Drug War Chronicle
(formerly The Week Online with DRCNet)
Issue #405
-- 9/30/05
"Raising Awareness of the Consequences of Drug Prohibition"
Phillip S. Smith, Editor
David Borden, Executive Director
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
- COMMENTARY:
DIRECT
FROM
KABUL
--
DRCNET
ON
THE
SCENE
IN
AFGHANISTAN
THIS
WEEK
AND
NEXT
Intrepid
DRCNet
editor
Phil
Smith
is
on
the
scene
reporting
on
the
drug
war
and
reform
efforts
in
Afghanistan
--
David
Borden
comments.
- ON
THE
SCENE
I:
EUROPEAN
THINK
TANK
CALLS
FOR
LICENSED
OPIUM
CULTIVATION
AT
AFGHANISTAN
CONFERENCE
--
RESPONSE
VARIED
Amidst
a
burst
of
publicity
and
news
coverage
ranging
from
Kabul
TV
to
the
New
York
Times,
thinkers
and
officials
from
around
the
world
mixed
with
Afghans
and
representatives
of
neighboring
countries
at
a
three-day
conference
in
Afghanistan
this
week.
- ON
THE
SCENE
II:
AFGHANISTAN'S
NEIGHBORS
LOOK
WITH
INTEREST
AT
LICENSING
PROPOSAL
Most
Afghan
opium
ends
up
not
in
the
west
but
in
neighboring
countries
like
Iran
and
Russia.
Representatives
of
those
countries
attended
this
week's
conference
in
Kabul
and
promised
to
bring
the
idea
of
buying
the
nation's
opium
supply
for
the
medical
market
back
to
their
bosses.
- ON
THE
SCENE
III:
BEYOND
TREATMENT
AND
PREVENTION
--
HARM
REDUCTION
IN
AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan
has
its
share
or
more
of
drug
addiction.
But
the
nation
of
25
million
people
has
a
mere
100
treatment
beds,
and
a
lone
needle
exchange
program
sitting
on
a
dusty
side
street
in
Kabul
relies
mostly
on
volunteers
to
help
stem
a
looming
epidemic
of
HIV
and
Hepatitis
in
the
city's
injecting
population.
- DENIED:
MASSACHUSETTS
JURY
SLAPS
DOWN
OVERREACHING
DISTRICT
ATTORNEY
IN
"SCHOOL
ZONE"
BUST
A
western
Massachusetts
jury
refused
to
convict
18-year
old
Kyle
Sawin
after
prosecutors
used
enhanced
"school
zone"
penalties
to
try
to
hit
him
with
two
years
mandatory
minimum
in
prison.
- METHAMPHETAMINE:
HOUSE
DEMOCRATS
CHALLENGE
HARSHER
PENALTIES
IN
FEDERAL
METHAMPHETAMINE
BILL
Provisions
in
proposed
federal
methamphetamine
legislation
that
would
increase
penalties
for
trafficking
were
challenged
by
some
Democrats,
foiling
supporters'
attempt
to
make
the
bill
non-controversial
and
fast-moving.
- METHAMPHETAMINE:
SAMHSA
SAYS
METH
USE
STEADY,
PROBLEM
USE
INCREASING
--
DATA
SAYS
YES
BUT
NOT
AS
MUCH
AS
SAMSHA
IMPLIES
Spin-meisters
in
the
press
office
of
the
Substance
Abuse
and
Mental
Health
Services
Administration
exaggerated
the
findings
of
the
2004
National
Survey
on
Drug
Use
released
last
week.
- NEEDLE
EXCHANGE:
LA
COPS
HASSLE
NEP
CLIENTS
--
COMPLAINT
FILED
After
two
incidents
of
Los
Angeles
police
interfering
with
city-authorized
needle
exchange
programs
in
the
last
two
weeks,
the
director
of
one
of
them
has
filed
a
formal
complaint
against
four
LAPD
officers
with
the
city
Police
Commission.
- HARM
REDUCTION:
CANADA
HEALTH
MINISTER
SAYS
MORE
SAFE
INJECTION
SITES
SHOULD
OPEN
IF
COMMUNITIES
APPROVE
With
Vancouver's
Downtown
Eastside
safe
injection
site
now
two
years
old
and
working
as
planned,
Canada's
Health
Minister
has
green-lighted
the
opening
of
more
of
them.
- WEB
SCAN
GAO
Report,
Cascade
and
AAPS
Blast
Meth
Madness,
New
Orleans
Jail
in
the
Flood,
MedMj
Legal
Brief
Bank,
Charles
Shaw
on
Alternet,
DEA's
Microgram
- WEEKLY:
THIS
WEEK
IN
HISTORY
Events
and
quotes
of
note
from
this
week's
drug
policy
events
of
years
past.
- DRCNET
T-SHIRT
DESIGN
CONTEST
DRCNet
is
currently
soliciting
designs
for
new
t-shirts
to
be
made
available
on
our
web
site
and
worn
by
people
nationwide
who
want
an
end
to
prohibition
and
the
war
on
drugs.
- OSI
OFFERING
JUSTICE
FELLOWSHIPS
IN
2006
--
DEADLINE
NEXT
MONTH
The
Open
Society
Institute's
US
Justice
Fund
will
support
individuals
in
2006
through
two
Fellowship
programs.
But
the
deadline
is
October
14,
so
move
fast!
- JOB
OPPORTUNITY:
NATIONAL
FIELD
DIRECTOR,
MARIJUANA
POLICY
PROJECT
The
Marijuana
Policy
Project
is
hiring
a
National
Field
Director
to
spearhead
MPP's
grassroots
organizing
efforts
in
targeted
congressional
districts
and
nationwide.
- WEEKLY:
THE
REFORMER'S
CALENDAR
Showing
up
at
an
event
can
be
the
best
way
to
get
involved!
Check
out
this
week's
listings
for
events
from
today
through
next
year,
across
the
US
and
around
the
world!
this issue, one-page printer version
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