford, Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

Farmers in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley Are Growing More Marijuana Now That
Government Forces Are Once Again Too Busy With Conflicts to Stop Them.

Bekaa Valley, Lebanon - Ali plucks a sprig of the cannabis sativa
plant and sniffs its distinctive leaves with appreciation. This
Lebanese farmer's field of marijuana, a splash of bright green on the
sun-baked plains of eastern Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, will yield around
15 kilograms (33 pounds) of cannabis resin, or hashish, which he will
sell for about $10,000, many times more than he could hope to earn
from legitimate crops and for almost no work at all.

"All I have to do is throw the seeds on the ground, add a little
water, and that's it," says Ali, who spoke on the condition that his
full name was not used. "I would be crazy not to grow [marijuana]."

[snip]

Hashish production is illegal in Lebanon, and each year since the
early 1990s police backed by troops bulldoze the crops before they
can be harvested, leaving farmers penniless. But the failure of
United Nations and government programs to encourage the growth of
legitimate crops, coupled with months of political crisis,
deteriorating economic prospects, and a frail security climate have
encouraged farmers to return to large-scale marijuana cultivation.

"The worse the security situation is in Lebanon, the more we can
grow," says Ali.

[snip]

Despite the threat of police raids destroying their crops, farmers
say the financial returns justify the risk. This year they were
lucky, however. The Army was unable to spare troops to provide
security for the police raids because of the raging battle during the
summer growing season against Islamist militants in a Palestinian
refugee camp in northern Lebanon. Furthermore, the heavily armed
local farmers made it clear to the police that they would resist
attempts to wipe out their marijuana crops.

"We told the police that for every [marijuana] plant they cut down,
we would kill one policeman," says Ibtissam, the wife of a marijuana
farmer in the village of Taraya.

[snip]

With the end of the civil war in 1990, the Lebanese government
launched a drug eradication program in coordination with the United
Nations Development Programme ( UNDP ).

[snip]

The program fizzled out a year later, although the UNDP continues to
seek new ways of persuading farmers to grow alternative legal crops,
such as plants with medicinal qualities that can be sold to
pharmaceutical companies. The UNDP is about to launch a one-year
pilot project to grow industrial hemp, which comes from cannabis but
does not have narcotic properties.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n1191.a03.html

(16) DEADLY SKUNK FLOOD CITY

Pubdate: Mon, 15 Oct 2007
Source: Evening Standard (London, UK)
Copyright: 2007 Associated Newspapers Ltd.
Author: Martin Bentham

Dramatic new evidence of the dangers of cannabis emerged today as
government scientists warned that the most harmful "skunk" variety is
flooding our streets.

The Forensic Science Service said that skunk now accounted for 75 per
cent of cannabis seized.

It also revealed that seizures of all forms of cannabis have shot up
by 42 per cent, with nearly 4,300 kilos confiscated by police and
customs in the first half of this year.

The revelations will increase the pressure on the Government to
restore cannabis to its former class B status, reversing its decision
to downgrade it to a class C drug.

The powerful drug can cause mental illness, say medical experts, and
has led to a number of killings by addicts. Prime Minister Gordon
Brown has already announced a review of the drug's status.

The effect of skunk, typically two to three times more powerful than
other forms of cannabis, was a prime concern which led to his
decision and today's revelations will heighten fears about the drug's impact.

[snip]

Mr Ames said one reason for the surge in skunk was that cannabis was
increasingly produced in Britain. Customs and police had made
smuggling more difficult and growing numbers of foreigners are being
brought to Britain by drug gangs to work in houses converted into
cannabis factories.

[snip]

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(17) IS MARIJUANA GOOD OR EVIL?

Pubdate: Wed, 17 Oct 2007
Source: Redlands Daily Facts (CA)
Copyright: 2007 Redlands Daily Facts
Author: David James Heiss, Staff Writer

REDLANDS - Marijuana might be good medicine. It was a staple crop of
our forefathers, and "thousands" of products are made from hemp, from
the sails of the first boats ever built to modern-day dynamite,
according to editor-in-chief of High Times magazine Steve Hagar, a
former writer for the New York Daily News.

On the other hand, the majority of Americans don't agree that
marijuana should be legalized, including Bob Stutman, a former Drug
Enforcement Agency agent who debated with Hagar on the issue Tuesday
night at the University of Redlands' Orton Center.

The event, moderated by government department chairman Ed Wingenbach,
drew a large crowd, most of who seemed to cheer on Hagar's many jabs
during the "Heads vs. Feds" convocation.

Hagar, sporting a denim jacket and dark jeans, began the debate,
expanding upon five points he felt were important for his side.

[snip]

Stutman, former head of the Drug Enforcement Agency's New York City
division, wore a red-and-white pin-striped dress shirt and dark dress pants.

He accused Hagar of presenting "opinion and innuendo as fact," and
offered his own set of facts.

[snip]

Danielle Zimmerman, a junior entrepreneurship and art major from
Jamesville, Calif., felt that Hagar more articulately related his
points to the mostly university audience.

"Steve killed it. He had the whole thing going for him, and was the
stronger debater," she said.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n1197.a07.html

International News

COMMENT: (18-21)

The UK Herald newspaper this week reported Afghan President Hamid
Karzai is almost ready to cave to U.S. demands to spray herbicide on
Afghan (poppy) farms. The move, "masterminded" by Ambassador William
("Chemical Bill") Wood, increases danger to British troops there, by
driving more farmers into the hands of a resurgent Taliban. In a new
twist, the Herald newspaper reported the CIA and Pentagon oppose
herbicide spraying. "The Pentagon and the CIA have lined up as
surprising allies of the Europeans, lobbying against their own State
Department's policy on drug eradication and its endorsement by the
White House."

In the UK, North Wales Chief Constable Richard Brunstrom's report
last week concluding the prohibition of drugs should be replaced with
some form of regulation, continues to reverberate in the British
press. The North Wales Police Authority chiefs this week endorsed
Chief Brunstrom's report, though falling short of calls to legalize
all drugs. Others, like MP David Jones, condemned the idea. Said
Chief Brunstrom, "I despair of the flat-earthers who are refusing to
look at the evidence." Current drugs policy is "irrational,
illogical, immoral and hypocritical," said Brunstrom. "Most
importantly it doesn't work."

In surprise move, the Dutch government decided to completely ban the
sale of hallucinogenic mushrooms. The decision was in response to
several foreign tourists who took the drug and were then killed in
accidents or who committed suicide. Insiders predict an increase in
the street-sales of dried mushrooms and LSD. "So you'll have a rise
in incidents, but they won't be recorded as mushroom-related, and the
politicians can declare victory."

Bolivia celebrated Indigenous Resistance Day last week on October
12. An article from the UK New Statesman newspaper recounts the 2005
victory of Bolivian president Evo Morales as resistance and
confrontation with the U.S. establishment. The "policy for the
eradication of the coca leaf came directly from the U.S. government,
and was a direct attack on the cocaleros, indigenous peasants who
live in the most deprived areas of the country."

(18) HERBICIDE RISK TO SOLDIERS

Pubdate: Tue, 09 Oct 2007
Source: Herald, The (UK)
Copyright: 2007 The Herald
Author: Ian Bruce, Defence Correspondent

British troops fighting a bitter insurgent war in Helmand province
could be placed in even more danger if the Afghan government approves
a new US-backed programme to eliminate the country's poppy-crop by
spraying it with herbicide.

UK officials leading the battle against the burgeoning opium output
from the poppies say the policy would backfire by wiping out the
livelihoods of tens of thousands of local farmers and could drive
them into the arms of the Taliban.

It might also wipe out food crops grown alongside the poppies and
hand the insurgents a major propaganda victory by allowing them to
claim that the West was waging chemical warfare on civilians.

While President Hamid Karzai continues to resist American efforts to
begin widespread spraying from the air, sources say he looks likely
to approve a new scheme to use hand-sprays to destroy crops in selected areas.

[snip]

US pressure on the Afghan government is being masterminded by
Ambassador William Wood. He earned the nickname "Chemical Bill" in
his previous post in Colombia due to his enthusiasm for spraying
illegal coca fields with herbicides.

[snip]

Both the Pentagon and the CIA have lined up as surprising allies of
the Europeans, lobbying against their own State Department's policy
on drug eradication and its endorsement by the White House.

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n1183.a11.htm

(19) AUTHORITY BACKING BRUNSTROM IN CALL FOR DRUGS LAW REFORMS

Pubdate: Tue, 16 Oct 2007
Source: Daily Post (UK)
Copyright: 2007 Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales
Author: Steve Bagnall, Daily Post

NORTH Wales Police Authority chiefs yesterday backed calls for a
radical overhaul of drug laws by the chief constable -- to the fury
of opponents.

Although the authority stepped back from supporting Chief Constable
Richard Brunstrom's call to legalise all drugs, members urged a
review of the Misuse of Drugs Act.

But as Mr Brunstrom hailed the support a "fantastic result" Clwyd
West MP David Jones said the Home Office had confirmed it was going
to boot his ideas into touch.

[snip]

NWPA members yesterday agreed the current laws should be replaced
with a "Misuse of Substances Act."

They want any new law to be based on the "strong regulation of all
forms of drugs" including alcohol and tobacco and with a "hierarchy of harm."

NWPA chairman Ian Roberts said: "We welcome the important
contribution by the Chief Constable to the ongoing debate.

"It is clear that the current approach isn't working.

"We, therefore, urge a review of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and its
possible replacement by a Misuse of Substances Act founded on the
strong regulation of all forms of drugs and based upon a new
hierarchy of harm that includes alcohol and nicotine."

At a meeting with the authority yesterday, Mr Brunstrom said: "I
despair of the flat-earthers who are refusing to look at the evidence."

He claimed current drugs' policy was "irrational, illogical, immoral
and hypocritical."

Mr Brunstrom added: "Most importantly it doesn't work."

He said he regarded those who managed drug production as evil.

"What better than to cut their profits, put them out of business?" Mr
Brunstrom said.

"We have handed over the production, control and supply of the entire
thing to active criminals. How can that possibly be a good outcome
of government policy?"

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n1194.a09.htm

(20) DUTCH DECLARE HALLUCINOGENIC MUSHROOMS ILLEGAL

Pubdate: Sat, 13 Oct 2007
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2007 The Washington Post Company
Author: Toby Sterling, Associated Press

AMSTERDAM -- The Netherlands will ban the sale of hallucinogenic
mushrooms, the government announced Friday, tightening the country's
famed liberal drug policies after the suicide of an intoxicated teenager.

Mushrooms "will be outlawed the same way as other drugs," Justice
Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin said. "The way we will enforce the ban
is through targeting sellers."

[snip]

But the outright ban had not been expected: The government had
solicited advice from vendors, advocacy groups and the city of
Amsterdam, which benefits financially from drug-related tourism, on
how to improve the situation.

Mushroom vendors suggested stricter ID controls to prevent underage
buyers and strong warnings against mixing mushrooms with other
drugs. Amsterdam Mayor Job Cohen had suggested a three-day "cooling
off" period between ordering them and using them.

The Justice Ministry decided those measures did not go far enough.

[snip]

Murat Kucuksen, whose farm, Procare, supplies about half the
psychedelic mushrooms on the Dutch market, predicted that the trade
will move underground as a result of the ban. Prices will rise, and
dealers will sell dried mushrooms, or LSD, as a substitute to
tourists without offering any guidance, he said.

"So you'll have a rise in incidents, but they won't be recorded as
mushroom-related, and the politicians can declare victory," he said.

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n1185.a10.htm

(21) THE RESISTANCE CONTINUES

Pubdate: Fri, 12 Oct 2007
Source: New Statesman (UK)
Copyright: 2007 New Statesman
Author: Amancay Colque

NS marks Indigenous Resistance Day with an article from Bolivian
Campaigner Amancay Colque, who explains why the Evo Morales
government is in confrontation with the 'establishment'

October 12th traditionally was celebrated as the anniversary of
Columbus' "discovery" of the Americas. For the indigenous peoples of
the continent, this "discovery" meant hundreds of years of genocide
and misery. Now the day has been reclaimed as the "Day of Indigenous
Resistance" in Venezuela and Bolivia, two countries with presidents
of indigenous descent who are refusing to toe Washington's line.

[snip]

In 1995 a new political party, MAS IPSP, was formed in response to
the government of the time blindly following instructions from the
IMF and World Bank. For instance, the policy for the eradication of
the coca leaf came directly from the U.S. government, and was a
direct attack on the cocaleros, indigenous peasants who live in the
most deprived areas of the country. Natural resources were privatised
and state-owned companies sold off at ridiculously low prices. Trade
unions, students and indigenous peasants resisted, but everything
seemed to be in vain.

[snip]

In December 2005 Evo Morales-MAS won the elections with 54% of the
vote. The demands of the people in October 2003 were the
renationalisation of the hydrocarbons industry, a constituent
assembly to re-write the constitution so as to reflect people's
wishes, such as land reform and education as well as the extradition
and trial of Goni.

The implementation of these demands, which are demands of the people,
has put the Evo Morales government in direct confrontation with the
powerful establishment.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n1181.a02.htm

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