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(renamed "Drug War Chronicle" effective issue #300, August 2003) Issue #271, 1/10/03
"Raising Awareness of the Consequences of Drug Prohibition" Phillip S. Smith, Editor
subscribe for FREE now! ---- make a donation ---- search Come to "Out from the Shadows: Ending Drug Prohibition in the 21st Century," Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico, February 12-15, 2003 -- visit http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/shadows/ (English) or http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/sombras/ (Español) for info or to register. Join the HEA campaign to repeal the drug provision of the Higher Education Act -- visit http://www.RaiseYourVoice.com for info and an activist packet. TABLE OF CONTENTS
(visit
the Week Online archives)
1. The Road to Mérida: Interviews with Participants in the "Out from the Shadows" Campaign One of the goals of the "Out from the Shadows" conference series is to elevate the voices of anti-prohibitionist advocates throughout the world. Out from the Shadows Mérida will feature a wide array of impressive and knowledgeable leaders from Latin America, and over the next several weeks we will be interviewing them and other Out from the Shadows participants for the Week Online. We begin with two members of the conference steering committee, Argentine legal scholar and former attorney general Jaime Malamud-Goti, and Mexican newspaper publisher Mario Renato Menéndez Rodrìguez. Keep checking the Week Online and the Out from the Shadows conference web pages -- http://www.stopthedrugwar.org (English) and http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/sombras/ (Español) for more interviews between now and the conference and after.
2. The Road to Mérida: Interview with Mario Menéndez, Publisher of !Por Esto!, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico The Yucatán's newspaper, !Por Esto! (http://www.poresto.net), first got wide notice north of the border when its publisher, Mario Renato Menéndez Rodrìguez, was sued in New York City for libel, along with Al Giordano of Narco News, in the now famous "Drug War on Trial" case. !Por Esto! had since 1996 been publishing exposes linking Banamex bank owner Roberto Hernandez with the cocaine traffic in the Yucatán. Hernandez had twice sued for libel and lost in Mexico. Seeking a friendlier venue in the United States, Hernandez lost again, allowing !Por Esto! and Narco News to secure a victory for the free exercise of journalism everywhere -- even in cyberspace. But Menéndez has a
journalistic career going back four decades, and has published !Por Esto!,
now Mexico's third largest daily, since 1991. From Mérida,
Menéndez and !Por Esto! have long comforted the afflicted and afflicted
the comfortable. Menéndez is a member of the Out from the Shadows
Mérida steering committee, and !Por Esto! is a host of the event.
3. The Road to Mérida: Dr. Jaime Malamud-Goti, former Argentine Solicitor General Jaime Malamud-Goti, former Solicitor General of the nation of Argentina (the equivalent of the Attorney General position in the US) drew international notice during the administration of President Raul Alfonsin, when he managed the human rights trials of members of the Argentine junta that kidnapped, tortured and murdered thousands of Argentines (and others) during the military dictatorship's "dirty war" against "subversives" in the late 1970s. Since then, Malamud has authored
two books, one on state terrorism in Argentina and one on the drug trade
in Bolivia, and pursued a career as a legal scholar and ethicist.
A MacArthur and Guggenheim fellow, he currently teaches morality, ethics
and criminal law at the University of Palermo and is involved with the
founding of a new school of law at St. Andrew's University in Scotland.
Malamud-Goti is a member of the Out from the Shadows Mérida steering
committee.
4. Latin American Anti-Prohibition Conference, Feb. 12-15, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico Out from the Shadows: Ending Drug Prohibition in the 21st Century an international conference series uniting reform forces in a call for global sanity Please join activists, academics, politicians, journalists and others in Mérida for the first Latin America-wide summit opposing drug prohibition. Be a part of this historic gathering! Meet, listen, talk, collaborate and show your solidarity with our allies in the growing Latin American drug reform movement. February 12-15, 2003, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, Mexico http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/shadows/
Register by credit card online (http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/shadows/register-credit.html), or print out a registration form to submit by mail (http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/shadows/register.pdf). Registration is free to Latin Americans (http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/sombras/inscripcion-gratis.html), and sliding scale is available to others who need it. Scholarships to assist with travel costs may be available. Please make a donation if you can afford to, so we can offer more scholarships to bring more Latin American attendees to the conference! Your registration fee will support scholarships too, so please register today! Steering Committee: Gustavo de Greiff, former attorney general, Colombia, Chairman Jaime Malamud, former attorney general, Argentina Mario Menéndez, publisher, Por Esto!, Mexico Marco Cappato, Member of European Parliament, Lista Bonino, Italy John Gilmore, United States Conference Staff Director: David Borden, DRCNet, United States Volunteer Media Advisor: Al Giordano, NarcoNews.com Details on program to be posted shortly. Visit http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/shadows/ for hotel and discount travel options. Other dates and locations to be announced for Europe, Canada and the United States. E-mail [email protected] to sign up for an official event notication by mail or e-mail. Visit http://www.stopthedrugwar.org or http://www.drcnet.org to read or subscribe to our weekly online newsletter. Contact StopTheDrugWar.org: the Drug Reform Coordination Network (DRCNet) at: P.O. Box 18402, Washington, DC 20036, voice: (202) 362-0030, fax: (202) 362-0032, [email protected]
5. Cumbre Internacional Sobre Legalización, 12-15 Febrero, Mérida, México Saliendo de las sombras: Terminando con la prohibición de las drogas en el siglo XXI Una serie de conferencias internacionales que unirá a las fuerzas de reforma en un llamado a la sensatez mundial Participa en "Saliendo de las sombras", la Primera Cumbre Internacional sobre Legalización, reuniendo Norte, Centro y Sudamérica, y a aliados de todo el mundo. Del 12 al 15 de febrero de 2003, en la Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, México http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/sombras/
Por favor, ven a reunirte con activistas, académicos, políticos, periodistas y otros en Mérida, en la primera cumbre latinoamericana contra la prohibición a las drogas. Forma parte de este encuentro histórico. Encuentra, oye, habla, colabora y demuestra tu solidaridad con nuestros aliados en el creciente movimiento para la reforma en América Latina. Inscríbete en línea usando tu tarjeta de crédito (http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/sombras/inscripcion-credito.html), o imprime un formulario de inscripción y envíalo por correo (http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/shadows/register.pdf). La inscripción es para latinoamericanos gratuita, y hay precios reducidos para quienes en verdad lo necesiten (http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/sombras/inscripcion-gratis.html). También podríamos tener becas disponibles para costear algunos viajes. Por favor, inscríbete ahora y dinos cuánto costaría tu traslado, trataremos de hallar financiamiento para ti. Por favor, haz una donación si es posible, para que podamos ofrecer más becas y traer a más latinoamericanos a esta conferencia (http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/shadows/donate.html). Tu pago de inscripción va a financiar igualmente esas becas -- por favor, inscríbete hoy mismo. Comité organizador: Gustavo de Greiff, ex fiscal general de la nación, Colombia, Presidente Jaime Malamud, ex fiscal general de la nación, Argentina Mario Menéndez, director del diario Por Esto!, México Marco Cappato, miembro del Parlamento Europeo, Lista Bonino, Italia John Gilmore, Estados Unidos Director del equipo de la conferencia: David Borden, DRCNet, Estados Unidos Asesor voluntario en medios: Al Giordano, NarcoNews.com En breve anunciaremos aquí detalles sobre el programa, los conferenciantes y las opciones para viajar. Hay información sobre hoteles un poco más abajo. Otras fechas y sedes serán anunciadas para Europa, Canadá y los Estados Unidos. Envía un correo electrónico a [email protected]. Para recibir más noticias sobre las conferencias. Visita nuestra página web y lee/suscríbete a nuestro correo semanal de noticias http://www.drcnet.org o http://www.stopthedrugwar.org. Contacta StopTheDrugWar.org: the Drug Reform Coordination Network (DRCNet) en: P.O. Box 18402, Washington, DC 20036, voz: (202) 362-0030, fax: (202) 362-0032, [email protected]
6. Canada Cannabis Conundrum Continued: Government Will Appeal Ontario Ruling, Prosecutors to Put Possession Cases on Hold The Canadian government announced on January 3 that it will appeal an Ontario court decision overturning Canada's laws against the possession of small amounts of marijuana. The ruling by Justice Douglas Phillips came in the case of an unnamed 16-year-old Windsor youth. Phillips agreed with defense counsel that the Canadian government's failure to adequately deal with an earlier Ontario Court of Appeals ruling effectively invalidated the possession law. In the earlier case, involving medical marijuana patient Terry Parker, Justice Marc Rosenberg ruled that if the government did not craft new legislation within a year allowing for medical use of marijuana, the blanket prohibition on marijuana possession in Canada's drug laws would be nullified. Although Ottawa responded by crafting medical marijuana regulations, Phillips ruled that they fell short of the new legislation demanded by Rosenberg, thus rendering void the nation's current marijuana possession ban. Government spokesmen painted the rapid decision to appeal as aiming at reducing "uncertainty" about Canada's marijuana policies. But the move only adds to the confusion about what the government of Prime Minister Jean Chretien intends to do about the contentious issue. Last year, a Senate panel called for legalization of marijuana and a House of Commons panel called for its decriminalization. Justice Minister Martin Cauchon told reporters he would introduce decrim legislation by April. But his boss, the prime minister, undercut Cauchon late in December, saying no decision had been made on marijuana policy. This week, a Cauchon spokesman retorted that "nothing had changed." The Canadian Supreme Court last month also reprimanded the government for sending mixed messages on pot. Now, the government is appealing a court decision that could have resolved the issue, and at the same time it is telling prosecutors to hold off on trying simple possession cases. "It makes you wonder," said Brian McAllister, attorney for the 16-year-old, telling the Calgary Herald the appeal made him suspicious about whether the government would actually move to decriminalize and calling on Ottawa to clarify its position. "It seems like every time there's a court challenge to marijuana laws, there are rumblings out of Parliament about decriminalization and. it's almost as if they're trying to influence the courts," he said. "We were aware of the uncertainty the decision created, so we thought we'd move as quickly as possible," Canadian Justice Department spokesman Jim Leising told an Ottawa press conference. "We are hoping the appeal will be heard quickly because it is in the public interest that this occurs," he said, adding that he expected a hearing from the Ontario Superior Court within 30 days. In the meantime, said Leising, the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act remains the law of the land and police will continue to arrest people for possessing less than 30 grams of cannabis. "We haven't given any direction to police to not continue to enforce the law," he said. But he did say Crown prosecutors should consent to postpone cases involving less than 30 grams pending the outcome of the appeal. "What we've put on hold is proceedings with trials where people want to rely on the same defense. Hopefully, by prosecutors agreeing to adjournments, nobody will be jeopardized by the uncertainty." Leising maintained that the government's position is consistent. "There is a continued and consistent view that there needs to be a prohibition against possession of marijuana, he said.
7. Newsbrief: Eyeing Stiffer Meth Penalties in West Virginia As methamphetamine makes its way east across the continent, so does the impulse to deal with the problem by legislating it out of existence. The latest example of reflexive responses to meth comes from West Virginia, where prosecutors are beating the drum for stiff new penalties against the popular stimulant. On Monday, Wood County Prosecutor Ginny Conley told the Parkersburg Sentinel that she has contacted key lawmakers on behalf of the West Virginia Prosecuting Attorneys Association to push legislation that would:
Conley did not mention one other possible response to the problem of dangerous meth labs: Eliminate the need for them by making the drug available in a regulated fashion.
8. Newsbrief: First Local Salvia Divinorum Ordinance Proposed The Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics' (CCLE) Divinorum Action Center (http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/dll/salvia_divinorum_action_center.htm) reported January 3 that police in a Missouri town are urging town officials to enact an ordinance barring the sale of the Mexican shrub to persons under the age of 18. Salvia divinorum, a plant native to the state of Oaxaca in Mexico, has mild psychedelic properties and is offered for sale in the US and elsewhere as, among other things, a legal substitute for marijuana. (See http://www.erowid.org and http://www.sagewisdom.org for information on the pharmacology of salvia.) Salvia is currently not listed in the US schedule of controlled substances, although Rep. Joe Baca (D-CA) introduced H.R. 5607 last year. H.R. 5607 would have added salvia and its active principle, Salvinorin A, to Schedule I of the federal Controlled Substances Act. That bill died at session's end, but Baca has vowed to reintroduce it in the new Congress. Baca has likened salvia to ecstasy (MDMA) before it was criminalized and said his bill was intended to "raise awareness" of the new drug menace. [Editor's Note: Perhaps "raising awareness" of an obscure substance is not the best course to take to prevent it from becoming more popular. One Madison, WI, salvia seller reported a huge run on the substance after a spate of newspaper articles on the topic late last month.] Police in St. Peters, MO, however, don't feel they can wait for congressional action. According to CCLE, St. Peters police claim there has been a recent increase in the use of the plant, which they described as "chewable marijuana." The perceived increase has prompted Police Chief Tom Bishop to urge city officials to pass an ordinance outlawing the sale of Salvia divinorum to anyone under the age of 18. Police department spokesman Sgt. Dave Kuppler said the ordinance is needed to give police "as much ability to control [salvia] as the law can allow." If St. Peters passes a salvia ordinance, it would be the first law in the nation designed to suppress the little-known herb.
9. Newsbrief: Huffington SUV-Terrorism Ad Parodies Drug Czar's Drug-Terrorism Campaign A man stands at a gas pump, filling his SUV with premium as the numbers on the pump spin around. A child's voice is heard: "This is George. This is the gas that George bought for his SUV." The scene changes to a shot of an executive walking down a city street. "This is the oil company executive who sold the gas that George bought for his SUV." The scene changes to a map of the Persian Gulf region. "This is the part of the world where the executive bought the oil that made the gas that George bought for his SUV." The scene changes to a shot of terrorists training. "And these are the terrorists bankrolled by many of the countries where the oil companies do business so that George can fill up his gas-guzzling SUV." Writing appears superimposed on the image: "Oil money supports some terrible things. If you drive a SUV, you might too. Brought to you by Americans for Fuel Efficient Cars." The above is one of a pair of advertisements set to air this Sunday during the morning network talk shows. Avid TV watchers and drug reformers will immediately grasp the obvious: The ads are a sharp parody of the infamous ad campaign from the Office of National Drug Control Policy seeking to tie drug users to global terrorism (http://www.mediacampaign.org/mg/television.html). But beyond parody, the ads also make another point, according to Arianna Huffington, the political columnist who inspired the campaign. "The idea for this project came to me while watching -- for the umpteenth time -- one of those outrageous drug war ads the Bush administration has flooded the airwaves with," she wrote on her web site's SUV page (http://www.ariannaonline.com/suv/). "You know, the ones that try and link using drugs to financing terrorism. Instead of shaking my head in disgust and reaching for the Mute button like I usually do when I see these ads, I decided to channel my indignation. Why not turn the tables and adopt the same tactics the administration was using in the drug war to point out the much more credible link between driving SUVs and our national security? Thus began our campaign to create a series of TV ads designed to win the hearts and minds -- and change the driving habits -- of American consumers by asking them to connect the dots and think about the effect energy wastefulness is having not just on the environment, but on our foreign policy." The ads, which challenge Americans' cherished right to guzzle as much gasoline as they can as well as implicitly critiquing the drug czar's ad campaign, have already proven controversial. Huffington told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on Wednesday that four major TV stations -- WABC in New York, WDIV in Detroit, and WABC and WCBS in Los Angeles -- have refused to run the ads. WABC said it has a policy against running "controversial" ads; the other stations refused to comment. And by mid-week, conservative talk radio hosts were bleating and blathering, outraged at "liberal wacko" Huffington's nerve in suggesting that Americans curb their oil habit. They apparently did not get the parody aspect of the ads. Agree or disagree with Huffington's anti-SUV stance, they do make a much-needed point about the government's ill-conceived "drugs fund terrorism" campaign, a point drug warriors don't like to think about. The ads can be viewed online at Huffington's web page above or at http://www.detroitproject.com online.
10. Newsbrief: Corrupt Cops of the Week Although the Dallas Police Department "sheetrock" scandal has been festering for months, it is time to give Dallas police officers Senior Cpl. Mark Delapaz and Officer Eddie Herrera their due. After all, a federal grand jury is hearing testimony about their behavior and they are likely to end up as indicted ex-cops within a matter of days or weeks. Delapaz and Herrara made a name for themselves as avid dope-busters, enlisting informants to nail suspect after suspect with pounds of powder. Only one problem: Although the pounds of powder were supposed to be cocaine, they have turned out to be sheetrock. The discovery came too late for dozens of men, mainly Hispanic, who, faced with zealous narcs and prosecutors and prison sentences in the decades, pled guilty and went to prison for crimes they knew they did not commit. Others -- those arrested by Delapaz and Herrara, but yet to be tried -- have been more fortunate. Dallas County prosecutors have been forced to drop more than 80 cases. They are also preparing to defend numerous civil lawsuits claiming false imprisonment. The vast majority of the suspect cases were made by Delapaz and Herrera with the help of paid informant Enrique Martinez Alonso. He started working with police after being arrested with a pound of cocaine in July 1999. Alonso is reported to have told police he could deliver some of Dallas's biggest dealers -- if his charges were dropped and if he got a cut of the value of the seized drugs. Top police officials agreed to the set-up. According to police and court records, Alonso was the department's top snitch within a year. He took in $200,000 in payments from police as he led them to more than 70 arrests and huge amounts of what was supposed to be cocaine and methamphetamine. Instead, either Alonso or Alonso, Delapaz and Herrara framed dozens of innocent men. The question is whether the cops were in on it. "It's all going to boil down to whether the narcs knew the informants were setting innocent people up or whether they were snookered themselves," said a former Dallas federal prosecutor told the Washington Times. Former DEA El Paso Intelligence Center chief Phil Jordan had little doubt, however. Any experienced narcotics officer would have known at a glance, he told the Times. "The feel and texture is different," he said. But whether it was a hustler who fooled the cops or crooked cops in cahoots with him, the sheetrock scandal has exposed dirty dealings in Dallas. It was not just a bad cop or a bad informer, but a police, prosecutorial and judicial culture that mindlessly marched those innocent men through the legal meat grinder.
11. Newsbrief: Ontario Court Clears Tokin' Motorist of DWI Charge In what could become a precedent-setting case, a Canadian provincial court has acquitted an eastern Ontario man of driving while impaired by marijuana. Cannabis activist and Health Canada-certified medical marijuana user Rick Reimer was caught driving joint-in-hand, but that wasn't enough to convince Justice Bruce McPhee that he was too high to drive safely. Reimer, a retired lawyer who has multiple sclerosis, defended himself. He told the court he drove while smoking marijuana, but insisted it did not impair his driving ability. Among witnesses he called were several Ontario residents who testified that they, too, drove while or after smoking, again without impairment. Some witnesses even told the court that smoking made them better drivers. In acquitting Reimer Wednesday, Justice McPhee said his decision did not mean that he could dismiss the notion that some people could be impaired by marijuana smoking, but given the lack of scientific evidence, he could not be sure "beyond a reasonable doubt" that Reimer had been impaired. McPhee said that he could not convict in the absence of scientific evidence -- none of which was offered by either side -- but also because he had never seen Reimer straight, which he never was during the trial. "I know I'm not guilty, I'm innocent, and I hoped the court would see it this way and I'm glad it did," Reimer told reporters in Pembroke, Ontario, after his acquittal. "The most important thing, in my opinion, that the judge said is that this is an area that needs a lot more scientific study. It also, in my opinion, is an area that needs a lot more democratic debate." The ruling stands in stark contrast with a current campaign led by the US Office of National Drug Control Policy to have states nationwide enact "drugged driving" laws that would allow drivers to be convicted of DUID (driving under the influence of drugs) based not on any evidence of actual impairment but on the presence of even miniscule amounts of cannabis metabolites (http://www.drcnet.org/wol/264.html#druggeddriving). Crown prosecutors pronounced themselves satisfied with the verdict and have not decided whether to appeal, they said after the acquittal. I'm very happy," Reimer said outside court, firing up a half-smoked joint. I'm feeling the euphoria that I used to get out of marijuana."
12. Newsbrief: Massachusetts Cops Slow to Act on Racial Profiling Law Two years after Massachusetts passed a law requiring all law enforcement agencies record racial information on traffic citations to track racial profiling, some agencies are failing to do so and the state has done little about it, the Associated Press reported Tuesday. Now incoming Public Safety Secretary Edward Flynn has told the AP he will create a task force on racial profiling and will address noncompliance with reporting requirements by sending monthly statistics to law enforcement agencies that are supposed to be sending the numbers to him. The renewed attention to racial profiling comes in the wake of a recent Boston Globe analysis of some 750,000 tickets issued by police in the last two years. The Globe's review found that blacks and Hispanics were more likely to be searched during routine traffic stops, even though white drivers were more often charged with drug offenses as a result of searches. Flynn told the AP that some police departments are not recording racial data required by the 2000 racial profiling law. He said he would address that by sending each department monthly statistics on their traffic stops. He did not explain how doing so would compel departments to submit the required data. Nor did Flynn evince much interest in having police collect and record more racial information from traffic stops. Under current regulations, officers do not record information from traffic stops where no citations were issued. Recording that information would add to the paperwork burden, Flynn said. Flynn also cautioned against quick interpretations of the Boston Globe study, adding that he is awaiting the results of a state-commissioned study by Northeastern University. "We can't discount these statistics, but we can't afford to be simplistic," Flynn said. "I'm in favor of doing right by the law as it's written right now." While the newly hired former chief of police for Arlington County, VA, warned against police "backing off," he also acknowledged that concerns over racially unequal policing run deep. "We can ill-afford cops backing off protecting those communities because they're afraid they're going to get branded because their data didn't break down right," said Flynn. "But this is a community conversation that has to happen everywhere because that trust and confidence in the police is so important."
13. Newsbrief: New Jersey Seeks to Delay Ban on Asset Forfeiture, Will Appeal Ruling The state of New Jersey will appeal a judge's ruling that declared its asset forfeiture laws unconstitutional and has asked that it not be enforced pending appeal. On December 11, Superior Court Judge G. Thomas Bowen threw out the state's asset forfeiture laws after finding the potential for profit taints law enforcement decisions about seizing property (http://www.drcnet.org/wol/267.html#njforfeiture). Between 1998 and 2000, the state seized some $25 million in cash and goods, with the proceeds going to police and prosecutors in all 21 counties. But attorneys for the state appeared in Bowen's court on January 2 to complain that the ban would cause them administrative headaches and might be overturned on appeal, thus should be delayed pending appeal. In a letter offered to the court, Deputy Attorney General Linda Danielson wrote that seized property had been placed "in limbo" by the ruling, since it cannot be divvied up among police and prosecutors. Even worse, wrote Danielson, owners of seized property might flood the courts seeking the return of confiscated items. And that could cost money. "Whether their claims are successful or not, judicial and prosecutorial resources will need to be expended entertaining such contentions," Danielson told the court. Justice Bowen had not ruled on the state's request at press time. The state has announced it will file an appeal within 10 days.
14. Newsbrief: Federal Court Ruling on No-Knock Search Raises Questions About Standard Procedure in Kansas City A federal magistrate in Kansas City, MO, ruled late last month that police illegally searched a drug suspect's home because they used a no-knock warrant without justifying the need for one. Police are normally required to announce themselves, knock on the door, and wait a reasonable amount of time for an answer. Exceptions to the rule require specific justifications, such as a suspect's violent past. But police testifying in the case told the court they routinely obtained no-knock warrants to protect officers and gain the element of surprise -- not because of specific fears. That is a no-no, ruled Magistrate Judge Sarah Hays. "There is no blanket exception to the knock and announce requirement in a drug investigation," she wrote, ruling that evidence seized from cocaine conspiracy defendant Montonio Workcuff could not be used in his trial. But Hays bypassed an opportunity to extend her ruling to all search warrants in Jackson County (Kansas City). "The court will rule on these issues only as they apply to defendant Workcuff's case, she wrote. Because Kansas City police testified that they routinely obtained no-knock warrants, the ruling could potentially affect hundreds of cases, Workcuff attorney Patrick Peters told the Kansas City Star. Attorney David Smith, who recently won a $2 million settlement for a client in another search warrant case, agreed, adding the ruling should be a heads-up for local law enforcement. "The Kansas City Police Department can't circumvent the Constitution," he said. Although the Kansas City Police Department was "reviewing the decision" and had no comment for the Star, Presiding Jackson County Circuit Judge Jay Daugherty told the newspaper county judges would review the decision to see whether they needed to change search warrant procedures. The Kansas City US Attorneys Office has not yet decided whether it will appeal the ruling, but it has asked for a postponement in Workcuff's trial, set for next Monday.
15. Web Scan: Maia Szalavitz in Slate, GAO on Colombia Coca, Globe and Mail on Ontario Marijuana Ruling "Trick or Treatment:
Teen Drug Programs Turn Curious Teens into Crackheads," Maia Szalavitz
writing for Slate:
"Drug Control: Coca
Cultivation and Eradication Estimates in Colombia," General Accounting
Office report GAO-03-319R, 1/8/03:
Globe and Mail on Ontario Marijuana Ruling
16. DC Job Opportunity at DRCNet -- Campus Coordinator DRCNet is accepting resumes from applicants for the position of Campus Coordinator, a full-time job working on the campaign to repeal the HEA drug provision (http://www.RaiseYourVoice.com). The ideal candidate will be a recently graduated college drug reform activist, but others will be considered. This position will involve non-stop high energy work contacting student organizations and student government leaders around the country, as well as basic maintenance of the campaign web site and database, speaking with campus media, tracking drug provision impact data and other tasks. Please send resumes via e-mail to [email protected] or fax to (202) 293-8344, attn: David Guard.
(Please submit listings of events concerning drug policy and related topics to [email protected].)
January 9-18, Brazil, healing retreat with Silvia Polivoy, Rick Doblin and others. Visit http://www.ayahuasca-healing.net for information, or e-mail [email protected].
January 11-12, Columbus, OH, free medical marijuana activist training, sponsored by Students for Sensible Drug Policy and Americans for Safe Access, at Ohio State University. Contact [email protected] or [email protected] for information.
January 15, 5:30-7:30pm, San Francisco, CA, "The Politics of Pain." Forum sponsored by the Drug Policy Alliance and the San Francisco Medical Society, 1409 Sutter St. (at Franklin). RSVP to (415) 921-4987 or [email protected], contact Steve Heilig at (415) 561-0870 for further information.
January 15, 7:00-9:00pm, Willimantic, CT, "How to Get Rid of Drug Dealers," public forum with Efficacy and Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. At Windham Middle School, featuring Jack Cole of LEAP, contact Cliff Thornton at (860) 285-8831 or [email protected].
January 19, Winston-Salem, NC, conference on the effects of drug prohibition. At the Winston-Salem Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship, Robinhood Rd., contact [email protected] for info.
January 20-30, Brazil, healing retreat with Silvia Polivoy. Visit http://www.ayahuasca-healing.net for information, or e-mail [email protected].
January 25-26, Kingston, RI free medical marijuana activist training, sponsored by Students for Sensible Drug Policy and Americans for Safe Access, at University of Rhode Island. Contact [email protected] or [email protected] for information.
February 3-4, Las Vegas, NV, free medical marijuana activist training, sponsored by Students for Sensible Drug Policy and Americans for Safe Access, at University of Nevada at Las Vegas. Contact [email protected] or [email protected] for information.
February 10-11, Berkeley, CA, free medical marijuana activist training, sponsored by Students for Sensible Drug Policy and Americans for Safe Access, at Ohio State University. Contact [email protected] or [email protected]">[email protected] for information.
February 11, Bradford, PA, Eric Sterling speaks on "Origination of Mandatory Minimum Sentencing Laws and What We Can Do Instead." At the University of Pitt at Bradford, organized by Reconsider: Forum on Drug Policy. Visit http://www.reconsider.org for information or contact Mike Smithson at (315) 488-3630 or [email protected].
February 12-15, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico, "Out from the Shadows: Ending Drug Prohibition in the 21st Century," sponsored by the DRCNet Foundation in partnership with organizations around the world. Visit http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/shadows/ or e-mail [email protected] for further information.
February 18, noon, nationwide, "Evict the DEA" national medical marijuana protest. Call (510) 486-8083, e-mail [email protected] or visit http://www.safeaccessnow.org for further information.
March 1-2, Kingston, RI, 2003 Students for Sensible Drug Policy Northeast Regional Meeting. At the University of Rhode Island, featuring speakers, training sessions, break-out discussions, entertainment, e-mail [email protected] or visit http://members.cox.net/urissdp/ for further information.
March 12, Charleston, SC, Dr. Gene Tinelli speaks on "Alternatives to Punishment in the War on Drugs." Part four of a four part series, at the College of Charleston, organized by Reconsider: Forum on Drug Policy. Visit http://www.reconsider.org for information or contact Mike Smithson at (315) 488-3630 or [email protected].
April 6-10, Chiangmai, Thailand, "Strengthening Partnerships for a Safer Future," 14th International Conference on the Reduction of Drug-Related Harm, sponsored by the International Harm Reduction Coalition in partnership with the Asian Harm Reduction Network. For further information, visit http://www.ihrc2003.net or contact [email protected] or (6653) 223624, 894112 x102.
April 17-19, San Francisco, CA, 2003 NORML Conference. Details to follow, visit http://www.norml.org for information.
April 23-26, Manchester, NJ, 13th North American Syringe Exchange Convention. Visit http://www.nasen.org for further information.
June 7-11, Denver, CO, 23rd National Convocation of Jail and Prison Ministry. Visit http://www.travel.to/theconvocation/ or contact Sr. Carleen Reck at [email protected] for information.
November 5-8, East Rutherford, NJ, biennial conference of Drug Policy Alliance. At the Sheraton Meadowlands Hotel and Conference Center, 2 Meadowlands Plaza, visit http://www.drugpolicy.org for further information.
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