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51 US: Anti-terrorism Efforts Draining Agents, Equipment FromWed, 07 Nov 2001
Source:San Jose Mercury News (CA) Author:Johnson, Tim Area:United States Lines:69 Added:11/07/2001

Federal Agencies Shift Focus To Prevent Attacks

WASHINGTON -- The war against terrorism is diverting federal agents, patrol boats and other resources from the war on drugs, the nation's chief narcotics officer said Tuesday.

"It's a battle of resources right now," Drug Enforcement Administration chief Asa Hutchinson said. It's particularly an issue for the Coast Guard and the FBI, he said. "When the dust settles, there will be discussions."

The FBI has yanked agents off narcotics cases for counterterrorism duty, Hutchinson said, and Coast Guard cutters that once were dedicated to patrolling for narcotics shipments now watch over vulnerable seaports.

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52 Mexico: Mexico Cities Seeing More Drug UsersSun, 04 Nov 2001
Source:Register-Guard, The (OR)          Area:Mexico Lines:80 Added:11/07/2001

TIJUANA, Mexico - Berenice Arellano Gil celebrated her 29th birthday by doing what she does most days: She slipped $3 into another addict's hand on a downtown street corner and bought a two-inch vial filled with crack cocaine.

"I feel like a dog running wild on the freeway, not knowing if I am going to make it off the road alive," she said, cupping her hands around the smoking white powder and inhaling deeply, letting the crack fill her lungs and surge into her brain.

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53 US UT: PUB LTE: Drug Policy Needs To Be RevisitedSun, 04 Nov 2001
Source:Standard-Examiner (UT) Author:Sharpe, Robert Area:Utah Lines:44 Added:11/07/2001

Ogden's drug court has undoubtedly saved lives. Unfortunately, an arrest is often a necessary prerequisite for potentially life-saving drug treatment. Policymakers are going to have to tone down their "tough on drugs" rhetoric. Would alcoholics seek treatment for their illness if doing so were tantamount to confessing to criminal activity? Likewise would putting every incorrigible alcoholic behind bars and saddling them with criminal records prove cost-effective?

The United States recently earned the dubious distinction of having the highest incarceration rate in the world, with drug offenses accounting for the majority of federal incarcerations. This is big government at its worst. At an average cost of $25,071 per inmate annually, maintaining the world's largest prison system can hardly be considered fiscally conservative.

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54 US OK: Editorial: Lori Hansen: Fairness, Restraint NeededWed, 07 Nov 2001
Source:Oklahoman, The (OK)          Area:Oklahoma Lines:65 Added:11/07/2001

Lori Hansen, a prominent Oklahoma City woman, is respected for her professional accomplishments. She became a national figure after the bombing of the Murrah Building due to her work with women here and elsewhere who have faced the trauma of disfiguring injuries. Dr. Hansen, a plastic surgeon in Oklahoma City and wife of District Attorney Wes Lane, faces a challenge to her medical license, after self-reporting a drug addiction that ended in June 2000. Hansen revealed the problem on her application to renew a permit, as required every three years, to prescribe narcotics. She notes, "It asked if I had treatment for drug or alcohol. I checked it." The self-reporting of the problem should be considered in her favor.

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55 UK: British Move To Reclassify Cannabis As Class C DrugMon, 05 Nov 2001
Source:Irish Examiner (Ireland) Author:Keane, Colette Area:United Kingdom Lines:80 Added:11/07/2001

MOVES in Britain to strike a balance and a modicum of common sense in policing the drugs world has sparked a wave of anti-drug protests and fallen short of the demands of the pro-cannabis lobby.

In a nutshell, Britain has proposed to reclassify cannabis from a B- Class to a C-Class drug. This does not legalise cannabis, but it removes the option of arrest from police officers faced with someone possessing the drug for personal use.

Any cannabis found on someone will still be confiscated and police will still be able to warn, caution or issue a summons to anyone found in possession of the illegal substance. The easing of attitude to personal users of the drug will not be extended to traffickers or suppliers, who will still face the full rigours of the law.

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56 US TN: PUB LTE: War On Drugs Has Been A National FailureWed, 07 Nov 2001
Source:Tennessean, The (TN) Author:Wilson, Chris Area:Tennessee Lines:47 Added:11/07/2001

To the Editor:

We are bombarded daily with news of our so called ''war on terrorism.'' We are told all about the latest anthrax scares. We are constantly reminded of the looming possibility of another threat.

I only have one concern - that this prolific war in which we are engaged will become a mockery like our supposed ''war on drugs.''

It was a tragedy to have citizens killed in New York and Washington. Anthrax does pose a problem. It would be safe to say though that cocaine, marijuana, meth and a host of readily available pills have killed more people, cost more money and tied up more of this great country's resources than all of the terrorists in history. I know of many families who have had tragedy in their lives from illegal drug use and have never met a single anthrax victim.

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57US WI: All-Night Raves, Ecstasy Use Spread In WisconsinMon, 05 Nov 2001
Source:Minneapolis Star-Tribune (MN)          Area:Wisconsin Lines:Excerpt Added:11/07/2001

All-night raves have moved into the mainstream in Wisconsin, causing concern from officials who believe the promise of alcohol-free dance parties are a guise for what's really going on inside: rampant use of the illegal drug Ecstasy.

Raves feature light shows and disc jockeys playing techno music and can attract as many as 8,000 youths.

``I hear people say raves are about the music, and that couldn't be further from the truth,'' said Michael Zweifel, the father of a 16- year-old who died in September 2000 after falling from a Madison parking garage while on Ecstasy. The teen had just left a rave at the Barrymore Theatre.

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58 US IL: PUB LTE: The QuestionWed, 07 Nov 2001
Source:Rock River Times (IL) Author:Muse, Kirk Area:Illinois Lines:32 Added:11/07/2001

Dear Editor:

I've been writing to editors and politicians about our failed policy of drug prohibition on a daily basis for over two years and, I must agree that M. L. Simon's "The Question" is perhaps the best question ever asked about our drug policy. I agree with Mr. Simon that all of us that oppose our failed policy of drug prohibition, should ask every politician, every drug warrior and everybody else that supports the failed policy the great question.

"Do you support drug prohibition because it finances criminals at home or because it finances terrorists abroad?"

I agree that we should ask "the question" again and again and wait for an answer.

Kirk Muse, Vancouver, WA

[end]

59 UK: 2 PUB LTE: Gateway PolicyTue, 30 Oct 2001
Source:Scotsman (UK) Author:Sharpe, Robert Area:United Kingdom Lines:43 Added:10/30/2001

There is a big difference between condoning cannabis use, and protecting children from drugs. Decriminalisation acknowledges the social reality of cannabis use, and frees users from the stigma of life-shattering criminal records.

What is needed is a regulated market with age controls. Now, children have an easier time buying cannabis than beer.

Although cannabis is relatively harmless compared to most legal drugs, cannabis prohibition is deadly. As the most popular illicit drug, it provides the black market contacts that introduce youth to addictive drugs like heroin. Current drug policy is a gateway policy.

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60 CN BC: Column: Banning Raves Not The AnswerMon, 05 Nov 2001
Source:Vancouver Courier (CN BC) Author:Garr, Allen Area:British Columbia Lines:89 Added:11/07/2001

The remarkable thing is that more kids aren't dying of drug overdoses at raves. It's a credit to the city's stringent policies for these events.

In spite of the deaths last weekend of two people who attended an all-night dance party at the Pacific Coliseum, the solution is not to stop raves from taking place. Raves have been banned by the political ostriches in Surrey and New Westminster, but there's no appetite for that here. It's clear Vancouver's politicians realize the risk to kids if these activities are driven back underground.

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61 US: U.S. Hears Guam Marijuana CaseTue, 06 Nov 2001
Source:Honolulu Star-Bulletin (HI) Author:Bernardo, Rosemarie Area:United States Lines:80 Added:11/07/2001

The Court Listens To An Appeal Against A Rastafarian Seeking Freedom Of Religion

Rastafarians smoke marijuana in a rite as common as communion for Catholics, an attorney of the American Civil Liberties Union said after a first-of-its-kind hearing before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

"Marijuana is a common necessary sacrament to the Rastafarian religion," said Graham Boyd, director of the ACLU's Drug Policy Litigation Project.

At a hearing in the 9th Circuit courtroom in Honolulu yesterday, ACLU attorneys argued a Guam resident's right to smoke marijuana. The territory of Guam is trying to overturn territorial court rulings dismissing criminal charges against Benny Toves Guerrero

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62 CN BC: Legal Pot Would Cure Ailing ForestTue, 06 Nov 2001
Source:Kamloops Daily News (CN BC) Author:Duncan, Susan Area:British Columbia Lines:58 Added:11/07/2001

There is a fast way to solve British Columbia's economic woes and put the United States in its place over the softwood lumber issue. Legalize marijuana.

Kamloops MP Betty Hinton supports the decriminalization of marijuana and quite rightly points out that it doesn't make sense to burden someone with a criminal record for a minor drug offence.

Canadian Alliance MP Keith Martin who is sponsoring a private member's bill to decriminalize marijuana notes that "for far too long we have wasted valuable time and resources of law enforcement agencies and courts on a failed policy of minor drug enforcement."

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63 US NJ: State Trooper Suit DismissedWed, 07 Nov 2001
Source:New York Times (NY)          Area:New Jersey Lines:22 Added:11/07/2001

Camden (AP) - A state trooper who charged that he was encouraged to stop black and Hispanic drivers to increase the number of his drug arrests has had his lawsuit dismissed in federal court. The claims by the trooper, Emblez Longoria, of racial profiling, discrimination and retaliation, if true, "reflect badly on the character of the New Jersey State Police" but are not wrongs the court can address, Judge Stephen M. Orlofsky of Federal District Court in Camden said in an Oct. 17 ruling made public recently. Philip J. Moran, Trooper Longoria's lawyer, did not immediately return a call seeking comment. (AP)

[end]

64 US TX: Ex-Cowboy Held On Drug ChargeWed, 07 Nov 2001
Source:Ft. Worth Star-Telegram (TX) Author:Rodriguez, Rebeca Area:Texas Lines:47 Added:11/07/2001

Nate Newton Jailed In Louisiana After Routine Traffic Stop

Former Cowboys lineman Nate Newton was arrested over the weekend in Louisiana when state police found more than 200 pounds of marijuana in the van he was driving.

Newton, who played 13 seasons for the Cowboys and helped the team win three Super Bowls, was arrested Sunday and taken to the St. Martin Parish Jail in St. Martinville, La. Bail was set at $200,000, but it was unclear whether he was still in jail Tuesday night, said Louisiana state trooper Willie Williams.

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65 US MD: Panel Finds City Officer Guilty Of False ReportWed, 07 Nov 2001
Source:Baltimore Sun (MD) Author:Wilber, Del Quentin Area:Maryland Lines:101 Added:11/07/2001

Police Disciplinary Board Recommends Firing Of Sewell, A 7-Year Veteran

A Baltimore police disciplinary panel found Brian L. Sewell guilty yesterday of misconduct stemming from the arrest of an innocent man on drug charges last year. The board recommended that Sewell be fired.

Sewell was found guilty of making false statements in police reports and a statement of charges, misleading police and prosecutors, and misconduct in office.

Sean R. Malone, head of the department's legal affairs office, said the case was "an important one for the Baltimore Police Department" and showed that police officials were serious about cracking down on bad officers.

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66 US: Selected Quotations From A Monitor Lunch With DEAWed, 07 Nov 2001
Source:Christian Science Monitor (US) Author:Cook, David T. Area:United States Lines:113 Added:11/07/2001

WASHINGTON - On what DEA contributes to the war on terrorism: "What the DEA contributes that is underground, that is behind the scenes is our intelligence. ... With offices in 56 countries, we have 400 DEA agents overseas - about 10 percent of our force. If you are looking into what is happening in the bad world... in terms of human intelligence you are going to find it in that seedy hotel or bar..." On changing drug laws:

"Here in the United States it is fair to debate our drug policies but we need to debate them within the context of what we have learned from history and it is moving in the wrong direction to decriminalize or take drug offenses out of the criminal context. Within the criminal context, let's debate them, but those should be the parameters."

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67 US FL: PUB LTE: U.S. Policy Exacerbates Use Of HeroinWed, 07 Nov 2001
Source:Miami Herald (FL) Author:Sharpe, Robert Area:Florida Lines:44 Added:11/07/2001

In her Oct. 26 column, Parallel tragedies of Colombia, the U.S., Maria Cristina Caballero noted that ``it might be worthwhile to cut the flow of drug money by providing treatment to U.S. drug addicts.''

Heroin produced in Afghanistan is primarily consumed in Europe, a continent already experimenting with public-health alternatives to the drug war, alternatives with previously unforeseen implications.

Switzerland's heroin-maintenance trials, which are modeled after the methadone-maintenance programs pioneered in the United States, have shown such promise at reducing drug-related disease, death and crime that they are being replicated in Germany, Spain and the Netherlands.

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68 US NH: PUB LTE: Confiscation Goes Too FarWed, 07 Nov 2001
Source:Foster's Daily Democrat (NH) Author:Wiggins, Adam Area:New Hampshire Lines:36 Added:11/07/2001

Regarding the Oct. 29 editorial "Stop The Drug Paraphernalia Charade": the author applauds the police for confiscating legal products from a Dover smokeshop.

These products, like those sold in thousands of smokeshops around the country, can potentially be used to aid in the consumption of both legal and illegal drugs, and thus the Dover police are attempting to classify these items as "drug paraphernalia."

Let me tell you why this is a bad idea, and it has nothing to do with drugs, legal or otherwise. Similar claims about drug paraphernalia have been made recently in a Louisiana court case against the owners of a nightclub. Some of the items that the prosecutors, and the DEA, wished to classify as drug paraphernalia included glowsticks (yes, the same ones that you'll see small children carrying for safety on Halloween), cool rooms for relaxing (because drug users purportedly enjoy a place to rest), and - get this - bottled water. Yes, drug users drink bottled water, therefore, bottled water is drug paraphernalia.

How far do we let this go? The answer is, we don't. We admit, right now, that everything that smokeshops sell is completely and 100 percent legal. If you want to pass a law outlawing pipes, then you can arrest them, but not before.

[end]

69 US: Justices Urged To Widen Police Search PowersWed, 07 Nov 2001
Source:Baltimore Sun (MD)          Area:United States Lines:87 Added:11/07/2001

Privacy Protection For Probationers' Homes At Issue In Calif. Case

WASHINGTON - Police should be given wider authority to search convicts' homes, the Bush administration argued yesterday in a case that presented the Supreme Court with its first broad civil liberties question since Sept. 11.

At issue is Americans' right to privacy in their homes - without unreasonable searches - even if they are on parole or probation.

In California, a person on probation agrees to give any police officer permission to search his home or car without a warrant or probable cause. The federal government supports that practice.

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70 CN ON: Police Get Warrant To Search NewspaperTue, 06 Nov 2001
Source:Toronto Star (CN ON) Author:Harries, Kate Area:Ontario Lines:107 Added:11/07/2001

Want Reporter's Notes For Story On Marijuana Grower

Staff at an Ontario weekly newspaper say an impending police search is an attempt at intimidation because of its editorial stance on Canada's medical marijuana law.

Stasha Connolly, owner and publisher of the Brighton Independent, was notified last week that Ontario Provincial Police were obtaining a search warrant to gain access to a reporter's notes and other material relating to an illegal marijuana operation, said the newspaper's editor, Bart Kreps.

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71 US: Ashcroft Quashes Assisted SuicideWed, 07 Nov 2001
Source:Register-Guard, The (OR) Author:Christie, Tim Area:United States Lines:167 Added:11/07/2001

U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft moved Tuesday to effectively overturn Oregon's assisted-suicide law by directing federal drug agents to investigate any doctors who help patients kill themselves with federally controlled drugs.

Ashcroft's decision is the latest development in a long-running political and legal battle over Oregon's one-of-a-kind law. It sparked immediate debate about whether the prospect of a federal investigation will discourage doctors from using drugs to aggressively treat pain.

Religious and anti-abortion organizations hailed Ashcroft's legal opinion, while assisted-suicide advocacy groups decried it. Oregon politicians divided largely along partisan lines.

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72 US: Drug Smugglers Returning To BordersTue, 06 Nov 2001
Source:Register-Guard, The (OR) Author:Roberts, Chris Area:United States Lines:88 Added:11/07/2001

EL PASO, Texas - At the Santa Fe International Bridge in El Paso, customs inspectors looking for terrorists are flinging open hoods and trunks, knocking on body panels and getting down on their hands and knees to peek under vehicles.

Last week, inspectors dug out nearly 50 packages of pot, weighing a total of 70 pounds, from a false gas tank in a shiny Toyota Tercel.

The seizure illustrates what Customs Service and Border Patrol officials are seeing: Drug smugglers are getting back to business - and drug seizures are up sharply - after a lull prompted by the stepped-up security along the U.S-Mexican border that followed the terrorist attacks.

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73 US PA: Editorial: End The 'Happy Deals'Tue, 06 Nov 2001
Source:Tribune Review (PA)          Area:Pennsylvania Lines:44 Added:11/07/2001

A state probe of two Fayette County public housing complexes raises a disturbing image of alleged drug dealing on housing authority property.

Attorney General Mike Fisher described the purported dealing as a curbside service for drug buyers, similar to a drive-through at a fast-food restaurant. Nineteen people have been implicated in the state's eight-month investigation, which is continuing. The offenders are described by police as low-level dealers, and most are not housing authority tenants.

Thomas L. Harkless, executive director of the Fayette County Housing Authority, says he was aware of the state investigation, and that any suspects who were tenants had been evicted prior to the state investigation and subsequent arrests.

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74US CA: Editorial: A Legal TradeWed, 07 Nov 2001
Source:San Francisco Chronicle (CA) Author:Henderson, David R. Area:California Lines:Excerpt Added:11/07/2001

Ending The U.S. Role In Colombia's Drug War Would Weaken Terrorists And Strengthen Democracy

PRESIDENT BUSH, like President Clinton before him, is pouring hundreds of millions of U.S. taxpayers' dollars a year into fighting the drug war in Colombia. During his 2000 presidential campaign, Bush reasoned that because the Revolutionary Army of Colombia (FARC) and other terrorist groups get their money from the cocaine trade, fighting the drug war and fighting the terrorists are one and the same. It's true that revolutionary leftists in Colombia are intimately connected with the illegal drug trade. But the ironic reason for that connection is the drug war itself.

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75 US: War On Drugs Loses Out To War On TerrorWed, 07 Nov 2001
Source:Inquirer (PA) Author:Johnson, Tim Area:United States Lines:76 Added:11/07/2001

WASHINGTON - The war against terrorism is diverting federal agents, patrol boats, and other resources from the war on drugs, the nation's chief drug officer said yesterday.

"It's a battle of resources right now," said Asa Hutchinson, chief of the Drug Enforcement Administration. It's particularly an issue for the Coast Guard and the FBI, he said. "When the dust settles, there will be discussions."

The FBI has yanked agents off drug cases for counterterrorism duty, Hutchinson said, and Coast Guard cutters that once were dedicated to patrolling for drug shipments now watch over vulnerable seaports.

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76 US CA: California: A Medical Marijuana DefenderWed, 07 Nov 2001
Source:New York Times (NY) Author:Nieves, Evelyn Area:California Lines:23 Added:11/07/2001

The San Francisco district attorney, Terence Hallinan, asked the federal Drug Enforcement Administration to stop cracking down on dispensers of marijuana for medical use. Mr. Hallinan, the only district attorney in California who actively campaigned for the voter initiative that legalized such marijuana, said that in recent weeks, two San Francisco dispensaries had been under surveillance by unidentified agents and patients' records had been seized from a doctor's office in El Dorado County and from the largest cannabis dispensary in Los Angeles, which was forced to close. Evelyn Nieves (NYT)

[end]

77 US: How Global Heroin Shifts Could Hit Home: The Dope On DopeWed, 07 Nov 2001
Source:Village Voice (NY) Author:Lee, Chisun Area:United States Lines:159 Added:11/07/2001

Like the U.S. bombing raids in Afghanistan, another aspect of the war--the Taliban's reported dumping of stockpiled heroin on the international market to raise quick cash--has seemed a distant reality on these shores.

The geography that spares Americans from firsthand views of Afghan rubble and refugees blunts any immediate impact from the heroin glut here, unlike in some areas of Europe or Southwest Asia where street prices have halved.

Yet early observers warn that the aftermath of September 11 has to affect U.S. heroin, if not the illicit drug trade at large.

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78 US: War On Terrorism Hobbles War On DrugsWed, 07 Nov 2001
Source:Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) Author:McFeatters, Ann Area:United States Lines:79 Added:11/07/2001

WASHINGTON -- The head of the Drug Enforcement Administration says that since Sept. 11's terrorist attacks, his agency has felt a major impact as the FBI's resources have been "spread thin" and diverted from investigating illegal drug cases to terrorism, even though he said the two are increasingly related.

DEA Chief Asa Hutchinson yesterday said: "Certainly, it's having an impact when FBI agents are pulled off drugs for terrorism [investigations] in Boca Raton [Fla.] and Boston. We have to make up the slack."

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79 US KY: Drug Unit Wants To ExpandWed, 07 Nov 2001
Source:Kentucky Post (KY) Author:Whitehead, Shelly Area:Kentucky Lines:60 Added:11/07/2001

Agreement Would Allow For Additional Personnel

The Northern Kentucky Drug Strike Force is expanding its range beyond the initial three Northern Kentucky counties in response to needs expressed from some outlying areas for drug investigation and enforcement.

The eight-person agency is seeking approval from commissioners in Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties for a modified inter-local agreement that makes it easier for the strike force to investigate illegal drug activity in areas beyond the three counties.

The new agreement also makes it easier for outlying police forces to contribute manpower to the force.

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80 US: Transcript: McNamara, Zeese, Lee and O'Connell visit NYT Drug Policy ForumMon, 05 Nov 2001
Source:New York Times Drug Policy Forum          Area:United States Lines:477 Added:10/30/2001

On Monday, November 5, the NYTimes Drug Policy forum hosted a special panel with four national drug reform activists. This panel was part of a series organized by the forum participants.

Special Panelists:

Hoover Institution scholar and former police chief of San Jose and Kansas City JOSEPH MCNAMARA is the author of the forthcoming book 'Gangster Cops: The Hidden Cost of America's War on Drugs.' Items by or about Chief McNamara are at http://www.mapinc.org/people/Joseph+McNamara

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81US TX: Man Testifies Police Violated His Rights In Search ForTue, 06 Nov 2001
Source:Houston Chronicle (TX)          Area:Texas Lines:Excerpt Added:11/07/2001

When police took 16-year-old Damien Williams to a fire station to be strip-searched, he was told "we can do this the hard way or we can do this the easy way," Williams said Monday.

Williams testified in his civil suit against Houston Police Department officers Steven C. Rowan and D.M. Knapp that he was scared he would be beaten if he didn't cooperate.

On Dec. 20, 1997, Williams said, his legs were kicked apart and Rowan inserted an index finger into his rectum during a search for drugs as Williams was bent over a table at Fire Station 44.

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82 US MO: Guilty Pleas Follow Land Seizure OrderWed, 07 Nov 2001
Source:The Southeast Missourian (MO) Author:Buchanan, Andrea L Area:Missouri Lines:82 Added:11/07/2001

SIKESTON, Mo. -- The federal government could seize permanently an empty package store, a closed nightclub, a barber shop and a 10-unit apartment complex prosecutors say provided havens for drug trafficking in Sikeston.

Two Sikeston residents pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau to distributing crack cocaine. Anglyn Frazier, 50, pleaded guilty to four felony counts of distributing five or more grams of crack, and Martin Taliaferro Sumlin, 47, pleaded guilty to three felony counts of aiding and abetting the distribution of five or more grams of crack cocaine.

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83US: Ashcroft Allows Agents To Go After Suicide AssistanceTue, 06 Nov 2001
Source:USA Today (US)          Area:United States Lines:Excerpt Added:11/07/2001

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General John Ashcroft sought Tuesday to override the nation's only law allowing assisted suicide, declaring that taking the life of a terminally ill patient is not a "legitimate medical purpose" for federally controlled drugs.

Doctors who use such drugs to help patients die, as permitted under the Oregon law, face suspension or revocation of their licenses to prescribe drugs, Ashcroft said in a letter to Drug Enforcement Administration chief Asa Hutchinson.

The order does not call for criminal prosecution of doctors. And it does stipulate that pain management is a valid medical use of controlled substances.

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84 US MD: City Police To Redeploy OfficersWed, 07 Nov 2001
Source:Baltimore Sun (MD) Author:Wilber, Del Quentin Area:Maryland Lines:99 Added:11/07/2001

Actions taken in bid to curb outbreak of killings, violence; 'This is like a forest fire'; Shootings linked to high drug prices, more gang fighting

Concerned about a monthlong spike in homicides and shootings, Baltimore police officials are redeploying officers and ordering commanders to work night shifts to get a better handle on violence, some of which appears to stem from higher drug prices.

"This is like a forest fire," said Deputy Police Commissioner Bert F. Shirey. "It does not go out spontaneously. We either put out the fire, or it runs out of material to burn. We have to get in the middle of this thing, cool it down."

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85 Indonesia: Rapid Spread Of HIV Among Drug Users Calls ForWed, 07 Nov 2001
Source:Jakarta Post (Indonesia) Author:Gordon, Joyce Djaelani Area:Indonesia Lines:140 Added:11/07/2001

The latest, most up-to-date report on the spread of HIV in Asia released by the Monitoring the AIDS Pandemic (MAP) Network shows how Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Nepal and Vietnam have registered a marked increases in HIV infection.

Two years ago, these countries reported a fairly slow spread of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).

The report, which was released on the eve of the 6th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) in Melbourne last month, highlights specific examples of the rapid HIV spread among specific sub-populations, such as among injecting drug users (IDUs) in Indonesia, where HIV levels have increased from around 15 percent in 1999 to 40 percent in 2000.

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86 CN BC: OPED: Enough Of Studies, It's Time To End The War OnTue, 06 Nov 2001
Source:Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Author:Martin, Don Area:British Columbia Lines:97 Added:11/07/2001

OTTAWA - The kid parked in the rusty Chevy Nova with three teenage buddies was getting ready for a high school dance in routine rebel style -- with a case of beer in the back seat and a marijuana joint in circulation.

Suddenly, powerful flashlights blasted through the side windows, the front doors were yanked open and loud voices warned everyone not to move. The driver, crazy Bob Green, instinctively hit the accelerator, dragging two police officers along the asphalt for a hundred metres until a punch to his head and talk of a gun from one of the cops put the brakes to any dramatic escape attempt. The undercover officers dumped the beer in the parking lot - -- and busted the guy caught holding the bag of dope.

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87US OR: Series: Meth's Path Of Destruction, Part 1 of 7Sun, 04 Nov 2001
Source:Statesman Journal (OR) Author:Gustafson, Alan Area:Oregon Lines:Excerpt Added:11/07/2001

Marion County is at the center of a drug epidemic that is harming families, increasing crime and taxing society.

Drunk on a mountain in the heart of Oregon's timber country, Hoyt Orr accepted his buddy's invitation to "feel better" by injecting methamphetamine.

"It was an incredible rush. I broke out into a sweat, and my whole body vibrated," Orr, 31, said. "Like an idiot, I liked it."

Even now, more than a decade after his first hit, Orr's hands start to sweat as he remembers the electric high. It launched him into a 10-year blitz of methamphetamine use that ravaged his body and nearly destroyed his life.

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88US OR: Series: Meth's Path Of Destruction, Part 2 of 7Sun, 04 Nov 2001
Source:Statesman Journal (OR) Author:Gustafson, Alan Area:Oregon Lines:Excerpt Added:11/07/2001

Holed up in her bathroom, Sandra Edzards shut out everything except daily injections of methamphetamines.

Treating her body like a dart board, she wore out veins from her toes to her neck.

"It took so long to find a vein, I stayed in the bathroom most of the time," said Edzards, 50, of Salem.

In a methamphetamine fog, Edzards contracted Hepatitis C from a contaminated needle, neglected her two children, prostituted herself and went to prison for bank robbery.

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89US OR: Series: Meth's Path Of Destruction, Part 3 of 7Sun, 04 Nov 2001
Source:Statesman Journal (OR) Author:Gustafson, Alan Area:Oregon Lines:Excerpt Added:11/07/2001

"Crank," "speed," "crystal," "zip," "ice," "the poor man's cocaine."

Methamphetamine goes by many names. Whatever it's called, the drug can be intensely addictive.

"Some people are incredibly sensitive and are likely to become addicted after just a few uses," said Alan Leshner, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. "Other people appear able to use for quite a while before they're addicted. It's very individual."

Sold in pill, powder or chunk form, meth can be swallowed, sniffed, smoked or injected. "Either through the lungs or injected seems to be the fastest way it gets to your brain," Leshner said.

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90US OR: Series: Meth's Path Of Destruction, Part 4 of 7Sun, 04 Nov 2001
Source:Statesman Journal (OR) Author:Gustafson, Alan Area:Oregon Lines:Excerpt Added:11/07/2001

Even when meth makes people feel like they can conquer the world, they often act like idiots. Or worse.

Among the recent incidents:

A Silverton trucker hauling bathroom fixtures to California drove his 18-wheeler onto a Long Beach airport runway, rolled the big rig, then ran naked down the tarmac. Police said he was suffering from extreme paranoia brought on by meth use.

A Washington man, camping at the Oregon coast, suffered serious burns to his hands, stomach and face when a meth lab blew up in his tent at South Beach State Park in Newport.

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91US OR: Series: Meth's Path Of Destruction, Part 5 of 7Sun, 04 Nov 2001
Source:Statesman Journal (OR) Author:Gustafson, Alan Area:Oregon Lines:Excerpt Added:11/07/2001

Methamphetamine has traveled a long road: from its discovery by a Japanese pharmacologist in 1919, to its years of use for medical treatments, to its takeover by biker gangs who ran the blackmarket trade along the West Coast.

"Crank" became the drug's street name because bikers carried meth in their motorcycle crankcases.

The bikers cooked meth with a chemical called P2P, short for phenyl-2-propane. Early meth labs gave off a telltale odor, often described as smelling like cat urine.

[continues 366 words]

92US OR: Series: Meth's Path Of Destruction, Part 6 of 7Sun, 04 Nov 2001
Source:Statesman Journal (OR) Author:Gustafson, Alan Area:Oregon Lines:Excerpt Added:11/07/2001

Like a sneaker wave that catches a beachcomber by surprise, California-made methamphetamine swept into the Pacific Northwest, flooding the drug market. Meth traffickers then extended their tentacles into the Midwest.

"It is now not uncommon to find hundreds of major methamphetamine traffickers from Mexico, most of them illegal aliens, established in Boise, Des Moines, Omaha, and other cities in America's heartland, where there has been an explosion of methamphetamine use," states a DEA report.

[continues 335 words]

93US OR: Series: Meth's Path Of Destruction, Part 7 of 7Sun, 04 Nov 2001
Source:Statesman Journal (OR) Author:Gustafson, Alan Area:Oregon Lines:Excerpt Added:11/08/2001

With striking uniformity, Willamette Valley drug agents say that meth now dominates the illegal drug market in places like Oregon City, Woodburn, Salem, Mill City, McMinnville, Independence, Albany, Corvallis and Eugene.

"We see very little heroin here. We don't see much crack or cocaine here. We see a lot of methamphetamine," said Okada, co-commander of the Marion Area Gang and Narcotics Enforcement Team.

Marion County agents seized 28 meth labs and dump sites last year, up from one in 1998 and two in 1999.

[continues 289 words]

94 US CA: $4 Million To Combat Meth UseWed, 07 Nov 2001
Source:Bakersfield Californian (CA) Author:McHenry, Davin Area:California Lines:60 Added:11/08/2001

Kern County will have more than 20 new crime-fighters leading the battle against methamphetamine in the new year, thanks to a $4 million grant from the governor's Office of Criminal Justice Planning.

The grant will be used to hire new staff at the Kern County Sheriff's Department, Probation Department, District Attorney's Office, and police departments in Bakersfield, Taft, Shafter and Delano. In all, the grant should dedicate 22 people to the fight against the drug, including deputies, police officers, a probation officer, a prosecutor and office staff.

[continues 295 words]

95US OR: Series: Meth's Path Of Destruction, IndexSun, 04 Nov 2001
Source:Statesman Journal (OR) Author:Gustafson, Alan Area:Oregon Lines:Excerpt Added:11/08/2001

Part 1: Meth's Path Of Destruction Tears Through Oregon http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1878/a03.html

Part 2: Rural Popularity Makes Meth Treatment Difficult http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1878/a04.html

Part 3: Meth's Addiction Comes From Pleasure Brain Cells http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1878/a05.html

Part 4: Paranoia And Violence Are Part Of Meth's World http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1878/a06.html

Part 5: Drug Officials See Resurgence In 1990s http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1878/a07.html

Part 6: Interstate 5 Is Drug Pipeline http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1878/a08.html

Part 7: Police Struggle To Keep Up With Meth Cases

[end]

96 US WV: Editorial: Ghastly CaseThu, 08 Nov 2001
Source:Charleston Gazette (WV)          Area:West Virginia Lines:44 Added:11/08/2001

THE VAST majority of West Virginia physicians are conscientious practitioners, doing their best to cure illnesses without causing harm. But the whole profession is hurt by nightmares such as a current Mingo County medical mess.

Federal agents and State Police have charged Dr. Armando Acosta, 54, of Williamson, with giving OxyContin painkiller to female patients who didn't need it, getting them addicted to the potent drug, then demanding sex in return for continued prescriptions.

Agents testified that a hidden camera in the doctor's office filmed him having sex with a dozen women. Officers with search warrants say they found hundreds of pre-signed prescription slips in his office, evidently for use in mass drug-dispensing. A federal magistrate found the evidence against the physician "truly scary" and jailed him.

[continues 147 words]

97 Colombia: Wire: Colombia Police: Drug Ring BrokenWed, 07 Nov 2001
Source:Associated Press (Wire) Author:Selsky, Andrew Area:Colombia Lines:40 Added:11/08/2001

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - Colombia's secret police said Wednesday it broke up a cocaine- and weapons-smuggling ring linked to right-wing paramilitaries, but had not arrested any member of the outlawed militia group.

The announcement coincided with the departure of President Andres Pastrana for Washington, where he faces criticism that his government is not doing enough to combat the paramilitary force.

Col. German Jaramillo, director of the secret police, told reporters that 14 people were arrested, including Luis Alberto Castillo, a former mayor of San Bernardo village, located on an island in the Caribbean off Colombia's northwest coast.

[continues 114 words]

98 US: Wire: Group Says FDA Clears Study of EcstasyWed, 07 Nov 2001
Source:Reuters (Wire) Author:Richwine, Lisa Area:United States Lines:88 Added:11/08/2001

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group that advocates the therapeutic use of psychedelic drugs said on Wednesday it had secured federal approval for the first study of Ecstasy, an amphetamine outlawed since 1985, as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.

But the most likely site for such a study, the Medical University of South Carolina, said no decision had been made on whether to approve the research.

"FDA officials ... informed me that the protocol was approved," said Rick Doblin, president and founder of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, in a statement.

[continues 446 words]

99 US CA: Editorial: Compassionate Liberalism On PotWed, 07 Nov 2001
Source:San Francisco Examiner (CA)          Area:California Lines:52 Added:11/08/2001

IF the federal government descends upon every medical marijuana club and user in the state it will be enforcing the law. But it also will be violating the mandate we gave our leaders two months ago to crack down on the real dangers society now faces.

To conservatives who never liked the idea of medical pot, now is the perfect time to eliminate it. The nation, shaken by the threat of terrorism, is more behind President Bush than it ever was or likely will be.

[continues 214 words]

100 CN NS: PUB LTE: Key Differences Over PotThu, 08 Nov 2001
Source:Daily News, The (CN NS) Author:Guihan, Vincent J. Area:Nova Scotia Lines:34 Added:11/08/2001

To the editor:

Pot Bill Won't Survive Vote, by Parker Barss Donham (The Daily News, Nov. 7) highlighted a key issue in which Canadian and U.S. policies diverge from each other.

I think it's safe to say that a growing majority of people in Canada support decriminalization - not putting people in jail for use - though the jury may still be out on legalization.

The Canadian government is aware of this. Maybe when more than 50 per cent of the population is finally in jail in the U.S. and the tax base becomes so depleted that the entire economy is in tatters, the George Ws will see reason.

But let's not hold our breath.

Vincent J. Guihan

Ottawa, Ont.

[end]


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