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DrugSense Weekly,              Dec.12, 2008                        #579

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

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TABLE OF CONTENTS:

* This Just In

    (1) Court Still Prohibits Marijuana Possession
    (2) Should Teachers Be Drug-Tested?
    (3) Medical Marijuana Patient Spends 21 Days in Jail Before His Case Is Dismissed
    (4) In Mexico, Assassins of Increasing Skill

* Weekly News in Review

Drug Policy-

    (5) ACLU Sides With Students In School Protest
    (6) The Quick Fall To Abuse
    (7) Sen Conrad Welcomes UAV
    (8) Brain-Enhancing Drugs: Legalize 'Em, Scientists Say

Law Enforcement & Prisons-

    (9) Rachel Hoffman Investigator's Firing Case Bound For Arbitration
    (10) Utah Rapper Sentenced To 55 Years In Prison Loses Appeal
    (11) 'Unashamed' Drug User Iktimal Hage-Ali Says She Didn't Want Dealer To Know She Was Using During Ramadan
    (12) Two Women Jump From Window

Cannabis & Hemp-

    (13) Obama Sends Mixed Messages On Marijuana
    (14) Where Weed Grows
    (15) Will New Pot Law Erode School Drug Policies?
    (16) Industrial Hemp Production Licenses Accepted By N.D. AG Department

International News-

    (17) Mexico's War On Drugs Claims Another 30 Lives
    (18) B.C. Drug Deaths Hit A Low Not Seen In Years
    (19) Too Many Drug Incidents Recorded At Local Prison
    (20) 'Prescribe Heroin' - Ex-Police Chief

* Hot Off The 'Net

    Drug War Mayhem In Mexico -- The Public Is Sick Of It / By Sara Miller Llana
    Obama's Smoking Drama / By Tony Newman
    Drug Truth Network
    What Is It About The Bush Administration That Makes Teenagers Want To Drop Acid?
    Obama's "Open For Questions" Reveals Clamor For Drug Policy Reform
    In  Holland,  Cannabis  Politics  Heats  Up  /  Drug War Chronicle
    MAPS MDMA/PTSD Treatment Manual
    Ayahuasca  Healing  Beyond  The  Amazon  /  By  Kenneth  W. Tupper

* What You Can Do This Week

    Support Nadelmann for Drug Czar
    Write A Letter

* Letter Of The Week

    Call A Truce In The Drug War / Owen Davis

* Feature Article

    U.S.  Supreme  Court: Federal Law Does Not Trump State Laws On Medical
    Marijuana / Steve Kubby

* Quote of the Week

    Horace

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

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

(1) COURT STILL PROHIBITS MARIJUANA POSSESSION

Pubdate: Thu, 11 Dec 2008
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 2008 Canwest Publishing Inc.
Author: Shannon Kari, Staff Writer

The  prohibition  against  simple  possession  of  marijuana  has been
upheld  by  an Ontario Superior Court judge, in a closely watched case
that  stemmed  from the prosecution of Clifford Long, who was arrested
by Toronto police with $40 worth of cannabis.

Justice  Eva  Frank  overturned a decision by a lower court judge last
year  that  found there was no valid restriction against possession of
cannabis  because  of  flaws  with  the  country's  medical  marijuana
regulations.

The  lower  court  decision  led to confusion about prosecuting simple
possession  cases  in  Ontario,  said  the  federal  government in its
arguments before Judge Frank earlier this year.

The  federal  Crown  argued that the present policies of Health Canada
have  resulted  in  enough  marijuana for the nearly 2,000 people with
medical certificates to possess the drug.

Judge  Frank  agreed  with  the  arguments  made by federal government
lawyer  Lisa  Csele  in  the  ruling  issued  this week. "Mr. Long has
failed  to  establish that state conduct has infringed the interest of
persons in medical need in obtaining a reasonable supply of
marijuana," said the judge.

As  a  result,  the  prohibition  against  possession  of marijuana is
"still  in  force"  and  the  medical  regulations,  including  Health
Canada's  "supply  policy"  were  found  to  be  valid,  explained Ms.
Csele.

 [snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n1112/a07.html

===

(2) SHOULD TEACHERS BE DRUG-TESTED?

Pubdate: Thu, 11 Dec 2008
Source: Houston Chronicle (TX)
Copyright: 2008 Houston Chronicle Publishing Company Division, Hearst
Newspaper
Author: Ericka Mellon

Recent  Arrests  Have  Some  Calling On HISD, Others To Revisit Stance
On Pre-Employment Screening

For  many  job applicants, whether the work involves driving trucks or
answering phones, passing a drug test is a given.

That's not the case for Texas public school teachers.

The  state  does  not require teachers to take drug tests before being
hired,  and  local  school  districts  aren't  mandating  the tests on
their own.

Officials  with  several districts - including the Houston Independent
School  District,  San  Antonio  ISD and Alief ISD - cited cost as one
major  reason  they skip pre-employment drug screens for teachers. But
with  the  recent  drug  arrests  of more than a dozen HISD employees,
some  advocates  are  calling  on  districts  to  revisit their hiring
practices.

"School  teachers  - next to parents, and in some cases, above parents
-  are  the strongest role model in a child's life," said Calvina Fay,
executive  director  of  the Drug Free America Foundation. "If there's
ever  an  employee  that  we should be looking that they're drug free,
it should be teachers."

State  Rep.  Rob  Eissler,  who  chairs  the  House  Public  Education
Committee,  said  he  would  support studying mandatory drug screening
for  teaching  applicants.  More  than 300,000 teachers currently work
in the state's public schools.

 [snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n1113/a09.html

===

(3) MEDICAL MARIJUANA PATIENT SPENDS 21 DAYS IN JAIL BEFORE HIS CASE
IS DISMISSED

Pubdate: Thu, 11 Dec 2008
Source: New Times (San Luis Obispo, CA)
Copyright: 2008 New Times
Author: Kylie Mendonca

Weed Abatement

A  little  more  than a year ago, Richard Steenken obtained a doctor's
recommendation  for  marijuana.  He  applied  for and received a state
patient  ID  card in case, he said, police questioned him. He grew his
own  marijuana  plants. And then he was arrested for growing plants in
his  home.  Despite his card and prescription, he was held in jail for
21 days before his case was dismissed.

The  SLO  County Sheriff's Department, which executed a search warrant
on  his  home, said he was not complying with California law. Steenken
maintains that he was harassed by the Sheriff's Department.

It's  not  clear  what  kind of investigation was done before deputies
arrived,  armed  and  dressed for SWAT operations, at Steenken's home,
and  then  his  girlfriend's  less  than  three  hours  later. What is
evident  is  that  in  the  six  days  between  the time a warrant was
issued  and  served, Sheriff's detectives didn't check with the county
health  department  to see if he had a patient card--recognized by the
state  as  the  best  form  of  documentation  for  medical  marijuana
patients.  Sheriff  Sgt.  Rick  Neufeld said that step would generally
be  part  of  an  investigation. He couldn't say why it wasn't done in
this case.

"That's  what's  so  funny  and also so infuriating," Steenken said in
an  interview.  "If  they're  doing  this  investigation,  and they're
spending  all  this  time  and  all this money, you'd think they would
check  with  the  county  to  see  if  I  had  a  county-issued card."

 [snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n1115/a02.html

===

(4) IN MEXICO, ASSASSINS OF INCREASING SKILL

Pubdate: Fri, 12 Dec 2008
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2008 The Washington Post Company
Author: William Booth, Washington Post Foreign Service

Well-Coordinated Cartel Hits Show Greater Sophistication

CIUDAD  JUAREZ,  Mexico  --  The  hit  was  fast,  bold, lethal. Jesus
Huerta  Yedra,  a  top  federal  prosecutor here, was gunned down last
week  in  a  busy  intersection  100  yards  from the U.S. border in a
murder of precise choreography.

In  Mexico's  chaotic  drug  war,  attacks  are  no longer the work of
desperate  amateurs  with  bad  aim.  Increasingly,  the  killings are
being  carried  out  by  professionals,  often  hooded and gloved, who
trap  their  targets in coordinated ambushes, strike with overwhelming
firepower,  and  then  vanish  into the afternoon rush hour -- just as
they did in the Huerta killing.

The  paid  assassins,  known  as  sicarios,  are  rarely  apprehended.
Mexican  officials  say the commando squads probably travel from state
to  state,  across  a  country  where  the government and its security
forces  are  drawing alarming conclusions about the scope and skill of
an enemy supported by billions of dollars in drug profits.

"They  are  getting  very  good  at  their  jobs,"  said Hector Hawley
Morelos,  coordinator  of  the  state  forensics  and crime laboratory
here,  where  criminologists  and  coroners  have  been overwhelmed by
more  than  1,600 homicides in Juarez this year. "The assassins show a
high  level  of  sophistication.  They have had training -- somewhere.
They  appear  to  have  knowledge  of police investigative procedures.
For instance, they don't leave fingerprints. That is very
disturbing."

 [snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n1115/a01.html

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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW
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Domestic News- Policy
----------------------------------

COMMENT: (5-8)

 Students  in  Washington  protesting  a  friend's  suspension  for
 allegedly  selling cannabis off school grounds have apparently helped
 to  educate  administrators  in  the  district  about First Amendment
 rights.  In  Michigan,  a newspaper examines what it means for public
 schools  to  be  forced  to  provide  drug education in the age of No
 Child  Left  Behind.  A  Senator  from  North  Dakota  celebrated the
 mechanization  of border patrols and the stacks of federal money that
 comes along with them. And a report from Wired looks at
 brain-enhancing  drugs,  and  why some scientists say they should not
 be prohibited.

===

(5) ACLU SIDES WITH STUDENTS IN SCHOOL PROTEST

Pubdate: Fri, 05 Dec 2008
Source: Whidbey News-Times (WA)
Copyright: 2008 Whidbey News Times
Author: Liz Burlingame

Students  fighting  for free speech rights on Oak Harbor campuses were
recently  backed  by  a  powerful  advocate which convinced the school
district to amend its policy.

Attorney  Rose  Spidell from the American Civil Liberties Union sent a
letter  to  Superintendent  Rick  Schulte objecting to Oak Harbor High
School's  "harsh  disciplinary  actions"  and  "censorship"  during  a
campus-wide protest.

Last  month,  six  students  participated  in  a  sit-in to appeal the
school's  discipline  of  their  classmate,  who  was given a one-year
expulsion  for  allegedly  selling  marijuana at a location off school
grounds.  When  the teens refused to return to the class, or leave the
lunchroom,  officials  had  the students arrested by Oak Harbor police
for disrupting the school.

Later  that  day,  other students held a peaceful protest by spreading
around a petition and writing messages on T-shirts.

The  ACLU  letter  dated  Nov.  21 states, "Fearing that some students
planned  to  conduct  a walkout during the Veteran's Day assembly that
afternoon,  school  officials  confiscated  the  petition  and  told
students to remove their T-shirts or be sent home."

The  following  Monday, a dean of students usurped copies of a student
rights  handbook,  which  were  later  returned  by  the  principal.

Spokesman  Doug  Honig  said  the ACLU receives thousands of letters a
year  from  around  the  state and not every case is investigated. The
ACLU  took  action  in Oak Harbor, he said, to remind staff that there
must  be  a "substantial material disruption of schools" for officials
to step in.

 [snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n1096/a08.html

===

(6) THE QUICK FALL TO ABUSE

Pubdate: Sun, 07 Dec 2008
Source: Battle Creek Enquirer (MI)
Copyright: 2008 Battle Creek Enquirer
Author: Stephanie Antonian Rutherford

Going Beyond 'D.A.R.E.'

Seventeen-year-old  Junetta  Brown  has  witnessed how quickly some of
her peers fall into the hazy world of substance abuse.

"I  see  a  lot of kids get into drinking and drugs, because it's just
easy,"  said  Brown,  a  senior  at  Battle Creek Central High School.

Brown  said  she  has  reasons  for saying no to drugs, but she didn't
get them from a classroom.

"We  all  went  through  D.A.R.E.  and  learned  about drugs in health
class,  but  it  really just focuses on telling us 'say no' or that it
will  hurt  your  body," Brown said. "That's not real life. We are out
in  real  life  and  we need more than that to get us to not do drugs,
because kids are still doing it."

Brown  is  among  the  millions  of  students  across America who have
passed  through  a  variety  of  anti-substance  abuse  programming in
middle school and high school classrooms.

Under  the  No  Child  Left  Behind  Act  of  2001,  which  includes a
component  known  as  Safe  and Drug-Free Schools, every public school
is  required  to  provide  some  kind  of  drug-prevention  education.

Every  year,  schools  nationwide  pour  millions  of  dollars  into
substance-abuse  education  and  programming.  But  how  effective are
they?  And  what  are  local  schools  doing  to  educate teens on the
dangerous effects of drugs, tobacco and alcohol?

 [snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n1103/a03.html

===

(7) SEN. CONRAD WELCOMES UAV

Pubdate: Sat, 06 Dec 2008
Source: Grand Forks Herald (ND)
Copyright: 2008 Grand Forks Herald

WASHINGTON  -  Sen.  Kent  Conrad Saturday welcomed the arrival of the
first  unmanned  aerial  vehicle  to  the  U.S.  Customs  and  Border
Protection's  Grand  Forks  Air  Branch. The arrival of the Predator B
is  the  culmination  of  a four-year effort by Sen. Conrad ( D-N.D. )
and  the  congressional  delegation  to  shore  up  security along the
nation's northern border.

"It  is  vital  to  America's  security  that  we protect our borders,
particularly  the  northern  border,"  Senator Conrad said. "The Grand
Forks  Air  Branch plays an essential role in helping shut the door on
terrorists  who  want  to  sneak across remote border points to strike
on U.S. soil."

The  Border  Patrol  headquarters in Grand Forks monitors close to 900
miles  of  territory along the U.S. border with Canada. The Air Branch
includes  helicopters  for  surveillance  and  interdiction as well as
fixed  wing  airplanes  fitted with specialized sensors and equipment.
Now  the  Air  Branch  will use the state-of-the-art Predator B UAV to
patrol  and  provide  security  along  the  northern  border  against
terrorists, illegal immigration and narcotics traffickers.

Conrad  has  long  been  a  supporter  of establishing a branch of the
Northern  Border  Air  Wing  in  Grand  Forks.  In 2005, he secured $2
million  in  the  Homeland  Security  Appropriations  bill  for  the
establishment  and  operation of a Grand Forks air branch. In 2006, he
secured an additional $17 million in the Homeland Security
Appropriations  bill  to  accelerate  plans  for a Northern Border Air
Wing.

 [snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n1106/a03.html

===

(8) BRAIN-ENHANCING DRUGS: LEGALIZE 'EM, SCIENTISTS SAY

Pubdate: Wed, 10 Dec 2008
Source: Wired Magazine (US)
Copyright: 2008 The Conde Nast Publications Inc
Author: Brandon Keim

If  drugs  can  safely give your brain a boost, why not take them? And
if you don't want to, why stop others?

In an era when attention-disorder drugs are regularly - and
illegally  -  -  being used for off-label purposes by people seeking a
better  grade  or  year-end  job  review,  these  are  timely  ethical
questions.

The  latest  answer comes from Nature, where seven prominent ethicists
and  neuroscientists  recently  published a paper entitled, "Towards a
responsible  use  of  cognitive-enhancing  drugs  by  the  healthy."

In short: Legalize 'em.

"Mentally  competent  adults,"  they  write, "should be able to engage
in cognitive enhancement using drugs."

Roughly  seven  percent  of all college students, and up to 20 percent
of  scientists,  have  already  used  Ritalin or Adderall - originally
intended  to  treat  attention-deficit  disorders  -  to improve their
mental performance.

Some  people  argue  that  chemical cognition-enhancement is a form of
cheating.  Others  say that it's unnatural. The Nature authors counter
these  charges:  Brain  boosters  are  only  cheating,  they  say,  if
prohibited  by  the  rules  -  which  need not be the case. As for the
drugs  being  unnatural,  the authors argue, they're no more unnatural
than medicine, education and housing.

In many ways, the arguments are compelling. Nobody rejects
pasteurized  milk  or  dental  anesthesia  or  central heating because
it's  unnatural.  And  whether  a brain is altered by drugs, education
or  healthy  eating,  it's  being  altered at the same neurobiological
level. Making moral distinctions between them is arbitrary.

But  if  a  few  people  use cognition-enhancing drugs, might everyone
else be forced to follow, whether they want to or not?

If  enough  people improve their performance, then improvement becomes
the  status  quo.  Brain-boosting  drug  use  could become a basic job
requirement.

 [snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n1112/a02.html

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

COMMENT: (9-12)

 A  sharp  contrast  in  drug war just this week is illustrated by the
 first  two  stories. In one, a police investigator fired for his role
 in  an  undercover  sting that led to murder is trying to get his job
 back;  while  in  the  other,  a  first  time  offense with a 55 year
 sentence  stands.  And,  other  contrasts  in  reaction  to drug laws
 around  the  world.  In Australia, the former NSW Young Australian of
 the  Year  seems  unrepentant  about  her  cocaine use (except during
 Ramadan);  while  in  China,  two  drug  users attempted to jump from
 windows rather than facing Chinese drug police.

===

(9) RACHEL HOFFMAN INVESTIGATOR'S FIRING CASE BOUND FOR ARBITRATION

Pubdate: Tue, 09 Dec 2008
Source: Tallahassee Democrat (FL)
Copyright: 2008 Tallahassee Democrat
Author: Jennifer Portman, Staff Writer

An arbiter will decide whether former Tallahassee Police
Investigator Ryan Pender gets his job back.

He  was  fired in September for his role in the drug sting that led to
the  death  of  23-year-old confidential informant Rachel Hoffman. The
city  has  denied  Pender's request to be reinstated with back pay and
benefits.

Pender's  attorney,  Paul  Villeneuve,  received  the grievance denial
letter  late  Friday.  He  has  15 days to notify the city of Pender's
intent to seek arbitration.

"We  look  forward  to  the  next  stage  and hope that we get a level
playing  field  where  we can debate the merits of this entire thing,"
Villeneuve said Monday.

Under  police-union  rules,  the  city  and  Pender  must  agree on an
arbiter  who  will make a final decision. Villeneuve expects a hearing
in the spring.

 [snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n1108/a07.html

===

(10) UTAH RAPPER SENTENCED TO 55 YEARS IN PRISON LOSES APPEAL

Pubdate: Mon, 08 Dec 2008
Source: Salt Lake Tribune (UT)
Copyright: 2008 The Salt Lake Tribune

A  federal  judge  has rejected an appeal by a Utahn seeking to void a
55-year  prison  sentence  for carrying a gun while selling marijuana.

U.S.  District  Judge  Tena  Campbell  on  Monday  ruled  the sentence
handed  down  to  record  producer Weldon Angelos does not violate the
separation  of  powers  or  his  constitutional  right  to  bear arms.
Angelos  had  also  argued prosecutors were vindictive in seeking such
a harsh penalty for a first-time offender.

Campbell  did  order a Feb. 11 hearing to take evidence on whether the
performance  of  Angelos'  attorney  during  plea  negotiations  was
deficient.

Angelos  contends  he  rejected  a  plea  offer  because  he  was  not
adequately  informed  by  his  attorney of the risks he faced by going
to  trial.  Because those events and decisions occurred outside of the
courtroom,  the  judge  said  she needs to hear testimony from Angelos
and any witnesses he may call.

 [snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n1108/a02.html

===

(11) 'UNASHAMED' DRUG USER IKTIMAL HAGE-ALI SAYS SHE DIDN'T WANT
DEALER TO KNOW SHE WAS USING DURING RAMADAN

Pubdate: Tue, 09 Dec 2008
Source: Australian, The (Australia)
Copyright: 2008sThe Australian
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)

Intercepted  telephone  calls  between  Young  Australian  of the Year
contender  Iktimal  Hage-Ali and her cocaine dealer were played in the
New South Wales District Court today.

Ms  Hage-Ali,  24, is suing the state of NSW, claiming she was wrongly
arrested and detained by police in November 2006.

Under  cross  examination  today  by  Peter Bodor QC, for the state of
NSW,  Ms  Hage-Ali said in late 2006 she bought cocaine from childhood
friend Bruce Fahdi, but denied she had ever been an addict.

"Did  you  consider  it  necessary  at  times  to  lie to Fahdi to get
drugs?" Mr Bodor asked.

She  replied,  "yes", and also agreed she had lied to him so she could
get drugs on credit.

She  further  agreed  she  had  lied to him because she had not wanted
Fahdi  to  know she was consuming drugs during the religious period of
Ramadan.

During  the  calls,  and  the  dealer used codes, in which they called
cocaine "dresses".

Middle  Eastern  Crime  Squad  officers  arrested  her on suspicion of
being  a  drug  supplier  and  she  was  released without charge hours
after  her  arrest,  after  telling  police she had bought cocaine for
her own use.

The  arrest  occurred  eight  days  before  Ms  Hage-Ali,  a member of
former  prime  minister  John  Howard's  Muslim  Community  Reference
Group, was named NSW Young Australian of the Year.

She  later  relinquished  the  title,  amid  a  storm  of controversy.

 [snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n1109/a08.html

===

(12) TWO WOMEN JUMP FROM WINDOW

Pubdate: Sat, 06 Dec 2008
Source: Shanghai Daily (China)
Copyright: 2008 Shanghai Daily Company
Author: Dong Hui

Two  suspected  drug  addicts  were  injured when they jumped from the
fourth  story  of  a  residential  building  in  Shanghai's  Baoshan
District  on  Thursday  afternoon.  The  pair were allegedly trying to
escape from police.

The  two,  both  Shanghai  women,  a  21-year-old surnamed Zhang and a
25-year-old  surnamed  Chen,  jumped  from a kitchen window and landed
on  a  platform  on the second floor, after police officers knocked at
the door.

Two  officers  went to a residential building at 78 Changjiang Road S.
about  2:10pm  after  being tipped off that someone was using drugs on
the fourth floor.

When  they  knocked  on  the  door,  Zhang  allegedly saw the officers
through  the  door's  spy-hole,  and  told  her mother not to open the
door.

Police  then  heard  a neighbor living below shouting that someone had
jumped off the building.

 [snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n1109/a04.html

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

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

COMMENT: (13-16)

 Cannabis  law  reformers  are  understandably  anxious  to learn how
 President-Elect Obama will approach the issue.  
 
 Officials are still ironing out the wrinkles of medicinal
 cannabis regulation in Michigan.
 
 Opponents  of  cannabis  decriminalization  in  Massachusetts  are
 raising  concerns  that  the  new  law  undermines  efforts  to  keep
 schools drug-free.

 Persistent  farmers  in  North  Dakota  have  been  granted  licenses
 to  grow  industrial  hemp,  but  they  still have the DEA to contend
 with.

===

(13) OBAMA SENDS MIXED MESSAGES ON MARIJUANA

Pubdate: Tue, 09 Dec 2008
Source: Sacramento Bee (CA)
Copyright: 2008 The Sacramento Bee
Author: Peter Schrag

There  were  moments  not  so long ago when Barack Obama was signaling
that  he  was  ready  to end the costly and pointless federal raids on
medical  marijuana  users and their caretakers. In the past few years,
those raids have hit Californians particularly hard.

"The  Justice  Department going after sick individuals using this as a
palliative  instead  of going after serious criminals makes no sense,"
he  said  in  New Hampshire last year. In 2004, he seemed to favor the
decriminalization of pot altogether.

On  the  day Obama was elected, voters in Michigan, by a 63-37 margin,
put their state in the ranks of the 12 others that have passed medical
marijuana  laws  since  California  broke the ice in 1996. On the same
day,  Massachusetts  voters  approved  a  measure  that decriminalized
possession  of small amounts of pot altogether. Both votes should have
helped  Obama  to get off the fence. But recent reports that Obama was
considering  Rep.  Jim  Ramstad, a moderate Minnesota Republican who's
retiring  from Congress, for the post of White House drug czar, send a
very different message.

Ramstad,  a  recovering  alcoholic, has been cheered as the sponsor of
laws  requiring  insurers  to  cover  drug treatment and mental health
services.  But  he  also  voted  for  federal  funding  bans on needle
exchanges  and  strongly  opposed  measures to stop federal arrests of
medical  marijuana patients in states like California where its use is
legal.

There  are  reasons  for  Obama,  like  many  other politicians, to be
skittish  about  the issue. He's acknowledged drug use in his past. He
doesn't  want  to  trip  on  the  matter when he has countless tougher
things to deal with in his first years in office.
 
 [snip]
 
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08.n1111.a08.html

===

(14) WHERE WEED GROWS

Pubdate: Tue, 9 Dec 2008
Source: Windsor Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2008 The Windsor Star
Author: Jack Lessenberry

Last  week,  medical  marijuana  officially  became legal in Michigan,
except,  well,  it  isn't. That is, you can use it legally, as long as
you don't ever try to obtain any of it.

And  all this has bewildered state bureaucrats scratching their heads,
trying to figure out what to do.

Here's  what  happened:  Michigan  voters  on  Nov.  4  overwhelmingly
approved  allowing  the use of marijuana to help the symptoms of those
suffering  from  illnesses  such as glaucoma, HIV/AIDS and cancer. The
vote was 3,006,820 yes to 1,790,889 no.

Unfortunately  the  proposal  was  so  poorly  written  that it didn't
specify  how  patients are supposed to get the marijuana. It said they
can have up to 2.5 ounces in their possession, and they can grow up to
a dozen plants for their own use.

Except,  there  is no legal way they can get their initial supply. And
the  state  doesn't  seem  to have a clue what to do. "We are going to
have  a series of meetings and try to work out some rules," said James
McCurtis, a spokesman for the Michigan Department of Community Health,
which  seems  to  have gotten stuck with the job of both administering
and figuring out the medical marijuana mess.

Eventually,  the  Department of Community Health intends to issue some
ID  cards  to  approved  patients and, where needed, their caregivers,
saying they are allowed to possess marijuana.

 [snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08.n1108.a03.html

===

(15) WILL NEW POT LAW ERODE SCHOOL DRUG POLICIES?

Pubdate: Tue, 09 Dec 2008
Source: Gloucester Daily Times (MA)
Copyright: 2008 Essex County Newspapers, Incorporated.
Author: John Hilliard

State  education  and public safety officials face a cloudy future for
schools' marijuana rules in the month before a new law that
decriminalizes  possession  of small amounts of the drug takes effect.

Some state education leaders are concerned the voter-approved Question
2  may  have  unknown  consequences  for  school  policies that punish
marijuana possession.

Tom  Scott, the executive director of the Massachusetts Association of
School  Superintendents,  said  the  measure is silent on how it would
affect  existing  state laws that give schools the right to suspend or
expel students for marijuana possession, or whether it would undermine
school policies banning the drug.

 [snip]
 
Whitney  A.  Taylor,  treasurer  and  chairwoman  of the Committee for
Sensible  Marijuana  Policy, which backed Question 2, said the measure
was  aimed solely at changing the penalty for possessing small amounts
of marijuana from a criminal to a civil one.

"It  is  not  meant  to  sit  there and undermine school policy," said
Taylor.

She  said  her  organization  is  working with the Executive Office of
Public Safety as government officials review the measure. But she said
there are no problems with Question 2.

"They're  creating problems where there are no problems," said Taylor,
referring  to  those  concerned  that  Question  2 applies to schools.

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08.n1109.a10.html

===

(16) INDUSTRIAL HEMP PRODUCTION LICENSES ACCEPTED BY N.D. AG DEPARTMENT

Pubdate: Mon, 08 Dec 2008
Source: Jamestown Sun (ND)
Copyright: 2008 Forum Communications Co.

The  North  Dakota Department of Agriculture is accepting applications
for 2009 industrial hemp production licenses.

"The applications are due Jan. 1," said Agriculture Commissioner Roger
Johnson.  "Although the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration continues
to  prevent  holders  of  state licenses from growing industrial hemp,
NDDA  remains  committed  to fully implementing state laws authorizing
the  production,  processing  and  sale of this crop in North Dakota."

Johnson  cautioned prospective growers that the process involves state
and  federal  criminal  background  checks  including  fingerprints,
together with associated fees and paperwork.

People  interested  in  growing  and processing industrial hemp should
contact Ken Junkert at the North Dakota Department of Agriculture NDDA
at 701-328-2231 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . More information is also available
on the NDDA Web site, www.agdepartment.com.

Johnson  issued  state  licenses  to two farmers -- Rep. David Monson,
Osnabrock, and Wayne Hauge, Ray -- in 2008. After DEA failed to act on
their  applications  as  bulk manufacturers of industrial hemp, Monson
and  Hauge  sued DEA in federal court. The case is currently on appeal
before the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Paul.

"Unless  the  federal  courts act favorably on the matter, it may take
congressional  action to amend the Controlled Substances Act, enabling
state-licensed  growers  to  produce the crop," Johnson said. "This is
unfortunate  because  industrial  hemp  production  has  virtually  no
potential  for  illegitimate  purposes  and  because the crop could be
valuable for North Dakota growers."

URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08.n1106.a04.html

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

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

COMMENT: (17- )

 In  Mexico,  a  particularly bloody week of gangland-style murders as
 rival  cartels  slug it out over market share. following on the heels
 of  news  Mexico's  drug  czar was on the take from cartels, we learn
 this  week  of  similar  accusations against Mexico's (former) acting
 federal  police  chief,  Gerardo  Garay.  Staunchly  prohibitionist
 Mexican  President  Calderon  has  used  the  military  to wage "war"
 against  drug  cartels there, resulting in soaring rates of homicide.

 As  drug deaths in Mexico skyrocket, this week Canadians learned that
 drug  related  deaths  in Province of British Columbia have fallen to
 10-year  lows.  This  "startling  turnaround" occurred when The Globe
 and  Mail  decided  to check statistics compiled by the B.C. Coroners
 Service.  The "turnaround" comes despite a steady drumbeat of reports
 insinuating  deaths  due  to  illegal  drugs  is at an all time high.

 Yet  another  reminder  this  week  of  how spectacularly prohibition
 "don't  prohibit worth a dime" when the Transcontinental newspaper in
 Australia  let  slip  that the Port Augusta Prison had over a hundred
 "drug  incidents"  - despite the fact this it is a prison. Instead of
 denouncing  drug  prohibition  as  unworkable,  opposition  parties
 decided  instead  to  make  political  hay  over  the  issue, blaming
 "overcrowding"  and  offering  up  glittering generalities bespeaking
 the  need  for  a  "secure  environment  in  which drugs do not reach
 prisons."

 And  finally  this  week from the U.K., former police chief Tom Lloyd
 (from Cambridgeshire) openly called for government to give heroin by
 prescription to addicts. "I have long argued in favour of
 prescribing  heroin  to  addicts to reduce crime, harm to the addicts
 and  the  dreadful  effects on local communities, because there is no
 drug  that  becomes  more  dangerous  to the user or society when its
 production  and  distribution  are handed over to violent criminals."

===

(17) MEXICO'S WAR ON DRUGS CLAIMS ANOTHER 30 LIVES

Pubdate: Sun, 07 Dec 2008
Source: Observer, The (UK)
Copyright: 2008 Guardian News and Media Limited
Author: Ed Vulliamy, Staff Writer

Mexico's  narco  war - which has claimed more than 4,000 lives since a
military  offensive  was  launched against the drugs cartels two years
ago  -  spiralled  further  out of control this weekend, as another 30
people  were  found  dead  and one of the country's most senior police
chiefs was accused of collaborating with the drug barons.

On  Friday,  gangland executions were carried out in the Pacific state
of  Sinaloa,  traditional homeland for Mexico's cartels, and 17 people
died  in  the  border  town  of Ciudad Juarez on Thursday, including a
senior police investigator.

Yesterday,  Mexico's  former  acting  federal  police  chief,  Gerardo
Garay,  was  accused  of  collaborating  with  a  notorious cartel and
stealing  money  during  a  raid  on  a drug trafficking ring. A judge
ordered  Garay's  arrest  on suspicion of organised crime, robbery and
abuse of power.

 [snip]

Calderon's  government  is  the  first in Mexico seriously to confront
the cartels, and the resultant war is in part a response.

 [snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08.n1099.a04.html

===

(18) B.C. DRUG DEATHS HIT A LOW NOT SEEN IN YEARS

Pubdate: Tue, 09 Dec 2008
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2008 The Globe and Mail Company
Author: Robert Matas

Number  Of  Fatalities  Could  Drop  By  80 Per Cent From 10 Years Ago
Provincewide As Vancouver Prepares For 2010 Olympic Games

VANCOUVER  --  The  number  of  drug  deaths  in  British Columbia has
dipped  to  levels  not  seen  in  years  14  months  before Vancouver
welcomes  the  world  to the 2010 Olympics. In a startling turnaround,
the  number  of  deaths  in Vancouver as a result of a heroin overdose
or  the  use  of  other  illegal drugs could drop by as much as 80 per
cent  from  the peak 10 years ago, according to preliminary statistics
compiled  for  The  Globe  and  Mail  by  the  B.C.  Coroners Service.

 [snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08.n1108.a06.html

===

(19) TOO MANY DRUG INCIDENTS RECORDED AT LOCAL PRISON

Pubdate: Tue, 09 Dec 2008
Source: Transcontinental, The (Australia)
Copyright: 2008 Fairfax Media.

Calls  to  assess the security at Port Augusta Prison have been raised
again,  after  the  release of the Department of Correctional Services
annual report.

The  report  showed  that  one-third  of  the  State's  recorded  drug
incidents  occurred  at Port Augusta Prison, where only 18 per cent of
the prisoners reside.

One  hundred  and  two  drug  incidences  were  recorded in the latest
annual report.

Shadow  correctional  services minister Stephen Wade said the issue of
overcrowding  needed  to  be addressed to provide a secure environment
in which drugs do not reach prisons.

 [snip]

Mr Wade rejected claims that the statistic was
positive.

He  said  there  were  plenty  of  other indications that correctional
services was not winning the war on drugs.

"Prisons  are  meant to be drug free so the fact that they are getting
in,  indicates  they  are  not effectively maintaining the security of
the prison.

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08.n1109.a07.html

===

(20) 'PRESCRIBE HEROIN' - EX-POLICE CHIEF

Pubdate: Fri, 05 Dec 2008
Source: Cambridge Evening News (UK)
Copyright: 2008 Cambridge Newspapers Ltd

The former head of Cambridgeshire police has called on the
Government to follow the Swiss and give heroin to addicts.

Tom  Lloyd,  who  was  chief constable before Julie Spence took up the
post,  believes  the  pioneering  move  would  reduce organised crime.

 [snip]

The  heroin  programme  has  helped  reduce  the  number of drug users
shooting up in parks, supporters say.

It  aims  is  to  help  addicts  function in society, with counselling
from psychiatrists and social workers.

Mr  Lloyd,  who has campaigned for heroin prescriptions for addicts in
a  bid  to  reduce  organised crime, said: "This is very good news for
anybody  interested  in  developing  sensible, evidence-based policies
for tackling the problem of illegal drugs.

"This  decision  comes  after  more than 10 years of successful trials
with  two  thirds of the population in Switzerland voting in favour of
this change because they know that it works.

"I  have  long  argued  in  favour of prescribing heroin to addicts to
reduce  crime,  harm  to the addicts and the dreadful effects on local
communities,  because  there is no drug that becomes more dangerous to
the  user  or  society when its production and distribution are handed
over to violent criminals.

"The costs of administering the system are far less
than the savings that would be made to the criminal
justice and health systems. Crucially, if the
government prescribes heroin the dealers would go out
of business.

 [snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08.n1101.a08.html

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

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

DRUG WAR MAYHEM IN MEXICO -- THE PUBLIC IS SICK OF IT

By Sara Miller Llana, Christian Science Monitor. Posted December 11, 2008.

With  Drug-trafficking deaths skyrocketing by more than 117 percent in
2008,  the  Mexican president's drug policies are extremely unpopular.

http://drugsense.org/url/wCrhFiLK

===

OBAMA'S SMOKING DRAMA

By Tony Newman, AlterNet

It  is  no  fun  having to explain to people, in person or on national
television,  how  you came to start cigarettes again once they "catch"
you.

http://drugsense.org/url/gHY91Cah

===

DRUG TRUTH NETWORK

Century of Lies - 12/09/08 - Barry Cooper

Dr. Jim Ketchum, author of "Chemical Warware-Secrets Almost Forgotten"
which  lifts  the  veil of LSD tests in US Army + Barry Cooper, former
narcotics  officer,  producer of KopBusters video and Never Get Busted
DVD

http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/?q=node/2167

Cultural Baggage Radio Show - 12/10/08 - Ethan Nadelmann

Martin  Lee, author "Acid Dreams - The Complete Social History of LSD"
+ Ethan Nadelmann, dir of Drug Policy Alliance re Wall Street Op-Ed vs
Czar Johan Walters

http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/?q=node/2168

===

WHAT IS IT ABOUT THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION THAT MAKES TEENAGERS WANT TO DROP ACID?

By Jacob Sullum

The  Office  of  National  Drug  Control  Policy brags that the latest
Monitoring the Future Study, the results of which were released today,
"shows  that  in  2008,  illicit  drug  use  among  youth continued to
decline."

http://www.reason.com/blog/show/130519.html

===

OBAMA'S  "OPEN  FOR  QUESTIONS"  REVEALS CLAMOR FOR DRUG POLICY REFORM

By Al Giordano

President-elect  Obama - fulfilling multiple campaign promises to more
deeply involve the public in setting priorities for his administration
-  opened  up  his  Change.Gov website to questions from citizens, and
asked the people to then rate the questions up or down.

http://drugsense.org/url/E1jVF3HM

===

IN HOLLAND, CANNABIS POLITICS HEATS UP

Drug War Chronicle, Issue #564, 12/12/08

For more than 30 years under the policy of "gedoogbeleid," which could
best  be  translated  as "pragmatic tolerance," the Dutch have allowed
the  sale  of  personal  amounts of marijuana through the coffee house
system, even though doing so is technically illegal.

http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/564/holland_cannabis_coffee_shops

===

MAPS MDMA/PTSD TREATMENT MANUAL

MAPS  researchers  Michael Mithoefer MD, Annie Mithoefer BSN, and June
May  Ruse  PhD,  have  created  a  revised  version  of MAPS MDMA/PTSD
treatment  manual.  The new version of the manual builds on a previous
manual  from  2005,  and  includes  lessons  learned from our recently
completed US MDMA/PTSD pilot study.

http://www.maps.org/research/mdma/mdma_assisted_therapy_manual_11_24_08.pdf

===

AYAHUASCA HEALING BEYOND THE AMAZON

The  globalization  of  a  traditional indigenous entheogenic practice

By Kenneth W. Tupper

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/121558489/abstract

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

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

SUPPORT ETHAN NADELMANN FOR DRUG CZAR

We  have had cops, doctors and soldiers. It's time for a Drug Czar who
understands  the  full  breadth,  depth  and importance of this issue.
Sign the Petition to make Dr. Nadelmann Obama's Drug Czar.

http://nadelmannfordrugczar.com/

===

WRITE A LETTER

Repealing  Today's  Failed  Prohibition  -  A  DrugSense  Focus Alert.

http://www.mapinc.org/alert/0388.html

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

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

CALL A TRUCE IN DRUG WAR

By Owen Davis

Re: "U.S. can't duck serious issues at southern border," Tuesday
Editorials. Outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza's
pessimism  over  Mexico's  drug  cartels is well-founded. However, his
solution  --  to  pour billions of U.S. dollars into a continuation of
the  Nixon-era  war  on  drugs  --  is  simply  absurd.  As long as we
continue  to  treat  drugs  as a criminal justice matter rather than a
public  health  matter,  we  will  only  enrich  the  drug dealers and
impoverish the taxpayers of all nations.

The  legalization  of  drugs  would  free  up  vast sums for substance
abuse  treatment  programs, eliminate most of the corruption of police
and  public  officials, and turn convicts into taxpayers on both sides
of  the  border. Perhaps an Obama administration will have the courage
to just say no to this senseless war on our own citizens.

Owen Davis
Highland Village

Pubdate: Wed, 03 Dec 2008
Source: Dallas Morning News (TX)
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08.n1082.a04.html

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

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

U.S.  Supreme  Court: Federal Law Does Not Trump State Laws On Medical
Marijuana

By Steve Kubby

Last Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court Monday quietly, but
overwhelmingly  destroyed  the  allegations  by  state law enforcement
that, "Federal law trumps state laws on medical marijuana."

The  Supremes  declined  to review a lower court decision that ordered
Garden  Grove,  California,  police  to return marijuana seized from a
medical  marijuana  patient.  In  November 2007, the California Fourth
District  Court  of Appeal had ordered the marijuana returned, finding
that  "it  is  not  the  job  of  local police to enforce federal drug
laws."

This  was  the fourth shot the Supremes had at bringing down Prop. 215
and,  instead,  the high court handed us a silent, but deadly victory.
It  may  be  a  win  by  default, but it is most certainly a huge win,
perhaps our greatest win to date.

Felix  Kha  was  pulled  over by Garden Grove police in 2005 and cited
for  marijuana  possession  despite  showing  officers  his  medical
marijuana  documentation.  The  case  was  subsequently dismissed, and
the  Orange  County  Superior Court ordered the police to return Kha's
wrongfully  seized  quarter-ounce of marijuana. Police and the city of
Garden  Grove  refused to return the pot, and appealed the ruling, but
lost in the state appeals court last year.

Incredibly,  the  Appeals  Court  correctly  assessed  the federal and
state  laws  on  medical marijuana and found NO conflict. The justices
found  that  the  federal laws were intended to stop drug ABUSE, while
the  state  laws  rightfully  addressed MEDICAL use, as provided under
the concept of Federalism.

Here is how the three Appeals Court judges put it:

"Congress  enacted  the CSA to combat recreational drug abuse and curb
drug  trafficking.  Gonzales  v.  Oregon,  supra,  546 U.S. at p. 271;
Gonzales  v.  Raich,  supra,  545 U.S. at pp. 10-13.) Its goal was not
to  regulate  the  practice  of medicine, a task that falls within the
traditional  powers  of  the  states.  (Gonzales v. Oregon, supra, 546
U.S.  at  p.  269.)  Speaking  for the majority in Gonzales v. Oregon,
Justice  Kennedy  explained, "The [CSA] and our case law amply support
the  conclusion  that  Congress  regulates medical practice insofar as
it  bars  doctors  from  using  their prescription-writing powers as a
means to engage in illicit drug dealing and trafficking as
conventionally  understood.  Beyond  this,  however,  the  statute
manifests  no  intent to regulate the practice of medicine generally."
(Ibid., italics added.)"

The  California  Supreme  Court  refused  to review the case in March.
Now,  the  U.S.  Supreme Court has followed suit. The refusals to hear
the  appeal  means the two high courts have accepted the state appeals
court's  reasoning  that  California's  medical  marijuana  law is not
preempted  by  federal  law  and finally lays to waste the bogus claim
that  state  police  can ignore state law and arrest patients, or keep
their medicine under federal law.

This  is  a huge win for all of us, because it removes one of the most
basic  foundations  of law enforcements recalcitrance in obeying state
marijuana  laws  and  in  upholding  the  rights  of medical marijuana
patients.

Special  thanks  to  Americans  for  Safe  Access  and their brilliant
attorney, Joe Elford, for a job well done.

Steve Kubby is Director of The American Medical Marijuana
Association

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

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

"Force without judgement falls of its own weight." - Horace

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

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===

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