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(renamed "Drug War Chronicle" effective issue #300, August 2003) Issue #54, 8/14/98
"Raising Awareness of the Consequences of Drug Prohibition"
Mail sent to the [email protected] address last week was lost due to a system failure. If you wrote to that address requesting an address change, addition or deletion, or for any other reason, and have not received a response to your request, please send it again, and please accept our apologies for the inconvenience. DRCNet needs your support! Join the more than a thousand dues-paying members and cast your vote for reform today! Use our secure form at http://www.drcnet.org/drcreg.html to make a pledge or a credit card donation. BUMPER STICKERS ARE SENT TO ALL NEW MEMBERS -- check it out at http://www.drcnet.org/bumpersticker.gif. Help us by recruiting more e-mail subscribers too -- nearly 6,400 now, help us reach 7,000! (But please get their permission first, before signing them up.) Please note that donations to DRCNet are not tax-deductible. You can make tax-deductible donations to the DRCNet Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The DRCNet Foundation will gradually be taking over much of the educational work currently being carried out by the Drug Reform Coordination Network. Help us celebrate the inauguration of the DRCNet Foundation by making a tax-deductible contribution! Note that the Foundation is not yet set up for credit cards, only checks or money orders. Donations by check, tax-deductible to the DRCNet Foundation, or non-deductible to the Drug Reform Coordination Network (to support our lobbying work), may be mailed to: DRCNet, 2000 P St., NW, Suite 615, Washington, DC 20036. Thanks to the 353 of you who have signed for the eyegive online fundraising program with DRCNet as your recipient non-profit, and who collectively are earning us over $17 per day in much needed revenue. If you haven't signed up yet, and would like to do so, or just want some more information please visit http://www.eyegive.com/html/ssi.cfm?CID=1060 to read more and automatically select DRCNet, or visit the eyegive home page at http://www.eyegive.com. TABLE OF CONTENTS
(visit last week's Week Online) or check out The Week Online archives
1. Study Comes Out Against Jailing of Women Who Use Drugs During Pregnancy A study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation came out against the jailing of women who use legal or illegal drugs during pregnancy. The report, released earlier this week, was headed by Lawrence Nelson, of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, and Mary Faith Marshall, of the Medical University of South Carolina. Nelson, Marshall and other researchers concluded that the criminalization approach is counterproductive to the needs of the children themselves, and has been conducted in a racially biased manner, and often in violation of the U.S. Constitution. The report is divided into sections on bioethics and legal issues. Ethical concerns cited about the criminalization of perinatal substance abuse were that criminalization has had no demonstrated effect on improving infant health or deterrence of substance abuse by pregnant women, and that such women may forego needed prenatal care or substance abuse treatment for fear of losing their children or being arrested; criminalization creates obligations for health care providers that are legally and ethically untenable; and the criminalization approach has been tainted with race and class biases and political opportunism. Criteria recommended for coercive state intervention were that 1) The harm to be prevented to the child-to-be must clearly exceed the harm of the pregnant woman's loss of liberty as well as other harms to her and her dependents; 2) The intervention must be expected to be successful in terms of tangible benefits to the health of the children and the mother -- symbolic success, such as "sending a message" is not sufficient; 3) The policy intervention should involve the least restrictive means possible; and 4) The policy must substantially benefit society and not lead to substantial harm. Criminalization fails all four of these criteria. The report also notes that removal of the child from parental custody may or may not be appropriate, as substance use or addiction on the mother's part may or may not indicate poor parenting ability, and removal of the child may precipitate social harms in the deterrence of prenatal care and substance abuse treatment, a decrease in confidential patient/clinician communication overload of the social service and foster care systems and through race, gender and class discrimination. The pervasiveness of judgmental attitudes toward substance use may cloud the ability of social services workers to make objective assessments regarding the ability of a parent to care for her children. For a copy of the RWJF report, e-mail Prof. Nelson at [email protected].
2. Canadian Member of Parliament to Introduce Motion on Heroin Trials Last week, we reported that officials in the province of British Columbia, including the Chief Coroner and the Police Chief of Vancouver, had endorsed a report calling for new drug policies, including a trial program in which heroin addicts could receive the drug through legal channels (http://www.drcnet.org/wol/053.html#britishcolumbia). Earlier this week, Libby Davis, Member of Parliament for Vancouver East, announced that she would be filing a motion calling on the federal government to immediately implement clinical, multi-centre prescription heroin trials. "The situation in the Downtown Eastside is critical," Davies said. "People are dying in the streets because we have failed to act. The motion I will be introducing when the House of Commons resumes provides a rallying point for support of a medicalized approach to addiction... Two hundred addicts have died already this year, and many estimate that another two hundred will perish before the year is over. These needless deaths are entirely preventable if the government chooses to act now, in cooperation with the provinces, to provide the proper medical and social support. Heroin trials, and the appropriate and controlled medical care that will stem from those trials, are one step toward stemming this epidemic before more people are forced to pay with their lives." For further information, contact Davies' office at (604) 775-5800 (Vancouver) or (613) 992-6030 (Ottawa).
3. Australian Families and Friends Groups Hold "Voice Day" in Queensland, September 1st The Australian organizations Families and Friends of Drug Law Reform and DrugAid have been in the forefront of the debate over compassionate policies like heroin maintenance and alternatives to prohibition. On September 1, they are holding an open forum, "Voice Day", from 9:15am - 4:00pm (registration opening at 8:30), at the Parliament House in Brisbane. The forum will be officially opened by Wendy Edmond, MLA, the Minister of Health, and will include addresses by experts, politicians, families and drug dependent persons, personal stories, and panels hosted by policy makers and professionals. Panel topics will include Civil Rights, Treatment and Health, Drugs in Prisons, Law, Order and Advocacy, and Education. The day's findings will be presented to Premier Peter Beattie, as leader of the Queensland Parliament. Admission is $12. Though most DRCNet members won't be able to make it to Queensland in person, those with personal or family experiences with the consequences of addiction and drug prohibition can still submit their stories via e-mail. Send them to [email protected], or call (07) 3260 6277 or (07) 3260 7016 or fax (07) 3260 6277 for further information. Families and Friends for Drug Law Reform can be found on the web at http://www.adca.org.au/ffdlr/. DrugAid is online at http://www.drugaid.com.au/.
4. Cannabis Club Staff Designated as Officers of City of Oakland (reprinted from the NORML Foundation, http://www.norml.org) August 13, 1998, Oakland, CA: City officials designated employees of the local cannabis buyers' cooperative as Officers of the City of Oakland in a groundbreaking ceremony today. Attorney Robert Raich said that the action immunizes the Oakland Cannabis Cooperative staff from federal criminal and civil liability. Section 885(d) of the Federal Controlled Substances Act provides that any officer of a city who is enforcing a local ordinance relating to controlled substances will be protected from criminal sanctions. Last month, the City Council unanimously passed an ordinance recognizing that a "medical cannabis provider association ... may ... distribute safe and affordable medical cannabis." "Because the ordinance relies on provisions of federal law, it may be replicated in cities throughout the country, not just in California or other states that may pass laws similar to Proposition 215," Raich said. City Council representative Nate Miley and Oakland Club attorneys also called today for a dismissal of all federal charges against the Cooperative. The club remains open in violation of a federal judge's decision to temporarily enjoin operations of six state medical marijuana dispensaries -- including the Oakland club -- named in a federal civil lawsuit. "The Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative runs a clean, legitimate business, contributes to Oakland's downtown revitalization, and prevents seriously ill people from turning to the streets to buy their medicine," said Miley. "We're delighted to offer the Cooperative all the support we can, and hope that other cities follow suit." Jeff Jones, Executive Director of the Oakland Cooperative, praised the Council's decision to designate the club. "This is a great day for our patients and a great day for Oakland," he said. "I think a lot of Oakland patients can breathe a big sigh of relief now," added Raich. (For further information, contact Dale Gieringer of California NORML at (415) 563-5858, e-mail [email protected], or attorney Robert Raich at (510) 338-0700.
5. NIDA Ignores Own Experts' Advice to Provide Marijuana for Medical Research A year ago, on August 8, 1997, an "Ad Hoc Group of Experts" assembled by the National Institutes of Health released a report on its February "Workshop on the Medical Utility of Marijuana," recommending that the National Institute on Drug Abuse make it easier for researchers to obtain marijuana for medical research. Under current NIDA policy, set by Director Alan Leshner, researchers must apply to the NIH for federal grant funding for their research, in order to obtain marijuana from NIDA. NIDA will not provide marijuana for research being conducted with private funds, even if that research meets accepted FDA standards and has FDA approval. Because NIDA has a monopoly on legal marijuana for research, if NIH doesn't choose to fund a marijuana study, the study cannot take place, even if private funds are available. The NIH Experts Group recommended the following policy: "Whether or not the NIH is the primary source of grant support for a proposed bona fide clinical research study, if that study meets U.S. regulatory standards (U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) protocol approval and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) controlled substances registration) the study should receive marijuana and/or matching placebo supplied by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)." The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) charged last week that the Clinton Administration is stalling on the medical marijuana research issue, a full year after issuance of the NIH report: "If a study does not require government funding, scientists should not have to waste time applying for a grant, only to get rejected because of a lack of funds," said MPP's Chuck Thomas. "NIDA has effectively rejected the expert group's advice." "Tens of thousands of seriously ill people nationwide are already risking arrest and imprisonment by using marijuana for medicinal purposes," said Thomas. "Because the FDA-approval route is being blocked by NIDA, the Marijuana Policy Project is urging the American people to pass state and local laws to remove criminal penalties for patients who possess or grow their own medicinal marijuana." ACTION REQUEST: Please contact Dr. Leshner's office, (301) 443-6480 or e-mail [email protected] and tell him that "NIDA should provide marijuana to all FDA-approved studies, without requiring an NIH peer review." Let us know at [email protected] so we can assess our impact. We will also share that information (but not your name, without your explicit permission), with MPP and other organizations working on this issue, to aid in the lobbying effort. The disparity between statements promulgated by drug czar Barry McCaffrey, vs. the thoughtful examinations of the NIH scientists panel, is illustrated by an article in our newsletter of a year ago, titled "The Scientists and the General", http://www.drcnet.org/guide8-97/nihondcp.html. For more information about NIDA's efforts to block research, visit http://www.mpp.org/NIDAbro.html. MPP is online at http://www.mpp.org, and can be reached at (202) 462-5747.
6. Harm Reduction Conference in New Jersey Harm Reduction in New Jersey: Putting Principles Into Action, Friday, September 18, 1998, 9:00am - 4:00pm, Rutgers Student Center, College Avenue, New Brunswick. This conference is designed to provide participants with the foundation for developing, conducting and evaluating harm reduction strategies in their communities in order to influence both practice and policy. Presenters at this conference include: Imani Woods, Director, Progressive Solutions, Seattle, WA; Stuart Fisk, RN, Corpus Christi Residence, Pittsburgh, PA; Paula Santiago, Community Organizer, Harm Reduction Coalition, NYC; Synn Stern, Needle Exchange Manager, Positive Health Project, NYC; NJ State Senator Joseph Vitale; Paul Cherashore, Harm Reduction Coalition; Jennifer Gonnerman, Reporter, The Village Voice, and others. This conference is co-sponsored by: The New Jersey Harm Reduction Coalition, the New Jersey Public Health Association and the New Jersey AIDS Education & Training Center. Registration is $20 for the general public, $15 for NJHRC and NJPHA members, and free for full-time students. Limited scholarships are available. For more information, contact NJHRC at (732) 247-3242 or e-mail [email protected].
We reprint the following conference listings for those who missed them last week: Regulating Cannabis: Options for Control in the 21st Century -- An International Symposium, London, September 5, 1998, Regent's College. The Lindesmith Center and Release, a British agency dedicated to providing a range of services for meeting the health, welfare and legal needs of drugs users and those who live and work with them, invite individuals and organizations with a policy or professional interest to attend a symposium on options for the regulation and decriminalization of cannabis (marijuana). This symposium will bring together leading experts from Europe, Australia and North America in the fields of science, jurisprudence, sociology and government to examine recent experiences and possible options for regulating the world's most popular illicit drug, and aims to shed light on optimal cannabis controls and bring a new maturity and clarity to public debate. Particular attention will be devoted to exploring pragmatic opportunities for reform within the context of prohibition and examining recent constitutional and judicial developments in the regulation of cannabis. For further information, contact Mireille Jacobson at the Lindesmith Center, (212) 548-0603, x1469, e-mail [email protected], or Vicki Charles at Release, at (44/171) 729-5255, fax (44/171) 729-2599, or visit http://www.lindesmith.org/news/cannabis_conference.html on the web. Expanded Pharmacotherapies for the Treatment of Opiate Dependence, a conference presenting the latest research, policies, and practices related to the use of opiates and other drugs -- including codeine, morphine, diacetylmorphine, buprenorphine, methadone, and amphetamine -- for maintenance treatment of addiction. Particular attention will be devoted to evidence and experiences outside the United States. Presenters will include leading international and American clinicians, researchers, and health officials. Friday, September 25, 9-5, $50 (lunch included), $20 for students, at the New York Academy of Medicine, 5th Ave. & 103rd Street, New York. NY. Co-sponsored by Beth Israel Medical Center, Columbia University School of Public Health, The Lindesmith Center, Montefiore Medical Center, The New York Academy of Medicine, and Yale University Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS. For further information call (212) 822-7237, fax (212) 876-4220, e-mail [email protected], or visit http://www.nyam.org/meded/announcements/treatment.html on the web. The Second National Harm Reduction Conference, sponsored by the Harm Reduction Coalition, will convene in Cleveland, Ohio, from October 7-10. Registration is $300, with a 15% discount for current members of HRC, and certain For further information, call (212) 213-6376, or visit http://www.harmreduction.org on the web.
8. EDITORIAL: An Injustice in California In November of 1996, California voters approved Proposition 215, allowing for the cultivation and use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, by a margin of 56 to 44%. Today, and for the past three weeks, best-selling author and cancer and AIDS patient Peter McWilliams sits in a federal cell in Los Angeles in lieu of $250,000 bond. McWilliams is under indictment on nine counts, which boil down essentially to growing marijuana with the intent of providing it to patients. And there is little proof of that intent on which the charges hinge. In 1997, McWilliams, who is also a publisher, paid a literary advance to Todd McCormick (himself a long-term cancer-sufferer, whom the feds allege is a co-conspirator and who has also been indicted), to write a comprehensive book for patients on the proper way to grow marijuana for medical use. In addition, McCormick was determined to find out which of the many strains of marijuana works best for each of the particular conditions (e.g. AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, spasms, etc.) that patients use marijuana for. Clearly, such research, carried out by a patient, would not have passed muster with the National Institutes of Health. But the fact is that tens of thousands of Californians, and perhaps hundreds of thousands of other Americans are currently using marijuana, and it will be years, if not decades, before the government gets around to asking the questions to which McCormick is determined to find the answers. Proposition 215 says that a patient or a caregiver may cultivate and possess marijuana for medical use. And while it does not specifically endorse such endeavors as buyers clubs, neither does it limit the amount of marijuana that can be grown for medicinal use. Todd McCormick, "financed" by Peter McWilliams, was busted in his rented Bel Air home with more than 4,000 plants of dozens of different strains. No effort had been made to hide the plants. In fact, many were growing outdoors in plain sight. And there is absolutely no evidence that anyone had ever sold any of it. McCormick’s bust was carried out by the state, under the authority of attorney general Dan Lungren. Bond for McCormick, who vowed to stand and fight the charges and who was not a risk for flight, was set at an astounding $500,000. In fact, McCormick, who has suffered with a rare form of cancer nearly since birth (he’s 27 now), would be in jail today if not for the generosity of his friend and fellow activist, actor Woody Harrelson. McCormick and everyone around him were confident that he would beat the state’s charges at trial. After all, there is nothing about the current law that makes what he did illegal. Apparently the feds agreed, and felt the need to spend taxpayers’ money on an investigation and indictment of both McWilliams and McCormick, along with four others, for the same offense. These federal charges supersede the state charges and the crux of the matter is so tenuous as to border on the absurd. Peter McWilliams is charged with intent to distribute marijuana based upon the allegation that he had one conversation with the director of the Los Angeles buyers’ club regarding the possible sale of McCormick’s marijuana for use by the club. McWilliams strenuously denies this allegation. But even if it were true, Peter McWilliams faces the prospect of spending most of the rest of his life in prison for the "intent" to engage in a transaction that the Los Angeles club, and clubs around the state, are already engaging in on a regular basis: procuring marijuana for the seriously and terminally ill patients who have won the legal right to dictate the terms of their own treatment. It is not surprising that the federal government has sunk to this level in its obsessive persecution of anyone and everyone who dares participate in the compassionate distribution of medicinal marijuana. First the feds threatened doctors who discussed marijuana with their patients. When a federal court enjoined those threats they went after the buyers’ clubs. Now they have Peter McWilliams and Todd McCormick in their sights, on flimsy evidence of a "crime" that is, by any standard of justice, no crime at all. At the very worst, assuming that all of the federal allegations were true, the marijuana in question would not have entered the general market, no child, nor even any healthy adult would have come into contact with it. This prosecution is underway simply because of the number of plants involved, and perhaps due to the high-profile status of the defendant. Period. A few miles up the Pacific Coast Highway, in Oakland, the city council has taken the bold step of "deputizing" the local buyers’ club as a city agency. This unprecedented move is a last-ditch effort to protect patients and the club’s operators from the talons of the federal law enforcement bureaucracy that has threatened their health and their freedom. The feds claim that their law trumps the state law, and technically, they are right. But the people and the government of Oakland also know that compassion, freedom and the right of self-determination in so personal a decision as medical treatment deserves to be protected from unjust law and an intrusive sovereign. But in L.A., where the city has not been so bold and innovative in its efforts to protect its most vulnerable citizens, the inquisition continues. And a man who suffers from both AIDS and cancer, a long-time resident with a business and a home who poses no risk of flight, sits in a cell in lieu of an excessive and punitive bond, facing charges which could rob him of the rest of his life. This is the way the federal government spends our money to deal with those who dare to question its drug war orthodoxy. It is cruel and unjust, especially if one’s conception of justice has anything to do with punishments that befit the crime. But it is a perfect example of the message our government wants to send to those wayward citizens who are attempting to carve out a small exception to the Zero-Tolerance madness. And justice has absolutely nothing to do with it. Adam J. Smith If you like what you see here and want to get these bulletins by e-mail, please fill out our quick signup form at https://stopthedrugwar.org/WOLSignup.shtml. PERMISSION to reprint or redistribute any or all of the contents of Drug War Chronicle is hereby granted. We ask that any use of these materials include proper credit and, where appropriate, a link to one or more of our web sites. If your publication customarily pays for publication, DRCNet requests checks payable to the organization. If your publication does not pay for materials, you are free to use the materials gratis. In all cases, we request notification for our records, including physical copies where material has appeared in print. Contact: StoptheDrugWar.org: the Drug Reform Coordination Network, P.O. Box 18402, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 293-8340 (voice), (202) 293-8344 (fax), e-mail [email protected]. Thank you. Articles of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of the DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.
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