Drug War Chronicle
(formerly The Week Online with DRCNet)
Issue #369
-- 1/7/05
"Raising Awareness of the Consequences of Drug Prohibition"
Phillip S. Smith, Editor
David Borden, Executive Director
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
- EDITORIAL:
STOP
BEFORE
IT'S
TOO
LATE
A
growing
dilemma
in
Afghanistan
is
bringing
into
sharper
focus
the
urgent
need
for
society
to
enact
some
form
of
drug
legalization.
But
legalization
or
not,
opium
eradication
would
be
an
error
of
historic
proportions.
- BUSH
ADMINISTRATION'S
AFGHAN
DILEMMA
COMING
TO
A
HEAD:
PROMOTE
STABILITY
AND
FIGHT
TERROR
--
OR
FIGHT
DRUGS?
The
US
wants
to
fight
the
war
on
terror
against
Al
Qaeda
and
the
remnants
of
the
Taliban
in
Afghanistan
--
but
also
remains
formally
committed
to
the
drug
war
and
the
eradication
of
the
illicit
opium
poppy
crop.
The
two
objectives
are
fundamentally
in
conflict,
and
that
gives
the
Bush
administration
a
big
problem.
- BLACK
STATE
LEGISLATORS
CONDEMN
DRUG
WAR,
SEEK
ALTERNATIVES
The
nation's
largest
organization
representing
African-American
state
legislators
has
condemned
the
war
on
drugs
and
is
demanding
alternative
policies
less
harmful
to
black
communities.
- FDA
OKAYS
SECOND
ECSTASY
STUDY
--
EFFECT
ON
TERMINAL
CANCER
PATIENTS
TO
BE
TESTED
The
Food
and
Drug
Administration
has
approved
a
pilot
study
to
examine
whether
MDMA,
better
known
as
the
popular
club
drug
Ecstasy,
can
help
terminal
cancer
patients
come
to
grips
with
end-of-life
anxiety
and
depression.
- THIS
WEEK'S
CORRUPT
COPS
STORIES
It's
a
mixed
bag
this
week,
with
one
clearly
corrupt
law
enforcer,
several
who
are
severely
misguided
and
hypocritical
although
probably
not
corrupt,
and
one
truly
bizarre
tale
out
of
Detroit.
- BLOG:
LEGALIZERS
SCORE
BIG
THIS
WEEK
Work
in
Syracuse
by
the
group
ReconsiDer:
Forum
on
Drug
Policy
has
involved
the
city
council
in
the
issue
and
prompted
a
nationally
syndicated
editorial
released
by
the
Washington
Post.
- NEWSBRIEF:
DALLAS
SCHOOLS
USING
TRACE
SCANNER
FOR
DRUG
DETECTION
Trace
scanners
are
devices
that
pick
up
microscopic
traces
of
substances,
and
are
typically
found
in
airports,
where
they
search
for
explosives,
and
prisons,
where
they
are
used
to
detect
traces
of
illegal
drugs
on
visitors.
Now,
the
Dallas
Independent
School
District,
which
has
become
the
nation's
first
to
use
the
devices
to
find
drugs
and
drug
users
in
its
classrooms
and
hallways.
- NEWSBRIEF:
PLUNGING
DOLLAR
LOSES
FAVOR
WITH
DRUG
DEALERS
The
US
dollar
has
long
been
the
world's
de
facto
common
currency,
but
with
it
declining
in
value
against
the
Euro
and
other
currencies,
it
is
beginning
to
lose
favor
with
some
cash
connoisseurs
including
global
drug
dealers,
Grant's
Interest
Rate
Observer
reported
last
month.
- NEWSBRIEF:
HAWAII
UNIONS
AND
HOTELS
SEE
DRUG
TESTING
FIGHT
AHEAD
With
labor
contracts
at
many
major
Hawaii
resorts
and
hotels
set
to
expire
next
year,
unions
and
employers
alike
are
gearing
up
for
a
major
battle
over
drug
testing.
- NEWSBRIEF:
HERE
COME
THE
REVENOORS
--
TENNESSEE
ILLEGAL
DRUG
TAX
NOW
IN
EFFECT
Under
a
new
law
that
went
into
effect
January
1,
the
state
of
Tennessee
has
begun
assessing
an
excise
tax
on
illegal
drugs.
- MEDIA
SCAN
Neal
Peirce
and
Ted
Galen
Carpenter
on
Legalization,
Dr.
Jane
Orient
on
the
Pain
Prosecutions,
Nation
Tony
Papa
Interview,
COHA
on
Guatemala
Drug
Trade
- THIS
WEEK
IN
HISTORY
Events
and
quotes
of
note
from
this
week's
drug
policy
events
of
years
past.
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NOW
TO
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for
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2005
Semester.
- THE
REFORMER'S
CALENDAR
Showing
up
at
an
event
can
be
the
best
way
to
get
involved!
Check
out
this
week's
listings
for
events
from
today
through
next
year,
across
the
US
and
around
the
world!
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