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(renamed "Drug War Chronicle" effective issue #300, August 2003) Issue #110, 10/1/99
"Raising Awareness of the Consequences of Drug Prohibition" TABLE OF CONTENTS
or check out The Week Online archives 1. ALERT: DEA Sabotaging Legal Hemp Industry After 62 years of legal differentiation between psychoactive marijuana and non-psychoactive industrial hemp, the US Drug Enforcement Administration has suddenly begun seizing shipments of legal hemp seed products. According to the NORML Foundation, the first seizure was a 53,000 pound loaf of sterilized hemp seed on its way to a major birdseed broker. The company whose shipment was seized, Kenex, Ltd., is Canada's largest producer of hemp food and fiber products. US Customs, cooperating with the DEA, has recalled 14 other loads of hemp products that Kenex shipped to US distributors in the past six months, and Jean Laprise, a farmer and president of Kenex, faces criminal penalties and $500,000 in fines if a full recall is not achieved. According to Don Wirtshafter, proprietor of the Ohio Hempery, Kenex is not the only company that has been affected. Wirtshafter told the Week Online, "They have held up some clothing in recent weeks. They took a shipment of hemp pillows, hemp covered pillows from Thailand. Instead of unzipping the ends of the pillows to see what's inside, they cut them all open with a knife. It's that sort of stuff. I'm aware of shipments from about five companies now that have been held up." Hemp industry leaders are preparing a legal strategy to seek a declaratory judgment in their favor and compensatory damages. Relief, however, couldn't come too soon. Wirtshafter said, "I'm aware of eight major companies ready to have big booths at the Natural Products Expo this month, and the very idea of displaying the stuff now is threatened." According to Wirtshafter, "This is centered around the hemp seeds, and the hemp seed oil, and the hemp nut, and all these products that we were just about to spring big time on the market," continuing, "This threatens my company with bankruptcy and several others as well." While waiting for a legal resolution, Wirtshafter has to "ship back everything I've got to the DEA. It puts me out of business. I don't know how many weeks I'll be able to hold on, but it's irreparable injury." David Frankel, an attorney with 4th Wave Law who is working on the hemp industry's defense, told the Week Online "[The DEA's actions are] contrary to the express rulings of every court decision... and 62 years of federal law. And I think we should point out, sterilized hemp seed has never been illegal in the course of human history." Wirtshafter told the NORML Weekly News, "The seeds coming in from Canada are extremely clean, with over 100 times less THC than anything that has entered the country from China previously. So why are they now kicking the legs out from this emerging industry? Is this because the Drug Czar said hemp would never be economical but we were just about to prove him wrong?" The origins of the new "policy" have been difficult to trace. According to Wirtshafter, "When I asked the [customs] agent in Detroit, who do i approach at the DEA to get some kind of definitive answer, his answer was, "well call Virginia, 703-555-1212, and ask for the headquarters of the DEA and start there. He wouldn't give me any agents' names." Wirtshafter concluded, "The 1937 Marihuana Tax Act specifically excluded the sterilized seed and the seed oil and the seed cake from the definition of marijuana, which then became incorporated in the Controlled Substances Act of 1961. What's going on here is we've done a responsible job here for 10 years separating industrial hemp from marijuana, and the DEA has refused to admit that they're two different things, that you can't get high from industrial hemp, that there's no drug issue here. Everybody agrees that the shipments were sterilized seeds, incapable of germination. So they're clearly not marijuana by definition, yet the DEA insists on treating them as marijuana, and is extending their jurisdiction over these industrial products, that Congress was very careful to exclude from their jurisdiction." ALERT: Please make sure DEA and Customs realize the public knows about their sabotage of the legal hemp industry. Call or fax agent Lev Kuviak, US Customs, Detroit, (313) 226-3166 (phone) or (313) 226-6282 (fax); and call or write Robert C. Gleason, Office of the Chief Counsel, DEA, 600 Army Navy Drive, Arlington, VA 22202, or call the DEA main number at (202) 307-1000 and ask to be transferred. Businesses that are affected, and other interested parties, should contact their US Representatives and Senators and ask them to investigate. You can reach them through the Congressional Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Three weeks ago, the California State Assembly passed a resolution calling on the state to consider making cultivation of industrial hemp legal and to conduct research on the production of industrial hemp. Also recently, Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura called on the federal government to cooperate with his state's efforts to explore industrial hemp. For further information, contact David Frankel, 4th Wave Law, [email protected].
2. Kemba Smith Case Featured on Nightline Last night's episode of the ABC news magazine Nightline featured the case of Kemba Smith, a young African American woman who at the age of 24 was sentenced to 24 1/2 years in prison for a first-time, nonviolent drug offense. Kemba, who has been featured in two cover articles in Emerge, a news magazine focused on the African American community, was peripherally involved in a cocaine ring run by her boyfriend, Peter Hall. Hall subjected Kemba to physical abuse, and threatened to use violence against her and her parents if she didn't cooperate. Hall was subsequently murdered, probably in a drug trade-related dispute, and government prosecutors in Virginia charged her with the full quantity of drugs sold by Hall's entire operation since it first formed, several years before they met. Nightline's report featured
parents Gus and Odessa Smith, Julie Stewart of Families Against Mandatory
Minimums, and an interview with Kemba Smith herself, as well as the head
prosecutor for the Virginia region and Kemba's attorney from the NAACP
Legal Defense Fund. Visit Nightline's web site at http://www.abcnews.go.com/onair/Nightline/nl990930.html
to read more about the Nightline report. To order a transcript, call
1-800-CALL-ABC or order online at http://www.ABCNewsstore.com.
3. DC Appropriations Subcommittee Holds Hearings in Response to Veto Ted Bridges, Drug Policy Foundation, [email protected] Following the president's veto Tuesday (9/28) of the District of Columbia appropriations bill (HR 2587), the House Subcommittee on DC Appropriations held a hearing on Wednesday called "Enforcing Drug Laws in the District of Columbia." Among the reasons for President Clinton's veto were two restrictive social policy riders added to the bill on the House floor on July 29. One amendment, introduced by Rep. Todd Tiarht (R-KS), would prohibit the District from spending its own money on a syringe exchange program. Another, introduced by Rep. Bob Barr (R-GA), would ban medical marijuana under District law, regardless of a voter-approved 1998 ballot referendum, Initiative 59. Rep. Ernest Istook (R-OK) was unequivocal in his denunciation of the President's veto. In his statement, Rep. Istook characterized medical marijuana initiatives "a deliberate first step in a strategy to legalize all drugs." Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), the District's nonvoting delegate to the House of Representatives, defended Clinton's veto as an issue of home rule. "Whether or not the voters' decision was wise is another issue," said Norton. She charged that to imply the District's medical marijuana initiative is a front for legalizers is an unacceptable attack on DC voters. Also in support of the veto was Rep. James P. Moran (D-VA), who ardently defended the legitimacy of medical marijuana. Moran said that the topic of this hearing properly belonged before the House Judiciary Committee, not Appropriations. He added that the hearings did give him a chance to address medical marijuana, which he supported. Moran introduced last-minute witness Keith B. Vines, who is an assistant district attorney for San Francisco and is also a medical marijuana user. Speaking last, Vines detailed how he lost 45 pounds due to the appetite loss he experienced resulting from his battle with AIDS. When physician-prescribed Marinol failed to improve his condition, his doctor suggested smoking marijuana. "It worked," said Vines. "I don't like being stoned, but I do like being alive." Congressional Republicans vowed to keep the riders in the DC appropriations bill in spite of the President's veto. Meanwhile, Barr introduced a new bill (H.R. 2959), which would prohibit the DC medical marijuana initiative from taking effect.
We continue to update our Reformer's Calendar. The following is a listing of a few important events coming up. This listing is by no means complete, and if you don't see your event here, we probably didn't know about it. We are restarting the Reformer's Calendar after a hiatus, and need your help! Please send us listings of events large and events small. We mainly publish events relating to drug policy, but also listing some events relating to other justice issues as well as AIDS, human rights, privacy and other concerns that intersect with drug policy. Please e-mail your submissions to [email protected]. October 5, 8:30am-5:30pm, Washington, DC. Beyond Prohibition: An Adult Approach to Drug Policies in the 21st Century, sponsored by the Cato Institute, featuring New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson and others. Academic or nonprofit rate $60, individual or corporate rate $80, register by September 28. At the Cato Institute's F.A. Hayek Auditorium, 1000 Massachusetts Ave. For information, call Addison Wiggin at (202) 789-5248 or visit http://www.cato.org/events/drugwar/ on the web. October 5, New York, NY. Demonstration outside of Pataki fundraiser for George W. Bush campaign, at the New York Sheraton Hotel, 7th Ave. & 52nd St., 5:00pm. Call the Kunstler Fund hotline at (212) 539-8441 for information and to confirm the time. October 7, 4:00-6:00pm, New York, NY. The War on Drugs: From Jim Crow to Mary Jane, seminar at The Lindesmith Center, with Graham Boyd and Reginald T. Shuford, ACLU and Esmerelda Simmons, Medgar Evers College. At the Open Society Institute, 400 West 59th Street (between 9th and 10th Avenues), RSVP to (212) 548-0695, fax (212) 548-4670, or e-mail [email protected]. October 9, 10:00am, Washington, DC. Families Against Mandatory Minimums DC Area Meeting, at Christ Church, 620 G St. SE. For further information, call FAMM at (202) 822-6700. October 10, 7:00pm, Madison, WI. Drug Policy Reform: A New Paradigm for an Old Predicament, national speaker and panel discussion sponsored by UW-Madison Students for Sensible Drug Policy, with University Health Services and The Progressive magazine, featuring Adam Smith of DRCNet with representatives from medicine, law enforcement, community activism, the media and others. At the Union Theatre, Memorial Union, 800 Langdon St. For further information, contact Eric Hogensen at (608) 347-9200. October 12, noon-2:00pm, New York, NY. Executive Luncheon Series on Drug Policy, sponsored by the Partnership for Responsible Drug Information. Ira Glasser, executive director of the ACLU, will speak on Drug Prohibition and Individual Rights. At the Harmonie Club, $50, RSVP to (212) 362-1964 or e-mail [email protected]. October 15, 8:45am-1:15pm, Washington, DC. Civilians Under Fire: Building Peace with Human Rights in Colombia, sponsored by the U.S./Colombia Coordinating Office & Colombia Human Rights Committee. In the Gold Room, 2168 Rayburn House Office Building, free. For further information, contact Alison Giffen at (202) 232-8090, e-mail [email protected], or visit http://www.igc.org/colhrnet/ on the web. October 16, 6:00pm, New York, NY. JusticeWorks Community annual fundraiser, at the Cotton Club, 656 West 125th St., $50 for an evening of soul food and gospel music. For more details call (718) 499-6704. October 21, 4:00-6:00pm, New York, NY. Drug Policy Reform 2000: Opportunities and Challenges, seminar at The Lindesmith Center, with center director Ethan Nadelmann. At the Open Society Institute, 400 West 59th Street (between 9th and 10th Avenues), RSVP to (212) 548-0695, fax (212) 548-4670, or e-mail [email protected]. October 24, 2:00pm, New York, NY. Breaking Silence, a reading of selections from this book of poems and prose written by prisoner women, published by the JusticeWorks Community. At the Church of St. Francis Xavier, 16th Street and 6th Ave., $15, $7 for students or adults over 62, scholarships available. For further information, call Julie Mormando at (718) 499-6704. October 29, 8:30am-5:00pm, San Francisco, CA. Just Say Know: New Directions in Drug Education, presented by the San Francisco Medical Society and The Lindesmith Center-West, $25. For information, call (415) 921-4987 or visit http://www.lindesmith.org/news/conf.html on the web. November 2, 4:00-6:00pm, New York, NY. Preventing and Managing Binge Drinking in College Students: A Harm Reduction Approach, seminar at The Lindesmith Center, with G. Alan Marlatt, PhD, Addictive Behaviors Research Center, University of Washington in Seattle. At the Open Society Institute, 400 West 59th Street (between 9th and 10th Avenues), RSVP to (212) 548-0695, fax (212) 548-4670, or e-mail [email protected]. November 5-6, Washington, DC. Student Leaders in Drug Policy and Justice: First National Conference, sponsored by Students for Sensible Drug Policy, $25 for students or $75 non-students until Oct. 15, limited scholarships available for students. Contact Kris Lotlikar or Peder Nelson at (202) 293-8340, Shawn Heller at (202) 965-6257, e-mail [email protected] or visit http://www.ssdp.org on the web. November 5-6, Washington, DC. Conference on Ibogaine, at the New York University School of Medicine. For information, contact: Kenneth Alper, MD, (212) 263-6287, (212) 263-6457 (fax), e-mail [email protected], or visit http://www.med.nyu.edu/Psych/ibogaineconf/ on the web. November 6, 10:00am, Washington, DC. Families Against Mandatory Minimums DC Area Meeting, at Christ Church, 620 G St. SE. For further information, call FAMM at (202) 822-6700. November 17, noon-2:00pm, New York, NY. Executive Luncheon Series on Drug Policy, sponsored by the Partnership for Responsible Drug Information. Joseph McNamara, fellow at the Hoover Institution and former police chief in San Jose, CA, will speak on Police Integrity: A Hidden Cost of America's War on Drugs. At the Harmonie Club, $50, RSVP to (212) 362-1964 or e-mail [email protected]. November 18, 4:00-6:00pm, New York, NY. The "Pharmaceuticalization" of Marijuana, seminar at The Lindesmith Center, with Lester Grinspoon, MD, professor at Harvard Medical School and coauthor of Marihuana, The Forbidden Medicine. Grinspoon will examine the Institute of Medicine's 1999 report on medical marijuana. At the Open Society Institute, 400 West 59th Street (between 9th and 10th Avenues), RSVP to (212) 548-0695, fax (212) 548-4670, or e-mail [email protected]. December 2-4, Key West, FL. 1999 NORML Key West Legal Seminar, at the Key West Hilton Resort and Marina. Annual seminar for criminal defense attorneys, sponsored by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, CLE credits available. Call (202) 482-5500 for further information, or check http://www.norml.org. December 4, 10:00am, Washington, DC. Families Against Mandatory Minimums DC Area Meeting, at Christ Church, 620 G St. SE. For further information, call FAMM at (202) 822-6700. January 13-14, 2000, Seattle, WA. Preventing Heroin Overdose: Pragmatic Approaches, hosted by the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute, Univ. of Washington, with initial cosponsors including the Addictive Behaviors Research Institute, Evergreen Treatment Services, Harm Reduction Coalition, The Lindesmith Center, North American Users' Union, Seattle Police Department, Street Outreach Services, and Urban Health Study, Univ. of California, San Francisco. For info, e-mail Nancy Sutherland at [email protected], Phillip Coffin at [email protected], or visit http://depts.washington.edu/adai/conf/heroin.htm on the web. February 3-5, 2000, Washington, DC. "NORML 2000" Conference, annual conference of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, at the Washington Plaza Hotel. For further information, call (202) 483-5500 or check http://www.norml.org. April 9-13, 2000, Jersey, Channel Islands. 11th International Conference on the Reduction of Drug Related Harm, leading gathering of the international harm reduction movement. For further information, contact: The Conference Secretariat, HIT Conferences, +44 (0)151 227 4423, +44 (0)151 236 4829 (fax), e-mail [email protected], or visit http://www.ihra.org.uk/ on the web. April 26-29, 2000, Portland, OR. North American Syringe Exchange Convention, sponsored by the North American Syringe Exchange Network. For information, contact NASEN at (206) 272-4857, (206) 272-8415 (fax), or e-mail [email protected]. May 17-20, 2000, Washington, DC. 13th International Conference on Drug Policy Reform, sponsored by the Drug Policy Foundation. For information, contact: The Drug Policy Foundation, Conference Department, 4455 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite B-500, Washington, DC 20008, (202) 537.5005, (202) 537.3007 (fax), or e-mail to [email protected].
A NOTE TO OUR READERS: This issue is shorter than our usual, due to staff travel schedules and other pending deadlines. Next week's issue will be back to our usual. Thank you for supporting DRCNet. 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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