THIS JUST IN

(1) NO 'SILVER BULLET' FOR AFGHAN OPIUM TRADE

Pubdate: Thu, 30 Aug 2007
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 2007 Southam Inc.
Author: Mike Blanchfield, CanWest News Service

OTTAWA - Britain's top diplomat in Canada has dismissed a poll,
commissioned by the international think-tank that is championing the
legalization of Afghanistan's contentious opium poppy crop, which
shows that Canadians overwhelmingly support for the use of Afghan
opium for medicinal purposes.

"It is a surprise that people reach for silver bullets," British High
Commissioner Anthony Cary said in an interview yesterday.

Mr. Cary was responding to the release of an Ipsos Reid survey of
1,000 Canadians, conducted on behalf of the Senlis Council, which
found that nearly eight in 10 Canadians (79%) want Prime Minister
Stephen Harper to back an international pilot project that would help
transform Afghanistan's illicit opium cultivation into a legal way of
providing codeine and other legitimate pain medications to the
international market.

The release of the poll yesterday comes two days after the United
Nations' latest audit of the poppy farming trade found that
Afghanistan's production of opium, the key ingredient in heroin, has
now reached record levels in the six years that western nations have
controlled the country.

[snip]

This week, the UN said for the first time that the illicit trade is
directly linked to funding of the Taliban insurgency that threatens
Canada and its military allies.

The Canadian government, along with its Western allies, rejects the
legalization of the opium trade, in part because the Afghan
government in Kabul views it as un-Islamic.

[snip]

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(2) JAPAN PROFITED AS OPIUM DEALER IN WARTIME CHINA

Pubdate: Thu, 30 Aug 2007
Source: Japan Times (Japan)
Copyright: 2007 The Japan Times
Author: Reiji Yoshida

Puppet Regimes, Army Paid: Document

A Japanese narcotics firm in wartime occupied China sold enough opium
to nearly match the annual budget of Tokyo's puppet government in
Nanjing, according to an internal company document recently
discovered by The Japan Times.

The 21-page document, found in an archive at the National Diet
Library of Tokyo, showed opium dealer Hung Chi Shan Tang (or Hong Ji
Shan Tang as it would now be spelled) sold as much as 300 million
yuan worth of opium in 1941, when the annual budget of the Nanjing
Government was 370 million yuan.

Although not widely known at home, Japan's opium trade in China was
considered an essential financial resource for the Imperial Japanese
Army and Japan's puppet governments.

An outline of the opium dealings first came to light in the
mid-1980s, when historians uncovered several secret government
documents. Many key details, however, have remained a mystery.

The document, titled "Outline of Hung Chi Shan Tang," reveals the
history of the Shanghai-based company, headed by Hajime Satomi, that
was believed to be the dominant opium trader in Japanese-controlled
central China, including Shanghai, until early 1944.

[snip]

One of the reasons Hung Chi Shan Tang was established in 1939 was "to
put the opium business under Japan's wartime control," Satomi wrote
in the document, whose first page is stamped "secret."

According to historians, profits from the opium trade bankrolled the
Imperial army's unofficial spying activities not covered by the
official military budget. Later, revenue from the opium monopoly
became a major financial source for the puppet governments of Inner
Mongolia, Nanjing and Manchukuo, which was set up in 1932 in Manchuria.

The Inner Mongolia puppet government, set up in 1937, systematically
grew poppies to raise revenue, and its largest opium dealer was Hung
Chi Shan Tang. In 1942, its opium revenues accounted for as much as
28 percent of its initial budget.

"Since (opium) was the only product with which the Mongolian
Government can earn foreign currency, we have made our best efforts
to expand sales channels," Satomi stated in the document.

[snip]

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(3) COLUMN: SHOW-BOATING ON POT

Pubdate: Thu, 30 Aug 2007
Source: Boulder Weekly (CO)
Copyright: 2007 Boulder Weekly
Author: Paul Danish

Ever wonder why marijuana is still illegal? It has nothing to do with
the inherent safety or danger of the drug. It's been known for
decades that it is less harmful than alcohol in terms of its
potential to addict, of its potential to cause violent behavior and
of its potential to cause long-term health risks.

If you want to know why marijuana is still illegal consider the
remarks some Denver City Council members made Monday evening before
voting to put a marijuana initiative on the Denver ballot this
November. The initiative, sponsored by Citizens for a Safer Denver,
would make enforcement of laws against marijuana possession Denver's
"lowest law-enforcement priority."

The council voted unanimously to put the initiative on the city's
ballot this November (as required by law), but not before several
council members used the occasion to dis both the initiative and
Mason Tvert, Citizens for a Safer Denver's chair.

Councilwoman Carol Boigon said the initiative "made a joke out of the
electoral process."

"I think it is an unserious effort - an effort aimed at street
theater, at capturing media attention, at making light of it," she
said. "Were this a serious effort, it would be at the state."

Amazingly, she didn't say whether she would support a serious effort,
but let it ride.

A joke, eh? Well there isn't much humor either in arresting 500,000
to 750,000 Americans a year (including about 2,500 in Denver) and
giving them criminal records for an activity that is less harmful
than drinking beer, the activity that has made the mayor of Denver a
multi- millionaire.

[snip]

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(4) OPED: GIVE PEACE A CHANCE - FORGET THE WAR ON DRUGS

Pubdate: Thu, 30 Aug 2007
Source: Times, The (UK)
Copyright: 2007 Times Newspapers Ltd
Author: Anatole Kaletsky

We Need a Radical Approach to Tackling Crime on British Streets

When a newly appointed minister arrives at his office in Whitehall,
the first thing his permanent secretary gently tells him is to avoid
simple answers to complex problems.

What I am about to say therefore guarantees that I will never be
asked to join a government advisory panel or Royal Commission; but
since I can earn a decent living without having to impress
politicians, let me break the taboo. The fact is that many complex
problems do have simple answers. What politicians mean when they say
"there are no simple answers" is that the simple answers are not the
same as easy ones. The easy answer to almost any political problem is
to highlight its complexity, plead for patience, appoint a policy
czar and set up a Royal Commission. The simple answer is often to do
something bold and previously unthinkable. In other words, to cut
the Gordian knot instead of trying to untie it.

[snip]

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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW

Domestic News- Policy

COMMENT: (5-8)

After running what some perceived as alarmist coverage on used needle
disposal problems in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, the San
Francisco Chronicle now publishes a bold proposal in reaction: create
an injection center.

Working in the drug war offers so many opportunities for corruption,
it is not surprising that the Department of Homeland Security's
Counter Narcotics Department is trying to make the most of no-bid
contract policies. Also last week, Ethan Nadelmann gets the front
cover of Foreign Policy; and a crackdown on internet pharmacies seems
to be in the planning stage.

(5) COLUMN: INJECTION CENTER COULD HELP SOLVE S.F. NEEDLE PROBLEM

Pubdate: Thu, 23 Aug 2007
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Copyright: 2007 Hearst Communications Inc.
Author: C.W. Nevius

A month after we chronicled "the march of the junkies" at the needle
exchange center near Golden Gate Park, longtime neighbors say things
have improved. Residents who live near the center on Haight said it
was the source of used syringes being discarded in the park and in
their yards by drug users.

"It has lightened up, I have to admit," says Les Silverman, who has
lived a block from the Panhandle on Cole Street since 1975 and told
us he'd found needles in his front yard garden. "It's a little better."

Park gardeners ( who have been told not to talk to the media ) say
they are coming across fewer needles, and our recent morning trip to
the park did not find nearly as many syringes as a month earlier.

That's great. But insiders say it doesn't have anything to do with
serious reform in the way needles are distributed to intravenous drug
users, something the city has been facilitating since 1992 to curb
the spread of disease.

"As much as I'd like to claim credit," says Peter Davidson, chairman
of the board of the Homeless Youth Alliance, which runs the Haight
needle exchange, "I think it is because of the police doing these
sweeps and moving people out."

Again, that's terrific, but how long will the sweeps last? ( A police
source tells us that four officers and a sergeant are being pulled
off the street for two hours every morning. )

If we're really serious about a long-term solution for discarded
needles littering our parks, it may be time for a bold, new
initiative - a city-sponsored injection center where drug users could
go, receive a clean needle, and inject themselves in a sanitary environment.

Sounds shocking, doesn't it?

Dr. Thomas Kerr, an HIV/AIDS researcher at the University of British
Columbia, who has studied an injection facility in Vancouver - the
only one in North America - understands the reaction.

[snip]

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(6) NO-BID CONTRACT FROM DRUG OFFICE

Pubdate: Thu, 23 Aug 2007
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Copyright: 2007 Hearst Communications Inc.
Author: Robert O'Harrow Jr., Washington Post

Feds Find Ways To Avoid Competitive Bidding

Washington - Under pressure from the White House and Congress to
deliver a long-delayed plan last year, officials at the Department of
Homeland Security's counter-narcotics office took a shortcut that has
become common at federal agencies: They hired help through a no-bid contract.

And the firm they hired showed them how to do it.

Scott Chronister, a senior official in the Office of Counternarcotics
Enforcement, reached out to a former colleague at a private
consulting firm for advice. The consultant suggested that
Chronister's office could avoid competition and get the work done
quickly under an arrangement in which the firm "approached the
government with a 'unique and innovative concept,' " documents and
interviews show.

A contract worth up to $579,000 was awarded to the consultant's firm
in September.

Though small by government standards, the counter-narcotics contract
illustrates the government's steady move away from relying on
competition to secure the best deals for products and services.

A recent congressional report estimated that federal spending on
contracts awarded without open competition has tripled, to $207
billion, since 2000, with a $60 billion increase last year alone. The
category includes deals in which officials take advantage of
provisions allowing them to sidestep competition for speed and
convenience and cases where the government sharply limits the number
of bidders or expands work under open-ended contracts.

Government auditors say the result often is higher prices for
taxpayers and an undue reliance on a limited number of contractors.

[snip]

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(7) OPED: THINK AGAIN: DRUGS

Pubdate: Sat, 01 Sep 2007
Source: Foreign Policy (US)
Copyright: 2007 Foreign Policy
Author: Ethan Nadelmann

Prohibition has failed--again. Instead of treating the demand for
illegal drugs as a market, and addicts as patients, policymakers the
world over have boosted the profits of drug lords and fostered
narcostates that would frighten Al Capone. Finally, a smarter drug
control regime that values reality over rhetoric is rising to replace
the "war" on drugs.

"The Global War on Drugs Can Be Won"

No, it can't. A "drug-free world," which the United Nations describes
as a realistic goal, is no more attainable than an "alcohol-free
world"--and no one has talked about that with a straight face since
the repeal of Prohibition in the United States in 1933. Yet futile
rhetoric about winning a "war on drugs" persists, despite mountains
of evidence documenting its moral and ideological bankruptcy. When
the U.N. General Assembly Special Session on drugs convened in 1998,
it committed to "eliminating or significantly reducing the illicit
cultivation of the coca bush, the cannabis plant and the opium poppy
by the year 2008" and to "achieving significant and measurable
results in the field of demand reduction." But today, global
production and consumption of those drugs are roughly the same as
they were a decade ago; meanwhile, many producers have become more
efficient, and cocaine and heroin have become purer and cheaper.

[snip]

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(8) RX SOUGHT FOR ROGUE PHARMACIES

Pubdate: Mon, 27 Aug 2007
Source: Tampa Tribune (FL)
Copyright: 2007 The Tribune Co.
Author: Tom Breen, The Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.VA. - Drug shipments from illegal online pharmacies
were once so frequent in Appalachia that delivery companies had to
add trucks to their routes.

Police have cracked down on such deliveries but are confronted by a
booming global network of so-called rogue pharmacies operating online.

For people addicted to prescription medications such as the
painkiller hydrocodone - sold mostly as Vicodin - the days of "doctor
shopping" are over as long as they have Internet access. With the
help of unscrupulous doctors and pharmacists, hundreds of Web sites
dispense prescription narcotics to customers in exchange for nothing
more than a credit card number.

Even as law enforcement agencies and state governments respond, the
number of rogue pharmacies continues to grow, filling hundreds of
prescriptions a day, according to a recent study by the National
Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, which reported the additional
parcel delivery trucks in southeastern Kentucky, says about 95
percent of products sold by online pharmacies are controlled
substances. By comparison, controlled substances amount to roughly
11 percent of the dosages dispensed by legitimate pharmacies.

The DEA found that 34 rogue pharmacies dispensed more than 98.5
million dosage units of hydrocodone products in 2006.

Pharmacist Don Perdue has seen customers who run out of prescription
refills turn to illegal online pharmacies.

"This is a major problem," said Perdue, chairman of the West Virginia
House of Delegates' Health and Human Resources Committee, which wants
to see federal law changed to make it easier to shut down illicit pharmacies.

Congress is considering legislation that would clarify federal law on
Internet pharmacies and increase penalties for selling
pharmaceuticals to minors.

[snip]

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Law Enforcement & Prisons

COMMENT: (9-13)

A California minister is asking why a man who fired no shots in a
deadly drug deal is facing a much more serious charges than other men
who were involved. In Texas, police will have the option to give low
level offenders, including minor cannabis offenders, a ticket instead
of a full-blown arrest. In Florida, budget cuts are leading to
questions about the future of DARE in the state, and about who to
release from prison early. And, in Cleveland, more drug corruption,
this time involving a patrolman.

(9) PASTOR OBJECTS TO CHARGES IN MOTEL SHOOTOUT

Pubdate: Thu, 23 Aug 2007
Source: Chico Enterprise-Record (CA)
Copyright: 2007 The Media News Group
Author: Terry Vau Dell, Staff Writer

OROVILLE -- A pastor said Wednesday that some members of the Oroville
community believe a Bay Area man charged with capital murder in an
aborted drug deal that left three people dead is being treated unjustly.

"All we're asking for is that the arm of justice swing evenly for
everyone involved," said Pastor Kevin Thompson of the No. 1 Church of God.

The Oroville pastor said Deandre Tyrone Lowe, 38, who is black,
should be charged the same as three white Oroville-area men, who were
previously convicted of lesser drug charges in the case. The pastor
said after talking with Lowe in the county jail and members of the
community, he plans to air his concerns about how the case is being
prosecuted with District Attorney Mike Ramsey.

Ramsey defended his decision to file capital murder charges against
Lowe based on evidence indicating the man was part of an alleged plan
to rob four marijuana sellers at gunpoint during a meeting at an
Oroville motel last Oct. 22.

The drug deal ended in an exchange of gunfire inside the motel room,
killing two of the would-be buyers from the and a seller.

The three other sellers, subsequently pleaded guilty to drug-related
charges and two were sentenced to identical four-year prison terms.
Because he had represented one of the drug suspects, Chico attorney
Jodea Foster told Superior Court Judge James Reilley Wednesday he
could not accept an appointment to defend Lowe. Lowe, who surrendered
to authorities in Seattle this month, is due back in court today with
his newly-appointed attorney, Philip Heithecker.

Though prosecutors concede Lowe did not fire any shots during the
aborted drug deal, he remains held without bail on two counts of
capital murder under a state law that holds accomplices liable for
deaths that occur during certain serious crimes, including robbery.

Ramsey said he has not decided whether to seek the death penalty for
Lowe or life in prison without the possibility of parole. Because
there would have been no shootout had the Oroville men not cultivated
or tried to sell marijuana, the pastor feels they should have faced
the same charge as Lowe. "The community believes that there is a
disparity in the charges that are being brought," the Oroville pastor
outside of court Wednesday.

"If Mr. Lowe is being charged as a principal, we believe those other
defendants should have been charged as a principal also," he said.

"If this goes the way it appears to be going, it will not only set
this town back 100 years, it will also set humanity back," added the
Oroville pastor.

[snip]

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(10) THOSE WITH POT MAY AVOID JAIL

Pubdate: Fri, 24 Aug 2007
Source: Ft. Worth Star-Telegram (TX)
Copyright: 2007 Star-Telegram Operating, Ltd.
Author: John Moritz

AUSTIN -- If a police officer in Texas catches you with a few ounces
of marijuana you're going to jail, right? Maybe not.

Beginning Sept. 1, police officers will have the discretion to issue
citations similar to traffic tickets rather than hauling the offender
to jail. House Bill 2391, which passed with virtually no opposition
during the 2007 legislative session and was signed into law without
fanfare by Gov. Rick Perry, does not change the penalty for pot possession.

But supporters say the discretion may only be used when the person is
in possession of four ounces of marijuana or less and lives in the
county where the stop was made, and only when the suspect is not
considered a threat to public safety. Plus, they say, it will save a
lot of time and paperwork for beat cops and it will help prevent
local jails from being clogged with otherwise low-risk lawbreakers.

"From my perspective, it gives police officers another tool in their
belt when dealing with nonviolent offenders," said Deputy Chief
Dennis McKnight of the Bexar County Sheriff's Department. "Rather
than spending three hours taking a guy downtown, booking him into
jail, taking him before a magistrate and taking his paperwork up to
the district attorney, I can write him a ticket compelling him to
show up in court.

[snip]

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(11) BUDGET MAY CUT PRISONERS' HARD TIME

Pubdate: Fri, 24 Aug 2007
Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune (FL)
Author: Joe Follick, H-T Capital Bureau

Plan Would Save Money by Moving Inmates to Work Release or Other Programs

TALLAHASSEE -- Facing a bad economy that will require lawmakers to
cut $1 billion or more from the state budget in a special session
next month, Gov. Charlie Crist and the Legislature are looking for
significant ways to reduce spending.

James McDonough has a plan to do just that. But the political
consequences may be more than Crist and the Legislature are prepared
to deal with.

McDonough, who heads Florida's Department of Corrections, wants to
reduce hard time for thousands of the state's inmates.

Moving inmates from prisons to work release, substance abuse and
education programs, McDonough said, will save millions of dollars and
improve public safety by helping convicts make successful transitions
from life behind bars.

The plan would reduce DOC spending by 10 percent -- more than double
the cut Crist asked state agencies to prepare to make -- and would
mark a major change after years of "tough on crime" policies that
have doubled the number of Florida inmates since 1990.

[snip]

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(12) EDITORIAL: DARE TO CUT D.A.R.E.?

Pubdate: Fri, 24 Aug 2007
Source: Ledger, The (Lakeland, FL)
Copyright: 2007 The Ledger

Florida Budget Cuts

Few adults, particularly parents, would question the need for schools
to offer programs educating children and teens about the dangers of
drugs. But it may be time to end, at least for now, the approach
long embraced by Florida officials.

The Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, which began almost a
quarter-century ago in Los Angeles, is widely used in schools in our
region and around the nation. Typically, police officers are trained
to talk to children about avoiding the illegal use of drugs and
involvement in gangs.

But, in a telling move, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is
asking the state to end the agency's participation in the program.
FDLE officials have suggested cutting $376,362 for the anti-drug
program from its yearly appropriation. The money is currently used to
fund a D.A.R.E. training program for deputies and police officers.

With the state facing a $1.5 billion shortfall, decision makers at
the FDLE are forced to reduce expenses and focus on essential
services. D.A.R.E. is no longer deemed a priority.

[snip]

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(13) CLEVELAND OFFICER ZVONKO SARLOG ARRESTED ON COCAINE-RING CHARGE

Pubdate: Mon, 27 Aug 2007
Source: Plain Dealer, The (Cleveland, OH)
Copyright: 2007 The Plain Dealer
Author: Joe Guillen and Leah Boyd

Cleveland Patrolman Charged In Cocaine Distribution Conspiracy

A Cleveland police officer was arrested Saturday night in connection
with a cocaine distribution ring after a lengthy FBI investigation.

Patrol-man Zvonko Sarlog is under a federal indictment for conspiracy
to distribute cocaine, police said. Six other people, none of them
police officers, were also indicted, police said.

Law enforcement officials said Sarlog, who was hired six years ago,
received the cocaine through a relative who brought the drugs to him
from Mexico. The relative also has been arrested.

[snip]

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Cannabis & Hemp

COMMENT: (14-18)

Denver will vote, again, on marijuana, but will the police department
honor the will of the people this time? In San Mateo County, about a
half hour drive south of San Francisco, a rouge county DA, in clear
violation of his oath and state law, calls in the DEA to terrorize
medicinal marijuana users - and the city cops help!

From Canada comes an in depth review of the history of their
marijuana laws. And unlike the Seattle Hempfest, the Ontario cops
did their best to crush a hempfest, which hurt it though it was still
successful.

Another California newspaper calls for changes in Prop. 215, but that
can not happen without another initiative. Limits of amounts are a
common issue in newspaper editorials. So what are the limits?
Prop. 215 has none. But Senate Bill 420 provided a floor, a lower
amount, which holders of the medical marijuana ID cards may expect
California law enforcement to honor - sometimes, and more often in
some parts of the state than in others - as it is the law. The issue
is complex. However, most California experts suggest the starting
place to learn more about the limits is http://www.safeaccessnow.net/

(14) CITY COUNCIL PUTS POT ISSUE ON BALLOT

Pubdate: Tue, 28 Aug 2007
Source: Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)
Copyright: 2007 Denver Publishing Co.
Author: Stuart Steers, Rocky Mountain News

Initiative Takes Some Heat Before Getting Approval

Denver voters will have the final say on whether the city should
change its marijuana laws, but that didn't stop several City Council
members from accusing pot activists of turning city elections into a farce.

"You're trying to make a joke out of the electoral process in
Denver," said Councilwoman Carol Boigan. "I think this is aimed at
street theater and capturing media attention."

The council voted unanimously Monday to refer to voters a ballot
initiative that would direct Denver police to make the possession of
less than an ounce of marijuana "the city's lowest law enforcement
priority." Backers of the proposed ordinance turned in several
thousand signatures to earn a spot on the November ballot.

[snip]

In 2005, Denver voters made the possession of small amounts of
marijuana legal in Denver. Denver police, however, have continued to
cite people who possess less than an ounce of the drug, saying they
have to enforce state law.

[snip]

Proponents of the ballot measure said they don't dispute that
marijuana can harm some people, but said liquor is far more
dangerous, and yet the council approved a contract with Coors Brewing
Co. to sell beer at the Colorado Convention Center.

"Alcohol leads to countless crimes in this city," said Mason Tvert,
director of Safer Colorado, sponsor of the ballot initiative. "What
message do you send when you hold hands with Coors?"

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(15) DRUG AGENTS SHUTTER MEDICAL POT DISPENSARIES

Pubdate: Fri, 31 Aug 2007
Source: Oakland Tribune, The (CA)
Copyright: 2007 MediaNews Group, Inc. and ANG Newspapers
Author: Michael Manekin, Staff Writer

San Mateo County DA Calls in Feds After Group Contests Desist Order

[snip]

Before the raids, the district attorney's office was holding out hope
that Patients Choice "would recognize what they were doing as not in
compliance with California law, and they would shut down," said San
Mateo County District Attorney Jim Fox.

Instead, Patients Choice asked its attorney to send the district
attorney's office a letter saying that its business was perfectly in
compliance with state law in accordance with Proposition 215, the
1996 ballot measure that state voters approved to allow use of
medical marijuana; SB420, a bill passed by the state Legislature in
2004 that allows medical marijuana patients to form their own
cooperatives; and People v. Urziceanu, a 2005 appellate court ruling
that found that SB420 allows consumer cooperatives, such as Patients
Choice, to accept money in exchange for medicine.

Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe considered the letter,
reflected on the state's ambiguous legal definition of medical
marijuana dispensaries, and made a decision.

"We could have sat here and spent a great deal of taxpayer money in
San Mateo County, prosecuting it and going through the appeals, or we
could bring the case to the attention of the federal government,"
Wagstaffe said.

When Matt Kumin, the San Francisco-based attorney for Patients Choice
and a consultant to some 80 medical marijuana dispensaries throughout
the state, learned that federal agents had raided his clients and two
additional dispensaries, his reaction was swift.

"The local DA tries to do a prosecution, but it's too difficult. He's
got a bitter taste in his mouth, so he calls the feds.

[snip]

Actually, until now San Mateo County had not been conservative when
it came to medical marijuana.

One year after 66 percent of voters passed Prop. 215, the Board of
Supervisors approved a trial program for the county hospital to treat
terminally ill patients with medical marijuana.

When the state began to issue cards for medical marijuana patients in
2004, the county was one of the first to begin registering qualified
residents, said John Conley, the county's public health director.

"The Board of Supervisors has been very supportive of medical
marijuana in general," Conley said.

Maybe that's why on Thursday Supervisor Jerry Hill questioned the
legitimacy of the raids on the three medical marijuana dispensaries,
provided that the businesses were "clearly providing the drug for
medical reasons."

[snip]

A DEA spokesperson would not comment on the issue and said the agency
only concerns itself with federal drug laws. The county's Narcotics
Task Force and the San Mateo Police Department, which assisted in the
raid after cooperating with a nine-month investigation of the
dispensaries, refused to comment on the issue, explaining that the
search warrants and other documents related to the case were sealed.

[snip]

If the dispensaries were in compliance with state law, Mirken wonders
"why on Earth are the San Mateo police involved in a conspiracy to
undermine state law? That is truly outrageous."

The answer, said San Mateo police Lt. Mike Brunicardi on Thursday, is
that the police department has "an obligation to the residents of San
Mateo" to assist federal agents if they report illegal operations
within the city.

[snip]

Mayor 'Thrilled' By Raids

That sort of progressive thinking stumps some local officials and
angers others. While nearly all of the county's supervisors have
gone on record defending the use of medical marijuana, the board has
yet to enact any ordinances to regulate dispensaries.

San Mateo Mayor John Lee said of the raids: "I'm just thrilled to
death they did it. We don't need that kind of stuff in our city."

[snip]

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(16) IS IT OR ISN'T IT? THE POT PENDULUM SWINGS AGAIN

Pubdate: Sat, 25 Aug 2007
Source: Toronto Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2007 The Toronto Star
Author: Lynda Hurst, Feature Writer

Just As Canadians Are Embracing Pot As Never Before, the Government
Plans a New War on Drugs. The Move Is Fitting, Given This Country's
Ambivalent Relationship With Weed Over the Decades

In announcing an upcoming federal anti-drug campaign, Health Minister
Tony Clement stated the obvious this week.

"The messages young people have received during the past several
years have been confusing and conflicting to say the least."

[snip]

"Two or three times there has been rigorous debate in favour of
decriminalizing," says Alan Young. "Promises were made, then reversed."

Indeed, it was back in 1973 that the LeDain Commission called for an
end to charges for simple possession, not immediately but in the near
future. It also noted that "no evidence that scientific judgment"
had played a role in criminalizing it in the first place.

Marijuana was, in fact, a virtually unknown drug when it was made
illegal in 1923 without debate in Parliament and as a seemingly ad
hoc add-on to the Opium and Drug Act.

It's believed the influencing factor was a 1922 book by Canada's
first female magistrate, the early feminist but moral conservative,
Emily Murphy. The Black Candle relied heavily on U.S. information on
the "dangerous and evil effects" of marijuana, saying it turned users
into "raving maniacs ... liable to kill or indulge in violence."

[snip]

In 2002, two parliamentary committees heard from a wide array of
experts and lobbyists.

The Commons committee concluded that penalties for simple possession
were disproportionately harsh; the Senate committee stated that
marijuana was not a gateway to harder drugs.

[snip]

In 2003, the Liberal government introduced a bill to decriminalize
possession of less than 15 grams, making it subject to a fine but no
criminal record.

The move caused immediate criticism in Washington. It warned Ottawa
that if the bill passed, Canadians would pay for it at the border
with increased security checks and lengthy delays.

"There's the hypocrisy of the situation," says Oscapella, noting
there are 12 American states where possession of under one ounce
(28.45 grams) carries only a fine, 11 of which adopted the policy in
the mid-1970s.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n999/a02.html

(17) POLICE 'INTIMIDATE' HEMPFEST ATTENDEES

Pubdate: Thu, 30 Aug 2007
Source: Sault Star, The (CN ON)
Copyright: 2007 The Sault Star
Author: Michael Purvis

Organizer Says Increased Presence a Deliberate Crackdown, No Comment From OPP

Organizers and attendees at an annual cannabis festival east of Sault
Ste. Marie say police used a RIDE check as a cover while officers
staged a deliberate crackdown on marijuana users last weekend.

Derek Telasco said he was shocked to see a mobile command unit set up
and as many as 20 police officers manning what he described as a
military-style roadblock a short distance from the Hempfest grounds.
"I felt like I was in Soviet-controlled Poland or something," said
Telasco, 37, a Windsor-area marijuana activist who attended the
festival, north of Bruce Mines.

[snip]

Waddell said police had a similar presence in the first year of the
festival, but have since decreased their presence. Two years ago no
police attended the festival, and last year only two cars showed up.
He blames this year's police action on pressure from the Conservative
federal government, and OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino.

[snip]

"At one point in time someone came in and told us the police were
telling everyone that all the bands were cancelled for Saturday
night," said Hayward, 27. He said no bands had cancelled that night.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1008/a02.html

(18) EDITORIAL: STATE, FEDERAL LAW CONFLICT CREATES MARIJUANA HAZE

Pubdate: Sun, 26 Aug 2007
Source: Bakersfield Californian, The (CA)
Copyright: 2007 The Bakersfield Californian

[snip]

Sometimes, as has been the case in Kern County, the local Sheriff's
Department is providing manpower support on DEA busts -- in effect,
helping arrest suspects for crimes committed with the sheriff's tacit approval.

Does that make Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood a co-conspirator
in a series of federal crimes? Clearly we've gone through the looking
glass on this one. No wonder Youngblood eventually opted to stop
issuing permits -- at the potential risk, we assume, of flouting state law.

We need to rectify this bizarre state of affairs by cleaning up the
inadequacies of the law created by Proposition 215. Those voluntary
medical marijuana ID cards need to be mandatory and foolproof, for
the protection of the user if nothing else. As it stands, less than 2
percent of medical marijuana users apply for the ID cards.

[snip]

State law should also tighten the amount of marijuana a single
patient can possess at any one time. California law currently allows
much greater quantities than other states that allow medical
marijuana possession. The larger the quantity, the bigger the
likelihood that black-market abuse will take place, either among
dispensaries or patients.

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n994/a03.html

International News

COMMENT: (19-22)

The opium harvest is coming in this season, and is setting records
for size. The Guardian newspaper asks policy spokesmen, what can be
done to "Solve Afghanistan's Opium Crisis," which of course can only
mean, "bring production of the drug to an end." As expected,
government has an idea: more government will stop drugs, and any
proposal that does not involve the use of force is off the table. "We
need structured investments in governance, law enforcement," said
Chris Alexander, Deputy special representative of the UN secretary
general to Afghanistan. And allowing Afghan farmers to grow opium,
just as farmers in Turkey, Tasmania and England may do? Oh no! That
would be all wrong. "On legalisation, we have" (says Alexander),
"real questions about the credibility of that proposal." Meanwhile,
the Senlis Council suggests: simply buy the opium crop from farmers.

Once again, we find out: prisons don't stop drug use. The prison
walls meant to control the disobedient turn out to be holding tanks
for drugs, as well as drug users. In New Zealand, officials are
pondering the unthinkable: allowing a needle exchange within
prisons. Far from keeping drugs away from people, prisons encourage
transmission of diseases like hepatitis and HIV, with shared
needles. "For some reason prisoners are able to get their hands on
drugs," said executive director Ross Bell of the New Zealand Drug Foundation.

In Vancouver, Canada, the only supervised injection center in North
America, Insite, is back on the block as Conservatives seek to stop
the program as a sop to their political base. Study after study has
shown Insite to be effective and helpful: preventing fatal overdoses
as well as steering addicts to services like rehab. But in the
evidence-free world of political spin, evidence of the harms reduced
by Insite can never be enough. "Unfortunately, it appears that no
amount of evidence will convince the Conservatives, skeptical since
the project was launched in 2003, of Insite's value."

We leave you this week with an opinion piece that was published
across Canada last week, "Prohibition Of Drugs Fails." As Canadian
Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Afghanistan adventure increasingly
produces little more than photo-ops of flag-draped coffins and
military funerals, the Harper regime needs some visible successes,
and what's better than a drug war to drum up support? "Like an old
dog that can't learn new tricks, the Harper government seems bent on
preserving the tired, utterly disproven message that drug prohibition
works" writes Jeremy Loome. Government "seems bent on ignoring
evidence and public opinion in favour of imposing rigid, ineffective
ideology that damages society." Drug laws "don't stop people from
getting or using drugs. Period."

(19) ERADICATION OR LEGALISATION?

Pubdate: Wed, 29 Aug 2007
Source: Guardian, The (UK)
Copyright: 2007 Guardian Newspapers Limited
Author: Declan Walsh and Ian Black, The Guardian

How to Solve Afghanistan's Opium Crisis

The UN reported on Monday that there had been a "frightening"
explosion in opium production in Afghanistan with Helmand province,
where Britain has 7,000 troops deployed, leading the way. A record
crop means that the country now accounts for 93% of the world's
supply and the situation is getting worse daily despite billions
being spent to eradicate the trade since 2001. Here the Guardian asks
experts in the field what can be done to bring production of the drug
to an end.

Chris Alexander, Deputy special representative of the UN secretary
general to Afghanistan

The report is astonishingly downbeat and rightly so. But it does
point to some solutions. This year we have doubled the number of
poppy free provinces from six to 13. The incentives for others to
follow suit must be massively strengthened. We need structured
investments in governance, law enforcement, agriculture and infrastructure.

[snip]

On legalisation, we have real questions about the credibility of that
proposal. You cannot legalise something in the absence of the rule
of law. Legalisation would merely add a notionally legalised
component of production.

[snip]

Norine Macdonald, The Senlis Council

The international community is spending millions of dollars on flawed
strategies. Poppy crop eradication was reinforced this year but in
the current environment of rural poverty and lack of sustainable
alternatives, eradication is wholly ineffective. The crisis is a
problem of economic development. Farmers are cultivating poppy
because there are no profitable alternatives. In such an
environment, crop eradication puts the future of Afghanistan and the
entire region in jeopardy.

Opium is the raw material for morphine and other essential medicines.
To start tackling the economic nature of the crisis, we presented in
June a village-based Poppy for Medicine model whose crux is the
production of painkilling medicines. Such a programme would allow
farming communities to produce morphine locally, bringing added value
to the villages and providing rural communities with viable economic
opportunities. This would trigger alternative livelihood programmes,
foster rural development and generate economic diversification.

The Senlis Council wants international support for our request to run
scientific Poppy for Medicine pilot projects in the next planting
season. The alarming UN figures should be reason enough to try a
different approach, tailored to the realities of Afghanistan in terms
of security and development.

The Senlis Council is a security and development policy group.

[snip]

Senior Nato Official

[snip]

This is about power and control: you are challenging their authority
in another way. They'll tell the farmers: sell poppy to the
government and we'll kill you or rape your daughters; sell to us and
we won't."

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n1001.a08.html

(20) NEEDLE EXCHANGE PROGRAMMES URGED FOR PRISONS

Pubdate: Tue, 28 Aug 2007
Source: Dominion Post, The (New Zealand)
Copyright: 2007 The Dominion Post
Author: Jenny Ling

Needle exchange programmes in prisons and counsellors in police cells
are being touted as solutions to drug use in jails.

The Drug Foundation policy statement, made public yesterday, urges a
"whole of government" plan across the criminal justice system,
including police, courts and prisons.

It wants offenders given access to treatments similar to the health
sector, such as clean needles and expanded methadone programmes.

"For some reason prisoners are able to get their hands on drugs,"
executive director Ross Bell said.

"We need to be pragmatic about the services we provide. The
fundamental principle should be that any health service available in
the community should be available in prison."

[snip]

The idea that providing needles encouraged drug use was "a classic
argument proved not to be the case".

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n1001.a05.html

(21) SAFE INJECTION SITES

Pubdate: Mon, 27 Aug 2007
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2007, The Globe and Mail Company

Renew Insite's Licence

Speaking to the Canadian Medical Association last week, federal
Health Minister Tony Clement was non-committal on the future of
Vancouver's safe injection site. But he seemed to be leaning against
extending Insite's licence when it expires at year's end, telling
doctors that recent research has cast doubt on the pilot project's usefulness.

Where is Mr. Clement getting his information? He hasn't said. Most
likely it is from a well-publicized article published this past
spring in the Journal of Global Drug Policy and Practice. The report
was authored by Colin Mangham, the director of research for the Drug
Prevention Network of Canada, a hard-line organization. Last year,
former Reform MP Randy White, the then-head of the network, lauded
what he saw as the Conservative government's tough approach on drugs.

[snip]

Unsurprisingly, much of the report put out by Mr. White's research
director reads more like a rant against the "ideology" of harm-
reduction and its alleged infiltration into society than a scientific
study. It contains no first-hand research; the bulk of its findings
consist of simplistic efforts to poke holes in the litany of more
serious studies demonstrating Insite's benefits.

Indeed, virtually all serious research suggests that the program has
had considerable benefits with little downside. Reports in reputable
medical journals such as The Lancet and the BMJ (British Medical
Journal) have shown that Insite reduces needle-sharing in the
community, reducing the spread of disease. While 500 users overdosed
at Insite over a two-year period, onsite medical assistance prevented
a single one from dying - something that would never have been the
case on the street.

Far from encouraging drug use, as its opponents claim, Insite has
encouraged addicts to kick their habits. Over a one-year period of
study, it made 2,000 referrals, 40 per cent of them to addiction
counselling. One in five regular visitors to the site enlisted in
detoxification programs - resulting, said a recent report in the
British medical journal Addictions, in a 30-per-cent rise in the
number of local addicts making use of such services. Similar findings
were reported last year in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Last week, a group of 134 prominent Canadian doctors and health
professionals endorsed a commentary by Dr. Stephen Hwang in the
journal Open Medicine calling for Insite to be continued on the basis
that it "provide[s] a number of benefits, including reduced needle
sharing, decreased public drug use, fewer publicly discarded
syringes, and more rapid entry into detoxification services by
persons using the facility."

[snip]

Unfortunately, it appears that no amount of evidence will convince
the Conservatives, skeptical since the project was launched in 2003,
of Insite's value.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n996.a01.html

(22) PROHIBITION OF DRUGS FAILS

Pubdate: Tue, 28 Aug 2007
Source: London Free Press (CN ON)
Copyright: 2007 The London Free Press
Author: Jeremy Loome

Welcome to the new war on drugs, same as the old war, and courtesy of
Canada's federal government.

Like an old dog that can't learn new tricks, the Harper government
seems bent on preserving the tired, utterly disproven message that
drug prohibition works.

[snip]

There is an overwhelming abundance of proof that prohibitions against
illegal drugs simply create a massive marketplace for criminals and
narco-economically driven nations, as well as some demons that are
convenient at police and government budget appropriation time.

They don't stop people from getting or using drugs. Period.

[snip]

That our government seems bent on ignoring evidence and public
opinion in favour of imposing rigid, ineffective ideology that
damages society begs the question: What are these guys smoking?

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n1008.a06.html

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