To the Editor: Re: NDN letter by Irene Evanoff "City should get priorities straight" Thursday July 21, 2005 It seems Irene Evanoff needs to do some reading. I challenge her to find one person who has died from cannabis, I will find hundreds who have died or have had medical complications from the use of pesticides. Your town council seems to know it's priorities perfect. And Ms. Evanoff, you really need some compassion lessons, I hope you are not the voice of your town. Tony Jensen Vancouver, B.C. [end]
Questions And Concerns: NCP Says Emery Outcome "Will Be Interesting,' Supporters Say Arrest Raises Question Of American DEA Presence In B.C. The arrest and possible extradition to the United States of one of Canada's most well-known marijuana advocates has many people in Nelson, an oft-noted hub of pot culture, taking notice. Last week, Canadian citizen Marc Emery, referred to as "The Prince of Pot" in an RCMP search warrant was picked up by police in Halifax and his Vancouver shop was searched at the request of American law enforcement agencies. Two other employees at the Vancouver store were also arrested. [continues 554 words]
To the Editor, Regarding the proposed pesticide rules for the City of Nelson. How many of that list are gardeners? We the gardeners are responsible and use pesticides at a minimum if at all. We do not need city council to make a rule against pesticide use. Instead they should be dealing with the ever-increasing use of drugs in our city. By the pictures on the Holy Smoke shop, a druggie and a marijuana leaf, this council seems to condone the use of drugs. Why do they not take a tough approach to drugs and help the police all they can. We the citizens need to be vigilant and if we see people coming and going at all hours of the day or night report it to the police. There may be drug dealings going on or if we smell something that smells foul we need to report this to the police. Help them deal with the drug problem. [continues 166 words]
Special To The Daily News With the price of crude oil and gasoline soaring ever higher, there is increasing talk of "alternative energy sources". We all know that the price of gas will never drop below 75 cents per litre again, and that one day, maybe even in the next 20-30 years, we will have to give up on crude oil entirely. So why not start phasing crude oil out right now? Ethanol fuel from corn is cost prohibitive and causes some environmental damage. Hydrogen cars and their fuel is also cost prohibitive, as are hybrid cars. What we need is some sort of crop that can be grown cheaply and easily and with no environmental damage, and is renewable. That crop is Hemp. (Enter "Hemp Fuel" in Google) [continues 810 words]
CRIME: Acting on a community outcry for a crackdown on commercial grow operations, Greater Trail RCMP have been getting the job done A raid on a marijuana growing operation in Fruitvale last week was the 20th drug-related search warrant executed by the Greater Trail RCMP in the past six months, but there is still lots more work to do, according to Staff Sgt. Nick Romanchuk. The drug enforcement operations have resulted in more than 10,000 plants and 50 pounds of dried marijuana being seized, as well as some cocaine. [continues 550 words]
Nelson-Creston Riding: Just Under The Wire, Philip McMillan Files Papers To Bring Total Names On The Ballot To Four A new candidate has come out of the weeds at the last minute hoping to shake up the provincial election race for the Nelson-Creston riding. Philip McMillan of the British Columbia Marijuana Party became a registered candidate Friday, bringing the number of candidates to four. Nominations close tomorrow at 1p.m. McMillan, whose only other political experience was an unsuccessful run for mayor of Nelson in 2002, is a late replacement for another candidate who backed out. [continues 544 words]
To the editor: Re: "Council Squabbles Over Grow Ops" NDN front page, March 10, 2005." Mayor Elliott rightly says the issue [RCMP shootings in Alberta] is not about marijuana, but gun control. Further to that correct statement, the person who did the shooting was a known desperate criminal, with serious emotional and mental problems, as well as an enormous criminal record. The RCMP detachment were well aware of his history. Going to his place and being killed in the line of duty has everything to do with criminality and less to do with marijuana growing. [continues 167 words]
MLA Suffredine Supports Solicitor General's Push To Have Utility Help In Cracking Down On Pot Growers The number of marijuana grow-ops in the province could be reduced if BC Hydro was enabled to share their customers' billing information with police, says local MLA Blair Suffredine. Last week, Solicitor General Rich Coleman urged BC Hydro to help police in their battle against drugs. He asked the Crown corporation to turn information over to the authorities when customers have unusually high power bills, which may indicate a possible grow operation in the residence. [continues 333 words]
To the Editor: I would like to respond to John Dooley's comments in the paper regarding Grow-ops (NDN, Thursday, March 10, 2005 front page story "Council squabbles over grow-ops). First off, even RCMP Police Commissioner Guiliano Zaccardelli apologized profusely for his misleading comments shortly after the killings. He was responsible for sensationalizing the amount of marijuana at this incident and for making a correlation between the killing and the miniscule garden. All of which he said proved to be false. [continues 160 words]
Councillor Dooley says RCMP murders should shed light on local situation, Mayor Elliott says issue not about marijuana, but gun control Nelson City councillor John Dooley says the courts should crack down on criminals involved in marijuana grow-ops after the killings of four RCMP officers on a rural Alberta farm last week. "A lot of these people aren't the type that are growing a little bit of dope in their basement and want to have a puff on their back porch in the evening," Dooley told council at Monday's meeting. "These are the criminal elements that shoot to kill officers." [continues 479 words]
The last time I smoked pot was 1981. I'm not kidding. I'm pretty sure I inhaled, but I can't say I really remember. I have no personal interest in pot. I also have no particular animosity towards this plant, I believe there are medicinal benefits, and I see it as harmless when used recreationally, like a cold beer on a hot day. And I think hemp, as a product, is totally cool. The recent news about the four young mounties killed in Mayerthorpe, Alberta while investigating a grow-op is absolutely, undeniably tragic. The Globe and Mail, my national newspaper of choice, devoted several full pages to the tragedy; news reports, analyses, profiles of the fallen, and Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan's push to crack down on the grow-ops. [continues 761 words]
To the Editor: The shelving of the Kootenay Lake School District drug policy is good news. Policies that allow for the suspension of students for marijuana use are illogical. The primary concern with student pot smoking is that the student won't learn as well. Punishing them by cutting off learning entirely is wrong-headed. High schoolers smoking marijuana has gone on for decades and is normal youthful experimentation (as Superintendent Butcher implies by suggesting suspensions for experimentation cease). And, just like the student that spends too much time playing video games, watching TV or participating in sports, some will see their grades slip. But the answer is to spend more time working with these students - all of them - not to send them away. Kirk Tousaw Campaign Manager B.C. Marijuana Party [end]
Parents Line Up To Dissent Controversial Draft Policy; Revision Now In The Works The Kootenay Lake School District has decided to postpone the adoption of the controversial drug and alcohol policy until a later date. Policy committee chair Bob Henderson cited the reason for the delay was due largely in part to the substantial amount of "public criticism by DPAC." "I am asking to have the policy removed from the table and taken back to the policy table to deal with the concerns that we have heard," Henderson said. [continues 533 words]
Editor, Nelson Daily News, School District #8 DPAC would like to comment on statements made by Superintendent Brian Butcher in the NDN January 10, 2005 article titled, "School drug and alcohol policy slammed by parents". First, Superintendent Butcher refers to the DPAC feedback as negative. DPAC feels the feedback is extremely positive in that the parent comments to the Board on this issue encourage a proactive approach that emphasizes support and education for all students. Parents of SD#8 indicate that they want a policy that promotes education, awareness, and safety and not another discipline policy. Does Superintendent Butcher feel that any comment that disagrees with this draft policy is negative? [continues 300 words]
To the Editor, Re: School drug and alcohol policy slammed by parents. Parents are right to be slamming the failed drug policy employed not only in our schools, but in our whole society. Making drugs an "evil taboo" just adds to it's allure and it's "cool." By employing "just say no" propagandist slogans, and the whole we/they mentality of "zero-tolerance" and "all use is abuse" and "drugs are for losers," we have had the result of drugs being more popular with teens than ever before. If you tell kids something is naughty, they can't resist doing it. [continues 151 words]
Moms and Dads Says Policy Focuses on Punishment Rather Than Proactive Approach to Dealing With Issues A parent's group is slamming a policy developed to address drug and alcohol issues in schools in the Kootenay Lake School District. "DPAC believes the policy is more towards discipline rather than education," says Victoria Vaseleniuck who sits on the school board policy committee as a District Parents Advisory Council representative. At present, the district policy committee is field-testing the controversial Drug and Alcohol Policy that has been more than a year in the making. Subsequently, DPAC is asking that parents and members of the public respond to the policy by providing their thoughts on the issue. [continues 462 words]
To the Editor: Congratulations to the Nelson City Police as well as the RCMP on their recent seizure of 5 cannabis grow-ops valued at over $240,000. Congratulations are in order because operations such as these succeed where generations of alchemists failed. They convert a common, easy to grow weed into gold. The more grow-ops shut down, the higher the price goes, which in turn draws more criminals into the mix. A perfect circle without end. The War on Drugs, Inc. violates the law. The law of Supply and Demand. [continues 103 words]
To the Editor: Re: Police Bust Five Grow-Ops (NDN Friday, Dec. 3, 2004) Police caught five grow-ops, but all this will accomplish is a raise for the growers they didn't catch. This continuing waste of police time and money is beyond absurd, it is criminal. The blame falls squarely on the shoulders of our inept and lazy federal government. Regulation could easily fix this problem. If you don't believe that, just look at how many "bath-tub gin mills" we see in our neighbourhoods. Home growers could have restrictions and be subject to inspection, commercial growers would have to be in greenhouses, farms, or industrial parks, and commercial sales could be regulated through compassion clubs and "coffee shops." [continues 79 words]
City Police and RCMP Complete Seven-Day Operation Targeting Marijuana Cultivation Five local residents will be in court next month facing marijuana cultivation charges after Nelson City Police and Mounties searched several homes over the course of the week. The searches resulted in the seizures of a total of 587 marijuana plants worth an estimated $234,000, plus an additional $9,000 in dry bud. According to Nelson City Police Sgt. Steve Bank, of the General Investigation Section, the grow shows they uncovered when they executed five search warrants on residences located in Nelson, Harrop and Bonnington were of an average size. [continues 419 words]
Story Indicates Downtown Store Openly Selling Pot; Not So Say Owners Holy Smoke Culture Shop is debunking statements published in the New York Times last Sunday that alleged the store sold marijuana out of its "produce section." "We were a little shocked to see that," said Paul DeFelice, one of three owners of the head shop. In a Nov. 21 Times article titled "Greetings from Resisterville," reporter Fred Bernstein explored the controversy that erupted with the announcement that a monument would be erected in the area honouring U.S. war resisters who made their homes in the West Kootenay. [continues 577 words]
Local employee at cannabis culture shop and MP on same side of Bill C-17 debate The push to reform marijuana laws, that was reignited after the federal government re-introduced legislation decriminalizing possession for personal use this week, has been drawing criticism by a local cannabis expert who says it will be viewed as prohibition of pot. "This is a cash cow system of collecting," said Holy Smoke Culture Shop co-owner Alan Middlemiss. "I'm totally against Bill C-17." [continues 803 words]
RCMP To Start Combing Abandoned Mine Sites Looking For Grow Ops Mounties are mining for marijuana. Last week, about 35 members of the RCMP participated in a 10-hour exercise, training them to check out a series of abandoned mine sites near Salmo to look for marijuana grow operations. "We thought it would be a good opportunity for the emergency response team to practice their skills in regards to going into mines," said Salmo RCMP Cpl. Neil Cross. "This is not only for looking for grow operations, it's also in case we're ever in a rescue situation." [continues 326 words]
Local lawyer requests that a provincial court judge postpone sentencing of individuals busted with 15 gams of pot or less A Provincial Court judge was asked to postpone sentencing individuals busted with small amounts of pot until Parliament resumes, in the event that the decriminalization bill gets the green light. "Simply this isn't a sound basis for an adjournment," Crown prosecutor Rob Brown told Judge R. Fabbro in Nelson Provincial Court on August 24. Brown's statement came after defense lawyer Don Skogstad asked Fabbro to postpone the sentencing of some of his clients until Parliament resumes sitting in October. This would enable them to see if the legislation on marijuana decriminalization of minor quantities passes. [continues 710 words]
To the editor: Re: "Time to abandon failed marijuana strategy" column Aug. 4. Our grandparents must have been a lot smarter than we are. They didn't waste time setting up an education program or by turning a blind eye to illicit stills when they realized that prohibiting alcohol was causing more harm than good. They simply ended alcohol prohibition. The best way of reducing the harm and heartbreak inflicted by illegal drugs on users and non-users alike is to end drug prohibition. Alan Randell Victoria, B.C. [end]
B.C.'s approach to marijuana makes about as much sense as America's great Prohibition experiment in the '20s. In both cases, the governments took aim at substances which are widely accepted. And in both cases, they decided that the way to achieve the goal was to wipe out the supply. It's a doomed approach, as Prohibition established. The only big winners are serious criminals. StatsCan has just released a new survey on drug use, which found that 16 per cent of British Columbians 15 and over had used marijuana in 2002. That's about 525,000 people, not nearly as many who knocked back a few beer on a Friday night but still an awful lot of people to portray as criminals. [continues 613 words]
Police Cross-Examined by Couple Who Alleges the Bust of Their Cafe Was an Unreasonable Search Owners of the Melting Pot Cafe in Winlaw were in Nelson court this week to question the validity of a RCMP raid of their business, saying it went against their rights enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedom. "There is a suggestion that a search warrant was not produced at anytime by anyone," Crown counsel Rob Brown told the court, yesterday. Two Winlaw residents, Nichola J. McGinn and Michael J. Garand, are facing charges of possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking after a May 30, 2003 sting at their cafe. [continues 640 words]
Grow Show Study Proof Nelson Isn't The Pot Plantation Mecca Some Might Think Despite its reputation as a hot spot for pot, Nelson and its rural outposts are by no means provincial epi-centres for marijuana cultivation and sales. Based on marijuana cultivation cases tracked between 1997 and 2000, there are more grass growing operations in the Central Kootenay than many other B.C. regions, but overall, our part of the province generates a tiny portion of B.C.'s yearly grow op investigations. If there is one thing the study does make clear however, it is that the B.C. grass industry is growing big time, including in and around the Heritage City. [continues 812 words]
Nelson Council Lobbied On Positive Economic Impact Of Local Pot Industry, Politicians Warned That A Cannabis Crackdown Could Attract Organized Crime Like it or not, the marijuana industry is a big part of Nelson's economy - and it's an industry worth protecting. That's the message a local business owner and legal assistant took to Nelson City Council last week. "Whether this council believes it or not, cannabis is an integral part of the economy here," said Dustin Cantwell. "You can ask any business owner, you can ask any merchant." [continues 922 words]
Controversial Business Was Started As A Statement The Holy Smoke Culture Shop will celebrate its seventh anniversary this weekend and one of the business' founders said he's amazed that they've been around for so long. "It's worked over the years and we've had really good support of the community. We want to thank all those people who have helped us make it through," said Dustin Cantwell, one of the men who started the venture back in 1996. [continues 321 words]
To the Editor: I'm writing about Moe Lyon's thoughtful letter: "No One Cares About Grow Ops" (7-16-03). I disagree. The pretend drug warriors care. The pretend war on some (politically selected) drugs, stands between many a pretend drug warrior becoming an ex-pretend drug warrior, looking for a job or working at a quickie mart. Kirk Muse Mesa, AZ [end]
To the Editor: Re: The front-page story the other day about grow ops. I can't believe we're still spending public money on this. Even as I write, I can hear the helicopter prowling the neighbourhood - for heaven's sake, these things are not cheap, let's spend the money on something important! And I really can't believe the local police and the local paper are still advising us to turn in our friends and neighbours. It smacks of the propaganda horror stories we were told when I was growing up about kids in the Soviet Union ratting on their parents. [continues 94 words]
Salmo RCMP bust indoor/outdoor grow show, warn public to keep their noses open for planters who are moving marijuana operations into the great outdoors Nelson and area gardeners aren't the only ones headed for horticultural pursuits in the sunny outdoors as of late. Marijuana growers are too. "It's that time of year," says Salmo RCMP Corporal Neal Cross. "Now's the time of the year when (indoor) plants start getting a little larger and are being moved outdoors. It's going to be picking up for sure." [continues 273 words]
City's Top Cop And Local Marijuana Advocate Say Fed's New Bud Bill Is Political And Weak Nelson police and pot puffers alike suggest the federal government's move to decriminalize marijuana possession is more smoke and mirrors than anything else. "It's pretty hard to get excited or happy about the legislation," says local marijuana advocate Paul DeFelice, chuffing on a less-than-celebratory bong of bud. The 45-year-old owner of the Holy Smoke Culture Shop says the legislation will only make it easier for police to hassle casual smokers, smalltime growers and dealers, while opening the door for organized crime and doing little to unclog courts choked with minor possession charges. [continues 749 words]
Defence Minister John McCallum gives up drinking after Air Canada staff decide he's too drunk to board a flight. Alberta Premier Ralph Klein cuts down after a nasty scene at a homeless shelter, where he argues abusively with residents, throws a handful of bills on the floor and stomps off. And Ontario Premier Ernie Eves promises to crack down on MLAs drinking on the job after an evening sitting degenerates into vicious, drunken abuse. And we're worried about marijuana? [continues 512 words]
A Winlaw man remains in a jail near Amsterdam, Netherlands after nearly two months waiting in vain for the federal government to have him brought back home. Patrick Roberts is praying the ordeal ends soon. And it might. Roberts was arrested Sept. 4, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, en route to a connecting flight between Canada and Ireland, where he had been vacationing. "The legs went out from underneath me," says Roberts, speaking from the Harlem Prison, just outside Amsterdam, where he has been imprisoned since early last month. [continues 604 words]
To the Editor: Thanks for publishing Robert Sharpe's outstanding letter, "War on Drugs Wastes Money" (9-18-02). In 1969 the U.S. federal drug enforcement budget was $65 million. This year it's $19.2 billion. (Just the federal which doesn't include the cost of incarceration nor state and local costs). The $19.2 billion is greater than a 295 fold increase. If the 1969 25 cent cup of coffee had increased at the same rate, coffee would sell for almost $75.00 per cup. More than $75.00 with sales tax. [continues 54 words]
You can smell it in the air, either on the local streets or hillsides - and people in Parliament and the rest of the country are buzzing about it. Today, in the final part of a three part series on the pot industry in B.C., Kathy Kiel looks at how the Nelson area's dope scene is perhaps unfairly perceived by the outside world. West Kootenay residents have been stereotyped as marijuana users for too long, says a local writer, who penned a book examining the B.C. pot industry. [continues 707 words]
To the Editor, In regards to "Slocan Valley's fields of green" (NDN Monday, September 16, 2002). The RCMP's marijuana eradication efforts are no doubt well-intended, but ultimately counter-productive. The drug war's distortion of immutable laws of supply and demand make an easily grown weed literally worth its weight in gold. Canadian tax dollars are currently being wasted on anti-drug strategies that only make marijuana growing more profitable. The Senate recently offered a common sense alternative. After months of research the Special Committee on Illegal Drugs concluded that marijuana is relatively benign, marijuana prohibition contributes to organized crime, and law enforcement efforts have little impact on patterns of use. [continues 213 words]
Nelson planters, police and politicians sound off on the Senate's call to decriminalize pot possession You can smell it in the air, either on the local streets or hillsides - and people in Parliament and the rest of the country are buzzing about it. Today, in the second part of a three part series on the pot industry in B.C., Darren Davidson listens to what locals are saying about the Senate's groundbreaking recommendation that possession of the drug be legalized. [continues 830 words]
You can smell it in the air, either on the local streets or hillsides - and people in Parliament and the rest of the country are buzzing about it. Today, Kathy Kiel will take you with the RCMP as they execute a "marijuana eradication project." This is the first of a three-part series on the pot industry in B.C. In part two Darren Davidson will explore the Senate's ground-breaking recommendation that possession of the drug be legalized. Dope growers are playing the game. Sometimes they win and sometimes they don't. And when they don't, they lose big, big B.C. bud. [continues 847 words]
VANCOUVER ( CP ) - There was more than the usual buzz happening today at the downtown headquarters of the B.C. Marijuana party as news circulated - along with the pungent aroma of burning pot - that a Senate committee had recommended legalization of marijuana use. Marc Emery, perhaps Canada's best-known pot activist, was busy bouncing among media interviews at the store, which is also home to the party's extensive bookstore of how-to pot pourri. Emery was visibly ecstatic, admittedly stunned at the way the stereotypical stodgy senators had suddenly become, well, dudes. [continues 347 words]
Local marijuana activist says Nelsonite Ian Hunter, The High Priest of Pot, rallied for "the freedom to do what we want with our bodies and minds." A local marijuana activist and business owner says the pro-pot movement has lost "a beautiful mind," following the death of Nelson resident Ian Hunter last week. "He brought all the cannabis arguments into the forefront," says Dustin Cantwell, co-owner of the Holy Smoke Culture Shop. Cantwell says Hunter was "a good friend and mentor and a guide for the movement." [continues 371 words]
To the Editor: Re: Pot smoker faces deportation, Jul. 30 If an otherwise benign government passes an unjust law that results in the imprisonment of thousands of innocent citizens, how should a free press report the deluge of police raids, court cases and by-laws that flows from the imposition of said unjust law? Consider our drug laws. The most popular harmful drugs are allowed, but the state bans the less popular harmful drugs "because they are harmful". There's simply no escaping the fact that our drug laws aware implemented for one reason and one reason only: to distract attention away from government failures in other areas and to provide a measure of vicarious pleasure to the majority by persecuting an innocent minority. Hitler showed the way, and governments that world over are goose-stepping along behind him. [continues 256 words]
To the Editor: In the wake of last week's devastating developments (wrong word there) to the interior forest sector, I would like to express my sincere sympathy and compassion for the thousands of individuals in our communities who have been so horrendously affected by the specific incidents I am referring to and by the sorry state of socio-economic affairs that has swallowed this sad province since Gordon Campbell's unworthy government took power. I am sooo angry and betrayed, as I am certain you all are feeling also. [continues 307 words]
VICTORIA - If ever there was proof that government shouldn't be in business, the spectacular failure of the federal medical marijuana grow program is it. The stuff the feds have been growing inside an abandoned copper mine near Flin Flon, Manitoba, couldn't give you a buzz if you smoked your brains out. Last year, then Health Minister Allan Rock announced a new program to provide chronic pain sufferers and terminally ill patients with the right to legally smoke marijuana. The issue had been forced by an Ontario Court of Appeal ruling that told Ottawa to either change its regulations for the medical use of marijuana or the court would strike down the country's illicit drug laws. Do something or get off the pot, you might say. [continues 655 words]
I've been a medical journalist for 27 years. It's made me a terrible skeptic. But for good reason. I've seen too many distortions of the truth in medicine. I've seen too many colleagues sit on the fence rather than take a stand on controversial issues. I've seen too many fight the use of painkillers when they could ease the agony of dying cancer patients. Above all else, I've seen too often a complete void of common sense. Now I'm seeing it again, patients who need marijuana to ease their suffering but can't obtain it. [continues 684 words]
OTTAWA - The kid parked in the rusty Chevy Nova with three teenage buddies was getting ready for a high school dance in routine rebel style -- with a case of beer in the back seat and a marijuana joint in circulation. Suddenly, powerful flashlights blasted through the side windows, the front doors were yanked open and loud voices warned everyone not to move. The driver, crazy Bob Green, instinctively hit the accelerator, dragging two police officers along the asphalt for a hundred metres until a punch to his head and talk of a gun from one of the cops put the brakes to any dramatic escape attempt. The undercover officers dumped the beer in the parking lot - -- and busted the guy caught holding the bag of dope. [continues 627 words]
A Heritage City coffee house decided to stick to beans not buds by asking a local artist to remove his photographic exhibit of marijuana plants from their walls. Artist Patrick Burley hung nearly 20 photos on the walls of Oso Negro earlier this month and after three days, they had to come down leaving the coffee shop walls empty. Burley says the buds got a lot of buzz as he sat in Oso Negro the Sunday morning his show opened. It was exciting for him and he felt positive about his work, the natural and richly coloured photos. He says he wasn't condoning drug use. [continues 1081 words]
Contest Nets $2,000 For D.A.R.E. Program Eddie Shack? A drawing card? Hockey fans in Nelson sure seem to think so. Why else would no less than 750 spectators flock to the Civic Cenre Arena to witness the "Entertainer" in action in the Battle of the Badges hockey game. The Nelson Law Enforcement team defeated the Castlegar Firefighters 10-6 in the contest. But the real winner on this night was the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program, which received $2,000 from the contest. [continues 168 words]
The war on drugs is lost. We should run up the white flag and make accommodation with the enemy. Anything other than a defeatist attitude flies in the face of reality. The war on drugs is the longest war fought by either Canada or the United States. There have been no successful advances. If anything, the front line has been retreating over the decades of this prolonged battle -- for every step forward, two steps back. No new technologies or ideas are available to turn the battle around. [continues 593 words]
