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DRUGSENSE WEEKLY

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DrugSense Weekly,           Feb. 13, 2009                          #587

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

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TABLE OF CONTENTS:

* This Just In

    (1) Federal Sentence Urged For 3 Ex-Cops
    (2) Pot Lawyers Walk Fine Line
    (3) Borderline Madness
    (4) Column: Sports Should Go Green, Allow Pot Smoking

* Weekly News in Review

Drug Policy-

    (5) Pain Drugs To Get New Restrictions
    (6) Foundation Finds Support For Clinical Heroin Programs
    (7) Lawmakers to Evaluate Merida Initiative's Success
    (8) Texas Crafts Plan For Mexico Collapse

Law Enforcement & Prisons-

    (9) Obama Taps Seattle Police Chief for Administration Job
    (10) Panel Wants Changes To Drug Penalties
    (11) Residents Angry About Damages After Search That Didn't Yield A Meth Lab
    (12) Lawyer: At Least 8 Arrested in Attempt to Build Phelps

Cannabis & Hemp-

    (13) Pot Activists Rip Kellogg Co For Dropping Phelps
    (14) Restaurateur Urges Ottawa To Clarify Hazy Marijuana Law
    (15) Rick Steves Lights Up The Marijuana Conversation
    (16) State Moves Gingerly Ahead With Medical Marijuana Law

International News-

    (17) Latin American Leaders Say U.S. Drug War A Failure
    (18) Region's Leaders Seek U.S. Drug Policy Debate
    (19) Drugs Adviser Says Sorry Over Ecstasy Article
    (20) Solons: Study To Annul Marijuana Ban Absurd
    (21) In Mexico, 21 Killed In Burst of Chihuahua Violence

* Hot Off The 'Net

    Obama Makes A Good First Step On Medical Marijuana / Aaron Houston
    Media Hysterics About Supposed Cancer Link Nothing New / Paul Armentano
    Former  Latin  American  Presidents  Call  For  A `Paradigm Shift'
    Advice  For  The  New Drug Czar / Mark Kleiman And Harold Pollack
    The Drug War Wall Begins To Fall / Al Giordano
    Drug Truth Network

* What You Can Do This Week

    Write A Letter (Or Two)
    Apply For A Job

* Letter Of The Week

    It  Isn't  Michael  Phelps  We  Ought  To Repudiate / Steve Harbin

* Letter Writer Of The Month - January

    Howard J. Wooldridge

* Feature Article

    Czar Struck: Obama's Brilliant Pick for Drug Czar / Dominic Holden

* Quote of the Week

    Martin Luther King, Jr.

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) FEDERAL SENTENCE URGED FOR 3 EX-COPS

Pubdate: Thu, 12 Feb 2009
Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (GA)
Copyright: 2009 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Author: Tim Eberly, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Federal  prosecutors  on  Wednesday  recommended federal sentences for
three  former  Atlanta  police  officers  who  have pleaded guilty for
their  roles  in  the  shooting  death  of  an  elderly woman during a
botched drug raid.

The  report  describes  the  frequent  misconduct that occurred in the
Police  Department's  narcotics unit before the November 2006 shooting
death  of  92-year-old  Kathryn  Johnston. She was shot when narcotics
officers  mistakenly  targeted her home as a drug house. They tried to
cover up the deadly error.

The  U.S.  attorney's office is recommending that Jason R. Smith serve
151  months  in  federal  prison - about 12 1/2 years - and that Gregg
Junnier  and  Arthur  Tesler  serve  121  months ( roughly 10 years ).

Prosecutors  are  asking  for some sentence reductions for cooperation
with  the  investigation,  and  that  the  federal sentences be served
concurrently  with  any  jail  time  they  receive  from  their  state
charges.

A  federal  judge  will  take  the  federal  prosecutors'  report  and
recommended  sentences  into consideration before sentencing the three
former officers on Feb. 23.

 [snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n173/a06.html

===

(2) POT LAWYERS WALK FINE LINE

Pubdate: Fri, 13 Feb 2009
Source: Recorder, The (CA)
Copyright: 2009 ALM Properties, Inc.
Author: Dan Levine

Taking  on  commercial  pot  growers  as  clients  leads to hazy areas
involving liability and ethics

Joshua  Hedlund  will  soon  be  sentenced  for  his connections to an
indoor  marijuana  farm  in  Berkeley, Calif., where police found more
than 5,000 plants.

Years  before  pleading  guilty,  though,  he  appeared  in  tax  solo
Zachary  Epstein's  office as a young, clean-cut real estate developer
on  the  make.  Hedlund's  father  had been a Humboldt County, Calif.,
supervisor,  and  his  grandfather,  Earl  Hedlund,  was once district
attorney in rural Tehama County, Calif.

"He  was  a  very  bright  guy,  college  educated,  his father was in
politics,"  Epstein  said.  "Seemingly  this  is  the kind of client I
want."

California's  booming,  half-legitimate  marijuana economy is throwing
off  all  kinds  of  legal  work,  and  not just to attorneys advising
medical  co-ops.  It's also meant fees for real estate and tax lawyers
who  may  or  may not know their clients' true revenue source. Because
of  the  tension  between  state and federal law, these lawyers walk a
delicate  line  between  business  adviser  and  criminal conspirator.

Under  the  Bush  administration,  federal  prosecutors  targeted real
estate agents who allegedly facilitated marijuana growing
operations,  but  not  attorneys,  said  McGregor  Scott, recently the
U.S.  Attorney  in  California's  Eastern  District.  In theory, Scott
said,  attorneys  who  know clients are involved in marijuana could be
subject to aiding and abetting charges.

 [snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n172.a03.html

===

(3) BORDERLINE MADNESS

Pubdate: Thu, 12 Feb 2009
Source: Tucson Weekly (AZ)
Copyright: 2009 Tucson Weekly
Author: Tim Vanderpool

The  City  Of  Nogales,  Ariz.,  Struggles As Narco Violence Spills In
From Mexico

Allison  Moore  says  drug  violence  is  slowing  the flow of Mexican
produce  into  the  Untied  States.  Gunshots  can  interrupt even the
deepest  slumber,  burrowing  into  the  most  remote  reaches  of the
tender  subconscious.  But  down on the border, gunshots merely accent
what  the  subconscious  already  grasps.  Fear has pulled up a chair,
settled in, refused to go.

Once  fear  has  arrived,  it  never  fully departs. This, Maria Tapia
already knows.

Mexico  reported  nearly  5,500  drug-related deaths in 2008, and many
of  those  murders  touched  very close to the border. The annual body
count  in  Nogales,  Sonora,  alone  more  than  doubled over the past
year.  Consider  the  shootout there in October: 10 narcos dead, after
a  long  and  vicious  firefight  among  themselves  and  with police.

The  state  police  chief  was  shot  dead in November. Executions are
routine  and  point-blank.  Locations  are  erratic.  Sometimes  the
gunshots  echo  through  schoolyards.  In  Tijuana,  a  human body was
liquefied in a vat of acid, then left on the curb.

And  the  beheadings.  Don't  forget  those.  An  ultimate  insult  to
thoughtfulness.

These  things  are  fact.  All  of  them.  Although  she  can't recite
details,  Maria  Tapia  lives  just  a  stone's  throw  from the steel
border  wall  soaring  above her home. Beyond that wall, she now knows
that  all  things  are  possible.  A  resident  of Nogales, Ariz., she
might  as  well  live  in  Mexico,  for they actually do throw stones:
Next  to  her  address  on  Short Street, the roadway is rubble: rocks
hurled over the wall, and sometimes concrete, in chunks.

Three  grandchildren  live in her home. This, she tells me through her
fence.  Except  for  school, she says, they do not go beyond the yard,
wrapped  in  chain  link.  Before  talking further, or succumbing to a
photo,  Maria  Tapia  must  unlock  the  gate to that yard. This takes
time,  because  she  does  so  reluctantly,  and because there are two
locks  and  a  latch. Her world, on the trembling cusp of Mexico, is a
world of rocks and locks.

Maria  Tapia  refuses  to let me photograph her face. On Short Street,
one necessarily does not wish for recognition.

 [snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n169/a09.html

===

(4) COLUMN: SPORTS SHOULD GO GREEN, ALLOW POT SMOKING

Pubdate: Thu, 12 Feb 2009
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Copyright: 2009 Hearst Communications Inc.
Author: Gwen Knapp, Chronicle Staff Writer

Weed, the Breakfast of Champions.

I've  been  waiting  a  long  time  -  11  years to be exact - for the
sports  world  to  seize  on  that concept, but no one's had the guts.
Now,  far  later  than  I expected, we've entered pot's perfect storm.

Just  as  the economy has tanked, strangling sponsorships all over the
athletic  map,  a  Super  Bowl  MVP and the most decorated Olympian of
all  time  have  emerged  as partakers. Advocates for drug reform have
long  said  that  legalizing marijuana would increase tax revenue, not
to  mention  reduce  violence in the dealer population. In sports, the
door  would  open  for a cash flow to fill the creek bed left dry by a
shriveling General Motors, Citigroup and their ilk.

So  when  Michael  Phelps  got  caught  on  camera  taking a bong hit,
Kellogg's  should  have  followed  Disney's  example  and  let  it go.
Santonio  Holmes  was  stopped  by  police  and cited for having three
grass-filled  cigars  in  his car last fall, but he still got to party
with Goofy and Mickey in Florida after catching the winning
touchdown pass for the Steelers in the Super Bowl.

Both  Phelps  and  Holmes,  when  caught,  had  to apologize, and both
accepted  sabbaticals  from their sports. The Steelers held Holmes out
of  a  game  the  following  Sunday,  and  USA  Swimming gave Phelps a
comically symbolic three-month suspension. ( The next truly
significant competition for U.S. swimmers is in July. )

The  interesting  thing  is that neither of them denied what happened.
Phelps  owned  up  to  what  the  photograph clearly revealed. Holmes,
according  to  published  reports, willingly turned the cigars over to
police  and,  when  asked if the smell of burned pot indicated that he
had  just  smoked  one,  said  no. He told them he had done it the day
before.

 [snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n167/a10.html

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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW
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Domestic News- Policy
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COMMENT: (5-8)

 Contrasts  in  perception  are  highlighted  in two pairs of articles
 this  week.  Where  the  first  article  discusses  demands  for more
 restrictions  on  pain  drugs,  another  article looks at giving away
 opiates  under  some  circumstances.  And, at the U.S.-Mexico border,
 some  U.S.  officials  ask  how  to evaluate the effectiveness of the
 Meridia  Initiative, while Texas officials ask how to prepare for the
 fall of the Mexico.

===

(5) PAIN DRUGS TO GET NEW RESTRICTIONS

Pubdate: Tue, 10 Feb 2009
Source: Wall Street Journal (US)
Copyright: 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Author: Jennifer Corbett Dooren

The  Food  and  Drug  Administration  said  Monday it will subject the
makers of certain extended-release pain drugs to a new
risk-management  program  designed  to cut down on misuse and abuse of
the products.

New  government  figures show a rise in nonmedical use of prescription
pain  drugs  among adults. Opioid drugs formulated in extended-release
versions  of  OxyContin,  morphine  and fentanyl patches are meant for
round-the-clock  pain  management  for  patients with cancer and other
chronic conditions.

Misuse  and  Abuse  FDA  officials  have  said they've seen reports of
inappropriate  prescribing  by doctors amid the increase in misuse and
abuse,  both  intentional and unintentional, of the products since the
drugs  were  first  approved  in  the mid-1990s. Active ingredients in
the  drugs  are  designed  to treat pain for an extended time, such as
12 hours.

Drug  abusers  can  tamper  with such products and get all the effects
of  a  drug  at once, creating a heroin-like high. "We continue to see
reports  of  an  ankle  sprain  and  [patients]  are  given a fentanyl
patch,"  said  John  Jenkins,  the director of the FDA's office of new
drugs.  He  said  a  major  part of the new program will be efforts to
educate  doctors  about appropriate prescribing of the products. "This
obviously  is  going  to  be the largest risk-management program we've
undertaken," he said. Although Mr. Jenkins and other agency
officials  wouldn't  speculate  about  what  the final risk-mitigation
program  would  look  like,  it  could  have  elements  of  a  program
designed  to  limit  the  use of the acne drug isotretinion ( commonly
known  by  the  brand  name  Accutane  ) by women of child-bearing age
because the product causes birth defects.

That  program  requires  doctors, pharmacists and patients to register
and  meet  certain  requirements  in  order  to get a new prescription
each  month.  The  agency  sent  letters  to  16  manufacturers  of 24
products  including  Purdue  Pharma  LP, the maker of OxyContin, which
is  available  in  an  extended-release  form;  a  unit  of  Johnson &
Johnson  that  makes  a fentanyl patch; and King Pharmaceuticals Inc.,
the maker of an extended-release form of morphine.

 [snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n158/a06.html

===

(6) FOUNDATION FINDS SUPPORT FOR CLINICAL HEROIN PROGRAMS

Pubdate: Sun, 08 Feb 2009
Source: Baltimore Sun (MD)
Copyright: 2009 The Baltimore Sun Company
Author: Kelly Brewington

Giving  Drug  To  Addicts  Could  Reduce  Crime, Some Say, But Critics
Call Method Costly, Dangerous

A  new  study  done  for  Baltimore's  Abell Foundation concludes that
programs  that  give  heroin to hard-core addicts can reduce crime and
improve  public  health  - findings some hope will spur renewed debate
about whether such an effort could help combat the city's
unrelenting drug problem.

Peter  Reuter,  a  drug  policy  expert at the University of Maryland,
College  Park,  analyzed  heroin  maintenance programs in Switzerland,
the  Netherlands,  Germany  and  Vancouver,  Canada.  He  found  some
positive  results.  In  Germany,  for instance, participants were less
likely  to  commit crimes, and in Switzerland, many addicts moved from
the  heroin  distribution  program  to drug treatment aimed at helping
them kick their habit.

While  Reuter  notes  there  are  drawbacks  as  well - including high
costs  and  low  rates  of  participation  -  he  says  public  health
officials  and  city  leaders  should  at  least  discuss the concept.

"It  is  a  sensible  innovation  to  consider,"  he said. "I am not a
passionate  advocate  for  it, but I do think someone should try it in
the  U.S.  It  has  enough  plausibility  that  it's  worth  trying."

But  the  issue  raises  thorny  moral  and  legal  questions  and  is
politically  contentious.  Baltimore  officials  call  the  report
unconvincing  and  say  they would not consider the option, especially
when proven treatments go underfunded.

 [snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n147/a04.html

===

(7) LAWMAKERS TO EVALUATE MERIDA INITIATIVE'S SUCCESS

Pubdate: Sun, 08 Feb 2009
Source: El Paso Times (TX)
Copyright: 2009 El Paso Times
Author: Darren Meritz

EL  PASO  -- As drug violence claims lives every day across the border
in  Juarez,  lingering  questions about the Merida Initiative may come
to  dog  lawmakers,  who  could  find themselves under pressure if the
cooperative agreement to fight drugs is not a success.

Security experts have urged Congress to consider a range of
indicators  when  evaluating  the  progress  of the Merida Initiative.

Whether  the  initiative  will  work  and whether benchmarks have been
set  to  measure success of failure remain key questions for lawmakers
and local officials, some of whom are skeptical about the
three-year, $1.4 billion plan.

Ray  Walser,  an  analyst  with  the  conservative Heritage Foundation
think  tank  in  Washington,  D.C., said the Merida Initiative appears
to  be  sound  policy because it was put together by both governments.
The  Heritage  Foundation  analyzes  the  federal  government's public
policy programs.

"From  a  technical  standpoint  it  is  a  good plan," said Walser, a
former  foreign  service  officer for the U.S. "It will provide Mexico
the equipment it needs right now to battle the cartels."

In  El  Paso,  elected  officials  are  less  certain, especially with
their  backs  against  widespread  drug violence just across the river
in  Juarez.  Since  January  2008,  more  than  1,800 people have been
killed  in  Juarez,  most  in  what  police  think  are  drug-related
executions.

 [snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n150/a06.html

===

(8) TEXAS CRAFTS PLAN FOR MEXICO COLLAPSE

Pubdate: Sun, 08 Feb 2009
Source: El Paso Times (TX)
Copyright: 2009 El Paso Times
Author: Brandi Grissom

"You hope for the best, plan for the worst"

AUSTIN  --  Texas  officials  are  working  on  a plan to respond to a
potential  collapse  of  the  Mexican  government  and  the specter of
thousands  fleeing  north in fear for their lives after recent reports
indicated the country could be on the verge of chaos.

"You  hope  for  the  best,  plan  for the worst," Katherine Cesinger,
spokeswoman  for  Gov.  Rick  Perry,  said  last week. "At this point,
we've got a contingency plan that's in development."

Late  last  year  the  U.S. Department of Defense issued a report that
listed  Pakistan  and Mexico as countries that could rapidly collapse.
The  report  came  after similar alarms sounded by the U.S. Department
of  Homeland  Security  and  former  U.S.  drug  czar Barry McCaffrey.

"I  think  their  fears  are  well-grounded," Texas Home land Security
Director  Steve  McCraw  told  lawmakers recently at a border security
briefing.

Lawmakers  expressed  concern  that  the  state's  southern  neighbor,
embroiled  in  drug violence and facing uncertain economic conditions,
could send thousands north in search of safety.

State  Sen.  Dan  Patrick,  R-Sugarland,  asked  McCraw at the meeting
whether Texas had a plan to cope with such a situation.

"We  have  a preliminary plan," McCraw said. "There needs to be one in
place."

McCraw,  a  Perry  appointee,  was  unavailable  to  comment  for this
story, but Cesinger said the plan was in early stages.

 [snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n150/a08.html

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

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

COMMENT: (9-12)

 It  looks  as  if  the  new  federal  drug  czar will come from a law
 enforcement  background.  For  more analysis, see the Feature Article
 below.  In  New York, a revamping of the drug laws is recommended yet
 again.  In  North Carolina, another innocent family is traumatized by
 drug  raid  overkill. And speaking of overkill, that sheriff in South
 Carolina  is  really out investigating the Michael Phelps with a bong
 picture.  Seriously.  People  with  tenuous  connections to the event
 have  been  raided  and  apparently  pressured to give evidence about
 Phelps.

===

(9) OBAMA TAPS SEATTLE POLICE CHIEF FOR ADMINISTRATION JOB

Pubdate: Wed, 11 Feb 2009
Source: Seattle Times (WA)
Copyright: 2009 The Seattle Times Company
Authors: Steve Miletich and Mike Carter, Seattle Times staff reporters

Seattle  Police  Chief Gil Kerlikowske has accepted a job in the Obama
administration,  most  likely  overseeing  the nation's drug policies,
according to sources familiar with the chief's plans.

Kerlikowske,  who  has  led  the department for more than eight years,
has  told  the department's top commanders he expects to leave to take
a  top  federal  position, said the sources, who spoke on condition of
anonymity  because  they  aren't officially authorized to disclose the
information.

 [snip]

Sources  say  Kerlikowske  is  expected to be named head of the Office
of  National  Drug  Control Policy, a Cabinet-level position otherwise
known  as  the  drug  czar.  The  office, established in 1988, directs
drug-control  policy  in the U.S. It's subject to Senate confirmation.

Edward  Jurith,  the  current acting drug czar, declined to talk about
Kerlikowske  when  called  at  home  in  Washington,  D.C., on Tuesday
evening.

 [snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n160/a06.html

===

(10) PANEL WANTS CHANGES TO DRUG PENALTIES

Pubdate: Sun, 08 Feb 2009
Source: Star-Gazette (NY)
Copyright: 2009sStar-Gazette
Author: Cara Matthews

It  Says  Current  Sentencing,  Drug  Treatment  Laws  Are Confounding

ALBANY  -  New  York  should  expand  access  to  drug  treatment  and
alternatives  to  incarceration  for  nonviolent  felony  offenders,
establish  a  system  of  largely  fixed  prison  terms,  and  adopt a
graduated  system  for  parole violations, according to a state report
released last week.

The  Commission  on  Sentencing  Reform  released  its recommendations
after  about  18  months  of  studying sentencing laws, which have not
undergone  a  thorough  revision  in more than 40 years. The state has
an  "incredibly  complex  sentencing  structure capable of confounding
even the most experienced practitioners," the report said.

"The  commission's  recommendations,  if  followed, will bring clarity
to  our  patchwork  quilt of accumulated sentencing reforms, improve (
prisoner  )  reentry  outcomes,  and support more rational uses of our
prisons  and  our  parole  systems,"  Jeremy Travis, president of John
Jay College of Criminal Justice, said in a statement.

The  Drug  Policy  Alliance blasted the commission's report, saying it
failed  to  propose  any  "substantive" changes to the Rockefeller-era
drug  laws.  The  alliance's  mission  is to "reduce the harms of both
drug  misuse  and  drug prohibition." Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver,
D-Manhattan, also criticized the report.

The  state  should  adopt  a  plan  to provide the necessary treatment
beds  and  community-based  resources  and  adopt  a uniform statewide
drug- diversion model, the panel recommended. New York has
successful  programs,  such  as  prison  diversion  and the drug court
system, but they are not always available. Many nonviolent
drug-addicted  offenders,  particularly  persons  of color, don't have
access  to  these  alternatives.  About 3,000 people a year would meet
the criteria for diversion, the report said.

 [snip]

Continues: : http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n146/a06.html

===

(11) RESIDENTS ANGRY ABOUT DAMAGE AFTER SEARCH THAT DIDN'T YIELD A
METH LAB

Pubdate: Sat, 07 Feb 2009
Source: Burlington Times-News (NC)
Copyright: 2009 Freedom Communications, Inc.
Author: Roselee Papandrea

Jessica  Garrison  was  driving  on  Interstate  40  Wednesday morning
heading  to  Greensboro to pick up her fiance when she was pulled over
by a Burlington police officer in an unmarked car.

Garrison,  23,  of  918  E.  Davis  St.,  knew she wasn't speeding and
didn't  know  why  she  was  pulled  over. She said the officer wasn't
quick  to  tell  her.  Instead, her cell phone was taken from her, and
she  was  questioned.  Eventually,  Garrison,  who  was waiting on the
shoulder  of  the  interstate  with  her  2-year-old  daughter and pet
Chow-Chow,  was  told that the SBI was searching the home she rents on
East  Davis  Street,  but  she  wasn't told why. Meanwhile, Burlington
police  officers,  who  had  obtained  a search warrant, were breaking
into  her  house  along with the SBI's clandestine laboratory response
team.  The  officers  were  looking for a possible methamphetamine lab
or remnants of one.

Burlington  police  blocked traffic on a portion of East Davis Street,
between  Flanner  and  Anthony  streets,  and  about  60  officers and
agents  worked  the  scene. A small amount of marijuana and a homemade
smoking  device  were  found  but there were no signs of a meth lab in
the house.

After  searching  for  a  couple  of  hours  and  securing  the  area,
Burlington  police  eventually  let  Garrison  back into her house. By
that  time,  she  had  already  seen  the  nine-page  search  warrant
detailing  law  enforcement's  suspicions  that  there  was a meth lab
operation  at  the  house. It was then that she saw the gaping hole in
her  front  door  that officers made to get into her home and clothing
from her closets and dresser drawers pulled out of place.

Garrison's  photo,  as  well  as  information  about her including the
fact  she  doesn't  have a criminal record, were in the search warrant
along  with  information  about  her  fiance's friend, who was staying
with them because he was "down on his luck."

 [snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n146/a03.html

===

(12) LAWYER: AT LEAST 8 ARRESTED IN ATTEMPT TO BUILD PHELPS DRUG
CASE

Pubdate: Thu, 12 Feb 2009
Source: State, The (SC)
Copyright: 2009 The State
Author: Rick Brundrett

As  many  as  eight  people  have  been arrested on drug charges in an
effort  to  build a marijuana possession case against Olympic swimming
champion  Michael  Phelps,  an  attorney  for  one  of  the defendants
confirmed this morning.

Longtime  Columbia  attorney  Dick  Harpootlian  said  Richland County
Sheriff's  deputies  arrested  his  client  -  whom  he  declined  to
identify  -  --  in a raid Saturday at his Lake Murray-area home after
seizing a small amount of marijuana.

"He's  sitting  there  on  Saturday, and 12 cops kick in the door with
guns  drawn,  search  his  house  and  find 5, maybe 6, grams of pot,"
Harpootlian  said."They  never  asked him, 'Who sold you the pot?' ...
They  were  asking,  'Were  you  at the party with Michael Phelps? Did
you  see  him  using  marijuana?'  It  was  all about Michael Phelps."

Local  defense  attorney Joseph McCulloch also said he is representing
someone in the case.

Harpootlian,  a  former  solicitor  for Richland and Kershaw counties,
said  in  his  entire legal career he had "never seen a search warrant
executed for simple possession of marijuana."

 [snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n168/a01.html

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

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

COMMENT: (13-16)

 In  an  unusual  demonstration  of solidarity and strength, the major
 cannabis  law  reform  organizations  in  the  U.S.  attracted  media
 attention  by  coordinating  a boycott of Kellogg Co. for terminating
 their advertising contract with Michael Phelps.

 Travel  guide  and TV host Rick Steves continues to foster a dialogue
 on  the  cannabis  issue,  and criticize the mainstream media for not
 doing the same.
 
 Contradictions  and incompatibilities between cannabis laws and civil
 rights  are  becoming  more  and  more  difficult to avoid in Canada.
 
 New  Mexico  is on the verge of implementing a voter-approved, state-
 licensed  medicinal  cannabis  production  and  distribution system,
 assuming the federal government does not interfere.
 
===

(13) POT ACTIVISTS RIP KELLOGG CO FOR DROPPING PHELPS

Pubdate: Tue, 10 Feb 2009
Source: Charlotte Observer (NC)
Copyright: 2009 The Charlotte Observer
Author: David Crary, Associated Press

NEW YORK - Snap, crackle ... pot?

Bursting with indignation, legions of legalize-marijuana advocates are
urging  a  boycott  of  Kellogg  Co.,  including  all  of  its popular
munchies,  for  deciding  to cut ties with Olympic hero Michael Phelps
after he was photographed with a pot pipe.

The leader of one of the biggest groups, the Marijuana Policy Project,
called  Kellogg's  action "hypocritical and disgusting," and said he'd
never  seen  his  membership  so  angry,  with more than 2,300 of them
signing  an  online  petition.  "Kellogg's  had  no problem signing up
Phelps when he had a conviction for drunk driving, an illegal act that
could  actually  have  killed  someone,"  said Rob Kampia, the group's
executive  director.  "To  drop  him  for  choosing  to  relax  with a
substance  that's  safer  than  beer  is  an  outrage,  and it sends a
dangerous message to young people."

Also urging a boycott were the National Organization for the Reform of
Marijuana  Laws, Students for Sensible Drug Policy and the Drug Policy
Alliance.  They  encouraged  their  members to contact Kellogg to vent
their  views.  In  one  sign of the campaign's impact, the Phelps saga
took  precedence  over  the  tainted  peanut  butter  outbreak  in the
recorded reply on Kellogg's consumer hot line Tuesday.

"If  you  would like to share your comments regarding our relationship
with  Michael  Phelps, please press one to speak to a representative,"
said  the recording. "If you're calling about the recent peanut butter
recall, please press two now."

From Kellogg's media office, there was no immediate reply to a request
for an assessment of the boycott campaign. A Kellogg spokeswoman, Kris
Charles,  said by e-mail, "Our contract with Michael Phelps was set to
expire  at  the end of February and we made a business decision not to
extend that contract."

 [snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n161.a04.html

===

(14) RICK STEVES LIGHTS UP THE MARIJUANA CONVERSATION

Pubdate: Tue, 10 Feb 2009
Source: Kirkland Reporter (WA)
Copyright: 2009 Sound Publishing

Only  days  after a photo surfaced of Olympic champion swimmer Michael
Phelps  smoking  marijuana, television host Rick Steves criticized the
press for giving the athlete a hard time.

In  his  quest to decriminalize marijuana, Steves has criticized local
media as well.

The  travel  writer  produced a televised "infomercial" out of his own
pocket  last  year  to get viewers thinking about the issue, but local
television  stations, such as KING, KOMO and KIRO refused to broadcast
it or offered 1 a.m. Sunday broadcast times.

"If  you  care  about democracy and it's considered courageous to talk
about  a law that is counter-productive, we've got problems," he said.

Host  to  a  sold-out crowd Feb. 4 at the Kirkland Performance Center,
Steves  and  other  speakers  such  as  State  Rep.  Roger Goodman (D-
Kirkland)  discussed  the  history of marijuana laws and their effects
for the "Marijuana: It's time for a Conversation" program.

He took the opportunity to criticize local media companies for failing
to  foster  a  dialogue  on the issue, claiming the law is more costly
than  the  drug  problem.  Steves  did  acknowledge, however, a unique
advantage in campaigning for the issue.

"Nobody  can  fire  me, basically," he said amidst a roar of laughter.

Steves  screened  the  station-censored 30-minute "infomercial," which
was  filmed at KOMO's Seattle studios, detailing marijuana's emergence
as  a  controlled  substance after the U.S. prohibition on alcohol was
lifted.

 [snip]
 
"If I can inspire you to talk about marijuana in polite company, we're
all going to get somewhere," he said.

Seated  in the audience next to Sammamish Mayor Don Gerend and several
Issaquah  Councilmembers,  Deputy  Mayor  Joan  McBride  said  she was
surprised  by  some  of  the  presentation's claims, such as the stiff
penalties for possession. Possession of 40 grams of marijuana (a little
over  an  ounce)  or less in Washington state is a misdemeanor offense
that  carries  a  mandatory  minimum sentence of one day in jail and a
fine  of $250 for the first offense. Any amount over that is a felony,
which  could  result  in  up to a 5-year jail term and a $10,000 fine.

"I'm  information gathering right now," McBride said. "I just put in a
call  to  the  chief  of police and would like to sit down and talk to
him."

 [snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n163.a06.html

===

(15) RESTAURATEUR URGES OTTAWA TO CLARIFY HAZY MARIJUANA LAW

Pubdate: Mon, 09 Feb 2009
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 2009 Canwest Publishing Inc.
Author: Jordana Huber

TORONTO  -  A  restaurant  owner facing a discrimination complaint for
asking a medical marijuana smoker not to light up outside his business
says  Ottawa  needs  to  clarify  its  regulations  governing  where
authorized permit holders can smoke.

Ted  Kindos, owner of Gator Ted's Tap and Grill in Burlington, says he
will  ask  the  Federal  Court  to  require Health Canada to expressly
condition  any  medical  marijuana  permits  upon  compliance  with
provincial liquor licensing laws.

The  court  challenge  comes  as the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal set
aside  eight  days  for  hearings this summer to determine whether Mr.
Kindos  discriminated  against  Steve  Gibson when he asked him not to
smoke marijuana outside his restaurant.

"We're  really  looking to the court for assistance," said Mr. Kindos'
lawyer, Gary Graham.

Mr.  Graham said he and his client were hoping to resolve "the tension
between  the  liquor  laws  that  apply  to  Mr.  Kindos,  which he is
obligated  to  comply  with, and the rights granted to the holder of a
permit for the medicinal use of marijuana."

Mr.  Gibson's  case  is  one  of  three dealing with medical marijuana
working  its  way  through  the  human  rights  complaints  process in
Ontario.

Two  other men have filed complaints against the province claiming its
liquor  laws  --  prohibiting  controlled  substances where alcohol is
served -- are discriminatory and should be amended.

 [snip]
 
Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n156.a01.html

===

(16) STATE MOVES GINGERLY AHEAD WITH MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAW

Pubdate: Mon, 09 Feb 2009
Source: New Mexican, The (Santa Fe, NM)
Copyright: 2009 The Santa Fe New Mexican
Author: Tim Korte, Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE - Eighteen months after New Mexico enacted a first-of-its-
kind  medical  marijuana  law,  the  state  is  moving gingerly ahead,
mindful  that the closely watched program could go up in smoke because
it conflicts with federal law.

New  Mexico's statute, which took effect in July 2007, differs from 12
other  states  that have approved medical marijuana legislation in one
major  way  -  state  health  officials  will oversee a production and
distribution system.

To borrow the street metaphor, the state needs a dealer.

Of  course,  that  puts  New  Mexico's Health Department sideways with
federal  drug laws that make it illegal for anyone to possess, grow or
distribute  marijuana.  It's also illegal under federal law to solicit
someone for those purposes.

The  new  administration  of  President  Barack  Obama isn't likely to
change anything - not immediately anyway.

"This  is a matter of the law and the law hasn't changed," said Rafael
Lemaitre,  spokesman  for the National Office for Drug Control Policy.
"It's  still  illegal  to  grow,  possess  and  distribute marijuana."

He  said  he  couldn't  discuss  specifics  of  the  New  Mexico plan.

Bruce  Mirken of Marijuana Policy Project, a Washington-based advocacy
group,  said  New  Mexico  is  being  closely  monitored because it is
apparent  that  state  officials  have  put  a lot of thought into the
program.

"Theoretically,  what New Mexico is trying to do makes a great deal of
sense,"  he  said. "We'll see how it plays out. But it certainly makes
sense  for patients to have someplace they can go that is reliable and
safe to get their medicine."

 [snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n159.a09.html

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

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

COMMENT: (17-21)

 While  you  probably  won't  see much about this in your local paper,
 three former Latin American presidents joined this week in
 denouncing  U.S.-led drug "prohibition". Prohibiting drugs has filled
 American  prisons and fueled violent turf battles, say former Mexican
 president  Ernesto  Zedillo,  former  Brazilian  president  Fernando
 Henrique  Cardoso,  and former Colombian president Cesar Gaviria. The
 three  also  requested  that  the U.S. and other governments begin to
 "debate  the  legalization  of  marijuana". Few papers chose to cover
 the  presidents' announcement. The Washington Post, which did mention
 the events, did so in three paragraphs, on page A13.

 In  the U.K., there was apoplectic outrage and prohibitionist concern
 over  the "wrong message to young people", following government drugs
 adviser  Dr  David  Nutt's  comments  last week that horseback riding
 caused  more  deaths  annually  than  MDMA.  While  true,  Nutt  was
 nonetheless  forced  to  recant  by  home  secretary  Jacqui  Smith.

 In  the  Philippines,  Dumaguete City Councilor Dr. Noel De Jesus was
 met with indignation last week after he suggested that
 decriminalizing  marijuana  should  simply be studied. We "won't even
 think  about"  decriminalizing  marijuana, say Rep. George Arnaiz and
 Rep.  Jocelyn  Limkaichong, who proclaimed such talk was "foolish and
 ludicrous".  Most  countries, declared Arnaiz, made marijuana illegal
 "after it was proven to do more harm than good."

 And  in  Mexico  this week, nearly two dozen were killed in the state
 of  Chihuahua  in  ongoing  violence  believed to be related to rival
 drug gangs, battling over market share.

===

(17) LATIN AMERICAN LEADERS SAY U.S. DRUG WAR A FAILURE

Pubdate: Thu, 12 Feb 2009
Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA)
Copyright: 2009 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
Author: Stuart Grudgings, Reuters

RIO  DE  JANEIRO  --  The  war  against  drugs is failing and the U.S.
government  should  break  with  "prohibition"  policies  that  have
achieved  little  more than cram its prisons and stoke violence, three
former Latin American presidents said on Wednesday.

The  respected  former  presidents  urged  the United States and Latin
American  governments  to  move away from jailing drug users to debate
the  legalization  of  marijuana  and  place  more  emphasis  on  the
treatment of addicts.

Former Colombian President Cesar Gaviria said there was no
meaningful  debate  over  drugs policy in the United States, despite a
broad consensus that current policies had failed.

"The  problem  today  in the U.S. is that narco-trafficking is a crime
and  so  any  politician is fearful of talking about narco-trafficking
or  talking  about  policies  because  they  will  be called soft," he
said.

 [snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n171.a11.html

===

(18) REGION'S LEADERS SEEK U.S. DRUG POLICY DEBATE

Pubdate: Thu, 12 Feb 2009
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2009 The Washington Post Company
Author: Joshua Partlow

BUENOS  AIRES--  A  group  of  former  Latin  American  presidents  on
Wednesday  described  U.S.  drug  policies as a failure and called for
debate  on  making  marijuana  legal while treating drug use more as a
public health problem than as a crime.

Former  Brazilian  president  Fernando  Henrique  Cardoso,  former
Colombian  president  Cesar  Gaviria  and  former  Mexican  president
Ernesto  Zedillo  presided over the Latin American Commission on Drugs
and  Democracy,  which  also  released  a report in Buenos Aires about
the  need  to  find  alternatives  to  eradication,  interdiction  and
penalizing drug use.

 [snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n168.a02.html

===

(19) DRUGS ADVISER SAYS SORRY OVER ECSTASY ARTICLE

Pubdate: Tue, 10 Feb 2009
Source: Guardian, The (UK)
Copyright: 2009 Guardian News and Media Limited
Author: Alan Travis

The  government's  drugs adviser last night apologised for saying that
the  risk  in taking ecstasy was no worse than in riding a horse. Home
secretary  Jacqui  Smith  had  yesterday  carpeted  Dr David Nutt over
comments  that  emerged  48 hours before his committee was expected to
recommend downgrading the drug.

She  demanded  an  apology  and  told  the professor that his comments
went  beyond  the  scientific  advice  she  expected  from  him. "I've
spoken  to  him.  I've  told  him  that I was surprised and profoundly
disappointed,"  Smith  told MPs yesterday. She said they made light of
a serious problem, trivialised the dangers of drugs, showed
insensitivity  to  the families of victims, and sent the wrong message
to young people.

Smith's  attack  on  Nutt, the new chairman of the Advisory Council on
the  Misuse  of  Drugs,  comes when this week it will publish a report
expected  to  recommend  downgrading  ecstasy from class A to class B.
Smith  has  made  clear  she  will  veto  the  council's  view  as she
rejected its advice last year not to reclassify cannabis.

Lib  Dem  MP  Evan Harris complained to the Speaker at Smith's attack,
describing  Nutt  as a "distinguished scientist" unable to answer back
in  parliament  for  what was set out in a scientific publication. His
article  in  the  Journal  of Psychopharmacology was written before he
became chairman, but picked up in the weekend press.

Ecstasy is the UK's third most popular illicit drug with an
estimated  470,000  people  using it last year, including 5% of 16- to
24-year-olds. Last night, Nutt apologised saying he had "no
intention of trivialising the dangers of ecstasy".

"I  am  sorry  to  those  who  may have been offended by my article. I
would  like  to  apologise  to  those who have lost friends and family
due to ecstasy use," he said.

The  article,  "Equasy",  [sic]  ironically  argued  "equine addiction
syndrome"  accounted  for  100 deaths a year, as against 30 a year for
ecstasy use.

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n160.a02.html

===

(20) SOLONS: STUDY TO ANNUL MARIJUANA BAN ABSURD

Pubdate: Sun, 08 Feb 2009
Source: Negros Chronicle (Philippines)
Copyright: 2009 The Negros Chronicle

Negros  Oriental's  three  district  representatives  are unanimous in
declaring  "they  won't  even  think  about  sponsoring  or taking the
initiative  of  introducing  to  the  House Representatives a proposal
that would express the need to take a second hard look on
decriminalizing marijuana use."

 [snip]

Rep.  George  Arnaiz  of the 2nd District and Rep. Jocelyn Limkaichong
(1st District) both branded the proposal as foolish and ludicrous.

Arnaiz  criticized  Dumaguete  City  Councilor  Dr.  Noel De Jesus for
proposing  to  decriminalize  marijuana use for medicinal purposes. He
said  that  in most countries marijuana has been made illegal after it
was proven to do more harm than good.

 [snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n154.a11.html

===

(21) IN MEXICO, 21 KILLED IN BURST OF CHIHUAHUA VIOLENCE

Pubdate: Wed, 11 Feb 2009
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2009 Los Angeles Times

Gunmen  in  the  Northern Mexico State of Chihuahua Abduct Nine People
and  Kill  Six  of  Them  Before  Being Killed Themselves in Shootouts
With Soldiers.

Gunmen  seized  and  killed  six  people,  then  got  into  a  rolling
shootout  with  Mexican  soldiers  Tuesday in a burst of violence that
left  at  least  21 dead in the northern state of Chihuahua, officials
said.

The  scale  of  bloodletting  was  remarkable  even for Chihuahua, the
deadliest  spot  in  Mexico  as  a  year-old turf war has raged in the
state between rival drug-trafficking groups.

 [snip]

Continues: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09.n161.a10.html

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

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

OBAMA MAKES A GOOD FIRST STEP ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Here's What He Should Do Next

By Aaron Houston, AlterNet

Install new leadership at the DEA, push for a change in the classification
of  marijuana,  allow  research  projects  to  continue  and  more.  

http://drugsense.org/url/Vq2EpDxi

===

MEDIA HYSTERICS ABOUT SUPPOSED CANCER LINK NOTHING NEW

By Paul Armentano, NORML

So why does the mainstream media continue to get the story wrong when it comes
to pot?

http://drugsense.org/url/etgccp8U

===

FORMER  LATIN  AMERICAN  PRESIDENTS  CALL  FOR  A  `PARADIGM  SHIFT'

The  Latin  American  Commission  on  Drugs and Democracy, convened by
former  presidents  Fernando  Cardoso  of  Brazil,  Cesar  Gaviria  of
Colombia  and  Ernesto  Zedillo  of  Mexico  in  order to evaluate the
impacts  of  the  'war  on  drugs', has released a statement this week
saying  that  prohibition  has  failed and calling for a 'broad debate
about alternative strategies'.

http://drugsense.org/url/fU4307j8

===

ADVICE FOR THE NEW DRUG CZAR
   
Seattle  Police  Chief  Gil  Kerlikowske  is  Obama's pick to head the
Office  of  National  Drug  Control.  We're  not sure whether to offer
congratulations or condolences.
   
By Mark Kleiman and Harold Pollack

http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=advice_for_the_new_drug_czar

===

THE DRUG WAR WALL BEGINS TO FALL

From Washington, Vienna, Rio de Janeiro, Seattle and South Carolina, a
Convergence into a Mighty River of Reform

By Al Giordano, Special to The Narco News Bulletin

http://narconews.com/Issue55/article3393.html

===

DRUG TRUTH NETWORK

Century of Lies - 02/10/09 - John Delaney

John  Delaney,  a  working  Texas  judge  decries the drug war + Ethan
Nadelmann  of  Drug  Policy Alliance says "Just Say No To Kelloggs'" &
retired  USAF Lt. Col Russ Shaw calls for common sense in the drug war

http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/?q=node/2292

Cultural Baggage Radio Show - 02/11/09 - Dana Larsen

Dana  Larsen  of  British  Columbia  re  Canadian  court  rulings  and
marijuana  dispensaries  &  Doug McVay with Drug War Facts + report on
school administrators new hit: "Smell the Jacket"

http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/?q=node/2293

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

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

Write A Letter (Or Two)

DrugSense released two focus alerts this week.

Kellogg's Gets Stupid Over A Bong

http://www.mapinc.org/alert/0394.html

and

Three B.C. Newspapers Call For The Legalization Of Drugs

http://www.mapinc.org/alert/0395.html

===

Apply For A Job as MPP Online Content Manager

The  Marijuana  Policy  Project, a fast-paced, well-respected lobbying
organization,  is  seeking  an  experienced  Online Content Manager to
develop and manage MPP's online communications strategy.

This  position  is an exciting opportunity to play an integral role in
a  successful  organization  with  a  strong  track record of changing
laws.  You'll  have  an enormous impact on MPP's online presence, work
with  emerging  technologies,  be surrounded by smart people, and have
a direct part in changing U.S. marijuana policy.

The  goals  of  the Online Content Manager are to utilize online tools
to  build  online traffic to MPP's Web sites, bring in new subscribers
to  MPP's  e-mail  list, and increase online donations to MPP's work -
in  order  to ultimately build a network of activists who will readily
contact  their  lawmakers, write letters-to-the-editor, and fund MPP's
work.

The Online Content Manager is responsible for:

1.  Managing  MPP's  main  Web  site  and  some smaller micro-sites 2.
Managing  MPP's  national  e-mail  alert  campaigns  3.  Other  online
outreach:

To apply, see

http://www.mpp.org/jobs/process.html

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

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

IT ISN'T MICHAEL PHELPS WE OUGHT TO REPUDIATE

By Steve Harbin

If  anyone  should be embarrassed about the recent photo that surfaced
in  a  British  tabloid  showing  Michael  Phelps  apparently  smoking
marijuana,  it  should  be  each  American  citizen  (  "Phelps: 'I am
sorry,'"  Feb.  2).  And it is not Mr. Phelps we should be embarrassed
by.  Rather,  we  should  be  ashamed of our lawmakers who continue to
support marijuana prohibition.

There are no more absurd laws on the books than those that
criminalize the use of marijuana by responsible adults.

Billions  of  dollars  are  wasted annually in the United States as we
wage  a  war  on  drugs, and they accomplish little - with the notable
exception  of  creating  a  black  market  that  makes  some  violent
criminals very wealthy.

Ending  prohibition  would  allow  legitimate  companies  rather  than
gun-toting  criminals  to produce marijuana. This would create a safer
product  and  a  safer marketplace for consumers and allow the profits
of  those  companies  to  be  taxed  like those of any other corporate
entity.

I have never been a user of illegal drugs. But I am not
self-righteous  enough  to use the force of law to tell other informed
adults  about  what  substances  they  can  put  into  their  bodies.

We  all  know  how  poorly  the  prohibition of alcohol worked decades
ago,  yet  our  lawmakers  continue  to  prohibit  marijuana today and
expect a different result.

That's insane.

Steve Harbin
Woodbine

Pubdate: Tue, 3 Feb 2009
Source: Baltimore Sun (MD)
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n000/a021.html

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

LETTER WRITER OF THE MONTH - JANUARY
--------------------------------------------------------------------

DrugSense  recognizes  Officer  Howard  J.  Wooldridge  (retired)  of
Washington,  D.C  for  his  seven  published  letters  during January,
which  brings  his  total published letters that we know of up to 158.
Howard  is  an  Education  Specialist  for  Law  Enforcement  Against
Prohibition  http://www.leap.cc/cms/index.php?name=Speakers&bio#  You
may read his published letters at:

http://www.mapinc.org/writers/Howard+Wooldridge

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

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

Czar Struck: Obama's Brilliant Pick for Drug Czar

By Dominic Holden

Obama  choosing  Seattle  Police  Chief  Gil Kerlikowske to become the
next  drug  czar  in  Washington,  D.C., at first, looks like the same
old  beltway  logic:  cops and prison terms are the snake-oil cure for
drug addictions. Some change, Obama. Right?

Under  Clinton's  and Bush's drug czars, the United States experienced
the  steepest  spike  drug arrests in its history (contributing to the
fattest  swell  of  anti-drug  spending).  Drug arrests jumped over 80
percent  since  1992.  And despite the effort, the White House reports
that drug use has Risen

But  Kerlikowske,  since  he  became  chief  in  2000, has been at the
police  department's  helm  while  Seattle  made  some  of  the  most
aggressive  to  drug  enforcement  allowed under federal law. He never
stood  in  the  way.  And now Kerlikowske is poised to become the most
influential  person  in  federal  government  to  set  new  drug laws.

The  needle-exchange  test:  The  Obama  administration  has  already
identified  this  as  its  most  pressing drug issue. Last week, Obama
sent  American  negotiators  to  the UN orders to reverse Bush's block
on  needle  exchange. He wants to allow clean needles-in Europe and in
the US. What's Kerlikowske's record?

"There  has  been  long-standing  support  in the community as a whole
and  from  SPD  for  our  continued operation of the needle exchange,"
says  James  Apa,  a  spokesman for Seattle King County Public Health,
which  runs  one  of  first  and  the nation's largest needle-exchange
programs. Seattle IV drug users have some of the lowest
HIV-infection  rates  in  the  country, he says. But acceptance of the
controversial program hasn't been that long standing.

"What  we  would  find  is  that police would hang around the exchange
site  and  watch  who came and went," says Kris Nyrop, former director
of  Street  Outreach Services, a pioneering needle exchange group that
operated  a  table  in  downtown  Seattle  in  the  late 1980s. "Their
presence  itself  would  be somewhat intimidating ... people would see
four  police  officers  halfway  down  the  block  and they would turn
around  and  go  home,"  he  says.  "Harassment  like  that  happened
routinely up until the mid `90s."

But  under  Kerlikowske,  "It  has  been a laissez-faire thing and the
police basically leave needle exchanges alone," says Nyrop.

Pot  arrests  have  plummeted  under Kerlikowske's watch. When he took
office  in  2000,  Seattle  police arrested 332 people for misdemeanor
marijuana  possession;  by  2006,  the number had dropped to 148. Some
of  that  decline  is  likely  due  to  Seattle passing Initiative 75,
which  made  marijuana  enforcement  the city's lowest law-enforcement
priority.  But  Kerlikowske  didn't  try  to  block  I-75.  While City
Attorney  Tom  Carr  joined  Bush's  Drug Czar John Walters at a press
conference  to  oppose  the  measure-and  Carr  campaigned against the
measure  for  months-Kerlikoske  was  mum. And after voters passed the
law  in  2003,  SPD  told a City Council Marijuana Policy Review Panel
that  "officers  [had]  been  verbally advised during their roll calls
that  investigation  and  arrest  of adults for possession of cannabis
intended  for  personal  use  is  to  be  their  lowest  priority." At
Hempfest-where  tens  of  thousands  of people smoke pot in unison-SPD
sergeant  Lou  Eagle told a reporter, "We are not out there to enforce
the  marijuana  laws." And medical-marijuana patients, who could still
be  arrested  despite  the  state's medical-pot law, found Kerlikowske
fair.  Had  Kerlikowske chosen, SPD could have maintained or increased
pot arrests. But he didn't.

In  striking  contrast,  Walters's  number-one priority was marijuana.
"[N]o  drug  matches  the threat posed by marijuana," his office wrote
in  a  letter  telling  federal  attorneys to ratchet up prosecutions.
And  under  Walters,  the  Drug Enforcement Administration and federal
prosecutors  made  a  point  of  busting  medical  pot  collectives in
California.  But  for  Kerlikowske,  pot  was  his  lowest  priority.

Hold on-Obama's not about to legalize pot.

The bigger issue-and safer issue, politically-is replacing
enforcement  with  public  services.  On  that  issue  Kerlkowske  has
incubated  a  revolution.  Seattle  implemented  two programs that get
drug  users  off  the  street  before they get arrested. Most notably,
the  Get  Off  The  Streets  (GOTS)  program  hatched  in  the Central
District  when  Lieutenant  John  Hayes (now a captain) set up a table
as  an  arrest-free  area  that  people  with  criminal warrants could
visit for health and human services.

"That  was,  at  that  time,  a  very edgy approach, and the chief was
willing  to  let  one  of  his  people  staff  the program," says City
Council  Member  Nick  Licata,  who  soon  seized on the idea, passing
legislation  to  fund  the  project permanently. "It was a stage where
Gil  could  have  stopped it from [getting funding], but he allowed it
go forward," he says.

"He's  not  saying we should do away with the drug war, but I think he
recognizes  that  it  has not been a success and I think he is open to
other  strategies,"  Licata continues. "That may be due to some of his
experiences  here.  Seattle  may  get  some credit for exposing him to
real-time  experiments,  such  as  I-75,  as  to  what  could  happen
nationally."

And  nationally,  Kerlikowske  could be a drug czar who pushes to lift
the  federal  ban  on  funding  needle exchange, stops the medical pot
raids in California, overhauls our nonsensical anti-drug
commercials,  and  enthusiastically  seeks  funding for drug-treatment
programs.

The  brilliance  of  Obama's  pick  for  drug czar is not just finding
someone  who  is  open  to new strategies, but someone who nonetheless
holds undeniable qualifications as a cop. Nobody can claim
Kerlikowske  is  a  public-health  nut  who doesn't know the impact of
drugs  on  the  streets.  Like  many  Americans,  he agrees that drugs
should  be  illegal.  But  he understands the place for low priorities
and  public  health-and  he's  willing  to step back where enforcement
alone has failed.

Dominic  Holden  is  a reporter for The Stranger and a board member of
the  National  Organizations  for  the  Reform  of  Marijuana Laws. In
years  past,  he served as director of the Seattle Hempfest, organizer
of  the  ACLU  of  Washington's Marijuana Education Project, and chair
of  campaign  to  pass  Initiative 75, which made marijuana possession
the  Seattle's  lowest  law-enforcement priority. He can be reached at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   .This  piece  was  originally  posted  at the
Stranger Slog - http://drugsense.org/url/7VhCEC57

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK
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"Nothing  in  all  the  world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance
and conscientious stupidity." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

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