Drug War Chronicle
(formerly The Week Online with DRCNet)
Issue #422
-- 2/10/06
"Raising Awareness of the Consequences of Drug Prohibition"
Phillip S. Smith, Editor
David Borden, Executive Director
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
- EDITORIAL:
I
WAS
ALMOST
ON
TV
LAST
WEEK
DRCNet
executive
director
David
Borden
was
supposed
to
appear
on
a
national
TV
show
last
week,
but
got
bumped
at
the
very
last
second.
Today
he
tells
the
story
for
this
audience.
- FEATURE:
FEDERAL
DRUG
BUDGET
CONTINUES
MODEST
DOWNWARD
TREND,
BUT
STRATEGY
PROMISES
SAME
OLD
SAME
OLD
With
tax
cuts
and
the
war
on
terror
competing
for
dollars,
even
the
drug
war
is
not
exempt
from
the
budget-cutter's
ax.
- FEATURE:
STATES,
COLLEGES
BLOCK
FINANCIAL
AID
TO
STUDENTS
WITH
DRUG
CONVICTIONS
EVEN
WHEN
THEY
DON'T
HAVE
TO,
DRCNET-SPONSORED
STUDY
FINDS
Thousands
of
college
students
with
drug
convictions
could
be
receiving
financial
aid
from
their
states
even
though
federal
law
bars
them
from
obtaining
federal
assistance.
But
in
most
places
they
are
falling
through
administrative
cracks
and
getting
denied,
a
study
released
this
week
has
found.
- FEATURE:
WITH
AUSTRALIA
IN
THE
GRIP
OF
REEFER
MADNESS,
NEW
SOUTH
WALES
MOVES
TO
SEVERELY
PUNISH
THE
DREADED
"HYDRO"
Opposition
is
building
to
a
proposed
measure
in
the
Australian
state
of
New
South
Wales
to
dramatically
increase
penalties
for
marijuana
grown
indoors
using
hydroponics.
- EUROPE:
ITALY
TAKES
A
GIANT
STEP
BACKWARD
The
Italian
parliament
Monday
voted
final
approval
for
a
new
drug
law
that
reimposes
sanctions
for
marijuana
users
and
erases
the
distinction
between
"soft"
and
"hard"
drugs.
Drug
quantities
triggering
prison
time
are
yet
to
be
determined,
but
it's
not
looking
good.
- LAW
ENFORCEMENT:
THIS
WEEK'S
CORRUPT
COPS
STORIES
An
Oklahoma
prosecutor
tries
to
swipe
some
evidence,
a
Milwaukee
cop
is
in
trouble
for
a
little
side
cocaine
trafficking,
and
a
Tennessee
detective
is
involved
in
a
confused
incident
regarding
a
crashed
pickup
truck
and
some
missing
drug.
- MEDICAL
MARIJUANA:
CALIFORNIA
COUNTY
DROPS
FEDERAL
LAWSUIT,
WILL
SEEK
TO
OVERTURN
COMPASSIONATE
USE
ACT
IN
STATE
COURT
San
Diego
County
has
quietly
dropped
its
federal
lawsuit
seeking
to
overturn
California's
medical
marijuana
law,
but
has
re-filed
it
in
state
court.
- HARM
REDUCTION:
PEDIATRICIANS
BACK
NEEDLE
EXCHANGE
PROGRAMS
Pediatricians
should
advocate
for
needle
exchange
programs
to
reduce
the
rate
of
HIV
infection
among
young
drug
users,
the
American
Academy
of
Pediatrics
said
a
revised
policy
statement
earlier
this
month.
- CHRONIC
PAIN:
FLORIDA
PAIN
PATIENT
APPEALS
DRUG
TRAFFICKING
SENTENCE
AMIDST
MEDIA
GLARE
Last
year,
Florida
pain
patient
Richard
Paey
was
sentenced
to
a
mandatory
minimum
25-year
prison
sentence
after
authorities
watched
him
roll
his
wheel
chair
from
pharmacy
to
pharmacy
seeking
the
massive
amounts
of
narcotic
pain
relievers
needed
to
make
his
life
bearable.
Tuesday,
Paey
was
back
in
court
to
appeal
his
convictions
and
sentence
in
Tampa.
- IN
MEMORIAM:
AL
LEWIS
DEAD
AT
82
--
BEST
KNOWN
AS
"GRANDPA
MUNSTER,"
ACTOR
WAS
ALSO
ACTIVIST
AND
DRUG
LAW
REFORMER
Al
Lewis,
best
known
for
his
role
as
"Grandpa
Munster"
in
"The
Munsters,"
died
last
Friday
at
the
age
of
82.
Lewis
was
a
long-time
activist
who
campaigned
against
New
York
State's
draconian
Rockefeller
drug
laws,
among
other
causes.
- WEB
SCAN
New
LEAP
Video,
Reason
on
Bush's
Drug
Warriors,
Afghan
Farmers
in
London,
Conservatives
Attacked
Over
Soros
Link,
Humanists
Resolution
- WEEKLY:
THIS
WEEK
IN
HISTORY
Events
and
quotes
of
note
from
this
week's
drug
policy
events
of
years
past.
- 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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