CRRH's "Restore" Daily Ezine V9#162 - Fri, 20 Jul 01
D. Paul Stanford
In this issue:
"This is a drug raid"
UK: Cafe Society Makes Cannabis Respectable
UK: Former Minister Launches Attempt To Legalise Sale, Supply
New Zealand: I Longed To Smoke Cannabis At Parliament - Morris
US TX: Claims of Racial Bias Will Be Voiced
Lebanon: For Lebanese Farmers, Weed Is Again the Crop of Choice
UK: Cannabis Campaigner Appears In Court
CA: Marijuana Defendant To Run For Lt. Governor
TN: Tests Tell If Dogs Have Nose For Drugs
FW: JustSayBlow.com: Got 99 Seconds?
Belgium Approves Cannabis for Selected Medical Purposes
Cannabis Eases Cancer Chemo Sickness, Study Finds
UK: Labour MPs in cannabis shift
NORML WPR 7/20/01
*
res...@crrh.org daily digest web version:
http://www.crrh.org/hempnews/viewrestore.asp *
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2001 12:15:52 +0900
From: "Joe Wein" <joe...@pobox.com>
To: "CRRH mailing list" <res...@crrh.org> Subject: "This is a drug
raid"
Message-ID: <004e01c11001$2353f100$087f...@c9sc.catv.ne.jp>
Under King Frederick the Great, coffee was illegal. So called
Kaffeeschnuefflers ("coffee sniffers") roamed the streets of Prussia to
sniff out the smell of contraband beans being roasted or coffee being
freshly brewed. They could enter and search any home. Any beans found
were subject to seizure and violators were punished.
Here's a historic display showing an 18th century drug raid in progress:
http://www.fecho.de/Zinnfiguren/s022.htm
Seems silly now, but...
...a few years from now, what will people say about today's cannabis
laws?
Joe Wein
http://www.legalisieren.de/vfd/
Verein für Drogenpolitik e.V.
Drug Policy Association (Germany)
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2001 00:22:08 -0700
From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stan...@crrh.org> To: res...@crrh.org
Subject: UK: Cafe Society Makes Cannabis Respectable Message-ID:
<5.1.0.14.2.200107...@mail.olywa.net>
Newshawk: http://www.cannabisnews.com/
Pubdate: Wed, 18 Jul 2001
Source: Scotsman (UK)
Copyright: The Scotsman Publications Ltd 2001 Contact:
Lette...@scotsman.com
Website: http://www.scotsman.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/406 Author: Stephen McGinty
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
CAFE SOCIETY MAKES CANNABIS RESPECTABLE
In the Purple Rain Coffee Shop, sitting next to a jukebox in the shape
of a Pink Cadillac, Marcel is rolling a big, fat joint.
Between swigs of Looza Ace, a bright orange vitamin drink, his long,
nimble fingers are sticking Rizla papers together, heaping on tobacco
before sprinkling a generous amount of cannabis resin. The package is
then licked and sealed into something resembling a fat cigarette.
Firing it up with a black plastic lighter, the lad in the Timberland
T-shirt takes a deep draw, smiles and blows smoke and hot air.
"That is worth a long drive in a slow car," Marcel says in English. "The
Netherlands - we salute you."
Breda, 120 kilometers from Amsterdam and nestled on the border with
Belgium, sees an influx of young French, Germans and Belgians each
weekend.
They are drawn not by the elegant streets or magnificent gothic
cathedral, but the contents of the little metal boxes kept behind coffee
shop bars and labelled in ball-point: hash, weed or mix.
They are drug tourists, drawn by UKP 2 joints and a country that grants
them freedom to smoke without fear of prosecution and confiscation.
Holland has long been the home of the hash head. Here, cannabis, like
alcohol and nicotine, is acceptable as a recreational drug.
On 1 November, the Netherlands celebrates the 25th anniversary of its
controversial and pioneering approach to drug use. There will be no
cakes in the shape of a giant joint or banners drawn across the entrance
to coffee shops, just quiet confidence in a successful system. As the UK
begins to question its own punitive and restrictive approach to drugs
and looks across the North Sea for a lead, the key questions remain. How
does it work? How successful has it been? What could we apply in
Britain?
The world's perception of Holland's attitude to drugs is a maze of
misconceptions. Under the Opium Act, the distribution, production,
trafficking and possession of drugs is entirely illegal. Cannabis
possession still carries a one-month prison sentence and a fine of UKP
1,500, yet since 1976, the authorities have chosen not to enforce the
law.
The cultivation of hashish and marijuana is illegal, permissible only by
licence for medicinal or scientific purposes, or, bizarrely, in the case
of hemp, as a wind-break. This leads to the paradoxical situation where
the coffee shops are selling an illegal drug, whose owners must purchase
supplies illegally from dealers, while police turn a blind eye. The
reason is the belief cannabis is a relatively safe or "soft" drug that
should be firmly separated from "hard", more dangerous and addictive
drugs such as heroin and cocaine.
"It's a great idea," said Marcel, 23, an engineer from Brussels who
arrived in Breda in a clapped-out red Renault with two friends for a
weekend of smoking. The money they save by sleeping in their car is
ploughed back into a ready supply of joints to smuggle home across the
border. "What is wrong with a few joints? It helps you relax and
everybody is cool. We shouldn't have to drive 100 kilometers to smoke in
peace."
Waving his joint across the room, he asks: "Is there anything wrong with
this place?"
Abdul Hussan, the Moroccan manager and provider of the antique Hookah
pipes that sit on the shelves, believes not. The police, he explains,
regularly visit, supplies of cannabis are restricted to a specific
amount and any transgression results in closure. "No fights, we have no
fights," he says, pointing at his crowd of placid customers.
A father of three children aged four to 15, he would allow them, when
over 18, to smoke dope: "If they tried anything else, I would kick their
a*s."
Critics of the system were concerned coffee shops would encourage
cannabis use among the young and, for nearly two decades, they were
proved correct.
Cannabis use among school children did increase but the rise was
reflected across the world, including far stricter countries.
Last year, cannabis use among students actually dropped slightly. Among
children aged 15-16, 14 per cent regularly smoke cannabis. In Britain,
the figure is 16 per cent.
A second concern is cannabis as a gateway to harder drugs.
The World Health Organisation, however, says the greatest risk of moving
from soft to hard drugs is the exposure to opportunity provided by the
black market. Where the system is separated, as in Holland, the rate of
hard drug abuse should be reduced. For many years, the number of Dutch
heroin addicts slowly increased, but has now begun to fall.
In the Netherlands, the percentage of hard-drug addicts is less than
half that found in Britain, while the number of drug deaths is
minuscule. In 1995, the Netherlands (population of 16 million) had just
70 drug deaths; Britain (population 50 million) had 1,389.
Yet the Netherlands will never be a drug-friendly Nirvana. Ecstasy use
among 15-16 year-olds is, at 4 per cent, the highest in Europe (3 per
cent in Britain), while the use of cocaine is rising.
The prevalence of ecstasy manufacturing and smuggling has necessitated
the creation of the Synthetic Drug Unit, a police force dedicated
exclusively to the investigation and prosecution of suppliers.
Although increasingly successful, the Dutch authorities are aware that
because of their unique position, possessing in Rotterdam the largest
port in the world and huge unmanned borders with Belgium and Germany,
the country will remain popular with drug smugglers.
The most impressive element of the Netherlands' drug policy is not
tolerance, but dedication to prevention and the assertive treatment of
addicts.
In Britain, care of addiction remains a scattered concern handled by
dozens of religious and secular agencies. The Netherlands offers a
one-stop shop.
In Breda, an organisation called Kentron, housed in three modern brick
buildings, offers help and advice on every form of addiction. The
cornerstone is information. "Just Say No" is a discredited policy and
anyone can ask about the safest way to take any drug.
In his office, Marcel Wilderon, who works in preventive education, said:
"In Holland we accept that people want to take drugs. It's a myth that
you can stop them. It is much more important that people are aware of
the risks and limit them as much as possible."
In a point cutting to the heart of the drugs debate, Wilderon added:
"They are young consumers. They will make their own decisions."
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving the included information for research and educational
purposes.
---
MAP posted-by: GD
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2001 00:25:41 -0700
From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stan...@crrh.org> To: res...@crrh.org
Subject: UK: Former Minister Launches Attempt To Legalise Sale, Supply
and
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.200107...@mail.olywa.net>
Newshawk: http://www.cannabisnews.com/
Pubdate: Wed, 18 Jul 2001
Source: Independent (UK)
Copyright: 2001 Independent Newspapers (UK) Ltd.
Contact: let...@independent.co.uk
Website: http://www.independent.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/209 Author: Nigel Morris,
Political Correspondent Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm
(Cannabis)
FORMER MINISTER LAUNCHES ATTEMPT TO LEGALISE SALE, SUPPLY AND USE OF
CANNABIS
A former Labour Minister launched a House of Commons move to legalise
cannabis on Wednesday. Although Jon Owen Jones's backbench Bill received
an unopposed first reading, it would need to win Government support to
become law.
His Legalisation of Cannabis Bill, modelled on laws in the Netherlands,
seeks to "legalise and regulate the sale, supply and use of cannabis for
recreational and therapeutic purposes". He admits that cannabis can
damage health, but that it should not be Government's role to outlaw
harmful substances. He argues that prohibition of the substance has
patently not worked.
Mr Jones, a former Welsh Office Minister, recently admitted smoking
cannabis in the past and enjoying the experience.
He said: "I smoked it on several social occasions when I was a student
and a young man, as did many of my friends and colleagues. I would not
have taken it more than once if I did not like it."
Mr Jones, a science teacher before being elected for Cardiff Central in
1992, said he had not used drugs for more than 20 years, but now it was
time to review drugs legislation.
He drew up his Bill after winning ninth place in the ballot of backbench
MPs to introduce their own legislation. Most Cabinet Ministers fiercely
oppose relaxing the laws on soft drugs, but David Blunkett, the Home
Secretary, has said Britain needs an "adult, intelligent debate" on the
subject.
The issue emerged as a central theme of the Conservative leadership
contest when Peter Lilley, a former deputy party leader, argued that
laws on cannabis use were "unenforceable and indefensible" and called
for it to be sold through regulated off-licences.
First on the list of Bills, and with a strong chance of success, is a
measure piloted by John Randall, the Tory MP for Uxbridge, to give more
environmental protection to marine species. He wants to see marine
conservation areas given the same legal protection as areas designated
sites of special scientific interest.
Third is the Age Equality Commission Bill through which Candy Atherton,
Labour MP for Falmouth and Camborne, seeks to set up a commission to
advise ministers on discrimination issues in relation to older people.
The former Health Secretary, Frank Dobson is introducing a Bill
requiring companies selling tobacco products in the UK to disclose the
scientific and market research they have carried out.
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving the included information for research and educational
purposes.
---
MAP posted-by: Josh Sutcliffe
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2001 00:27:37 -0700
From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stan...@crrh.org> To: res...@crrh.org
Subject: New Zealand: I Longed To Smoke Cannabis At Parliament - Morris
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.200107...@mail.olywa.net>
Newshawk: http://www.norml.org.nz
Pubdate: Thu, 19 Jul 2001
Source: Dominion, The (New Zealand)
Copyright: 2001 The Dominion
Contact: let...@dominion.co.nz
Website: http://www.inl.co.nz/wnl/dominion/index.html Details:
http://www.mapinc.org/media/128 Author: Christine Langdon
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
I LONGED TO SMOKE CANNABIS AT PARLIAMENT - MORRIS
Cannabis-smoking former youth affairs minister Deborah Morris says she
longed to light up at Parliament during her three years in politics.
"If I had been able to use cannabis openly and with the regularity that
people drink alcohol around this place, then I would have," she said=
yesterday.
Ms Morris, a co-founding member of the Coalition for Cannabis Law
Reform, was back at Parliament to give evidence to a select committee
inquiry into reducing cannabis harm.
"We know of many people who have chosen not to declare their hand
publicly, for fear of the social and legal consequences," she told the
inquiry. She did not tell the committee of her own cannabis use.
Speaking after the hearing, she said she resented that it was acceptable
around Parliament to drink excessively, but not to smoke cannabis.
"I felt that I wasn't able to talk about a significant part of my life.
I worked with people who were talking all the time about their drinking
exploits =AD bragging, and saying they couldn't wait for a G and T,"
she= said.
"People who smoke cannabis live with the fear of social and legal
consequences for their actions every day."
Ms Morris, 30, said she considered herself a "role model in moderate,
responsible use of cannabis".
She smoked pot "recreationally" at weekends or for celebrations.
"It energises me, I become inspired, I become really talkative, I get
good at gardening and want to exercise a lot ... it enhances my life,"
Ms Morris said.
At yesterday's inquiry she called for regulation to replace
criminalisation of cannabis and, in the meantime, a moratorium on
cannabis arrests.
"Like it or not, New Zealand must learn to live with cannabis use,"
she= said.
Cannabis user Ben Knight, co-founder of the coalition, told the inquiry
of the trauma of being arrested for cannabis possession.
"I would describe it as being like post-traumatic stress disorder," he
said.
He felt resentful toward police and authority, and dissociated from
non-smoking members of his family, friends and society.
The Drug Foundation called for diversion and education programmes,
instead of conviction, for people caught with cannabis.
People with a history of offending, often for non-drug-related crimes,
were denied diversion for cannabis possession and use, the foundation
said. In 1999, about 12,000 people were apprehended for cannabis
possession and use, with about half receiving informal warnings.
Rotorua pathologist David Taylor raised concerns about the frequent
presence of cannabis in blood tests after suicides.
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving the included information for research and educational
purposes.
---
MAP posted-by: GD=20
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2001 03:45:01 -0400
From: Richard Lake <rl...@mapinc.org>
To: drc...@drcnet.org, compassi...@yahoogroups.com,
DPF...@TAMU.EDU,
res...@crrh.org
Subject: US TX: Claims of Racial Bias Will Be Voiced Message-ID:
<5.1.0.14.0.200107...@mapinc.org>
Newshawk: The Drug Policy Forum of Texas http://www.dpft.org/ Pubdate:
Wed, 18 Jul 2001
Source: Tulia Herald
Copyright: 2001 Tulia Herald
Contact: tulh...@texasonline.net
Fax: (806) 995-3536
Mail: PO Box 87, Tulia, TX 79088-0087
Website: None
Note: This newspaper - with a circulation of 3,000 - does not seem to be
aware that the entire nation is aware of what happened there, as can be
seen by clicking this link http://www.mapinc.org/tulia.htm The Friends
of Justice http://www.drugsense.org/foj report that nobody from the
newspaper contacted them about the Tulia Freedom Ride and Never Again
Rally - probably don't know that all the details are on their website,
either, to include this press release
http://www.drugsense.org/foj/pressrelease.htm Perhaps they also have
not seen the superb video at
http://www.soros.org:8080/ramgen/tlc/tulia.rm
CLAIMS OF RACIAL BIAS WILL BE VOICED
The self-styled Friends of Justice will bring two busloads of people
from Austin to demonstrate against law enforcement in Swisher County.
The buses will arrive from Austin on Sunday and the demonstration will
begin at 6 p.m., lasting into the early morning hours Monday.
The group has joined with organizations working to legalize drugs, and
attempting to stop enforcement of drug control laws. They say the laws
are discriminatory against blacks.
A civil suit has been filed against Swisher County law enforcement
officers and others in relation to the July, 1999, arrest on drug
charges of 43 people, of whom 40 were black. The suit is pending in
federal district court in Amarillo. Deadline for parties to be ready
for trial is February, but a trial date has not been set.
Law enforcement officers could not comment because of the pending suit.
District Attorney Terry McEachern was responsible for the prosecution of
the cases resulting from the mass arrest in July, 1999.
McEachern, who is not named in the suit, said, "I do not believe these
arrests were racially motivated in any manner or by any means."
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2001 09:52:59 -0700
From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stan...@crrh.org> To: res...@crrh.org
Subject: Lebanon: For Lebanese Farmers, Weed Is Again the Crop of Choice
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.200107...@mail.olywa.net>
Newshawk: Starband
Pubdate: Thu, 19 Jul 2001
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2001 Los Angeles Times
Contact: let...@latimes.com
Website: http://www.latimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248 Author: Michael Slackman, Times
Staff Writer Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
FOR LEBANESE FARMERS, WEED IS AGAIN THE CROP OF CHOICE
BEKAA VALLEY, Lebanon -- For seven years, Abu Mohammed tried to support
his wife and five children by growing melons. But there was never enough
water, and even when weather conditions were good, no one wanted to buy
his produce.
So now he's cultivating a crop sure to sell: Cannabis sativa, the spiky,
olive green plant used to produce hashish.
"To us, this is just a crop," Abu Mohammed said as he checked his plot,
stretching the length of a football field alongside the main road in
this sunburned valley in northeastern Lebanon. "I would rather plant
melons, but customers are always ready to buy hashish."
The Bekaa Valley is nearly barren of crops; its irrigation channels are
dry and filled with debris. But cannabis needs little water to grow, and
after years of waiting for government assistance, many farmers here have
turned to the illicit harvest.
They say that if the government tries to stop them, there will be
bloodshed. "I am serious," said Ali, a 50-year-old with 11 children who,
like other cannabis farmers, asked that his last name not be used. "If I
am going to die, I want to die defending myself."
The resurgence of cannabis in the region is a serious problem for the
Lebanese government. Faced with a crushing $28-billion debt, Lebanon is
desperate to convince the international community that it is safe for
investment. Production of illicit drugs will only hamper that effort,
and could even lead to sanctions. But officials acknowledge that a
crackdown will exacerbate economic tensions and empower radical groups
in the region. Either way, Lebanon loses something.
"I don't agree the solution is to grow hashish," said Prime Minister
Rafik Hariri, whose blunt words have not yet been followed by concrete
action. "We are going to destroy it, this is for sure. This is illegal.
This is unethical. And we will not allow it."
Off the valley floor, in the dry rocky hills of the Lebanon Mountains,
60-year-old Sobhi Barkashi has resisted the temptation to plant
cannabis. Instead, he grows tobacco, buying supplies on credit and
hauling water from distant wells. He has tons of tobacco dried, bundled
and ready to sell.
"Nobody is buying it," he said despairingly. "I will have to throw it
all out. I am hoping someone helps."
After a decade of promises from the government and the West, his
neighbors have given up waiting.
"My family has been 10 years without anything--we had to grow hashish,"
said Monsiour, 25. "People are going hungry. If they try to stop us, we
have our weapons. We will have war. There will be victims."
Cannabis has been grown in the Bekaa for centuries, dating back to the
days of the Ottoman Empire. The crop became an integral part of the
economy and the culture, occasionally used as a currency for barter and,
according to local lore, even included in dowries.
When Lebanon's 15-year civil war began in 1975, the area experienced a
boomlet, with cannabis as the economic engine. The drug revenue--tens of
millions of dollars annually--was the cornerstone of the local economy.
Shopkeepers sold more goods. Factories were built.
Stone villas shot up in the countryside. Drug profits from sales to
smugglers from the United States, Europe, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Israel
even helped pay for schools and textbooks.
But the profitable harvest also put Lebanon on America's list of
drug-producing countries. When the civil war finally ended, the
government was faced with several obstacles to achieving international
legitimacy. One was the militant group Hezbollah.
Although it was viewed here as a liberation militia dedicated to driving
Israel out of southern Lebanon, the West labeled it a terrorist
organization.
The second problem was the Bekaa's drug production.
"They felt they could defend the presence of Hezbollah because 'it's not
terrorism, it's resistance,' " said Nasser Ferjani, head of the U.N.
Program for Integrated Rural Development in the northern Bekaa.
"But to avoid being criticized and having sanctions imposed against
Lebanon, they decided to remove the illicit crops."
In 1991, an estimated 75,000 acres were cultivated with cannabis and, to
a small extent, opium. That year, army troops moved in with bulldozers
and chemical sprays. The government gave tours to the media and
international observers as fields were plowed under. By 1994, the
government declared the Bekaa a drug-free zone and the international
community hailed its success.
But for the 250,000 people living in the region--and the 23,000 family
farms here--the eradication effort wiped out their main source of
support. The government and foreign countries promised help. In 1992, a
study led by the U.N. Development Program calculated it would take $300
million over five years for comprehensive development. But all that the
people here received in funding was $4.25 million, none of which came
from international donors.
In June 1995, the U.N.'s Ferjani said, he took the region's case to a
donor conference in Paris, where he asked for $53 million. Ferjani said
that the donor community didn't reject the request--it never replied.
"Under these conditions, we noted in all our reports since 1994 that the
return of illicit crops is imminent," Ferjani said. "We cannot oblige
the people to continue suffering without any reaction from their side."
From June 1994 through this September, the United Nations and the
cash-strapped Lebanese government have cobbled together $15 million to
help farmers. Foreign governments have financed a few small programs,
including the U.S. sale of dairy cows to Lebanon. The cow project,
however, proved disappointing, primarily because there was very little
grass to feed the animals, so milk production was low. A U.N. project to
grow drought-resistant wheat attracted little interest and is about to
run out of funds.
"We can blame the donor countries, especially the Arab countries that
promised to help the Lebanese government," Ferjani said of the overall
situation. "To date, all we have received are tokens."
Lebanon's biggest obstacle to receiving international financial aid is
that it's just not poor enough compared with underdeveloped countries
such as Sudan, U.N. officials said. Lebanon's annual per capita income
of $4,500 disqualifies it as a country in need. But that offers little
comfort to residents of the Bekaa, where incomes are far lower than in
the capital, Beirut.
"They think hunger is only what happens in Africa?" said Ali, the farmer
ready to defend his cannabis fields.
Farmers here say they made an effort to grow legitimate crops but could
barely even cover their costs. Ali said it costs $100 to produce a ton
of cannabis, which he can sell for $2,800 to $3,000. By comparison, he
said, he spends $500 to grow a ton of onions, which he can then sell for
$100, if he can find a buyer.
With such a great temptation, cannabis started showing up in the late
1990s. At first, government troops moved in and eradicated it. But last
year, the government did nothing, and this year, according to the U.N.,
it appears that cannabis cultivation has reached an all-time high since
the end of the civil war.
Once sowed in remote mountain hide-outs, cannabis now stretches in long
green ribbons across the open valley. Although the government says the
crop represents a small part of all arable land, U.N.
officials on the ground said it is very widespread. "If they don't [grow
cannabis]," said Nizan Hamadeh, an agricultural engineer with the U.N.
program here, "they will starve."
So far, the only government action has been to drop leaflets from
helicopters warning farmers that they will be imprisoned and fined if
they grow cannabis. But that has had little effect. In Beirut, members
of parliament and Hezbollah have warned the government not to send in
troops, arguing that it's wrong to treat this matter with security
forces. They are using this issue to air their grievance that the
government has focused so exclusively on rebuilding war-torn Beirut that
it has neglected the outer regions.
"We are not condoning what they are doing, but we are trying to push the
government to find an effective solution," said Hussein Husainy, who
represents the region in parliament. "I am against dealing with the
situation as a security measure with the police."
But Hariri, the prime minister, said he sees no alternative but to send
in troops. He won't talk about the cannabis growers and a long-term
solution in the same dialogue, because he says he doesn't want to appear
to be rewarding the drug producers.
And he said the government is willing to confront anyone, including
Hezbollah, if the eradication effort is blocked.
"If the government said, 'OK, we are going to compensate the farmers
because of the hashish,' you will see next year 10 times hashish grown
more than this year," he said. "If we do that, then we are saying to the
people who did not grow hashish and who believed in the law that they
have been stupid."
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving the included information for research and educational
purposes.
---
MAP posted-by: Josh Sutcliffe
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2001 10:01:32 -0700
From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stan...@crrh.org> To: res...@crrh.org
Subject: UK: Cannabis Campaigner Appears In Court Message-ID:
<5.1.0.14.2.200107...@mail.olywa.net>
Newshawk: caninform
Pubdate: Tue, 17 Jul 2001
Source: News & Star (UK)
Copyright: 2001 News & Star
Contact: let...@cumbrian-newspapers.co.uk Website:
http://www.news-and-star.co.uk/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/797
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
CANNABIS CAMPAIGNER APPEARS IN COURT
A Cumbrian cannabis campaigner appeared in court yesterday to contest
drug laws as an infringement of human rights.
Forty-year-old Alan Mason, of Stonegarth, does not deny cultivating 50
plants in the bedroom of his Morton flat but is pleading not guilty
because he claims drug use is a private matter which the government has
no right to interfere with.
No details of his case at Carlilse Crown Court yesterday can be made
public for legal reasons, but Mr Mason has made no secret of his
intended defence under the Human Rights legislation, which came into
force last October.
His defence barrister Francis Nance spent four hours presenting his case
to Judge Anthony Proctor, who will make his judgement on whether the
trial should go ahead on the day it is due to start.
Mr Mason's case is one of around 12 awaiting trial in which users hope
to test Article 8 of the Act. Victory in one could lead to a rapid
unravelling of the drugs laws.
Mr Mason, who is devoting his life to a legal battle for his "right" to
smoke pot, has previously appeared in several national newspapers to
argue his case, and keeps followers advised via his own website.
He has "no regrets" about taking up his fight, he said, and feels
confident that "the death of prohibition" is less than 18 months away.
A date for his trial was due to be fixed at Crown Court today.
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving the included information for research and educational
purposes.
---
MAP posted-by: Josh Sutcliffe
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2001 10:05:56 -0700
From: Steve Kubby <st...@kubby.org> (by way of "D. Paul Stanford"
<stan...@crrh.org>) To: res...@crrh.org
Subject: CA: Marijuana Defendant To Run For Lt. Governor Message-ID:
<5.1.0.14.2.200107...@mail.olywa.net>
Our announcement on the NY Times Forum that Michele would run for Lt.
Governor was covered by KCRA and YAHOO News. A great photo of Michele
with a Libertarian Banner behind her was included in the articles and is
included as an attachment.
Yahoo: http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/kcra/20010718/lo/861561_1.html
KCRA TV (Sacramento)
http://www.thekcrachannel.com/sac/news/localnews/stories/news-localnews-8792
6920010718-180745.html
MARIJUANA DEFENDANT TO RUN FOR LT. GOVERNOR Kubby's Husband Ran For
Governor
SACRAMENTO, 7:02 a.m. PDT July 19, 2001 -- The woman who made national
headlines for her activism of medicinal marijuana wants to be
California's next Lieutenant Governor.
Michelle Kubby announced Wednesday that she wants to run for the high
state office.
Kubby and her husband, who once ran for governor, are no strangers to
the spotlight.
Last year, a mistrial was declared in a case against the two who were
charged with growing marijuana for sale.
The couple said that they grew pot to control chronic health problems.
Previous Stories:
* July 18, 2001: Defendant In Marijuana Case To Run For Lt. Governor
* March 20, 2001: Kubby Says He Won't Honor Probation Sentence *
March 2, 2001: Charges Reduced In Kubby Drug Case * December 21,
2000: Mistrial Declared In Kubby Case * December 21, 2000: Jury
Battling Over Kubby Case * December 15, 2000: Closing Arguments Made
In Kubby Case * December 1, 2000: Kubby Takes Stand For First Time
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Attachment: http://www.drugsense.org/temp/Michele/KCRA.jpg
Attachment: http://www.drugsense.org/temp/Michele/KCRA.jpg
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2001 10:09:48 -0700
From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stan...@crrh.org> To: res...@crrh.org
Subject: TN: Tests Tell If Dogs Have Nose For Drugs Message-ID:
<5.1.0.14.2.200107...@mail.olywa.net>
Newshawk: chip
Pubdate: Thu, 19 Jul 2001
Source: Tennessean, The (TN)
Copyright: 2001 The Tennessean
Contact: let...@tennessean.com
Website: http://www.tennessean.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/447 Author: Jane Stegmeier, The
News Examiner
TESTS TELL IF DOGS HAVE NOSE FOR DRUGS
PORTLAND - No matter how developed your senses are, you will never match
the sense of smell that comes naturally to a dog.
Last week in Portland, as the United States Police Canine Academy held
accreditation testing at Portland Middle School, the ability of trained
dogs to sniff out drugs was evident. The testing was sponsored by the
Portland Police Department and under the direction of K-9 Officer Jerry
Bradley.
Dogs and their handlers from across a large chunk of Tennessee came for
their annual recertification, making them and their work certified in
law enforcement.
"Many of the counties and cities can't financially support a police
dog," said Adam Barnes, an officer from Hohenwald who came with his dog,
Solomon.
"Our city bought the dog for me, but I pretty much supply everything
else," he said.
"The food, lodging, veterinary bills are a lot, but I completely believe
in the dog's worth and ability. The dog more than paid for himself just
a few days after I got him, in a drug raid."
In Portland, German shepherds, Labrador retrievers and Belgian malinois
were put through their paces one at a time. The dogs sniffed out drugs
hidden in vehicles and classrooms by the training authorities.
"People don't realize that having a police dog is a 24-hour,
seven-days-a-week job," said Franklin Officer Rodney Escovar, rubbing
his dog, Noc.
"I have four children and feel like I have five with Noc around, because
it takes so much time to keep them trained and ready at all times."
The certification tests were conducted by Carl Smith from Franklin and
Dean Hunter from Metro Nashville, both dog handlers and trainers as well
as police officers certified by the U.S. academy.
Most of the dogs at Portland were narcotics dogs, with some
cross-trained in patrolling and apprehension.
Rural areas have many methamphetamine labs and marijuana fields. The
cities have their share of crack houses, "designer" drug manufacturers
and heroin.
"It's like a drug will go out of sight for a while and then it comes
back in style again," Barnes said.
The drug dogs are trained to find almost any type of drug, especially
those with the same base, such as marijuana-based or heroin- and
cocaine-based drugs.
As in the case of Solomon, many of the officers said their dogs' upkeep
and training is paid for with confiscated drug money the dogs help bring
in.
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving the included information for research and educational
purposes.
---
MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2001 18:01:17 -0400
From: Andrew Seidenfeld <nop...@mindspring.com> To: restore
<res...@crrh.org>
Cc: Dana Beal <da...@cures-not-wars.org> Subject: FW: JustSayBlow.com:
Got 99 Seconds?
Message-ID: <B77CD0ED.2813%nop...@mindspring.com>
1) 99-SECOND ACTION ITEM (DEADLINE: JULY 20th!)
Got 99 seconds? Give Buck and Patsy a piece of your mind! No, "Buck and
Patsy" is not the latest country music sensation, but Representatives
Buck McKeon (R-CA) and Patsy Mink (D-HI). They've implemented a
regulatory reform initiative called FED.UP to overhaul regulations that
"prevent colleges and universities from helping students graduate from
college." And... they are soliciting input from citizens. This is a
perfect opportunity for us to combat this law from a completely new
direction.
So, drop what you're doing, go to http://www.justsayblow.com/fedup.htm,
and we'll show you how to submit an effective comment online -- in 99
seconds or less. But do it NOW, the deadline is July 20th!
6) TELL-A-FRIEND TEXT
***********************************************************
TELL-A-FRIEND TEXT (CUT, PASTE, AND PASS ON)
***********************************************************
I'm helping to start an online political campaign. Won't you please take
a few seconds to help us?
The Bush administration has announced it will deny federal financial aid
to students who refuse to answer questions about their drug records.
Since this policy comes from a man who spent an entire campaign refusing
to talk about his own drug past, our message is simple:
"President Bush, if you deny federal funds to students who won't talk
about their drug histories, it's only fair that you forego your federal
salary until you are willing to come clean with your own drug past."
If you agree, please go to http://www.JustSayBlow.com and sign our
petition. Thanks for your help
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2001 21:52:34 -0700
From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stan...@crrh.org> To: res...@crrh.org
Subject: Belgium Approves Cannabis for Selected Medical Purposes
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.200107...@mail.olywa.net>
Newshawk: Leni Moscovitch
Pubdate: Thu, 19 Jul 2001
Source: Agence France-Presses
Copyright: 2001 AFP
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
BELGIUM APPROVES CANNABIS FOR SELECTED MEDICAL PURPOSES
BRUSSELS, July 19 (AFP) - Belgium has approved the use of cannabis for
selected medical purposes on a trial basis, according to a decree
published on Thursday in the government's official journal.
Cannabis will be legal in Belgium for treating nausea caused by
chemotheraphy and radiotherapy, glaucoma, pains and muscle spasms linked
to multiple sclerosis, AIDS symptoms and chronic pain resulting from the
failure of other treatments, the decree stated.
But it can be administered only in Belgian hospitals as part of research
-- approved in advance by an ethics committee -- to determine its
effectiveness and any side effects.
Doctors will also have to report on a monthly basis how much cannabis
they give to their patients, the decree said, adding that the decision
was being taken "without prejudice" to existing Belgian narcotics laws.
Last January the government said it would decriminalise the possession
of small amounts of cannabis, while stopping short of approving "coffee
shops" like those in the Netherlands which sell marijuana openly.
In May the US Supreme Court ruled unanimously that cannabis could not be
distributed for medicinal purposes in the United States because Congress
had determined it had no such purpose.
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving the included information for research and educational
purposes.
---
MAP posted-by: Josh Sutcliffe
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2001 21:54:43 -0700
From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stan...@crrh.org> To: res...@crrh.org
Subject: Cannabis Eases Cancer Chemo Sickness, Study Finds Message-ID:
<5.1.0.14.2.200107...@mail.olywa.net>
Pubdate: Sat, 6 Jul 2001
Source: Irish Examiner (Ireland)
Copyright: Examiner Publications Ltd, 2001 Contact:
exam_l...@examiner.ie
Website: http://www.examiner.ie/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/144 Author: John von Radowitz
CANNABIS EASES CANCER SICKNESS, STUDY FINDS
CANNABIS chemicals are better than conventional drugs at controlling
sickness caused by cancer treatments, a study showed yesterday.
But researchers found that cannabinoids, the compounds responsible for
the "high" obtained from cannabis, could have serious side-effects.
These ranged from feelings of euphoria and drowsiness, to dizziness,
depression and hallucinations.
A second investigation by the same team of British and Swiss researchers
found that cannabinoids were no better than codeine for controlling
acute and chronic pain.
Both reports appeared yesterday in the British Medical Journal.
The sickness study, led by Martin Tramer at the Hopitaux Universitaires
Geneva, reviewed 30 trials involving more than 1,300 patients undergoing
chemotherapy.
Three different cannabinoids were taken either as tablets or by
injection.
Across all the trials, the cannabis substances were more effective than
conventional anti-sickness drugs, although no difference was found for
patients receiving very low or very high doses of chemotherapy.
Most patients said they preferred the cannabis treatments to normal
drugs.
However, patients also reported more side-effects from cannabinoids.
The most harmful included depression, hallucinations, paranoia, and low
blood pressure.
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving the included information for research and educational
purposes.
---
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2001 21:55:53 -0700
From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stan...@crrh.org> To: res...@crrh.org
Subject: UK: Labour MPs in cannabis shift Message-ID:
<5.1.0.14.2.200107...@mail.olywa.net>
Source: BBC News On-Line
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk_politics/newsid_1446000/1446800.stm
Pub Date: Thursday 19 July 2001
ART: Labour MPs in cannabis shift
LABOUR MPS IN CANNABIS SHIFT
Labour MPs are turning against their government's opposition to the
legalisation of cannabis, a poll carried out by the BBC suggests.
The overwhelming majority of 116 Labour MPs taking part in a poll for
the BBC World at One programme supported a substantial inquiry into the
drug, such as a royal commission.
Do you support decriminalisation?
Yes: 32
No: 31
Don't know: 4
Subject to trials/ if prescribed: 4
Depend on royal commission: 45
Total MPs taking part: 116
And almost 30% indicated that they were in favour of decriminalising the
drug immediately.
It prompted one Labour member of the influential Commons home affairs
select committee to predict cannabis would be decriminalised by the end
of this parliament.
Only recently Home Secretary David Blunkett called for an "adult debate"
on cannabis law reform, which some took as a signal that government
attitudes were shifting.
Poll details
The survey, carried out by the BBC's political research unit, showed
that 32 of the 116 Labour MPs would vote in favour of decriminalising
the use and supply of cannabis.
Another 45 said their vote would depend on the outcome of a royal
commission.
Setting up such an inquiry was supported by a total of 95 MPs, with 20
against.
Do you favour a large scale inquiry?
Yes: 95
No: 20
Don't know: 1
Of the 234 Labour MPs who were asked their answers to the survey's
questions, 116 gave answers and the other 118 refused to comment.
David Winnick - a member of the home affairs select committee which is
rumoured to be considering its own inquiry into the drug - told World at
One: "I would have thought cannabis at least would be decriminalised by
the next election, and would I not be right insaying to a large extent
it is?
"What is required is courage from the government to recognise what is
happening and a sensible attitude from the main opposition party, not
playing politics with it."
Drug report
Dame Ruth Runciman, whose report for the Police Foundation last year
called for cannabis to be downgraded to Class C status, said the survey
results reflected "considerable unease" about the UK's drug laws.
"It looks as though Labour MPs are beginning to be sensitive to the
constituency for some degree of change that there seems to be out
there," she said.
Survey responses
Total: 234
No comments: 118
Answers: 116
The poll could provide a boost to Jon Owen Jones, a one-time Welsh
Health Minister who presented a private members' bill to decriminalise
cannabis to the Commons on Wednesday.
The Cardiff Central MP has admitted he smoked the drug several times
while at university and he believes in a "radical solution" to the issue
of cannabis.
Pressure is growing from elsewhere too. Conservative MP and former
cabinet minister Peter Lilley recently surprised his party colleagues by
calling for cannabis to be legalised and sold through special
off-licence style high street stores.
Two former home secretaries, Liberal Democrat Lord Jenkins of Hillhead
and Tory Lord (Kenneth) Baker of Dorking, also back decriminalisation.
But, despite Mr Blunkett's recent comments, a shift in ministers' firm
opposition to changing the law is unlikely in the near future.
A royal commission has been ruled out for the moment and a Home Office
spokesman said: "The government's position is clear. We have no plans to
legalise any currently controlled substance."
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2001 22:00:57 -0700
From: NATL...@aol.com (by way of "D. Paul Stanford"
<stan...@crrh.org>) To: res...@crrh.org
Subject: NORML WPR 7/20/01
Message-ID: <5.1.0.14.2.200107...@mail.olywa.net>
NORML Foundation
1001 Connecticut Ave., NW
Ste. 710
Washington, DC 20036
202-483-8751 (p)
202-483-0057 (f)
www.norml.org
found...@norml.org
July 19, 2001
This week's topics:
*Bipartisan Bill to Legalize Medical Marijuana Pending in Congress
Proposal Would Protect Patients, Doctors; Grant Leeway to State
Legislatures
*Incoming DEA Leader Mum on Medical Marijuana
*34,000 Students to Lose Financial Aid Under New Drug Law
Washington, DC: Texas Republican Ron Paul will join Massachusetts
Democrat Barney Frank to reintroduce bipartisan legislation providing
for the use of medicinal marijuana by seriously ill patients.
The bill, scheduled to be introduced tomorrow, is identical to
legislation previously introduced this year by Rep. Frank (H.R. 1344)
except it no longer includes provisions mandating federal officials to
provide marijuana for investigational new drug (IND) studies. That
clause will be reintroduced as a separate bill at a later date, a
spokesman from Rep. Frank's office said.
The Frank-Paul bill reschedules marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II
under federal law so that physicians may legally prescribe it under
controlled circumstances. It also permits state legislatures that wish
to establish medical marijuana distribution systems the legal authority
to do so.
NORML's Keith Stroup calls the proposal a streamlined effort to get
medicinal marijuana to those who need it. "Historically, voters and
state legislatures have been more receptive to this issue than the
federal government. This legislation addresses this paradigm and
effectively gets the government out of the way of those states that wish
to regulate marijuana as a medicine."
Stroup said that he welcomed Congressman Paul's decision to co-sponsor
the bill. "Providing an effective medicine to those seriously ill
patients that need it is neither a Democrat nor Republican issue," he
says. "It should be the goal of legislators from both political
parties."
Since 1996, nine states - Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii,
Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington - have enacted laws allowing
patients to possess and use marijuana medicinally under a doctor's
supervision. In March, the Supreme Court ruled that federal law forbids
the manufacture and distribution of marijuana for medical purposes, but
did not decide on whether individual patients may legally use marijuana
in states authorizing its use.
Seventeen co-sponsors signed on to Frank's original bill. All 17, with
the addition of Rep. Paul, are expected to co-sponsor the new bill.
For more information, please contact Keith Stroup, Executive Director of
NORML, at (202) 483-5500 or Mark Levine at Rep. Frank's office at (202)
225-5931.
-Incoming DEA Leader Mum on Medical Marijuana-
Washington, DC: Representative Asa Hutchinson (R-Ark.), Bush's pick
to head the Drug Enforcement Administration, refused to answer questions
at Tuesday's Senate confirmation hearing regarding whether he will
encourage federal authorities to prosecute medical marijuana providers
and patients.
Marijuana is "illegal; it is harmful and there's many potential
dangers," Hutchinson said, although he did not reveal if he intended to
enforce federal laws outlawing the herb in those states that have
approved its use medically.
Hutchinson also claimed that "the scientific community does not
support the medical uses of it." In fact, a 1999 Institute of Medicine
study on medicinal marijuana found: "Scientific data indicate the
potential therapeutic value of cannabinoid drugs ... for pain relief,
control of nausea and vomiting, and appetite stimulation. ... Except
for the harms associated with smoking, the adverse effects of marijuana
use are within the range tolerated for other medications."
Ironically, Hutchinson is on record opposing medical marijuana
research, arguing that it may compromise the war on drugs. "A study of
marijuana's medicinal effectiveness ... is absolutely the wrong way to
go on this issue," he told Congress in 1999. "It sends the wrong
message to young people."
Hutchinson is a former Arkansas prosecutor and is serving his third
term in Congress.
For more information, please contact either Keith Stroup or Paul
Armentano of NORML @ (202) 483-5500. Media background packets on
Hutchinson's drug policy record are available from NORML Communications
Director Nick Thimmesch.
34,000 Students to Lose Financial Aid Under New Drug Law
Washington, DC: The Bush administration's strict enforcement of a
1998 amendment to the Higher Education Act will deny federal loans to
more than 34,000 students this coming school year, the Associated Press
reported this week.
The provision withholds grants, loans or work assistance from
anyone convicted of a drug offense, including the misdemeanor possession
of marijuana. Those convicted of other crimes, including violent
offenses, remain eligible.
"What kind of message are we sending when we deny aid to students
whose only 'crime' is that they smoked marijuana?" asked Keith Stroup,
Executive Director of NORML.
Though the law took effect in 1999, it was only loosely enforced by
the Clinton administration. According to the Department of Education,
the government withheld aid to some 8,100 students last year after they
revealed on their federal application form that they had a prior drug
conviction. Students who left the question blank still received aid. A
spokesperson for the Bush administration announced in February that they
would bar aid to both drug offenders and those who fail to respond.
In February, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass) introduced legislation in
Congress, H.R. 786, to repeal the ban. Fifty-two members of Congress
have signed on to his bill, although it has yet to receive a formal
hearing.
For more information, please contact Keith Stroup, NORML Executive
Director, at (202) 483-5500. To send a letter to your member of
Congress in support of Frank's bill, visit: http://capwiz.com/norml2.
-end-
------------------------------
End of restore V9 #162
*********************
*
------
CRRH is working to regulate and tax the sale of cannabis to adults like
alcohol, allow doctors to recommend cannabis through pharmacies and
restore the unregulated production of industrial hemp.
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send your instructions to <restor...@crrh.org>.
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*Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp*
mail: CRRH ; P.O. Box 86741 ; Portland, OR 97286 USA
phone: (503) 235-4606
email: cr...@crrh.org
web: http://www.crrh.org/