TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. The Road to Mérida: Interviews with Participants in the "Out from the Shadows" Campaign
2. Road to Mérida: Dr. Silvia Inchaurraga, Argentine Harm Reductionist
3. Road to Mérida: Sala Errata
4. Ed Rosenthal Convicted, Faces 10-Year Mandatory Minimum for Oakland Medical Marijuana Grow
5. Bush Treatment Initiative Draws Mixed Reviews from Reformers
6. Into the Morass: Green Berets in Colombia as "War on Drugs" Morphs into "War on Terror"
7. Drug Czar Says Nevada Election Laws Don't Apply to His Politicking
8. Latin American Anti-Prohibition Conference, Feb. 12-15, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico
9. Cumbre Internacional Sobre Legalización, 12-15 Febrero, Mérida, México
10. Cúpula Internacional sobre Legalização, 12-15 de Fevereiro, Mérida, México
11. Newsbrief: Violence Continues as Talks Begin in Bolivia -- Coca Growers, Workers, Indians Present Demands
12. Newsbrief: DEA Moving to Schedule Two More "Hallucinogens"
13. Newsbrief: Utah Drugged Driving Bill on the Move
14. Newsbrief: Colorado Bill Equating Meth Manufacture and Child Abuse Moves Forward
15. Newsbrief: Asian Drug Abolition Mania Spreading -- Malaysia Calls for "Total War," Drug Free Southeast Asia by 2015
16. Newsbrief: This Week's Corrupt Cop Story
17. Newsbrief: Judge Kane Speaks Out Again, Lambasts Federal Drug War
18. DC Job Opportunity at DRCNet -- Campus Coordinator
19. The Reformer's Calendar

(visit the Week Online archives)

1. The Road to Mérida: Interviews with Participants in the "Out from the Shadows" Campaign

This week DRCNet continues our series of interviews with prominent participants in the "Out from the Shadows" Latin America summit and campaign. Due to interviewee schedules, only one of them was completed by press time, Dr. Silvia Inchaurraga, prominent Argentine AIDS and drug abuse researcher and head of the Latin American Harm Reduction Network.

We will post further interviews as they become available. Keep checking the Week Online and the Out from the Shadows conference web pages -- http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/shadows/ (English) and http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/sombras/ (Español) for more interviews between now and the conference and thereafter -- and if you haven't read our Shadows interviews in the last three issues, you can check them out in the archives at:

http://www.drcnet.org/wol/271.html#mariomenendez
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/271.html#jaimemalamud
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/272.html#franciscofernandez
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/272.html#algiordano
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/273.html#gustavodegreiff
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/273.html#luisgomez
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/273.html#ricardosala

2. Road to Mérida: Dr. Silvia Inchaurraga, Argentine Harm Reductionist

Silvia Inchaurraga is Director of the Drug Abuse and AIDS Advanced Studies Center at the University of Rosario in Argentina. After having done post-graduate work exploring harm reduction programs in Spain and Holland, Inchaurraga returned to Argentina where she is now president of the Harm Reduction Association of Argentina (http://www.arda.iwarp.com), executive secretary of the Latin American Harm Reduction Network (http://www.relard.net), and Member of the International Council of the International Harm Reduction Association (http://www.ihra.net). She is editor of the recently published anthology, "Drugs: Between Harm and the Failure of Prohibition -- New Perspectives on the Decriminalization-Legalization Debate." DRCNet interviewed Inchaurraga Thursday via e-mail from Argentina.

3. Road to Mérida: Sala Errata

In the introduction to our interview last week with Ricardo Sala of vivecondrogas.com, we erred in naming Sala as proprietor of the bicycle activism web site http:/www.bicitekas.org. While Sala is a member of the organization, he wants to give credit where it is due. The bicitekas web site is run by Javier Treviño.

4. Ed Rosenthal Convicted, Faces 10-Year Mandatory Minimum for Oakland Medical Marijuana Grow

(This article was written and published just before news came out of Rosenthal's conviction.)

The fate of Ed Rosenthal is in the fate of 12 jurors today after both the defense and the prosecution rested their cases Thursday. Rosenthal, the author of numerous "how-to" books on marijuana cultivation, faces a mandatory minimum 10-year prison sentence on federal marijuana cultivation and conspiracy charges arising from a February DEA raid on San Francisco's 6th Street Harm Reduction Center and associated properties in the Bay Area.

Rulings before and during the trial by presiding US District Court Judge Charles Breyer prevented Rosenthal and his lawyers from presenting the defense that his activities were legal under California law and done in cooperation with local authorities in Oakland.

Judge Breyer's intense interest in blocking the jury from hearing anything about legal medical marijuana in California -- a key concern of his ever since jury selection in this trial began three weeks ago -- was on display again Thursday, when he took the unusual step of taking over defense counsel's examination of a friendly witness in order to prevent the possible leakage of information about medical marijuana to the jurors. The witness, Alameda County (Oakland) Supervisor Nathan Miley, was allowed to testify as to whether Rosenthal was attempting to hide his medical marijuana cultivation after prosecutors had opened the door to such testimony by suggesting that Rosenthal had attempted to hide his operation and implying such acts constituted proof of criminality.

Rosenthal "did not publicize at all, outside of an inside group on the Oakland City Council, what he was doing," argued Assistant US Attorney George Bevan. "Mr. Rosenthal has even written a book on various ways to conceal the growing of marijuana from police. I've read it," said Bevan, referring to the book "Ask Ed's Marijuana Law: Don't Get Busted."

That was enough for defense attorney to argue and for Breyer to agree that Miley could testify as to whether Rosenthal was behaving in a clandestine manner and that he could testify as to the relationship between Rosenthal and the Oakland City Council, which worked with Rosenthal to ensure a legal medical marijuana operation. Still, Breyer sent the jury out and asked the defense for a proffer, or a description of Miley's proposed testimony. Breyer then redacted the proffer, striking any testimony that might mention legal medical marijuana, and brought the jury back in. But when defense attorney Bill Simpich attempted to question Miley, Breyer objected that it could lead to too revealing an answer from the witness. Breyer eventually took the proffer testimony and examined the witness himself.

"Remarkable," said courtroom spectator and California NORML (http://www.canorml.org) head Dale Gieringer. "I've never seen anything like it. It's a real kangaroo court."

Rosenthal's attorneys had prepared a group of character witnesses to testify to his long-standing interest in medical marijuana and marijuana law reform, but Breyer refused to allow their testimony. They included Keith Stroup, executive director of national NORML; Fred Gardner, formerly of the San Francisco District Attorney's office, who was to testify about the city sanctioning of marijuana dispensaries and Rosenthal's involvement in it; and Dr. Michael Alcalay, MD, the medical director of the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Collective, who was to testify about Rosenthal's commitment to family life and family values.

With the prosecution having presented a standard marijuana cultivation case and the defense limited to nibbling at the edges of that case, defense attorneys were left reaching for straws during final arguments. But they did their best, with attorney Robert Eye zeroing in on "irreconcilable inconsistencies" in the prosecution case and hammering at DEA credibility. He also told the jury to examine the demeanor of the DEA agents. "We are asking you to take sides," said Eye, "and these people don't even seem to believe in their jobs."

Before the jurors retreated to deliberate, Breyer repeatedly instructed them to ignore any concerns about medical marijuana. "You cannot substitute your sense of justice for your duty to follow the law," Breyer warned. "The issue is not what's just, but what's the law."

Rosenthal supporters hope at least one juror will follow his or her sense of justice instead of Breyer's instructions. "Given Breyer's rulings in this case, it'll be a miracle if Ed gets off," said Gieringer. "Still, I think the jury knows they were not told the whole truth, and it's possible there are some people who resent they way they were manipulated. If that's the case, we could see a hung jury."

5. Bush Treatment Initiative Draws Mixed Reviews from Reformers

During his State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Bush announced a new drug treatment initiative, promising a $600 million dollar program to place an additional 300,000 people in treatment during the next three years. "As a government," said Bush, "we are fighting illegal drugs by cutting off supplies, and reducing demand through anti-drug education programs. Yet for those already addicted, the fight against drugs is a fight for their own lives."

Bush tied the treatment initiative to his push for faith-based initiatives as "acts of compassion that can transform America, one heart and one soul at a time." He further emphasized the faith-based aspect of his program when the only treatment provider he mentioned in was the Healing Place Church in Baton Rouge, LA. And he waxed religious again, telling Americans who are addicted to drugs that "the miracle of recovery is possible, and it could be you."

On Wednesday, Bush's point man on drug policy, drug czar John Walters, provided a few details at a Washington press conference. The new initiative creates a voucher program that will complement existing alcohol and drug abuse treatment programs, said Walters, increasing treatment capacity and access to effective treatment programs. Under the plan, people assessed as needing drug treatment will receive vouchers to pay for drug treatment under programs monitored by the states. The states will be required to monitor the outcomes of treatment and seek cost-effective treatment modalities.

"This initiative offers a new and effective way for the federal government to help people get into recovery," said Walters. "We know that treatment works. But we also know that there are too many Americans who, for a variety of reasons, cannot access the treatment they need. By giving people a choice, and the direct means to help connect them with effective treatment, we will be able to more directly help drug users who have recognized their problem. This program will also help treatment providers and the overall drug treatment system by bringing increased accountability into the system."

Drug reformers and treatment experts greeted the announcement with a mixture of wariness, mistrust and hope. "We hope this means that people given vouchers can seek out not just unproven faith-based programs, but also treatment modalities that are well-studied and known to be effective," said Bill McColl, a policy analyst for the Drug Policy Alliance (http://www.drugpolicy.org). "Study after study has shown there are effective forms of treatment, such as cognitive behavior therapy and moderation management," he told DRCNet.

Dr. Bill Miller, Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of New Mexico and former co-director of the school's Center for Alcohol, Substance Abuse and Addiction, also urged the use of proven drug treatment models.

"I think the government ought to be putting its money into evidence-based treatments, not experimental ones," he told DRCNet. "Faith-based, what does that mean? What is the treatment that is being delivered?" he asked. "I haven't seen any evidence for the efficacy of treatment based on religious content, but that's not to say that a faith-based counseling center using couldn't use evidence-based treatments. We're not talking about faith healing here, and I hope the government will spend its money in a way that encourages people to use the scientific base that is available."

Mary Barr, director of Conextions (http://www.conextions.org), a New Jersey counseling center that combines public education, broad-based counseling and drug treatment, was skeptical about where the treatment dollars would end up. "Bush is going to say this is a drug treatment initiative, but he is going to put more money in law enforcement anyway," Barr told DRCNet. "He said he's going to create 300,000 new spaces; how is he going to do that when he's putting everyone in jail? Will these be spaces for court-ordered treatment?"

That's a good question, and there is as yet no firm answer. The Bush Justice Department sought substantial funding increases to support drug courts and their mandated drug treatment in budget proposals released last week. But the Drug Policy Alliance's McColl doesn't think drug courts will eat up all the funds. "It will be up to the states," he said. "The likelihood is that we will see substantial non-criminal justice system treatment, but a lot of grants currently go to coercive treatment. We just don't have any information on how much will go to drug courts yet."

Kevin Zeese of Common Sense for Drug Policy (http://www.csdp.org) also expressed concern about what the treatment money would buy. "A word of caution is needed," Zeese told DRCNet. "The treatment push has been leaning too much toward coercion and faith-based treatment in recent years. It is important that we start to treat drug treatment as a health issue, not a criminal justice issue and not a religious issue."

If groups like DPA and CSDP expressed reservations about the initiative, organizations representing marijuana users -- the vast majority of all drug users -- are even less excited. Among drug czar Walters' other initiatives is the ongoing campaign to portray marijuana as a dangerously addictive drug and its users as drug addicts needing treatment. "In many ways, this treatment initiative is shaped to play into the drug czar's campaign theme that marijuana is addictive," said Paul Armentano, senior policy analyst for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (http://www.norml.org). "Of course, that's not the case," he told DRCNet, "but with marijuana arrests at an all-time high, many will be arrested and face the option of treatment or jail. We don't believe the overwhelming majority of marijuana smokers need or will benefit from drug treatment, but that helps pump up the numbers of smokers in treatment and advances Walters' false argument," he said.

"It's a double-edged sword," Armentano continued. "We don't want to see marijuana smokers going to jail. So from a pragmatic standpoint, I guess we applaud that choice. But we have to remember these people are seeking treatment not because they are in trouble with their habit, but because it's that or jail."

Mary Barr, herself a veteran of brutal "therapeutic community" treatment programs based on the Synanon model, remains wary of any sort of coerced treatment, but also reluctantly agreed that it beat jail. "I distrust mandated treatment," said Barr. "Mandated treatment leads us down a dangerous path. People are caught up in the criminal justice system and go to prison if they break the rules. I don't want to give up and say that mandatory treatment is okay, but until we have some real changes in policy, even that is better than nothing. What we really need is treatment on demand, not by court-order, and the only way to get money for that is to stopping spending it on throwing people in jail. Let's take the money out of corrections and put it in social programs."

But this is the Bush version of a social program, and there may be some good to it. "No one really knows how this will work yet," said DPA's McColl. "The devil is in the details."

6. Into the Morass: Green Berets in Colombia as "War on Drugs" Morphs into "War on Terror"

While the world's attention is focused on looming war against Iraq, while US troops engage in bloody firefights with erstwhile allies in Afghanistan and patrol the perimeter of inflammable North Korea, the long-running conflict in Colombia rages on -- and US troops are now on the ground in combat zones there, too. While Bush did not mention Colombia -- or anywhere else in Latin America, for that matter -- during his State of the Union address Tuesday night, US Green Berets were into their second week of training Colombian troops in the violence-ridden province of Aruaca.

The arrival of the Green Berets, whose mission has nothing to do with drugs but is instead to train the Colombians to protect a 450-mile oil pipeline belonging to the US-based Occidental Petroleum Company, is a concrete manifestation of the Bush administration's effort to wrap its increasing involvement in Colombia's complicated civil war in the clothing of the "war on terror." The shift from counter-narcotics to counterinsurgency and counter-terrorism became official last August, when the laws governing US lethal assistance to Colombia were changed to allow it to be used for not just for fighting the drug traffic, but also the leftist guerrilla armies, now defined as "terrorists."

The change in the laws and the insertion of the Green Berets marks a sea change in US policy. As recently as the end of the Clinton administration, leading supporters of an expanded US drug war in Colombia pooh-poohed widely held fears that the US anti-drug effort would be subject to "mission creep," that involvement in the drug war in Colombia would lead to deeper US military involvement in the country's four-decade-old civil war. "The primary focus of this supplemental effort is to provide support for Colombia's intensifying counter drug effort. As a matter of Administration policy, the United States will not support Colombian counterinsurgency efforts," then-drug czar Barry McCaffrey told Congress in November 2000.

"Now that we've begun to open that door from counter-narcotics to counterinsurgency, there is much more potential for greater US involvement," said Ingrid Vaicius, a Colombia expert at the Washington, DC-based Center for International Policy, and, along with Adam Isaacon, author of the brand new report on Colombia, "The 'War on Drugs' Meets the 'War on Terror,'" (http://www.ciponline.org/colombia/0302ipr.htm). "Colombia is on the back burner in terms of public and policymaker attention, with everyone watching Iraq and North Korea, but there is still a lot going on," she told DRCNet. "We have the Green Berets on the ground, we have 267 US troops in-country, along with some 270 US employees of private contractors like Dyncorp, who fly the helicopters that protect the coca fumigation, and who knows how many foreign employees. The Colombians already got a $25 million supplemental appropriation for counter-terrorism, $6 million of which goes to pay for protecting the oil pipeline, and they will get hundreds of millions more in US assistance this year, three-quarters of it for military or law enforcement."

The rhetorical shift from "war on drugs" to "war on terror" may make the job of selling increased US intervention in Colombia more palatable. It is certainly difficult for supporters of the US drug war in Colombia to point to victories that might support further funding. In a report this month from the General Accounting Office, "Coca Cultivation Estimates in Colombia" (available online by searching for report GAO-03-319R at http://www.gao.gov), the GAO found that while the number of hectares of coca eradicated climbed steadily from 1998 to 2001, so did the total number of hectares under cultivation, with the end result being that the number of harvestable un-eradicated hectares of coca increased by more than 50%.

"Eradication has not been very successful," said Vaicius. "We don't see much improvement at all. The US government claims it will reduce the amount of coca planted to one-third of current levels, but what we've seen so far is a 25% increase. And we are likely to see another increase with the new figures from the United Nations and the CIA due out soon. Coca production is spreading in Colombia, not retreating."

"Fumigation has not put a dent in the supply of coke," concurred Jason Hagen, Colombia associate for the Washington Office on Latin America (http://www.wola.org). "Instead, the crop is moving westward out of Putumayo, into Nariño and other provinces. "The Colombian National Police are waging a very intense fumigation campaign -- they've dropped the whole pretense of crop substitution and alternative development -- and their slogan is 'fumigate faster than they can replant.' They have to show results this year, and I suspect that when the numbers come out at the end of February, they will reflect not reality but bureaucratic imperatives. The numbers will show advances in eradication, but won't account for replanting of eradicated sites," Hagen told DRCNet. "This has not affected overall production in the Andean region, or even in Colombia. The crop just moves to different territory."

Still, US military assistance continues to flow into Colombia and most of it is coming under the rubric of the war on drugs. US military and counter-narcotics aid to Colombia has reached nearly $3 billion since 1997, with more than $600 million coming this year. According to WOLA's Hagen, that number could top $800 million next year. US and Colombian officials have promised for years that US military assistance would bring peace, stability, and democracy to the country while wiping out the drug trade. It has done neither.

Some 4,000 Colombians have died in political violence in the last two years, and some 300,000 became internal refugees, pushing the total number of displaced persons within Colombia to well over a million. Under the hard-line administration of President Alvaro Uribe, peace negotiations with the rebels of the FARC and the ELN have been abandoned, and the leftist guerrillas have responded to government attacks with daring counteroffensives and car-bomb campaigns in the capital and other large cities.

"If you follow where the US money goes, you see that intensified conflict follows," said Hagen. "The aerial fumigation in Putumayo, which punishes the weakest link in the trade, the farmers, has had the unintended consequence of driving people into the armed factions. It just gets hotter and hotter in Putumayo. And now, in Arauca, where the Green Berets are, it is becoming one of the most insecure regions of the country. We're seeing car bombings, mayors are resigning. The Uribe government has declared it a security zone, where military officers hold special powers at the expense of elected governments, but they can't provide any security."

And the Green Berets are walking targets, said Hagen. "The ELN will make a show of force against the Green Berets. I expect one day soon we will see US military casualties. Their presence is a big issue for the ELN."

Both Hagen and Vaicius counseled a shift in US and Colombian government policies.

"We need to recognize that security is more than a military goal," said Vaicius. "They say you can't have alternative development without security first, but we say you can't have one without the other. If local populations are to believe in the armed forces, it has to a professional institution, and it cannot abandon these populations. There must be a shift from fumigation to alternative development, and policymakers must listen to local populations. Washington and Bogota will not succeed if they try to impose reforms and decision-making on these people. We have to let the local populations lead."

"US policy is on autopilot," said Hagen, "and that's unfortunate because you can't win this militarily. US assistance to the military and police are only fueling the fire, heightening the conflict. There are about 35,000 guerrilla fighters, and standard counterinsurgency doctrine says you need about a ten-to-one advantage to defeat guerrillas. Colombia has 55,000 troops for deployment. You do the math."

"A huge military assistance package will not get to the root of Colombia's problems," said Vaicius. "We need to look at the underlying reasons for conflict and for the drug trade, we have to look at basic social problems, we have to look at impunity for human rights abuses and fixing the judicial system, we have to look at agrarian reform. But now, with the 'war on terror,' we have a whole new dynamic that might not be the most appropriate."

"Neither the Green Berets nor other US military assistance will make the guerrillas go away," said Hagen. "They've been there for 40 years. But the conflict will intensify, there will be more internal refugees, and I anticipate increasing attacks on human rights advocates by the Uribe government, which has labeled them allies of the guerrillas. But security as a result of US aid? If that's the goal, we'll be there for a hundred years."

7. Drug Czar Says Nevada Election Laws Don't Apply to His Politicking

The head of the White House's Office on National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP, the office of the "drug czar") refused Tuesday to tell Nevada election officials how much money he spent campaigning against Question 9, the November 2002 marijuana legalization initiative sponsored by the Washington, DC-based Marijuana Policy Project (MPP). That initiative failed, and MPP lays part of the blame on interference from Walters, who made at least two trips to the state to campaign against the measure. Nevada Secretary of State Dean Heller sent a written request that the drug czar file campaign finance reports as required under Nevada law after MPP filed a post-election complaint against Walters alleging he failed to file campaign finance reports as required under Nevada law.

But in a letter from ONDCP counsel Edward Jurith dated Tuesday, the drug czar's office claimed he was "immune" from Nevada's campaign finance law "as a federal officer acting within the scope of duties, including speaking out about the dangers of illegal drugs." Thus, the one-paragraph letter continued, "Director Walters and the ONDCP respectfully decline to respond to the complaint accompanying your letter of January 14."

In that letter, Nevada election officials, acting on the MPP complaint, reminded Walters that Nevada law requires "the reporting of contributions and expenses for every person or group of persons organized formally or informally who advocates the passage or defeat of a question or group of questions on the ballot at any election." They found ONDCP's response high-handed and insufficient. "We got one paragraph back from them," said Steve George, spokesman for the Secretary of State. "The problem we have is that the paragraph they sent may be correct or not, but they don't cite any particular law or statute, they don't show us chapter and verse that would exempt them," he told DRCNet.

The Secretary of State's office will turn the letter over to the Nevada Attorney General's office to seek an Attorney General's opinion on whether ONDCP's reply was sufficient, said George. His office hopes for a response "within a couple of weeks," he added.

"Walters basically told the state of Nevada to go to hell," said MPP communications director Bruce Mirken. "This dismissive, one-paragraph letter is an insulting non-response," he told DRCNet. "The Secretary of State was not asking Walters not to do something, but merely to report what he spent campaigning, just like everyone else, just like MPP had to do. They made great hay during the campaign saying ours was a well-funded campaign and our opponents were under funded, but they were using who knows how much taxpayer money without reporting it themselves. Their shamelessness is breathtaking."

Still, MPP wasn't exactly sandbagged by ONDCP's non-response. "We expected something like this, so we sent a letter signed by MPP executive director Rob Kampia to the Secretary of State's office on January 22, pointing out the controlling principles the Supreme Court has defined in situations where federal employees may be subject to state regulations," explained Mirken. "What the Supreme Court has said is that federal officials basically are subject to state regulations if those regulations do not prevent them from carrying out their duties. Walters is apparently arguing that asking him to file campaign reports is interfering with his duties. That's insane."

The Nevada complaint against Walters is only one prong of MPP's counterattack against Walters, who has aggressively used his post as a bully pulpit to pronounce against drug law reform in the states. As part of its bluntly titled "War on the Drug Czar," MPP has filed a separate complaint with the federal Office of Special Counsel charging Walters with violating the federal Hatch Act, which restricts campaign activity by federal officials. A response to that complaint is still pending, Mirken told DRCNet.

MPP is also preparing a series of TV advertisements to run in February as a counter to the ONDCP's campaign of marijuana scare ads, the latest installment of which began running during the Super Bowl (http://www.mediacampaign.org/mg/television.html).

"We're in the process of shooting several TV spots, and we've asked our members to weigh in on which scripts they like. Those ads are in production now, and we'll look at the end products soon and choose which ones to air," said Mirken. Those ads are scheduled to appear in the Washington, DC, market in February, provided funding is found.

Check out MPP's "War on Drug Czar" at http://www.mpp.org/WarOnDrugCzar/ online.

8. 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/
http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/sombras/ (Español)

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]

9. 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/
http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/shadows/ (English)

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]

10. Cúpula Internacional sobre Legalização, 12-15 de Fevereiro, Mérida, México

Saindo das Sombras: Terminando com a Proibição das Drogas no Século XXI

Uma série de conferências internacionais que unirás as forças da reforma em um chamado à sensatez mundial

Participe do "Saindo das sombras," a Primeira Cúpula Internacional sobre Legalização, reunindo a América do Norte, do Sul e Central, e aliados de todo o mundo.

Do dia 12 ao dia 15 de Fevereiro de 2003, na Universidade Autônoma de Yucatán, Mérida, México

http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/sombras/ (Español)
http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/shadows/ (Inglês)

Por favor, venha reunir-se com ativistas, acadêmicos, políticos, jornalistas e a outros em Mérida, na primeira cúpula latinoamericana contra a proibição das drogas. Forme parte deste encontro histórico. Encontre, ouça, fale, colabore e demonstre a sua solidariedade com os nossos aliados no crescente movimento para a reforma na América Latina.

Inscreva-se online usando o seu cartão de crédito (http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/sombras/inscripcion-credito.html), ou imprima um formulário de inscrição e envie-o por correio (http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/shadows/register.pdf). A inscrição é gratuita para latinoamericanos, e existem preços reduzidos para os que realmente os necessitem (http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/sombras/inscripcion-gratis.html). Também poderíamos Ter bolsas disponíveis para custear algumas viagens. Por favor, inscreva-se agora e diga-nos quanto custaria o seu traslado, trataremos de achar financiamento para você. Por favor, faça uma doação se possível, para que possamos oferecer mais bolsas e trazer a mais latinoamericanos até esta conferência (http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/shadows/donate.html). O seu pagamento de inscrição irá igualmente financiar essas bolsas; por favor, inscreva-se hoje mesmo.

Comitê organizador:

Gustavo de Greiff, ex-fiscal geral da nação, Colômbia, Presidente
Jaime Malamud, ex-fiscal geral da nação, Argentina
Mario Menendez, diretor do diário Por Esto!, México
Marco Cappato, membro do Parlamento Europeu, Lista Bonino, Itália
John Gilmore, Estados Unidos
Diretor do time da conferência: David Borden, DRCNet, Estados Unidos
Assessor voluntário de imprensa: Al Giordano, NarcoNews.com

Em breve, anunciaremos aqui os detalhes sobre o programa, os conferencistas e as opções para viajar. Há informação sobre hotéis um pouco mais para baixo. Outras datas e sedes serão anunciadas para a Europa, Canadá e os Estados Unidos. Envie um correio eletrônico para [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) para receber mais notícias sobre as conferências. Visite a nossa página e leia/inscreva-se na nossa lista de notícias semanal em: http://www.drcnet.org ou http://www.stopthedrugwar.org

Entre em contato com o StopTheDrugWar.org: The Drug Reform Coordination Network em: P.O. Box 18402, Washington, DC 20036, USA, Telefone: (00 1 202) 362-0030, Fax: (00 1 202) 362-0032, [email protected]

11. Newsbrief: Violence Continues as Talks Begin in Bolivia -- Coca Growers, Workers, Indians Present Demands

Although nearly two weeks of strikes, roadblocks, and repression have officially given way to negotiations between the Bolivian government and broad social sectors headed by coca farmer leader and Member of Parliament Evo Morales, sporadic violence continued to wrack the Andean nation. According to La Razon (La Paz), at least one and possibly two people were reported killed Thursday in a wild melee between villagers manning roadblocks and angry drivers on the highway between Caranavi and Alto Beni.

The Associated Press put the tally of dead in the confrontation with the government at nine as of Tuesday, but Bolivian sources had tallied at least 15 by late last week.

Morales, as head of the Six Federations of coca growers of the Chapare and leader of the MAS (Movement Toward Socialism) Party, ordered an end to the blockades Tuesday. "Blockades are suspended, but farmers should be vigilant," he told the AP.

While coca farmers seeking an end to the Bolivian government's US-sponsored "zero option" coca eradication policy have spearheaded the protests, the mobilization in recent weeks has also included the nation's most powerful labor and indigenous groups, as well as landless peasants, school teachers, retirees, even sectors of the business community. The protest of the cocaleros is taking place within the broader context of a mass mobilization against the "neo-liberal" economic policies of the government of Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada and its backers in the United States.

But while the Bolivian government may view the talks -- taking place among a number of government ministers and different insurgent social groups -- as a means of placating and channeling the opposition, Morales has a different idea. Minister of the Presidency Carlos Sanchez Berzain, speaking Wednesday in Cochabamba, told La Razon that "the exchange of views and the broad consultation will serve to support government decisions."

But Morales, speaking the same day, said that the talks "signify changing the [economic] model, Law 1008 [the coca eradication law], and the Law of Capitalization." All three are pillars of the Sanchez de Lozada government.

The US, for its part, announced this week that it would decrease aid to Bolivia from $143 million this year to $132 million next year, $91 million of which will go to support the coca eradication campaign. Assistant Secretary of State for International Affairs Paul Simons made clear what US priorities in Bolivia are. It is important that Bolivia consolidate the "successes" in the war on drugs, said Simon, because "it is important to maintain the rhythm of eradication of coca" in the Chapare.

Under Law 21060 up to 30,000 acres of coca can be cultivated for traditional purposes, such as a tea used to ward off hunger and altitude sickness. But no cultivation is allowed in the Chapare, the heart of the cocalero protests.

12. Newsbrief: DEA Moving to Schedule Two More "Hallucinogens"

The Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics (http://www.cognitiveliberty.org) reported this week that the Drug Enforcement Administration has moved to place two more "hallucinogens" into Schedule I of the federal Controlled Substances Act. The two substances are Alpha-methyltryptamine (AMT) and 5-methoxy-N,N-disopropyltryptamine (5-MeO-DIPT). Neither is in wide use. The DEA acted under its emergency scheduling powers, which mandate a 30-day waiting period before the scheduling takes effect. Thus, as of February 26, it will be a crime to buy, sell or possess the two drugs without a DEA license. The agency has up to 18 months to permanently schedule the two substances.

For more information on AMT and 5-Me0-DIPT, also known as Foxy Methoxy, visit their respective pages at the Vaults of Erowid: http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/amt/amt.shtml and http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/5meo_dipt/5meo_dipt.shtml

13. Newsbrief: Utah Drugged Driving Bill on the Move

A bill that would make drivers involved in fatal accidents guilty of vehicular homicide if they had even trace amounts of illicit drugs in their systems passed in the Utah Senate Tuesday. The bill would also criminalize driving with any illicit drug metabolites in the body. It must still pass the Utah House of Representatives, where it was sent to the Standing Committee Friday. While the bill contains some safeguards to prevent overly broad enforcement, it is of a piece with drug czar John Walters' national "zero tolerance" anti-drugged driving campaign announced in November (http://www.drcnet.org/wol/264.html#druggeddriving).

Under SB007, the "Automobile Homicide Amendments," introduced by Sen. Carlene Walker (R-Halliday), prosecutors will not have to prove actual impairment caused by the presence of drugs, merely that drugs were present in the driver's system. And unlike Utah's approach with alcohol, which sets a blood concentration (0.08%) above which impairment is assumed, "any measurable amount of a Schedule I or Schedule II controlled substance" is assumed as a matter of law to indicate impairment.

"It is not quite a zero tolerance policy, but it is the same philosophy," Walker told the Deseret News. "It's just one more tool to get those with drugs in their system off the roads," she said.

The bill requires prosecutors to prove that the fatal accident was caused by negligence and that proscribed drugs were present in the driver's blood. According to Paul Boyden, director of the Statewide Association of Prosecutors, the bill was amended to remove prosecution for the presence of "metabolites," the minute traces that remain in the body for days or weeks after ingestions. But in amending the bill, lawmakers made it a separate crime to drive "if the person has any measurable controlled substance or metabolite of a controlled substance in the person's body."

The bill's language also contains two affirmative defenses: That the drug was legitimately prescribed by or a physician or if the drug was ingested unwittingly.

Even supporters such as Boyden conceded that drugged driving incidents were both rare and highly publicized in the media. Boyden also told the Deseret News the law could be abused by overzealous prosecutors going after people who had used drugs days or weeks earlier. "Nothing can stop an over-zealous prosecutor," he quipped.

14. Newsbrief: Colorado Bill Equating Meth Manufacture and Child Abuse Moves Forward

Colorado politicians and law enforcement representatives are moving quickly to pass new laws targeting home manufacture of methamphetamines. As DRCNet reported in December, Colorado lawmakers have crafted a three-bill package that would make meth manufacture de facto evidence of child abuse, make it easier for state authorities to remove children from homes of suspected meth cooks, and make it a misdemeanor to "knowingly" sell chemicals used to make methamphetamine (http://www.drcnet.org/wol/269.html#homemethlabs). One of those bills, HB003-1004, sponsored by Rep. Pam Rhodes (R-Thornton), unanimously passed the House Judiciary Committee on January 23 and is now headed for the Appropriations Committee.

HB003-1004, the bill that would make it felony child abuse to manufacture meth in a home where children are present, passed in committee after legislators heard horror stories from law enforcement personnel. Lt. Lori Moriarty of the North Metro Drug Task Force told the panel of children being found in meth lab homes with rotted teeth or none at all after ingesting meth or its ingredients kept in soda pop bottles in refrigerators. "Our bodies were not meant to digest Coleman fuel or lighter fluid," said Moriarty. "We really need felony charges for this crime." HB003-1004 would impose penalties of up to 12 years in prison for violators.

According to Colorado legislative analysts, there were six people charged with child abuse in connection with meth manufacture in each of the last three years. Those same analysts, who did a required fiscal impact study, found that even though the bill would not increase the number of prisoners (meth cooks are already charged with felonies), it would increase the sentences of those charged from an average of 39 months to 92 months. Such a move would cost the state $827,000 in additional corrections spending in the next five years, the analysts reported.

Those anticipated costs may slow the momentum of the bill in the House Appropriations Committee, whose members are grappling with withering budget problems.

To read the bill, the financial impact analysis, and supporting documentation, go to http://www.leg.state.co.us and search for HB003-1004.

15. Newsbrief: Asian Drug Abolition Mania Spreading -- Malaysia Calls for "Total War," Drug Free Southeast Asia by 2015

Last week, DRCNet reported on moves in Thailand and The Philippines to make the two Southeast Asian nations "drug free." Thailand will achieve that status on April 30, officials declared; The Philippines are willing to wait two-and-a-half years (http://www.drcnet.org/wol/273.html#southeastasia). Now, neighboring Malaysia, where any drug trafficking conviction brings the death penalty, has decided to get tough. According to a January 22 report from the Malaysia Star, that country's National Drugs Council will create an atmosphere of "total war" against drugs, which will free the country and the region from the "drug menace" by 2015.

Efforts to combat drug abuse had not been "entirely successful, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah told a press conference after a three hour meeting of Malaysian anti-drug officials in Kuala Lumpur January 21. "The drug menace covering the network of addiction, trafficking, smuggling and manufacturing continues to be a main threat to stability," he said. "Therefore, a new approach has to be taken immediately before this gets out of control to ensure that Malaysia and ASEAN [the Association of Southeast Asian Nations] are free of drugs by 2015."

Malaysia has an estimated 220,000 heroin addicts, according to government figures. But while heroin use has traditionally been a habit of the lower class and Indonesian immigrant workers, the Malaysian press in recent months has quoted government officials as growing increasingly concerned about the spread of cannabis, ecstasy (MDMA), and amphetamine use among the middle class and the children of the elite.

To fight rising levels of drug use, said Deputy Home Minister Datuk Zainal Abidin Zin, the council officially declared 2003 the "Year of Total War Against Drugs" and announced plans to recruit a million students to be "friends of PEMADAM [the drug prevention agency]." The agency will also allow drug users at "rehabilitation centers" to work in the private sector, he said. Malaysia currently has some 10,000 people in 28 centers -- 70% of whom will relapse, according to official figures.

Other measures announced to eradicate drugs by 2015 include an electronic media blitz, instilling an "anti-drug" culture in a country where officials complained last year that the population was "less than enthusiastic" about the cause, activating all government agencies and non-governmental organizations to "enhance discipline and morality" among the public, and, of course, tougher enforcement directed at traffickers, manufacturers, and users.

Also, Zin warned, cigarettes could be a gateway drug.

16. Newsbrief: This Week's Corrupt Cop Story

Tough competition this week, with strong nominees from West Memphis (illegal traffic stops and thefts of alleged drug money), but those Arkansas cops are pikers compared to former Chicago Police Department gang specialist Joseph Miedzianowski, who has been called "the most corrupt cop in Chicago history." Now, that's something special for a city that has seen police torture innocent suspects into confessing to murders they didn't commit.

Miedzianowski was sentenced to life in prison on January 24 for, among other things, running a Miami-to-Chicago drug ring, shaking down dealers, fixing criminal cases and hiding a wanted murderer. He also got an additional five years to be served at the end of his sentence for federal gun charges, meaning he will probably never leave prison alive. During his April 2001 trial, prosecutors accused Miedzianowski of giving gang members guns, arranging sexual trysts for prisoners and thwarting investigations of criminals with whom he was working.

US District Judge Blanche Manning said she issued the life sentence with "a heavy heart" and expressed sympathy for Miedzianowski's wife, daughter, son and other family members who were in court, some of whom periodically wiped away tears.

During sentencing, Miedzianoskwi also played to family values, telling relatives in the courtroom, "I love you all... You know what's up. You'll always be here in my heart, right here."

But Miedzianowski was caught with a drug-gang girlfriend and overheard espousing some not so family values on audiotapes. "I tell you, if somebody fucks me over, I would not only fuck them, I would fuck their brothers, their sisters, their aunts, their uncles," he told one gang member in a friendly chat. "If they had a parakeet, I'd fuck the parakeet."

According to prosecutors, he attempted to apply those sentiments to them. He has been indicted on charges of plotting to kill US Attorney Brian Netols while in jail awaiting trial, in a plot that included having associates use guns and missile launchers to spring him from the slammer.

17. Newsbrief: Judge Kane Speaks Out Again, Lambasts Federal Drug War

Denver US District Court Judge John Kane, Jr., has once again strongly attacked US government drug policies. Kane has been a harsh critic of the war on drugs since at least 1998, when he signed on to a famous two-page ad that ran in the New York Times under this banner: "We believe the global war on drugs is now causing more harm than drug abuse itself." That ad, which called on United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan to lead a major shift in global drug policy, was also signed by veteran newsman Walter Cronkite, former senators Claiborne Pell and Alan Cranston, former secretary of state George Shultz, conservative economist Milton Friedman and former New York police commissioner Patrick Murphy.

Kane has not been silent on the subject since, speaking out at events across the country over the past few years. On Tuesday he spoke at Denver's City Club luncheon at the Brown Palace Hotel and, according to the Rocky Mountain News (Denver), "won a standing ovation" from the crowd of business people with his attack on the drug war.

The war on drugs is costly, ignorant and futile, Kane said. Drug prohibition only encourages drug dealers to seek black market profits, even from children, he added. "I don't favor drugs at all," Kane said. "What I really am opposed to is the fact that our present policies encourage children to take drugs."

The war on drugs is a miserable failure, Kane said, noting that drugs have become ever easier to obtain and drug use has risen despite decades of prohibitionist policies. The senior judge recounted a story about a friend of his in his 60s who was being treated for cancer. The man joked to his family that he wished he knew where to get marijuana to relieve the effects of chemotherapy. The next day, the man's 11-year-old grandson brought him three joints. "Don't worry, Grandpa -- I don't use it myself, but if you need any more just let me know," Kane quoted the boy as saying.

The federal government has no real scientific basis for its drug policy, Kane said, nor does that policy fit with American notions of fairness and justice. "Our national drug policy is inconsistent with the nature of justice, abusive of the nature of authority, and wholly ignorant of the compelling force of forgiveness," he said. "I suggest that federal drug laws be severely cut back."

And the assembled business people applauded.

18. 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.

19. The Reformer's Calendar

(Please submit listings of events concerning drug policy and related topics to [email protected].)

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 UC Berkeley. 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 11, 5:30-7:30pm, San Francisco, CA, "Women and Prisons: The Unseen Body Count." Panel and discussion hosted by the Delancey Street Foundation, 600 Embarcadero, visit http://www.drugpolicy.org/events/event.cfm?eventID=149 for info.

February 12, 7:00pm, Charleston, SC, "The Policies of the War on Drugs," featuring the video "War on Drugs, A War on Ourselves" and presentations by Judge Jack Guedalia, Summary Court, Central Bond Court Magistrate, Charleston Police Chief Reuben Greenberg, and Special Agent John Ozaluk, in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Offices for South Carolina. At the College of Charleston, Education Center, Room 118, 25 St. Philip St., contact [email protected] for further information.

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.

February 19, 7:00pm, Charleston, SC, "Prisoners in the War on Drugs," featuring the video "The War on Drugs" and presentations by Nora Callahan of The November Coalition and Wyndi Anderson of South Carolina Advocates for Pregnant Women. At the College of Charleston, Education Center, Room 118, 25 St. Philip St., contact [email protected] for further information.

February 26, 7:00pm, Charleston, SC, "Foreign Policy and the War on Drugs," featuring Sanho Tree of the Institute for Policy Studies. At the College of Charleston, Education Center, Room 118, 25 St. Philip St., contact [email protected] for info.

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 4, Brussels, Belgium, public hearing on Europe's role in international drug policy reform. At the European Parliament, Room PHS 4B 01, sponsored by the International Coalition of NGOs for Just and Effective Drug Policies. For further information, visit http://www.vienna2003.org or contact 00 32 (0)3 237 7436 or [email protected].

March 5, Antwerp, Belgium, meeting of European drug policy activists, sponsored by the International Coalition of NGOs for Just and Effective Drug Policies. For further information, visit http://www.vienna2003.org or contact 00 32 (0)3 237 7436 or [email protected].

March 12, 7:00pm, Charleston, SC, "Alternatives to Prison in the War on Drugs," featuring Dr. Gene Tinelli, Addiction Psychiatrist, Syracuse, NY, Probate Judge Irv Condon, Charleston Drug Court, and Mark Cowell, Director, Charleston County Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Services. At the College of Charleston, Education Center, Room 118, 25 St. Philip St., contact [email protected] for further information.

April 4-6, Providence, RI, Medical Marijuana Symposium, organized by Brown University Students for Sensible Drug Policy. Contact [email protected] for further information.

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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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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