restore Sun, 25 Jun 2000 Volume 1 : Number 535 In this issue: FL: Reefer Madness Remains get paid for smoking pot? Ralph Nader on Drugs Other Candidates stand on Drugs and the Drug War More on Harry Browne Vote on Wellstone amendment Re: Drug Czar McCaffrey Opposes IH in IL e-mailing Democruds DrugSense Weekly, June 23, 2000, #154 TN: Cannabis Festival Focus On Marijuana, Hemp Use Fwd: [cp] Vin Sends RE: Peter's murder A Classy Joint: The Compassion Flower Inn Bed, Bud and Breakfast toxic rio grande Re: Ralph Nader on Drugs Letters to the Editor: Doug Bruce Jury Education ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2000 12:15:47 -0700 From: "D. Paul Stanford" To: restore@crrh.org Subject: FL: Reefer Madness Remains Message-ID: <4.3.2.7.2.20000624121500.04d449a0@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: JohnC Pubdate: Sat, 24 Jun 2000 Source: St. Petersburg Times (FL) Copyright: 2000 St. Petersburg Times Contact: letters@sptimes.com Website: http://www.sptimes.com/ Forum: http://www.sptimes.com/Interact.html Section: Editorial REEFER MADNESS REMAINS If Americans were to look closely at the federal government's policy on medical marijuana, they'd have to wonder what their government is smoking. In every way possible, the federal government has tried to stymie the use of marijuana for highly limited medicinal purposes, even in the light of substantial anecdotal evidence that the drug offers significant relief for some symptoms of glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, AIDS and the side effects of cancer treatment. Worse, the government doesn't appear to want medical science to discern whether those claims are real or hype. It has enacted unreasonably high hurdles for researchers hoping to study marijuana's medicinal effects. While the federal government is busy obstructing research, voters in seven states and the District of Columbia have decided that science and compassion matter. They have tried to bypass official resistance by approving marijuana's limited medical use through voter referendums. Voters have approved medical marijuana in every state where the stand- alone question has been on the ballot, and politicians have taken notice. Earlier this month, Hawaii became the first state to authorize medical marijuana through legislative enactment. The law is narrowly drawn so that only those with certain qualifying illnesses may legally possess and use marijuana and only after obtaining a doctor's recommendation and registering with the state. As he was signing the bill into law, Gov. Benjamin Cayetano said how pleased he was to be adding this option for doctors and their patients. "My own feeling is, more states are going to come on," Cayetano said. Not if the federal government can help it. Since states have liberalized medical marijuana, the Office of National Drug Control Policy has threatened the prescription-writing privileges of those doctors willing to recommend the drug under state guidelines, and Congress has taken steps to ensure that the District of Columbia's medical marijuana initiative would not take effect. The many claims of marijuana's medicinal benefits aren't necessarily true, but until the government allows significant medical research, we will never know. One recent analysis was conducted by the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine. The study, released in 1999 and funded by the White House drug policy office, concluded that "there are some limited circumstances in which we recommend smoking marijuana for medical uses." In accordance with the report's recommendations, the Department of Health and Human Services was supposed to ease restrictions on marijuana research. But the guidelines that went into effect in December were far from relaxed. Rather than put marijuana on a par with other synthesized pharmaceuticals under study, the guidelines impose procedural hurdles, including getting special approval by a Public Health Service ad hoc panel even after the Food and Drug Administration has approved the research protocols. There are plenty of examples of otherwise controlled substances, from codeine to morphine, that may be prescribed under strict medical supervision. If marijuana truly has medical benefits, then it should be available by prescription. But until the federal government stops its reefer madness, we'll never learn for certain what those benefits are, if any. __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. --- MAP posted-by: Derek www.mapinc.org ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2000 23:55:36 -0600 (MDT) From: Bryan Krumm To: restore@crrh.org Cc: drctalk@drcnet.org Subject: get paid for smoking pot? Message-ID: Our local alternative newspaper has been running an add that says you can get paid for smoking pot. Does anyone have info on ? Bryan ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2000 08:11:27 -0700 From: "Roger Dodger" To: "CRRH mailing list" Subject: Ralph Nader on Drugs Message-ID: <002001bfddee$a0d790a0$e2883ea6@proteus> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_001D_01BFDDB3.CBF85FC0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable After reading about Ralph Nader and his stand on drugs on CRRH, I just = had to find the original quote. Here it is: source: = http://www.issues2000.org/Ralph_Nader.htm Ralph Nader on Drugs=20 Supports legalization of industrial hemp=20 On marijuana legalization: "If you know anyone who got high on = industrial hemp, tell the National Science Foundation and you'll get a = prize for the most unlikely scientific discovery ever. George Bush's = father was saved by a parachute made of industrial hemp."=20 Source: Campaign Speech, Hartford Public Library, Hartford CT May 16, = 2000=20 Hemp is GREAT, Ralph! Now, give us some insight about marijuana = legalization (regulation). I think this was the original question. Roger Dodger "Nonsensical, repetitive behaviour is a trait of mental illness." ->Dana Scully<- "Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a = species of intemperance within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of = reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation = and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A prohibition law = strikes a blow at the very principle upon which our Government was = founded." A. Lincoln Illinois House of Representatives December 18, 1840 ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2000 08:23:17 -0700 From: "Roger Dodger" To: "CRRH mailing list" Subject: Other Candidates stand on Drugs and the Drug War Message-ID: <002901bfddf0$6d2b3160$e2883ea6@proteus> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0026_01BFDDB5.73C3E3E0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Here are some quotes from 'Other' candidates about their stand on drugs = and the drug war: Rudy Giuliani on Drugs=20 Drug policy should be an integral part of foreign policy=20 We need to call on the on the federal government after having done our = job effectively [on crime reduction] to make [drug reduction] an = important part of our foreign policy, rather than a secondary part. = After all it has to do with the future of our children and it is just = important as international trade. And it's just a important as wars that = may be going on in different parts of the world, because it has to do = with how productive America is going to be into the next generation.=20 Source: Speech at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government Sep 29, 1997=20 Pat Buchanan on Drugs=20 Drug usage is not a victimless crime; so keep marijuana ban=20 I'm against the legalization of marijuana. People say it's a victimless = crime. [But the manager of a rehabilitation center] said that 10% of the = children in Iowa are born with some kind of drug affliction, and 5% of = them suffer permanent damage. As soon as I heard that, these little = children are going to suffer their whole lives because of drugs their = parents took, I think we can't quit the war on drugs and we can't = legalize marijuana.=20 Source: Interview on "CNN Talkback Live" Jan 24, 2000=20 Open Mexican border invites drug trafficking=20 Look what happened as a consequence of NAFTA. We got a $25 billion trade = deficit with Mexico. Narcotics are now pouring across that border, = poisoning the hearts and minds and souls of American children. The = Colombia drug cartel moved its operations from Colombia to Mexico, = brought up truck plants and manufacturing plants. Why? So they could = pour them through that open NAFTA border and bring them into our country = and destroy the lives and souls of American children.=20 Source: Remarks at Home Schools Event, Washington, DC Sep 24, 1999=20 George W. Bush on Drugs=20 Supports military package to Colombia to fight drug supply=20 Bush has said little on the drug issue. His campaign spokesman said the = governor favors the Colombian military package [which would eradicate = drug suppliers], "to make sure their military is well-trained and = well-equipped to fight the drug traffickers." Bush is still trailed by = unsubstantiated allegations of cocaine use. Bush also is a strong = supporter of faith-based initiatives to fight addiction.=20 Source: Boston Globe, p. A21 Mar 5, 2000=20 Stronger penalties for first time cocaine possession=20 As governor, Bush favored tougher laws for drug offendors, including = signing legislation that allows judicial discretion to sentence = first-time offendors possessing less than one gram of cocaine to a = maximum of 180 days in jail. (Previously, first-time offendors received = automatic probation.) Bush is still trailed by unsubstantiated = allegations of cocaine use.=20 Source: Boston Globe, p. A21 Mar 5, 2000=20 Identifies with former addicts based on former alcoholism=20 Bush told a group of recovering drug addicts that he still identifies = with their struggle, more than a decade after he gave up alcohol. Bush = told the young men his Christian faith was critical in shaping his = turnaround. He cast his battle in simple terms, saying: "Just like you, = I'm on a walk, and it's a never-ending walk as far as I'm concerned. I = used to drink too much and I quit drinking. I want you to know that your = life's walk is shared by a lot of other people. Even some who wear = suits." Bush has said he was never addicted to alcohol. But since giving = up drinking in 1986 at age 40, he described that as a turning point in = his life.=20 Source: Boston Globe, p. A12 Jan 22, 2000=20 Full background checks on drug use for all appointees=20 Bush was asked whether as President he would insist that he his = appointees undergo full FBI background checks, which include questions = about drug use. He would, he replied. "Could I pass the challenge of a = background check? My answer is absolutely," Bush said. "Not only could I = pass the background check and the standards applied to today's White = House, but I could have passed the background check and the standards = applied on the most stringent conditions when my dad was President -- = 15-year period."=20 Source: R.W.Apple, New York Times, p. A12 Aug 30, 1999=20 Parents make up for past by warning kids against drugs=20 Bush said that parents have a responsibility to make up for their = youthful mistakes by warning their children to stay away from drugs. = "One of the interesting questions facing baby boomers is, have we grown = up? Are we willing to share the wisdom of past mistakes? And I think the = message ought to be to all children, 'Don't use drugs. Don't abuse = alcohol.' That's what leadership is all about."=20 Source: Mary Leonard, Boston Globe, p. A3 Aug 22, 1999=20 Supports tough drug laws as well as drug education programs.=20 Drugs and alcohol destroy lives. We have toughened laws for people who = sell drugs. We also spend millions of dollars on education programs such = as "Safe and Drug-free Schools" grants.=20 Source: www.governor.state.tx.us/divisions/faq_index.html 12/31/98 Dec = 31, 1998=20 Encourages abstinence from tobacco, drugs or alcohol.=20 Government can only be a part of the solution. I encourage all young = people to take care of their bodies and abstain from using tobacco, = drugs or alcohol. With clear minds, young people can achieve their goals = and dreams.=20 Source: www.governor.state.tx.us/divisions/faq_index.html 12/31/98 Dec = 31, 1998=20 Al Gore on Drugs=20 Science doesn't say medical marijuana is proper=20 Vice President Gore today backed away from his earlier support of = medical marijuana, saying he sees "no reliable evidence" that it is an = effective pain reliever. During a candidate forum in New Hampshire last = December, Gore said, "I think that where the alleviation of pain where = medical situations is concerned, we have not given doctors enough = flexibility to help patients who are going through acute pain." But = today, when asked by a student where he stood on a medical treatment = that is legal in California, Gore took a stronger stance against use of = the drug. "Right now, the science does not show me, or the experts whose = judgment I trust, that it is the proper medication for pain and that = there are not better alternatives available in every situation," he said = during a school visit in a low-income neighborhood southeast of downtown = Los Angeles.=20 Source: Ceci Connolly, Washington Post, pg. A10 May 12, 2000=20 Mandatory weekly drug testing for state prisoners & parolees=20 Gore proposed federal spending of $500 million a year to help states = test, treat, and counsel prisoners & parolees for drug use. Inmates in = state prison-mandatory testing already applies in federal prison-would = not be released until they could pass drug tests. Further, parolees = could be returned to prison if they failed the tests, which would be = administered twice a week. Parolees would also be subjected to stricter = supervision, to ensure that they paid child support, stayed off drugs, = and found jobs.=20 Source: James Dao, New York Times, p. A18 May 3, 2000=20 Drug treatment programs for every addict who wants one=20 Gore called for expanding drug treatment programs for non-criminals, = though he offered no details. "I believe we should build a country in = which every single addict who finds the power to reach out and say, 'Now = is the time I want help and I want treatment' gets an immediate = response," he said.=20 Source: James Dao, New York Times, p. A18 May 3, 2000=20 Lead a national crusade against drugs=20 Gore would fight for "get clean to get out" and "stay clean to stay out" = drug policies to help cut down on crimes by repeat offenders. Gore would = create a matching grant program to states and localities to help = systematically test, treat and sanction probationers, prisoners and = parolees. Gore would also lead a national crusade against drugs. Gore = would expand the number of drug courts and fight for tougher drug = penalties.=20 Source: Press Release May 2, 2000=20 Loosen restrictions on medical marijuana=20 Breaking slightly with Clinton administration policy, Gore said he = supports giving doctors greater flexibility to presribe marijuana to = relieve patients' pain. Otherwise, Gore closely adheres to the framework = of current policy [which includes increasing Drug War spending to $18.9 = billion this year].=20 Source: Boston Globe, p. A21 Mar 5, 2000=20 Tougher drug policies; fight drugs in Colombia=20 Gore said he would push for "tougher drug penalties and enforcement," = would increase drug interdiction efforts, would expand drug courts and = would institute a $2 billion national media campaign targeted at = preventing youth from using drugs. He is supportive of the Colombia plan = [which fight drugs via the Colombian military].=20 Source: Boston Globe, p. A21 Mar 5, 2000=20 Did pot when young, like young people do=20 Gore said he used marijuana "when I came back from Vietnam, yes, but = not"[a lot]. Gore said in 1987 that his use of marijuana, which began in = college, had been "infrequent and rare." Pressed further, Gore said: = "When I was young, I did things young people do. When I grew up I put = away childish things."=20 Source: Washington Post, by Howard Kurtz & Ceci Connolly Jan 24, 2000=20 Decrease disparities in punishing crack vs. powder cocaine=20 Al Gore all but said the laws that treat crack cocaine far more harshly = than powdered cocaine should be eliminated. A person currently caught = with 5 grams of crack cocaine would get the same 5-year sentence as a = person caught with 500 grams of powder, a 100-to-1 ratio. The Senate = voted to reduce the ratio to 10-to-1. But Gore said that is not enough. = "The remaining disparities should be dealt with," Gore said. The = 100-to-1 law had become the top symbol of racism in the criminal = INjustice system.=20 Source: Derrick Z. Jackson, Boston Globe editorial Nov 19, 1999=20 Drug efforts are beginning to pay off; we must do more=20 Our administration has secured the largest anti-drug budgets in history, = with more money for drug enforcement agents, for border & customs = control, for education & outreach, for treatment & prevention. Our = efforts have finally begun to pay off. Overall, drug use by adults has = dropped to more than half of its highest levels in 1979. Even drug use = by our young people, which seemed to be getting worse every year, has = finally begun to decline. But we know that we've barely begun. We must = do so much more.=20 Source: White House Briefing, Washington, DC Feb 8, 1999=20 Community disconnectedness is a source of drug problems=20 To deal with the drug problem, we have to do more to expand opportunity, = to create jobs for our young people, especially in communities that have = too often been passed by in good times. That higher rate of drug abuse = in minority communities and impoverished communities, I think, comes = about partly because you have a higher vulnerability to feeling that = sense of being disconnected and alienated and not a part of what can be = possible in our future.=20 Source: White House Briefing, Washington, DC Feb 8, 1999=20 Drug Control Strategy: More $, more enforcement, more TV ads=20 I am pleased to formally release our National Drug Control Strategy. = It's not a short-term plan designed to produce short-lived results; it = is a comprehensive long-term strategy. It has more money for drug = testing and treatment. It has better drug-law enforcement in our = communities and better drug control on our borders. It has better = anti-drug education for young people. Our plan is backed by the largest = anti-drug budget ever-nearly $18 billion.=20 [The Strategy includes:]=20 a.. strengthening the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Initiative and = encouraging more school districts to start after-school programs=20 b.. increasing our efforts to promote drug treatment and prevention = programs=20 c.. more drug testing of prisoners and parolees=20 d.. more police on the streets of our communities to break the deadly = cycle between crime and drugs=20 e.. maintain the vigorous maritime interdiction operations=20 f.. step up anti-money laundering efforts=20 g.. use the military to support our drug law enforcement efforts. Source: White House Briefing, Washington, DC Feb 8, 1999=20 After-school programs prevent most drug use=20 The hours between 2 & 6 are the most perilous hours of the day for our = children. A teenager is most likely to take up smoking between the hours = of 2 & 6. A teenager is most likely to do drugs and alcohol between the = hours of 2 & 6. A teenager is most likely to get caught up in crime = between the hours of 2 & 6. That means we must engage our children in = positive, constructive activities between the hours of 2 & 6, [by = expanding] access to quality after-school care for all our children.=20 Source: Speech to National PTA, "Protecting Our Children" Mar 23, 1998=20 Alan Keyes on Drugs=20 Stricter drug penalties; more border security=20 Keyes supports the following principles concerning drugs:=20 a.. Support capital punishment for convicted international drug = traffickers.=20 b.. Increase border security to stop the flow of illegal drugs into = the US=20 Source: Vote-Smart.org 2000 NPAT Jan 13, 2000=20 It's a moral crisis, not a drug problem=20 [With drugs,] we're not dealing with a material problem, we're dealing = with a moral problem. In 1950, we didn't have a huge plethora of laws = dealing with drug abuse, and yet we also did not have an enormous drug = problem in this country. We proliferated laws because the fundamental = discipline that was prevailing in our society in 1950 has broken down. = We don't have a drug problem. We have a moral crisis. When we face that = reality, then we will have solved the problem.=20 Source: Republican Debate at Dartmouth College Oct 29, 1999=20 Drug problem is a symptom of governmental lack of discipline=20 Q: How do you plan to continue with the war on drugs? A: The problem is = very simple: You can't sustain self-government without self-discipline, = and the drug problem is a symptom of that. We proliferate laws; we even = have started to invade property rights and do other things that are = tearing down our system of liberty. Why? Because we are out of control, = because we are a people who do not understand that if you enslave = yourself to chemicals, you cannot be free.=20 Source: Republican Debate at Dartmouth College Oct 29, 1999=20 Increase penalties for selling drugs=20 Increase penalties for selling drugs. Impose capital punishment for = convicted international drug traffickers.=20 Source: 1996 National Political Awareness Test, Project Vote Smart Jul = 2, 1996=20 Harry Browne on Drugs=20 Drug War breaches 4th Amendment civil rights=20 Browne spoke out today against H.R.2987, the Methamphetamine = Anti-Proliferation Act -- a bill that would trash your right to privacy, = due process and free speech. The bill empowers the police to conduct = secret searches of your property, often referred to as "black bag" = searches. It creates a new type of search warrant that allows police to = enter your home or place of business, conduct a search, seize or copy = files from your computer, and not tell you about it until months later. = Another provision of the bill allows government agents to seize your = property without giving you a list of the seized items.=20 "This an outright assault on the Fourth Amendment," said Browne, "But if = you are out to demonstrate that you're a law and order politician, that = pesky amendment a real drag. But that's exactly what the Constitution is = supposed to be -- a drag on government power. The only way to stop the = politicians from further injections of unconstitutional authority is to = end the insane war on drugs."=20 Source: Press Release "High on the Hill" May 27, 2000=20 Only politicians pretend we're winning insane War on Drugs=20 "I have never met anyone who believes we're winning the insane War on = Drugs. But politicians love to pretend that we are," said Harry Browne. = "Millions of Americans know that the Drug War is a cruel and brutal = failure." Browne pointed out that many of those armed criminals are drug = dealers. "Only Libertarians want to end the nightmare of Prohibition - = with its criminal gangs and drive-by shootings."=20 "Besides," argued Browne, "the Drug War has led to the trampling of the = Bill of Rights. And that's the central issue with both guns and drugs: = the U.S. Senate has no business violating your constitutional rights, no = matter how noble the cause." Browne concluded, "On my first day in = office, I will pardon all federal, non-violent drug and gun offenders. = And during my term, I will lead the fight to end the insane War on = Drugs, and to remove federal gun-control laws from the books."=20 Source: Press Release "The Non-Sense of the Senate" May 20, 2000=20 Drug War makes streets a war zone=20 I steadfastly oppose the Drug War. I believe it has made our streets a = war-zone with innocent bystanders caught in the confusion of drug raids = or drive-by shootings and that this war has wreaked havoc on our civil = liberties.. I would pardon all federal, non-violent drug offenders = because these people are not a threat to anyone and because we could use = the space to keep real criminals behind bars so those individuals cannot = add to their list of victims.=20 Source: E-mail correspondence from the candidate Jan 27, 2000=20 Decriminalize pot; end the war on drugs=20 Browne supports the following principles concerning illegal drugs.=20 a.. Decriminalize the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.=20 b.. Decriminalize the production and use of industrial hemp for = agricultural purposes.=20 c.. Eliminate federal funding for programs associated with the "war on = drugs."=20 d.. Browne concludes, "Repeal all federal drug laws." Source: Vote-Smart.org 2000 NPAT Jan 13, 2000=20 Admits pot use; but it's none of your business=20 Q: Have you ever done cocaine or marijuana? A: I have nothing to hide. I = smoked marijuana about four times in the 1960s. But it's not the = question of MY life - it's the question of YOUR life. I don't believe = reporters and bureaucrats should be prying into your privacy and your = life. I feel that I should set an example, by saying that my life is my = own, so I'm inclined to say, "It's none of your business."=20 Source: The Alan Colmes Show, WEBD NY 1050 AM Aug 26, 1999=20 Crime rate soared in 70s Drug War like in 30s Prohibition=20 Drug use today is many times what it was 30 years ago. The crime rate = peaked in 1933 when alcohol prohibition was repealed after a steady rise = during prohibition. The crime rate then fell for 30 years until drug = prohibition started in the 1960s. Cocaine wasn't a problem in this = country until temporarily the government succeeded in cutting of f the = supply of marijuana. When the government temporarily succeeded in = getting rid of cocaine, then crack appeared. A new supply will always = take its place.=20 Source: The Alan Colmes Show, WEBD NY 1050 AM Aug 26, 1999=20 Replace costs of enforcement with costs of addiction=20 Suppose all drugs became absolutely legal tomorrow - would you start = snorting cocaine? We have the enormous costs of drug use already. So = what are we afraid of? Addiction affects a certain percentage in the = population. Most people are able to drink without becoming alcoholics, = and most people [would not become drug addicts]. We can't go running = people's lives.=20 Source: The Alan Colmes Show, WEBD NY 1050 AM Aug 26, 1999=20 Legalization removes the rebellious appeal of drugs=20 [When asked about the Libertarian Party's pro-legalization stance on = drugs with regards to the chaotic conclusion of Woodstock '99, Browne = responded]: Part of the reason that that sort of thing happens is just = as in the '60s, [drug use] is a badge of courage against authority. It = is a way of rebelling. But you can't rebel against something that's = legal. People don't rebel against liquor, against smoking, against these = other things except in very minor ways, but they do rebel against the = drug laws.=20 Source: Matt Drudge, 'The Drudge Report,' Fox News Jul 31, 1999=20 Increased govt monitoring does nothing to reduce drug use=20 You gave government the authority to [monitor bank accounts] when you = said they could search and seize people without a warrant and without = probable cause. The government rifles through your bank account looking = for evidence with which to hang you. It's going to be reading your = e-mails & taking your property. It's doing all of these things, & it's = not doing anything to reduce drug use at all. What I want to see is our = government abiding by the Constitution, which would end this nightmare = of prohibition.=20 Source: Matt Drudge, 'The Drudge Report,' Fox News Jul 31, 1999=20 Bank profiles aimed at drug dealers will fail=20 Know Your Customer is a proposed regulation to develop a customer = profile [of] your banking habits. [Since financial tracking began in = 1970, the purpose has been] to assure that you don't deal drugs. Why do = such programs fail? Because those at whom it is aimed make it their = business to know the regulations and circumvent them. A drug dealer = won't keep his money in the bank -- to have his transactions reported to = the government and his assets seized by zealous DEA or Treasury agents.=20 Source: http://www.harrybrowne2000.org/ "Your bank account" 5/16/ Feb = 19, 1999=20 Pardon non-violent drug offenders to free prison space=20 Browne does not building more federal or state prisons; nor funding for = "boot-camps" as alternative sentencing for adult first-time felons. = Browne says, "End drug prohibition and the War on Drugs, and immediately = pardon all federal non-violent drug offenders, in order to free prison = space for murders, rapists, and child molesters."=20 Source: (Cross-ref to Crime) Project Vote Smart, 1996 May 1, 1996=20 Govt has no Constitutional authority to prohibit any drugs=20 End drug prohibition and the War on Drugs. The federal government has no = Constitutional authority to prohibit any drugs. It required a = Constitutional amendment to prohibit alcohol (which produced the same = explosion of crime that drug prohibition has caused).=20 Source: Project Vote Smart, 1996, www.vote-smart.org May 1, 1996=20 War on Drugs is a crusade against victimless crimes=20 The crusade against victimless crimes reaches the apex of absurdity in = the War on Drugs. It is the quintessential example that government = doesn't work. Government has failed completely to stop people from = taking drugs. It can't stop drugs from coming into the country. It can't = even stop drugs from getting into its own prisons. And yet the = politicians keep telling us that the next freedom taken from us will be = the price that finally pays off in getting drugs off the streets and = away from our children.=20 It ought to be obvious by now that this War will never be won. = Government can't stop the supply, it can't reduce the demand, and its = strong-arm tactics don't work. We have paid for this fruitless crusade = in billions of tax dollars, the corruption of police forces, the loss of = civil liberties, soaring crime rates, and gang warfare. The War has = served only to undermine our protections against reckless law = enforcement-and to make life easier for violent criminals.=20 Source: Why Government Doesn't Work, by H. Browne, p.130-1 Jul 2, 1995=20 Marijuana is not unconditionally evil; allow medical use=20 Marijuana is very effective in relieving chronic pain; alleviating = nausea for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy; and treating = glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, and other medical conditions. No = one has ever been known to die from smoking marijuana, and no scientific = study has indicated that smoking marijuana leads inevitably to heavier = drugs. But the Drug Warriors prefer to let patients suffer, rather than = acknowledge that marijuana isn't an unconditional evil.=20 Source: Why Government Doesn't Work, by Harry Browne, p.133 Jul 2, 1995=20 Truth is a casualty in the War on Drugs=20 Truth is a casualty in the War on Drugs. Because they're in a losing = battle, the Drug Warriors grow progressively more hysterical in trying = to justify their activities. It has become impossible to discuss calmly = any issue concerning drugs.=20 Lost in th hysteria are a few simple facts:=20 a.. No one has ever been known to die from smoking marijuana=20 b.. No scientific study has indicated that smoking marijuana leads = inevitably to heavier drugs=20 c.. More people use mind-altering stimulants, sedatives, = tranquilizers, or analgesics than use cocaine or crack=20 d.. Fewer people die from illegal drugs than die from accidental = poisoning by legal drugs and medicines. Much of the misery coming from illegal drugs occurs because they are = illegal. People sometimes die or become sick from poorly formulated = illegal drugs or from overdoses of them, because the law prevents = reputable companies from providing a safe product in standard doses.=20 Source: Why Government Doesn't Work, by H. Browne, p.132-3 Jul 2, 1995=20 John Hagelin on Drugs=20 Legalize medical marijuana; educate for prevention=20 Hagelin supports the following principles regarding drugs:=20 a.. Expand drug education & treatment programs.=20 b.. Decriminalize the use of medicinal marijuana & industrial hemp=20 c.. Increase border security to stop the flow of illegal drugs=20 d.. Hagelins supports "education that unfolds intelligence, = creativity, and self-confidence, raising life to be in harmony with = natural law & thereby eliminating the tendency towards drug dependence; = promote programs shown to dramatically reduce drug dependency." Source: Vote-Smart.org 2000 NPAT Jan 13, 2000=20 Legal drugs won't save money.=20 Legalization of drugs might cut dramatically crime-related drug costs. = About 20% of the cost of drugs is crime-related. 80% is health-related, = productivity-related, absenteeism, and so forth. It's loss of human = potential. Legalization could eliminate 20% of the costs of drugs; = there's no guarantee that drug use wouldn't increase by at least 20% if = people had access to drugs legally.=20 Source: Natural Law Party National Convention Aug 24, 1996=20 Legal drugs mean lost human potential.=20 The legalization of drugs, and the statement that drugs are basically ok = or no worse than alcohol or whatever that would mean to the youth, is = sending the wrong signal to the youth. Even marijuana use, which is the = most mild hallucinogen, regularly over a six-month period results in a = reduction in the orderly brain functioning, a loss of EEG coherence, and = all of the different areas of the brain and personality, resulting in a = less integrated personality and a less integrated experience of life.=20 Source: Natural Law Party National Convention Aug 24, 1996=20 Solution to drugs is lessened demand through education.=20 Outlawing drugs will never bring drug use under control--that's one = thing we can do to discourage the use of drugs, but it's better to hit = the demand side. The ultimate solution resides in education. Not just = educating people about the debilitating effects of drugs, which itself = would help, just like the smoking cessation campaign has helped, but = education that gives that gives deep satisfaction to the students and = will help them to fulfill their own objectives in a life-supporting way. = Source: Natural Law Party National Convention Aug 24, 1996=20 Howard Phillips on Drugs=20 More border security needed=20 Phillips agrees with the following statements regarding drugs:=20 a.. Border security is needed to win war on drugs=20 b.. Increase border security to stop the flow of illegal drugs into = the US. Source: National Political Awareness Test, Project Vote Smart Jan 13, = 2000=20 Source: http://www.issues2000.org/ Submitted by: Roger Dodger "Nonsensical, repetitive behaviour is a trait of mental illness." ->Dana Scully<- ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2000 08:30:38 -0700 From: "Roger Dodger" To: "CRRH mailing list" Subject: More on Harry Browne Message-ID: <003201bfddf1$9c960f00$e2883ea6@proteus> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_002F_01BFDDB6.79B42A20 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable More headlines: Harry Browne on Drugs=20 (Following are older quotations. Click here for main quotations.)=20 Politicians apply drug laws to others and not themselves=20 Q: Do you think candidates should acknowledge past drug use? A: The = worst kind of drug warriors in Congress say, "Put 'em in prison for life = and throw away the key" and then their son is caught with drugs and he = gets off with a reduced sentence - that's hypocrisy. If a Libertarian = candidate is caught with marijuana, he says "Everybody should be free to = do it," so there's no hypocrisy. He may not think it's a best idea in = the world, but people should be free to do it.=20 Source: The Alan Colmes Show, WEBD NY 1050 AM Aug 26, 1999=20 Drug-related problems result from prohibition, not drugs=20 Companies like Seagram's and Johnny Walker do not hire kids to enforce = their territories. All of these things result from Prohibition and they = have existed with prohibition throughout all of recorded history.=20 Source: The Alan Colmes Show, WEBD NY 1050 AM Aug 26, 1999=20 Like 1920s Prohibition, govt intrudes on civil liberties=20 Our cities have become totally unsafe: drive-by shootings, children = caught in the crossfire, kids carrying guns to school because they're = drug runners, all of these trappings of prohibition which we saw in the = 1920s and we're seeing all over again with the war on drugs. It's not = going to end so long as the government keeps intruding on our civil = liberties, promising that if they just snoop enough in your bank = account, if they just start reading your e-mail, that they can stop this = drug flow.=20 Source: Matt Drudge, 'The Drudge Report,' Fox News Jul 31, 1999=20 Re-legalizing drugs would end many social ills=20 Understandably, many Americans fear that ending the Drug War would = produce hundreds of thousands of addicts, crack babies, children trying = drugs, and other evils. But that's what we have now. Relegalizing drugs = would eliminate the criminal black market - ending the violence, the = incentive to hook children, and the production of bad drugs that destroy = people. And addicts could seek medical help openly and inexpensively -- = instead of hiding their habits from the law.=20 Source: http://www.harrybrowne2000.org/ "7 Ways" 5/16/99 Jul 13, 1998=20 We can't win the Drug War; escalating makes it worse.=20 Nothing can win the Drug War, [so] it is constantly escalated -- = destroying more of your liberties with asset forfeiture laws, = drug-testing, and monitoring your financial transactions. This has = caused too many Americans to disrespect the law itself. Despite these = terrible costs, drug use continues unabated. Libertarians can see how = much safer America will be without the nightmare of Prohibition -- just = as the crime rate plummeted when alcohol Prohibition ended.=20 Source: http://www.harrybrowne2000.org/ "7 Ways" 5/16/99 Jul 13, 1998=20 Submitted by: Roger Dodger "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and = bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect against tyranny in = government." -> Thomas Jefferson <- "Nonsensical, repetitive behaviour is a trait of mental illness." ->Dana Scully<- ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2000 08:37:27 -0700 From: JT Barrie To: restore@crrh.org Subject: Vote on Wellstone amendment Message-ID: <3954D5B2.2ED5@zdnetonebox.com> How did our 2 illustrious "me too" senators vote on the Wellstone amendment? I guarantee that Smith voted it down; Wyden votes fashionably with the "mainstream" Democratic leadership - but slightly to the left [where the treatment solution to the problem - instead of taking care of the problem, of course - is fashionable]. The rhetoric about the "gas price problem" is symptomatic of the 2 party "solutions". Instead of addressing the problem and developing alternative energy to ease us from energy dependence, they go after a ridiculous anti trust suit against OPEC - whose economic clout stems from our inactivity. I guess if you don't address the problem, you can make a career out of government "solutions" to combat the symptoms. This is what we are doing with the war on drugs. The "doctors" are prescribing every solution to treat the symptoms of snakebite - except the anti venom [which is legalization]. -- The "war on drugs" is not about public safety - it's about increasing public safety budgets. The anti drug campaign is not about public service - it's about using public hysteria to protect the profit margins of those who are legally allowed to promote dangerous drugs to your children. Social, political, and religious commentary not sanctioned by the lapdog media.

JT for state rep district 34; the only candidate who: 1] cares about public safety 2] has a proven plan to reduce crime, violence, and teenage drug abuse 3] will have a mandate for positive change The only meaningful vote for a candidate in district 34. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2000 14:12:04 -0500 From: "Paul Steiner" To: "Sam H. Clauder II" , "CRRH mailing list" Subject: Re: Drug Czar McCaffrey Opposes IH in IL Message-ID: <01bfde10$15de5ac0$d5420540@default> Really late in replying but , I find the fact that they want to do a two year study in Illinois a waste of my tax money when there are records that already indicate that there are many areas in Illinois that are well suited for IH production. I am refering to a posting of the 1937 USDA guide to crops concerning all areas of the US. In which Champaign and Vermilion counties both are discussed in detail (heart of U of I country). Paul Steiner St. Joseph, IL S.H.A.R.E. Support Hemp Awareness Reforms & Education(TM) -----Original Message----- From: Sam H. Clauder II ; CRRH mailing list Date: Wednesday, March 01, 2000 12:08 AM Subject: Drug Czar McCaffrey Opposes IH in IL >LADIES & GENTLEMEN: > >The following is a short release I just received and am forwarding to >you. > >Apparently, the ONDCP and the DEA are not as close to recommending >reclassification of IH as we previously thought they were. McCaffrey >tips their hand herein by opposing the Illinois bill, which does nothing >more than authorize and finance Illinois Universities to plant and study >test crops for the next two years, much like the Hawaii bill did. > >In light of this release, their previous claims that the ONDCP and the >DEA were re-considering their position on IH could more appropriately be >considered a political tactic to further stall any opposition from being >organized and mobilized in an effective manner. > snip ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2000 07:40:15 -0700 From: "byrds" To: Subject: e-mailing Democruds Message-ID: <200006240740.AA1487798324@mail.rvi.net> Well, I miss hearing from Peter and I am really pissed that they murdered him! He was a funny compassionate spirit and I wish I could go to Judge Kings courtroom and tell him how evil he is for killing freedom in America. The painful truth is that he has join the murdering McCaffrey on the list of War criminals and should be tried and convicted of the horrendous deliberate assassination of Peter McWilliams. So, I sent the demo-creeps a message but it's like peeing into the wind. I keep thinking of that day 30 years ago when my name was called and I went up to receive my award. It was for writing an award winning paper on freedom in America for the local chapter of the DAR. An organization I have been asked to join! Those old ladies are turning in their graves at the way this country's freedoms have been dissolved by Congress. And we keep voting the bastards in. Whichever "puppet" we elect this time isn't going to matter as the "industrialist" will run this country anyway they want. But I'm voting for Steve Kubby!!!!At least, I will know I am voting for a true American and someone who will stand up to them with all his might. Stand up! Don't give up the fight!!!See you in Harrisburg, Oregon for the most amazing Hempfest!July 14,15,16th...Spread the word...play The Toyes music...."Smoke Two Joints!" SueB ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2000 16:31:14 -0700 From: webmaster@drugsense.org (DrugSense) To: newsletter@drugsense.org Subject: DrugSense Weekly, June 23, 2000, #154 Message-ID: ********************************************************************** DRUGSENSE WEEKLY ********************************************************************** DrugSense Weekly, June 23, 2000 #154 Read This Publication On-line at: http://www.drugsense.org/current.htm ------------------------------------ TABLE OF CONTENTS: * Feature Article Murder In California The Case Of Peter McWilliams (1949-2000). From "The Nation" by Dan Mindus * Weekly News in Review Drug Policy- (1) Report - Heroin Tops Coke on Mass. Streets (2) Heroin Takes Deadly Hold on Md. County (3) Increase in Small Drug Labs (4) Editorial: Meth Lab Funding a Problem for All, not Just Sheriffs (5) Editorial: Jail Time For Addicts (6) Is Imprisoning Addicts The Best Policy? (7) Countdown to Ecstasy (8) Bush Flies Into An Air Force Cocaine Cloud (9) GOP Wants To Revive Stalled Spending Package Law Enforcement & Prisons- (10) Crime, In the Name of the Law (11) Editorial: Centac's Black Eye (12) Critics of Cops Still Need the Cops (13) Missouri Attorney General Sues Kansas City Police (14) 2 More Lay Dead, as Prohibition-Era Thinking Rules Day Cannabis & Hemp- (15) Analysis: The Murder of Peter McWilliams (16) Waiting for Medical Marijuana (17) Film Review: Grass (18) Going Dutch: The Answer to the Slightest Whiff of Trouble (19) UK: Joint Venture International News- (20) UK: Editorial: No Quick Fix (21) Contaminated Heroin Mystifies and Scares Britain (22) UK: Talks in London Today On Colombian Aid Plan (23) Colombia's Rebel Army Opens its Lair (24) China: US, Mainland Team Up to Fight Narcotics Trade * Hot Off The 'Net Peter McWilliams, R.I.P. by Wm F. Buckley Peter McWilliams Memorial Photos Sanho Tree on the Air "Grass" the Movie Dot Com * Volunteer of the Month Van Estes * Quote of the Week Harold E. Stassen ************************************************************************ FEATURE ARTICLE MURDER IN CALIFORNIA THE CASE OF PETER MCWILLIAMS (1949-2000). From "The Nation" by Dan Mindus Ushering in outbreaks of hysteria, Peter McWilliams, best selling author and medical marijuana activist, died on Wednesday. Some mostly libertarians are freely tossing around the word "murder" to describe the federal government's role in the 50 year old McWilliams' passing. "What the federal government did is nothing less than cold blooded, premeditated murder," charged Steve Dasbach, the national director of the Libertarian Party. Before we consign such talk to the Vince Foster lunatic fringe, perhaps some background would be appropriate. Unless otherwise noted, the quotes that follow are selected from three columns on the deceased crusader by the hardly hysterical William F. Buckley Jr. "For his illness [AIDS and cancer] he smokes every day. But after you do that for a few weeks you cease to get high. Marijuana becomes just something that stops nausea, eases pain, reduces inter ocular pressure, relaxes muscles, and takes the "bottom" out of a depression. So where do we go from here? To jail?" Exactly. "Six thirty in the morning, nine DEA agents crash into McWilliams' house finding him at work on his computer. They simultaneously tell him he is not under arrest and handcuff him. They spend three hours going over every piece of paper in his house (they find one ounce of marijuana, which is within the California legal limit) and walk away with his computer. That is the equivalent of entering the New York Times and walking away with the printing machinery." How is this possible, given that California's Proposition 215 exempted patients from criminal penalties for the cultivation or possession of marijuana? "The feds take the position that the California proposition is after all overridden by federal legislation." McWilliams is arrested and charged. "The U.S. attorney in Los Angeles intends to recommend that McWilliams spend the next 10 years in jail for violating federal drug laws.... The meltdown is therefore now scheduled.... One hopes that Peter McWilliams, something of a bird of paradise, is left alone to take proper care of himself." Sadly, this proved to be wishful thinking. The judge prohibited McWilliams from mentioning that he had AIDS and cancer, thus denying him the traditional common law defense that necessity, the need to prevent greater harm, forced him to break the law. This despite the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals's unanimous ruling in 1999 that "medical necessity" can be a viable defense for people accused of breaking federal marijuana laws. One would think such a ruling would apply to McWilliams, who suffers from a not uncommon side effect of antiviral AIDS drugs: nausea. Without marijuana, McWilliams simply couldn't keep his meds down. The judge further prohibited McWilliams from mentioning Proposition 215, for this was a federal case. Facing the prospect of a ten year mandatory minimum sentence, and no plausible defense, McWilliams pled guilty. Bail was set at $250,000 and McWilliams' mother mortgaged the family home. "One aspect of the bail regulation would have pleased George Orwell: He has to submit to a daily urine test to establish that he has not taken marijuana. If such a test were to prove positive, back he'd go to jail, and the family house, presumably, to the auction block." According to McWilliams, "The Federal prosecutor personally called my mother to tell her that if I was found with even a trace of medical marijuana, her house would be taken away." And so, the meltdown. Fearing foreclosure on his mother's house, McWilliams stopped taking the marijuana that controlled his nausea. He was found in his bathroom, having choked on his own vomit. One might say that this is no more a murder than a plane crash, which can be blamed on the airline or the FAA. But there's the crucial difference of intent. Here, the prosecutors knowingly prevented McWilliams from taking the medication marijuana that he claimed was saving his life. Perhaps they didn't believe him, and perhaps they didn't know any better, but these are the arguments of a defendant arguing that he is only guilty of manslaughter in the second degree. Look in the papers tomorrow for more wisdom on the subject from Mr. Buckley. Source: National Review Online (US Web) Copyright: 2000 National Review Contact: letters@nationalreview.com Website: http://www.nationalreview.com/ Forum: http://www.nationalreview.com/soapbox/soapbox.html ************************************************************************ WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW ===================================================== Domestic News- Policy --------------- COMMENT: (1-2) McCzar's recent claim that we're "winning" the drug war was further refuted when two respected dailies reported sharply increased heroin use in their metropolitan areas. (1) REPORT - HEROIN TOPS COKE ON MASS. STREETS Despite ambitious state and local campaigns to combat heroin addiction, a new report shows that heroin, for the first time in more than a decade, has surpassed cocaine as the drug of choice on the streets of Boston and throughout Massachusetts. [snip] Pubdate: Sun, 18 Jun 2000 Source: Boston Herald (MA) Copyright: 2000 The Boston Herald, Inc. Contact: letterstoeditor@bostonherald.com Address: One Herald Square, Boston, MA 02106-2096 Website: http://www.bostonherald.com/ Author: Kay Lazar URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n830/a01.html === (2) HEROIN TAKES DEADLY HOLD ON MD. COUNTY Today, Kristi Ziemski will not speak of the time between March 15 and April 9 of last year. The feelings she has - about killing her mother... [snip] Doris Ziemski was killed with a butcher knife and left sprawled for days in her foyer in what Kristi's prosecutor calls a heroin-related slaying. But her mother's life is hardly the sole one... Seven of its (Carroll County's) young people have died of overdoses in the last four years. Dozens of other residents in heroin's vise have turned up in emergency rooms. The county of 152,000 people has Maryland's first and only probation officer devoted solely to helping heroin-addicted youths, and bright yellow-and-black "Heroin Kills" billboards and bumper stickers have become common as residents fight back. [snip] Pubdate: Sat, 17 Jun 2000 Source: Washington Post (DC) Copyright: 2000 The Washington Post Company Contact: letterstoed@washpost.com Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ Author: Annie Gowen, Washington Post Staff Writer URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n824/a07.html === COMMENT: (3-4) The methamphetamine battle isn't going well either; two Western reports highlight how unwise tactics have simply compounded an environmental problem without reducing availability. The deferred environmental clean-up costs will ultimately be paid by the entire nation; not just a rural Oregon county. (3) INCREASE IN SMALL DRUG LABS Methamphetamine: Officials worry about explosions, pollution. Law enforcement officials call them Beavis and Butt-head labs. That's their grim private nickname tying the dim cartoon characters with a growing crowd of people who are cooking up volatile batches of homemade methamphetamine in their closets, kitchens and even children's rooms. As officers on the Peninsula and all over the Bay Area stumble upon more and more of these amateur drug factories, they openly worry about explosions -- both of the chemicals used to make the drug and in the numbers of users of the powerful and addictive stimulant. [snip] Pubdate: Thu, 15 Jun 2000 Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA) Copyright: 2000 San Jose Mercury News Contact: letters@sjmercury.com Website: http://www.sjmercury.com/ Author: Sean Webby, Mercury News URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n815/a04.html === (4) EDITORIAL: METH LAB FUNDING A PROBLEM FOR ALL, NOT JUST SHERIFF Umatilla County Sheriff John Trumbo's frustration over a lack of money to clean up methamphetamine labs is understandable, but his directive to deputies that they put on blinders to these dangerous operations was extreme. The Herald obtained a memo Trumbo wrote to his staff, noting that Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality has no more money for hazardous waste cleanup at meth labs, ... He told his deputies he didn't want them to take any initiative in investigating methamphetamine labs. "Thank your snitches for the information they are 'not giving you.' Keep your eyes closed and pretend you have a cold. I don't want any 'I found a meth lab' calls... " [snip] Pubdate: Sun, 18 Jun 2000 Source: Tri-City Herald (WA) Copyright: 2000 Tri-City Herald Contact: letters@tri-cityherald.com Website: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/ URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n834/a08.html === COMMENT: (5-6) The San Diego Union-Tribune wasted no time in airing arguments Californians will be hearing over and over from both sides on the drug treatment initiative which just qualified for the November ballot. Although not mentioned, it will also be a defining issue in the Senate race. (5) EDITORIAL: JAIL TIME FOR ADDICTS Ballot Initiative Would Hamstring Drug Courts It's really sad that California's public debate over treatment for addicted criminals could be co-opted by a few multimillionaires like George Soros on one side and the corrections officers' union on the other. Neither knows much about the disease of addiction. But instead of the public and lawmakers learning from the exhaustive research on addiction treatment and then crafting sound policies, we're in for another divisive, superficial battle over a ballot initiative. [snip] Pubdate: Wed, 14 Jun 2000 Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA) Copyright: 2000 Union-Tribune Publishing Co. Contact: letters@uniontrib.com Website: http://www.uniontrib.com/ Forum: http://www.uniontrib.com/cgi-bin/WebX URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n810/a08.html === (6) IS IMPRISONING ADDICTS THE BEST POLICY? We were raised to believe that the laws that govern us were set up for the greater good of the majority of our citizens. Somewhere along the line, some of that has changed. It is incredible to realize that today most families know of someone who has been incarcerated in a detention facility. Perhaps he or she is an immediate family member, a friend, or a friend of a friend. Few of us have been untouched by the prison growth of the past two decades. Behind the United States as a whole, California now has the biggest prison system in the western industrialized world, and we are the most overcrowded system in the United State. [snip] Pubdate: Thu, 15 Jun 2000 Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA) Copyright: 2000 Union-Tribune Publishing Co. Contact: letters@uniontrib.com Website: http://www.uniontrib.com/ Forum: http://www.uniontrib.com/cgi-bin/WebX Authors: Gretchen Burns Bergman and David Beck-Brown, gretchenb@abac.com, dbbrown@pacbell.net URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n818/a04.html === COMMENT: (7-9) Beyond heroin and cocaine, the problem of ecstasy awaits our drug warriors. For those curious about E's history, the Austin Chronicle got most of it right- except for a premature obit on Sasha Shulgin. Two other deferred problems served notice that they will resurface: George W's cocaine history and money for our military adventure in Colombia. (7) COUNTDOWN TO ECSTASY- PART ONE OF THREE I Feel Love I'm sitting in one of the myriad coffee shops on Congress Avenue -- slouching, actually; it's a sunshiney spring Saturday morning, and the previous night keeps doubling back on me.... [snip] "It was a life-changing experience. And I mean, like, for the better." Thrills, Pills, and Bellyaches Those are heady words, ones that are repeated ad infinitum wherever people talk about Ecstasy. There are more grinny, happy X-tales floating around Austin than there are wannabe film makers. Sometimes it seems like everyone here, at one point or another, has tried Ecstasy, "X," "E," whatever you choose to call it, at least once. [snip] Pubdate: Fri, 09 Jun 2000 Source: Austin Chronicle (TX) Copyright: 2000 Austin Chronicle Corp. Contact: louis@auschron.com Website: http://www.auschron.com/ Author: Mark Savlov URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n782/a08.html (Part 1) URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n817/a02.html (Part 2) URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n817/a03.html (Part 3) === (8) BUSH FLIES INTO AN AIR FORCE COCAINE CLOUD THE Republican front-runner for the White House, George W. Bush, was suspended from flying as a young pilot for failing to take a medical examination that included a drug test. Documents obtained by The Sunday Times reveal that in August 1972, as a 26 year-old subaltern in the Air National Guard, Bush was grounded for failing to "accomplish" an annual medical that would have indicated whether he was taking drugs. [snip] Pubdate: Sun, 18 Jun 2000 Source: Times, The (UK) Copyright: 2000 Times Newspapers Ltd Contact: letters@the-times.co.uk Website: http://www.the-times.co.uk/ Author: Tom Rhodes Bookmark: MAP's shortcut to Gov. Bush items: http://www.mapinc.org/bush.htm URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n828/a06.html === (9) GOP WANTS TO REVIVE STALLED SPENDING PACKAGE, MEASURE WOULD FINANCE KOSOVO, COLOMBIA EFFORTS WASHINGTON -- Under Pentagon pressure, congressional leaders want to revive and pass this month a stalled multibillion-dollar spending package for Colombia, U.S. peacekeepers in Kosovo and domestic disasters. The House approved a $13 billion measure two months ago. It has languished in the Senate because of Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., who said the bill was expensive and time-consuming... Now, Lott and House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., would like to send the money, in a still undetermined amount, to President Clinton by June 30, when lawmakers are to begin a week long Fourth of July recess, say congressional aides from both parties. [snip] Pubdate: Sun, 18 Jun 2000 Source: Salt Lake Tribune (UT) Copyright: 2000 The Salt Lake Tribune Contact: letters@sltrib.com Website: http://www.sltrib.com/ Forum: http://www.sltrib.com/tribtalk/ Author: The Associated Press URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n830/a10.html ===================================================== Law Enforcement & Prisons --------- COMMENT: (10-12) Stories from Florida and Ohio demonstrate LA isn't the only place where rogue cops find drug and forfeiture laws to their liking. Yet, as Clarence Page reminds us, we still need cops for society to function. (10) CRIME, IN THE NAME OF THE LAW Federal Court Testimony Reveals Corruption In The Delta Squad, An Elite Undercover Drug Team At The Manatee County Sheriff's Office. BRADENTON -- They prowled the streets of Manatee County, looking for the perfect victims -- poor, troubled people no one would believe. Then, they robbed them. Beat them. And even bragged about it. When it began to come apart, they hung together and conspired to keep quiet. They saw themselves as above the law. After all, they were the law. Pubdate: Sun, 18 Jun 2000 Source: St. Petersburg Times (FL) Copyright: 2000 St. Petersburg Times Contact: letters@sptimes.com Website: http://www.sptimes.com/ Forum: http://www.sptimes.com/Interact.html Author: Alicia Caldwell, St. Petersburg Times Staff Writer URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n842/a02.html === (11) EDITORIAL: CENTAC'S BLACK EYE County's drug task force needs to make changes if it is to justify its existence and be an asset to justice Robert Tilton, the Stow police chief, scored an unintentional bulls-eye with his assessment of CenTac, Summit County's Central Tactical Unit. Said Tilton: ``I think that CenTac's record speaks for itself.'' Indeed, CenTac's record does. [snip] In 1988, CenTac arrested brothers Albert and Thomas Thrower for a marijuana trafficking operation. The Throwers made a deal and forfeited in a plea bargain $3 million in cars, boats and rental properties. That established a pattern that made CenTac financially independent and virtually unaccountable as it moved beyond drugs. [snip] Sheriff Richard Warren, the nominal head of the CenTac governing board, knew too few specifics during the recent escorts case to know that CenTac agents were listening through motel walls while stakeout subjects had sex and that informants were buying sex with CenTac drug-buy money. [snip] Pubdate: Thu, 15 Jun 2000 Source: Akron Beacon-Journal (OH) Copyright: 2000 by the Beacon Journal Publishing Co. Contact: vop@thebeaconjournal.com Website: http://www.ohio.com/bj/ Forum: http://krwebx.infi.net/webxmulti/cgi-bin/WebX?abeacon URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n822/a04.html === (12) CRITICS OF COPS STILL NEED THE COPS WASHINGTON- Here's a twist. The Rev. Al Sharpton is complaining that the New York City police have not acted aggressively enough. Yes, this is the same Rev. Al who has charged police from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., to Riverside, Calif., with behaving too brutally. The shoe is on the other foot in the wake of the nationally publicized assault on more than 40 women by roving mobs of grabbing, groping and robbing hooligans in Central Park following the city's Puerto Rican Day parade last week.... [snip] Pubdate: Sun, 18 Jun 2000 Source: Chicago Tribune (IL) Copyright: 2000 Chicago Tribune Company Contact: ctc-TribLetter@Tribune.com Website: http://www.chicagotribune.com/ Forum: http://www.chicagotribune.com/interact/boards/ Author: Clarence Page URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n832/a11.html === COMMENT: (13-14) The Kansas City Star's series showing that police are still withholding seized assets from schools prompted the city to sue its police. On the eastern side of Missouri, two police killings during a crack bust followed a familiar pattern. Given the drug and the circumstances, mentioning the victims' color would probably have been redundant. (13) MISSOURI ATTORNEY GENERAL SUES KANSAS CITY POLICE BOARD The Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners is holding $3.4 million in money and property that rightfully belongs to area county governments and school districts, Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon contended in a lawsuit filed Friday. Nixon filed the lawsuit in an attempt to require the board to distribute the money and property, which the Police Department has collected mainly from seized, abandoned and unclaimed cash and property. [snip] Pubdate: Sat, 17 Jun 2000 Source: Kansas City Star (MO) Copyright: 2000 The Kansas City Star Contact: letters@kcstar.com Address: 1729 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, Mo. 64108 Feedback: http://www.kansascity.com/Discussion/ Website: http://www.kcstar.com/ Author: Matt Stearns, The Kansas City Star, mstearns@kcstar.com URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n842/a04.html === (14) 2 MORE LAY DEAD, AS PROHIBITION-ERA THINKING RULES DAY A Futile War On Drugs Police said Ronald Beasley, 36, was not a target in the investigation but died mainly because he was near Earl Murray. Beasley's death, the lieutenant said, "was unintended, not a mistake." This unintended death that was not a mistake occurred six days ago in the parking lot of a busy fast-food restaurant on North Hanley Road when members of an undercover drug unit attempted to arrest Earl Murray. According to the cops, Murray was a drug dealer. [snip] As usual, I'd like to give the cops a break. It's the war I want to indict. Pubdate: Sun, 18 Jun 2000 Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO) Copyright: 2000 St. Louis Post-Dispatch Contact: letters@postnet.com Website: http://www.postnet.com/postnet/stories.nsf/Home Forum: http://www.postnet.com/postnet/config.nsf/forums Author: Bill McClellan URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n832/a04.html ======================================================= Cannabis & Hemp- ------------- COMMENT: (15) Of the many reactions to Peter's untimely death, none expressed the appropriate sense of loss and outrage better Richard Cowan. If you have yet to read this piece, click on the URL right now. (15) ANALYSIS: THE MURDER OF PETER McWILLIAMS An Indictment, Not an Obituary Peter McWilliams, 50, best selling author, poet, photographer, publisher, libertarian crusader, medical marijuana activist, AIDS patient and cancer survivor, was found dead on the floor of his bathroom, apparently having choked to death after vomiting, for want of medical marijuana. There will be an autopsy, but whatever the immediate cause of death may have been, he was murdered by the United States Government as surely as if they shot him. Indeed, it would have been much more humane if they had just put a bullet in his head. No one should have to go through what he suffered at the hands of his country. [snip] Pubdate: Fri, 16 Jun 2000 Source: http://www.marijuananews.com Website: http://www.marijuananews.com/ Author: Richard Cowan Related: http://www.mapinc.org/mcwilliams.htm URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n833/a06.html === COMMENT: (16-17) Although hardly as outrageous, how an approved and funded medical cannabis study was trashed by a craven Washington state bureaucracy should at least incite some disgust. Speaking of craven: Ebert's inane "review" of 'Grass' qualifies; after succinctly listing the many failings of U.S. drug policy, he puts down the film for daring to imply change is needed. Indeed, Roger- what's YOUR point? (16) WAITING FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA The Antidrug Mafia Makes Sure Washington State Keeps Off The Grass. BACK IN 1996, an odd couple of state senators, Seattle liberal Democrat Jeanne Kohl-Welles and Spokane conservative Republican Bob McCaslin, introduced a bill allowing physicians to prescribe marijuana ... Thebill didn't make it through both houses, but funding to explore the feasibility of such a program did. Kohl-Welles,... was disappointed that her bill did not pass but satisfied that at least a start toward addressing the problem had been made. Four and a half years later, she is far from satisfied. Furious might be a better word to describe her feelings about the combination of bureaucratic inertia, academic fecklessness, and deliberate administrative obstructiveness that have rendered impotent the clearly expressed will of both the Legislature and the people of this state. [snip] Pubdate: Thu, 15 Jun 2000 Source: Seattle Weekly (WA) Copyright: 2000 Seattle Weekly Contact: letters@seattleweekly.com Website: http://www.seattleweekly.com/ Forum: http://www.seattleweekly.com/forum/index.html Author: Roger Downey URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n839/a07.html === (17) FILM REVIEW: GRASS It is agreed by reasonable people that one of the results of anti-drug laws is to support the price of drugs and make their sale lucrative. If drugs were legalized, the price would fall, and the motive to promote them would fade away....Crime would go down ... and law enforcement would benefit from the disappearance of drug-financed bribery, payoffs and corruption. All of this is so obvious that the opposition to the legalization of drugs seems inexplicable--unless you ask who would be hurt the most by the repeal of drug laws. The international drug cartels would be put out of business. Drug enforcement agencies would be unnecessary. [snip] The film is unlikely to tell many of its viewers anything they don't already know, and unlikely to change our national drug policy.... Am I in favor of drugs? Not at all. ...Have they given us the world's largest prison population, cost us billions of dollars and helped create the most violent society in the first world? Yes. From an objective point of view--what's the point? Pubdate: Fri, 16 Jun 2000 Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL) Copyright: 2000 The Sun-Times Co. Contact: letters@suntimes.com Feedback: http://www.suntimes.com/geninfo/feedback.html Website: http://www.suntimes.com/ Author: Roger Ebert URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n837/a05.html === COMMENT: (18-19) After all the outrage, a little comic relief from Europe was welcome; the British soccer fans' placid acceptance of unexpected defeat was noted by many- and it's fun to imagine McCzar's private thoughts on the Queen's choice of a study to be funded. (18) GOING DUTCH: THE ANSWER TO THE SLIGHTEST WHIFF OF TROUBLE The grass that mattered wasn't on the pitch - instead it kept football hooligans in check, writes Evan Fanning. THE reaction of the Dutch police officer said it all. ``They're doped up or dying or something,'' he muttered to his colleague as the masses of smiling English supporters strolled from the Philips stadium in Eindhoven despite having just watched their side snatch defeat from the jaws of victory against Portugal. Wiser words have rarely been spoken. [snip] Pubdate: Sun, 18 Jun 2000 Source: Sunday Independent (Ireland) Copyright: 2000 Independent Newspapers Ltd Contact: sunday.letters@independent.ie Website: http://www.independent.ie/ Author: Evan Fanning URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n832/a06.html === (19) UK: JOINT VENTURE Alex Benady Meets The Woman Who Has Won A Scholarship To Develop Her Interest In Cannabis As the heavy sweet smell in the corridor of any hall of residence will testify, many students are more than happy to invest considerable amounts of their own time and money in exhaustive private study of hemp and its properties. Not so Louisa Wood, a freelance fabric weaver from Southampton, who last week persuaded the Queen Elizabeth trust to part with A33,000 in the form of a scholarship to finance a month-long trip to the Chinese province of Yunnan, where she plans to study hemp production first-hand. [snip] Pubdate: Tue, 13 Jun 2000 Source: Guardian, The (UK) Copyright: 2000 Guardian Newspapers Limited Contact: letters@guardian.co.uk Website: http://www.newsunlimited.co.uk/guardian/ Author: Alex Benady URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n816/a06.html ====================================================== International News ------------- COMMENT: (20-21) From Britain came a hint that a new approach to "drug treatment" may soon be forthcoming. Also from Britain, the lethal infection felling heroin injectors was finally identified as clostridial, but its source and point entry into the illegal market remain a mystery- and, of necessity- the means to remove it. (20) UK: EDITORIAL: NO QUICK FIX It Will Take More Than A Shot In The Arm To Wipe Out Addiction AT FIRST glance, vice vaccines look just great. These injections promise to inactivate drugs such as cocaine, heroin, speed and nicotine in the bloodstream before they reach the brain. Without the "hit", people just won't come back for more (see p 22). It's true that these vaccines are still being developed, so their full risks and benefits are not yet clear. But all the signs are that for people who are in danger of overdosing, or for addicts who want to get themselves clean but need some help to overcome their craving, the vaccines will be immensely valuable. But like many new technologies, they also bring difficult choices. [snip] Pubdate: Sat, 10 Jun 2000 Source: New Scientist (UK) Copyright: New Scientist, RBI Limited 2000 Contact: letters@newscientist.com Feedback: http://www.newscientist.com/letters/reply.jsp Website: http://www.newscientist.com/ Author: New Scientist Editorial URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n811/a03.html === (21) CONTAMINATED HEROIN MYSTIFIES AND SCARES BRITAIN GLASGOW -- They started showing up in hospitals here in the middle of April, gravely ill heroin addicts with huge, painful skin abscesses, skyrocketing white-blood-cell counts and dangerously low blood pressure. Since then, 63 similar cases have been identified, as far afield as Dublin, Liverpool and Manchester, and 32 people have died. The outbreak is most likely caused by bacteria in a contaminated batch of heroin, experts said. Doctors said they did not know whether the contaminated supply had been exhausted or whether there is more, perhaps much more, to come. [snip] Pubdate: Wed, 14 Jun 2000 Source: New York Times (NY) Copyright: 2000 The New York Times Company Contact: letters@nytimes.com Website: http://www.nytimes.com/ Forum: http://www10.nytimes.com/comment/ Author: Sarah Lyall URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n806/a08.html === COMMENT: (22-23) As a prelude to the Senate debate of "plan Colombia," President Pastrana pitched it to our European allies. Not to be outdone, Farc also sought to tell its side to a similar audience- minus the US, of course. (22) UK: TALKS IN LONDON TODAY ON COLOMBIAN AID PLAN Officials of the EU member-states, the European Commission, Switzerland, Canada and Japan are meeting in London today with the Colombian government to discuss President Andres Pastrana's appeal for massive aid. Mr Pastrana is asking the European Community to contribute $1 billion to his $7.5 billion development plan, known as "Plan Colombia", to support Colombia's peace process and combat trafficking in narcotics. [snip] Pubdate: Mon, 19 Jun 2000 Source: Irish Times, The (Ireland) Copyright: 2000 The Irish Times Contact: lettersed@irish-times.ie Website: http://www.ireland.com/ Author: Ana Carrigan URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n842/a08.html === (23) COLOMBIA'S REBEL ARMY OPENS ITS LAIR Turning point in civil war: International diplomats to gather under plastic awning for talks with FARC VILLA NUEVA COLOMBIA, COLOMBIA - In the fly-blown "capital" of its own pseudo-state on the edge of the Amazon jungle, Colombia's largest rebel army is preparing to play host to the world's diplomats. Canada's ambassador to Colombia will join 23 other foreign dignitaries and Colombian government officials at the unprecedented meeting with the Marxist FARC -- the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia -- which specializes in kidnappings and revolution, and controls a section of the country the size of Switzerland. [snip] Pubdate: Wed, 14 Jun 2000 Source: National Post (Canada) Copyright: 2000 Southam Inc. Contact: letters@nationalpost.com Feedback: http://www.nationalpost.com/commentary.asp?s2letters Website: http://www.nationalpost.com/ Forum: http://forums.canada.com/~nationalpost Author: Marina Jimenez URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n809/a03.html === COMMENT: (24) An item of unknown significance at this point: McCzar's Chinese junket pledging to cooperate in the oppression of junkies. (24) CHINA: US, MAINLAND TEAM UP TO FIGHT NARCOTICS TRADE The mainland and the United States yesterday signed their first agreement aimed at stopping the spread of illegal drugs, a move both sides hailed as a breakthrough in fighting crime. "Today the United States and China signed a mutual legal assistance agreement allowing both China and the United States to begin sharing evidence and information relating to crime and drugs," US national drug policy tsar Barry McCaffrey said. "This is an important moment and is the first legal agreement between these two great countries." [snip] Pubdate: Tue, 20 Jun 2000 Source: South China Morning Post (Hong Kong) Copyright: 2000 South China Morning Post Publishers Limited. Contact: jfenby@scmp.com Website: http://www.scmp.com/ Author: Agence France-Presse URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n842/a03.html ************************************************************************ HOT OFF THE 'NET ------------- Peter McWilliams, R.I.P. By Wm F. Buckley Too late for this weeks edition but a good addition for Hot off the 'Net Is William F. Buckley's column on the passing of Peter McWilliams http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n849/a10.html Peter McWilliams Memorial Photos There are some pics of Peter on the website http://petertrial.com/photos.htm, both in low-res and hi-res. When you open the page you get a low-res version of the pic, there's a link on the page to download a larger, hi-res format version. Submitted by Doug McVay === Sanho Tree on the Air Sanho Tree appeared on the BBC World service chat show "Talking Point." It's an international hour-long call-in show and you can hear it with RealAudio at: http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/talking_point/newsid_785000/785351.stm More importantly, the BBC website is still accepting email comments and thus far they are overwhelmingly against the US led drug war. Please feel free to add your thoughts and read viewpoints from around the world. The Beeb has done a good week-long series of stories on drug policy (linked at the website). === "Grass" the Movie Dot Com A wonderful new documentary on the subject of marijuana criminalization, entitled "Grass" is now playing in the theaters. You can learn more about this film here: http://www.missliberty.com/FilmGrass.html. ************************************************************************ VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH ------------ Van Estes This month we recognize Van Estes also known as Doc-Hawk for his sustained support of the MAP editing/posting team and other volunteer work, both for MAP and the drug policy reform community. We asked Van a few questions: DS: When and why did you become involved in the drug policy area? Van: I really am honored to be chosen Volunteer of the Month. After some of the previous VOL's, even more so. Many have been eloquent writers who, like great artists, can paint a clear picture with words. Unlike the artist, my scientific bent helps my with the more technical tasks and eases the "mechanical" aspects of editing. That same logical direction has made it clearer than ever that something needs to be done about the way that users of drugs are treated in this country (and indeed around the world.) I served a tour of duty in the Army overseas...Key West in the early 70s. As you can imagine, the atmosphere there was very open and marijuana use was common. It became clear to me that many of the "truths" about drugs told to me at the beginning if the "War on Drugs" were in fact lies. As a personal note, occasional use did not stop me from being rated the best in my field for the entire Army for 1974 and 1975. For many years following military service, I watched quietly, thinking that the insanity of arresting marijuana smokers would be ended soon. Obviously, that has not happened. What really pushed me over the edge was when my daughter, then a teenager, started being harassed on a regular basis by the local police. Here is a beautiful young lady driving a wreck of a car, sometimes with a long-haired boyfriend. She was an easy target for local law enforcement. No resistance, no danger for the cops....just another notch toward promotion....and another victim of the drug war gets to go through the revolving doors of injustice. I started reading as much as I could on the Internet about drug policy reform. The first site that caught my eye was Dennis Peron's http://www.marijuana.org . That quickly led to Richard Cowan's great analysis at http://www.marijuananews.com . That led to DrugSense and MAP. I was stunned at the amount of good information and the apparent freedom from the customary censorship of the other media. I knew I had to do something. Over twenty-five years sitting on the sidelines and hoping that reason would prevail (while holding government or safety-related jobs) had to end. MAP made it easy to do a little at a time. Newshawking a few articles and writing a few letters was the start. About the same time, I found an old LIFE magazine and posted the articles for its 30th anniversary at http://www.WarOnSomeDrugs.com . Then a call went out for editors and I knew that was a way I could make a difference from the sidelines at home but on the front-line in cyberspace. DS: What do you consider the most significant story/issue of the past months? Van: One of the most important stories recently has been the death of Peter McWilliams. If you have not read "Ain't Nobody's Business If You Do", ( http://www.mcwilliams.com/books/books/aint/ ) by Peter, you really need to. If his speech to the Libertarian convention is still Online, it is certainly worth listening to. Here was the government's worst nightmare...a gay man with AIDS, who was at once popular, intelligent and vocal in his support for the medical use of cannabis. In the end, the government got what it wanted, a death sentence, but the good that Peter has done will be magnified by his passing and the outrage that it has caused. DS: What are your favorite websites, besides the MAP/DrugSense sites? Van: Other than the MAP: DrugNews Index, my favorite site is CannabisNews at http://www.cannabisnews.com/ . Martha does a great job of posting relevant material and letting her viewers discuss the ramifications of today's drug policy news. She also really helps keep control if a troll pops up. Lately, time spent editing has reduced me to a lurker at CannabisNews, but it is always worth a visit. DS: How did you come by the handle 'Doc-Hawk'? Van: Doc-Hawk is a name I acquired years ago while working on the HAWK anti-aircraft missile system. A small group of civilians got to fix all the really tough problems and I was the computer guru. I wore a white physicians smock and was soon called "Doc" by most of the GI's. HAWK rhymed and was fitting so it was added and stuck. DS: Thank you, Van, for all that you are doing! Van's name will be added to the list of honored volunteers at: http://www.drugsense.org/dswvol.htm *********************************************************************** QUOTE OF THE WEEK ------------ `Whoever kindles the flames of intolerance in America is lighting a fire underneath his own home.' - Harold E. Stassen, 1947 *********************************************************************** DS Weekly is one of the many free educational services DrugSense offers our members. Watch this feature to learn more about what DrugSense can do for you. TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS: Please utilize the following URLs http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm News/COMMENTS-Editor: Tom O'Connell (tjeffoc@drugsense.org) Senior-Editor: Mark Greer (mgreer@drugsense.org) We wish to thank all our contributors, editors, NewsHawks and letter writing activists. NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. REMINDER: Please help us help reform. Become a NewsHawk See http://www.mapinc.org/hawk.htm for info on contributing clippings. === NOW YOU CAN DONATE TO DRUGSENSE ONLINE AND IT'S TAX DEDUCTIBLE DrugSense provides many services to at no charge BUT THEY ARE NOT FREE TO PRODUCE. We incur many costs in creating our many and varied services. If you are able to help by contributing to the DrugSense effort visit our convenient donation web site at http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm -OR- Mail in your contribution. Make checks payable to MAP Inc. send your contribution to: The Media Awareness Project (MAP) Inc. d/b/a DrugSense PO Box 651 Porterville, CA 93258 (800) 266 5759 MGreer@mapinc.org http://www.mapinc.org/ http://www.drugsense.org/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2000 14:29:34 -0700 From: "D. Paul Stanford" To: restore@crrh.org Subject: TN: Cannabis Festival Focus On Marijuana, Hemp Use Message-ID: <4.3.2.7.2.20000624142913.04dc0480@mail.olywa.net> Newshawk: Sledhead Pubdate: Sat, 24 Jun 2000 Source: Chattanooga Times & Free Press (TN) Contact: letters@timesfreepress.com Address: P.O. Box 1447, Chattanooga, TN 37403 Website: http://www.timesfreepress.com/index.html Author: Ron Clayton CANNABIS FESTIVAL FOCUS ON MARIJUANA, HEMP USE NIOTA, Tenn. -- Organizers of a cannabis festival here say up to 2,000 people may attend this weekend's Free Choice Fund Raiser. The festival is to be a teaching and training time, said Brian Palmer, who owns land where the festival will be held. "This is a free speech event," said Mr. Palmer. "There will be workshops on First and Fourth Amendment rights. Usually it betters people with education, and that leads to issues like the legal use of medical marijuana." The festival is being organized as a fund raiser for the Tennessee Cannabis Action Network (TCAN) to help the group get their programs off the ground, said Mr. Palmer. The group was founded earlier this year and centers on educating about the use of medical marijuana and industrial hemp, a material used for everything from making rope, to shoes and other clothing, said organizers. Thirty-two bands are expected for the event, some from as far away as England. Also, Mr. Palmer said booths selling hemp products and other items will be set up on the his farm. The 25-acre farm is located along and behind homes on County Road 351, several miles north of Niota. The two-day event will begin about 11 a.m. today and continue until 4 p.m. Sunday. Camping is allowed, and admission is free. Local authorities say they know of the event, but there are not permitting processes in the county, and since it is on private property there is nothing wrong with holding the event. Sheriff Steve Frisbie said he will have patrols, but unless complaints are filed about some illegal activity, not action will be taken. Organizers say the festival is to be a "family event" and participants from all over the United States and overseas are expected for the celebration and training sessions. __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart www.mapinc.org ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2000 17:17:09 EDT From: Swftl@aol.com To: liberty-in-illinois@topica.com Subject: Fwd: [cp] Vin Sends RE: Peter's murder Message-ID: --part1_a9.761f5b8.26867f55_boundary Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit --part1_a9.761f5b8.26867f55_boundary Content-Type: message/rfc822 Content-Disposition: inline Return-Path: Received: from rly-yc02.mx.aol.com (rly-yc02.mail.aol.com [172.18.149.34]) by air-yc01.mail.aol.com (v74.17) with ESMTP; Fri, 23 Jun 2000 22:56:12 -0400 Received: from mu.egroups.com (mu.egroups.com [207.138.41.151]) by rly-yc02.mx.aol.com (v74.17) with ESMTP; Fri, 23 Jun 2000 22:55:47 2000 X-eGroups-Return: sentto-1663774-924-961815312-Swftl=aol.com@returns.onelist.com Received: from [10.1.10.37] by mu.egroups.com with NNFMP; 24 Jun 2000 03:55:23 -0000 Received: (qmail 28671 invoked from network); 24 Jun 2000 02:55:11 -0000 Received: from unknown (10.1.10.27) by m3.onelist.org with QMQP; 24 Jun 2000 02:55:11 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO mailsorter-105-1.iap.bryant.webtv.net) (209.240.198.119) by mta2 with SMTP; 24 Jun 2000 02:55:11 -0000 Received: from storefull-152.iap.bryant.webtv.net (storefull-152.iap.bryant.webtv.net [209.240.198.218]) by mailsorter-105-1.iap.bryant.webtv.net (WebTV_Postfix) with ESMTP id BA4AF316F for ; Fri, 23 Jun 2000 19:55:11 -0700 (PDT) Received: (from production@localhost) by storefull-152.iap.bryant.webtv.net (8.8.8-wtv-e/mt.gso.26Feb98) id TAA18696; Fri, 23 Jun 2000 19:55:11 -0700 (PDT) X-WebTV-Signature: 1 ETAtAhQyqlSjvxHO/VL7dMSYbL9w6rTyuQIVAIQbsJE1JNCFszKpe4b9OXB0EklO To: cp3@egroups.com Message-ID: <8636-3954230F-785@storefull-152.iap.bryant.webtv.net> X-eGroups-From: CLaw7MAn@webtv.net (Mike Steindel) From: claw7man@webtv.net MIME-Version: 1.0 Mailing-List: list cp3@egroups.com; contact cp3-owner@egroups.com Delivered-To: mailing list cp3@egroups.com Precedence: bulk List-Unsubscribe: Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2000 19:55:11 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [cp] Vin Sends RE: Peter's murder Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Mailer: Unknown FROM MOUNTAIN MEDIA=20 =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0EDITORS: A SHORTER VERSION, AT 1,000 WORDS, ALSO MOVES=20 =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATED JUNE 25, 2000 =A0=20 THE LIBERTARIAN, By Vin Suprynowicz=20 Drug war hypocrites kill a troublesome author=20 =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 Peter McWilliams, 50, author of the 1993 book "Ain't Nobody's Business If You Do: The Absurdity of Consensual Crimes in Our Free Country," and accomplished public speaker on libertarian topics, died at home in Los Angeles June 14.. Struggling for breath in his bathtub, Peter choked to death on his own vomit.=20 =A0=A0=A0=A0 But it was not an accident.=20 =A0=A0=A0=A0 McWilliams suffered from both cancer and AIDS. A prescribed cocktail of toxic drugs was capable of holding his viral load to zero -- in effect, producing complete remission. Problem was, these drugs produced such severe nausea that McWilliams was unable to keep them -- or anything else -- down.=20 =A0=A0=A0=A0 Fortunately, it turned out a natural and harmless herb exists which was almost fully effective in relieving McWilliams' nausea -- whereas a synthetic variant of the herb's dominant ingredient, the patented and thus pharmaceutically profitable Marinol -- proved only one-third as effective.=20 =A0=A0=A0=A0 Unfortunately, following the effective yellow journalism campaign of William Randolph Hearst to identify this herb, Indian hemp, in the public mind as the dreaded tool of white women's seduction by minority Lotharios -- "Marihuana" -- the forces of racism and repression managed to outlaw it, progressively if unconstitutionally, between the years 1916 and 1934.=20 =A0=A0=A0=A0 Fortunately, the citizens of California since realized that mistake, and in the autumn of 1996 they re-legalized marijuana there for medical use on a doctor's "recommendation" -- no prescription required -- by a 55 percent majority. Seven other states have since followed California's sensible lead.=20 =A0=A0=A0=A0 Unfortunately, cops operating in California -- the same ones who used to snarl "If you don't like the law, change it" -- no longer pay any attention to the law. Now they just break into people's homes, trash or seize their property, and kidnap them because they feel like it.=20 =A0=A0=A0=A0 "On Dec. 17, 1997, federal drug and tax agents raided McWilliams' home and offices, confiscating manuscripts and equipment and effectively shutting down his publishing business," according to J.D. Tuccille of Freedom Network News (www.free-market.net.) "The ostensible reason for the raid was a book advance paid to Todd McCormick, an author and fellow marijuana activist who rented a home where he wrote and grew marijuana with the money."=20 =A0=A0=A0=A0 Both men said the marijuana grown in the Bel Air mansion was intended to supply buyers' cooperatives that serve patients in California.=20 =A0=A0=A0=A0 Mind you, this "crime" was committed, the arrests made, and the case proceeded in its entirety (start ital)after(end ital) the popular vote to legalize this activity.=20 =A0=A0=A0=A0 Wait, it gets better. Why do you suppose the scum who run the War on Drugs in California decided to prosecute this case in federal court?=20 =A0=A0=A0=A0 One might imagine a defendant like McWilliams would have had an open-and-shut dismissal, once he explained his deadly illness, presented medical testmony that only the medical benefits of marijuana were keeping him alive, and finally introduced evidence that he was being prosecuted in spite of the popular victory of Prop 215 in November of 1996 -- that is to say, "the law."=20 =A0=A0=A0=A0 Ha ha. You see, in federal court, Judge George H. King ruled none of that information could be introduced into evidence. McWilliams couldn't even argue that the Ninth Amendment voids any and all federal drug laws. Nope. All disallowed. Any lawyer who tried to mention any of these facts to McWilliams' federal jury -- carefully screened in advance to eliminate any potential juror who opposed the War on Drugs, of course -- would have been arrested, jailed, and disbarred.=20 =A0=A0=A0=A0 Deprived of the opportunity to enter any of the facts which would have constituted his only sensible, valid, and true defense, McWilliams had no choice but to cop a plea in hopes of getting a reduced sentence. He was awaiting sentencing for his "crime" at the time of his death.=20 =A0=A0=A0=A0 "Federal Judge George King ordered him not to use medical marijuana while he was on federal bond," explains McWilliams' friend, Don Wirtshafter. "Because his mother and brother had put up their houses for this bond" -- and because he was subject to periodic urine tests, of course -- "Peter felt obliged to follow this order."=20 =A0=A0=A0=A0 As a result, McWilliams' viral count soared and he spent long hours in bed, fighting nausea. Unable to work, he defaulted on bankruptcy payments and recently lost his home.=20 =A0=A0=A0=A0 By thus violating the law which holds any adult of normal intellect responsible for acts which a reasonable man might expect to cause the death of another, Judge King -- along with all the other sadists still prosecuting the War on Drugs -- was directly responsible for the death of Peter McWilliams, whom they singled out and killed primarily for his outspoken political opinions.=20 =A0=A0=A0=A0 "Peter McWilliams was a brilliant author and American patriot who was killed for his political beliefs -- by an overdose of government," said our mutual friend Steve Kubby, of Laguna Beach, this week. Kubby, California's 1996 Libertarian gubernatorial candidate and himself an adrenal cancer survivor being prosecuted for using legal medical marijuana, announced he will seek his party's vice presidential nomination in Anaheim this week "to force a debate about the failed police 'War on Drugs' onto center stage in the November election. ...=20 =A0=A0=A0=A0 "McWilliams' books inspired people to believe in and fight for their rights. Those responsible for the death of Peter have only added fuel to the fire." Kubby, 53, continued. "They killed the messenger, but the very message they tried to smother will burn more brilliantly than ever."=20 =A0=A0=A0=A0 Ironically, the Inquisition-like nature of the McWilliams prosecution was exposed by John Stossel in an interview with McWilliams which aired on ABC'c "20/20 Friday" on June 9, five days before Peter's death. Even the usually statist Barbara Walters shook her head in dismay.=20 =A0=A0=A0=A0 But wait, we're not quite done. Scrunch down and check this out:=20 =A0=A0=A0=A0 "Although personnel files are among the most closely guarded of police secrets, a copy of [that of] Ellis "Max" Johnson II ... was leaked to the media after he entered the academy last fall, sparking a fierce debate over the city's hiring practices," wrote Jesse Katz, under a Denver dateline, in the Los Angeles Times last weekend.=20 =A0=A0=A0=A0 "Nobody expects police departments to hire saints," reporter Katz continued, but "the confessions of Johnson, one of Denver's newest officers, were startling in their candor.=20 =A0=A0=A0=A0 "Under questioning from background investigators, Johnson admitted he had used drugs on approximately 150 occasions -- not just marijuana, but also crack, LSD, speed, PCP, mescaline, Darvon, Valium. ... But Denver's Civil Service Commission, which sets the criteria for police hiring, insisted that the 40-year-old former karate instructor had been clean since 1987 and deserved a second chance. ..."=20 =A0=A0=A0=A0 To become a cop, you understand. Busting teen-agers with nickel bags of dope. Jailing and killing people like Peter McWilliams.=20 =A0=A0=A0=A0 "With their frankness coaxed by a polygraph, 84 percent of Denver's police applicants -- and at least 65 percent of its recent hires -- have acknowledged past experimentation, according to civil service records," reporter Katz continued. "In some cases, officers bust people for acts they themselves have committed. ...=20 =A0=A0=A0=A0 "That police -- the ultimate symbols of order and authority -- are willing to tolerate its use 'tells us that our Draconian system of drug laws bears no resemblance to reality,' said Elliott Currie, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley and the author of 'Crime and Punishment in America.' ...=20 =A0=A0=A0=A0 " 'Let's wake up,' said Paul Torres, the [Denver's Civil Service] Commission's former executive director. 'The days of Mayberry are long gone.' "=20 =A0=A0=A0=A0 OK. I'll buy that. But it also sounds pretty much like what federal Judge George H. King should have said, in dismissing all charges against Peter McWilliams. Don't you think?=20 =A0=A0=A0=A0 The full text of "Ain't Nobody's Business If You Do" is available on the Internet, for=20 free, at www.mcwilliams.com/books/books/aint/.=20 Vin Suprynowicz is assistant editorial page editor of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. His book, "Send in the Waco Killers: Essays on the Freedom Movement, 1993-1998," is available by dialing 1-800-244-2224; or via web site http://www.thespiritof76.com/wacokillers.html.=20 ***=20 Vin Suprynowicz, =A0 vin@lvrj.com=20 "The evils of tyranny are rarely seen but by him who resists it." -- John Hay, 1872=20 "The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed -- and thus clamorous to be led to safety -- by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." -- H.L. Mencken=20 * * *=20 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Want to win airfare to Vegas for you and 20 friends,= $15,000 and a=20 suite at Bellagio for New Year's? Or 2 roundtrip tickets anywhere in=20 the U.S. given away daily? Go to Expedia.com for your chance to win... = Click Here! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "America's drug war is so stupid that if you pay close attention to just how stupid it is -- it'll drive you to use drugs." -- Jim Hightower **************************************************************************** To Post a message, send it to: cp3@eGroups.com For Subscription Info and to modify your settings, web postings,etc Go to the CP site: http://www.egroups.com/group/cp3/info.html CPOP web site: http://www.teleport.com/~nepal/canpat.htm Download the OPP legalization petition here: http://198.109.165.99/ballot2000/PRA2000/printable_formoregan.htm =20 --part1_a9.761f5b8.26867f55_boundary-- ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2000 18:03:15 -0700 From: William Appel To: restore@crrh.org Subject: A Classy Joint: The Compassion Flower Inn Bed, Bud and Breakfast Message-ID: <3.0.6.32.20000624180315.0082fd10@mail.olywa.net> The Savvy Traveler: In Santa Cruz, California, a new kind of travel experience just opened up for those with open minds. It's a bed, bud, and breakfast where it is legal to smoke marijuana, if you have a doctor's note. Rachel Anne Goodman takes us on a tour of the Compassion Flower Inn. A Classy Joint: The Compassion Flower Inn Bed, Bud and Breakfast By Rachel Goodman Visit this page on Tuesday, June 27 to listen with RealAudio. http://savvytraveler.com/Show/Features/2000/06.24/bed.html In a cozy courtyard, bordered by vine-covered trellises, two guests of The Compassion Flower Inn soak up the early morning sunshine. Bill Panzer and his wife Christina Clemente came to Santa Cruz for more than the beach. They came so Christina can use her epilepsy medicine, which happens to be cannabis Sativa. http://www.compassionflowerinn.com/ Web Site Administrator and Campaign Info: William Appel Portland, OR 97206 Telephone: (503) 788-8817 MediaRing Talk99: 1(503)7888817 E-mail: appel@crrh.org Netscape AOL Instant Messenger: "crrh cta" ------ CRRH's Oregon petition now has 67,207 signatures and needs 66,748 voters' signatures to qualify for a 11/7/00 vote. ------ *Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp*/*The Restore Hemp Store* CRRH ; P.O. Box 86741 ; 3554 N.E.Sandy ; Portland, OR 97286 Phone:(503) 235-4606 Fax:(503) 235-0120 Web: http://www.crrh.org/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2000 16:23:51 PDT From: "kim hanna" To: DPFT-L@TAMU.EDU Cc: maptalk@mapinc.org Subject: toxic rio grande Message-ID: <20000624232351.65016.qmail@hotmail.com> lots of drugs cross this river. http://www.msnbc.com/news/413973.asp?0nm=N226 ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2000 18:19:55 -0600 (MDT) From: Bryan Krumm To: Roger Dodger Cc: CRRH mailing list Subject: Re: Ralph Nader on Drugs Message-ID: >On marijuana legalization: "If you know anyone who got high on industrial >hemp, tell the National Science Foundation and you'll get a prize for the >most unlikely scientific discovery ever. I want my prize! It's a fairly simple process to extract cannabinoids from industrial hemp and then isomerize them into delta-9 THC so you can get high. Industrial hemp IS marijuana. It just has a different cannabinoid profile than the marijuana that is grown to get high with. Anyone with a basic background in bio-chemistry can get high from industrial hemp. Bryan ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2000 20:40:23 -0600 (MDT) From: Jury Rights Project To: Jury Rights Project Subject: Letters to the Editor: Doug Bruce Jury Education Message-ID: Below are some letters to the editor published in two Colorado Springs newspapers with regard to the following articles and editorial: Jurors dismissed, Doug Bruce tainting alleged, Colo. Sprgs. Independent, June 14, 2000 http://www.csindy.com/csindy/2000-06-15/news2.html Bruce urges prospective jurors to follow conscience, not law, Colorado Springs Gazette, June 14, 2000 http://www.gazette.com/archive/00-06-14/daily/loc3.html Editorial: Jury Manderingm Colorado Springs Gazette, June 15, 2000 http://www.gazette.com/archive/00-06-15/daily/opin1.html These articles generated many letters that have not yet been published. In fact, so many letters were sent that the editor of one newspaper told a letter-writer that he would need to "take a number" because so many people had already written in response. To all the JRP list members that took the time to write, keep up the good work! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ If you would like to help Douglas Bruce on his state senate campaign, Bruce's greatest need right now is for volunteers to walk the precincts in his district with him, distributing literature and creating awareness of his campaign. Bruce wants to cover most of the 85 precincts in Senate District 10 before the August 8th primary. He says he'll take everyone out to dinner afterwards. To contact Douglas Bruce: Email: taxcutter@email.msn.com Phone: (719) 550-0010 Web: http://www.douglasbruce.com Donations, of course, are also welcome: Taxpayers for Douglas Bruce PO Box 26018 Colorado Springs, CO 80936 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Colorado Springs Independent Letters to the Editor June 22-28, 2000 http://www.csindy.com/csindy/2000-06-22/letters.html Setting the record straight To the Editor: A few issues in your story ("Jurors dismissed, Doug Bruce tainting alleged," June 15; http://www.csindy.com/csindy/2000-06-15/news2.html) should be addressed. Most importantly, it should be noted that Laura Kriho was not "jailed," she was fined $1,200. The Colorado Court of Appeals overturned her conviction and fine, however. She has no conviction for contempt of court on her record. Her actions were simply legal, and not contemptuous. Judge Kennedy says that he has taken an oath to uphold the law. One part of the law he is sworn to uphold, however, is that jurors always have the prerogative to acquit if they believe the law is unjust, or is being unjustly applied. If he would merely give jurors an instruction to that effect in appropriate cases (i.e., at the request of the defense) it would prevent the issue from arising in inappropriate cases (such as sexual assault cases). I doubt if Doug Bruce, or anyone else, believes that laws against sexual assault are unjust. I can understand why, in a violent rape case, the defense would not want the jury thinking about jury nullification. Jury nullification is a shield, not a sword, and should not be used to lower the standard of reasonable doubt in abhorrent cases. However, if jury nullification instructions were made available at the request of the defense, it would prevent the issue from arising in inappropriate cases, while providing defandents an opportunity to put the righteousness of their actions before the jury. If a criminal defendant is willing to let the jury decide the justness of his or her actions, should not our government be willing to do the same? -- Clay S. Conrad, Esq., Author, Jury Nullification: The Evolution of a Doctrine (Carolina Academic Press, 1998) Houston, TX ----------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.csindy.com/csindy/2000-06-22/letters.html Just doing their duty To the Editor: On June 15, the Colorado Springs Independent published "Jurors dismissed, Doug Bruce tainting alleged" by Cara DeGette. In the article we read: District Judge Thomas L. Kennedy said the jury pool was dismissed after a defense lawyer in a first-degree sexual assault trial scheduled to begin Tuesday complained. The judge then advised the attorneys for both sides of the disruption, and, after the defense lawyer objected, the entire panel was dismissed, causing a two-week delay in the sexual assault trial, and a ripple effect among other scheduled trials, Kennedy said. There was no reason to dismiss the jurors. Jurors who are upset should be upset with Judge Kennedy, not Douglas Bruce. The article also stated: The argument has mostly been used in cases where jurors have questioned the legality of drug laws. One of the highest profile jury nullification laws involved a Gilpin County, Colorado woman, Laura Kriho, who as a juror argued the legality of marijuana laws and eventually was jailed for contempt of court. Kriho was a juror in a methamphetamine case, not a cannabis case. Kriho prevailed over the government's persecution of her. She acted as a decent human being in rendering justice, not as a rubber stamp for the frequent injustice of the legal system. Finally the article said: Kennedy said he has never heard jurors similarly argue against laws against sexual assault, as was the case that was to be heard in his courtroom on Tuesday. "I have had on occasion in a drug prosecution a juror who believes the marijuana laws are unjust and the person says [they] cannot apply the law, and they would be excused from jury duty," Kennedy said. "But when you look at it in context, most jurists agree we need laws for violent crime." This is a non sequitur. Cannabis use has nothing to do with violent crime. Yes, we need laws against violent crime. What we don't need is laws against private consensual non-violent behavior that harms no one, except perhaps only the individual involved in the behavior. -- Tom Barrus, American Federation for Legal Consistency Golden, Colorado ### The Colorado Springs Independent 121 E. Pikes Peak Ave., Suite 455 Colorado Springs, CO 80903 tel 719.577.4545 fax 719.577.4107 Email: letters@csindy.com Web: www.csindy.com -------------------------------------------------------------------- Colorado Springs Gazette Letters to the Editor June 18, 2000 http://www.gazette.com/archive/00-06-18/daily/opin3.html JURY NULLIFICATION Bruce seems to be working against himself I read the news story on Douglas Bruce with interest ("Bruce urges prospective jurors to follow conscience, not law," Metro, June 14). There are some alarming implications to his action encouraging jury members to pass judgment on the laws involved in the case. A contradiction appears rapidly - Bruce is running for a public office that has a major role in passing laws, yet he is asking jurors to ignore laws if they deem them unjust. Will he be advocating this action when he supports the passage of a bill? Another major implication: Bruce cites John Adams and Thomas Jefferson as examples of ignoring laws. I hope he understands that these two patriots were also revolutionaries. Will Bruce be advocating citizens take up arms against our government when they choose to disagree with how the government body (possibly the very body in which he is serving) is legislating? William I. Brown Colorado Springs ----------------------------------------------------------------------- June 18, 2000 http://www.gazette.com/archive/00-06-18/daily/opin3.html Act is one way to combat unjust laws So, Douglas Bruce distributes information to the jury pool, advising them of their right to vote their conscience, and the judge throws a fit, dismissing all the jurors. What a pity it is that even our judges do not understand the historical and constitutional purpose of juries: to be a safety valve for unjust laws. It was juries that brought an end to the Salem witch-hunts and it was juries that stopped the prosecutions under the Fugitive Slave Act, by the simple act of saying no. We were given three methods of combating unjust laws. We could vote out legislators who wrote bad laws - still possible, but we are rarely given good choices. The citizen militias, who originally enforced the laws, could simply choose to ignore them - but now we have professional police who, effectively, work for the prosecutors, not us. And, of course, we had juries, who could simply decide that a law did not apply in a given instance - but judges routinely now instruct juries that they must vote based solely on the law and teary-eyed juries routinely apologize to defendants for having been forced to convict them. Bruce has, once again, shown himself to be a hero, even if he is a Republican. May our judges and our citizen jurors learn the law as he understands it. John K. Berntson Public Information Director Libertarian Party of Colorado Colorado Springs ### The Gazette (Colorado Springs, CO) The Gazette P.O. Box 1779 Colorado Springs, CO 80901 Fax: 636-0202. Letters: gtop@gazette.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Re-distributed by the: Jury Rights Project Old Web page: New Web page: To be added to or removed from the JRP mailing list, send email with the word SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE in the title. The JRP is dedicated to: * educating jurors about their right to acquit people who have been accused of victmless crimes and thereby veto bad laws; * protecting jurors from judicial and prosecutorial tyranny; * educating citizens about the history and power of juries; * distributing current news related to jurors and juries ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------ End of restore V1 #535 ********************** * ------ CRRH's Oregon petition now has over 67,000 signatures and needs 66,786 valid voters' signatures by July 7th to qualify for a Nov. 7, 2000 vote. ------ To subscribe, unsubscribe or switch to immediate or digest mode, please send your instructions to . ------ *Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp* mail: CRRH ; P.O. Box 86741 ; Portland, OR 97286 USA email: crrh@crrh.org phone: (503) 235-4606 fax: (503) 235-0120 web: http://www.crrh.org/