Issue #453 – 9/15/06
Phillip S. Smith, Editor
David Borden, Executive Director
subscribe now | make a donation | search1. Take a Look: Extensive New Daily News, Commentary and More on DRCNet
Now you can get new DRCNet info on our web site every day!2. Feature: The DEA's New Proposed Policy Statement on Pain Prescribing -- What Does It Mean?
The DEA last week issued a new policy statement on prescribing opioid pain medications, and we try to figure out what it means.3. Feature: California Activists Look for Triple Play in November
"Lowest law enforcement priority" marijuana initiatives are on the ballot in three California cities, and organizers say the prospects for victory look good.4. Callout: Please Submit Blog Posts, News and Events on New DRCNet Web Site!
Our new web site has many new interactive features...5. Announcement: New Format for the Reformer's Calendar
Visit our new web site each day to see a running countdown to the events coming up the soonest, and more.6. Law Enforcement: This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories
The rotten odor of drug war-related police corruption wafts across Tennessee from the banks of the Mississippi to the hazy hills of the Great Smoky Mountains, and that's just half of our corrupt cops this week.7. Sentencing: US 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals Throws out Crack Cocaine Sentence
A federal appeals court has thrown out a long crack cocaine sentence, saying the sentencing guidelines that call for tougher sentences for crack than cocaine are no longer mandatory, but only advisory since last year's US Supreme Court ruling in Booker.8. ONDCP: Senate Panel Recommends Cutting Salaries at Drug Czar's Office
In a heads-up to drug czar John Walters, a Senate panel has voted to slash funding for salaries and expenses at his office by more than half.9. Marijuana: Texas Gubernatorial Candidate Kinky Friedman Says Legalize It
One Texas gubernatorial candidate wants to legalize marijuana. Is anyone surprised that candidate is Kinky Friedman?10. Europe: Portugal Approves Safe Injection Sites, Moves to Start Prison Needle Exchange Programs
Portugal continues down a progressive path toward harm reduction with moves to open a safe injection site and establish a needle exchange program in the prisons.11. Latin America: In Break With Campaign Promises, Peru's New Government Will Accelerate Coca Eradication
Peruvian President Alain Garcia campaigned on a promise to stop coca eradication. Now, he's changing his tune -- and his policies.12. Latin America: In Southern Colombia, It's Aid Out, Soldiers In
US AID is pulling out of southern Colombia and the Colombian army is rolling in, as Washington and Bogota give up on the province of Caqueta.13. Latin America: Colombia's FARC Guerrillas Say End Drug Prohibition
In an unusual communique, Colombia's leftist FARC guerrillas called for the global legalization of drugs.14. Weekly: This Week in History
Events and quotes of note from this week's drug policy events of years past.15. Job Opportunities: Three Positions at Drug Policy Alliance
DPA's Washington, DC office is hiring a Deputy Director of National Affairs, a Legislative Assistant, and a part-time Office Manager/Receptionist.16. Job Opportunities: Marijuana Policy Project, DC & LA
Positions include an Assistant Director of Communications in Washington and a Director of VIP Relations in LA.17. Errata: Will the Real UISCE Please Stand Up?
Getting the right acronymic organization is sometimes difficult.
1. Take a Look: Extensive New Daily News, Commentary and More on DRCNet
Dear Drug War Chronicle reader:
Most weeks I pen an editorial for this newsletter. Today I thought I would instead draw your attention to the extensive new content that is now going onto our web site on a daily basis since the re-launch of our web site.
The focus of our new expanded efforts (though not the totality of them) is the "Stop the Drug War Speakeasy" blogosphere project. In the Speakeasy, you can read daily news, commentary, press releases and announcements from our many allied groups in the movement, links to interesting articles in other blogs, DRCNet's take on what's new and important in the issue without having to wait until Friday.
Some of the latest posts include the following:
- Reformers Raid Cato Institute, DRCNet's Scott Morgan on Radley Balko and Norm Stamper's presentation on the report "Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Police Raids in America."
- Retired Sheriff's Deputy Jay Fleming of LEAP Joins DRCNet Blogging Team -- Drugs, Crime and Conservation First Topic, from our first featured guest blogger who has joined the "Prohibition in the Media" campaign.
- "V"iets is for VICTORY, press release from our friends at NORML about an important court victory.
- Many Partisans on Both Sides Get Drug Policy Wrong, Blogosphere Shows, my own critique of a prominent blogger's misfire on Afghanistan opium eradication.
- An open letter from Canadian member of parliament Libby Davies on the InSite safe injection site and related info.
- Thoughts from Drug War Chronicle editor Phil Smith on his crossings of the US-Canada border last weekend and what he's looking for stories planned for this newsletter.
- A Reader Blogs section where you can join the fray or read what other DRCNet members have to say.
- more...
There is also a Latest News feed of links to drug policy stories in the media, an updated Cops Against the Drug War section, and much more coming soon.
Thanks for joining us! Please if you're able to make a donation to support this and other work.
Sincerely,
David Borden
Executive Director2. Feature: The DEA's New Proposed Policy Statement on Pain Prescribing -- What Does It Mean?
When the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued a new policy statement on prescribing controlled substances for patients suffering from chronic pain last week, it sought to redress the rising chorus of concern and complaints from health care workers and patients alike that its tough stance toward physicians prescribing opioid pain medications was resulting in a crisis in care for chronic pain patients. But if the activists and experts Drug War Chronicle talked to this week are any indication, the DEA's job in reassuring the pain care community is far from done.
The move comes after years of increasing prosecutions of physicians like Dr. William Hurwitz, a leading pain care practitioner in Virginia, who was convicted of being a drug dealer over his prescribing practices. (That conviction was recently overturned on appeal.) It also comes two years after the DEA shocked and dismayed the pain care community, including many academic pain specialists who had worked with the agency, by first posting and then quickly removing a series of "frequently asked questions" designed to assist physicians in staying within the good graces of the law. It is now commonly suspected in the academic pain community that the DEA pulled the pain FAQ at the request of the Justice Department because it would have aided Hurwitz's defense in his November 2004 trial, but the Justice Department hasn't confirmed that.
Siobhan Reynolds, Frank Fisher, Ron Libby and Maia Szalavitz, at a September 17, 2004 Congressional Briefing convened by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (photo courtesy Pain Relief Network)In a September 6 press release announcing the agency would loosen regulations on prescribing Schedule II drugs, DEA administrator Karen Tandy also unveiled the new policy statement on prescribing. "We listened to the comments of more than 600 physicians, pharmacists, nurses, patients, and advocates for pain treatment, and studied their concerns carefully. Today's policy statement is the result of that collaboration. The policy statement reiterates the DEA's commitment to striking the proper balance to ensure that people who need pain relief get it, and those who abuse it, don't," said Tandy.
The policy statement outlines DEA's vision of how doctors can prescribe powerful pain medications, such as Oxycontin or fentanyl, without ending up being arrested and called a "drug dealer" by federal prosecutors intent on throwing them in prison for years. Such drugs must only be prescribed for a "legitimate medical purpose," the DEA said.
"We believe that the statement and proposed rule will help the medical professional ensure that only patients who need medication for pain relief get it. The statement reflects an awareness of patients' needs as well as the importance of preventing any illegal diversion of prescription drugs," Tandy continued. "Today's policy statement reaffirms that DEA wants doctors to treat pain as is appropriate under accepted medical community standards. Physicians acting in accordance with accepted medical practice should be confident that they will not be criminally charged for prescribing all appropriate pain medications," Tandy concluded.
Not everyone was buying what Tandy was selling, though. "This new policy statement is mere window dressing," said Dr. Frank Fisher, a California physician who underwent a years-long legal ordeal after being accused of murdering his patients through overprescribing. He was ultimately acquitted on all criminal charges, but he was ruined financially and professionally. "The problem is that physicians are intimidated and as a result we have a public health disaster with the under-treatment of chronic pain. This doesn't address the problem. We have to get treatment for those who are dying because they're not being treated. We have to find a rational way to regulate these substances, and I think there is a very good model with alcohol and tobacco, both of which are infinitely more dangerous than the opiates," he argued.
While Fisher was harshly critical of the DEA, he did concede that the proposed policy statement suggested the agency was concerned about a backlash. "It is telling," he said, "that the DEA now seems to be concerned about its image. In that sense, it's a sign of progress, but the DEA isn't really the problem -- the Controlled Substance Act is the problem. This is fiddling while Rome burns," he said.
"The DEA has been intransigent in its positions, and this is the first crack we've seen," said Kathryn Serkes, spokeswoman for the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), a 5,000-member, libertarian-leaning medical association that has long been active in the pain wars. "I think with the Dr. Billy Hurwitz case and everything else that has been going on in recent years, we are reaching the tipping point," she told the Chronicle. "Through getting our side out in the media and on web sites, through telling our stories, and through the work of activists like [the Pain Relief Network's] Siobhan Reynolds, the public gets it now. The media gets it now. We have seen a change in the stories. It's not just about horrible doctors killing patients anymore; the reporters are writing about the problem of pain."
That new understanding is even starting to percolate within the political class, Serkes said. "The politicians are starting to get it. The only folks who haven't gotten it are law enforcement and the courts. I think the release of this policy statement was a strategic move by the DEA in the face of Hurwitz's successful appeal of his conviction. If I were the DEA, I would certainly be looking for something to show we were being responsive. I'm sorry to sound cynical, but this looks like an obvious attempt by the agency to manipulate the situation. Still," she concluded, "we'll take what we can get. We're working on the good dog theory with the DEA -- praise the dog when it does something good even if it has some behavioral problems. Good dog, DEA, but you're still in the dog house."
Despite some broader issues with the DEA, Dr. Howard Heit, a Fairfax, Virginia, pain management and addiction medicine specialist who worked with the agency on the new policy statement was very pleased with the looser prescribing rules. "This is a tremendous step forward in the common goal of achieving balance between the DEA and health care professionals," he told the Chronicle. "It will ensure that patients who need Schedule II drugs get them and will help decrease the diversion of prescription drugs."
Heit divided his patients into two types: stable and problematic. "With stable patients, those with no aberrant behavior who follow all the agreements, I can now write sequential prescriptions for patients that I used to have to see every month," he explained. "Now I can see other patients because the stable patients don't have to come back unnecessarily. On the other hand, with my patients with problematic behavior, I want to see them every two weeks and more tightly control the medications. That prevents a greater quantity of medicine getting out that can be misused or diverted," he said.
"The DEA said they made a mistake in not allowing us to do sequential prescriptions," said Heit. "Now they are allowing us to do this. The DEA is responding to the health care community, and this opens up dialog that has been rather closed in the past two years. This is a step in the right direction. The rules of the game are being set up. The DEA has also stated they do not want to practice medicine, but it is their charge to enforce existing regulations. While I feel it is the prescriber's responsibility to know and follow federal regulations for prescribing controlled substances, it is also the DEA's responsibility to ensure that all DEA agents enforcing these regulations are knowledgeable about them."
Despite problems with the DEA in the past, particularly around the abortive pain FAQ in 2004, Heit said there was no option but to work with the agency. "The DEA isn't going away, the patients aren't going away, I'm not going away. We need to communicate with each other."
Dr. David Joranson of the Pain and Policy Studies Group at the University of Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Center, which had worked closely with the DEA on the abortive FAQ but not on this latest policy statement, was reluctant to render a verdict on it. "We're still analyzing the proposal and are trying to help people think through it," he told the Chronicle.
One point Joranson made was that much of the reporting about limitations on prescribing opiates is mistaken, and it isn't just the reporters getting it wrong. "There is currently no 30-day refill requirement," he said. "The DEA has clarified that there is no such requirement. There is not a word in the law or the regulations about that, and if everyone is saying there is, everyone is wrong." Even physicians are often mistaken about the law, he said. "The literature shows that medical professionals often have an inadequate understanding of the law and regulations regarding prescription practices."
Even though the DEA's own press release announcing the proposed policy statement said it "will allow a physician to prescribe up to a 90-day supply of Schedule II controlled substances during a single office visit, where medically appropriate," that press release is misleading, said Joranson. "The statement implies there is a supply limit now, but in fact a physician can prescribe any quantity of a controlled substance on a single prescription."
But Professor Ronald Libby, a University of North Florida political scientist who is writing a book on the clash between the imperatives of medicine and those of law enforcement, was not so sure patients would benefit from the relaxed prescribing rules. "General practitioners are already scared to death to write prescriptions in the first place because of the DEA," he told the Chronicle. "If they're afraid to write one prescription, why should we expect them to feel more secure writing three?" he asked.
"I don't see any real change in policy," said Libby. "Other than the 90-day prescription thing, I just don't see anything. The DEA is basically fulfilling its promise to replace the FAQ, and here it is. This is largely tokenism because the DEA is feeling the heat," he said.
Continuing discussions between the DEA and the health care community are not going to resolve the contradictions, said Libby. "I don't think you can get at the underlying issues unless and until there are congressional hearings on the DEA," he argued. "They're more secretive than an intelligence agency. It's almost impossible to get information from them, even for members of Congress."
[Editor's Note: Years ago I heard an analyst tell attendees at a forum that researchers at the federal Government Accountability Office liked to say DEA stands for "don't expect anything, don't even ask." -- DB]
But Libby doesn't see congressional hearings happening any time soon. "Let's face it. The drug warriors are in full bloom. The climate of the country is not conducive. They've managed to equate illicit drug trafficking with terrorism, and as long as that's the case and they include practitioners and patients in that war, the only way to move forward is to excise this diversion stuff from the war on drugs. But even though the pain foundations and people like the Pain Relief Network have been trying to get hearings for years, we can't get them. If the Democrats win the House, that might change, but members have to consider the fallout. If you take a hard-line position against the DEA, you become a target yourself."
"To view this as significant is to miss the point," said Siobhan Reynolds of the advocacy group the Pain Relief Network. "Pain patients have been suffering from an unbelievable crackdown, a reign of terror that has cost people their lives," she told the Chronicle.
It's very personal for Reynolds. One of those pain patients who died was her husband, Sean Greenwood, who succumbed earlier this month to Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome as he and Reynolds desperately traversed the country seeking adequate levels of prescribed pain medications for him. Because anti-terror precautions precluded them from taking medicines on airplanes, the family was forced to drive cross-country in search of a physician who would prescribe the massive doses Greenwood needed. He died in a motel room in a state Reynolds does not want to identify for fear of leading the DEA to the doctor they were seeking.
"People do not understand the enormity of what patients face," she said. "Because doctors are so afraid of law enforcement, they have projected their fear onto these patients and these drugs, so that sick people taking pain meds frighten hospitals and doctors. Sean needed a lot of hospital care, but they didn't focus on his medical problems because everyone is in the witch hunt mode about opiates. All the hospitals would talk about was giving him Narcan, as if the opiates were responsible for his medical problems," she said.
"My son watched his father die for no good reason," Reynolds continued. "He couldn't get into a hospital because of a government crackdown nobody is willing to admit is going on. No one can get the serious doses of pain medications that these really sick people need, and that's a real human rights catastrophe, and the DEA making a shiny new policy statement that basically says the same thing as before is not going to change anything."
What is needed, said Reynolds, is an all-out legal assault on the DEA's prescription drug control edifice. "We need multi-layered litigation with multiple plaintiffs going after different elements of this problem." But that will require a larger commitment from reformers than has so far been forthcoming. "We are in a gridlock of grief here, and nobody seems to care."
3. Feature: California Activists Look for Triple Play in November
Inspired by local initiatives making marijuana the "lowest law enforcement priority" in Seattle and Oakland, activists in three California cities -- Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, and Santa Monica -- are busy working to ensure that similar measures pass there in November. Organizers in all three cities say their prospects for victory are good.
The three California local initiatives contain almost identical language and describe themselves similarly. As the web site for Santa Monicans for Sensible Marijuana Policy, the group running the campaign there, notes, the initiative "makes marijuana offenses, where cannabis is intended for adult personal use, the lowest police priority" and "it frees up police resources to focus on violent and serious crime, instead of arresting and jailing nonviolent cannabis users."
The Santa Cruz initiative goes one step further by establishing an official city position in favor of marijuana legalization. The initiative there would "establish a city policy supporting changes in state and federal laws that call for taxation and regulation for adult use of marijuana."
This year's batch of initiatives are a direct outgrowth of the 2004 Oakland Measure Z campaign, where activists organized as the Oakland Civil Liberties Alliance (OCLA) managed to pass an initiative making adult marijuana offenses the lowest priority and instructing the city to advocate for the taxation and regulation of marijuana. While OCLA is not formally involved in this year's initiatives, some of its members, like Richard Lee of the Oaksterdam News and the Bulldog Coffeeshop, have helped bankroll the effort. Others, such as long-time activist Mikki Norris of the Cannabis Consumers Campaign and California NORML head Dale Gieringer have been instrumental as advisors.
"After our successful experience with Measure Z in Oakland, those of us from OCLA wanted to spread this around California to show broad support, so last year, we and California NORML sponsored a statewide activists' conference where we shared our Oakland strategy and looked for which other areas in the state might be amendable to doing something similar," Norris told Drug War Chronicle. "The political consultant we had used, Susan Stevenson from Next Generation, wrote a grant application to the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) saying we were interested in initiatives or ordinances in five cities, and we got an MPP contract that provided basic funding. We still have to do more fundraising, but that grant made this possible," she said.
Following that, said Norris, the activists narrowed their focus. "We found people in what looked like good areas, and we raised some money to do polling to see if they were viable, we looked at the demographics, and we settled on these three cities."
Actually West Hollywood and San Francisco were also targeted, but in the former, a city councilman came forward with an ordinance that organizers could live with, and they dropped their initiative campaign. In San Francisco, city supervisors this week were moving toward adopting a lowest priority ordinance.
Organizers in the three Santas are hard at work now to ensure victory in November, they told the Chronicle in remarkably similar on-message terms. "It's looking very good here," said Sensible Santa Barbara spokesperson Lara Cassell. "We've been very successful so far, and there is no organized opposition," she told the Chronicle. "In fact, no one even bothered to submit an opposing argument for the ballot, which is fabulous. Santa Barbara is very friendly to our issue."
Sensible Santa Barbara was benefiting from the help provided by statewide activists, said Cassell, "but we are lucky to have a lot of people in the community here who support us. We feel very good about this. We are confident it will pass."
"Things are going really well here," said Kate Horner, campaign director for Sensible Santa Cruz, the group leading the effort there. "There is no organized opposition, although a few community leaders have spoken out against the initiative over possible costs. But those costs will be minimal," she told the Chronicle. "In Seattle and Oakland, they say the costs are basically a matter of photocopying charges, no more."
Unlike the Santa Barbara and Santa Monica initiatives, the Santa Cruz initiative goes beyond lowest priority language. "That provision would require the city clerk to annually send letters to state and federal government officials stating the city's preference for a tax and regulate model," Horner explained. "That would be our city policy."
Support for not criminalizing marijuana users runs high in Santa Cruz. In a poll done in November, more than 80% of people there opposed criminalizing pot smokers.
"That polling data gave us our mandate," said Horner. "It really showed strong support. Since then, it has just been a matter of building coalitions across the community. I'm confident the community wants to redirect resources from nonviolent marijuana offenders to serious and violent criminals."
"Things are looking good here," said Nicki LaRosa, spokesperson for the Santa Monica effort. "Our strategy is to get as many people involved as possible. There are lots of people here who have expressed support, and we are working on making sure we get the message out and get our voters to the polls," she told the Chronicle.
"We do have police opposition -- they wrote the ballot argument against the initiative -- but we also have a lot of community support. The police say marijuana is already a low priority, but the statistics we've seen show people still getting arrested. We want to send a message to Sacramento and Washington that Santa Monica is ready for the next phase of ending the drug war by deprioritizing marijuana offenses."
Santa Monica looks like the toughest nut to crack, said Norris. "We feel confident in Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara; Santa Monica is where we are most concerned," said Norris. "We are expecting opposition from the police officers association. Santa Monica is a bit of a challenge. It is a progressive city, but it has also been undergoing a transformation in recent years with luxury hotels and property values going up. And unlike Oakland, even progressives seem to align themselves with the police in Santa Monica. The city is also very finicky politically and has a strong NIMBY component," she worried.
But Norris also noted that current political issues could have positive impact in all three cities. "These initiatives are especially timely as California is currently confronted with a severe prison overcrowding crisis," she pointed out. "It's time to reconsider who we are placing in these overcrowded prisons and to set priorities. We can keep building new prisons at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars, or we can look at alternative policies that stop sending so many nonviolent offenders to prison. Cities and the state will certainly save money by not arresting, prosecuting, and incarcerating otherwise law-abiding citizens to prison for marijuana," she argued.
And not only could the state save money, it could also make money by moving to taxation and regulation, Norris argued. "It's been all over the news lately that law enforcement is finding and uprooting thousands and thousands of marijuana plants grows on public lands with the street value in the millions," she said, alluding to the state's annual fall eradication frenzy. "It doesn't seem to be making much of a dent on the supply. The market in this state is huge. We could conceivably raise billions of dollars in revenues and help fund services if we controlled, taxed and regulated cannabis."
That's the not so long-term plan, Norris confided. "We want to set this up so on election day we can say that people across California want to stop arresting marijuana offenders and get the police to concentrate on violent and serious crime," she said. "We're hoping to get a big enough bounce off this election to either inspire another round of initiatives or go statewide," said Norris. "Our goal is ultimately to bring fundamental marijuana law reform across the state."
4. Callout: Please Submit Blog Posts, News and Events on New DRCNet Web Site!
Among the features available on DRCNet's new web site are interactive possibilities for you to be a part of the web team. First and foremost are Reader Blogs, a section of the new "Stop the Drug War Speakeasy" blogosphere project. Visit http://stopthedrugwar.org/speakeasy/reader to check it out and start posting! (If you tried already and had trouble, please try again -- we have worked out some of the initial technical issues, though probably not yet all.) We will be devoting an increasing amount of attention over time to the Reader Blogs -- this is just the beginning!
You can now let us know about important or interesting news items of relevance by submitting them directly to our new Latest News section -- visit http://stopthedrugwar.org/node/add/content-recent_news to send your suggested news links to our moderators.
DRCNet continues to publish listings of events large and small that relate to the cause, but now we feature them in a listing that appears on most of the pages on our site and which links to a full calendar. If you are involved with or know of a relevant event, you can post it directly -- not just a short description as we have done previously, but the full announcement -- at our add event page at http://stopthedrugwar.org/node/add/event online.
Drug War Chronicle articles now have comments sections at the bottom of them, another way you can join in the discussion.
Coming soon: syndication feeds you can post on your web site, a substantial drug policy links database, and geographically-targeted content for your personalized web site view. To get that geographically-targeted content, though, you'll need to be logged to our new user accounts (same e-mail address you gave us previously, if you're a subscriber) and provide us with your location if you haven't already. Visit http://stopthedrugwar.org/user to log in or register or update your information. (Please let us know if you experience any error messages or problems with the user accounts -- we have gotten some of the issues fixed but we want to get it as close to perfect as we can.)
5. Announcement: New Format for the Reformer's Calendar
With the launch of our new web site, The Reformer's Calendar no longer appears as part of the Drug War Chronicle newsletter but is instead maintained as a section of our new web site:
- Visit http://stopthedrugwar.org each day and you'll see a listing of upcoming events in the page's righthand column with the number of days remaining until the next several events coming up and a link to more.
- Check our new online calendar section at to view all of them by month, week or a range of different views.
- We request and invite you to submit your event listings directly on our web site. Note that our new system allows you to post not only a short description as we currently do, but also the entire text of your announcement.
The Reformer's Calendar publishes events large and small of interest to drug policy reformers around the world. Whether it's a major international conference, a demonstration bringing together people from around the region or a forum at the local college, we want to know so we can let others know, too.
But we need your help to keep the calendar current, so please make sure to contact us and don't assume that we already know about the event or that we'll hear about it from someone else, because that doesn't always happen.
We look forward to apprising you of more new features of our new web site as they become available.
6. Law Enforcement: This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories
There is something rotten in the state of Tennessee, with the stench of police corruption stretching from the banks of the Mississippi to the hazy ridges of the Great Smoky Mountains, and this stuff is pretty rotten. Meanwhile, there's an apparent case of, er, overly aggressive policing in Florida and the mandatory prison or jail guard in trouble. Let's get to it:
In Cocke County, Tennessee, former Cocke County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Patrick Allen Taylor's guilty plea to conspiring to sell thousands of dollars of stolen NASCAR goods is only the tip of the iceberg of corrupt, criminal activities in the Cocke County Sheriff's Department, federal prosecutors alleged in a motion seeking a prison sentence far higher than federal sentencing guidelines call for, the Knoxville News-Sentinel reported Monday. According to prosecutors, Taylor was involved in robbery schemes, extortion, protection rackets, cockfighting, ripping off drug dealers, and tolerating drug use among department insiders. Taylor is the nephew of former Sheriff DC Ramsey, who resigned under pressure in the same federal corruption probe that has now brought down his nephew. Known as "Rose Thorn," the federal operation has led to the arrests of eight Cocke County lawmen and 170 other people, and has led to the closure of brothels, cockfighting pits, and a video amusement company. For more on the whole sordid affair, check out the News-Sentinel's special report, "Cocke County Confidential."
In Memphis, former Reserve Memphis Police Officer Andrew Hunt pleaded guilty last Friday to robbing drug dealers of cash, cocaine, and personal belongings. He could face up to life in prison, but that's unlikely since he has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reported. Three other Memphis police officers have already been indicted in the case, and more indictments could be coming, prosecutors warned. Hunt was part of "a gang of corrupt uniformed officers" who ripped off at least 20 drug dealers, prosecutors said. And these guys were really sleazy: In one case, Hunt stole drugs, cash, and a $15,000 watch from one dealer, then told him he could buy his drugs back. When the dealer came up with $9500 in cash, Hunt took the money and kept the drugs.
In Surfside, Florida, police are investigating charges two Surfside police officers conspired to plant drugs in the vehicle of a local civic activist, Miami TV station Local 10 News reported September 7. Two officers, Sgt. John Davis and Officer Woody Brooks, have been suspended after allegedly plotting to plant cocaine in the car of Jay Senter, who had previously tangled with Sgt. Davis over the case of a French couple cited for numerous code violations and fined hundreds of thousands of dollars for renting homes in Surfside to vacationers. According to the allegations, Davis and Brooks were overheard plotting to plant the drugs in retaliation for Senter's reporting another officer to the FBI in the code violations case. Interestingly, Surfside Vice Mayor Howard Weinberg told Local 10 the same officers had conspired to arrest him for drunk driving near a local bar and release the dashboard camera video in a bid to embarrass him, but the plot was foiled because he only drinks iced tea when he goes out. Another, anonymous local official told Local 10 Davis was behaving "like a Nazi" toward political opponents.
In Westchester, New York, a Westchester County prison guard was sentenced to probation last week for interfering in a drug investigation, the North Country Gazette reported. Timothy Connolly, 39, pleaded guilty to one count of second degree hindering prosecution and one count of drug possession. He will be under supervision for the next five years. Connolly was arrested during a combined investigation by the Westchester District Attorney Narcotics Initiative (W-DANI), Yonkers Police, New York State Police and Westchester County Department of Correction Special Investigations Unit, and was told to keep his mouth shut about the bust. But he later warned one of the main targets of the investigation he was being watched, told him to "shut down" his cocaine sales operation, and advised him not to use his phone because it was being monitored. Connolly was fired from the Westchester County Department of Correction on September 7, the same day he pleaded guilty.
7. Sentencing: US 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals Throws out Crack Cocaine Sentence
In a ruling Monday, the US 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia threw out a 24-year prison sentence for a man possessing less than three ounces of crack cocaine. The court held that the US District Court judge who sentenced the man erred in believing he had to sentence the man based on the 100:1 quantity disparity between crack and powder cocaine. Such sentences are no longer mandatory, said the appeals court, only advisory.
Under a 1986 law passed in the midst of a wave of anti-drug hysteria, the US Congress enacted a two-tier sentencing scheme for cocaine defendants with crack defendants facing sentences decades longer than powder cocaine defendants for possessing the same amount of the drug. But the appeals court held that since the US Supreme Court last year ruled that federal sentencing guidelines were only advisory and not mandatory, sentencing judges need not be bound by the guidelines.
The three-judge panel held that defendant Johnny Gunter was entitled to a new sentencing hearing. "The limited holding here is that district courts may consider the crack/powder cocaine differential in the guidelines as a factor, but not a mandate, in the... sentencing process," wrote Judge Thomas Ambro for the court.
Assistant US Attorney Robert Zauzmer told the Philadelphia Inquirer the ruling was likely to be cited by every defendant in a crack case. "This is a significant opinion which we are studying closely," he said, adding prosecutors were considering whether to ask the appeals court to reconsider the decision or appeal to the US Supreme Court.
Assistant Federal Defender David McColgin, meanwhile, told the Inquirer the ruling would help reduce the racial disparities existing in cocaine sentencing. "This has a great impact in helping to reduce the racial disparity that stems from that ratio," McColgin said.
8. ONDCP: Senate Panel Recommends Cutting Salaries at Drug Czar's Office
The Congress is getting increasingly testy with the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), and in a sharp signal of its unhappiness with the performance of ONDCP head John Walters, the drug czar, a Senate panel is recommending that salaries and expenses at ONDCP be slashed by well over half, from $26.6 million this year to $11.5 million next year.
Although Walters has been able to tout such successes as marginal declines in drug use rates among selected groups -- especially teenagers -- he has come under tough attack from congressional drug warriors, especially over ONDCP's halting response to the spread of methamphetamine. Walters and ONDCP are also taking flak for supporting the Bush administration's calls to slash funding for grants to help local law enforcement form drug task forces and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas.
ONDCP has 111 full-time employees. As its director, Walters earns $183,000 a year.
He isn't worth it, the Senate Appropriations Committee signaled. In its July vote on an appropriations bill, the committee recommended the deep cuts, saying the reductions would "more closely reflect actual performance."
In that legislation, the committee called for independent evaluations of ONDCP and demanded documentation of travel records, salaries, and contracts. The committee also complained that Walters and ONDCP have been unresponsive to congressional requests for information and have prevented program directors from meeting with the committee.
"This kind of unresponsiveness... results in an unnecessary waste of time and energy," the bill states. "Numerous follow-up communications are required in almost every instance."
Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) chairs the subcommittee with oversight over ONDCP. His spokesman, Rob Ostrander, told the Associated Press Walters had a bad habit of not paying attention to committee requests. "Unfortunately, this has been a long-term problem," Ostrander said. "The agency has a record of being unresponsive to committee staff. We hope that changes, because at the end of the day we need to ensure taxpayers' money is being spent wisely."
Sen. Joe Biden took to the Senate floor last week to complain about Walters. "Under him, the office operates like an ivory tower rather than the command center for our national drug control policy," Biden said.
The budgets cuts are likely to end up being restored, but even threatening to cut the once sacrosanct drug czar's budget is an indication that times are changing.
9. Marijuana: Texas Gubernatorial Candidate Kinky Friedman Says Legalize It
Independent Texas gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman said Wednesday he favors legalizing marijuana. In an interview with the Associated Press, the musician turned author turned would-be Lone Star state governor said legalizing the weed would keep nonviolent users out of prison, adding that he would seek the release of those currently behind bars for marijuana offenses.
Kinky Friedman"I think that's long overdue," Friedman said. "I think everybody knows what John McCain said is right: We've pretty well lost the war on drugs doing it the way we're doing it. Drugs are more available and cheaper than ever before. What we're doing is not working."
Friedman is running against incumbent Gov. Rick Perry (R), Democratic candidate Chris Bell, and Republican-turned-independent Carole Keeton Strayhorn, none of whom have called for marijuana legalization. According to the latest Rasmussen poll, Friedman may need a massive stoner voter turnout -- he came in last with 16%, compared with 18% for Bell, 22% for Strayhorn, and Perry with 33%. There is no run-off election in Texas.
The humorist and raconteur's campaign had originally been viewed as a joke by most observers, but at 16% of the vote, Friedman can have a real impact on the race. And as the campaign heads for its climax, he has been articulating serious positions on issues like immigration (send 10,000 Texas National Guard to the border), crime (send $100 million to Houston to help police a city awash with Katrina refugees), and taxes (less of 'em).
But all seriousness aside, it is Friedman's comic sensibilities that have always made him stand out. After graduating from the University of Texas at Austin, he formed the outrageously named Kinky Friedman & His Texas Jewboys, featuring tunes like the "Okie from Muskogee" parody "Asshole from El Paso," the self-explanatory "Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in Bed," and the anti-semitism-confronting "They Ain't Making Jews Like Jesus Anymore."
And he's still got it on the campaign trail. "I just want Texas to be number one in something other than executions, toll roads and property taxes," he said. As for the possibility of losing: "If I lose this race I will retire in a petulant snit," he said. "I'm not going to go out gracefully, I promise you."
10. Europe: Portugal Approves Safe Injection Sites, Moves to Start Prison Needle Exchange Programs
In an embrace of harm reduction principles, the Portuguese government has approved the establishment of safe injection sites for drug users and is working to have needle exchange programs in prisons by 2008, Medical News Today reported on August 30. The moves come as part of a package of measures designed to "reduce the consumption of drugs and diminish their harmful social and health effects," the Portuguese government said.
Portugal now follows the lead of Australia, Canada, Germany, and Switzerland, where working safe injection sites are in place. The sites have been shown to help slow the spread of diseases like hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS, reduce overdoses, reduce criminality, help drug users achieve more stable lives, and help some of them connect with treatment and/or counseling services.
While, according to the European Monitoring Center on Drugs and Drug Abuse, Portugal's drug use rates are low by European standards, the country does have an injection drug-using population, mostly around heroin. About one-third of a sample of treatment patients in Portugal reported drug injection as their preferred route of administration.
Portugal decriminalized drug possession in 2000, although drug sales remain illegal. But even if Portugal is not ready to take the giant step of ending drug prohibition, the actions of its government since then show that it continues to move in a progressive direction on drug policy issues.
11. Latin America: In Break With Campaign Promises, Peru's New Government Will Accelerate Coca Eradication
When new Peruvian President Alain Garcia was in a tight race against pro-coca populist upstart Ollanta Humala earlier this year, he promised his government would oppose coca eradication because Peruvians consider the leaf sacred and a part of their tradition. But Reuters reported Wednesday that the Garcia government is now seeking US support for a new push against coca production in what is now the world's second largest coca producer.
coca fieldAccording to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime's annual report on coca production, Peru produces 30% of the Andean coca crop. Colombia accounted for 54%, while third place Bolivia accounted for 16%. While the UN reported a slight decrease in Peruvian coca cultivation last year, the US government estimated production had actually increased by 38%.
While some coca is cultivated legally and sold to the Peruvian national coca monopoly to be made into various products, some doubtless is diverted to the black market and made into cocaine. Peruvian police report busting some 500 cocaine labs last year.
More than $330 million in US aid since 2000 has failed to rein in Peru's coca-growing peasantry. Now, the Peruvian government wants more. "We want a greater state presence in coca-growing areas, more effective coca eradication, coca crop substitution and security for export cargo to limit smuggling," Peru's anti-narcotics chief Romulo Pizarro told Reuters. "We can't let these traffickers continue to poison people's lives."
That was music to the ears of Susan Keogh, narcotics affairs director at the US embassy in Lima. She said eradication must be part of the new campaign because alternative development alone would not be enough to end the drug trade. "There are so many illegal drug laboratories that they're like the McDonald's on every corner (in Peru's coca regions)," Keogh told Reuters. "You can't just flood those areas with development, you need eradication too."
While not as politically potent as their Bolivian counterparts, Peruvian coca growers are increasingly organized, if fractious, and they and their representatives in the parliament, like coca grower union leaders Nancy Obregon and Elsa Malpartida, are bound to make life miserable for the Garcia government over this issue. It won't help matters that Garcia is breaking his vows to them.
12. Latin America: In Southern Colombia, It's Aid Out, Soldiers In
The US Agency for International Development (AID) has given up on an alternative development campaign designed to help farmers in southern Colombia switch to legal crops, the Houston Chronicle reported. The newspaper cited a Colombian government memorandum, and the report was implicitly confirmed by an unnamed US Embassy source in Bogota.
eradicationAccording to the Colombian government document, US AID suspended the development program in southern Caqueta state, long a stronghold of the leftist rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), because the area was too dangerous for its workers and it lacked economic potential. With development assistance making up less than 10% of the $800 million the US is spending to wage the drug war in Colombia this year, US AID will channel funding to more secure areas.
"You can't be everywhere simultaneously, and you have to make choices," the unnamed embassy official told the Chronicle. "Resources have to be focused where they can be used most effectively."
With the US and Colombian governments having given up on developing the region, the departure of the US AID project clears the way as the Colombian military begins its largest ever campaign in the south. The US has spent more than $4 billion since 2000 to help the Colombian government obtain and maintain control in such areas, but now the economic advisers are leaving and the soldiers are coming.
US analysts and Colombian politicians contacted by the Houston Chronicle called the move a bad idea. "This is not a good way to win hearts and minds," said Sanho Tree, a Colombia expert at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington. "We're driving people away from the government and into the hands of our declared enemies: the guerrillas and the drug traffickers," he told the Chronicle.
"This decision runs contrary to the whole concept of Plan Colombia," said Luis Fernando Almario, a congressman from Caqueta.
Adam Isacson, a Colombia expert at the Center for International Policy in Washington, told the Chronicle that writing off the war-torn south would be a grave error. Drawing parallels to the war in Iraq, he likened the current approach to saying: "Forget about the Sunni Triangle."
13. Latin America: Colombia's FARC Guerrillas Say End Drug Prohibition
In a communiqué sent this week to the New Colombia News Agency (ANNCOL), Colombia's leftist rebels the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) called for the worldwide legalization of the drug trade to put an end to black market drug trafficking and its associated profits. The unusual communiqué also carried a FARC denial that it owned coca fields in the southern Colombia's Macarena Mountains.
"FARC neither sows, nor owns, nor processes, nor transports nor commercializes any kind of narcotic substance or psychotropic product," said the communiqué from the guerrillas' highest decision-making body, the Secretariat.
The Colombian and US governments have accused the FARC of profiting from the coca and cocaine trade, but it is unclear what this means in practice. Some reports have said that the FARC's involvement is limited to taxing the crops and the trade.
Colombian media had recently alleged that the FARC owned some 7,000 acres of coca fields in the Macarena National Park, thus apparently sparking the FARC's denial. According to the long-lived guerrilla group, the coca fields are owned and worked by thousands of peasants who have no other way of making a living.
While the FARC has called for sustainable coca eradication programs in the past, it seemed to be singing a different tune this week. "We are convinced that the battle against the cancer of narco-trafficking con only be won definitively by elaborating a global strategy that includes the legalization of these products, because this will put an end to fabulous profits that they generate," the statement said.
14. Weekly: This Week in History
September 21, 1969: In an attempt to reduce marijuana smuggling from Mexico, the Customs Department, under Commissioner Myles Ambrose, acting on the orders of President Richard Nixon, launches Operation Intercept, subjecting every vehicle crossing the Mexican border to a three-minute inspection and to many observers marking the beginning of the modern was on drugs. The operation lasts two weeks and wreaks economic havoc on both sides of the border, but fails to seriously impact the flow of marijuana into the US.
September 19, 1986: Federal Judge H. Lee Sarokin says, "Drug testing is a form of surveillance, albeit a technological one. Nonetheless, it reports on a person's off-duty activities just as surely as if someone had been present and watching. It is George Orwell's Big Brother society come to life."
September 17, 1998: 93 members of Congress vote yes in the first vote on medical marijuana to take place on the floor of the House.
September 20, 1999: The public is finally informed of the results of Washington, DC's Initiative 59, the Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative of 1998, after Judge Richard Roberts orders the release of the tally previously suppressed by Congress. Voters had supported medical marijuana by 69-31%.
September 17, 2002: Santa Cruz, California, officials allow a medical marijuana giveaway at City Hall to protest federal raids.
September 19, 2002: The Guardian (UK) reports that Mo Mowlam, the former cabinet minister responsible for drugs policy, is calling for the international legalization of the drug trade as part of a more effective drive to combat terrorism.
September 16, 2003: Seattle voters approve Initiative 75 by 57.8% to 42.2%. I-75 instructs local police and prosecutors to make adult marijuana possession their lowest priority.
September 21, 2004: In a speech, U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) says, "The illegal drug trade is the financial engine that fuels many terrorist organizations around the world, including Osama bin Laden."
15. Job Opportunities: Three Positions at Drug Policy Alliance
The Washington, DC office of Drug Policy Alliance is hiring for three positions:
Deputy Director of National Affairs:
The Deputy Director of National Affairs works with the Director of National Affairs to promote drug policy reform in the nation's capitol, influence federal legislation and regulations, and change the national drug policy debate. Job responsibilities include tracking and analyzing federal legislation and executive branch polices; working with the Internet communications and membership departments to mobilize supporters to take action; developing fact sheets, position papers and other lobbying materials; managing the work of office interns; planning Congressional briefings and other events; and communicating the Alliance's positions to Congressional staffers and representatives of other organizations.
Qualifications include: At least 3 years experience in advocacy or public policy; Experience coordinating legislative campaigns (lobbying, media, grassroots mobilization, etc.); Working knowledge of the federal legislative process (hill experience, especially health, judiciary, or appropriations, a plus); Good research, writing and public speaking skills; Strong attention to detail.
Responsibilities include:
Legislative Tracking: Uses CQ, Thomas, and other services to track the status of drug-related federal legislation; Reads, summarizes, and analyzes legislation and executive policies and maintains legislative database; Monitors committee hearings and marks-ups; Maintains Congressional files; Evaluates and recommends various legislative services, such as bill tracking systems, activist tools, and fax broadcasting.
Research and Writing: Writes, develops and disseminates fact sheets, backgrounders, sign-on letters, policy reports, and other lobbying materials; Researches and writes on key policy issues; Speaks on drug policy reform issues at conferences.
Supervision of Interns: Manages internship program, including advertising the program, reading applications, interviewing applicants and hiring and managing interns.
Lobbying and Outreach: Educates Congressional staffers and others on legislation and executive policies; Represents Alliance at conferences, coalition meetings, and networking events, and builds relationships with other organizations; Plans Congressional briefings and other events; Organizes Alliance's coalition meetings, including maintaining invite lists and recruiting new members.
Grassroots: Works with Internet communications department and membership department to mobilize supporters to call/write/fax their representatives; Writes action alerts, web content, and fax texts for Action component of our website; Works with other groups to get them to send out action alerts and put up banner ads on their web sites regarding DPA campaigns.
DPA offers an excellent benefits package, including health, dental, vision, long-term disability and life insurance; a generous 403(b) plan; and four weeks paid vacation.
Position open until filled. Send cover letter describing interest, résumé, and writing sample (unedited by others) to: Bill Piper, Drug Policy Alliance, 925 15th Street NW, 2nd Floor, Washington, DC 20005, fax: (202) 216-0803, e-mail: bpiper@drugpolicy.org. E-mail submissions are encouraged (please use "Deputy Director" in the subject field) -- no phone calls, please.
Legislative Assistant
The Legislative Assistant is responsible for tracking and analyzing federal legislation and executive branch policies pertaining to the war on drugs, developing lobbying materials, researching issues, planning events, assisting other staff and coordinating special projects.
Qualifications include: Some legislative or advocacy experience; Excellent research and writing skills; Strong attention to detail.
DPA offers an excellent benefits package, including health, dental, vision, long-term disability and life insurance; a generous 403(b) plan; and four weeks paid vacation.
Position open until filled. Send cover letter describing interest, résumé, and writing sample (unedited by others) to: Bill Piper, Drug Policy Alliance, 925 15th Street NW, 2nd Floor, Washington, DC 20005, fax: (202) 216-0803, e-mail: bpiper@drugpolicy.org. E-mail submissions are encouraged (please use "Legislative Assistant" in the subject field) -- no phone calls, please.
Part-Time Office Manager/Receptionist
The office manager oversees the daily operations of the Alliance's Washington, DC office. Duties include, but are not limited to, answering the telephone, meeting and greeting visitors, tracking and ordering office supplies, processing mail, handling office maintenance issues, and assisting staff. Applicants should be organized, friendly, thoughtful, and have excellent phone skills. Commitment to drug policy reform preferred, but not essential.
The Office Manager position is part-time (25 hours a week) and pays $12 per hour with no benefits.
Position open until filled. Send cover letter describing interest, résumé, and writing sample (unedited by others) to: Bill Piper, Drug Policy Alliance, 925 15th Street NW, 2nd Floor, Washington, DC 20005, fax: (202) 216-0803, e-mail: bpiper@drugpolicy.org. E-mail submissions are encouraged (please use "Office Manager" in the subject field) -- no phone calls, please.
The core mission of the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), the nation’s leading drug policy reform organization, is to advance those policies and attitudes that best reduce the harms of both drug abuse and the war on drugs, and to protect the sovereignty of individuals over their minds and bodies. Among other things, the DPA works to end marijuana prohibition; repeal mandatory minimum sentencing; enact alternatives to incarceration for non-violent drug offenders; reduce drug addiction, drug overdoses and the spread of HIV/AIDS and hepatitis; and cut wasteful drug war spending. (For more information on the Drug Policy Alliance, visit http://www.drugpolicy.org.)
DPA is headquartered in New York City and maintains seven other offices in four states and the District of Columbia. DPA retains 46 staff, and is supported by 26,000 dues-paying members and 107,000 online members.
Drug Policy Alliance is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Women, people of color, and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply.
16. Job Opportunities: Marijuana Policy Project, DC & LA
The Marijuana Policy Project has the following new job opportunities:
Assistant Director of Communications:
MPP is hiring an Assistant Director of Communications, to be based in Washington, DC. The Assistant Director of Communications promotes MPP's message to the news media and writes and edits brochures and other literature for public distribution. This position is an excellent opportunity to work on the front lines of a fast-paced advocacy organization that is regularly featured and cited in the news -- both locally and nationally.
Applicants should have excellent oral communications skills, flawless writing, solid editing skills, and an ability to do newspaper and radio interviews (and eventually TV interviews).
Director of VIP Relations:
MPP is also seeking a Director of VIP Relations to increase the network of celebrities who are willing to help MPP end marijuana prohibition in the US. (Please visit www.mpp-vip.org to learn more about MPP’s celebrity outreach effort.) The Director of VIP Relations -- who is responsible for coordinating MPP's outreach to celebrities, maintaining relationships with celebrities and other VIPS, and organizing high-profile events -- must be persistent and knowledgeable in the ways of Hollywood, highly organized, and based in Los Angeles.
For both positions, please visit http://www.mpp.org/jobs for full job descriptions, salary information, and instructions on how to apply.
17. Errata: Will the Real UISCE Please Stand Up?
In our story last week about Law Enforcement Against Prohibition's Jerry Cameron creating a stir when he appeared at a conference in Ireland, we misidentified one of the sponsors of the conference. The UISCE that cosponsored the conference is an Irish drug users' group (whose actual name we still do not know), not the Gaelic language youth development group to whom we linked in the story.
