Jan. 28 - A Genesee man who allegedly killed three people in a car accident while high on marijuana will get a reduced sentence today because it's difficult to prove that mood-altering drugs impair drivers, a prosecutor said. Jay Tankersley, 21, of Genesee, was originally charged with three counts of vehicular homicide and one count of vehicular assault in connection with the 1997 accident. But the charge was reduced to one count of negligent homicide, and Tankersley will be offered probation and a maximum of 90 days in jail or two years on work or education release, said Jeff Lindsey, deputy district attorney in the 11th Judicial District. [continues 535 words]
Crime: The 16-year-old girl-also an athlete-allegedly committed holdups to feed a $200-a-day habit. Berkley, Mich-A high school honor student and gymnast in this Detroit suburb has been charged with armed robbery and is a suspect in several others, allegedly committed to support a heroin habit. Sarah Plumb, 16, is in a juvenile lockup, awaiting trial as an adult on charges that could land her a life prison sentence. [continues 322 words]
THE gangland assassination of a Dublinman on Wednesday night was the second underworld killing this year, sparking fears of a renewed round of criminal in-fighting. The shooting comes within three weeks of the murder of John Dillon, a 53-year-old small-time Dublin criminal who had previously been involved in armed bank raids. Dillon was shot several times at point-blank range at the door of his home in Finglas. The latest victim, 44-year-old Pascal Boland, was also known to gardai, for bank robberies in the 1980s, and as a drug dealer with a northside Dublin gang. He was shot six times outside his home. [continues 728 words]
Colombian killings raise doubts about help for military SAN PABLO, Colombia -- A spate of massacres by right-wing paramilitary groups in Colombia has posed a new challenge to the Clinton administration's policy of combating the country's rampant drug trade by increasing aid to the Colombian police and military, officials say. Despite concerns about human rights abuses, U.S. assistance to the Colombian army and police has been growing rapidly, in large part to help combat resurgent leftist guerrillas who protect drug traffickers. Colombia supplies 80 percent of the world's cocaine supply and two-thirds of the heroin consumed in the United States. [continues 392 words]
Prozac has changed people's lives and transformed the medical profession's approach to mental health. Elizabeth Wurtzel, author of Prozac Nation and one of the early beneficiaries of the drug, assesses its legacy 10 years after it first became available to her When I woke up this morning - and let's be honest here, it was more like this afternoon - I began my day by swallowing two Prozac capsules. I also took some lithium, the salt substance that was long ago established as an antidote to manic depression and other mood disorders. On top of that I had a pink caplet called Depakote, the brand name for valproic acid, an anti-seizure remedy once prescribed for epilepsy, but now used to combat mood swings. And finally, I chased down the other pills with a blood-pressure medication called atenolol - my 92-year-old grandmother also takes this - to alleviate the Parkinson's-like handshake that I get from taking all these drugs. [continues 1695 words]
TEHRAN, Iran - Anti-drug agents seized several tons of drugs in eastern and southeastern Iran, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported Sunday. It said 6,700 pounds of opium, 1,050 pounds of hashish, 110 pounds of morphine and 110 pounds of heroin were seized from drug traffickers in several raids. Agents also confiscated more than 300 pounds of opium in a separate operation in the northwestern city of Salmas, the agency said. IRNA did not say when the drug raids occurred or if any arrests were made. [continues 69 words]
Republican leaders in the House plan to survey their members today to gauge their support for creating life prison sentences for people who sell methamphetamine to minors. Lawmakers are scheduled to discuss the life imprisonment issue and other proposals during a budget subcommittee meeting today, House Speaker Ron Corbett, R-Cedar Rapids, said Monday. Bipartisan unity in the fight against methamphetamine began to fall apart last week when differences emerged between the plan drafted by lawmakers and Gov. Tom Vilsack's proposal. Vilsack campaigned on the notion that people who sell the highly addictive drug to children should be sent to prison for life, but his plan released last week would have narrowed the scope of the bill. [continues 138 words]
HAVANA -- Cuba, once considered off-limits to drug trafficking, is confronting a noticeable narcotics problem amid signs that the island has become a conduit for multi-ton shipments of cocaine. At first, police in Colombia thought it was an anomaly on Dec. 3 when they seized a 7.2-ton load of cocaine packed in shipping containers and bound for Cuba. But Colombian authorities are now certain that smugglers have utilized Cuba as a major transshipment point for cocaine before. "No one dares to send 7 tons at one blow unless they've tested the route," said a Colombian law enforcement source who spoke on condition of anonymity. [continues 912 words]
MELBOURNE---Jim Courier said Tuesday after winning his first-round match at the Australian Open that he believed the biggest drug problem in tennis was not the sort of steroids that were found in Petr Korda's body but the use of endurance-boosting substances like EPO, the substance that was at the heart of the Tour de France scandal last July. "I don't think strength is the answer in tennis," Courier said. "I mean, it's a component for sure, but if brute strength were the answer we would all be weightlifters in the locker room, which is not the case. [continues 418 words]
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. When it comes to college, Mom and Dad often pay the bills and Junior has the fun, partying without having to worry about a scolding for staying out too late or drinking too much. Now, Junior may have to start worrying. Congress amended federal confidentiality laws last year to give universities the option of telling parents when students under 21 violate campus codes on drugs or alcohol. Some schools -- including the University of Delaware, Indiana University, Penn State and most colleges in Virginia -- have already put notification policies in place. [continues 616 words]
Pain triggers the release of a marijuana-like chemical called anandamide deep in the brain that works as a natural pain reliever, report US researchers. The finding ``may have relevance for the treatment of pain, particularly in instances where opiates are ineffective,'' according to a report published in the October 12th issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. For the first time, anandamide levels were measured in rat brains using a sensitive method for detecting cannabinoids (marijuana-like compounds), according to J. Michael Walker and colleagues at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. [continues 164 words]
Pumped and pompadoured in a uniform dripping with embroidery, the figure standing ramrod straight at the door, pen in hand, could have been Warden Duffy, Dan Lungren or Gray Davis. Remembering that Duffy had been called to the big Big House in the sky some time ago and pretty sure that Lungren was working as an altar boy somewhere, I concluded the visitor had to be Davis, the law-and-order chief executive of the state. "Whaddaya think of that?" he snarled, jabbing the pen sharply into my solar plexus. [continues 489 words]
A coke pusher who crushed a city cop's leg while fleeing a drug bust had two years tacked onto his prison term yesterday. Judge Douglas McDonald said he didn't accept Thavrin Kim's claim it was an accident. The provincial court judge accepted Crown prosecutor Cindy Peters' submission that Kim's cumulative sentence should be five years. Kim, 24, was sentenced to three years in August for trying to sell cocaine to an undercover police officer last June 16. [continues 246 words]
When will Kern and other California counties realize the injustices of the Three Strikes law, as it is applied today? When will the people of California realize the power we have given our judicial system is being terribly abused? Our judges and prosecutors are taking a free hand in choosing who will be sentenced under the Three Strikes law. The Three Strikes law was and is written for the violent offender. Why do we allow the murderer, the child molester or the rapist back out into our society after a short sentence? Yet we will take a minor offender out of our society for a term of 25 to life for petty theft or for a minor drug offense. [continues 135 words]
I am so incensed by the comments of an earlier letter writer that I had to write. How could he know the grief and stress parents, mates and children feel when their loved one goes to prison for 25 years to life for a non-violent felony? To top it off, he would bet that just seeing a loved one habitually appearing in court would be even more stressful. Bull! For one thing families, especially parents, always have hope -- hope that their son or daughter will straighten up and lead productive lives no matter how many times they appear in court. Even if the non-violent offender repeatedly goes to jail, they will usually have them back in their life in one to three years. Many repeat offenders don't grow up until they are 35 or more. [continues 111 words]
This is in response to a recent letter, "Three Strikes target wrong crimes." I, too, voted for the Three Strikes law, with the expectation that all, not just a chosen few who committed repeated crimes, would be locked up for an extensive length of time. This would ensure the public's safety by ridding the streets of habitual criminals. I don't regret voting for the Three Strikes. I only wish the appeal system would be limited to the same number. Mary Gatti, Bakersfield [continues 5 words]
BOGOTA, Colombia, Oct. 13 - Thirty-one alleged drug traffickers, including a co-founder of the notorious Medellin cartel and a high-tech smuggling magnate, were arrested today in an international dragnet that officials described as one of the biggest blows ever against the drug trade. Colombia's national police chief, Gen. Rosso Jose Serrano, pledged that the main suspects will be extradited to the United States, a promise that U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno welcomed in Washington. No Colombian national has been extradited to the United States to stand trial since 1991. [continues 767 words]
Police seized more than a million Ecstasy pills and arrested 49 people in the Netherlands, Israel and other countries in a sweep carried out by hundreds of officers, Israeli authorities said Tuesday. The police estimate that the drug ring manufactured and distributed tens of tons of narcotics, supplying the drugs to Western Europe, Israel and the United States. There were 25 arrests in Holland, eight in Israel and the remaining 16 in other countries. [continues 5 words]
Robert Downey Jr.'s pleas for a lighter sentence and release from a prison drug treatment center were rejected Tuesday. Judge Lawrence A. Mira called the actor manipulative and said he had already given him several chances to rehabilitate himself. Downey, 34, was sentenced in August to three years in prison for violating probation from a 1996 drug conviction. He admitted during a hearing that he had missed scheduled drug tests. [continues 5 words]
WASHINGTON -- Two men considered leaders of what was once the world's largest illegal drug operation were among 30 people arrested in Colombia on Wednesday in a major sting, U.S. officials said. "It is as if we have removed the CEOs of several major corporations who had joined together in a major conspiracy," Attorney General Janet Reno said at a news conference. The arrests came from a joint investigation by the United States and Colombia, dubbed Operation Millennium. Officials called the arrests the biggest blow to Colombian trafficking since 1995 when arrests splintered the powerful Cali cartel. [continues 546 words]
Oakland -- A 50-year-old man has been sentenced to three years in state prison after pleading guilty to charges that he operated a marijuana farm near Oakland's Auto Row commercial district. According to his attorney, Stephen Mario Barsotti, 50, entered his guilty plea to possession of marijuana for sale and cultivation of marijuana October 5, six days after he surrendered to police. In exchange for the suspect's plea, four other counts of marijuana cultivation and possession for sale were dismissed, said defense attorney Penny Cooper of Emeryville. On August 31, a burglar alarm led police to the discovery of hydroponic growing equipment and 2,000 marijuana plants worth as much as $2 million at a small warehouse on 29th Street in Oakland. (c)1999 San Francisco Chronicle Page C14 [end]
The most fascinating aspect of the Chronicle Oct. 10 article about New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson is the way his critique of the war on drugs has panicked both the national Republican Party and drug czar, Gen. Barry McCaffrey ("N.M. governor's drug stand stirs furor"). If the war on drugs, in its current form, is both necessary and wise, who cares what one maverick governor mutters about it? But that's a big if. But if the point of the war on drugs is to imprison historically unprecedented numbers of mostly non-white Americans, to guarantee the growth of and profit for the prison-industrial complex and to turn America into a police-state of ignored and forgotten constitutional rights, Gov. Johnson's critiques certainly can't be tolerated. There's far too much at stake. Robert Markin, Houston [end]
As the first elected official I've heard speak out against the "war on drugs," the Republican governor of New Mexico, Gary Johnson, is brave, wise and deserving of praise. Maybe he's just wise, but probably he is also strong since he told the truth while so many others just go along with it. The "drug czar," Gen. Barry McCaffrey, said just the other day in front of a Senate committee that the worst problem this country has is the teen-agers smoking marijuana. Now, who believes that? [continues 58 words]
Law Aimed At Ending Sales To Teens Not Enforced, Study Concludes WASHINGTON (AP) -- A 1992 law aimed at ending sales of cigarettes and other tobacco products to minors through rigorous state-level checking has not been adequately enforced, a private analysis says. Most states and U.S. territories have neglected to investigate properly if their own laws prohibiting the sale of tobacco to minors are followed and to prosecute when the laws are broken, said the study, released Wednesday and published in The Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, a journal of the American Medical Association. [continues 184 words]
Six days a week, Jeffrey Bilek battles morning traffic from Lynnwood to Seattle for a single sip of salvation: 80 milligrams of methadone in a plastic cup. But beginning this week, the round trip that used to take 90 minutes takes less than an hour. Yesterday, Bilek drank his dose not at a downtown Seattle building, as usual, but in a Winnebago Adventurer parked in North Seattle. "I'm thrilled about it," said Bilek, a recovering heroin addict who has been on methadone for a year. "Not only is it more convenient for me, but it helps serve more people in the community." [continues 508 words]
For just a few moments, I was blissed out like a Beatle playing the sitar. Allan Rock, the health minister, put me in that Nirvana last week when he announced that 14 sick or dying people wouldn't be busted, 'cuffed, and locked up if they used marijuana to ease their suffering. Such compassion. Rock spoke of humanity and felt everyone's pain. He was enlightened. He was a maharishi in a silk tie. He was Gandhi in pinstripes. But then I made a phone call and dropped to earth like a tequila drinker who eats the worm. I spoke with John Klaver, a 51-year-old veteran of the Edmonton fire department, who, in three decades of service built an impressive resume: decorated, held rank of captain, worked as fire investigator. But he may soon have to add another line: convicted drug criminal. [continues 685 words]
The head of the New Mexico Police Chiefs Association said Wednesday his group wants to publicly debate Gov. Gary Johnson on whether legalizing drugs is a good idea. "We're willing to sit down anytime he is," said Grants Police Chief Fred Radosevich, president of the group, which has about 80 members from around the state. Radosevich said Johnson "hasn't sat down with anyone in New Mexico to discuss it. The chiefs association is going to send him a letter saying we're more than willing to discuss the issues with him." [continues 334 words]
I want a Drug Free America. I also want a Lexus GS400 and a two-bedroom apartment in Manhattan, but I won't be getting those anytime soon, if ever. Is the drug war over yet, or are we still banging our heads against the wall? First, before you jump to conclusions and assume this article is about legalizing drugs, ask yourself these questions: Did I know anyone in high school who used illegal drugs? Do I know anyone now who uses illegal drugs? Do I use illegal drugs? [continues 656 words]
A heroin dealer gave the Rev. Eugene Rivers the best reason criminals, rather than the church, are more adept at reaching troubled kids. "I'm there when Johnny goes out for a loaf of bread for Mama," Rivers recalls one dealer telling him during a tour of Boston's Four Corners neighborhood. "I'm there; you're not. It's all about being there." "What he was saying is that the church was not out there on the streets, and he was absolutely right," Rivers said Monday from his home in Boston. "We had failed to be there. We had failed to do the three M's -- monitor, minister and mentor." [continues 305 words]
A 34-year-old Meriden man who owns a downtown Ansonia "head shop" was being held on $3.5 million bond Friday after being arraigned on 71 drug and sexual assault charges. Scott V. Adams, who owns The Looking Glass at 76 Main St., was arrested by Meriden police Thursday night on a warrant. Adams was charged with multiple counts of sexual assault, narcotics possession and distribution, and inducing a minor to sell prescription drugs, said Meriden Police Sgt. Lenny Caponigro. [continues 347 words]
This week, under the smokescreen of "an adult approach to drug policy," the libertarian Cato Institute is hosting a "who's who" of those who want to make drugs legal in America. The term "reform" is, in this case, a subterfuge. At base, the goal of these individuals is not to reform our drug laws, but to do away with these laws and legalize dangerous drugs. If there is any doubt about the goals of these individuals take them at their words. New Mexico's Gov. Gary Johnson, the conference's keynote speaker, has called for legalization of drugs including heroin and marijuana. Mr. Johnson has gone so far as to call cocaine, a drug that destroys millions of lives, "wonderful." His unwillingness to recognize the suffering caused by drug abuse is underscored by his veto of millions of dollars worth of drug treatment funds - money that would have helped New Mexicans with drug addictions to reclaim their lives. [continues 757 words]
When you vote in the Alma Mater Society (AMS) referendum this week, think about this: of the three questions on the ballot, the one that's generated the most word of mouth (that would be question number three, on the legalisation of marijuana) is by far the least important. A health and dental plan? That's important. Student services? That's important, too. But legalising pot? Yeah, it's important, but this is the wrong time and forum to ask the question. Right now, it's a gimmick. [continues 497 words]
From Sam Kiley In Jerusalem ISRAELI and Dutch police have smashed an international drug ring that used ultra-Orthodox Jews as couriers through Belgium, The Netherlands, France, Israel and the United States, exploiting their renowned piety and traditional garb to carry Ecstasy tablets past customs agents. The key to breaking the ring, allegedly run by two Israelis based in Europe, was the work of an Israeli undercover agent, who spent ten months in The Netherlands. He is said to have bought 600,000 Ecstasy tablets from the main suspect in an investigation that has so far led to the arrests of 41 people in Europe and eight in Israel. [continues 114 words]
BOGOTA, Colombia -- A leader of the once-powerful Medellin cartel was among 30 people arrested yesterday and slated for extradition to the United States in what authorities described as the biggest blow to Colombian drug trafficking since 1995. In a separate, unrelated operation, U.S. drug officials in Puerto Rico announced the arrests of 1,290 lower-level trafficking suspects in 15 countries and the seizure of more than two dozen drug-running boats in a two-week operation, mostly in the Caribbean. [continues 282 words]
ANSONIA -- City and health officials believe an $80,912 federal grant will go a long way toward highlighting the dangers associated with underage drinking and drug use. "Alcohol, tobacco and marijuana are the three most prevalent substances being used by Valley youth today," said Pamela Jones, director of the Valley Substance Abuse Action Council, who was notified this week the grant for the agency had been secured by U.S. Rep. James Maloney, D-5. "The money will be used as part of a three-pronged approach to combat substance abuse." [continues 250 words]
POLITICIANS speak out boldly for peace, prosperity and subsidies for Iowa and New Hampshire residents. They pledge to cut government waste, preserve Social Security, end crime, heal the sick, educate the children and, of course, get tough on drugs. When real political leadership is needed, they wimp out. Usually. New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson is providing an example of political courage by saying out loud what many have been saying in private: The war on drugs is a high-priced failure, the conservative Republican says. It's time to talk about legalizing drugs. [continues 707 words]
Re; `Study shows brain produces natural marijuana,' Calgary Herald, Oct.12. Now that scientists have discovered a new brain secretion that mimics a pain relieving agent found in marijuana, it's only a matter of time before thinking is outlawed and people risk federal forfeiture of their heads. But some people have already forfeited their minds to the government: they're known as drug war supporters. Jeff Goodman Eagan, Minn. [end]
James Bovard's commentary (Opinion, Oct. 6) is aptly titled "We're fighting the drug war on the wrong front." But, it's not limited to one front. For starters, it's time to drop the term "drug war." The "war" mentality discourages dialogue, mediation and reason. It implies that there exists an enemy that can only be defeated by force. If that's so, we are our own worst enemy. The failure of the fight against drugs has lead to a militarization of the nation's police force. It has also contributed to the criminalization of people whose current conduct is no more illegal than those who engaged in liquor consumption during Prohibition. This criminalization has fallen largely along racial lines, aggravating the damage to an entire generation of African-Americans. [continues 78 words]
A man who police say had a swimming pool full of dope argued yesterday that an illegal search warrant violated his rights. James Scott MacGillivray, 49, was charged with cultivation and possession of marijuana after city detectives raided his acreage near Sherwood Park on June 2, 1998. More than 250 pot plants were seized from the bungalow, mostly from an indoor swimming pool that had been drained of water, cops testified in Edmonton's Court of Queen's Bench. Drug squad Det. Clayton Sach told the court that a tipster called April 9 to say that a long-haired man resembling a biker had an indoor pool full of pot. Sach said he then did a motor-vehicle check on the suspect's name and phoned TransAlta to discover how much power was being consumed at the acreage. He got the warrant June 2. [continues 76 words]
Santa Fe County Sheriff Ray Sisneros angrily called for Gov. Gary Johnson's resignation Wednesday, saying the Republican leader's campaign for legalization of drugs, including heroin, "is giving the wrong impression to the young people." "That is such an irresponsible position that I think the idiot should resign," Sisneros, a Democrat, said in a telephone interview. "He ought to go to Las Vegas (state hospital) for a psychiatric evaluation, or claim mental disability and let the lieutenant governor take over." [continues 597 words]
A federal appeals court decision that could allow some seriously ill patients to use marijuana has won the endorsement of state Attorney General Bill Lockyer, who wants the Clinton administration to drop its objections. In a letter last week to U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, made public Thursday by supporters of an AIDS patient who wants to use the drug, Lockyer urged the government not to appeal the precedent-setting Sept. 13 ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The 3-0 ruling indicated ``medical necessity,'' the need to violate a law to prevent more serious harm, would be a valid defense to the prosecution of a marijuana patient or provider under federal drug laws. [continues 505 words]
WASHINGTON, Oct 13 (Reuters Health) - The US House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation Tuesday that would tighten federal controls over substances used as 'date rape' drugs. The "Hillory J. Farias Date-Rape Prevention Drug Act" - named for a Texas teenager who died in 1996 after the 'date rape' drug gamma hydroxybutric acid (GHB) was slipped into her soft drink - was approved by a vote of 423-1. The drug has been linked to assaults on young women, who are often rendered unconscious by it. An overdose can cause life-threatening changes in heart rate and blood pressure. [continues 154 words]
PHOENIX - Arizona voters likely will be asked to make the penalty for possession of small amounts of marijuana little more than an expensive traffic ticket. An initiative effort that kicked off yesterday would make possession of up to 2 ounces of pot punishable by a fine of no more than $500. In fact, police officers could not arrest someone who showed valid identification; they would instead be required to issue citations to appear in court. [continues 589 words]
Supporters of medical marijuana are heading back to the ballot box, seeking a state distribution network for the drug and reductions in sentences for possession. Opponents shouted, "I told you so!" charging that the measure is another thinly veiled step toward decriminalization of not just marijuana, but all drugs. The initiative, filed Wednesday, also would require law enforcement agencies to turn over all assets forfeited by criminals in drug cases for use on drug prevention, treatment and anti-gang programs. [continues 605 words]
WASHINGTON - Florida's efforts seem to be paying off, in marked contrast to the national picture. For teens trying to buy cigarettes illegally, Florida is not the place to be. The Sunshine State leads the nation in cracking down on tobacco sales to minors, a medical researcher reported Wednesday. ``Florida has hired a dozen or more full-time inspectors who go out every day of the year'' to find retailers who violate the law banning tobacco sales to those younger than 18, said Joseph R. DiFranza of the University of Massachusetts Medical School. [continues 243 words]
WASHINGTON - U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno proposed Thursday that special courts be set up to supervise a prisoner's return to the community, an effort aimed at preventing repeat crimes by the 500,000 inmates who get out of state prisons each year. Reno said at her weekly Justice Department news briefing that local officials would be asked to submit their ideas in creating ``reentry courts,'' and they would see if the idea helps keep high-risk offenders from committing new crimes. [continues 201 words]
Attorneys for Prince George's County are asking a federal judge to block a former employee of the county's police drug lab--who in a lawsuit challenging her dismissal alleges widespread irregularities in testing at the facility--from obtaining further information about the lab's practices. Allegations by the chemist, Kellie Lynn Campbell, about the quality of work performed at the lab have led defense attorneys to challenge the lab's findings in more than 100 drug cases in Prince George's County courts. [continues 370 words]
WASHINGTON (AP) - A request for information from a House subcommittee cost the White House's drug policy office $10,000 and brought its operations to a near halt for the last two weeks, the head of the office said Thursday. An angry Barry McCaffrey, President Clinton's chief adviser on drug control policy, told the panel he was offended at the suggestion that his office had not been responsive to requests for details about its $185 million media campaign, including television and radio announcements, to persuade teen-agers to stay away from illegal drugs. [continues 309 words]
A 23-year-old Elk Grove Village man pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges he manufactured more than 1,100 pounds of a dangerous but increasingly popular drug among teens in the suburbs. John Keith Dilg was the first person in the Chicago area to face federal charges for making massive quantities of the drug known as GHB, or the date rape drug. Dilg made the drug at his parent's Elk Grove Village home and at his apartment at Southern Illinois University in what authorities said was one of the largest GHB productions they've ever witnessed. [continues 1037 words]
BOGOTA, Colombia, Oct. 13 - Thirty-one alleged drug traffickers, including a co-founder of the notorious Medellin cartel and a high-tech smuggling magnate, were arrested today in an international dragnet that officials described as one of the biggest blows ever against the drug trade. Colombia's national police chief, Gen. Rosso Jose Serrano, pledged that the main suspects will be extradited to the United States, a promise that U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno welcomed in Washington. No Colombian national has been extradited to the United States to stand trial since 1991. [continues 1635 words]
