Volume III, Issue No. 36

August 22 through August 29, 1995
Compiled by Paul Stanford

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DRUG SUSPECT WANTS TO SMOKE POT IN JAIL
UPn 08/22/95

BRYAN, Ohio (UPI) -- A California man who's being held on charges of drug trafficking says (Tuesday) he wants permission to smoke marijuana in a northwest Ohio county jail. Todd McCormick, 25, San Diego, says he needs the marijuana to relieve the pain of cancer.

[UNTITLED - BRIAN WILSON REGRETS INSPIRATION FOR 'PET SOUNDS']
circa 08/22/95

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Wouldn't it be nice if Paul McCartney proclaimed YOUR record "album of the century"? Not if you're Brian Wilson.
The leader of the Beach Boys sniffs at accolades for the group's 1966 album "Pet Sounds."
"I was on marijuana the whole time," the 53-year-old Wilson said in an interview promoting Sunday's biographical film "Brian Wilson: I Just Wasn't Made for These Times" on the Disney Channel.
In the past, McCartney lavished praise on "Pet Sounds" -- with such hits as "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and "Sloop John B" -- and hailed Wilson as the genius behind the Beach Boys.
No longer using drugs to alter his world view, Wilson said from a big easy chair at his mansion in the Santa Monica Mountains, "I'm pretty confident in myself."
"I just hope I can still bring joy to people. And love," he said. "I think love is very important."

[UNTITLED - NYC MEDICINAL MARIJUANA ACTIVIST ARRESTED]
circa 08/22/95

NEW YORK -- AIDS activist Johann Moore was arrested on Monday 8/21 by New York City police officers as he distributed marijuana packets to clients of the Medical Marijuana Buyers Club, many whom are HIV positive. Moore, who himself uses marijuana medicinally for an immune-system disorder, was charged with felony sale and held overnight in New York's Central Booking (though the official police statement maintained that he had merely been issued a summons and NOT arrested).
Moore's arrest marks a upswing of the anti-Prohibition struggle in New York, the media capital of the country, in the context of a growing campaign to suppress all discussion of medical marijuana and harm reduction alternatives.
The Free Johann Moore Support Committee is calling for medical marijuana supporters to rally outside the Manhattan Courthouse at 100 Centre Street at on Thursday September 28, the day of Moore's hearing, at 9 am. The rally will then move to Courtroom AP5 at 9:30 am.

THREE HAWK STAND DEFENDANTS ACQUITTED FOR HEMP PROTEST
By California NORML
08/24/95

MADERA, Calif. -- A jury acquitted three defendants of marijuana cultivation for staging a public protest at which they planted 20,000 cannabis seeds in a field near here on July 4, 1994 to protest the government's ban on marijuana/hemp.
The defendants, Ron Kiczenski, Craig Steffens and Douglas Weissman, collectively known as Three Hawk Stand, tried to challenge the hemp laws in court, but were repeatedly forbidden to do so by Judge John W. DeGroot.
They finally won acquittal by arguing that they had planted legally sterilized hemp seeds which could not have produced real marijuana. The prosecution tried to counter this argument by maintaining that some of the hemp seeds had sprouted. However, defendants replied with expert evidence that sterile hemp seeds do actually sprout, but die quickly without maturing to produce marijuana. Since sheriffs had destroyed the seedlings too soon to show whether they were viable, jurors were left with a reasonable doubt as to whether the defendants had grown marijuana.
Defense attorneys say that jurors were alienated by the over-zealous efforts of the judge to exclude evidence relating to the broader issues. "The jury was suspicious that they weren't being told all the facts," says attorney William Panzer. Judge De Groot had sharply instructed the jury to disregard suggestions by defense attorney Nancy Lord that they could choose to acquit if they thought the law was unjust. "The prosecutor and judge worked too hard," said Lord, "the jury thought the whole thing was rigged." The jury originally split 9-3 for conviction, but changed its mind on consideration.
This was defendant Kiczenski's second public challenge to the marijuana laws. Two years ago, he mailed a quarter of a pound of pot to President Clinton but failed to get arrested.
The Three Hawk Stand verdict is being welcomed by marijuana reform supporters throughout the state as a sign that public attitudes towards hemp are liberalizing.

COMBS ACKNOWLEDGES USING POT; FORMER HIGH COURT JUDGE SAYS IT HELPS HIM SLEEP
By Lee Mueller, Eastern Kentucky Bureau, Lexington Herald Leader
08/25/95

Former state Supreme Court Justice Combs acknowledged yesterday that he smokes marijuana at night, saying the illegal drug helps him sleep.
Combs, 71, who resigned his seat on the state's highest court in June 1993 for health reasons, said in a telephone interview that he discovered "quite some time ago" that marijuana makes him sleepy.
He did not say precisely how long he has been smoking pot.
"I sleep like a baby" afterward, said Combs, who has had two strokes and suffers from a memory disorder. "I have a sleeping problem... I probably could have gotten a prescription for it if I'd asked my doctor, but I never did."
The medicinal use of marijuana is banned in the United States, although it was allowed by the federal government on a case-by-case basis from 1976 to 1992 for conditions such as glaucoma and nausea caused by chemotherapy.
Combs and his 16-year old son were charged last week with cultivation and possession of marijuana after Kentucky State Police searched his Floyd County home and reported finding 4 ounces of processed pot, drug paraphernalia and one plant growing in a container outside the home.
Combs did not say yesterday whether he owned any of the marijuana found in his home, but he indicated he considered what he does at home to be his own business.
"I never go out and I never drive" after smoking marijuana, he said. "I just stay in the privacy of my own bedroom. . . One joint would probably last me one or two days."
The search of his home upset Combs and his attorney, Eric Conn, who have suggested that some evidence was planted by state police. Conn also has filed an affidavit by Combs son, Alfred Ghent Combs, that claims troopers appeared to be pressured by Floyd District Judge James Allen Jr. to find something during the search.
State police have denied the allegations,. and Allen said this week he was bewildered by the affidavit. "I've always gotten along with Dan Jack," Allen said.
Conn, however, said Wednesday he has obtained corroborating evidence to the younger Combs sworn statement from Janice Keller, a friend of Combs from South Carolina.
Allen has scheduled a hearing Tuesday in Floyd District Court on the misdemeanor charges against Combs and a motion by Conn for Allen to step down from the case.
Appeals Court Judge Paul D. Gudgel, a member of the state's Judicial Retirement and Removal Commission, said yesterday the panel could not investigate or censure Combs if he smoked marijuana while he was a judge because it has been more than 120 days since Combs was on the bench.
Asked yesterday whether they were aware that Combs used marijuana, three judicial commission members -- lawyer Joe Savage of Lexington, Jefferson District Judge Charles Scott and Carroll District Judge Stan Billingsley -- said no.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert F. Stephens could not be reached for comment last night.
Capt. Robert Forsythe, commander of the Pikeville state police post, who has defended his officers' conduct during the raid at Combs' home, declined comment last night.
Combs said yesterday he had no idea who could have told police he might have marijuana in his home. Combs said he had not talked about it, and his two teenage sons wouldn't, either.
Police have declined to say who tipped them.
Conn said Combs agreed to let state police search his home only after they told him they had a search warrant.
But Forsythe said no search warrant was obtained, because Combs signed a consent form, permitting search. "If we'd had a search warrant,. we wouldn't have needed his consent," he said.

SOUTHEAST ASIANS TO COORDINATE ACTION IN DRUG WAR
RTna 08/25/95

BANGKOK, Thailand (Reuter) -- The seven members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have agreed on concerted action in their battle against the spread of drug abuse, Thailand's leading drug fighter said Friday.
Gen. Chavalit Yodmanee, chief of Thailand's Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), said ASEAN members had agreed to cooperate on four broad fronts in the war on drugs.
Chavailt, speaking at the end of a weeklong meeting of drug suppression officials from the ASEAN members, said they have agreed on a three-year action plan covering prevention, treatment, law enforcement and general research into the drug scourge.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Malaysia has agreed to take the lead in training staff in the field of prevention and community education about the dangers of drugs while Brunei will train personnel in the field of mutual legal assistance, Chavalit said.
Brunei will also focus on training staff in investigating the financial aspects of the drugs trade while Thailand will promote ASEAN-wide cooperation in intelligence gathering, he said.
Despite harsh anti-drug laws in several ASEAN countries drug abuse is widespread in the region.
Chavalit, who chaired this week's talks, said in addition to heroin abuse, the region was also seeing a worrying surge in the use of amphetamines.
Representatives from Burma, the world's main source of heroin, and Interpol also attended the meeting.
REUTER

ILLINOIS TRUCK MISHAP NETS DRUGS
UPsw 08/26/95

KANKAKEE, Ill. (UPI) -- Kankakee police say (Saturday) three Texas men face federal drug charges in connection with a seizure of 5, 000 pounds of marijuana after the truck in which they were riding got struck. The truck, with a 13-foot-6-inch-high semitrailer, jammed trying to clear a 12-foot-9-inch viaduct, and police found the drugs after they arrived to help the stranded vehicle.

[UNTITLED - MADERA COUNTY VERDICT FREES THREE HEMP PLANTERS]
Santa Rosa Press Democrat
circa 08/27/93

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) -- Three men who dared authorities to prosecute them for planting hemp seeds in the Sierra Nevada foothills were acquitted of cultivating marijuana.
The San Luis Obispo County men said Thursday's verdict by a Madera County Superior Court jury sends a clear message that farmers should be allowed to grow indsutrial hemp.
Ron Kiczenski, Doug Weissman and Craig Steffens were arrested by sheriff's deputies July 4, 1994, after notifying authorites that they were planting hemp seeds on land near Coarsegold off highway 41. The men faced up to three years in prison and a $10,000 fine each if convicted of the felony charge.
"This is an important victory not only for farmers but actually for the justice system itself," Kiczenski said. "It's proof that there's no need for people taking up arms against the government's control. We can do it through the courts."
The men were found innocent even though a judge had earlier hampered the defense by denying its request to argue during the trial that hemp is a critical natural resource.
Kiczenski said the jury understood that the men only planted the seeds to protest U.S. laws that prevent farmers from growing industrial hemp, the plant from which marijuana comes. The stalk of the plant can be used to make such products as rope, clothing and even food.
"This county had a predetermined agenda to slam dunk us," Kiczenski said Friday. "They were going to teach everybody in Madera that you can't come to Madera County and protest."
Assistant District Attorney Michael Keitz, who prosecuted the case, did not return several messages left by The Associated Press.

GINGRICH-DRUGS
APn 08/28/95

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Clinton administration and House Speaker Newt Gingrich are at war over how to wage the war on drugs.
In the latest episode, Gingrich, R-Ga., called for executing a large number of drug smugglers as a deterrent.
"Do it one by one, it'll add up," Gingrich said at a football rally Saturday in Canton, Ga. "If the word gets back that we're serious and we're actually implementing it, then it will have a very chilling effect on people bringing drugs into the U.S."
On Monday, White House drug policy adviser Lee Brown labeled the proposal "ill-conceived" and "another simplistic solution to a complex problem."
Last month, Gingrich said the country ought to "quit playing games" and either legalize drugs or adopt penalties severe enough to get rid of them. Brown called that statement "political hypocrisy" and "a simplistic silver bullet."
In a statement Monday, Brown said Gingrich "will say and do anything except implement and fund the president's comprehensive anti-drug strategy."
Brown said the key to stemming drug abuse is stopping demand, and he called on Gingrich to restore the money Congress has cut from the government's drug treatment and prevention programs.

TWO DIE IN OKLAHOMA HELICOPTER CRASH
(New throughout, updates death toll, previous Oklahoma City)
RTna 08/28/95

TULSA, Okla. (Reuter) -- An Oklahoma National Guard helicopter crashed Monday while on a suspected drug raid, killing an army pilot and an agent with the U.S. Bureau of Indian affairs, a National Guard spokesman said.
Authorities would not release the names of the two victims who were killed when their helicopter, which was looking for marijuana fields, tried to swoop down on a man suspected of possession of drugs.
The helicopter, an Army OH-58, crashed when it hit power lines and the pilot was pronounced dead at the scene. The passenger was pronounced dead later at a local hospital.
Eyewitnesses said they saw a rotor fly off the aircraft before it went down.
The suspect, a Tulsa man identified as Mark Allen Scott, 36, was later taken into custody on a charge of possession of marijuana.
The raid was part of a combined drug intervention effort by the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, the U.S Bureau of Indian Affairs, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Military Drug Task Force.
REUTER

PANNELLA ARREST DIVIDES ITALY'S CENTRE-RIGHT
RTw 08/28/95

ROME (Reuter) -- The arrest of politician Marco Pannella for deliberately breaking Italy's drugs laws divided his centre-right allies in the grouping led by former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi on Monday.
The maverick parliamentarian was arrested with five supporters in Rome's Porta Portese street market on Sunday after he produced a bag of hashish at a protest meeting to call for the legalisation of "soft" drugs.
"Here's 100 grammes that I would like to give you but the police won't allow me to," Pannella told the crowd. He had said earlier he planned to hand out the drugs.
Police arrested him on charges of possessing illegal substances and intending to distribute them. A prosecutor ordered him to remain under house arrest and then later told him he was free pending a judge's ruling on the case.
"Pannella's actions throw the group into utter confusion," commented the left-wing daily L'Unita.
Pier Ferdinando Casini, leader of the Christian Democrat CCD party, said his party could not co-exist with Pannella's and challenged Berlusconi to state his position.
"The question is straightforward. Berlusconi must say whether he agrees with me or Pannella," he was quoted as saying in the daily La Stampa newspaper.
"Our positions our diametrically opposed so this time he cannot dig himself out by agreeing with both," Casini said.
Francesco Storace of the far-right National Alliance said: "I don't insult allies and so I have no comment to make."
Forza Italia deputy Tiziana Maiolo, who heads parliament's justice commission, said she agreed with Pannella's action but added that clarification was needed within the group.
Former Foreign Minister and Forza Italia member Antonio Martino also backed Pannella, saying his actions were "opportune" and adding that critics within the centre-right grouping had not fully understood the position.
The campaigners say cannabis-derived drugs are no more harmful than tobacco or spirits and should be legalised under the same sort of legislation.
REUTER

PAKISTANI WITH DEA KILLED IN KARACHI
WP 08/28/95

KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuter) -- Gunmen killed a Pakistani employee of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and wounded his son here today.
The U.S. Embassy said Mohammad Shahnawaz Toor, who worked for the DEA at the U.S. Consulate, had been shot and killed at a bus stop near his home. His son Muhammad Khurram Toor was wounded.
"The identity, affiliations and motives of the gunmen are not known," the embassy said.
A police account said Toor, 40, a retired army major, and his son were in a car when lone gunman attacked.

COMBS SON'S ALLEGATIONS LEAD TO JUDGE'S WITHDRAWAL FROM CASE
By Lee Mueller, Eastern Kentucky Bureau, Lexington Herald-Leader
08/29/95

Prestonburg, Kent. -- As the swarm of TV and newspaper reporters left the Floyd County Courthouse yesterday, Dan Jack Combs watched from under a nearby shade tree.
The 71-year old former state Supreme Court justice grinned broadly and leaned forward on his toes. "Is High Times here, too?" he asked, referring to a national pro-marijuana magazine.
It was kind of a joke: Combs' droll comment on the hubbub that has developed since Aug. 18 when state police acting on a tip-found a marijuana plant growing in his backyard at Betsy Layne.
What began as a rather routine drug raid-Combs and his 16 year old son, Ghent, were charged with possession and cultivation of marijuana, both misdemeanors-turned into the stuff of which national TV programs are made after Combs acknowledged he had smoked pot for quite some time to help him sleep.
Yesterday, Floyd District Judge James Allen Jr. stepped down from the case because Combs' son alleged-falsely Allen said-that Allen helped orchestrate the police search that turned up water pipes, rolling papers and 4 ounces of marijuana at Combs' home.
Still to come, however, is an appearance on a new CBS News program, "Day & Date" which Combs' attorney, Eric Conn of Stanville ,said was billed to him as a cross between "Entertainment Tonight" and "Good Morning America."
Combs, who was elected to the Supreme Court in 1988 after five years on the state appellate court, retired in 1993, citing health problems. As a judge, he was outspoken on behalf of constitutional rights and plain-spoken about his life and lifestyle, which included riding a motorcycle and attending seances.
Combs said yesterday he has no memory of smoking marijuana before he retired form the bench, but said he has a memory problem similar to Alzheimer's disease, brought on by two strokes and other factors.
"I may have-but never while court was in session." Combs said of using marijuana. "I'm sorry, I wish I did have total recall, but I don't. I used to have an excellent memory. I could quote Thanatopsis," a poem.
A1992 deposition in a Pike County civil case indicates Combs smoked pot while he was a judge.
A Lexington psychiatrist who treated Combs for depression after a 1989 motorcycle accident confirmed under questioning that Combs used marijuana to help him sleep.
Dr. Robert Granacher said in the deposition that Combs surprised him by "telling the truth. Most patients would not admit that."
Granacher said the admission was not relevant to Combs' problem because marijuana does not cause major depression. Later, Granacher said he prescribed Prozac-a powerful antidepressant-for the judge. He also said he administered four shock treatments-at Combs' request-that temporarily relieved his depression.
Dr. Mary Lee Harper, director of the University of Kentucky's drug information center, said yesterday that if Combs were smoking marijuana and taking Prozac at the same time, "there are no studies indicating there are problems with mixing the two."
Last week, before he was aware of Granacher's deposition, state Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert F. Stephens said he saw no indication that Combs smoked pot while on the high court.
The chief justice stuck by that observation this week.
Stephens said he knew nothing about Combs' taking Prozac, having shock treatments or the validity of the drug charges.
"All I can tell you is, you've got to remember why the man quit the court-because he realized he was having a problem," Stephens said. "And if that doesn't say something for him, I guess I have the entirely wrong standards to judge human beings."
"When he began to fail, he knew it-and he quit."
In yesterday's hearing, Allen read a statement, saying he was stepping down to avoid "even the appearance of impropriety."
"I will step aside, not because I believe there are grounds in the motion and affidavit for me to do so, but because I want the defendant to feel that he will be heard with the neutrality of an impartial judge."
Allen said he would ask that a special judge be appointed to hear other motions, including one to quash results of the police search.
Combs said he has not smoked marijuana since the search but hopes to continue the practice. Marijuana, which he called one of "God's foods," helps him sleep and should be legalized for medicinal purposes, he said.
Given the nationwide interest his case has attracted, however, Combs said he expects it will be difficult for him to obtain the drug.

[End]