An angry confrontation between Woody Harrelson and a federal judge erupted Thursday during a marijuana cultivation trial in a Sacramento courtroom, nearly landing the actor in jail. U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. ultimately warned Harrelson, who first gained fame on the "Cheers" sitcom, that he might find himself behind bars if he continued to defy the court. "How do you sleep at night?" Harrelson shot back before stepping down from the witness stand. Harrelson, known for his eco-activism as well as his roles in movies ranging from "Indecent Proposal" to "Natural Born Killers," appeared as a defense witness Thursday in the trial of Trinity County resident B.E. Smith. [continues 844 words]
Some Progress is Being Made, But The Battle Will Require Constant Effort If ever a monster deserved to be attacked from all angles, it is illegal drugs. Two events of the past week highlight different approaches to dealing with the problem, emphasizing the need for responsible citizens to maintain diligence in the fight against drugs. The events: *About 2,000 area students gathered at the Oregon Capitol to clap, cheer and chant "Drug free and proud! *Narcotics officers broke up what they called a major drug- dealing operation, arresting three Salem men while seizing methamphetamines and marijuana. [continues 324 words]
WASHINGTON - In a major policy reversal, the Clinton administration announced today it will release its hold on research-quality marijuana and make it available to scientists who want to study its medical effects. For more than 20 years, the production and distribution of marijuana for clinical research has been restricted under several federal laws and international agreements, making it all but impossible for non-federally funded researchers to obtain it. Scientists must go through a cumbersome and often bureaucratic process to get it, which few have successfully attempted. [continues 404 words]
WHEN Bob Carr promised during the last NSW state election campaign that he would call a drug summit he followed a growing trend in political life. While Carr's 270-person, five-day summit has some individual features, such as its emphasis on "experts" and tours to treatment and referral centres, it is part of a pattern. One aspect of the pattern is that they are frequently called during election campaigns. John Howard committed himself to calling the 1998 Constitutional Convention, on which the Drug Summit was apparently modelled, during the 1996 federal election campaign. Thirteen years earlier, during the 1983 election campaign that brought him to office, Bob Hawke promised to call the National Economic Summit. [continues 766 words]
A proposal to remove jail terms for personal use of cannabis was passed by the NSW Drug Summit last night. The summit also backed a proposal to decriminalise the offence of self-administration of an illegal substance. State Attorney-General Jeff Shaw said the cannabis proposal was not to decriminalise cannabis, rather to remove jail terms for personal use and the introduction of a cautioning system similar to that used in Victoria. ``We have to take the new ideas from this summit and have the courage to test them out in the real world,'' Mr Shaw said. The proposal will remove jail terms for possession and cultivation of small amounts of cannabis as well as possession and sale of equipment like water bongs. Mr Shaw said it would help keep young people out of the criminal justice system. [end]
TOM PARSONS' self-righteous letter (CT, May 17) regarding the "choice" made by those who fall into the trap of addictive drugs surprised and saddened me. To distinguish between those who choose to suffer and those who do not (implicitly labelling people "deserving" or "undeserving") is to forget our humanity. There is nothing noble about a society that ignores the pain and suffering of any particular group of people. Many Australians endanger their health through a lifetime of poor eating habits, inadequate exercise, smoking and excessive consumption of alcohol. These people all "choose" to live in an unhealthy way: do they therefore also "choose" to develop cancer, heart disease and the range of other illnesses that are often directly attributable to an unhealthy lifestyle? Should we therefore refuse to help them, on the grounds that they have made their choices and must live (or die) with them? [continues 58 words]
David L. Glover rolls pennies to fund legal effort A North Vancouver man who was shot by a Mountie in a drug raid in 1990 will not have to pay the officer's legal costs. David Lorne Glover, 40, lost a civil suit against Cpl. Glenn Magark in March. On Monday, B.C. Supreme Court Madam Justice M. Marvin Koenigsberg ruled that Glover did not have to pay Magark's legal costs. "It is a small victory at last," said Glover. "They shot me and nearly killed me and they were going to sue me for court costs." [continues 513 words]
WASHINGTON -- In a major policy reversal, the Clinton administration is expected to announce today that it will release its hold on research-quality marijuana and make it available to scientists who want to study its medical effects. For more than 20 years, the production and distribution of marijuana for clinical research has been restricted under several federal laws and international agreements, making it all but impossible for nonfederally funded researchers to obtain it. Scientists must go through a cumbersome and often bureaucratic process to get it, which few have successfully tried. [continues 358 words]
PORTLAND, Ore. - A Portland woman with multiple sclerosis will be the first to obtain a state-issued medical marijuana permit card. Janelle Bluhm will receive the registration card, which costs patients $150, Friday morning in the lobby of the Oregon Health Division in Portland. Supporters say Oregon's law, which voters approved last November, gives doctors clear guidelines on when to prescribe the drug to seriously ill patients. Dr. Rick Bayer, chief petitioner for Measure 67, will appear with Bluhm at a news conference after she receives her permit. [continues 91 words]
Haight's Hippie History Proves To Be A Bit Fuzzy On Details The story is legendary, the rehabilitation center is nice, but just one thing is wrong: The new home for drug-addicted mothers on Lyon Street wasn't actually rocker Janis Joplin's house. It was the one next door. Really. Blame the mixup on rock 'n' roll's drug-hazed, oversaturated history, especially when it comes to San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury. And even more especially when it comes to the district's one-block stretch of Lyon where Golden Gate Community's new 20-bed rehab center will open next month -- and where the famously screaming rocker actually lived in 1967 and 1968. [continues 739 words]
Having read several articles on heroin in the UK recently, I can't help but wonder why we ever stopped prescribing heroin to registered addicts -- a practice now having successful trials in Switzerland and the Netherlands. The Netherlands have a comparatively minor problem with heroin compared to Britain and most other Western European countries. One of the main points of the policy which has enabled this relative success was the setting up of 'coffee shops' over 20 years ago, along with a sensible education policy. The 'coffee shops' effectively decriminalised cannabis and separated the market for cannabis from that of hard drugs. Another of the mainstays of their policy is to treat addiction as a medical and social problem and not a criminal problem -- which has led to the trial prescribing of heroin. [continues 82 words]
