Drug War Chronicle
(formerly The Week Online with DRCNet)
Issue #395
-- 7/15/05
"Raising Awareness of the Consequences of Drug Prohibition"
Phillip S. Smith, Editor
David Borden, Executive Director
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JOIN
THE STEVE MCWILLIAMS MEDICAL MARIJUANA VIGILS THIS TUESDAY!
WRITE
JUDGE DAMRELL IN SUPPORT OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA ACTIVIST BRYAN EPIS!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- DRCNET
INTERVIEW:
CALIFORNIA
MEDICAL
MARIJUANA
PROVIDER
BRYAN
EPIS
Former
California
medical
marijuana
provider
Bryan
Epis
is
awaiting
resentencing
this
month
in
the
wake
of
a
web
of
recent
Supreme
Court
rulings.
His
original
sentence
was
ten
years.
- FEATURE:
CALIFORNIA'S
"TREATMENT
NOT
JAIL"
LAW
FACES
NEW
ATTACK
FROM
OLD
FOES
Advocates
and
opponents
of
California's
Proposition
36,
passed
with
overwhelming
voter
approval
in
2002,
are
in
a
war
of
words
over
a
Senate
bill
that
would
effectively
roll
it
back.
- FEATURE:
BUSH
DRUG
BUDGET
CUTS
FOR
HIDTA,
TASK
FORCE
GRANTS
LOOK
TO
BE
RESTORED
The
Bush
administration
appears
set
to
lose
one
of
their
few
drug
policy
proposals
with
which
drug
reformers
agreed.
- FEATURE:
MUCH
ADO
ABOUT
LOLLIPOPS
--
MARIJUANA-FLAVORED
CANDY,
HEMP,
POLITICIANS,
AND
THE
MEDIA
With
politicians
moving
to
get
two
marijuana-flavored
candies
taken
off
the
market,
hemp
food
advocates
are
scrambling
to
keep
their
products
from
getting
mistakenly
caught
in
the
crossfire.
- WEEKLY:
THIS
WEEK'S
CORRUPT
COPS
STORIES
This
week
we
have
a
Coast
Guardsman
who
switched
sides,
a
Minnesota
top
cop
with
a
nasty
cocaine
habit,
Florida
deputy
with
the
same
problem,
a
Louisiana
drug
task
force
commander
hanging
out
with
the
wrong
relative,
and
a
New
Mexico
jail
guard
using
his
position
to
gain
goodies.
- MEDICAL
MARIJUANA:
CALIFORNIA
ACTIVIST
FACING
FEDERAL
PRISON
TIME
COMMITS
SUICIDE,
COMMEMORATIVE
VIGILS
SET
FOR
TUESDAY
Long-time
San
Diego
medical
marijuana
patient,
provider,
and
activist
Steven
McWilliams
killed
himself
Monday
night.
Supporters
are
holding
vigils
Tuesday
night
to
protest
the
government's
driving
him
to
his
death.
- MEDICAL
MARIJUANA:
ACLU,
DPA
THREATEN
TO
SUE
SCHWARZENEGGER
OVER
SUSPENDING
CALIFORNIA
MEDICAL
MARIJUANA
PROGRAM
California
authorities
announced
last
week
they
were
suspending
a
pilot
medical
marijuana
ID
program
over
fears
of
subjecting
state
officials
and
cardholders
to
federal
prosecution.
Now
two
organizations
are
suing
the
Schwarzenegger
administration
to
get
the
program
reopened.
- MAD
SCIENCE:
HOUSE
COMMITTEE
APPROVES
MYCOHERBICIDE
TESTING
IN
BID
TO
WIPE
OUT
DRUG
CROPS
Ardent
drug
warriors
in
the
US
House
of
Representatives
have
forced
a
provision
on
anti-drug
fungi
into
the
ONDCP
bill
--
against
the
wishes
of
federal
agencies
who
think
it's
too
dangerous.
- MARIJUANA:
WESTERN
PENNSYLVANIA
POLICE
CHIEFS
SAY
DECRIMINALIZE
IT
Under
Pennsylvania
law,
possession
of
up
to
30
grams
of
marijuana
--
slightly
more
than
an
ounce
--
is
a
misdemeanor
offense
punishable
by
up
to
30
days
in
jail
and
a
$500
fine.
Some
western
Pennsylvania
police
chiefs
would
like
to
change
that.
- SENTENCING:
HOUSE
JUDICIARY
COMMITTEE
HEAD
INTERFERES
IN
DRUG
CASE,
DEMANDS
LONGER
SENTENCE
Rep.
James
Sensenbrenner
has
drawn
criticism
for
privately
demanding
last
month
that
a
US
appeals
court
alter
its
decision
in
a
drug
case.
- SEARCH
AND
SEIZURE:
UTAH
FEDERAL
COURT
JUDGES
SPLIT
ON
WARRANTLESS
DOORKNOB
DRUG
TESTS
Police
in
Utah
have
been
using
a
machine
that
lets
them
search
people's
go
to
people's
exterior
home
doorknobs
for
the
presence
of
illicit
drugs.
Utah
judges
have
split
on
the
legality.
- DRUG
RAIDS:
TWO
UNARMED
MEN
KILLED
IN
SEPARATE
DRUG
RAIDS
Hair-trigger
police
officers
in
separate
drug
raids
in
Utah
and
Florida
shot
and
killed
unarmed
men
early
this
month.
- LATIN
AMERICA:
COCA
LEADER
POISED
TO
BECOME
BOLIVIA'S
NEXT
PRESIDENT
Two
decades
of
hard-line
US
anti-drug
policy
in
Bolivia
is
about
to
bear
fruit,
but
it
will
be
bitter
fruit
indeed
for
America's
drug
warriors.
- ANNOUNCEMENT:
SCHOLARSHIPS
AVAILABLE
TO
DRUG
POLICY
REFORM
CONFERENCE
IN
LONG
BEACH
THIS
NOVEMBER
Are
you
an
activist
who
wants
to
go
to
the
national
drug
reform
conferences
but
can
never
afford
it?
There
may
be
a
scholarship
for
you.
- WEB
SCAN
Prison
Smoking
Ban,
Patrick
Crusade,
Licensing
Poppies,
BlogCritics
Book
Review
- JOB
OPPORTUNITY:
DEPUTY
DIRECTOR
OF
COMMUNICATIONS,
DRUG
POLICY
ALLIANCE,
NYC
Apply
to
work
for
our
friend
Tony
Newman
in
New
York!
- SHORT
TERM
JOB
OPPORTUNITY:
MARIJUANA
POLICY
PROJECT
WEB
SITE
TRANSITION
SPECIALIST
Get
paid
to
help
MPP
transition
its
web
site
to
a
new
layout
and
server.
- ERRATA:
BRAZIL
HARM
REDUCTION
Correction
to
last
week's
Brazil
harm
reduction
story.
- WEEKLY:
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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