***********************************************************************

DRUGSENSE WEEKLY

***********************************************************************

DrugSense Weekly,                May 15, 2009                      #600

Read This Publication On-line at:  http://www.drugsense.org/current.htm

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

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

* This Just In

   (1) White House Czar Calls for End to 'War on Drugs'
   (2) Lawmakers Consider Defying Voters to Save Money
   (3) Broward Sheriff Wants to End Inmate Treatment Programs To Save Money
   (4) Marijuana Bill Dies in Committee

* Weekly News in Review

Drug Policy-

   (5) Obama Disappoints Needle-Exchange Advocates
   (6) Crist Signs 'Rachel's Law'
   (7) Attorney to Ask Judge to Throw Out Charges in Medical Marijuana Case
   (8) Column: Group Wants Marijuana Studies Program on Campus

Law Enforcement & Prisons-

   (9) Bad Cops, Shady, Law-Breaking Sheriffs
   (10) Cocaine Case Falls Apart
   (11) U.S. Drug Enforcement Agent Indicted In Ohio
   (12) Biggest Meth Seizure In Eastern U.S. Made In Atlanta

Cannabis & Hemp-

   (13) Legalize Pot? Advocates Thrilled With Change In Polls
   (14) Prompted By Schwarzenegger, North Coast Begins Debating Legalizing Pot
   (15) Local Officials: What's Governor Smoking?
   (16) Is U.S. High On Pot Legalization?

International News-

   (17) Western Military Looked Other Way As The Afghan Drug Trade Boomed
   (18) Canadian Drug Offences Hit 30-Year High
   (19) DEA: Bribes Taint Late Mexican Drug Czar
   (20) Better Mexican Drug Policy Can Stem The Violence

* Hot Off The 'Net

   Obama's  Drug  Czar  Calls For End To 'War On Drugs' / Tony Newman
   Students Say Legalizing Drugs Will Save Mexico From Violent Cartels
   Don't  Believe  The  Hype!  Potent  Pot, So What? / Paul Armentano
   Former Mexican President Calls For Legalizing Marijuana
   Drug Truth Network
   MAPS News - May 2009
   Bill  O'Reilly  And  Joseph  Califano  On  Cannabis  Legalization
   How  Cocaine  Markets  Have  Been  Hit  By  The  Financial  Crises
   Q&A With The New Drug Czar
   Ending  The  War  On Drugs: The Moment Is Now / Arianna Huffington

* What You Can Do This Week

   Write A Letter
   Tell The Drug Czar To End This War

Write A Letter

* Letter Of The Week

   Evidence Suggests Decriminalize Marijuana / TG Storey

* Feature Article

   600 Weeks Of DrugSense / Stephen Young

* Quote of the Week

   Mark Twain

DrugSense  needs  your  support  to  continue this newsletter and many
other important projects - see how you can help at
http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm

***********************************************************************

THIS JUST IN
=======================================================================

(1) WHITE HOUSE CZAR CALLS FOR END TO 'WAR ON DRUGS'

Pubdate: Thu, 14 May 2009
Source: Wall Street Journal (US)
Copyright: 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Author: Gary Fields

Kerlikowske  Says  Analogy  Is  Counterproductive;  Shift  Aligns With
Administration Preference for Treatment Over Incarceration

WASHINGTON  --  The Obama administration's new drug czar says he wants
to  banish  the  idea  that  the  U.S. is fighting "a war on drugs," a
move that would underscore a shift favoring treatment over
incarceration in trying to reduce illicit drug use.

In  his  first interview since being confirmed to head the White House
Office  of  National  Drug  Control  Policy,  Gil  Kerlikowske  said
Wednesday  the  bellicose  analogy  was  a barrier to dealing with the
nation's drug issues.

"Regardless  of  how  you  try  to  explain  to  people it's a 'war on
drugs'  or  a  'war on a product,' people see a war as a war on them,"
he said. "We're not at war with people in this country."

View  Full  Image  Gil  Kerlikowske,  the  new  White House drug czar,
signaled  Wednesday  his  openness  to  rethinking  the  government's
approach to fighting drug use.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n514/a02.html

===

(2) LAWMAKERS CONSIDER DEFYING VOTERS TO SAVE MONEY

Pubdate: Fri, 15 May 2009
Source: Statesman Journal (Salem, OR)
Copyright: 2009 Statesman Journal
Author: Alan Gustafson, Statesman Journal

Measure 57 Puts People in Jail Longer, Which Costs More

Eyeing  ways  to  cut  prison spending, some state legislators want to
slam  the  brakes  on  a  voter-approved  measure  that created longer
prison terms for repeat property and drug offenders.

Talk  about  mothballing  Measure  57,  which  took effect in January,
comes  as  legislators confront a massive budget shortfall in the next
two-year budget cycle, starting July 1.

Sen.  Floyd  Prozanski,  D-Eugene,  said  a  legislative work group is
considering whether to put the sentencing measure on hold.

"It's  on  the  table  for discussion," he said. "We're looking at all
the  options  we've  got  to  reduce  the  cost of state corrections."

Prozanski, a former prosecutor, said he favors placing the
sentencing  measure  on  hold  for  two  years, potentially saving $75
million in the 2009-11 budget period.

Anti-crime activists denounce the idea.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n519/a05.html

===

(3) BROWARD SHERIFF WANTS TO END INMATE TREATMENT PROGRAMS TO SAVE MONEY

Pubdate: Fri, 15 May 2009
Source: Miami Herald (FL)
Copyright: 2009 Miami Herald Media Co.
Author: Amy Sherman and David Smiley

Inmates  in  the  Broward jails will no longer receive substance abuse
treatment,  anger  management  help,  computer  skills  and some other
training  --  a  stark  result of budget cuts advocates say will prove
costly in the long run.

The  Broward  Sheriff's  Office  sent a letter to judges and attorneys
Wednesday saying the programs will be eliminated by Aug. 1.

"We  know  the  value  of  these programs but we have no option but to
reduce  our  services  in  the  jails  to  their core," wrote Kristina
Gulick, director of the Department of Community Control.

In  an  interview, Sheriff Al Lamberti said the county will save about
$2.2  million  a  year  by  eliminating programs that employ 14 people
and  served  more than 16,000 inmates last year -- more than one-fifth
of the jail population.

"Unless  the  county decides to put it back into my budget it's done,"
said  Lamberti,  whose  agency started sending pink slips to employees
this week.

County  officials  asked  Lamberti  to  cut more than $50 million from
his  budget  for  the  fiscal  year  starting  Oct.  1  as part of the
county's  effort  to  cut  $160  million from its $3.6 billion budget.
Instead,  Lamberti  submitted  a  $722 million budget that is about $6
million  more  than  this  year.  Lamberti's  budget  curbs  growth in
spending  by  cutting  about  260  positions  and  requiring  one-week
furloughs for nonunion staff.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n519/a06.html

===

(4) MARIJUANA BILL DIES IN COMMITTEE

Pubdate: Fri, 15 May 2009
Source: Las Vegas Sun (NV)
Copyright: 2009 Las Vegas Sun, Inc
Author: Cy Ryan

CARSON  CITY  -  A  bill  to tighten the law for growing marijuana has
died in the Assembly Judiciary Committee on a 6-6 vote.

Eight  votes  are  needed  for passage by the committee of Senate Bill
262, which breezed through the Senate on an 18-3 vote.

The  bill  would  have  imposed  a  penalty on the number of marijuana
plants  discovered  by  law  enforcement. Assemblyman Bernie Anderson,
the  chairman  of  the  committee,  said  the  criminal penalty now is
based on the weight of the marijuana.

The  penalty  could  range  up  to  a  felony, depending on the amount
discovered.

Anderson  said  there  is a loophole in the law and authorities sought
to  close  it.  There  was  testimony  from  California officials that
growers  come  to  Nevada  to plant and harvest the plant and the sell
it.

Anderson,  D-Sparks,  said marijuana is a "gateway" drug to the use of
stronger drugs.

But  Assemblyman  Tick  Segerblom,  D-Las Vegas, argued the nation was
going  in  a  different  direction  in dealing with laws on marijuana.
The movement now is toward treatment, he said.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n519/a07.html

***********************************************************************

WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW
=======================================================================

Domestic News- Policy
----------------------------------

COMMENTS (5-8)

The  Obama  administration  seems  to be sending mixed signals on the
drug  war.  While the new drug czar seems to understand how unhelpful
the  rhetoric  can  be,  the  administration  seems to be backing off
previously  stated  real  support  for  needle  exchange  programs.

In  Florida,  the  Governor signed "Rachel's Law," though it seems to
be  a  shadow  of  the  original proposal. And, last week, there were
more  expressions  of  new  thinking about cannabis. See the Cannabis
and Hemp section for even more.

===

(5) OBAMA DISAPPOINTS NEEDLE-EXCHANGE ADVOCATES

Pubdate: Mon, 11 May 2009
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Copyright: 2009 Hearst Communications Inc.
Author: Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer

President  Obama  has  called for repealing the ban on federal funding
for  anti-AIDS  programs  that supply clean needles to drug users. His
drug  policy  director  supported such a program when he was Seattle's
police  chief.  And  last  week,  Obama's nominee to head the Food and
Drug  Administration  won  praise  in  a  Senate  committee  for  her
leadership on needle exchange.

So  advocates  of  the  programs  in  the  Bay Area and elsewhere were
surprised  and  dismayed  when  Obama's budget for 2009-10 proposed to
continue the funding prohibition that dates from the 1980s.

"We  hoped  that  the  president would seize the first opportunity for
lifting federal restrictions on this life-saving prevention
strategy,"  said  Paola  Barahona  of  Physicians  for  Human  Rights.
"Denying  people  at  risk for HIV a proven prevention intervention is
a denial of their basic human rights."

"Without  the  federal  funding,  we're  missing  people that we could
reach,"  said  Laura Thomas, who heads the Drug Policy Alliance office
in  San  Francisco  and volunteers at a local needle-exchange program.
"It's  ridiculous  that  at  this  point  in  the  epidemic, we're not
looking to science in determining what we're funding."

A  similar  view could be found on the White House Web site soon after
Obama  took  office  in  January: "The president also supports lifting
the  federal  ban  on needle exchange, which could dramatically reduce
rates of infection among drug users."

That comment was erased from the site recently.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n517/a02.html

===

(6) CRIST SIGNS "RACHEL'S LAW"

Pubdate: Fri, 8 May 2009
Source: Tallahassee Democrat (FL)
Copyright: 2009 Tallahassee Democrat
Author: Jennifer Portman, Democrat Senior Writer

Hoffman's  Parents  Plan  to  Return  Next  Year  to Build on What Was
Accomplished

Irv  Hoffman  wiped  away  tears  and Margie Weiss hugged Gov. Charlie
Crist  on  Thursday as Crist made official the first law in the nation
intended to protect confidential informants.

Crist's  signing  of "Rachel's Law" came a year to the day after their
23-year-old  daughter  Rachel Morningstar Hoffman was killed during an
assignment  as  a  confidential  informant  for the Tallahassee Police
Department.

Her  death  during  a botched drug sting was the catalyst for the law.

"One  year  ago  today  was  a very difficult day, and I want to thank
you  for  your  continued  perseverance,"  Crist  said  to  Hoffman's
parents  at  a  morning  event  at  the Capitol. "To have a law on the
books  now  that  makes  it  more  safe  for  people to cooperate with
law-enforcement  officers  across  our  state  is  very  important."

Hoffman's parents, who live in Pinellas County, thanked the
governor,  lawmakers  and  others  who  helped  them  see the law pass
swiftly.

"This  has  been  a  long  exhaustive  journey," Irv Hoffman said. "We
made history today. Rachel made history today."

The  law  will  require  law-enforcement agencies to have policies and
procedures  that  consider  an  informant's  age  and maturity and the
potential of physical harm.

The  original  bill  Hoffman's  parents  pushed  for  included greater
protections,  including  prohibiting  police  from using informants in
drug  treatment  programs  and  requiring that informants be told they
have  a  right  to legal counsel. Those provisions were stripped after
opposition  by  law-enforcement  officials,  who  said  they  would
compromise  their  most  effective  tool  in  fighting  drug  crimes.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n504/a03.html

===

(7) ATTORNEY TO ASK JUDGE TO THROW OUT CHARGES IN MEDICAL MARIJUANA
CASE

URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n515/a09.html

Pubdate: Thu, 14 May 2009
Source: Detroit News (MI)
Copyright: 2009 The Detroit News
Author: Jennifer Chambers, The Detroit News

Madison  Heights  --  An  attorney  for a Madison Heights woman who is
physician-certified  to  use  medical  marijuana  plans to ask a judge
today to dismiss felony drug charges against her.

Torey  Alison  Clark,  along  with her co-defendant, Robert Redden, is
scheduled  to  appear in Madison Heights 43rd District Court in a case
being  widely  watched  by  legal  observers and community leaders who
are  trying  to  understand  the  parameters of Michigan's new medical
marijuana law.

Clark and Redden, who live together, say they are
physician-certified  to  grow  and  use  medical  marijuana,  yet  21
marijuana  plants  were  seized  from  their  home  March  30. Madison
Heights  Police  used  a battering ram to knock down their front door.

Oakland  County  prosecutors  charged  them  with  felonies that could
land them in prison for up to 14 years.

===

(8) COLUMN: GROUP WANTS MARIJUANA STUDIES PROGRAM ON CAMPUS

Pubdate: Tue, 12 May 2009
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Copyright: 2009 Hearst Communications Inc.
Author: Andrew S. Ross, Chronicle columnist

With  California  getting  serious  about  legalizing  marijuana,  can
university business courses be far behind? No, believes the
Treatments,  Herbs  and  Cannabis  Foundation.  The  recently  founded
Petaluma  organization  is lobbying for a "Marijuana Business Program"
at Sonoma State University.

The  program,  which  would  initially  offer  a  bachelor  of science
degree  in  business  administration,  would  be  "intended  for  the
student  who  wishes  to  be  involved  in  the  evolution  of today's
marijuana industry."

The  foundation,  which  favors the spread of medical marijuana clubs,
also  would  like to see a "California Marijuana Research Program" and
"Authorized/University  Operated  Production  Facilities."  Such
programs  would  help  to  "bring  forward  and  cleanse  an  industry
currently infiltrated by gangs, criminals and frauds."

So  far,  job  postings  and  program  details  have  been  placed  on
Craigslist,  an  invitation  to  join  the  cause  is  on Facebook and
letters  have  been  dispatched  to  Gov.  Arnold  Schwarzenegger, San
Francisco  D.A.  Kamala  Harris  and Petaluma Police Chief Steve Hood,
among others.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n510/a05.html

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

Law Enforcement & Prisons
-------------------------

COMMENTS: (9-12)

More corruption and failure.

===

(9) BAD COPS. SHADY, LAW-BREAKING SHERIFFS

Pubdate: Sun, 10 May 2009
Source: Fayetteville Observer (NC)
Copyright: 2009 Fayetteville Observer

Despite  the  tenet  that  law  officers  need  to  hold themselves to
higher  standards,  corruption stands as one of the oldest problems in
law enforcement.

"They  are  the  final line, something that separates society from the
bad  guys.  They  are  the  protectors,"  said  Dr.  Hamid  Kusha,  an
assistant  professor  in  the  Criminal  Justice  Department  at  East
Carolina  University.  "The mandate of police is to serve and protect.
Therefore,  we  look at police as good guys. We want them to have high
ethical  standards."  Obviously, that's not always the case. In Spring
Lake,  an  assortment  of  alleged  misdeeds  has  turned  the  Police
Department  into  an  ineffectual  force.  Tuesday, Spring Lake Police
Chief  A.C.  Brown  resigned one day after the arrests of Sgt. Alfonzo
Devone  Whittington  Jr.  and Sgt. Darryl Eugene Coulter Sr., who were
indicted  last  week  by  a  special  Cumberland  County  grand  jury.

The  charges  against  Whittington and Coulter include embezzlement by
public  officer,  obtaining  property  by false pretense, breaking and
entering,  second-degree  kidnapping and obstruction of justice. Along
with  those  indictments,  the  Police  Department was stripped of its
remaining police powers.

But  law  enforcement  misconduct  spreads  much  further  than Spring
Lake.  In  the last three years, four sheriffs in this state have been
convicted  of  breaking  the  very  laws that they swore to uphold. In
the  past  six  years, five North Carolina sheriffs have faced serious
charges. "Four is too many, and one is too many. It's very
regrettable,"  said  Eddie  Caldwell,  executive vice president of the
N.C.  Sheriffs'  Association.  But  Caldwell  questions  whether  more
cases  exist  today  than  in  the  past. The immediacy of the news A-
with  breaking  stories  running around the clock on television and on
the  Internet  A-  produces  a glut of information. Caldwell said some
newspapers  seem  to  thrive  on  the  misdeeds  of religious leaders,
teachers and government officials.

"Those  stories  get front-page coverage," he said. "There's much more
transparency.  Things  that  happened  decades  ago  that  did not get
prosecuted  or  reported  get fully prosecuted or reported today. If a
government  official  gets  a  parking  ticket,  that's reported. That
changes  public  opinion."  The N.C. Attorney General's Office and the
N.C.  State  Bureau  of  Investigation have investigated more than 500
public  corruption  cases in the past eight years, according to Noelle
Talley, spokeswoman for the state Department of Justice.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n505/a03.html

===

(10) COCAINE CASE FALLS APART

Pubdate: Tue, 12 May 2009
Source: News & Observer (Raleigh, NC)
Copyright: 2009 The News and Observer Publishing Company
Author: Sarah Ovaska

After 21 Months in Jail, a Cleared Man Goes Home

RALEIGH  -  For 21 months, Gerardo Vilchez's life was contained inside
a  jail  cell  as  he  awaited  a  trial  on  trafficking charges that
stemmed from one of Wake County's biggest drug busts.

He  was  set free last week, after a Wake jury rejected accusations by
a  Wake  sheriff's investigator and prosecutors that Vilchez conspired
to  transport  32 kilograms of cocaine, or more than 70 pounds, in the
tires of a passenger bus he drove from northern Mexico.

Now  the  criminal  case  surrounding  the $3.2 million worth of drugs
appears  to  be nearing an end, with little chance that whoever placed
the  cocaine  inside  the tires or who intended to profit from it will
be  charged.  The only two people ever charged were Vilchez and Victor
Hugo  Lopez,  a bus attendant, who remains in jail awaiting a trial on
the  same  charges Vilchez faced. Vilchez, a U.S. citizen who lives in
Mexico,  told  jurors  he  had  no  idea  the drugs were hidden in the
tires  of  his  bus. He said he was just driving the vehicle to places
along  a  route selected by dispatchers for the Texas tour bus company
that employed him.

He  also  said  he resents the drug trade and what narcotics smuggling
has  done  to  Mexico,  which  has  been  torn  apart  by  violence as
Mexico's  federal  government  struggles  to  crack  down on powerful,
wealthy drug cartels. "The people that are involved in drug
trafficking,  they  use  the innocent people," Vilchez said. "All they
want  is  to  make  money." In jail, his only view was through a small
window that looks out on Raleigh's downtown streets.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n512/a05.html

===

(11) U.S. DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENT INDICTED IN OHIO

Pubdate: Wed, 13 May 2009
Source: Macon Telegraph (GA)
Copyright: 2009 Associated Press

CLEVELAND  --  A federal drug enforcement agent has pleaded not guilty
to  a  federal indictment that accuses him of framing 17 people during
controlled drug buys through an informant.

Lee  Michael  Lucas,  41,  of Cleveland appeared Wednesday before U.S.
District  Judge  Solomon  Oliver  on charges, including obstruction of
justice  and  violating  civil  rights.  Lucas  allegedly  used a drug
informant  in  2005  to  make  controlled drug buys and then put false
information in his reports on the transactions

He  was  released  on  personal  bond,  and  has a Jan. 6 trial date.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n513/a12.html

===

(12) BIGGEST METH SEIZURE IN EASTERN U.S. MADE IN ATLANTA

Pubdate: Wed, 13 May 2009
Source: Macon Telegraph (GA)
Copyright: 2009 Associated Press
Author: Kate Brumback

Biggest Meth Seizure In Eastern U.S. Made In Atlanta

ATLANTA  (  AP  )  --  Federal  authorities  in  Atlanta  on Wednesday
announced  the  biggest  seizure  of  Mexican  crystal methamphetamine
ever recorded east of the Mississippi River.

Federal  drug  enforcement agents seized about 351 pounds of meth from
two  houses  in  Duluth,  in  suburban  Atlanta,  in an operation that
began  Sunday  and  extended  into  Monday morning. They arrested four
Mexican nationals, three of whom are in the U.S. illegally.

"This is very typical of what we see regarding Mexican drug
trafficking  organizations  and how they operate," said Rodney Benson,
who  heads  the  Drug  Enforcement  Administration's  Atlanta  field
office.  "They  want  to  blend  in  to  communities  in  nondescript
locations to conduct their business."

The  seizure  is  the  culmination  of  a  two-month investigation. In
addition  to  the  crystal meth, commonly known as "ice," agents found
one kilogram of cocaine, an undetermined amount of cash and
chemicals and equipment for making meth.

The  wholesale  value  of  the meth seized is about $6 million, Benson
said.  The  highly-addictive  drug was packaged for distribution along
the  East  Coast and would likely be worth tens of millions of dollars
on the street, he said.

Over  the  last  several  years,  the  Atlanta  area,  and  especially
suburban  Gwinnett  County,  has  become a major drug distribution hub
for  Mexican  drug trafficking organizations. Drugs are brought across
the  southwest  border  and  along  the  interstates to Atlanta, where
they  are  processed  into  the  final  product  and  repackaged.  The
traffickers  tend  to  compartmentalize  their  operations  so  a bust
doesn't bring down their whole operation.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n518/a04.html

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

Cannabis & Hemp
------------------------

COMMENTS: (13-16)

The  euphoria  continues  over  the  apparent  shift in political and
public  attitudes  in the United States toward cannabis legalization,
with  some  governors  and  public  servants  echoing  Gov.  Arnold
Schwarzenegger's timid call for a debate.

But  opponents  are not short of bizarre rationalizations and logical
contortions in defense of the status quo.

Meanwhile,  Canadians  are  lamenting  the  fact  that, while finally
Washington  might  tolerate  or ignore cannabis law reform in Canada,
Ottawa is completely out of step.

===

(13) LEGALIZE POT? ADVOCATES THRILLED WITH CHANGE IN POLLS, GOVERNOR'S
CALL FOR DEBATE

Pubdate: Wed, 13 May 2009
Source: Oakland Tribune, The (CA)
Copyright: 2009 ANG Newspapers
Author: John Simerman, Contra Costa Times

OAKLAND  -- Here in the East Bay's growing hotbed of marijuana-related
commerce  -- an uptown stretch that some call "Oaksterdam" -- the buzz
just got thicker.

They're talking about it at Oaksterdam University, where seminars fill
up  months  in  advance on marijuana law, cultivation, bud-tending and
other  pot topics; and at a shop across Broadway that sells the latest
hash-making  machines and German vaporizers, while a dozen people wait
for  patient  ID  cards  in  the back, some with babies on their laps.

In  the  backroom of Coffeeshop Blue Sky, a dispensary on 17th Street,
mention of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's statement last week that "it's
time for debate" about legalizing pot drew a wide smile from Air Force
veteran Rosanne Rutherford, who sat waiting to plunk down $22 for some
"Blue Dream" in a brown paper bag.

"It's  been  demonized  for  years,  just  because  of politics," said
Rutherford,  41.  "It  was  a  happy  surprise.  How  things  change."

Even  the  most  ardent pot advocates say they're a bit dizzy over the
governor's  comments  and  the  speed  of  an apparent shift in public
opinion  toward legalizing and taxing pot. A Field Poll in April found
56  percent  of California voters now favor it. As recently as 2004, a
similar  poll found less than 40 percent did. Nationally, a recent ABC
News/Washington  Post  poll  found  that 46 percent of Americans favor
legalizing  small  amounts of pot for personal use, up from 22 percent
in 1997.

And while some marijuana reform advocates expect a federal prohibition
to  remain  firmly  in the way of legalizing pot use for years, others
say  they aim to press the issue with a state ballot measure, possibly
as early as next year.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n513.a03.html

===

(14) PROMPTED BY SCHWARZENEGGER, NORTH COAST BEGINS DEBATING LEGALIZING POT

Pubdate: Mon, 11 May 2009
Source: Press Democrat, The (Santa Rosa, CA)
Copyright: 2009 The Press Democrat
Author: Glenda Anderson
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Schwarzenegger

North  Coast  officials are skeptical of proposals to legalize and tax
marijuana.  But  some  said  they would welcome and participate in the
debate  that  could  put  the  drug  in  the same category as alcohol.

We  have  to  get  the  discussion  started,"  said  Mendocino  County
Supervisor  Kendall Smith, who believes legalization and regulation of
marijuana  for  general  adult  use  is likely to occur at some point.

[snip]

The debate over legalization is familiar to North Coast residents, who
supported  Proposition 215 in 1996, saw Mendocino County adopt liberal
growth  standards  in  2000,  only to see a backlash against loosening
restrictions as both the stench of marijuana and related crime invaded
neighborhoods.

I  think we need another drug like we need a hole in the head," Sonoma
County Sheriff's Capt. Matt McCaffrey said.

The  societal costs of having more people using drugs would exceed the
tax benefits, he said.

A lot of the money would be going to the ills caused by this drug," in
much  the  same  way  alcohol  taxes don't cover the costs of problems
caused by alcohol consumption, he said.

Sonoma  County  District  Attorney  Stephan  Passalacqua  said he'd be
willing  to  participate  in  discussions  about  legalization. But he
questioned whether now is the time.

I  don't  think  on  an  important topic like this it can be done when
we're  facing  a deficit at our doorsteps," he said. "At this point it
serves as a needless distraction to Sacramento."

Education  officials  said  legalization would do more harm than good.

It  would  contribute  to  greater  abuse"  by children if it's freely
available  to  adults,  said Sonoma County schools Superintendent Carl
Wong.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n508.a09.html

===

(15) LOCAL OFFICIALS: WHAT'S GOVERNOR SMOKING?

Pubdate: Mon, 11 May 2009
Source: Appeal-Democrat (Marysville, CA)
Copyright: 2009 Appeal-Democrat
Author: Ben van der Meer

Suggestion To Study Legalizing Marijuana Criticized

Reaction  to  Gov.  Arnold Schwarzenegger's suggestion that California
should study legalizing marijuana had a familiar refrain locally: Just
say no.

Local  elected officials and law enforcement see little benefit to the
idea,  and  even  a  local  advocate for pot legalization acknowledges
there  are  a lot of questions that would need answers before the idea
was viable.

Sutter County Supervisor Jim Whiteaker had a response that could speak
for  many:  "The  governor's idea would explain a lot of the decisions
made at the state level lately."

Whiteaker, who opposes the idea, said the effects of drug addiction on
families  and  communities  would be worsened if someone could pick up
marijuana at the corner store legally.

"Marijuana  itself does impede judgments," Whiteaker said, adding he'd
worry  that people responsible for public safety, such as bus drivers,
might partake of marijuana if it was legal.

[snip]

Last  April,  Yuba  County  supervisors voted to create an ID card for
medicinal  marijuana  users to make their use less likely to result in
arrest.

In  Sutter  County, however, the planning commission and the cities of
Yuba City and Live Oak have banned medical marijuana dispensaries from
opening. No dispensaries are openly operating in either Yuba or Sutter
counties.

Assemblyman  Dan  Logue  (R-Linda) said now is not the time to discuss
full  legalization,  especially  when  the  state has larger problems.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n508.a03.html

===

(16) IS U.S. HIGH ON POT LEGALIZATION?

Pubdate: Tue, 12 May 2009
Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON)
Copyright: 2009 Canoe Limited Partnership
Author: Mindelle Jacobs

Canada  has  been  terrified of liberalizing our drug laws for fear of
angering  Uncle  Sam.  Ironically,  the United States is now closer to
legalizing pot than we are.

While the federal Conservatives in the Great White North are poised to
bring  in mandatory jail time for producing and selling illicit drugs,
the  sweet  smell  of  drug reform is wafting across America. Wouldn't
that  be  a  weird  buzz?  Canada  as the uptight, anti-pot zealot and
America as the laid-back, rational progressive.

In some states, the simple possession of marijuana has been
effectively  decriminalized (although more than 800,000 Americans were
still  arrested  for  pot  possession  last  year).  And  in  Alaska,
possession  of  a  small  amount  of  weed  in your own home is legal.

Thirteen states allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes. And a
California  legislator has introduced a bill to legalize the adult use
of  pot.  He  proposes  a  $50-an-ounce  tax  which  would bring in an
estimated  $1.3  billion  for  the  state,  which  has  a  staggering
multibillion-dollar deficit.

Last  week,  California  Gov.  Arnold Schwarzenegger acknowledged that
it's time to debate whether to legalize and tax marijuana.

Meanwhile, in Canada, the Conservatives' proposed amendments include a
mandatory  six-month  jail sentence for growing even one pot plant for
the purpose of trafficking.

And  our  medical  pot  regulations  are  so  complex -- thanks to the
constant tug of war between the government and the courts over how the
scheme  should  be  run  --  that  no  one  really has a clue how it's
supposed to work.

It's enough to make you want to head to the rec room to partake in the
consciousness-altering substance of your choice.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n509.a09.html

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

International News
---------------------------

COMMENTS: (17-20)

True,  more  opium  flows  from Afghanistan under the U.S. occupation
than  ever  did  before,  but  that's  no  reason  not to blame those
namby-pamby  Europeans  for going soft on drugs in bandit country. Or
so  the  new party line goes: the problem with the Afghanistan war is
the  NATO  allies  muzzle  the  wise anti-drug zeal of the Americans.
Allow  them  to  crush  the Afghan poppy farmer with a prohibitionist
blitzkrieg  of  power  and  death  from  above,  and  terror shall be
vanquished.

In  Canada,  government  statistics  released  this  week  showed  an
increase  in  police  activity against people for using cannabis - "a
police  crackdown  on  drugs...  that  cast more drugs as illicit and
made  drug  production  a  crime." Net-widening laws "affect the drug
offence  rate  by  criminalizing  certain  behaviours  that  were not
previously  considered  to  be  a  crime."  As  in  the  US, Canada's
cannabis  "crimes"  account  "for  two-thirds  of  all  reported drug
crimes" and 3/4 of those were for simple possession.

A  U.S.  DEA  report  released  this  week  accused (deceased) former
Mexican  drug  czar Jose Luis Santiago Vasconcelos of accepting money
from  drug  cartels.  Vasconcelos,  who was killed in an air accident
last  year,  was  accused  of  taking  bribes  from the Beltran Leyva
cartel.

And  from  the  New  Hampshire  Union Leader newspaper, a column from
Isaac  Campos  renews calls to legalize marijuana, to cut off funding
for violent drug cartels. The article follows a Mexican
congressional  forum  which  looked  at  decriminalizing  marijuana.
Concludes  Campos:  "if  we  hope to use legislative reform to reduce
Mexico's  drug-policy-related  violence,  Mexico and the U.S. need to
go all the way on marijuana legalization."

===

(17) WESTERN MILITARY LOOKED OTHER WAY AS THE AFGHAN DRUG TRADE BOOMED

Pubdate: Sun, 10 May 2009
Source: Charlotte Observer (NC)
Copyright: 2009 The Charlotte Observer
Author: Tom Lasseter

[snip]

Some  Western  and  Afghan officials say southern Afghanistan spun out
of  control  because  of  a serious miscalculation by U.S. and British
officials,  who  all  but ignored the long rows of poppy and the opium
trafficking that flows from them.

[snip]

As  a  lead  donor  nation  to  Afghanistan, Britain agreed in 2002 to
head  up  counternarcotics efforts, but it did little to crack down on
drugs and largely avoided the eradication of poppy crops.

While  NATO-led  forces  in  Afghanistan  provided training for Afghan
anti-narcotics  units,  they  would  "not take part in the eradication
of  opium  poppy  or in pre-planned and direct military action against
the  drugs  trade,"  Jack Straw, Britain's foreign secretary from 2001
to 2006, wrote in a 2006 letter to Parliament.

[snip]

"Peace  first,  drugs  next,"  said  Ekaterina  Stepanova,  a  senior
analyst  at  the  Stockholm  International  Peace  Research  Institute
who's  studied  drug  economies  in  conflict  zones.  "If  you  want
counternarcotics  policy  to  succeed, you first need a functional and
domestically accepted state."

The  issue  was  left mainly to underequipped and often-corrupt Afghan
police, who had little inclination to take on the hordes of
militants and warlords who were protecting poppy fields.

[snip]

In  Helmand,  the  Afghan government - with U.S. and British backing -
has  distributed  wheat  seed  to  about  30,000  farmers as part of a
pilot  program  for  crop substitution and has begun to map out supply
chains  for  fruits and vegetables to lucrative markets such as Dubai.

[snip]

The  president's  special  envoy  to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard
Holbrooke,  recently  lashed  out at U.S. policy, saying that American
efforts to date have been useless.

"We  have  gotten  nothing  out  of  it, nothing," Holbrooke said at a
March  conference  in  Brussels, Belgium. "It is the most wasteful and
ineffective program I have seen in 40 years."

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n512.a04.html

===

(18) CANADIAN DRUG OFFENCES HIT 30-YEAR HIGH

Pubdate: Thu, 14 May 2009
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 2009 Canwest Publishing Inc.
Author: Janice Tibbetts, Canwest News Service

Use By Youth Increases

(CNS) - Canada's illicit-drug problem hit a 30-year
high in 2007, with marijuana leading the way but losing
ground to cocaine, Ecstasy, crystal meth and date-rape
drugs.

Statistics  Canada  reported  yesterday  the  increase  in drug crimes
reported  to  police,  which reached more than 100,000, coincided with
the overall crime rate hitting a 30-year low.

The  agency  speculated  that  a  police  crackdown  on drugs could be
responsible  for  the  opposite trends, along with a decade-old change
in  federal  law  that  cast  more  drugs  as  illicit  and  made drug
production a crime.

"Police  may  focus  law  enforcement  efforts  more  on  addressing
drug-related  crimes  when  time,  resources  and  priorities permit,"
said  the  report.  "It  is also possible that legislative changes may
affect  the  drug  offence  rate  by  criminalizing certain behaviours
that were not previously considered to be a crime."

[snip]

Cannabis  accounted  for  two-thirds  of  all reported drug crimes and
75%  were  for possession, 13% for trafficking and 11% for production.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n518.a07.html

===

(19) DEA: BRIBES TAINT LATE MEXICAN DRUG CZAR

Pubdate: Thu, 14 May 2009
Source: Houston Chronicle (TX)
Copyright: 2009 Houston Chronicle Publishing Company Division, Hearst Newspaper
Author: Dane Schiller

A  highly  trusted  former  deputy  attorney general, who later became
Mexico's  drug  czar  and  was embraced by Washington until his death,
is  accused  in  a  U.S.  Drug  Enforcement  Administration  report of
taking  bribes  from  one  of  Mexico's  oldest  narcotics trafficking
cartels.

Jose  Luis  Santiago  Vasconcelos,  killed in November in a mysterious
plane crash over Mexico City, is among three senior federal
law-enforcement  officials  named  in an April 21-page DEA briefing on
organized crime and drug trafficking south of the border.

[snip]

When  contacted  Wednesday,  DEA spokesman Garrison Courtney, said the
agency  could  neither  refute  nor  offer  a  source  for  the highly
charged  allegation,  which  appears  in  the  report  as  fact.  The
information  was  included  without  being  fully  vetted for release,
Courtney said.

[snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n517.a03.html

===

(20) BETTER MEXICAN DRUG POLICY CAN STEM THE VIOLENCE

Pubdate: Tue, 05 May 2009
Source: Union Leader (Manchester, NH)
Copyright: 2009 The Union Leader Corp.
Author: Isaac Campos

LAST  MONTH,  Mexico's  Congress  convened a special forum to consider
marijuana  policy  reform  as  a  remedy  for  that  country's current
crisis of violence. The forum bucked a century of staunch
prohibitionist  history  in  Mexico, a history that has contributed to
the  continued  criminalization  of  marijuana  use  throughout  North
America.

[snip]

Last  month's  forum  at  least opened a dialogue among Mexicans. That
is  certainly  a  step  in  the right direction. But if we hope to use
legislative  reform  to  reduce Mexico's drug-policy-related violence,
Mexico and the U.S. need to go all the way on marijuana
legalization.

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n497.a02.html

***********************************************************************

HOT OFF THE 'NET
-------------------------------

OBAMA'S DRUG CZAR CALLS FOR END TO 'WAR ON DRUGS'

By Tony Newman, Drug Policy Alliance

Drug  Czar  reaffirms  support  for  clean  syringes to reduce HIV and
ending raids on marijuana dispensaries.

http://drugsense.org/url/iOslrlXs

===

STUDENTS  SAY  LEGALIZING  DRUGS WILL SAVE MEXICO FROM VIOLENT CARTELS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I-FPC3Z1jw

===

DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE! POTENT POT, SO WHAT?

By: Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director  

http://drugsense.org/url/64eOtDJu

===

FORMER MEXICAN PRESIDENT CALLS FOR LEGALIZING MARIJUANA

Former  Mexican  President  Vicente  Fox  says it is time to 'open the
debate' on legalizing drugs.

http://drugsense.org/url/eZazA5Sa

===

DRUG TRUTH NETWORK

Cultural Baggage Radio Show - 05/13/09 - Maia Szalavitz

Maia  Szalavitz,  author  of  "Help at Any Cost" + Terry Nelson of Law
Enforcement  Against  Prohibition  & Abolitionist Moment/DTN Editorial

http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/?q=node/2416

Century of Lies - 05/10/09 - Eric Sterling

Eric  Sterling,  president  of  Criminal  Justice  Policy  Foundation
discusses  mandatory  minimums + Professor Jeffrey Miron & former drug
czar John Walters on CNN + Abolitionists Moment

http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/?q=node/2408

===

MAPS NEWS - MAY 2009

Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies News

http://www.maps.org/sys/nq.pl?id=1985&fmt=stdnews

===

BILL O' REILLY AND JOSEPH CALIFANO ON CANNABIS LEGALIZATION

Intellectual discretion is advised.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUwulKdbDYE

===

HOW COCAINE MARKETS HAVE BEEN HIT BY THE FINANCIAL CRISES

The  following  commentary on the recent SOCA report has been prepared
for  the  Transform  Blog  by  Axel  Klein,  Lecturer  in the Study of
Addictive  Behaviour, Centre for Health Service Studies, University of
Kent.

http://drugsense.org/url/puAoMn0J

===

Q&A WITH THE NEW DRUG CZAR

Gil  Kerlikowske,  the  new director of the White House Office of Drug
Control  Policy  sat  down  with The Wall Street Journal for his first
interview since his confirmation last week.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124233331735120871.html

===

ENDING THE WAR ON DRUGS: THE MOMENT IS NOW

By Arianna Huffington

http://drugsense.org/url/HHFP4en5

***********************************************************************

WHAT YOU CAN DO THIS WEEK
--------------------------------------------------

WRITE A LETTER

White House Czar Calls For End To 'War On Drugs'

DrugSense FOCUS Alert #403 - Thursday, 14 May 2009

http://www.mapinc.org/alert/0403.html

===

TELL THE DRUG CZAR TO END THIS WAR

The  drug  czar  said  he  "wants  to banish the idea that the U.S. is
fighting  'a  war  on  drugs.'"  Urge  him  to back up the rhetoric by
supporting real policy change.

http://drugsense.org/url/YSyq0OLE

***********************************************************************

LETTER OF THE WEEK
------------------------------------

EVIDENCE SUGGESTS DECRIMINALIZE MARIJUANA

By TG Storey

Dear Editor:

I  don't  use  marijuana  (  cannabis ). Therefore, from a consumption
perspective,  I  have  no interest whether or not it is ever legalized
or decriminalized.

As  a  Canadian  taxpayer,  though, I do care. I believe that our rate
of  income  taxation  is  much  too  high  and that our prohibition of
cannabis  contributes  both  directly  and  indirectly  to  that rate.

On  this  basis,  and also because I believe that adults should be the
sole judge of what they put into their bodies, I think that
marijuana  should  be  decriminalized  and legitimized in the same way
that alcohol is now.

No  one  knows  just how big the cannabis industry is in Canada, other
than  it's  BIG.  One  estimate  of its size near the beginning of the
century  was  about  $4  billion  annually.  A Forbes magazine article
from  2003  suggested  that  British Columbia alone might produce more
than that.

Four  billion  dollars  is  about what drug store giant Shopper's Drug
Mart tallied in gross revenues in 2002.

One  important  difference  between  that  company  and  the  Canadian
marijuana  industry  is  that Shopper's Drug Mart reportedly paid more
than $130 million in income taxes that year.

The underground marijuana industry paid none.

Cannabis  was  also  exempt  from  the  taxes, including GST, that are
paid on products like tobacco and alcohol.

In  addition  to  missing  out  on  substantial tax revenues, Canadian
taxpayers  pay  hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars  every  year in an
attempt  to  enforce  our  marijuana  laws  and,  in  so doing, divert
valuable police resources from other concerns.

Does  our  prohibition  of marijuana work? Obviously not, if it spawns
a  $4  billion  a  year underground industry. There are even marijuana
grow houses springing up here in Cochrane.

In  2006,  Canada  had  the  highest  per  capita marijuana use of any
industrialized  country.  The  2007  United  Nations World Drug Report
indicates  that  in  the  previous  year  16.8  per  cent of Canadians
between ages 15 and 64 had used marijuana.

That's a million Canadians.

But at least we're keeping it out of the hands of kids!

Well  no,  actually,  we  are  not.  The  same  United  Nations report
indicates  that  marijuana use by Canadian young people is widespread.
For  example,  in  2005 an estimated 24.4 per cent of Ontario students
in Grades 7 through 11 used marijuana.

It's  strange  how  our laws work in that regard. In the 1960s Toronto
I,  as  a  teenager, observed that marijuana, a strictly illegal drug,
was more accessible to people my age than was alcohol, a
decriminalized  but  regulated  drug.  Cannabis  was available through
contacts  at  school,  at  church  and even Boy Scouts. Bootleggers of
alcohol were harder to find.

Support  for  at  least  the partial decriminalization of marijuana is
found  in  some  unlikely  places.  One  such place is the 2002 Senate
Special  Committee  Summary  Report  on  Illegal  Drugs. It recommends
that  "the  government  of  Canada  amend  the  Controlled  Drugs  and
Substances Act to create a criminal exemption scheme.

This  legislation  should  stipulate  the  conditions  for  obtaining
licenses  as  well  as  for  producing  and selling cannabis; criminal
penalties  for  illegal  trafficking  and export; and the preservation
of  criminal  penalties  for  all activities falling outside the scope
of the exemption scheme."

The  report  is  a  real eye-opener. Some other interesting highlights
are as follows:

* Cannabis itself is not a cause of other drug use.

* Cannabis itself is not a cause of delinquency and crime.

* Physical dependency on cannabis is virtually non-existent.

* Psychological dependency is moderate and is certainly lower than
for nicotine or alcohol.

* Cannabis alone, particularly in low doses, has little effect on
the skills involved in automobile driving.

* The prohibition of cannabis does not bring about the desired
reduction in cannabis consumption.

* Over 20,000 Canadians are arrested each year for cannabis
possession.

* The continued prohibition of cannabis jeopardizes the health and
well-being  of  Canadians  much more than does the substance itself or
the regulated marketing of the substance.

To believe that marijuana is harmless, however, is naive.

The  Senate  report  outlines  numerous negative consequences of using
it  as  does  every drug pamphlet you read. For that and other reasons
the  use  of  cannabis is generally a poor life choice and a misuse of
one's time and money.

The same applies to smoking and excessive alcohol use.

The  fact  of  the matter, however, is that marijuana is here in a big
way  and  we  must  deal  with  it.  To  date  we've  done that rather
expensively and ineffectively. A new approach is needed.

According  to  Angus Reid polls conducted in 2007 and 2008, a majority
of Canadians believe that marijuana should be legalized.

I  do  not  entirely agree. To me the term "legalization" suggests the
removal of all restrictions.

I  suggest  instead that we decriminalize cannabis, legitimize it, tax
it  and  sell  it  under  government  control  to adults at prices low
enough  to  compete  with  the  $4  billion-plus underground marijuana
industry and put that industry out of business.

There  would  still  be  government oversight, enforcement and control
but  criminal  sanctions  for  possession of cannabis for personal use
would  disappear.  And  as  is  the  case with tobacco, advertising of
cannabis would be prohibited.

The  tax  revenues  gained  on the legitimate sale of cannabis and the
money  saved  on  ineffective  enforcement  efforts could finance drug
education  programs  in  our  schools  to  hammer an anti-drug message
into  students  from  their  first  day  of kindergarten to their last
year of college.

In  a  generation,  the  dangers  of  alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and a
host  of  other  drugs would be firmly ingrained in the minds of young
people.

Stupidity  relative  to  the  use of drugs cannot be legislated out of
existence.

We  can,  however,  eliminate  ignorance through education. Armed with
knowledge  of  drugs,  including nicotine and alcohol, people can make
informed, intelligent choices.

And who knows, drug use just might decrease.

TG Storey

Pubdate: Wed, 06 May 2009
Source: Cochrane Eagle (CN AB)

***********************************************************************

FEATURE ARTICLE
-------------------------------

600 Weeks Of DrugSense

By Stephen Young

Six  years  ago,  this  space  contained  a  piece I wrote called "300
Weeks of DrugSense."

( see http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2003/ds03.n300.html#sec5 )

The article examined the history of the DrugSense Weekly newsletter as
it  published  its  three-hundreth  issue  and  thanked supporters. It
closed like this: "We hope your efforts will lead to this newsletter's
redundancy before we put out another 300 issues."

Well...  We're still here at Issue 600. And it would appear that, with
the  continued  help  of our supporters, we will be publishing for the
foreseeable future.

The  drug  war  continues  to  rage,  but  more  are  questioning  it,
particularly  with  respect to cannabis. Back in the spring of 2003, I
would not have imagined that Arnold Schwarzenegger would be the person
to  bring  a  new  level  of  seriousness  to the debate over cannabis
policy.

At  the  same time, I wouldn't have imagined that Schwarzenegger would
also  be  the  person  who  single-handedly stopped industrial hemp in
California just a few years earlier.

But  that's  what  we've seen, and I suspect, what we will continue to
see.  We  will  keep  sifting  through the news that comes through the
Media  Awareness  Project  watch  for  small  evolutions  like the one
Schwarzenegger displayed.

We  will  also  continue  to  sift  through  the news to watch for the
excesses which define the war on drugs.

This time, I'm not going out on a limb and say that our final issue is
in  sight  at  any given date. However, I suspect in the course of the
next  600  issues,  the number of stories about reforms will increase,
while the number of stories about excesses will decrease.

We  wouldn't  have  been  able  to  come  this  far  without help from
volunteers who hawk and edit the news, as well as DrugSense
financial  contributors  who  keep  us  online - thanks to all of you.

We  can always use more help with time and money - see how to newshawk
here -http://www.mapinc.org/hawk.htm

And,  you  can  always donate here - http://www.drugsense.org/donate/

Stephen  Young  is an editor with DrugSense Weekly. He is the producer
of the documentary Government Grown -
http://www.governmentgrownhemp.com/  - and the author of How to Inhale
The Universe Without Wheezing.

***********************************************************************

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
------------------------------------

"Now  what  I  contend  is  that  my  body  is my own, at least I have
always  so  regarded  it.  If  I do harm through my experimenting with
it, it is I who suffers, not the state." - Mark Twain

***********************************************************************

DS  Weekly  is  one  of  the  many free educational services DrugSense
offers  our  members.  Watch  this  feature  to  learn more about what
DrugSense can do for you.

TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS:

Please utilize the following URLs

http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm

http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm

CREDITS:

Policy  and  Law  Enforcement/Prison content selection and analysis by
Stephen  Young  ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ),  This  Just  In  selection  by
Richard  Lake  ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )  and  Stephen  Young,  International
content  selection  and  analysis  by Doug Snead ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ),
Cannabis/Hemp  content  selection  and  analysis,  Hot  Off  The  Net
selection  and  Layout  by  Matt  Elrod  ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).
Analysis  comments  represent  the  personal  views  of  editors,  not
necessarily the views of DrugSense.

We  wish  to thank all our contributors, editors, NewsHawks and letter
writing  activists.  Please help us help reform. Become a NewsHawk See
http://www.mapinc.org/hawk.htm  for  info  on  contributing clippings.

===

NOTICE:

In  accordance  with  Title  17  U.S.C.  Section 107, this material is
distributed  without  profit  to  those  who  have  expressed  a prior
interest  in  receiving  the  included  information  for  research and
educational purposes.

===

MAKE A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO DRUGSENSE ON-LINE

http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm

-OR-

Mail  in  your contribution. Make checks payable to MAP Inc. send your
contribution to:

The Media Awareness Project (MAP) Inc.
D/B/a DrugSense
14252 Culver Drive #328
Irvine, CA, 92604-0326
(800) 266 5759
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it