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(renamed "Drug War Chronicle" effective issue #300, August 2003) Issue #102, 8/6/99
"Raising Awareness of the Consequences of Drug Prohibition" TABLE OF CONTENTS
or check out The Week Online archives 1. Portland Judge Rules "Trap and Trace" of Gardening Supply Store Phone Illegal This Monday (8/3) a Multnomah County circuit judge in Portland, Oregon, ruled that the city police department's marijuana task force had illegally obtained a court order last year to trace the telephone numbers of callers to American Agriculture, a local indoor gardening supply store. According to court documents, the police had made weekly downloads of the phone numbers of callers to the store, then run a reverse-lookup on the numbers to learn the names and addresses of the callers, whom they then investigated as possible marijuana growers. Between 1995 and 1999, the task force made more than 1,000 arrests of marijuana growers, and boasted a 50% success rate with "knock and talk" searches, where officers convince suspects to allow them to search their homes without a warrant. Trap and trace procedures do not record conversations like a wiretap, but only trace callers' phone numbers. Still, their use by law enforcement is regulated and limited to certain circumstances. In Oregon, police are required to have a court order allowing them to collect the numbers from the local phone company, and the trap and trace is supposed to be used only for thirty to sixty days in order to monitor a specific suspect. This March, after a man facing charges in a cultivation case uncovered the trap and trace, lawyers representing dozens of defendants in other cases demanded that evidence against their clients be thrown out, since it was gathered illegally. The judge, Michael Marcus, ordered the task force to either reveal its methods or admit the technique was being used unlawfully. At first, attorneys for the City of Portland did neither, and would not even acknowledge that the trap and trace existed. And then, in June, the task force admitted to using the trap and trace, but insisted it was used all along to investigate American Agriculture, which they suspected was conspiring with marijuana growers who purchased hydroponic gardening equipment from the store. According to testimony from the task force, however, the police were unable to turn up much evidence against the American Agriculture. In 1996, federal prosecutors turned down the case, and only one person, a defendant in a cultivation case, implicated the store in the alleged conspiracy. This week, Marcus said that the task force's evidence against the store did not amount to probable cause, and that the trap and trace was therefore illegal. Marcus' ruling could be good news for American Agriculture's owners, who have filed suit against the city in federal court, claiming the trap and trace violated their civil rights. But the judge also warned that his ruling did not guarantee a victory for the defendants in the cultivation cases, because the task force might not have relied solely on the trap and trace in its investigations of them. A final decision on that case is expected at the end of this month. You can read our earlier coverage of this story online at http://www.drcnet.org/wol/085.html#portland.
2. Date-Rape Prevention Drug Act Heads to House Floor Peder Nelson, [email protected] On Thursday (8/5), the US House of Representatives Commerce Committee approved by voice vote HR 2130, dubbed the "Hillory J. Farias Date-Rape Prevention Drug Act of 1999" after a young woman from Texas died after reportedly drinking a soda that was laced with a high concentration of GHB. The bill would place GHB (Gamma hydroxybutyric acid) into the Schedule 1 category for all "street" use, and list Ketamine as a Schedule 3 narcotic. The bill was amended to allow completion of a decade long research project that is looking into the effects of treating a rare form of narcolepsy (a daytime sleeping disorder) with GHB. After the project is completed, and if the FDA approves the drug as a medicine, GHB would be rescheduled as a schedule 3 controlled substance. First synthesized in 1961 by French researcher Henri Laorit, GHB has been used as a general anesthetic, a treatment for insomnia and narcolepsy an aid to childbirth, a treatment for alcoholism and drug abuse, and an anti-anxiety, anti-stress, and anti-depressant agent. During the 1980's it was marketed in the United States as a dietary supplement, until the Food & Drug Administration banned over-the-counter sales of the substance in 1990. Since that time, the popularity of GHB has increased dramatically, particularly as a recreational drug used at raves, dance parties, and clubs, where it is used alone or, more dangerously, in conjunction with drugs like alcohol which can magnify its effects. GHB's increasing prevalence as a street has coincided with the rise of raves and dance parties in the US. But a spokesman for Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI), one of the authors of the bill, gave DRCNet another reason for the drug's widespread use. "The popularity of GHB is very much attributable to the advent of the Internet," he said. "We can't regulate people from being dumb, but we can take [GHB] out of the mainstream." When asked how the Internet made GHB more popular, a spokesman for Congressman Fred Upton (R-MI), the bill's sponsor, said only that "the Internet has made it easier to find a home-brew recipe or purchase and acquire this very insidious drug." Since 1997, twenty-eight states have passed legislation that increased penalties for illicit use of GHB, prompted by an increase in GHB-related emergency room visits. GHB is reported to lower inhibitions, acting as a depressant similar to alcohol but generally with less toxicity to vital organs. But since over-the-counter sales of GHB were banned, it has been distributed without proper product warnings, labeling or dosage levels, which has likely contributed to its misuse. Dr. Martin Sharf is a researcher at the Tri-State Sleep Disorder Center of Cincinnati, Ohio, who has studied the effects of GHB for the last seventeen years and hopes to see it approved for medical uses. When DRCNet asked him for a reaction regarding this legislation he commented that, "This is a law enforcement necessity not a medical necessity. There are no good drugs or bad drugs, just better ways of using them." Critics of the legislation point out that 70% of "acquaintance rape" or "date rape" involves use of alcohol, according to the Department of Justice. As Steven Wm. Fowkes, Executive Director of the Cognitive Enhancement Research Institute, told a California State Legislature committee in 1997, "It is unreasonable to assume that scheduling will eliminate GHB use by criminally inclined individuals any more than alcohol prohibition during the 1920s eliminated alcohol use." It is unclear what the effect of this legislation could be on the fifteen Investigational New Drug (IND) applications for GHB currently under review by the FDA. The Vaults of Erowid web site houses a collection of writings about GHB from the academic, popular, and underground press, available online at http://www.erowid.org/entheogens/ghb/ghb.shtml. Visit http://thomas.loc.gov for the text of HR 2130 or any other federal legislation.
3. AUSTRALIA: New South Wales to Heed Experts, Open Safe Injecting Room Peter Watney for DRCNet New South Wales spent 17 years resisting a judicial inquiry into corruption in the Police Force, because they assured the public that there was no corruption. The Royal Commission into police corruption later found systemic corruption that fed on illicit drugs, on prostitution and on pedophilia, in that order. The Royal Commission recommended, inter alia, that supervised safe injecting rooms be officially established in Sydney. The NSW Government refused, on the grounds it would give "the wrong message" about drug abuse. Overdose deaths doubled over the past four years. Last winter, in response to a picture on the front page of the Herald Sun which showed a young boy being helped by an older man to inject in a lane way of Inner Sydney, the State Premier promised to hold a Drug Summit after the March election. That Drug Summit recommended -- inter alia -- that safe injecting facilities be established. The Premier has now announced that a legal heroin injecting room will be established in Kings Cross, and run by the Sisters of Charity and St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney. It will take until next year to find suitable premises acceptable to the local community and to amend the State laws. The safe injecting room will be staffed with medical and social counselors, and will operate for an 18 month trial period. Users will have to supply their own heroin. The Prime Minister of Australia and his appointee as Chairman of the Drugs Advisory Council have said they deplore the wrong signal the facility will give.
Aussie-US Study Finds Harm-Reduction Less Harmful A joint US-Australian study released this week has found that American "zero-tolerance" policies cause more death and disease surrounding injection drug use than Australian harm-reduction policies. The study, which tracked 16 IV drug users in New York and Sydney over a period of three years, reports that after three years, half the New York subjects were dead, while all but one of the Australian subjects were alive. "HIV infection in IDU's, their sexual partners and children is now the driving force behind the epidemic in North America" the study said. "Despite adopting a hard line zero-tolerance approach to illicit drug use... the US has experienced in heroin purity, drug-related deaths, drug-related hospital emergency room presentations and AIDS cases relating to injection-drug use. "By contrast, Australia's approach, characterized by pragmatism, tolerance and bipartisan support for harm reduction, has achieved considerably better outcomes." New York Senate Passes Minor Rockefeller Reforms The New York State Senate this week passed a bill which would make modest reforms in that state's notorious Rockefeller Drug Laws. The reforms, first proposed by Governor George Pataki, would give mid-level appeals courts the right to reduce sentences from fifteen to ten years for some first-time non-violent offenders. The bill would also end parole for all state felons, requiring that they serve at least six-sevenths of their terms. Critics say that the reforms don't go nearly far enough, citing the need to place discretion in the hands of trial judges, and decry the elimination of parole, but Senate Majority Leader, Republican Joseph Bruno called the bill "a start in the right direction." Mexico Officials Investigate Police-Organized Crime Links Justice officials are currently conducting an investigation on the link between police and organized crime in Sinola, Mexico. Four officers have been indicted and 40 others are under investigation. Details of the investigation have not been released, but staff changes are expected to reach the highest offices in the police department. Mexican media report that Sinola is a state notorious for its drug trafficking and a center for marijuana and opium farming.
5. Decrim Initiatives Filed in Massachusetts for 2000 Ballot (courtesy NORML Foundation, http://www.norml.org) Aug. 5, 1999, Boston, MA: Initiative petitions supporting marijuana decriminalization have been filed and are now awaiting the State Attorney General's ruling as to their constitutionality. The Massachusetts Cannabis Coalition (MassCANN), a state affiliate of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), presented seven potential ballot questions which could appear on the November 2000 ballot. The acts presented by MassCANN seek to permit the medical use of marijuana, decriminalize cultivation and personal use, and clarify defenses in criminal cases. (See http://www.masscann.org/initiv99/initiv_tc.htm for full text copies of the act.) "The prosecution of adults for marijuana crimes is a phenomenal waste of our tax resources," said Bill Downing, president of MassCANN. State Attorney General Thomas Reilly must rule on the constitutionality of the petitions and publish the summaries for the ballot by Sept. 1. Downing said once they see Reilly's wording they will decide on which measure to pursue. MassCANN will be kicking off their petition drive at their annual Freedom Rally from noon to 6:00 pm, on Saturday September 18th at the Boston Common.
6. Kubby Case Begins in California, Interpretation of Prop. 215 at Issue (courtesy NORML Foundation, http://www.norml.org) Aug. 5, 1999 Auburn, CA: Pre-trial motions and jury selection began this week for the trial of noted medical marijuana activist Steven Kubby and his wife Michele at the DeWitt Center Courthouse. The two pled innocent to felony charges of growing and selling marijuana in January after their Olympic Valley home was raided following a six-month investigation by a drug task force in which 360 marijuana plants were seized. Steven Kubby, last year's Libertarian gubernatorial candidate in California, said the growing of the plants is legal under California's Proposition 215. He has had adrenal cancer since 1975 and Michele has an intestinal disorder. "Every aspect of our garden was documented and in compliance with the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 that the voters in this state approved overwhelmingly," said Steven Kubby. "Michele and I broke no laws and should have been protected under the law. Instead we are witness to how the legal rights of seriously ill people are routinely violated."
7. Wife of US Military Commander in Colombia Charged With Drug Trafficking Breaking: Laurie Hiett, wife of Army Colonel James Hiett, commander of all US military operations in Colombia, has been charged with drug trafficking for allegedly sending parcels of cocaine back to the states from Bogota. One of the packages apparently listed Mrs. Hiett's return address. According to the Village Voice, Mrs. Hiett claims that she mailed the six packages "for her husband's chauffeur" but did not know the contents. According to the Army Criminal Investigation Division in Panama, Colonel Hiett had "no prior knowledge" of the shipments, and he has been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing. Colonel Hiett has since requested a transfer from his post in Bogota. That transfer is pending. The Week Online will follow this case as it progresses. You can read the Village Voice story on their web site at http://www.villagevoice.com/features/9932/bastone.shtml.
8. Methamphetamine Bill Moves Out of Committee Last week it was reported that the Senate was considering legislation to increase methamphetamine penalties and create new rules limiting the sale of over-the-counter cold medicines which contain the methamphetamine precursor chemical pseudophedrine, such as Sudafed (see http://www.drcnet.org/wol/101.html#methpenalties). According to Tyler Green of the Drug Policy Foundation, the "Defeat Meth Act," S. 486, was reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, but that the bill will probably not come to a vote on the Senate floor until after the summer recess. The bill does not include the harsh new mandatory minimum provisions that had been proposed, and does not include an amendment from Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) that would require anyone purchasing 34 boxes or more of cold medicine to provide drug stores with their name, address and phone number. During hearings, Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) pointed out that methamphetamine manufacturers could simply visit more than one drugstore, purchasing fewer than the maximum number at each but more in total. Sen. Feinstein has said she intends to offer these amendments on the Senate floor.
Editorials will return next week. 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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