WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW

THIS JUST IN

(1) DRUG CASE COULD BACKFIRE IN MEXICO

Pubdate: Thu, 12 Jul 2007
Source: Dallas Morning News (TX)
Copyright: 2007 The Dallas Morning News
Author: Laurence Iliff, The Dallas Morning News

Government Denies Claims That Seized Cash Was Tied to Ruling Party

MEXICO CITY - President Felipe Calderon's biggest bust in his biggest
battle - against drug traffickers who have taken over large swaths of
territory as they move narcotics to the U.S. - yielded no drugs and
no cartel kingpins.

Mexican and U.S. authorities seized more than $200 million from Mr.
Ye Gon's home in Mexico City in March. Authorities have called it the
largest cash seizure in history. When federal police raided a house
in an upscale Mexico City neighborhood, they found the largest stash
of alleged drug money in the history of the fight, the government
said. It came in at $205 million. Guns and equipment to make
amphetamine pills were also seized, authorities said. Seven people,
most household employees, were arrested.

The huge cash reserve came from the illegal sale of a restricted cold
medicine, pseudoephedrine, to narco labs that turn it into illegal
methamphetamine, officials said.

Zhenli Ye Gon, in New York last month, accused Mexico's ruling party
of using him to hoard illegal money. Mr. Calderon's approval rating,
boosted by the drug war in general, hit 65 percent.

But recent video images of the home's owner - the Mexican
nationalized Chinese native Zhenli Ye Gon - strolling New York
streets and accusing the ruling party of using him to hoard its
illegal money now threatens to taint the spectacular DEA-assisted seizure.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n832.a12.html

(2) COLUMN: THE POLICE AREN'T EXPERTS ON DRUG USE

Pubdate: Fri, 13 Jul 2007
Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
Copyright: 2007 The Ottawa Citizen
Author: Dan Gardner

Well, thank goodness the Conservative government has silenced all
talk of liberalizing Canada's marijuana laws. The way things were
going, teenagers may have completely stopped smoking pot.

What's that, you say? I have it backward?

Everybody knows it's the namby-pamby approach that leads to more
teens using drugs, while a hard line keeps kids on the straight and
narrow. It's common sense. It's what the police say. And as we all
know, what the police say is the gold standard of common sense.

When the renowned social scientists of the Canadian Police
Association testified to a Senate committee on illicit drugs, they
claimed there is lots of evidence that liberal drug policies lead to
greater drug use. "Legalization and permissiveness will increase drug
use and abuse substantially," a spokesman told the senators.

Everybody knows the police are the real experts on drugs, right? And
the experts came out against decriminalization. Even talking about it
sends a bad message to the kids, they argued. It says the drug is
harmless. Acceptable. Keep it up, the police warned, and pretty
soon your kid's high school will look like the set of a Cheech and Chong movie.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n838.a05.html

(3) DRUG CZAR GIVES WARNING

Pubdate: Fri, 13 Jul 2007
Source: Record Searchlight (Redding, CA)
Copyright: 2007 Record Searchlight
Author: Dylan Darling

Federal Official Calls Marijuana Growers Dangerous Terrorists

The nation's top anti-drug official said people need to overcome
their "reefer blindness" and see that illicit marijuana gardens are a
terrorist threat to the public's health and safety, as well as to the
environment.

John P. Walters, President Bush's drug czar, said the people who
plant and tend the gardens are terrorists who wouldn't hesitate to
help other terrorists get into the country with the aim of causing
mass casualties. Walters made the comments at a Thursday press
conference that provided an update on the "Operation Alesia"
marijuana- eradication effort.

"Don't buy drugs. They fund violence and terror," he said.

After touring gardens raided this week in Shasta County, Walters said
the officers who are destroying the gardens are performing hard,
dangerous work in rough terrain. He said growers have been known to
have weapons, including assault rifles.

"These people are armed; they're dangerous," he said. He called them
"violent criminal terrorists."

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n837.a02.html

(4) OPED: THE PARIS EFFECT

Pubdate: Thu, 12 Jul 2007
Source: NOW Magazine (CN ON)
Copyright: 2007 NOW Communications Inc.
Author: Alan Young

We Should Consider Jailing More Celebs If We Want To Develop Sound
Justice Policies

When Paris Hilton was languishing in jail reading her Bible, the Los
Angeles Times set out to determine if her sentence was consistent
with the punishments meted out to offenders in similar circumstances.
To that end, the paper reviewed 2 million cases, found 1,500 that
resembled Hilton's and concluded that in fact she was sentenced more
harshly than most.

The research undertaken by the Times is the type of methodical and
comprehensive approach needed for the development of sound public
policy, but it appears this empirical work will only be done when the
rich and famous stumble into the clutches of the criminal justice
industrial complex.

This data deficiency struck me last month when alleged Versace Crew
gang member Nicholas Ebanks was acquitted of attempted murder.

Justice W. Brian Trafford of the Ontario Superior Court excluded all
the incriminating evidence obtained through a wiretap investigation
because the police showed a "reckless disregard for the truth" when
they applied for the tap. Their application was riddled with
misleading inaccuracies and speculative opinions asserted as proven facts.

I often wonder how many other prosecutions of serious offences fall
apart because public officials fail to respect the constitutional and
procedural requirements for investigation. The sad truth is that no
one really knows, because no one is keeping track.

[snip]

Pubdate: Thu, 12 Jul 2007
Source: NOW Magazine (CN ON)
Copyright: 2007 NOW Communications Inc.
Author: Alan Young
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07.n832.a01.html

WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW

Domestic News- Policy

COMMENT: (5-8)

It was a relatively light week in national news, leading to the
selection of our first story. A U.S. Senator and reliable drug
warrior was outed by a former roommate as a college pot smoker.
Interesting, but how many of our current national legislators didn't
smoke pot in college? In other political news, at least one U.S.
Presidential candidate has spoken out against prohibition, at least
as it is practiced in urban areas. At the same time, yet another
report shows drug abuse as a problem for which the drug war is no
cure. And, some good news for students in Tennessee, who may get
protection from random drug testing from the state's constitution.