Weekly:
This
Week
in
History
11/18/05
November 18, 1986: A US federal grand jury in Miami releases the indictment of the Ochoas, Pablo Escobar, Carlos Lehder, and Jose Gonzalo Rodriguez Gacha under the RICO statute. The indictment names the Medellin cartel as the largest cocaine smuggling organization in the world. November 19, 1993: A DEA helicopter crashes while conducting surveillance of suspected drug activity, killing a St. Louis police officer and hospitalizing the pilot in critical condition. November 19, 2001: Former West Vancouver (Canada) school superintendent Ed Carlin becomes furious with North Vancouver RCMP after a blunder during which the emergency response team raids a basement rental suite occupied by Carlin's son and three others in search of drugs and guns. Red-faced police take down the four young men at gunpoint but find only Nintendo controllers. November 20, 1982: Legal medical marijuana patient Irvin Rosenfeld begins receiving a monthly tin of about 300 pre-rolled medical marijuana cigarettes from the United States government under the Compassionate Investigative New Drug Program. November 21, 1987: Jorge Ochoa is arrested in Colombia and held in prison on a bull-smuggling charge for which he was extradited from Spain. Twenty-four hours later a gang of thugs arrive at the house of Juan Gomez Martinez, the editor of Medellin's daily newspaper El Colombiano, presenting him with a communique signed by "The Extraditables," which threatening execution of Colombian political leaders if Ochoa is extradited. On December 30, Ochoa is released under dubious legal circumstances. In January 1988, the murder of Colombian Attorney General Carlos Mauro Hoyos is claimed by the Extraditables. November 22, 1975: Colombian police seize 600 kilos from a small plane at the Cali airport -- the largest cocaine seizure to date. In response, drug traffickers begin a vendetta known as the "Medellin Massacre" -- forty people die in Medellin in just one weekend. November 23, 1919: Mescaline is first isolated and identified by Dr. Arthur Heffter. November 24, 1976: Federal Judge James Washington rules that Robert Randall's use of marijuana constitutes a "medical necessity."
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