In 1998 the Drug Enforcement Administration sent its Mobile Enforcement Team into Benton Harbor, Mich., while state troopers patrolled the crime-ridden streets. With 42 arrests, the DEA struck a major blow at the drug ring responsible for some 90 percent of violent crime in the city. In congressional testimony the following year, the DEA boasted: "After the intervention of law enforcement officers. . . . Benton Harbor was being brought back to life. . . . They brought a sense of stability to the area." This was wishful thinking. Not only has there been no lasting effect on the drug trade, resentment of outside law enforcement in Benton Harbor recently has exploded into riots. Residents of the crime-ridden and depressed city see police as an occupying force. [continues 609 words]
MANILA, Philippines (AP) - President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo admitted shortcomings in the war on drugs yesterday as police busted what they called a major amphetamine (shabu) lab and arrested four Chinese and two Filipinos. Speaking at a meeting yesterday with relatives of addicts in Malacanang, Arroyo said "the proliferation of drugs shows government's failure to effectively enforce the law," but assured that she was pushing the campaign against the problem. She reiterated that she has set aside a P1-billion (US$18.7-million) war chest against illegal drugs, a tenfold increase from previous funding. [continues 1162 words]
If someone can explain to us the magical mystery tour that passes for Ottawa's marijuana policy these days, we'd love to hear it. On the one hand, with much silly nudging and winking -- including lame jokes by Prime Minister Jean Chretien -- the Liberals are moving to decriminalize pot. But on the other, Health Minister Anne McLellan had to be dragged kicking and screaming by the courts into supplying pot to those who need it for medical reasons. What's created is an impression of a government working to make marijuana more accessible to everyone -- the practical effect of decriminalization -- except for those who need it. [continues 271 words]
Oregon has been a leader in this nation for many things that I am proud of, including the Oregon Health Plan, Death with Dignity Act and medical marijuana. A sales tax that voters have repeatedly voted against is not the answer. Creating new jobs in a jobless recovery, in both agricultural and industrial sectors, would be a step in the right direction. Several democratic countries now bolster their economies with tens of billions of dollars in the growing and manufacturing of hemp products. States already possessing a sales tax are examining the possibilities of doing the same. Farmers' groups are recommending it, and it could bring Eastern and Western Oregon back together again since the fall of the timber market. Eric Hamblen, North Portland [end]
BACOLOD City Police Director George Bajelot said he believes that some personnel of the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) are using illegal drugs. This came after reports that some policemen in Western Visayas are being tagged as protectors of the alleged drug lords. But Bajelot insisted that Bacolod policemen are not into protecting alleged drug lords in the region. He added that should there be any BCPO personnel linked to the drug lords, they would be properly investigated. He added that they are intensifying the campaign against illegal drugs in the city. [continues 162 words]
A rabbit's foot, a wedding ring, a photo of the kids - the little things in life that people keep close by. For Angel McClary Raich, it's a blue- and gold-flecked glass pipe packed full of sticky green marijuana. ``My whole life depends on cannabis,'' the gaunt 37-year-old says unapologetically, the thin pipe held tight between her bony fingers. "It's my medicine. I would die without it." Raich, the wife of a prominent Oakland attorney and mother of two teenagers, is a medical marijuana patient. Every two hours, she either smokes, eats or inhales marijuana through a vaporizer, consuming more than eight pounds of cannabis a year. She cooks with thick green marijuana olive oil and is massaged with a creamy hemp balm. [continues 1605 words]
How to Emigrate to Canada i used to think Vancouver had a skunk infestation problem. Being new to the city, I couldn't understand why every back alley and open window offered up dank puffs of smoke much like that green cloud that followed Pepe Le Pew around in Looney Tunes cartoons. I became obsessed with the idea that I had unknowingly moved to a town that smelled like N-bulymercaptan until, finally, a friend said, "Dude, it's the B.C. bud. Shut up already." [continues 1427 words]
