TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. A MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ON WHAT DRCNET IS PLANNING AFTER ELECTION DAY AND WHY WE NEED YOUR HELP
   Three short weeks from now, voters in the United States will make a choice affecting the nation's course for decades to come. Regardless of their political affiliations or views on other issues, DRCNet's diverse supporters all agree on this much: The drug war is a moral and humanitarian crisis harming countless people around the world and which has failed to achieve its goals.
2. NOW YOU SEE IT, NOW YOU DON'T: THE AMAZING VANISHING DEA PAIN FAQ
   An uncommunicative DEA has left more questions remaining than answers about the mysterious case of the vanishing "PRESCRIPTION PAIN MEDICATIONS: Frequently Asked Questions and Answers for Health Care Professionals and Law Enforcement Personnel."
3. MONTANA MEDICAL MARIJUANA INITIATIVE APPEARS HEADED FOR VICTORY
   Montana's medical marijuana initiative appears headed for victory on November 2, but organizers are taking no chances.
4. SECOND MEDICAL MARIJUANA INITIATIVE FACES TOUGH FIGHT IN OREGON
   Backers of the 1998 Oregon Medical Marijuana Act have successfully petitioned to place a new medical marijuana measure on the ballot. They are gearing up for a tough fight, and they have help.
5. MEDICAL MARIJUANA ON THE LOCAL BALLOT IN ANN ARBOR, BERKELEY, COLUMBIA
   In addition to the medical marijuana initiatives on the ballot in Oregon and Montana, voters in an ABC of college towns will have the opportunity to approve of local initiatives on Election Day.
6. DRCNET BOOK REVIEW: "NARCOTIC CULTURE: A HISTORY OF DRUGS IN CHINA" BY FRANK DIKOTTER, LARS LAAMAN AND ZHOU XUN (OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, $35.00 HB) AND "OPIUM: A PORTRAIT OF THE HEAVENLY DEMON" BY BARBARA HODGSON (GREYSTONE PRESS, $14.95 PB)
   Three authors challenge the conventional wisdom of opium in China as a national disaster. Another explores poppy culture in the United States.
7. NEWSBRIEF: VP HOPEFUL EDWARDS MAKES METH A CAMPAIGN ISSUE
   Democratic vice-presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards Monday used a conference call with Midwest reporters to try to make methamphetamine use and manufacture an issue in the presidential campaign.
8. NEWSBRIEF: AMT, FOXY METHOXY PERMANENTLY PLACED ON SCHEDULE I
   With a notice in the Federal Register on September 29, the DEA issued a "final rule" placing the psychedelic typtamines AMT and Foxy Methoxy in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. The final rule makes permanent the temporary scheduling that took effect last year.
9. NEWSBRIEF: CONGRESS VOTES TO DOUBLE US TROOPS IN COLOMBIA
   Congress voted last Saturday to allow the number of US military personnel in Colombia to double in the coming months.
10. NEWSBRIEF: EUROPEAN DRUG THINK TANK RIPS US ON AFGHAN OPIUM POLICY -- NO "PLAN AFGHANISTAN," PLEASE, SAYS SENLIS COUNCIL
    Inspired by recent pronouncements by US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld that the Bush administration is working on a "master plan" modeled on Plan Colombia to deal with Afghan opium production, a leading European drug policy think tank has urged the US to think again.
11. NEWSBRIEF: DINOSAURS WALK THE EARTH AS PROHIBITION PARTY, INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE DEMAND RETURN OF ALCOHOL PROHIBITION
    The ghosts of prohibition past continue to stir: At least one miniscule and aging political party and one independent congressional candidate are calling this year for a return to alcohol prohibition.
12. NEWSBRIEF: THIS WEEK'S CORRUPT COPS STORIES
    The corruption beat goes on: A former Kansas City police sergeant pleads guilty to bilking the federal government of tens of thousands of dollars, a New York City detective is jailed for robbing drug dealers, and that's not all.
13. THIS WEEK IN HISTORY
    Events and quotes of note from this week's drug policy events of years past.
14. ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT: PART-TIME JOB OPPORTUNITY AT DRCNET
    DRCNet is seeking a part-time Administrative Assistant to work with the Executive and Associate Directors and the Member Coordinator. The Administrative Assistant will assist with all manner of clerical and administrative tasks.
15. THE REFORMER'S CALENDAR
    Showing up at an event can be the best way to get involved! Check out this week's calendar for events from today through next year, across the US and around the world!

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Articles of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of the DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.

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