THIS JUST IN

(1) MINISTER RULES OUT PRESCRIBING HEROIN TO HELP DRUG ADDICTS

Pubdate: Fri, 07 Sep 2007
Source: Scotsman (UK)
Copyright: 2007 The Scotsman Publications Ltd
Author: Peter MacMahon, Scottish Government Editor

FERGUS Ewing last night firmly rejected growing demands for drug
addicts to be prescribed heroin.

The minister for community safety said the Scottish National Party
government would instead concentrate on getting people off drugs.

Mr Ewing's intervention came as the Scottish Parliament heard details
of how prescribing heroin works in the Netherlands and one
Nationalist MSP publicly advocated the idea.

Vincent Hendriks, a researcher with the Parnassia Addiction Research
Centre, told parliament's Future's Forum yesterday that giving out
the drug was a good use of taxpayers money.

He said that it had been shown in the Netherlands that prescribing
heroin led to a reduction in petty crime, as addicts did not steal to
fund their habit. It also stabilised addicts' lives and so they did
not require so much attention from social services.

Mr Hendriks argued that prescribing heroin was good medical practice.
He said: "The first thing a physician does is try to cure the
'disease'. If he cannot, he tries to alleviate the symptoms.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n1032.a03.html

(2) 'BONG HITS' CASE GOES BACK TO COURT

Pubdate: Thu, 06 Sep 2007
Source: Juneau Empire (AK)
Copyright: 2007 Southeastern Newspaper Corp

Frederick's Attorney Says Client Has Right to Sue for Damages

Despite a U.S. Supreme Court ruling earlier this year on Joseph
Frederick's free-speech case, the legal debate is not over.

The case of the former Juneau-Douglas High School student was
returned to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is an
automatic part of the legal process.

"There is still a dispute," said Frederick's attorney, Doug Mertz.

The 9th Circuit Court will either dismiss the case outright or send
it to the U.S. District Court in Alaska for Frederick to argue for
his banner, "Bong Hits 4 Jesus," under state free speech laws and
civil liability issues.

At the heart of Mertz's argument is Frederick's motive when he and
others lifted the 14-foot banner - and whether Frederick retains the
right to sue for damages. Mertz said part of Frederick's argument
attempts to protect future JDHS students from a district policy
enforced by then-Principal Deborah Morse.

The attorney said that five years later, the Juneau School District
"continues to deny that students have free speech on serious matters."

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n1032.a04.html

(3) YOUTH ABUSING DRUGS BY 14, REPORT FINDS

Pubdate: Thu, 06 Sep 2007
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 2007 Southam Inc.
Author: Meagan Fitzpatrick, CanWest News Service

More Smoke Pot Than Cigarettes, Abuse Centre Says

OTTAWA - By the time they're 14, many Canadian youth have done it all
-- cigarettes, drugs and alcohol -- and a new report on substance
abuse and addiction should serve as a "call to action" to change
that, the organization behind the research says.

The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse says Canadians need to pay
closer attention to the facts that the average age when a child
smokes a cigarette for the first time is about 12, 13 when he or she
uses alcohol and 14 for first-time drug use.

In a report released yesterday, titled Substance Abuse in Canada:
Youth in Focus, the CCSA outlines gaps in Canada's overall approach
to dealing with these worrying statistics and suggests several
strategies to plug the holes.

The report paints an alarming portrait of drug and alcohol use by
youth. By the time they are in their first year of high school,
about two-thirds of students had consumed alcohol, according to one
survey. Another survey of youth age 15-24 showed that 83% were
currently drinking or had consumed alcohol within the past year. If
it's any comfort to parents, the students characterized their
drinking as light to infrequent.

More than a third of students in Grades 7 to 9 have binged on
alcohol, meaning they consumed five or more drinks on a single
occasion, researchers found. The same was true for 40% of 15-to
19-year-olds, while another survey showed that one-third of young
drinkers drank at a hazardous level.

After alcohol, cannabis was the most commonly used illegal substance
among youth. Cannabis use is reported by 17% of students in Grades 7
to 9, about 29% of 15-to 17-year-olds and almost half of 18-to 19-
year-olds, the CCSA report said.

Pot smoking, in fact, now exceeds the rate of cigarette smoking among
youth, the study found.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n1031.a06.html

(4) ADDICT HOOKERS NAILED

Pubdate: Thu, 06 Sep 2007
Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON)
Copyright: 2007, Canoe Limited Partnership.
Author: Rob Lamberti, Sun Media

Police Put Deep Freeze On 25 Prostitutes In Downtown Oshawa, Many Of
Them Drug Users

Twenty five women were arrested in a four-day prostitution sweep of
downtown Oshawa.

Durham police say most of the women are addicted to drugs and are
plying the trade to pay for their habit.

Project Minnesota was launched Tuesday in response to community
complaints about prostitution in the downtown core, Community
Response Sgt. Peter Keegan said.

"The reasoning behind why they're doing this is often fuelled by drug
use," primarily crack cocaine, he said. Keegan said one woman was
arrested twice in one night.

He said police impose conditions on the women, prohibiting them from
returning to the area where they were arrested.

'We Do What We Can'

Police filed 16 prostitution charges, five drug offences and 25
breaches of court orders, mostly dealing with ignoring instructions
to stay out of specific areas.

"We try to keep them out of the downtown, but it's sometimes not
easy," Keegan said. "When you see the amount of breaches, it's a
tough one to enforce. We're fighting the oldest profession in the
world, so to speak. We do what we can to address the community complaints."

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n1029.a06.html

WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW

Domestic News- Policy

COMMENT: (5-8)

The headline of this first story caught my eye as I had trouble
believing anyone could get a life sentence on a possession charge. As
I read the article I was further dismayed by what passes for justice
in this small Texas town.

Even though our last issue contained several poppy articles, I found
some interesting opinion pieces to include this week. A Neal Peirce
column found print in several papers examining Taliban profits from
poppies. An OPED by members of the New America Foundation
concentrated on the effects of our failed eradication efforts.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan's Vice President calls for increased efforts
by way of aerial spraying!

(5) MAN GIVEN LIFE SENTENCE IN DRUG POSSESSION CASE

Pubdate: Thu, 30 Aug 2007
Source: Herald Democrat (Sherman,TX)
Copyright: 2007 Herald Democrat
Author: Jerrie Whiteley, Herald Democrat

Jurors spent a little more than an hour Wednesday deliberating
Michael Dewayne Kimmel's fate after convicting him of possessing
approximately $8,000 worth of crack cocaine in a drug-free zone in 2005.

Kimmel's vicious verbal outbursts earlier in the day assured he was
almost encircled by law enforcement officers when he heard jurors'
decision that he should spend the rest of his life in prison.

[snip]

The jurors started Wednesday hearing about Kimmel's previous
interactions with the law. To that end, Cate introduced into
evidence a stack of Texas Youth Commission records as a large as an
American Collegiate Dictionary, as she prepared to question Kimmel's
probation officer. The move seemed to cause Kimmel some concern
because the young man grabbed his neck tie and held it up above his
head as though he were being hanged.

[snip]

"Go ahead, my life is over. I am hung. I am as good as dead. I am as
good as dead. Don't nobody give a ( explicative deleted ) about me.
Com e on, give me the needle. Tell that deputy to pull out his gun
and shoot me. Give her ( Cate ) what she wants," Kimmel gushed in a
voice loud enough that jurors would have had a hard time not hearing.

[snip]

The rest of the afternoon Cate presented jurors with testimony from
Grays on County deputies and jailers who testified to problems they
have had with Kimmel in the nearly two years he has been in their custody.

The complaints ranged from cursing and threatening officers to
attacking other inmates. Jailers testified that the situation
reached the point where Kimmel is not allowed to leave his cell
without his hands and feet shackled. And he still managed to attack a
mentally challenged inmate.

[snip]

Garland Cardwell spent the day trying to remind jurors that the
charge for which they convicted Kimmel had nothing to do with his
problems with the jail staff, his previous activities with a Fort
Worth street gang or the murder charge.

He urged them to consider only the drug charge when they considered
what he should pay for that charge.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1014/a06.html

(6) COLUMN: DRUG WAR'S LATEST ACHIEVEMENT: BOOSTING GLOBAL TERRORISM

Pubdate: Tue, 04 Sep 2007
Source: Seattle Times (WA)
Copyright: 2007 The Seattle Times Company
Author: Neal Peirce, Syndicated columnist

[snip]

But now, we're learning, there's a jarring new dimension. The drug
war is directly feeding international terrorism. The most startling
new evidence comes from Afghanistan, where the U.S. is leading a
full-blown NATO campaign to eradicate production of poppies, the
plant from which heroin is derived.

Colossal failure is already apparent. Afghanistan is producing 95
percent of the world's poppies; production rose 58 percent last year alone.

And the biggest beneficiary? It's the Taliban, gaining popularity as
it protects local poppy farmers against the Western-led eradication
campaign. Then it becomes the opium sales agent into international
markets, reaping huge amounts of money it can plow back into its
terrorist campaign against the West.

[snip]

Will we find a presidential candidate willing to talk to us honestly
about our disaster-strewn policy, to suggest rational paths toward
drug legalization? To credit us with intelligence -- that if we cared
enough about our health to reduce drastically our consumption of
readily available red meat, alcohol and tobacco, we might just be
smart enough to resist dangerous narcotics?

I'm not holding my breath. Though, refreshingly, the rest of the
world is starting to think afresh.

A prime example: The Senlis Council, a European-Canadian drug-policy
institute that's done major research in Afghanistan, proposes
licensing Afghanistan with the International Narcotics Control Board
to sell its opium legally. Even a Western subsidy to pay Afghan
farmers the same price the Taliban and drug lords do -- about $600
million a year -- would be well below what we're spending on
eradication. And addiction is rare among pain patients.

Here's a chance for the West to spend money, visibly, helping poor
Afghan farmers survive, instead of destroying their livelihoods.
Simultaneously, the Taliban would lose its big revenue source for
terrorist activities. Couldn't we be this humanitarian and smart -- for once?

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1026/a07.html

(7) OPED: THE WAR ON POPPIES

Pubdate: Sun, 02 Sep 2007
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2007 Los Angeles Times
Authors: Peter Bergen and Sameer Lalwani

U.S. Efforts to Eradicate Afghanistan's Crop Are Empowering the
Taliban by Sowing Seeds of Resentment.

Stepping onto the balcony of the governor's mansion in Uruzgan in
southern Afghanistan, you quickly grasp the scale of the drug problem
gripping the country.

Beginning at the walls of the mansion and stretching as far as the
eye can see are hundreds of acres of poppy fields ready for
harvesting for opium sap, pretty much the only way to earn a living
in poverty-stricken Uruzgan.

[snip]

All across the country, Afghan support for poppy cultivation is on
the upswing; 40% of Afghans now consider it acceptable if there is no
other way to earn a living, and in the southwest, where much of the
poppy crop is grown, two out of three people say it is
acceptable. In Uruzgan's neighboring province, Helmand -- which
supplies about half the world's opium, the raw material for heroin --
favorable ratings for the Taliban now run as high as 27% ( compared
with 10% in the whole of Afghanistan ).

[snip]

Most farmers who cultivate poppies do so because few other options --
either alternative crops or alternative livelihoods -- exist in their
part of the world.

You simply cannot eviscerate the livelihoods of the estimated 3
million Afghans who grow poppies and not expect a backlash.

What's more, our policy is not effective.

[snip]

The Taliban derives not only substantial financial benefits from the
opium trade, according to U.S. military officials in Afghanistan,
but wins political benefits from its supportive stance on poppy
growing, masterfully exploiting situations in which U.S.-sponsored
eradication forces are pitted against poor farmers.

Eradication has also become a wedge in the fragile relationship of
the NATO countries that are part of the coalition in Afghanistan.
Many European countries, including the Dutch, who have forces
stationed in Uruzgan, oppose the American eradication policy.

[snip]

The priority of the United States and NATO should be first to thwart
the Taliban insurgency while bettering the lives of typical Afghans
through significant economic and reconstruction efforts to win hearts
and minds. Doing nothing on the poppy front would do more to achieve
this goal than the counterproductive eradication path the U.S.
currently pursues.

The U.S. should adopt a "first do no harm" policy that temporarily
suspends eradication while implementing a promising portfolio of new
initiatives to build up alternatives for farmers.

[snip]

The U.S. and NATO should also endorse a pilot project proposed by
the Senlis Council, an international nongovernmental organization
with office s in southern Afghanistan, to harness poppy cultivation
for the production of legal medicinal opiates such as morphine for
sale to countries, such as Brazil, that are in short supply of cheap
pain drugs for patients.

The U.S. must stop targeting poor farmers and focus on the
traffickers who make the bulk of the profits from heroin.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents on the ground should
step up efforts to interrupt money-laundering networks and interdict
labs and shipments.

The DEA should also turn Afghanistan's shame-based culture to its
advantage by making public the list of top Afghan drug suspects,
including government officials, as it did in the 1990s, when it
publicized the names of Colombia's drug kingpins.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1021/a05.html

(8) OPED: LEAVE IT TO U.S. TO END THE POPPY CURSE

Pubdate: Sun, 02 Sep 2007
Source: Sunday Telegraph (UK)
Copyright: Telegraph Group Limited 2007
Author: Ahmad Zia Massoud, First Vice-President of Afghanistan

I have no doubt that the efforts of Britain and the international
community in fighting the opium trade in Afghanistan are
well-intentioned and we are grateful for their support. But it is now
clear that your policy in the south of our country has completely failed.

[snip]

Why, when so much has been spent, has the policy failed so badly? The
primary reason is insecurity. Opium cultivation has continued due to
the pressure exerted by the Taliban, who "tax" every aspect of the
poppy crop. In more secure provinces, in the north and centre, we
have succeeded in reducing opium cultivation. Second, and almost as
important, the counter-narcotics policy has been much too soft. We
are giving too much "carrot" and not enough "stick". Of course, it is
important to bring development and alternative employment to the
people. Millions of pounds have been committed in provinces including
Helmand for irrigation projects and road-building to help farmers get
their produce to market. But for now this has simply made it easier
for them to grow and transport opium.

What is missing is the "stick". Eradication was so low last year, at
only about 10 per cent of the crop, that it hardly made an impact on
the production and will not be enough to deter farmers from planting
in the future.

[snip]

The time has come for us to adopt a more forceful approach. We must
switch from ground-based eradication to aerial spraying. This has
several advantages. It is safe - the main ingredient, glyphosate,
has been in use for 30 years - it requires fewer people, and they
will be able to operate in greater safety. It also has the benefit of
being indiscriminate: farmers will no longer be able to bribe
officials to protect their crop.

This should not create anger against the government, since it is
acting with religious and legal justification, nor should it increase
rural poverty. Some of the poorest provinces are succeeding in
getting rid of the poppy, though it is essential that long-term
projects are implemented to develop the economy and provide
alternative livelihoods.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1025/a06.html

Law Enforcement & Prisons

COMMENT: (9-11)

Thank goodness there was one humane being in the crowd at a North
Carolina State Trooper training exercise. An officer made the brave
decision to hand over a recording of animal abuse to the proper authorities.

Many citizens end up in cuffs when police officers use the "knock and
talk" method. A 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decision may set a
Wisconsin man free after ruling the officers went too far.

Closing with a puff piece reporting an increase in the number of
narcotics officers has led to an increase in arrests. Nothing
extraordinary here but it continues to aggravate me when the media
treats this as if it is somehow newsworthy.

(9) TROOPER ACCUSED OF DOG ABUSE

Pubdate: Sat, 01 Sep 2007
Source: News & Observer (Raleigh, NC)
Copyright: 2007 The News and Observer Publishing Company

Internal Affairs Got Cell-Phone Video

The state Highway Patrol stripped one of its canine handlers of his
badge and dog Friday while officials investigate an animal abuse
complaint against him, a spokesman said.

Sgt. Charles L. Jones, a 12-year veteran of the patrol, has been
under scrutiny by internal affairs investigators since a training
exercise in Raleigh in early August. A fellow patrolman recorded
Jones' treatment of Ricoh, a Belgian Malinois, with his cell-phone
video camera. The patrolman turned the video over to internal
affairs investigators. On Friday, week s after the incident, Brian
Beatty, the state Secretary of Crime Control an d Public Safety,
asked agents at the State Bureau of Investigation to determine
whether Jones broke the law. It is a felony to abuse a law enforcement animal.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1020/a05.html

(10) COURT SAYS SEARCH VIOLATED RIGHTS

Pubdate: Wed, 29 Aug 2007
Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI)
Copyright: 2007 Journal Sentinel Inc.
Author: John Diedrich

Milwaukee Police Lacked Warrant

Taking aim at a tactic used by Milwaukee police, a federal court
found that officers and federal drug agents violated constitutional
protections when they broke down the door of a north side home in
2005 in a search that le d to 500 grams of cocaine and a gun.

The 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed the decision to allow
the drugs and gun as evidence against Darnell Ellis, who was
sentenced to nearly six years in prison, according to the ruling
released this week. "The problem in this case is that the officers
and agents lacked a warrant when they approached the home and
utilized tactics that, if allow ed to go unchecked, would eliminate
the Fourth Amendment warrant requirement for a home with any
connection to drugs," the opinion written by Appeals Court Judge
Michael Kanne says.

[snip]

Ellis' attorney, Brian Kinstler, said officers crossed the line in
their search.

"That line is the Constitution," he said. "The war on drugs has more
officers close to that line than ever before."

[snip]

The uniformed officers knocked and asked Ellis, 27, if they could
come in because they were investigating a missing child, which was a
lie. Ellis said he didn't live in the house, also a lie, and refused
to let them in.

An officer at a side door said he heard running on stairs in the
house an d concluded someone was trying to destroy drugs, calling
that out to the others. They broke down the door and found cocaine
residue. Then they got a warrant signed by a state judge, searched
more and found a gun and 2.5 kilograms of cocaine.

The appeals court found that people running inside a house surrounded
by police wasn't enough to conclude drugs were being destroyed.

[snip]

The search was upheld by Magistrate Judge Aaron Goodstein and U.S.
District Chief Judge Rudolph Randa. Ellis pleaded guilty but
reserved the right to appeal the search.

Ellis remains in prison, Kinstler said. If prosecutors don't appeal
the ruling, the case will return to Randa.

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1007/a01.html

(11) POLICE NARCOTICS UNIT HAS A BUSY YEAR

Pubdate: Tue, 04 Sep 2007
Source: Stamford Advocate, The (CT)
Copyright: 2007 Southern Connecticut Newspaper, Inc.
Author: Natasha Lee, Staff Writer

STAMFORD - The Police Department's narcotics and organized crime unit
nearly doubled its arrests in 2006, crediting a citywide crackdown
and increase in officers for the success.

Narcotics officers made more than 1,200 arrests last year, up from
677 in 2005, the unit reported. Arrests include narcotics violations,
warrant arrests, liquor law violations, assaults and larcenies.

Police also seized close to $3 million worth of drugs, including $2
million of cocaine and heroin.

[snip]

With 17 narcotics officers, the unit was able to beef up surveillance
at the city's downtown train station, where police say drugs are
trafficked in from New York City, and had more officers available for
surveillance.

[snip]

Investigations with federal agencies such as the FBI and the Drug
Enforcement Administration, along with state parole and probation
departments, have helped Stamford police nab criminals and seek
harsher and lengthier prison sentences, Fontneau said.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1028/a01.html

Cannabis & Hemp

COMMENT: (12-16)

In Oregon a rare victory for medicinal marijuana patients from a
federal judge. But in New Mexico we find a cowardly Attorney General
who refuses to support and defend the state's laws as AGs in other
states normally do.

Legal herbs are not grown in forests so they do not cause
environmental damage. But it seems that the governments of two
countries are determined to provide price support for marijuana
growers as part of a publicity stunt. B.C. Bud is grown indoors, not
in forests on Vancouver Island, where three of the four members of
the DrugSense webmastering team live ( http://www.drugpolicycentral.com ).

And in the United Kingdom the reefer mania continues.

(12) RULING PROTECTS POT PATIENTS PRIVACY

Pubdate: Thu, 06 Sep 2007
Source: Oregonian, The (Portland, OR)
Copyright: 2007 The Oregonian
Author: Anne Saker, The Oregonian

A Federal Judge Denies a Grand Jury Access to Oregon Medical
Marijuana Treatment Records

A federal judge has thrown out sweeping subpoenas for patient records
kept by Oregon's medical marijuana program and a private clinic,
saying privacy concerns overruled a grand jury's demand for information.

Chief U.S. District Judge Robert H. Whaley in Yakima ruled on the
subpoenas four months after a grand jury in that city issued them.
The grand jury wanted to know about 17 patients who got medical
marijuana from a grower with operations in Oregon and Washington.

Advocates for medical marijuana have said the subpoenas marked a new
tactic in federal efforts to stop state-run programs such as
Oregon's. In California, federal drug agents have closed medical
marijuana dispensaries and prosecuted doctors who prescribed
marijuana to patients.

The state of Oregon and the private Hemp and Cannabis Foundation went
to court this summer to stop the subpoenas, and Whaley convened a
hearing Au g. 1.

In his eight-page decision issued Tuesday, Whaley wrote that grand
juries have wide latitude to conduct investigations and can issue
subpoenas for almost any kind of information. The subpoenas cannot be
quashed unless the person or organization fighting the subpoena can
show the demand is unreasonable, the judge said.

Whaley found that the subpoenas against Oregon's program and the
foundation were unreasonable.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1030/a01.html

(13) MEDICAL MARIJUANA PATIENTS FACE DIFFICULT TASK OF FINDING DRUG

Pubdate: Tue, 04 Sep 2007
Source: Albuquerque Tribune (NM)
Copyright: 2007 The Albuquerque Tribune
Author: Sue Vorenberg

[snip]

Earlier this year, the Legislature told the Department of Health to
find a way to produce and distribute medical marijuana - but to do so
would subject its employees to federal prosecution.

Gov. Bill Richardson told Attorney General Gary King to support the
Department of Health, but to do so would subject him to removal from
office under state law.

"It's a fairly complex situation," King said.

Since the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act was signed in April,
the issues have put the Attorney General's Office and the Health
Department in a bind, said Alfredo Vigil, secretary of the Department
of Health.

"We're going to continue the certification process for patients as
long a s possible, but the whole distribution system - which was a
way we thought we could break new ground - has turned out to be a
total impossibility," Vigil said.

So far, about 30 people have been certified to use medical marijuana
in New Mexico, and applications are starting to slow down, Vigil said.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1027/a03.html

(14) MORE POT MEANS MORE LAW OFFICERS IN CALIFORNIA'S NATIONAL FORESTS

Pubdate: Wed, 05 Sep 2007
Source: Record Searchlight (Redding, CA)
Copyright: 2007 Record Searchlight
Author: Dylan Darling

Bucking the national trend of shrinking forest staff, the U.S. Forest
Service is doubling the number of law enforcement officers in the
state a s part of an effort to uproot illicit marijuana growing operations.

By May, there should be 160 law enforcement officers, patrol captains
and special agents working the 18 national forests in California,
said Ron Pugh, special agent in charge of the Forest Service's
Pacific Southwest region, which encompasses all of the state.

Although he said the increase in workers -- which will cost $6
million -- should help, Pugh said the Forest Service could use more
in tackling the "daunting task" of stopping those behind marijuana plantings.

"A hundred and sixty is about a third of what we should have," he said.

[snip]

Even with the increased staff and other strategies, the Forest
Service will be hard-pressed to stop those planting marijuana gardens
in the state, said Bruce Mirken, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy
Project, a Washington, D.C.-based group advocating for marijuana legalization.

"This is a war they can't ever win, but they can keep a lot of people
employed fighting it," Mirken said.

By busting more gardens and groups funding the gardens, the Forest
Service will drive the price of marijuana up, he said, giving more
incentive for others to grow.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1028/a06.html

(15) MARIJUANA BUSTS SET A RECORD

Pubdate: Fri, 31 Aug 2007
Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)
Copyright: 2007 Times Colonist
Author: Rob Shaw, Times Colonist

Team Finds 19,000 Plants at 350 Sites in Nine-Day Campaign

Island police say they've destroyed the largest amount of marijuana
since they started a summer eradication program eight years ago.

A combined team of RCMP, municipal police and Canadian Forces
personnel found more than 19,000 plants at 350 sites during a
nine-day campaign that ended this week.

[snip]

Critics call the police's summer eradication program a
public-relations exercise and an ineffective use of taxpayer dollars.

Last year's program cost approximately $40,000, including fuel for
the helicopters, said Cox. But he said value of the marijuana seized
exceeded the costs.

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1019/a13.html

(16) OPED: AN EPIDEMIC OF CANNABIS USE?

Pubdate: Mon, 03 Sep 2007
Source: New Statesman (UK)
Copyright: 2007 New Statesman
Author: Raj Persaud

An enigma which frequently clouds the cannabis debate is - if it's as
dangerous as doctors and scientists claim - how come despite being
possibly the most used illicit drug worldwide, the ill effects appear
to affect so few?

For example surveys suggest that as many as one in four of those aged
fro m the late teens to the early twenties in the UK admit to having
smoked cannabis recently -- yet the rate of schizophrenia remains
relatively but stubbornly low in comparison -- roughly one in a hundred.

Previously the debate over the dangers of cannabis had focused on
other controversial areas such as how dependency inducing it was and
what was t he physical damage, but now psychiatrists in particular
are concerned at the accumulating evidence cannabis produces
devastating effects on mental health in the form of psychosis.

As far back as 2002 a large-scale study of more than 50,000 men
conscript ed into the Swedish army between 1969 and 1970 suggested
that those who had used cannabis more than 50 times before the age of
18 years had an almost sevenfold increased risk of developing
schizophrenia in later life. In a New Zealand study published at the
same time, those who started cannabis use by age 15 years (but not
those who started later) showed a fourfold increase in the risk of
developing schizophrenia-like illness by age 26 y ears.

[snip]

But in a sense all the statistics or data in the world may make
little difference to the cannabis debate for one key psychological
reason -- we have a natural human tendency to be poor at assessing
risk when its presented to us in the form of numbers or data. Our
brains are wired up much more to making decisions over risk in actual
real world situations -- we make assessments from our direct experience.

Few will directly experience psychosis either in themselves or others.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1026/a12.html

International News

COMMENT: (17-20)

In Thailand, the long-awaited independent panel investigating over
2,500 extralegal executions of drug offenders during the Shinawatra
government, met for the first time last week. The 12-member panel was
empowered by the new government "to sort out human rights violations
in Thailand." Of the 2,500 (roughly) killings, "fewer than 100
complaints had been lodged by relatives of victims - but that
reflected public lack of faith in the justice system."

A rather bleak editorial from The Herald newspaper outlines the
failure of Scottish drug policy, noting deaths from drugs rose last
year. The reason, according to The Herald? No, it is not that
prohibition (punishing, jailing drug users) makes the problem
worse. Why, it is "too much emphasis on harm reduction" that's
caused the deaths, the Herald insinuates.

On beautiful Vancouver Island, that pretty park could hide needles an
IV drug user has tossed aside. This has Cowichan Valley Regional
District's Community Safety Advisory Committee and the mayor of
Cowichan asking, if not a full needle-exchange, why not at least a
safe needle disposal program? "We're focused on public safety about
sharps left in the open environment," said Mayor Phil Kent.

And from Belfast, Northern Ireland this week, news of a tarring and
feathering: of an alleged "drug dealer." Because police refused to
"take action" against the south Belfast man, "masked men poured tar
over him an d covered him in feathers as women and children looked
on." According to some observers, those responsible for the tarry
assault on the suspected drug dealer, were themselves suspected
paramilitary group members.

(17) 'DRUG WAR' PANEL OUTLINES ITS WORK

Pubdate: Thu, 30 Aug 2007
Source: Nation, The (Thailand)
Copyright: 2007 Nation Multimedia Group

In its first meeting yesterday, an independent committee looking into
2,5 69 drug-related killings during the first Thaksin Shinawatra
government laid out its work agenda and officially appointed heads of
six sub-panels.

The 12-member committee, headed by former attorney-general Khanitna
Nakhon, repeated that it was authorised to prosecute anyone found to
be involved in the killings and would mainly perform a fact-finding
role and work out compensatory solutions for relatives of the victims.

[snip]

Kraisak said fewer than 100 complaints had been lodged by relatives
of victims - but that reflected public lack of faith in the justice system.

"If the investigation can bring the wrongdoers to justice in only one
of two cases, that would mean a historic success."

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n1022.a09.html

(18) EDITORIAL: LOSING THE DRUGS WAR

Pubdate: Fri, 31 Aug 2007
Source: Herald, The (UK)
Copyright: 2007 The Herald

It is both frustrating and depressing that despite the expenditure of
literally hundreds of millions of pounds on tackling Scotland's
illicit drugs problems, drug-related deaths rose sharply last year.
Statistics released yesterday show 421 deaths, a 25% increase over
the previous year. Of that total, 280 fatalities were the direct
result of drug abuse, 76 mo re than 2005. Even breaking down the
figures offers little comfort beyond a slight dip in such deaths in
Lothian and fewer dying from the effects of cocaine and diazepam.

In both Grampian and west-central Scotland, drug deaths have risen
sharply and heroin and morphine - responsible for just 84 deaths a
decade ago - last year claimed the lives of 260.

[snip]

This is an indictment of a policy that has placed too much emphasis
on harm reduction and not enough on effective treatment and
rehabilitation. It is a scandal that after three years on methadone
only 3% of addicts are drug free.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n1024.a01.html

(19) POLITICOS PUSHING FOR SAFE NEEDLE DISPOSAL

Pubdate: Sat, 01 Sep 2007
Source: Cowichan News Leader (CN BC)
Copyright: 2007 Cowichan News Leader
Author: Peter Rusland

Regional politicians want public feedback about providing public tool
kits for safe disposal of used drug syringes found locally.

The Cowichan Valley Regional District's Community Safety Advisory
Committee recently introduced the issue.

Following debate, it may back a funding application by an agency such
as Social Planning Cowichan toward the public safety drive against a
glut of used needles being found locally.

City Mayor Phil Kent describes a community partnership among various
groups that might provide tool kits for residents.

[snip]

"We're focused on public safety about sharps left in the open environment."

Needles are regularly dropped in a disposal container in the city's
train station washroom.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n1025.a08.html

(20) JUSTICE, BELFAST-STYLE, FOR DRUG DEALER

Pubdate: Wed, 29 Aug 2007
Source: Scotsman (UK)
Copyright: 2007 The Scotsman Publications Ltd
Author: Alan Erwin

STREET vigilantes tarred and feathered an alleged drug dealer because
police refused to take action against him, it was claimed yesterday.

[snip]

But despite the heavy influence of Ulster Defence Association men
within the Taughmonagh estate, the paramilitary organisation's
advisers insisted they were not involved.

[snip]

According to Alban Maginness, a nationalist SDLP Assembly member, the
paramilitary organisation was to blame.

He said: "It is quite clear that it was an element of the UDA which
was responsible for this.

"These things are not done spontaneously by the community. It would
seem to be a very provocative act."

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n1018.a08.html

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