The Prime Minister's hand-picked advisory body on drugs has been told the Government will never support a heroin trial and is not interested in receiving contrary advice, despite most of the council's 15 members favouring the option. The Government's intransigence has forced the council not to adopt any policy on a trial, giving its prohibitionist chairman, the Salvation Army's Major Brian Watters, free rein to oppose the trial publicly in a personal capacity. It is understood that at least two council members are now considering resigning after Mr Howard's social policy adviser, Mr John Perrin, confirmed the Government's closed mind at a council meeting in Hobart this week. [continues 482 words]
SACRAMENTO -- With a 20-member task force firmly in place to make sure the state's controversial medicinal marijuana law will benefit only cancer and other needy patients, Attorney General Bill Lockyer is turning his sights on Washington, where he hopes to persuade officials to change federal drug laws. Lockyer said Tuesday he and attorneys general from other West Coast states with similar laws will meet next month with federal officials to discuss reclassifying marijuana as a drug that can be prescribed, under tight control, by physicians. The reclassification is crucial to enacting California's controversial Proposition 215, the 1996 initiative approved by voters to allow doctors to prescribe marijuana for medicinal purposes. [continues 342 words]
AFTER 25 years of an oppressive, costly and yet ineffective drug war, the election in 1993 of President Clinton -- who grew up in the '60s -- held out hope that a humane drug policy would emerge. But now it appears that change will occur only when the people come to a consensus that it's time to try something else. Such a consensus appears to be developing. Associated Press (Feb. 8) broke the news that the Clinton administration is announcing a five-part plan to cut the nation's drug problem in half by 2007. The president's optimistic message, however, is not convincing, considering the sad history of expensive federal drug programs and the reactionary mentality of his drug policy director, Barry McCaffrey. [continues 560 words]
Regarding the editorial ``A major florida focus on drug use'' (Feb. 10): The editorial states, ``Drug use is not a victimless crime. Besides the horrific physical and emotional damage illegal drugs do to the individual and his or her family, the addiction almost invariably leads to crime.'' This statement overlooks the fact that the great majority of instances of drug use are victimless, since they cause little or no damage nor addiction nor crime. A similar situation exists with alcohol: If one simply looks at skid row alcoholics and those admitted to hospitals with alcohol-related problems, then alcohol becomes a killer and a crime producer. Ignoring the truth about drug use would be the equivalent of ignoring the great majority who use alcohol responsibly. If it is more difficult to use illicit drugs ``responsibly,'' this is a function not of the drugs but of their prohibition. [end]
OREGON, Ohio (AP) -- A quadriplegic who was convicted three years ago of growing marijuana in his backyard for medicinal purposes is facing another drug charge. Police in this Toledo suburb have charged Daniel Asbury, 42, of Oregon, with felony drug possession after he allegedly received three pounds of marijuana in the mail from a supplier in Sweden. A police detective dressed in a postal uniform delivered the package addressed to Asbury on Jan. 4 after U.S. Customs Service officials intercepted it. [continues 254 words]
A Labour backbencher will urge ministers today to allow doctors to prescribe cannabis for medical purposes. Paul Flynn, the MP for Newport West, will argue that sufferers of illnesses such as multiple sclerosis, Aids and cancer should be able to use the drug to reduce pain. While the Government had given permission for cannabis to undergo laboratory tests to see if it could be licensed as a medicine, research would take at least five years, he will say. "The tens of thousands of multiple sclerosis, Aids and cancer sufferers should not have to wait that long for a natural medicine which has been used by millions of people for thousands of years. They want the medicine of their choice now so they can get pain relief, so that they can get a good night's sleep, or so they can stop feeling nauseous from the side-effects of chemotherapy." [continues 95 words]
A French investigating judge must decide this week whether to start formal proceedings against the Cuban leader, Fidel Castro, for drug dealing and crimes against humanity. The case - brought by two Cuban exiles and a French photographer in the wake of the Pinochet affair - has already caused considerable embarrassment to the French government. The Justice Ministry has made clear it wants nothing to do with the allegations, because President Castro is regarded as a "friend of France". None the less, substantial prima facie evidence of the involvement of the Cuban regime in cocaine trafficking - including smuggling through the port of Marseilles - has been presented to the examining magistrate in charge of the case. [continues 477 words]
In "Through the Looking Glass," the White Queen announces a new legal doctrine: "Punish first and then get on with the trial." Mayor Rudolph Giuliani seems ready to emulate this logic. First he announced that New York City would seize the cars of people accused of drunk driving and return the cars if the people were acquitted. Then he decided he'd keep the cars of those acquitted as well. "Let's say somebody is acquitted," the Mayor explained, "and it's one of those acquittals in which the person was guilty, but there is just not quite enough evidence." So now the Mayor gets to decide who is "really" guilty, never mind the evidence or a jury's unanimous decision. [continues 377 words]
A former Oak Creek High School teacher pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges that he grew marijuana in an elaborate setup in the basement of his Franklin home. Paul Langhoff Soik pleaded guilty to two counts after abandoning his bid to get the case thrown out of court by contending that his estranged wife was involved in the tip that led police to his marijuana. Soik, through his attorneys Martin E. Kohler and John C. Thomure Jr., contended in a pretrial motion they withdrew Tuesday that Soik's estranged wife gave a videotape depicting his basement marijuana setup to a "concerned citizen" who subsequently provided it to police. [continues 303 words]
OLYMPIA - The Seattle doctor who sponsored Washington's voter-approved law legalizing the medical use of marijuana said he's wary of legislative attempts to "clarify" the measure's impact. Initiative 692, approved by 59 percent of voters in November, allows people suffering from certain terminal and debilitating illnesses to grow and smoke pot. Physicians who advise qualifying patients about the risks and benefits of marijuana use also are protected from prosecution. But state prosecutors, sheriffs and police chiefs are looking for more guidance. [continues 567 words]
A judge decided to keep Danny 'Gamble' Steele out of state prison for his own protection from co-defendants. Danny "Gamble" Steele doesn't have to worry about further retribution from his co-defendants, Tysheem "Ty Boogie" Crocker and Melvin Shakem "Fat Back" Bethune, in a 1997 street slaying during a showdown between feuding drug-dealing crews. A judge Monday sentenced the 21-year-old former New York resident to 2 1/2 to five years in prison - but is allowing Steele to complete the minimum term in the county jail where he been an inmate for more than 15 months. [continues 680 words]
