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1US CA: Editorial: Medical Pot Wins, AgainThu, 18 Dec 2003
Source:San Francisco Chronicle (CA)          Area:California Lines:Excerpt Added:12/18/2003

ALTHOUGH it may be short-lived, the federal court ruling this week on medical marijuana offered a ray of encouragement to those who advocate for its clinical use and a signal to the U.S. Justice Department to rethink its heavy-handed policy of punishing those who use or cultivate pot only to alleviate human suffering and pain.

The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco dealt at least a temporary setback Tuesday to the government's effort to derail the state's medical marijuana law, ruling 2-1 in favor of two women who, with doctors' advice, use locally grown pot to ease many physical discomforts, including pain from a brain tumor.

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2 US FL: Editorial: Task Force Is A Good StartThu, 18 Dec 2003
Source:Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL)          Area:Florida Lines:51 Added:12/18/2003

Prescription drugs when abused can kill and debilitate just as readily as street drugs. It's estimated that on average five people die each day in Florida because of prescription drug abuse. That's more than 1,800 people a year. Thousands more face loss of jobs, loss of family and loss of sanity because they are hooked on prescription drugs.

Fortunately, there's a growing awareness in the upper echelons of state government that prescription drug abuse needs to be addressed with greater vigor. A task force of top state officials is being formed to develop new methods and strategies on how to deal with the problem.

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3 US CO: PUB LTE: Marijuana Is A MiracleThu, 18 Dec 2003
Source:Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO) Author:Melamede, Robert Area:Colorado Lines:26 Added:12/18/2003

The federal government is out of touch with modern, peer-reviewed science. The professional literature clearly shows that marijuana is a miracle drug and not the devil's weed. It is frightening to see the government's incompetence coupled with their disregard for liberty and a complete lack of basic human compassion.

Dr. Robert Melamede Colorado Springs

[end]

4 US WI: PUB LTE: Failed Drug WarThu, 18 Dec 2003
Source:Racine Journal Times, The (WI) Author:Russ, Scott Area:Wisconsin Lines:32 Added:12/18/2003

We shouldn't expect any changes from law enforcement, just look at the Dallas fake drug scandal.

The drug war has allowed law enforcement to be unaccountable and operating like uncontrollable military tyrants.

The Bill of Rights is apparently void where prohibited.

Americans continue to allow this type of failed policy to exist year after year.

At what point do we admit that our drug war is a failed, fraudulent policy and move towards social and healthcare solutions that actually work and leave our society in much better shape? Another 30 years? Prohibition, it's worse than we all remember.

Scott Russ

Baton Rouge, La.

[end]

5 US MO: Senator Proposes Taxing Illegal DrugsWed, 17 Dec 2003
Source:Columbia Missourian (MO) Author:Amburgey, Kate Area:Missouri Lines:75 Added:12/18/2003

Stamp Act Would Allow State To Tap Into Drug Money.

JEFFERSON CITY - Sen. Charlie Shields, R-St. Joseph, has pre-filed a bill targeting the bank accounts of drug dealers in Missouri.

The act requires drug dealers to pay a stamp tax on each gram of illegal drugs in their possession. The stamps would be purchased anonymously and be valid for three months.

Shields said he doubts that dealers would even purchase the stamp should the law pass. And that's the point.

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6 New Zealand: Court Hears Cannabis In Mans Home 'For PainThu, 18 Dec 2003
Source:New Zealand Herald (New Zealand)          Area:New Zealand Lines:22 Added:12/18/2003

A man told police that 745g of dried cannabis and 5.4kg of wet leaf found in his home was for "painkilling", the Greymouth District Court was told.

Cyril James Delamere, 36, formerly of Kowhiterangi, south of Hokitika, pleaded guilty to charges of cultivating cannabis, possessing cannabis and producing cannabis oil.

Judge Christopher Somerville said Delamere would need to find a new method of pain relief after he was sentenced in Christchurch next month as he was fairly certain to go to prison.

[end]

7 UK: 'I Am a Victim of State Terrorism'Wed, 17 Dec 2003
Source:Hull Daily Mail (UK) Author:Young, A Area:United Kingdom Lines:75 Added:12/18/2003

One of the city's best known pro-cannabis campaigners today claimed he is the victim of "state terrorism" after being arrested in a police swoop.

A dozen police officers in full riot gear raided market stallholder Carl Wagner's house in Victoria Square, off Ella Street, west Hull, on Monday.

Mr Wagner, 44, was handcuffed and held in Priory Road police station for 11 hours before being released on bail without being charged.

He was arrested on suspicion of possessing cannabis with intent to supply.

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8 US WV: Calhoun Students May Get Drug TestsThu, 18 Dec 2003
Source:Charleston Daily Mail (WV)          Area:West Virginia Lines:96 Added:12/18/2003

Tests Required For Extracurricular Activities In Schools

MOUNT ZION -- Calhoun County students in extracurricular activities will soon be subject to random drug tests and must remain drug-free to continue participating.

The Calhoun County Board of Education has unanimously passed the "Student Activity Drug Testing Policy." It penalizes any student who tests positive or refuses to submit to the tests.

"It will happen; we will test," Superintendent Ron Blankenship said. "If you're going to represent the county in any activity, you have to understand you're going to be held to a higher standard."

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9US FL: Last Of 8 Major Cocaine Smugglers Pleads GuiltyThu, 18 Dec 2003
Source:Tampa Tribune (FL) Author:Silvestrini, Elaine Area:Florida Lines:Excerpt Added:12/18/2003

TAMPA - The last person in a group said to be ``among the most significant drug traffickers in the world'' pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday.

The plea by Teofilo Castillo, who helped smuggle tons of cocaine into the United States from Colombia in the 1990s, closes a chapter in Operation Panama Express, described by U.S. Attorney Paul Perez as ``the most comprehensive maritime drug interdiction investigation in the history of federal narcotic enforcement.''

The Tampa-based, decadelong investigation aims to bring down the successors to the notorious Cali cartel. Castillo was the last of a group of cocaine smugglers who investigators say imported about 100 tons of cocaine a year, or roughly 20 percent of the cocaine that came into the United States annually.

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10 US: Web: OPED: Transcendent Laws of the HeartThu, 06 Feb 2003
Source:DrugWar (US Web) Author:Cavanaugh, Jay R. Area:United States Lines:120 Added:02/06/2003

"Jurors should acquit, even against the judge's instruction... if exercising their judgement with discretion and honesty they have a clear conviction the charge of the court is wrong." -- Alexander Hamilton, 1804

Having just convicted medical cannabis gardener Ed Rosenthal in a San Francisco Federal Court, five of the twelve person jury recanted their verdict and called for a new trial. Jurors complained publicly of judicial intimidation and wrongly sequestered evidence that would have resulted in an acquittal had the government allowed the entire picture surrounding Ed Rosenthal's compassionate activities to be presented. Many jurors particularly resented having their hands tied by Judge Breyer who instructed them to disregard their conscience and sensibilities.

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11 US TX: Edu: Column: Rosenthal Conviction UnjustThu, 06 Feb 2003
Source:Daily Cougar (U of Houston, TX Edu) Author:Moeller, Brandon Area:Texas Lines:76 Added:02/06/2003

I once bought a book by Ed Rosenthal. I soon learned it's not easy to cultivate marijuana on a shoestring budget in one's closet.

Ed Rosenthal now faces a life sentence in jail for being a green-thumbed good neighbor to the sick and dying in California. "But wait! Not so fast!" five jurors said Tuesday.

In a statement released by the dissenting, albeit tardy, jurors, they explain: "In good faith, we as jury members allowed ourselves to be blindfolded to weigh the evidence before us. But in this trial, the prosecution was allowed to put all of the evidence and testimony on one of the scales, while the defense was not allowed to put its evidence and testimony on the other scale. Therefore we were not allowed as a jury to properly weigh the case."

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12 US AZ: Panel Approves Jail Time For Those Who Drink, Leave AccidentThu, 06 Feb 2003
Source:Arizona Daily Sun (AZ) Author:Fischer, Howard Area:Arizona Lines:79 Added:02/06/2003

PHOENIX -- Invoking the name of a dead college freshman, a Senate panel Wednesday voted to require mandatory prison terms for those who drink and leave the scene of an accident that injures or kills someone.

SB 1135 specifies that if someone had any amount of alcohol or drugs in their system when they were involved in the crash and left the scene, then a judge would have to order them incarcerated and they would not be eligible for probation or early release. Sen. Slade Mead, R-Ahwatukee, said he introduced the bill in response to the 2001 death of Arizona State University student Jessica Woodin, struck and killed by a car while she was crossing the street in Tempe.

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13 US AZ: Senate Pushes For Mandatory Jail Time In Drug, Alcohol WrecksThu, 06 Feb 2003
Source:Arizona Daily Star (AZ)          Area:Arizona Lines:33 Added:02/06/2003

PHOENIX - A Senate panel Wednesday voted to require mandatory prison terms for those who drink or do drugs and leave the scene of a crash that injures or kills someone.

SB 1135 specifies that, if someone had any amount of alcohol or drugs in the system at the time of the crash and then left the scene, a judge would have to order him or her incarcerated and they would not be eligible for probation or early release.

Sen. Slade Mead, R-Ahwatukee, said he introduced the bill in response to the 2001 death of Arizona State University student Jessica Woodin, struck and killed by a car while she was crossing the street in Tempe.

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14 US: New Addiction Treatments, Targeted To Girls, Are UrgedThu, 06 Feb 2003
Source:Arizona Daily Star (AZ)          Area:United States Lines:65 Added:02/06/2003

WASHINGTON -(AP)- Girls and young women get hooked on cigarettes, alcohol and drugs more quickly and for different reasons than boys, and should receive specialized treatment that reflects that, according to a study released Wednesday.

Teen-age girls often begin smoking and drinking to relieve stress or alleviate depression, while boys do it for thrills or heightened social status, according to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.

Girls "get hooked faster, they get hooked using lesser amounts of alcohol and drugs and cocaine, and they suffer the consequences faster and more severely," said Joseph A. Califano Jr., chairman of the center.

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15 US KY: Drug Suspect's Arrest Involves Trio of Sheriff'sMon, 03 Feb 2003
Source:Lexington Herald-Leader (KY) Author:Mueller, Lee Area:Kentucky Lines:73 Added:02/06/2003

PAINTSVILLE - Last May, a man accused of dealing drugs quickly bumped up against three candidates for sheriff -- one of whom was campaigning amid accused dealers in jail.

The strange criminal case of John Keeton, who is charged with manufacturing and trafficking methamphetamine, shows that Eastern Kentucky's drug problem sometimes converges with its politics in unusual ways.

First on Keeton's schedule was incumbent Sheriff Bill Witten, whose deputies were stationed outside his house at Sitka early on the morning of May 20, trying to serve a warrant.

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16 US SC: Pyrrhus, Vietnam, DrugsWed, 05 Feb 2003
Source:Charleston City Paper, The (SC)          Area:South Carolina Lines:20 Added:02/06/2003

The College of Charleston will begin hosting Evaluating the War on Drugs for the four next Wednesdays. The forums, which will bring together everyone from local magistrates and psychiatrists to cops and sociologists, will deal with a wide-ranging variety of themes. Next Wednesday's forum will be "The Policies of War on Drugs," followed the next week by a showing of the several documentaries. The third forum will be for drug policy wonks and their fans, and the final one will bring in treatment providers and psychiatrists. Look in our Calendar section for times and places.

[end]

17US CA: OPED: Medical Marijuana: Blind InjusticeThu, 06 Feb 2003
Source:San Jose Mercury News (CA) Author:Craig, Marney Area:California Lines:Excerpt Added:02/06/2003

Judge's Instructions and Withholding of Critical Facts Led Jurors to Convict Grower

Last week, I did something so profoundly wrong that it will haunt me for the rest of my life. I helped send a man to prison who does not belong there.

As jurors, we followed the law exactly as it was explained to us by Judge Charles Breyer. We played our part in the criminal justice system precisely as instructed. But the verdict we reached -- the only verdict those instructions allowed us to reach -- was wrong. It was cruel, inhumane and unjust.

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18 CN NS: LTE: Stop ComplainingThu, 06 Feb 2003
Source:Halifax Herald (CN NS) Author:MacDonald, Krista L. Area:Nova Scotia Lines:35 Added:02/06/2003

Great. Here we go again. More whiners - namely, Jane Parker, MS sufferer (Jan. 27 story). It is not enough that she can legally smoke marijuana, but now she complains she has to apply for her licence to smoke it every 12 months?

Society is all about compliance: drivers' licences, taxes, memberships, vehicle inspections, schools, and well, hell, even politicians have to prove themselves sooner or later.

Ms. Parker, be happy you can smoke your dope freely. You are one of the lucky ones.

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19US CA: Only State Could Shield Medical PotThu, 06 Feb 2003
Source:San Francisco Chronicle (CA) Author:Egelko, Bob Area:California Lines:Excerpt Added:02/06/2003

Feds Ignore Cities' Laws, Advocates Say

When the federal government charged prominent marijuana advocate Ed Rosenthal with illegal cultivation, California's medical marijuana law proved useless as a shield.

With Rosenthal now convicted and facing prison, and federal charges pending against other purveyors of medicinal pot, some advocates say it's time to strengthen the shield -- ideally, by putting the state government in charge, as either the overseer of marijuana distribution or the official supplier.

"You need the state to step in before the feds are going to blink," Dave Fratello, spokesman for the Campaign for New Drug Policies, said Wednesday.

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20 US CT: Lawmaker Pushes Medical Marijuana Bill For 3rd TimeThu, 06 Feb 2003
Source:Stamford Advocate, The (CT)          Area:Connecticut Lines:87 Added:02/06/2003

HARTFORD, Conn. - A state lawmaker on Thursday announced for the third time in as many years a plan to legalize marijuana for medical purposes.

Legislation introduced by Rep. James W. Abrams, D-Meriden, would allow doctors to give patients certificates authorizing the use of marijuana to relieve pain and other symptoms.

Connecticut passed one of the nation's first medical marijuana laws in 1981, allowing doctors to prescribe the drug. Doctors, fearing prosecution, have refused to prescribe the drug because federal law banning the drug overrides state law.

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