State lawmakers are currently debating an update to the state's long-dormant "medical marijuana" law to make cannabis oil available to children suffering from epilepsy and other conditions. But Paul Cornwell, a longtime marijuana activist and founder of the Great Atlanta Pot Festival, argues that what's happening under the Gold Dome doesn't involve "medical marijuana" at all - and could set back the actual movement to make the plant widely available. Cornwell is the national coordinator of the Coalition for the Abolition of Marijuana Prohibition, or CAMP. [continues 1114 words]
For the Atlanta Harm Reduction Coalition, the state's only syringe exchange program, funding is harder to come by than a needle in a haystack Additional reporting by Thomas Wheatley and Jim Burress Editor's note: Some of the last names of the subjects in this story have been withheld. On an unforgiving block in the English Avenue neighborhood known as the Bluff, just spitting distance from the future site of the Atlanta Falcons' projected $1.2 billion stadium, heroin has turned the world on its axis. Young dealers on one side of the street hug the corner like wayward old souls, while aged addicts on the opposite side seem stuck in a prolonged adolescence. [continues 2614 words]
Doctors wanted for Georgia's medical marijuana law State's cannabis law has sat on the shelf too long Today, more than 18 states across the country have passed legislation allowing the use of medical marijuana. Georgia, oddly enough, was among the first. Yet for the last 33 years, the state has done virtually nothing to enact the law that would give thousands of cancer and glaucoma patients legal access to the plant. In 1980, the Georgia General Assembly followed the lead of at least 16 other states and passed legislation allowing for the limited use of medical marijuana by people diagnosed with glaucoma and cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation. It was supported by then Lt. Gov. Zell Miller and signed into law by Gov. George Busbee. [continues 813 words]
Officials with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Fulton County District Attorney's office held a press conference this morning to announce an "unprecedented" bust that resulted in the seizure of millions of dollars in drugs and cash and the dismantling of a Fulton County drug operation. Standing in front of several tables lined with evidence bags, Harry S. Sommers, the DEA Atlanta office's special agent in charge, said officers seized nearly 90 pounds of heroin, more than 4 pounds of crystal meth, $2 million in cash, and guns, from a Gwinnett County stash house. [continues 419 words]
New Panel to Overhaul State'S Corrections Policy Standing, symbolically, in the Hall County drug court his son operates, Gov. Nathan Deal signed into law late last month a bill that could change the face of criminal justice in Georgia. House Bill 265 -- which found overwhelming support on both sides of the aisle, and in both chambers -- creates a 13-member panel to study and propose improvements to the state's corrections system. Composed of gubernatorial appointees, House members, and judges or their appointees, the Special Council on Criminal Justice has been tasked with a noble if overly ambitious mission: to find methods to shift the state's focus to rehabilitation rather than simply retribution, decrease the number of nonviolent offenders who are locked up each year -- repeat offenders, in particular -- and, in turn, curb the prison system's increasingly unsustainable financial burden on taxpayers. [continues 446 words]
The State's Dormant Medical Marijuana Program Is Primed for Revival . or Maybe Not Georgia's long, complicated relationship with medical marijuana took an interesting turn recently as the government board that oversees medical policy for the state quietly began enlisting doctors to help select patients for pot therapy. Wait, you didn't know Georgia had a relationship with ganga? Well, old-timers should recall that, back in 1976, ex-Gov. Jimmy Carter campaigned for president with a pledge to decriminalize marijuana use. "Penalties against drug use should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself," Carter told Congress after being elected. "Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against the possession of marijuana in private for personal use." [continues 1014 words]
All That Police Work For Such A Small Amount Of Weed Earlier this year, I got arrested for a half gram of marijuana - not even a joint's worth. All I wanted was some McDonald's, but I never even made it to the car. My friend and I were standing in my front yard on Moreland Avenue in East Atlanta. I was two steps away from my driveway. Before I even knew what was happening, my friend and I had a spotlight on us and were being ordered not to move. Two more units were on the way. My friend and I were both handcuffed and, by my estimation, illegally searched. (My friend told the officer that he couldn't search us without probable cause, but no luck.) I admit, I had some weed on me. [continues 377 words]
Don't be suckered by stereotypes. Burrito rollers, bass guitarists and alt-weekly journalists aren't the only people who work stoned. We found a corporate accountant who says that smoking a bowl or two makes preparing financial forecasts a breeze - a thick, pungent breeze. For obvious reasons, she doesn't want us to use her real name, so let's call her Mary Jane. Where do you work? I work for a software developer. I don't want to say the name. [continues 552 words]
The Benefits Of Being A Female Pot Dealer For Sally Davidson, the decision to sell weed boiled down to a simple question: How far was she willing to go to keep her other, legitimate business open? Davidson had for years poured boundless creativity and long hours into her small, intown operation (sorry, we've got to keep it vague, just as we've changed the names of the subjects of this story) and out of which she pulled barely enough money to make the rent. She either would have to shutter her business or work two gigs. [continues 1181 words]
"We believe licensed physicians are competent to employ marijuana, and patients have a right to obtain marijuana legally, under medical supervision, from a regulated source." The above quote, taken from a 1982 letter to the editor published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and written by then-freshman Congressman Newt Gingrich, is the closest Georgia has ever gotten to decriminalizing the doobie. The fact that NORML, the nonprofit lobbying organization working to legalize marijuana, hadn't been active in Georgia for several years (before the state chapter was reopened last year) should tell you something about the futility of the cause. [continues 374 words]
The El Paso, Texas/Juarez, Mexico metropolitan area has a long history of violence. I should know. For it was out in the west Texas town of El Paso that I was gunned down by several cowboys. They were avenging my shooting of a dashing young stranger in nearby Rose's Cantina. Wild as the west Texas wind he was, he challenged me for the love of wicked Feleena, an evil Mexican maiden whose eyes were as black as night. Prior to that, the area was a battleground for several competing civilizations. The Spanish took the place from Pueblo Native Americans. After Mexico became independent, an expansion-crazed United States swooped in. The U.S.-imposed Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo forced Mexico to surrender all land north of the Rio Grande River. For 160 years, the Rio Grande has been an international border dividing the El Paso/Juarez metroplex into two. [continues 566 words]
Cops Say Gangs Are Driving The City's Crime Surge The "International Robbing Crew" was the gang that shot straight -- or, at least, often. Prosecutors on Nov. 2 charged nine young desperados from the gang, at least three of them from New Orleans, with seven murders. But cops say they may have killed as many as 30 people over the last two years in a brutal gambit to dominate the Atlanta crime scene. Some of the murder victims apparently were random, among them an Iraq war vet who was gunned down on Spring Street in what prosecutors speculate was target practice by the gangsters. [continues 2915 words]
Police Say Legislation Doesn't Reach The Crux Of Problem Atlanta City Council on Monday unanimously voted to repeal the controversial "DC-6" law that gave police broad powers to arrest people for disorderly conduct. According to Atlanta police records, officers cited DC-6 more than 7,500 times last year – more than any other nontraffic offense. Under the law, police were free to arrest anyone who happened to walk through an area labeled as a known drug zone. That was problematic because there were no official drug areas. Police used it as a catch-all charge. [continues 543 words]
Major kudos to John Sugg for his outstanding column (Metropolis, "Kathryn Johnston's real killer," Feb. 15). Imagine if we had no "drug-related crime." Imagine if our overall crime rate was a small fraction of our current crime rate. We once had such a situation here in the United States. Prior to the passage of the Harrison Narcotics Act of 1914, the term "drug-related crime" didn't exist. And drug lords, drug cartels or even drug dealers as we know them today didn't exist either. [continues 159 words]
Mr. Sugg is doing an amazing job of bringing back true journalism, especially with his last article, (Metropolis, "Kathryn Johnston's real killer," Feb. 15). He makes one of the best connections I've seen in print: the war on drugs and the war on terror. Both of these "wars" accomplish nothing but INCREASING what the war is waged upon: drug dealing and terrorist activity. The bulk of the "collateral damage" falls upon regular people, whether it's the weed dealers in jail or the 655,000 Iraqis killed on lies. I think basically every thinking person in this country -- the rest of the world found out a long time ago -- now knows that both of these wars are wasting time, money and especially lives. So why is Bush allowed to continue and expand them? Why are we still relying on the spineless politicians who supposedly represent us? Do we not want to hurt feelings? [continues 60 words]
A Cop Pulled The Trigger, But The Perp Is The Money-Driven 'War On Drugs' In the inflammatory ruckus about the Atlanta police killing of an elderly woman, Kathryn Johnston, what's overlooked is the backdrop to the tragedy. Cops fired the fatal bullets on Nov. 21 in Johnston's west Atlanta home, but the real culprit is the 36-year-old "war on drugs." That war is just as much a disaster, just as ill-conceived, just as deadly to innocents and just as big a waste of tons of cash as George Bush's "war on terrorism." [continues 1043 words]
I'm writing about Thomas Bell's "Krispy Kreme contraband" (Arts, Shelf Space, Oct. 6). According to http://www.drugwarfacts.org/causes.htm, each year there are 17,000 deaths from all illegal drug use combined, direct and indirect. No doubt the 17,000 illegal drug deaths are tragic, but that pales in comparison to the 365,000 deaths from poor diets or physical inactivity. Speaking of poor diets, notice that we have no illegal foods, even though many foods are unhealthy - especially if consumed in large portions over several years. [continues 53 words]
Shit! It's an FEA raid! Quick, flush the cotton candy down the toilet and stuff that Snickers bar up your butt! And cover that damn pimple with some Clearasil, man! They'll know you've been using! Oh, man ... NOBODY MOVE! Step away from the eclair and put your hands in the air, you junk food junkie!Someone's heading to the fat farm. Like the film Traffic on sugar and triglycerides, Christopher Largen's novel Junk takes us on a tour of a near future "war" on junk food, complete with a food czar, a Food Enforcement Agency, and mandatory sentences for possession of hamburgers, doughnuts and milk shakes. [continues 303 words]
How Three Men Are Fighting The Little White Powder Editor's note: Paul is not the actual name of the man described in this story. Because he is facing criminal charges, his name has been changed to avoid jeopardizing his case. In addition, Britt's last name has not been published to protect his effort to reinstate his pharmacist's license. Paul can't sit still. His hazel eyes dart back and forth behind purple-tinted shades. He fiddles with his fake Dolce & Gabbana belt buckle. He smokes a Marlboro Light, puts it out, lights another.He asks for liquor. Beer and wine only, the waitress says. He moans, then laughs. Customers turn and stare in the dimly lit Virginia-Highland tavern. The waitress gives him a weird look. He orders a PBR. [continues 6160 words]
Prescription Drug Adderall Is All The Rage On College Campuses Editor's note: To protect the identities of interviewees who used or sold Adderall illegally, only their first names have been printed. Henry, an Emory University undergrad, couldn't stay awake. A quick learner, he always put off studying until the last minute. As tests loomed closer, he'd pull all-nighters. But copious cups of coffee didn't do the job to help him cram. His eyes eventually fluttered over his books, and he frequently nodded off. [continues 945 words]
Father Of Ill-Fated Pot Festival Refuses To Give Up For a hardcore stoner, Paul Cornwell is one busy guy. The veteran of countless marches and demonstrations and the organizer of the famed but flailing Great Atlanta Pot Festival, he's trying to organize a fall pre-election rally featuring notorious presidential spoiler Ralph Nader. A longtime concert promoter, he still has a hand in producing local shows. But mostly, Cornwell is working overtime these days to kick City Hall's ass. [continues 1001 words]
It Looks As If May 1 Will Blow By Without The Great Atlanta Pot Festival. The sometimes-annual event in Piedmont Park was nixed in late February by city officials, who say organizer Paul Cornwell didn't make the application deadline. Cornwell, however, contends that Atlanta's 2-year-old festival ordinance, which requires applications to be filed at least 90 days before a planned event, is unreasonably restrictive. "Public spaces should be accessible to public gatherings in a timely manner," he explains. "If someone had wanted to put on a concert to protest the war in Iraq, in 90 days the war would've been over." [continues 167 words]
Bob Barr: I'm writing about your thoughtful column in Creative Loafing Atlanta ("Pre-emptive strike hits high schools," Nov. 20). Like you, when I saw the video of the police raiding, with guns drawn and pointed at high school students at Stafford High School in Goose Creek, S.C., I was deeply disturbed and upset. I am deeply disturbed and upset because, as I see it, our war on drugs has transformed the former "Land of Liberty" into a police state. Like you, I am very concerned with the loss of our personal privacy. Like you, I am very concerned with the potential for abuse of our personal freedom and personal privacy by the so-called "Patriot Act." Like you, personal freedom and personal privacy are very high values for me and my family. [continues 259 words]
What Was Good For Iraq Is Great For Kids At Stratford High Alcohol, drugs, fights, sex and smoking. None are new to American high schools. The Blackboard Jungle, a 1954 novel by Evan Hunter and a hugely successful motion picture the next year, was widely recognized as a realistic depiction of the dark side of high school life in big-city America. While today's school officials and the parents of teenage students know such problems continue to plague our nation's schools a half-century later, and while most agree that authorities must be tough in meeting the challenges presented by the threats to students' well-being, there was something deeply disturbing about the images of a Nov. 5 drug raid on Stratford High School in Goose Creek, S.C. [continues 737 words]
The Feds Say A Celebrated Atlanta Cop Doubled As A Gang Leader David Freeman was a good cop and it showed, in praiseworthy letters from bosses, merit awards for impressive police work and feats that could be considered fodder for superhero-dom. Freeman kept three children, all of whom had been shot in the face, alive until the paramedics showed up. Freeman hunted and arrested murder suspects before the bodies got cold -- and without a single clue to work with. Freeman made more arrests in two weeks than most top cops make in a month. [continues 1638 words]
After nearly a decade, the Great Atlanta Pot Festival will be allowed to roll again in Piedmont Park next month. In the early '90s, longtime Atlanta promoter and marijuana activist Paul Cornwell built his festival into a huge annual event anchored by such big-name musical acts as the Black Crowes, Cypress Hill and OutKast. Drawing estimated crowds of more than 30,000 people -- many openly enjoying reefer -- the free festival was targeted by Mayor Bill Campbell, who vowed to shut it down because, he said, festival-goers were encouraged to break the law. [continues 206 words]
For chipping away at democracy First the feds spooked us with the Total Information Awareness project and its creepy, Big-Brother-joins-the-Masons, all-seeing-eye logo. Now they're reminding us that, as far as our government is concerned, the flow of information is a one-way street -- or else. How else can one interpret the extensive effort that the Atlanta division of the federal Drug Enforcement Agency went to recently in putting one of its own people behind bars for the high crime of talking to the press about minor details of an investigation? Not only was U.S. security not at stake, but the information didn't even involve the U.S. [continues 297 words]
(In response to "Forgotten man," Dec. 4): Scott Henry: Thanks for your in-depth article. I want to know how the government gets away with this obvious underhanded and unfair attack on civil liberties? How do we as citizens combat this abuse of power? To begin with, how do we un-demonize this harmless drug and how do we expose the underhandedness of the drug companies, and the unions that lobby to keep this simple weed illegal? It's strange how Prozac and other lethal and dangerous drugs can be gotten by prescription, and this easy-going, "doesn't make you want to kill or hurt anyone" mood-enhancer gets banned when alcohol is readily available. I can't understand the many different hypocritical ways our government rules without an outcry. We are so inundated by the inequities, that we don't know where to start in our protests when most of us are just trying to make a living. Caroline Aiken Atlanta [end]
I just finished reading your article "Forgotten man" (Dec. 4) and just wanted to say amazing, absolutely amazing! I cannot believe and still am having some trouble believing the heartbreaking tragedy that Steve Tucker and his brother endured at the hands of our federal government. I've heard of cases of unjust sentencing but the usage of the so-called "conspiracy law" in the land of the free? I don't get it. A 10-year sentence for a crime not committed? [continues 128 words]
Major kudos to Scott Henry for his outstanding story ("Forgotten man," Dec. 4). And major kudos to Steve Tucker for his courage. His courage to stand up to his evil government. And for paying the price of 10 years of his life for doing so. Perhaps this story should be kept away from our soldiers and sailors about to go off yonder to fight against an evil government, when in fact, our government is only less evil in a matter of a few degrees. Our conspiracy laws make a mockery of the term American justice. Kirk Muse, Mesa, Ariz. [end]
So Steve Tucker served a 10-year prison sentence for selling legal light bulbs that could have been used to grow marijuana ("Forgotten man," Dec. 4). International drug cartels are the prime beneficiaries of our government's misguided marijuana eradication efforts. As long as there is a demand for marijuana, there will be a supply. Eliminating a local cottage industry only to have it replaced by organized crime groups that also sell cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine is not necessarily a good thing. [continues 221 words]
Scott Henry: Just finished reading your article ("Forgotten man," Dec. 4). Wow. Although I do not use drugs myself, I do believe in pro-choice. In other words, letting people decide for themselves whether drugs is something they want to do. Bravo for shedding light on the government's drug "witch hunt." Can you imagine how much good we could do with all the billions spent on DEA every year? All that money could go toward charities and urban improvement, etc. - -- Frank Begue, Atlanta [end]
Steve Tucker Served a 10-Year Prison Sentence for Selling Light Bulbs. Is America's Drug War Worth It? A year has passed since Steve Tucker made his unheralded return to Atlanta. His one-bedroom flat, tucked into a sprawling Sandy Springs apartment complex, is furnished sparsely: a recliner, TV, computer and a small, picnic-style table that serves as both dining hutch and desk. The stark white static of the walls is interrupted only by three small, web-like dream catchers tacked to the Sheetrock. [continues 3128 words]
As The Libertarian Party Grows, It Lends A Helping Hand To Top Democrats Garrett Michael Hayes, the Libertarian Party's gubernatorial candidate in Georgia, doesn't have much in common with Ralph Nader. But if that race, as well as the contest for U.S. Senate, is as close as many people are predicting, Hayes and fellow Libertarian, Senate candidate Sandy Thomas, may do to the Republicans this November what Nader did to Al Gore and the Democrats two years ago. [continues 888 words]
DA Trying To Seize Crack Houses From Homeowners The Fulton County District Attorney's Office has taken a landlord to court this week on allegations that she knew her tenants were selling drugs and didn't do anything to stop them. Her proposed punishment? The county wants to take away her home. DA Paul Howard says he plans to bring nine more homeowners to similar, non-jury civil trials this year. If the DA's office is able to convince a judge that a home should be seized, the owner will lose all equity -- and the county will renovate the property and invite an Atlanta police officer to live there rent-free for a year. The house then will be put up for sale. [continues 541 words]
One Of The Best Programs In The City For Fighting The Spread Of AIDS And Hepatitis Is Still Illegal Susan Ziony backs the Plymouth into the rutted Vine City driveway and the clutch of hungry-eyed onlookers pulls a little closer. A black dog barks incessantly, and the animal strains against its tether in the dirt yard. Ziony, Nick Hess and Teresa Dulce open the van's rear doors and grab a box of books and clothing, some satchels with medical supplies, two plastic bags of pastries and two milk crates, filled with brown lunchbags. They form a small assembly line with the goods and wait on a cracked sidewalk in a place called "the Bluff," in the shadow of the Georgia Dome. [continues 1149 words]
Get Busted And You Could Lose Your School Loans Faster Than You Can Say 'Woody Harrelson' Pop quiz time: Say it's a week into the fall semester, you're driving some friends around one night and you've had a few beers -- OK, quite a few -- and, oh yeah, say your dad isn't director of the CIA. Drunk driving is not cool, of course, and you end up getting busted and plead nolo contendre (that means, like, guilty) to DUI, attempting to elude police, several moving violations, reckless endangerment, drunk and disorderly and possession of a few pot seeds the cops found under the driver's seat of your Duster. [continues 2283 words]
Feds Reward Carriers Who Tip Them Off About Cash-Heavy Customers Got a hot tip on a racehorse? Sell all your old Mad magazines and have a sudden urge to zip down to New Orleans for a weekend of jazz and gambling? Before you stuff your pockets with Franklins and rush to the train station or airport, you'd better think twice -- the money you save might be your own. For years, travelers have been subject to the scrutiny of police and customs officers at train stations and airports. But disclosures of a quiet relationship between Amtrak and the federal Drug Enforcement Agency to share the proceeds of cash seized from travelers have alarmed civil libertarians and outraged some defense attorneys. [continues 1108 words]
How Fear And Loathing Have Kept An Addict's Best Friend Underground Kevin Peace's addiction was no different than others' -- until he found a treatment few addicts knew existed. In his yearlong attempt to spread word of a miraculous treatment, he says he fixed a dozen lives. But he also broke the law and learned how hard it is for a controversial cure to reach the people who need it. For most of 1997, the white-collar twentysomething was making morphine from scratch, telling himself it would be just a luxury, a weekend thing. But the high was so good that, after a year, Kevin Peace was swallowing his homemade pills before he left for work. Once a week, he was making the trip from Atlanta to his North Georgia poppy field to harvest the red flowers that fed his habit. [continues 3906 words]
Gov. Miller has denounced Abernathy's act as "outrageous." Lt. Governor Pierre Howard is working with other oh-so-shocked legislators to craft new laws to punish lawmakers who commit similar sins. What's the big deal? Abernathy is an adult. What he chooses to put into his own body should be his own business. Some argue that Abernathy should be punished simply because he broke the law. But bad laws deserve neither our respect nor our obedience. The laws prohibiting the use, possession and sale of marijuana are similarly idiotic and despotic. [continues 285 words]
