PRESS RELEASE - 28th NOVEMBER, 2003

Edition 22.

Cannabis News Items From Around the World

ABANDONING THE 'DRUG-FREE AMERICA' MYTH

Pubdate: Wed, 19 Nov 2003
Source: AlterNet (US Web)
Copyright: 2003 Independent Media Institute
Contact: letters@alternet.org
Website: http://www.alternet.org/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1451

ABANDONING THE 'DRUG-FREE AMERICA' MYTH

Rush Limbaugh is addicted to OxyContin. Arnold Schwarzenegger smoked pot and consumed anabolic steroids. Most Americans enjoy a daily cup of coffee.
The fact is, this country is filled with drugs - prescription, over-the-counter, illegal and otherwise. The drug warriors have been promising for decades to make America drug-free. Billions of dollars have been spent and hundreds of thousands of people are locked up. Yet drugs are as prevalent and easy-to-get as ever.

It's time for a new approach. First off, let's abandon the "drug-free" myth. Clinging to this impossible goal clouds our common sense and perverts our policy priorities. Instead, we should focus on implementing new drug policies that are fiscally responsible and have the goal of keeping
Americans safe and healthy.

Drug treatment, for example, works better than prison in helping to stop the cycle of addiction. Just ask Rush. Or Noelle Bush. Or Cindy McCain (John's wife). Unfortunately, half of Americans who need treatment cannot get it. Instead they are taken away from their families and locked in a
jail cell for crimes committed primarily against themselves. Those who struggle every day with addiction need help, not a drug charge on their record that could ruin their future chances for jobs, school loans, or public housing.

Federal and state governments flush about $40 billion a year trying to win the war on drugs. The lion's share goes toward busting, trying, and incarcerating nonviolent drug users and petty dealers. The federal prison bill for housing over 78,000 drug offenders exceeds $1.8 billion every year. Most of the men and women in federal prisons for drug offenses are first-time, nonviolent offenders.

Although the feds have the option of running up deficits, states do not.
Burdened with massive prison bureaucracies, states are now forced to slash funds for everything else, including schools, healthcare, job creation, and even law enforcement. Yes, that's right. There are fewer cops on the street because states are employing guards, cooks, builders, accountants, and doctors (among others) to provide 24-hour services to petty drug offenders.

In order to save money on prisons, we should roll back the draconian sentencing regimes for nonviolent drug crimes. For instance, in California, possession of less than one ounce of heroin or selling a $10 bag of marijuana can send any adult on an all-expenses-paid trip to the gray bar
hotel for three years or more. Three years of prison time costs California taxpayers around $84,000 per prisoner, not including the expenses related to enforcement and legal proceedings.

By abandoning the impossible goal of becoming a "drug-free" society, we can begin to focus our drug education programs on keeping people, especially young people, safe. Instead of programs being evaluated solely on whether they increase or decrease non-problematic, occasional drug use, we can look at how our policies affect rates of death, disease, crime, suffering and their cost to the hard-working taxpayer.

We all live with drugs all around us, whether it's cigarettes or Prozac or pot. We know we can't get rid of them, so let's try instead to reduce the risks associated with them. We can support designated driver campaigns for alcohol drinkers, for example, or syringe exchange programs to help heroin users prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS to each other and their families. We can support drug treatment as an inexpensive and effective way of deterring drug abuse, rather than continuing to try and arrest and incarcerate our way out of the problem.

Lawmakers should reduce or even eliminate the jail time for nonviolent drug crimes, and earmark the savings from prisons for community policing, drug treatment, and healthcare. Or give it back to us in the form of tax rebates. But for the sake of reason, health, and ultimately justice, we should stop pursuing the hopeless ideal of a "drug-free America".

Glenn Backes, MSW, MPH, is Director of the California Capital Office of Drug Policy Alliance, a national membership organization dedicated to developing alternatives to the war on drugs.

Australian Parliamentary Group for Drug Law Reform media release

THERE IS A BETTER WAY FORWARD ON DRUG LAW REFORM

Fri 21 Nov 2003

The Australian Parliamentary Group for Drug Law Reform will today release its policy paper, The Way Forward: Reducing Drug Related Harm in Australia.

The paper advocates a more practical and understanding approach to illicit drug use in Australia, based on the experience and applied best practice of other countries.

"Australia’s successful needle and syringe programs have demonstrated the real public health benefits of a harm minimisation approach to drugs use. Unfortunately the rhetoric and the law across Australia is still locked into a notion of prohibition and a war on drugs, which means we are not picking up on experiences in other parts of the world" said Duncan Kerr MP, co-convenor of the group, at Parliament House today.

"In releasing this new drug policy paper, the Australian Parliamentary Group for Drug Law Reform recommends we learn from, and adapt, the successful policies of more progressive governments," said co-convenor, Kerrie Tucker MLA.

"In Switzerland, for example, they work on four strategic elements - prevention, treatment, harm reduction and law enforcement. As a result, the number of new hard drug users among youth has fallen, overdose deaths are fewer, HIV and hepatitis infections are down, and the open drug scenes and crimes connected with getting the drugs are on the decline" Ms Tucker said.

"In Australia, it is time we looked seriously at trials of the medical supply of heroin, a national trial for supervised injecting rooms, and committing more resources for detox. and rehabilitation."

"Less controversially, it is also time to legislate for the medical use of cannabis, as many community members - such as CWA Tasmania branches - are calling for" said Mr Kerr.

"The evidence is piling up in Australia, as well as across the world, for more, compassionate and level-headed responses that reflect the needs of families and communities faced with drug abuse," said Ms Tucker.

The Australian Parliamentary Group for Drug Law Reform is 10 years old this month. It is made up of politicians from state, territory and federal parliaments, of very different political persuasions, who share the view that treating the many Australians who have used illicit drugs as criminals only makes the problem worse and that much more can done to reduce the harm stemming from the misuse of drugs in our community.

Copies of the policy paper are available from the convenors.

Media Contacts:

Duncan Kerr MP 0418 125 161

Cassy O’Connor D. Kerr’s Office (03) 6234 5255

Kerrie Tucker MLA 6205 0161

Roland Manderson K. Tucker’s Office (02) or 041224 1379

===============================

Roland Manderson ACT Greens

Kerrie Tucker MLA’s Office

ACT Legislative Assembly

GPO Box 1020 Canberra ACT 2601

6205 0161(ph) 6205 0007(f)

=== www.act.greens.org.au ====

First ever death by marijuana?

MOTORIST CHOKES ON BAG OF MARIJUANA,
AS POLICE APPROACH TO HELP CHANGE TYRE?

(KRT) - A 24-year-old Texas man choked to death on a bag of marijuana he stuffed down his throat in an apparent attempt to hide it from police officers early Wednesday.

Police said they had no idea Nickolas Sandoval was in possession of a drug when they stopped about 2:30 a.m. to help him fix a flat tire on northbound Interstate 35 in North Texas, Cpl. Frank Lott said.

"It started out as a welfare concern - it looked like he was attempting to change his tire on his Ford Ranger," Lott said. "But then he started doing the entire choking, grabbing throat, kind of thing. Officers went from `Oh, hey, here is someone with a flat tire,' to `Hey, this guy is choking.' "

Officers noticed a plastic bag lodged in the man's throat, but it was too far down for them to extract.

It turned out that Sandoval had been convicted in Denton County of multiple counts of marijuana possession, a Class B misdemeanor, between September 1999 and December 2001, court records show. He pleaded guilty to the charge in September 1999 and served 12 months of probation.

(Texas is a mean state where drugs are concerned, so the guy was either literally scared to death by the prospect of another arrest, or the police could be lying about what happened at 2:30am that morning?

Don't you just love "noticed a plastic bag lodged in the man's throat, but it was too far down for them to extract." They could see it, but couldn't get it out. Hmmmm, though I don't recommend testing it out, I do wonder. Maybe they were afraid he'd bite. HempEd.)

http://www.nrg.com.au/~recher

Drug Trial Hypocrisy - opinion piece.

There can be no more stark example of hypocrisy than trying to find new treatments for drug addiction.

In 1989 the ACT started a long process for a trial to see if heroin on prescription would help the severely addicted - a process killed off by Prime Minister Howard.

Last week the ACT Health Minister attempted to interest other state health ministers in having a similar national trial using hydromorphone instead of heroin. But he attracted little interest.

Alcohol and drug professionals recognise the benefits of increasing treatment options for heroin addiction. Criminologists too recognise that heroin addicted persons in treatment, any treatment, reduce drug related crime.

And if the treatment is inexpensive and attractive, as heroin and possibly hydromorphone would be, there is a very good chance that it would reduce the black market heroin trade.

The hypocrisy is that in almost no other medical treatment, with so many potential benefits to the patient and to society, would such a trial be governed by politics where members of various parliaments, not all of whom have medical experience nor understand the issue fully, decide the fate of such trials.

B McConnell
President, Families and Friends for Drug Law Reform
Higgins

Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy: Joint Communique

The Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy (MCDS), the peak national policy and decision-making body for licit and illicit drugs, met in Adelaide on Friday 21st November 2003 to consider national licit and illicit drug matters.

The Council comprises the Australian Government and State and Territory Health and Law Enforcement Ministers, including Justice and Police Ministers, and the Australian Government Education Minister. Today’s meeting was chaired by the South Australian Minister for Health, the Hon Lea Stevens MP.

Issues discussed by the Ministers included:

· The National Drug Strategic Framework: Ministers agreed on a new advisory structure and the process for finalising a new National Drug Strategic Framework for the next five years.

· Tobacco Control: Ministers endorsed the direction of the current review of health warnings on tobacco products that is being coordinated by the Australian Government Departments of Health and Ageing and Treasury with the assistance of a Technical Advisory Group.

Further to this Ministers endorsed the inclusion of the display on tobacco product packaging of the Quitline telephone number.

Ministers also noted the Australian Government’s intention to sign and ratify the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, developed by the World Health Organisation.

Ministers noted the status of the Review of the Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Act 1992 and the Hon Wendy Edmond, Queensland Minister for Health, gave a presentation on Queensland’s Indigenous Tobacco Control Initiatives.

· New South Wales Summit on Alcohol Abuse: NSW reported on the Summit on Alcohol Abuse hosted by the NSW Government in August 2003. Ministers noted that a number of key recommendations concern significant issues such as drinking guidelines and advertising, taxation, research and data, training, the role of the media and diversion approaches. Ministers agreed to refer these issues to a senior officer’s working group and to refer the alcohol taxation issue to the Federal Treasurer.

· National Drug Strategy Prevention Agenda: Ministers noted the significant progress, which has been made by the Intergovernmental Committee on Drugs (IGCD) Prevention Working Groups and agreed to publish a prevention monograph, The Prevention of Substance Use, Risk and Harm in Australia: A Review of the Evidence as a Department of Health and Ageing paper. The monograph includes a detailed description of the nature of the drug-related harms to be prevented and underlying risky patterns of drug use. It particularly addressed the social determinants of health and drug use, as well as risk and protective factors predicting drug use and their implications for drug prevention initiatives, which might be considered for introduction.

· Drug Endangered Children Program: Ministers were given a presentation by WA on the Drug Endangered Children Program currently in operation in the USA to protect children from the dangers of being exposed to the lethal chemicals and by-products of clandestine drug laboratories.

· Hydromorphone Trial: Ministers noted the presentation by Mr Simon Corbell, the ACT Minister for Health, concerning a trial of hydromorphone for the management of illicit injecting drug use. At this stage, no other jurisdictions agreed to join ACT in the trial.

· Review of the Alcohol Self-Regulatory System: Ministers received a copy of the Report of the National Committee for the Review of Alcohol Advertising (NCRAA) which reported on progress in the reform of the alcohol advertising self regulatory model.

The Australian Government is providing for monitoring of advertisements to identify the effectiveness of the implementation of the review recommendations.

· Correctional Services Responses to Drug Use: Ministers noted that the Intergovernmental Committee on Drugs will consider a report by the Australian National Council on Drugs on correctional services responses to drug use, when it is available. It was agreed that South Australia and Western Australia would liaise and report on state initiatives at the next meeting.

· National Comorbidity Initiative: Ministers noted the progress made to date on the National Comorbidity Initiative and agreed that mental health disorders complicated by alcohol and other drug abuse disorders is a major public health concern.

Media contact: Kay McNiece, Media Adviser, MCDS phone: 0412 132 585

http://www.nationaldrugstrategy.gov.au/mcds/communique_2111.htm

Justin Brash Press Release:
Medical Cannabis arrest moratorium, Mr Carr?

Mr. Carr said 6 months ago in Parliament "With a sensible mixture of compassion and commonsense we can make a medical cannabis regime work in this State".

Given the delays in implementing this compassionate regime, do you think it unreasonable to ask for a MORATORIUM for the seriously ill from arrest & the non-confiscation of their medicine in the meantime?

This is urgent, PATIENTS ARE BEING ARRESTED AND CHARGED. The dying cannot
wait, 6 months is a long time if you have a terminal illness.

If you wish to meet me to discuss this issue, I will be on Macquarie Street outside Parliament at lunchtime (11 am to 2 pm) each sitting day during December (I believe this to be the 2nd to the 5th). This is of course health permitting, as I am not well. I look forward to meeting you and hope you can come to meet and chat with an actual cannabis patient (HIV) who does not suffer from reefer madness. Thank you for your time and I look forward to meeting with you.

Justin Brash

Mr. Justin Brash
email: mrbrash@iprimus.com.au
snail: PO Box 308 Surry Hills, NSW, 2010
mobile: 0421 476 260 voice: 02 9699 5500

Life Sentence for LSD Defendant

Thursday, November 27, 2003 5:29 AM
Subject: Life Sentence for LSD Defendant

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/11/26/MNG1J3B0KI1.DTL
NATION & WORLD DIGEST
San Francisco Chronicle Staff and News Services Wednesday, November 26,
2003
------------------------------------------------------------------------

LSD makers draw long prison terms

Topeka, Kan. -- Two Bay Area men received long prison sentences Tuesday after being convicted of running a lab that investigators said manufactured most of the nation's LSD.

William Leonard Pickard, 58, of Mill Valley was sentenced to life in prison without parole, while Clyde Apperson, 48, of Sunnyvale was sentenced to 30 years in prison without parole, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The two men were convicted in March of two counts each of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute LSD and possession with intent to distribute.

They were arrested in November 2000 by Highway Patrol officers in Kansas, where the DEA said they were operating an LSD lab out of an old nuclear silo. The 91 pounds of LSD and other chemicals seized at the time constituted the single largest seizure of an operable LSD lab in DEA
history, investigators said.

Pickard was the former deputy director of UCLA's Drug Policy Research Program. His supporters included San Francisco District Attorney Terence Hallinan, who said in a letter to the court that he had known Pickard while still in private practice and considered him an "honorable man."

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Judge sentences two men linked to LSD lab in rural Kansas

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2003/11/25/national2106EST0763.DTL
CARL MANNING, Associated Press Writer Tuesday, November 25, 2003

(11-25) 18:06 PST TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) --

A judge on Tuesday imposed prison sentences on two California men convicted of drug trafficking following an LSD lab bust in rural Kansas three years ago.

U.S. District Judge Richard Rogers sentenced William L. Pickard to life in prison, while Clyde Apperson received 30 years in jail. Neither is eligible for parole; their lawyers planned to appeal.

Pickard, 58, and Apperson, 48, were arrested near a former missile silo near Wamego. The Drug Enforcement Administration raided the site in 2000, and said they found enough chemicals to make millions of doses of LSD.

U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren said the DEA has made only four seizures of complete LSD labs -- including Wamego -- and three involved Pickard and Apperson. The agency said the drug was never produced in Wamego, however.

Both men were convicted in March of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute more than 10 grams of LSD and possession with intent to distribute the illegal drug.

Apperson said nothing during Tuesday's sentencing. Pickard made a brief statement, criticizing the credibility of the government's chief witness, Gordon T. Skinner, who received immunity for his testimony. Skinner was the silo's former owner.

Government witnesses previously said Pickard made LSD in Colorado and New Mexico. The operation allegedly moved to Kansas -- first to an old missile base in Ellsworth County in December 1999 and then to Wamego in July 2000.

Billy Rork, who represents Pickard, said his client didn't receive a fair trial and promised to appeal.

The judge said Pickard "was the primary organizer in an operation that produced substantial amounts of LSD." He also noted that Pickard had two drug convictions in California.
--

THAT'S ALL FOR NOW FOLKS!