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1998 Anti-Prohibition And Oregon Relegalization Days
(Oregonians For Personal Privacy Sponsor Events In Eugene And Salem June 6-8
To Protest The United Nations' International Drug-War Conference
June 8-10 In New York - Events Are Intended To Shed Light
On The United Nations' Intentions To Criminalize Certain Speech Worldwide)
FOR RELEASE ON and BEFORE
JUNE 6,7, and 8TH
SAT., SUN., and MON.
For Further Information:
http://www.efn.org/~opp/
opp@efn.org
UNITED NATIONS TO CRIMINALIZE SPEECH
Behind the "War on Drugs" the United Nations at a conference June 8-10, 1998
at it's headquarters in New York City will attempt to promote the
criminalization of certain speech.
"It should, however, be the duty of States to find a practical way of
conciliation between the contradictory exercise of rights. The freedom of
expression cannot remain unrestricted when it conflicts with other essential
values and rights." - International Narcotics Control Board
"1998 ANTI-PROHIBITION and OREGON RELEGALIZATION DAYS"
Oregonians for Personal Privacy along with other First Amendment Advocates,
Political, Individual, and Human Rights Activists will hold a weekend of
events intended to shed the light of truth on the United Nations Intentions
to Criminalize Certain Speech worldwide.
On Saturday June 6th there will be Literature Tables and Speeches at the
Wayne Morse FREE SPEECH PLAZA, 8th and Oak across from Saturday Market in
Eugene 10AM - 3PM. Free speech stage available to share
Sunday June 7th - "Picnic in the Park with Music" Political Products and
Literature Booths, Signature Gathering, Clowns for the Children, Speakers,
and Bands, Bands, and More Musicians. (Washington Jefferson Park, Eugene)
Monday June 8th - RALLY CAPITOL STEPS (Salem)
Speakers and Music
For a superb interview which will fill your readers with information that
will be of value to them today and for the rest of their lives. Call 8-10AM
or 8-10PM 541-485-4526. Other times it's hit and miss, but talk through
answering machine.
HELP STOP THE TEMPERANCE MARCH TO TOTALITARIANISM
opp420
Post Office Box 24715
Eugene, Oregon 97402
#541-485-4526
e-mail opp@efn.org
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It's Not The Cancer That's Killing Her . . . (A Woman Trying To Live
With Cancer, Her Husband Imprisoned On Marijuana Charges,
Limits Her Use Of Medicine, Waiting 'Til Midnight
Lest The Authorities Take Away Her Children, Again)
Resent-Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 22:33:14 -0700 (PDT)
Old-Return-Path: (tommi@auracom.com)
Date: Sat, 16 May 1998 01:35:12 -0400 (EDT)
X-Sender: tommi@mail.auracom.com
To: mattalk@listserv.islandnet.com
From: tommi@auracom.com (t.johnston)
Subject: *Us addicts... *rolls her eyes*
*She stands by the window... staring up at the stars... tenderly rubbing the
swollen glands along the stretch of her neck... and she sobs. It's only
eleven o'clock... she never smokes before midnight... tonight will be no
exception. And tonight the pain is worse.
The girls don't know she smokes anymore... after their father was
arrested... and they were at that foster home... and mommy went to rehab...
it's better she keeps it to herself. The social worker that comes every
week is a fairly nice man... and the supervision order's almost through...
she finally scratched enough money to buy an old load to get around in...
maybe now she can get a job and get off welfare. But tonight... the pain is
worse.
She watches the clock... knowing it would be so easy to go upstairs now...
and lock her door... and open her window wide... take off the screen... and
hang outside to smoke... but she won't... because the girls might smell
it... or hear her... and then they'd tell someone... and 'they'd' take her
babies away again. So she waits... and she gulps air... trying to hold down
the ham sandwisch she's finished just minutes before.
The doctors say maybe she'll have one last Christmas with her girls...
she'll be thin... and won't be able to eat much dinner... but she may still
be alive. She hugs herself gently... the chill that runs through her is one
of loneliness. Her husband used to curl behind her on nights like these...
the 'dark nights' as they called them... and he'd rock her gently... and
whisper in her ear of sweet smelling places... and the good days ahead...
and she'd sleep. But now she stands and searches for the moon... wondering
what it would look like through bars night after night... and if he's
looking too.
And then she checks the clock and it's time... she aches up the stairs...
and enters her own prison. Takes her lighter and her joint to the
dresser... does the window ritual... and then inhales... seconds later she
sighs... minutes later she smiles softly as her neck begins to tingle...
And as she breathes her last medicated breath into the night air... she cries
again. This thing that brings her life... peace... sleep in such a troubled
world... This precious gift of nature... is what's turned her world into a
desolate place.
As she waits for sleep... she wonders... is he sleeping... and does he
know what a foolish world they live in... that puts a man who nurtures and
grows the only peace she knows... in prison? That takes a father from his
children... when they love him more than magic? That takes a husband from
his wife... when she needs him so, and loves him more?
It's not the cancer that's killing her... it's this fucking war.
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US Agents Raid Peron's Pot Farm ('San Francisco Chronicle'
Says DEA Agents Handcuffed Four Patients With AIDS
And Other Serious Illnesses And Seized 250 Marijuana Plants Yesterday Morning
At A Rural Lake County, California Resort Run By Dennis Peron,
Founder Of San Francisco's Biggest Medical Marijuana Dispensary,
Who Said, 'Every Plant Was Assigned To A Patient Who Has A Letter
From A Doctor')
Date: Sat, 16 May 1998 10:57:59 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US CA: US Agents Raid Peron's Pot Farm
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: compassion23@geocities.com (Frank S. World)
Pubdate: Sat, 16 May 1998
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Contact: chronletters@sfgate.com
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Author: Torri Minton, Chronicle Staff Writer
U.S. AGENTS RAID PERON'S POT FARM
250 Plants Seized On Eve Of Replanting Ceremony
Federal drug agents seized 250 marijuana plants yesterday morning from a
rural Lake County ``resort'' run by gubernatorial candidate Dennis Peron.
The 2- to 5-foot tall cannabis indica, in pots, were supposed to be planted
in gardens during a ceremony today. The potent bushes were to be grown for
sick people who stay at the 20-acre farm for free, said Peron, founder of
San Francisco's biggest medicinal marijuana club.
``Every plant was assigned to a patient who has letter from a doctor,''
Peron said. ``It was their plant. It was documented.''
Four people in the house -- patients with illnesses such as AIDS, multiple
sclerosis and glaucoma -- were handcuffed for about a half- hour, said
Lynne Barnes, a nurse and volunteer at Peron's Cannabis Healing Center in
the city.
More than three pounds of processed pot also was seized, according to
Joycelyn Barnes, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. She
said the raid was part of a continuing investigation, not related to the
closure of Peron's Cannabis Cultivators Club last month.
The Lake County raid took place the day after a federal judge in San
Francisco ruled that California pot clubs must stop selling medical
marijuana, which violates federal law. Peron vowed the club will proceed
with the marijuana planting in Lake County today. At least 100 new plants
had been donated by yesterday evening.
``We're standing strong,'' Peron said. ``If the DEA wants to come (to the
ceremony), they are welcome. There will be 100 patients there to greet
them, at least.''
Peron opened the farm six months ago as a ``collective resort'' for sick
and dying people, with eight bedrooms, 10 small gardens and a two-acre pond.
``This is very much like the time in the '60s when they were bringing out
the fire hoses and the dogs,'' said Barnes, the marijuana club volunteer.
``It's a civil rights issue. Marijuana has never killed anyone, and yet
there are people who die because they cannot get access to marijuana.''
California's 20-odd medical marijuana clubs have been battling officials
over interpretations of a 1996 state law, saying they provide seriously ill
patients with a safe way to obtain the drug.
Federal officials, in their case against six Northern California clubs, say
the groups are using the state law as a smoke screen to peddle marijuana to
the public.
(c)1998 San Francisco Chronicle Page A15
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DEA Agents Take Plants From Medical Pot Club
('Orange County Register' Version)
Date: Sun, 17 May 1998 13:44:52 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US CA: DEA Agents Take Plants From Medical Pot Club
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk:John W.Black
Pubdate: Sat, 16 May 1998
Source: Orange County Register (Calif.)
Contact:(letters@link.freedom.com)
Website:(http://www.ocregister.com/)
Federal drug agents on Friday raided a rural Lake County home where members
of San Francisco's largest medical marijuana club planned to have a
pot-planting party this weekend.
Acting on a federal search warrant, representatives of the Drug Enforcement
Administration seized 250 plants. The 20 agents also took three to four
pounds of the processed plant from the home, rented by the Cannabis Healing
Center, DEA spokeswoman Joycelyn Barnes said.
Four people present were not arrested. Barnes described the farm as the
residence of Dennis Peron, the former head of the club, but Peron was not
there at the time of the raid.
Despite the raid, the club will proceed with the planting party, Peron said.
From Register news services
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DEA Raids Lake County Site Used By San Francisco Cannabis Club
('San Francisco Examiner' Version)
Date: Sun, 17 May 1998 13:20:29 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US CA: SFX: DEA Raids Lake County Site Used By SF Cannabis Club
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: compassion23@geocities.com (Frank S. World)
Pubdate: Sat, 16 May 1998
Source: San Francisco Examiner
Contact: letters@examiner.com
Website: http://www.examiner.com
Author: Emelyn Cruz Lat Of The Examiner Staff
DEA RAIDS LAKE COUNTY SITE USED BY S.F. CANNABIS CLUB
Agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency descended on rural Lake County
property used by San Francisco's Cannabis Healing Center and seized 250
marijuana plants and several pounds of processed pot, officials said.
Dozens of DEA agents and local law enforcement officers served a search
warrant Friday at the residence, referred to as "The Farm," as part of an
ongoing drug investigation, said agency spokeswoman Joycelyn Barnes,
without elaborating.
However, Barnes confirmed that the raid was not connected to the federal
investigation of the San Francisco Cannabis Cultivators Club, headed by
Dennis Peron, or this week's federal court ruling ordering the closure of
the club.
The club has continued operations as the Cannabis Healing Center under the
direction of new director Hazel Rodgers.
Four people were at the house during the raid, but Peron was not present,
Barnes said. There were no arrests.
However, if the investigation turns up illegal activity, charges could be
brought against Peron and others for unlawful cultivation, manufacturing
and possession, Barnes said.
Peron said the 20-acre "farm," consisting of a 6-bedroom home and two small
cottages, was property leased by the Cannabis Healing Center for its
patients.
"It's our little oasis for sick and dying people," he said. "Its gardens
are wheelchair accessible, and we have a little pond."
Peron said he wasn't surprised by the 8 a.m. raid by about 20 agents, but
was incensed that authorities had been "heavy-handed." He said they had
intimidated patients with "combat gear, camouflage, blackface, the works."
Despite the raid, the club will continue with its operations and its
resolve, he said.
(c)1998 San Francisco Examiner Page A 2
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Drug Czar Underlines Prevention (According To 'The San Antonio Express-News'
In Texas, General Barry Mccaffrey Was In Town Saturday And Indicated
The Federal Government Planned To Increase Use Of Military Technology
In Border Drug Interdiction Efforts, Using Police Rather Than Soldiers
To Operate Such Technology As Much As Possible)
Date: Mon, 18 May 1998 20:08:19 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US: Drug czar underlines prevention
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: GALAN@PRODIGY.NET
Source: San Antonio Express-News
Contact: letters@express-news.net
Website: http://www.expressnews.com/
Pubdate: 16 May 1998
Author: Ralph Winingham, Express-News Staff Writer
DRUG CZAR UNDERLINES PREVENTION
Increased use of military technology, rather than militarizing the border
with ground troops, will be a key tool in a combined U.S.- Mexico effort to
combat drug trafficking, White House drug czar Barry McCaffrey said here
Saturday.
"(The military) must provide support in those ways that are legal and
politically acceptable to the people," the retired general said during an
interview at the St. Anthony Hotel.
"We need to protect the American people, and that is the job of federal and
state law enforcement," he said. "We don't need to take a New Jersey tank
battalion, dismount them and put them on the border with their combat skills.
"We need to use police officers. That is the solution."
He called the May 20, 1997, shooting death of Esequiel Hernandez by a U.S.
Marine patrolling the border at Redford "a terrible tragedy" that's
prompted a welcome examination of the use of military ground troops in the
drug war.
McCaffrey, who's travelling across the country to promote President
Clinton's $17.1 billion anti-narcotics strategy, was in San Antonio to
deliver a commencement address at St. Mary's University School of Law.
The strategy focuses on education and prevention programs, in addition to
bolstering law enforcement along the Texas-Mexico border.
Under the plan, the president is seeking $163 million to hire 1,000 new
U.S. Border Patrol agents and $41 million for X-ray equipment and other
technology that's been installed or planned for ports in Texas and other
border states.
The equipment installed at Laredo has been credited with this week's
discovery of a shipment of more than 2 tons of cocaine hidden in secret
compartments of a tractor-trailer rig.
Republican leaders in Congress have criticized the plan as lacking
aggressiveness and focussing more on education than enforcement.
McCaffrey said he believes the Clinton plan has bipartisan support in
Congress, citing approval of the president's past budget proposals for the
anti-drug effort.
"Law enforcement and prisons are being used to prevent (illegal) behavior,
but in the long run, drug prevention programs are the ones that work," he
said.
Pointing to increased cooperation between the United States and Mexico
during the past three years, McCaffrey said he believes there's merit to
the argument by Mexico officials that the demand for drugs here is a key
problem.
"Our own data shows Americans spent $57 billion on illegal drugs last
year," he said. "That is down one-third in the past 15 years.
"Our problem is we have too much money that is fueling criminal activity on
both sides of the border. "That is just another argument for working in a
partnership with Mexico. Money and guns out of the U.S. are the lubricants
of corruption on all sides of the border."
McCaffrey said great strides have been completed in the cooperative effort
between the two countries during the past three years -- a time when Mexico
has been undergoing political and economic turmoil. "Mexico is going
through revolutionary changes, and our argument is that we need to work
with them in a respectful, cooperative manner," he said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Metal Detector Spots Pot (Cautionary Tale From 'The Wisconsin State Journal'
Reminds Cannabis Consumers To Use All-Plastic Film Canisters)
Date: Sat, 16 May 1998 19:15:25 -0700
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US MN: Metal Detector Spots Pot
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: compassion23@geocities.com (Frank S. World)
Source: Wisconsin State Journal (WI)
Contact: wsjopine@statejournal.madison.com
Website: http://www.madison.com/
Pubdate: Sat, 16 May 1998
The Snoop A column By Patricia Sims
METAL DETECTOR SPOTS POT
Wrong canister, wrong day.
Metal detectors at the Dane County Expo Center to screen those attending
the teaching session of the Dalai Lama flushed out a guy with a guilty
conscience.
As he was going through the detectors Wednesday, this young man set off the
alarm. When UW-Madison police asked him to step over to the side, he
bolted from the building, tossing away a small plastic container as he ran.
Police, suspecting some sort of weapon, said they retrieved the plastic
cannister-which turned out to be full of marijuana. The man eluded arrest.
The containers giveaway: a metal cap.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Man's Death In Police Custody Was Cocaine Accident, DA Says
(According To 'The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,' District Attorney
E. Michael McCann And Milwaukee Police Said Friday That A 25-Year-Old Victim
Of Prohibition Who Died In Police Custody Last Week Apparently Swallowed
An 'Eight Ball' Of Cocaine In An Attempt To Hide The Drug From Authorities)
Date: Tue, 19 May 1998 00:32:29 -0500
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US WI: Man's Death In Police Custody Was Cocaine Accident, DA
Says
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: compassion23@geocities.com (Frank S. World)
Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI)
Pubdate: Sat, 16 May 1998
Contact: jsedit@onwis.com
Website: http://www.jsonline.com/
Author: Jamaal Abdul-Alim of the Journal Sentinel staff
MAN'S DEATH IN POLICE CUSTODY WAS COCAINE ACCIDENT, DA SAYS
The 25-year-old Milwaukee man who died in police custody last week
apparently swallowed an "eight ball" of cocaine in a last-ditch effort
to hide the drug from police, District Attorney E. Michael McCann and
police said Friday.
"My suspicion is he took and ingested it right into his stomach,"
McCann said Friday, adding that the practice of swallowing drugs to
hide them from police is becoming increasingly common.
"It's a fiercely dangerous thing to do," McCann said.
For Edward Sims Jr., 25, the strategy failed after he apparently
swallowed an "eight ball" -- or an eighth of an ounce -- of cocaine
after being pulled over by police May 6 at N. 13th and W. Chambers
streets for driving without license plates.
It is unclear whether the cocaine he swallowed was wrapped in plastic
or loose, McCann said.
"Nobody saw him do it," McCann said.
After his arrest, Sims was taken to the 5th District police station
near N. 5th and W. Locust streets. He died a short time later in an
ambulance after complaining that he had trouble breathing, McCann said.
Sims' mother, Brenda Sims, said her son planned to get his driver's
license straight and eventually find steady work.
"He was excited about finding a good job," Brenda Sims said of her
son. "He knew he had these traffic tickets on him. He knew in order to
get a good job he needed to drive."
Brenda Sims said her son had previously worked as a gas station clerk.
She also said he worked as an alley mechanic and had been
reconstructing cars as a hobby since he was 17 years old.
Brenda Sims said her son kept any illegal business in which he might
have been involved away from the home she shares with her husband,
Edward Sr.
McCann said Sims died from "acute cocaine intoxication." His death is
considered accidental, McCann said.
Last year, there were 34 accidental drug deaths in Milwaukee County
that involved cocaine, which is the "primary drug detected in drug
deaths certified as accidental," according to the county medical
examiner's 1997 Activity and Statistical Report.
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Those Filing Hemp Suit Say Issue Is Money (Lexington, Kentucky, 'Herald-Leader'
Elaborates On The Federal Lawsuit Filed Yesterday By Kentucky Farmers
Seeking The Right To Grow Industrial Hemp)
Date: Sun, 17 May 1998 00:57:47 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US KY: Those Filing Hemp Suit Say Issue Is Money
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Joe Hickey
Pubdate: Sat, 16 May 1998
Source: Lexington Herald-Leader (KY)
Contact: hledit@lex.infi.net
Website: http://www.kentuckyconnect.com/heraldleader/
Author: Janet Patton, Business Writer
THOSE FILING HEMP SUIT SAY ISSUE IS MONEY
With the filing of a federal lawsuit yesterday demanding the right to grow
hemp, a group of Kentucky farmers and hemp activists made it clear that they
are setting their sights high, but only on money.
"Hemp was never meant to be interdicted by the government. The DEA took that
authority on its own," said Michael Kennedy, a New York attorney brought in
to give some muscle to the suit against the Drug Enforcement Administration
and Janet Reno.
Among Kennedy's other clients: Ivana Trump, Susan McDougal and John Gotti.
The hemp fight certainly seems to be getting a higher national profile. CBS
plans to air a two-minute piece on hemp, featuring farmer Andy Graves, that
is pegged to the suit.
"Kentucky Hemp Growers are doing this on behalf of an old industry that's
going to be recreated," said Graves, who is president of the hemp growers'
co-op, as well as Kentucky Farm Bureau. "Tobacco may or may not be here 10
years from now. We're going to make hemp a part of the economy in this state
again."
Graves would use hemp to supplement the tobacco, corn, soybeans and cattle
he raises on his 50-acre farm outside Avon.
He'd like to be able to grow his first crop -- "I'd start out with a
moderate amount, 20 to 50 acres" -- in two to five years, but realizes that
the suit could drag out for much longer while the plaintiffs fight the
marijuana stigma.
In addition to the court fight, the North American Industrial Hemp Council
is lobbying to change DEA policy -- so that hemp with less than 1 percent
THC (the drug in marijuana) would be an agriculture crop. This could become
law immediately with an executive order signed by President Clinton.
To counter questions about how law enforcement officials could tell hemp
from marijuana, Graves said hemp is cultivated differently. "The Canadians
have been doing it for five years. Canadian DEA says it's two separate crops
and that it's detectable," Graves said. "We're smart enough to do this."
Canada, which started with test plots, will have its first full-scale legal
hemp harvest this year for sale on the world market along with hemp from
France, England, Germany and Eastern Europe.
"This will not replace tobacco," Graves said. "But it might be one of three
or four crops put together that might equal tobacco. Hemp and tobacco can be
companion crops."
John Howell of the Hemp Company of American, which has hemp-product stores
and a magazine, Hemp Times, joined Graves, Kennedy and Burl McCoy, the
plaintiffs' Ashland attorney, in Lexington to publicize the message that
there is a market.
"I'm the answer to a farmer's dream. You grow it and I will buy it," Howell
said. "Manufacturers identify hemp as quality goods. They'll pay more, but
we don't want them to pay too much more. We want to get the government out
of the way between us and money."
Graves and Craig Lee, executive director of Kentucky Industrial Hemp
Association, said that Kentucky Hemp Growers last month signed a contingency
contract with Mike Hart of Lexington Brewing Co., the company that makes
Kentucky Hemp Beer. Hart said he could save at least 30 percent by buying
domestic instead of from Hungary and Romania.
"If we ever get to grow it, they'll buy it," Graves said. "That's a
contract. That's a market."
But how much of one, and is it one Kentucky farmers can tap into?
A study due to be released next week by the University of Kentucky Center
for Business and Economic Research will try to answer that question.
"That's the big issue in all this -- can hemp be widely and commercially
successful instead of just a niche product?" said Steve Allen, an associate
researcher who traveled to, among other places, England, where he found
horse bedding made of hemp.
The $25,000 study, which may be more positive in its assessment than
previous UK research, looked at whether Kentucky farmers who replace other
crops with hemp can come out ahead.
"If Kentucky were to start growing hemp, could farmers make a profit and how
much could they expect to grow?" said Mark Berger, the center's director.
To assess this, they looked at the market for seeds, paper and hemp "plastic."
If Kentucky farmers ever do produce hemp, they might not have to travel far
to market it. Graves knows of one Canadian hemp grower and marketer who has
made auto interior demo parts -- for his Kentucky-made Corvettes.
Information
* For information on how Kentucky farmers can join the lawsuit, check out
(http://www.hempgrowers.com) and for more on industrial hemp contact
(http//www.hemptimes.com)
All Contents (c) Copyright 1998 Lexington Herald-Leader. All Rights Reserved
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Drug Agency On Defensive At Hearing On Pot Spraying (Honolulu 'Star-Bulletin'
Notes The First Of Several Public Forums Scheduled Around The United States
By The Drug Enforcement Administration On Using Herbicides
To Eradicate Marijuana Plants Didn't Yield The Usual Orchestrated Results -
Most Speakers Urged 'Legalization' Of The Drug, Downsizing Of The Drug Agency
And Government Promotion Of A Hemp-Production Industry)
Date: Sun, 17 May 1998 13:26:53 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US HI: Drug Agency On Defensive At Hearing On Pot Spraying
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Roger Christie pakaloha@gte.net
Pubdate: Sat, 16 May 1998
Source: Honolulu Star-Bulletin (HI)
Contact: letters@starbulletin.com
Phone: 808 525-8640
Website: http://www.starbulletin.com/
Author: Mary Adamski
DRUG AGENCY ON DEFENSIVE AT HEARING ON POT SPRAYING
The U.S.Drug Enforcement Administration is soliciting public comment on its
continuing use of herbicides to eradicate marijuana plants.
But most speakers at a hearing last night at the Ala Moana Hotel urges
legalization of the drug, downsizing of the drug agency and government
promotion of a hemp-production industry.
"Unless the DEA can prove that the spraying is less dangerous to personal,
community and environmental health than the plant they are trying to
eradicate, there is no justification for this expensive waste of taxpayers'
money," said Dr. Daniel Susott, an Oahu physician.
About 20 people spoke at the hearing on an environmental impact statement
supplement detailing the chemicals used and procedures followed in spraying
the illegal plant on land and from the air. The report said that in aeriel
eradication, the DEA uses new technology for directed spraying of specific
plantings rather than the "broadcast" method of widespread plant
eradication formerly used.
The impact statement says "the human health risk assessment...indicated
that no effects to humans were likely to occur from the normal use of
glyphosate in the cannabis eradication program."
"Marijuana users also are unlikely to be subject to health effects
from glyphosate-contaminated marijuana," it said.
However, a spokesman for the state Agriculture Department urged the federal
agency to be aware of the potential of contaminating the water source of
many Big Island residents who use open rain-catchment tanks.
Donald Topping, president of the Drug Policy Forum of Hawai'i, asked, "If
the herbicide is so safe, why are there so many caveats, such as 'not
expected to', 'is unlikely that,' rather than offering guarantees?"
John Nitsche, of Ocean View on the Big Island, said residents have
experienced electrical 'brown-outs' from spraying, and noted that many grow
vegetables, some commercially.
"It doesn't make sense to spray herbicides from a helicopter," he said.
"There's a downdraft; it's windy. You can't control the spray."
Written comment will be taken until June 1, and may be sent to: Jack
Edmundson, Project Leader Environmental Analysis and Documentation, USDA,
APHIS, PPD; 4700 River Road Unit 149; Riverdale, Maryland 20737-1238.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Director Says 'Fear' Takes Grown-Up View Of Drugs
(A Review Of 'Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas,' Starring Johnny Depp
As Writer Hunter S. Thompson, Debuting At Cannes,
In 'The San Francisco Examiner')
Date: Sat, 16 May 1998 17:04:05 EDT
Originator: drctalk@drcnet.org
Sender: drctalk@drcnet.org
From: Gerald Sutliff
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: Director says 'Fear' takes
grown-up view of drugs
Source: SF Examiner, 5-16-98, "Style"
Contact: letters@examiner.com
Newshawk: Jerry Sutliff
Debuting at Cannes, movie stars Depp as writer Hunter Thompson
Examiner News Service
CANNES, France - One of the great cult novels of the last 30 years, Hunter
S. Thompson's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," has finally been brought to
the screen in a version unlikely to escape controversy.
The film's director, Monty Python member Terry Gilliam, Friday defended its
powerful drugs imagery and said it was time to take a more grown-up view of
drugs.
The 1971 book told of journalist Thompson's journey with a friend to Las
Vegas in an orgy of drug-taking as the dream of the 1960s faded. His
reportage style, told through the device of fiction with heavy lacings of
psychedelia, gave birth to a new genre, "gonzo journalism," and bequeathed
the phrase "Fear and Loathing" to the language.
The movie, which had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival Friday
night, stars a shaven-headed Johnny Depp in the Thompson role. Several
attempts in the past to make the film have failed partly because of its
explicit passages relating to good and bad drug trips.
The making of this version has its own bizarre tales. Depp told how he had
spent three months getting to know Thompson in the fortified compound where
the latter lives. For five days he lived in Thompson's basement. Depp, a
heavy smoker, only noticed alter three days that there was a keg of
gunpowder in the basement.
Describing his first meeting with Thompson (who has a small cameo in the
film), Depp said: "I first met him in a bar. He came in with a cattle prod
in one hand and a stun gun in the other. I went with him to his house. He
had built a bomb in his kitchen. He took it outside and gave me a gun to
fire at it. There was an 80-foot fireball."
The film shows the use and abuse of every drug from the era, as well as
allusions to under-age sex, violence and intimidation. Yet some critics
found its unrelenting lack of variation in tone and pace tedious. But the
presence of the popular actor and sex symbol Depp should guarantee it wide
distribution.
Gilliam was asked whether he was worried that drugs in the 1990s have far
more negative connotations than they had in 1971. He replied: "There's such
hypocrisy about drugs. It's all shock horror. But as a world we're
dependent on drugs. I drink very strong coffee. Prozac is acceptable.
"I think the drugs of the '60s and '70s were expansive drugs for better or
worse. Yes it's dangerous, but driving a car is dangerous. We're so
obsessed with avoiding danger and it can be avoiding life.
"It's nonsense the way people talk about drugs. People should talk about
them openly. ... I've been feeling, since the Eighties, that we've gone
through such a constricted time when everything has kind of tightened up.
Everybody is frightened to say what they feel, frightened to live in an
extraordinary, outrageous way, and it's time to take off those chains."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Woman, 69, Arrested For Drug Trafficking ('Halifax Daily News'
Says The Arraignment Of The Woman, Busted For 500 Grams Of Hash,
Was Set Over Until May 27 When She Had To Be Taken
From Bedford Provincial Court In An Ambulance Yesterday)
Date: Sat, 16 May 1998 11:01:13 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: Canada: Woman, 69, Arrested For Drug Trafficking
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: creator@mapinc.org
Pubdate: Sat, 16 May 1998
Source: Halifax Daily News
Contact: letterstoeditor@hfxnews.southam.ca
Author: Beth Johnston -- The Daily News
WOMAN, 69, ARRESTED FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
Tantallon Resident Taken From Court In An Ambulance
A 69-year-old Tantallon woman who was arrested for dealing drugs was taken
from Bedford provincial court in an ambulance yesterday.
After being helped out of a police car and into a cell by two RCMP members,
Agnes Treasa Hurshman complained of shortness of breath to court officials.
Her arraignment was set over until May 27, and she was released and taken
to the Cobequid Multi-Service Centre.
She was arrested yesterday morning when Tantallon RCMP members discovered
500 grams of hash and an undisclosed amount of cash in her Old School Road
home.
Her neighbors weren't surprised when they saw police cars at her house.
One man, who asked not to be identified, said there was always "lots of
traffic" heading up Hurshman's long driveway.
"I guess some of the neighbors reported it because her dogs killed a bunch
of cats," he said.
Belinda Jollymore, who also lives on Old School Road, said she's heard
stories about Hurshman.
"I'm kinda glad she was arrested because I don't want my kids around it,"
she said.
Jollymore said Hurshman has three "big attack dogs" that sit at the top of
her driveway and often try to attack her dog.
"There's always a lot of traffic of young people going up her driveway,"
she said.
Jollymore had also heard Hurshman was in ill health.
Tantallon RCMP Staff Sgt. Keith McGuire said Hurshman has been under
investigation for a "lengthy period of time."
"We've had several complaints from the public. It was believed that the
subject of our investigation was trafficking drugs," he said.
McGuire said RCMP members had a warrant to search Hurshman's home.
She was co-operative during the arrest.
Hurshman threw a knitted shawl over her head as she was led into court,
wearing purple sweat pants and leather mocassins.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Colombian General Denies Abuses As US Cancels Visa ('Chicago Tribune'
Says The United States Has Revoked The Visa Of General Ivan Ramirez,
A Senior Colombian General, Who Human Rights Groups Say Has A Lengthy Record
Of Backing Paramilitary Forces Involved In Death Squad Activity -
Apparently It Was The First Time The United States Has Revoked The Visa
Of A Colombian Military Official In Connection With Human Rights Abuses)
Date: Tue, 19 May 1998 09:55:20 -0500
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: Columbia: Colombian General Denies Abuses As U.s. Cancels Visa
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Steve Young
Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
Section: sec. 1
Contact: tribletter@aol.com
Website: http://www.chicago.tribune.com/
Pubdate: 16 May 1998
COLOMBIAN GENERAL DENIES ABUSES AS U.S. CANCELS VISA
BOGOTA, Colombia -- The United States has revoked the visa of a senior
Colombian general who human-rights groups say has a lengthy record of
backing paramilitary forces involved in death squad activity.
Gen. Ivan Ramirez was commander from 1995-97 of the army's First
Division, which operates in a northern region where landowner-backed
paramilitary forces are known for killing scores of alleged guerrilla
sympathizers, sometimes with the army's close cooperation.
Ramirez, now the army's inspector-general, denied responsibility
Friday for any human-rights abuses and said the action taken against
him by the State Department would demoralize Colombia's soldiers.
"The only thing I've done is to combat violence and terrorists for 36
years," Ramirez told RCN radio, saying his conscience was clear. "I
don't have any investigations pending against me."
Ramirez also was the army's intelligence chief between 1992-95 and
oversaw the 20th Intelligence Brigade, which the United States has
accused of sponsoring death squads.
U.S. Embassy officials would not publicly confirm the revocation of
Ramirez's visa.
The action comes as U.S. policymakers weigh whether to provide
advanced weaponry, training or other counterinsurgency assistance to
Colombia's beleaguered military, which recently suffered a string of
major defeats by leftist rebels.
It apparently was the first time the United States has revoked the
visa of a Colombian military official in connection with human-rights
abuses.
The State Department stripped President Ernesto Samper and more than a
dozen other Colombian politicians of their U.S. visas in 1996 for
allegedly accepting money and favors from drug cartels.
More than 250 Colombians have been stripped of U.S. visas over the
last two years.
With presidential elections May 31, Colombia is in the midst of a
mounting dirty war of political assassinations.
Three prominent left-leaning human-rights activists have been killed
since late February and a former defense minister, Fernando
Landazabal, was assassinated Tuesday in what many believe was rebel
retaliation.
A State Department report says 7.5 percent of all politically
motivated extrajudicial killings during the first nine months of 1997
were committed by government forces, with the army responsible for
many. Paramilitary groups committed more than two-thirds of the
political murders, human-rights groups say.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
G-8's Second Day Focuses On Crime, Drugs, Poverty . . . And Sports
(Cable News Network Says The Leaders Of The World's
Eight Leading Industrialized Nations Met In Birmingham, England,
Watched Police Videos And Sifted Through A Batch Of Statistics
On The Growth Of The Illegal Drug Industry)
Date: Sun, 17 May 1998 15:47:36 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: CNN: G-8's second day focuses on crime, drugs, poverty ... and
sports
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: David.Hadorn@vuw.ac.nz (David Hadorn)
Source: CNN
Contact: cnn.feedback@cnn.com
Website: http://www.cnn.com/
Pubdate: 16 May 1998
G-8'S SECOND DAY FOCUSES ON CRIME, DRUGS, POVERTY ... AND SPORTS
BIRMINGHAM, England (CNN) -- In the secluded splendor of a 17th century
estate, leaders from eight industrial nations gathered away from the
media's gaze to discuss addressing cross-border crime, drugs and Third
World debt.
The Irish peace process, nuclear tensions in South Asia, and the domestic
crisis in Indonesia also continued to dominate the agenda for the heads of
state from the United States, Russia, Japan, Great Britain, France,
Germany, Italy and Canada, officially dubbed the Group of Eight.
On Saturday, the G-8 released a statement which "warmly welcomed" the April
10 peace settlement for Northern Ireland.
"We commend all those involved in achieving an outcome which reflects the
fundamental aspirations of both parts of the community in Northern Ireland
and secures their rights," the statement read.
The G-8 statement also said the group realized the agreement had to win the
endorsement of the people in the North and in the Republic of Ireland.
On the upcoming vote, the group said: "...we hope it will achieve the
widest possible support, not only as a basis for political stability and
peace but also as an opportunity for economic development and prosperity
for all Northern Ireland's people."
Drug crimes grow 'faster than our cooperation'
In their discussions on cross-border crime and drugs, the leaders watched
police videos on high-tech crime and international arms trafficking.
Barry Penrose, the director general of Britain's National Crime Squad,
warned the group that they are on the threshold of a high-tech boom in
cross-border crime.
The G-8 also sifted through a batch of statistics on the growth of the
illegal drug trade. French President Jacques Chirac demanded a zero
tolerance policy toward soft as well as hard drugs.
"This scourge is advancing faster than our cooperation," a spokesman quoted
Chirac as saying about the illegal drug trade.
A draft communique, to be issued Sunday, is expected to pledge action on
Internet crimes, money-laundering, corruption and the illegal manufacturing
and trafficking of firearms.
Poverty relief
In central Birmingham, away from the quiet of the Weston Park retreat, tens
of thousands of people gathered to urge the G-8 members to help eradicate
Third World debt.
The protesters formed a six-mile long human chain at least four people deep.
"No more debt!" they chanted, while blowing whistles and banging drums.
The protesters in Birmingham would like to see the world leaders write off
debt from the world's poorest nations.
At Weston Park, where British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his guests
discussed relieving poverty in Africa, the G-8 had a different vision of
debt relief.
Officials said the G-8 is expected to encourage creditor nations to
possibly accelerate a debt-relief initiative agreed to two years ago.
Blair, who has promised to meet with the Jubilee 2000 protesters in
Birmingham, said the G-8 was concerned about debt-ridden poorer nations but
that there was no magic solution.
Debt relief goes hand-in-hand with good development policies and sound,
honest government, Blair said in a response to the protesters' demands.
Time out
The G-8 attendees also set aside time for the business of serious fun.
They wrapped up talks at the secluded retreat in time for Blair, Clinton,
Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien and Italian Prime Minister Romano
Prodi to watch the kick-off of the English soccer cup final between Arsenal
and Newcastle United.
Japanese Prime Minster Ryutaro Hashimoto, Russian President Boris Yeltsin
and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl opted for the 20-mile ride back to
Birmingham.
But Hashimoto did send along a handwritten good-luck note to the Newcastle
players. It accompanied one from Blair, who supports the team.
Earlier Saturday morning, Chretien and Clinton took time for the Canadian
leader to make good on a bet over who would win the Washington Capitals vs.
Ottawa Senators National Hockey League playoff series.
The morning after the Capitals eliminated the Senators from the series,
Clinton presented Chretien with a Capitals' jersey. Chretien put it on for
reporters -- a condition of the bet -- and joked in French it was
embarrassing to don the jersey of the American team.
Clinton accepted a Senators' jersey from Chretien, and the two leaders
exchanged hockey sticks autographed by their respective teams.
Correspondents Wolf Blitzer and John King, The Associated Press and Reuters
contributed to this report.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Sex And Drugs And Teenage Boys (Britain's 'New Scientist'
Says Charles Turner And Colleagues At The Research Triangle Institute
And The Urban Institute In Washington, DC, Found That When Teen-Agers
Used Computers In Surveys, They Said They Had Injected Street Drugs
At About Four Times The Rate Of Those Answering The Survey On Paper -
Everyone Involved Assumes The Computer Responses Are More Valid)
Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 19:39:22 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: UK: Sex And Drugs And Teenage Boys
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Peter Webster
Source: New Scientist (UK)
Contact: letters@newscientist.com
Website: http://www.newscientist.com/
Pubdate: 16 May 1998
Author: Jonathan Knight
SEX AND DRUGS AND TEENAGE BOYS
STANDARD written surveys may vastly underestimate the risky behaviour of
teenagers. A new computer-assisted survey has found that many times more
American teenagers than previously believed have injected drugs or had sex
with an intravenous drug user.
Charles Turner and colleagues at the Research Triangle Institute and the
Urban Institute in Washington DC surveyed 1700 randomly chosen teenage
males. They used a written survey or a computer-based test in which
questions were shown on screen and played through headphones by a digital
recording. The two methods produced remarkably different results. "Whatever
your impression of teenage risk behaviour before," says Turner, "things are
worse."
For example, about 5 per cent of those given the computer survey reported
they had injected street drugs---four times the number who admitted to the
practice in the written survey. The electronic survey also uncovered 17
times as many teenagers, nearly 3 per cent, who'd had sex with an
intravenous drug user.
Less taboo activities came up similarly in both tests---65 per cent had
drunk alcohol, 50 per cent had sex with a female (Science, vol 280, p 867).
The researchers say responses may seem more confidential when stored as a
computer file rather than on paper, leading subjects to be more truthful.
Asking the questions over the headphones may also help subjects who have
trouble reading the question.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Heroin Addicts Are Being Turned Into Zombies ('Evening Express' In Aberdeen,
Scotland, Interviews Janice Jess, Who Runs The Grampian Addiction
And Drugs Problem Service - He Favors Abstinence-Oriented Treatment
And Criticises The Use Of Methadone, Claiming Health Authorities
Aren't Interested In Curing Heroin Addicts,
Only In Turning Them Into Zombies)
Date: Sun, 17 May 1998 15:45:23 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: UK:
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: J M Petrie
Source: Evening Express (Aberdeen, UK)
Contact: editor@ee.ajl.co.uk
Pubdate: Sat, 16 May 1998
Author: David Ewen
HEROIN ADDICTS ARE BEING 'TURNED INTO ZOMBIES
A leading drugs support worker claims health authorities aren't interested
in curing heroin addicts -- only in turning them into zombies.
Janice Jess, who runs the Grampian Addiction and Drugs Problem Service,
criticised the use of methadone to stem the craving for heroin.
"It's like switching whisky for vodka," she said. "Why are we using
taxpayer's money for this? What's wrong with abstinence?
"The Health Board doesn't want to get people off heroin. It wants to
control them. In the real world people are looking for a cure, to fly on
their own juice.
"You'd think methadone was the only cure for heroin addiction. Everything
is geared towards it."
Janice wants to see greater use of lofexidine, a drug whicch eases
withdrawal symptoms and "detoxifies" a heroin user within 10-14 days.
"Most heroin users are scared of withdrawal. These wee peach coloured pills
will cut it by half to three-quarters. If we can get people to believe
that, we're on to a winner.
"If somebody really wants to come off heroin it's more effective than
methadone because you've stopped them using an opiate."
Methadone is a man-made version of heroin. The aim is to gradually reduce
the dosage and wean patients off drugs altogether.
GHB's chief adminstrative pharmaceutical officer, Dr. Christine Bond,
explained: Lofexidine and methadone have different roles in the treatment
of opiate users.
"They are prescribed on the basis of clinical need. Lofexidine is not
denied to patients on cost grouds."
Lofexidine won't "stabilise" a patient in the way methadone does. GHB said
it won't "prevent longer term cravings for opiates."
A spokesman said: "Stabilisation treatment may take weeks, months or years."
But Janice Jess warns that this approach will solve nothing in the long-term.
"There are people in Edinburgh who have been on methadone for 15 years.
They're not drug free. They're on methadone. Mentally they're never going
to be drug free. They've got to live with cravings, just as a reformed
smoker or alcoholic does.
"You've got to give them a chance to use their willpower."
Grampian Health Board recently introduced protocols to ensure methadone is
consumed on chemist's premises, at first on a daily basis.
This is to prevent patients from overdosing or selling the drug to others.
Methadone kills nearly 20 people in Grampian each year.
Methadone creates other problems. Under the Health and Safety at Work Act
and the Merchant Shipping Act, anybody taking methadone is not allowed to
work offshore or on a boat.
This makes kicking heroin a difficult task for offshore workers and fishermen.
Lofexidine causes slight drowsiness similar to a hayfever tablet and may
stop somebody from working. However, the patient is drug free within a
fortnight [2 weeks]. Any offshore worker who goes on a methadone programme
could be forced to quit his job.
"No thought was given to our indigenous industies when the methadone
programme was introduced in Grampian. We have young fishermen spending
1,000 ukp a weekend on heroin. When they go back on their boat on Sunday
night they aren't free of heroin."
Grampian Health Board hasn't evaluated the success of methadone treatment.
A spokesman said: "Scottish Office guidance issued last year to all GP's
was that nationally recommended course of action for treatment of opiate
users was methadone.
"Considerable research work done by clinicians in Glasgow supports the use
of methadone."
The Grampian Addiction and Drugs Problems Service has a success rate of
nearly one in 10 with clients who have been prescribed lofexidine.
"I've never known anybody die from heroin withdrawal," said Janice Jess,
"but they do die from methadone overdoses.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ultra-Rapid Opiate Detoxification Under Anaesthesia - UROD
(Letter To The Editor Of 'The Lancet' From Juan J Legarda Of Spain's CITA,
Or Centre For Investigation And Treatment Of Addiction,
Denies Previous Allegations In 'The Lancet' About The Risks And Benefits
Of UROD)
Date: Sat, 16 May 1998 18:58:09 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: UK: LTE: Ultra-Rapid Opiate Detoxification Under Anaesthesia (UROD)
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Martin Cooke
Source: Lancet, The (UK)
Edition: Volume 351, Number 9114
Contact: lancet.editorial@elsevier.co.uk
Website: http://www.thelancet.com/
Pubdate: Sat, 16 May 1998
ULTRA-RAPID OPIATE DETOXIFICATION UNDER ANAESTHESIA (UROD)
Sir--C Brewer and colleagues (Jan 17, p 218)1 accuse me of claiming falsely
that I developed a highly successful method for the detoxification under
anaesthesia of polydrug users addicted to opiates. In November, 1992, I
sent a dossier with protocols, bibliography, and clinical cases of my
technique to experts on drug addiction from the National Addiction Centre,
London, Norbert Loimer and Kurt Lenz from University of Vienna, as well as
others from Spain. As a result, a meeting with these experts took place at
CITA (Centro de Investigación y Tratamiento de las Adicciones) centre,
Seville, in January, 1993. Brewer did not attend. At this meeting Loimer
stated his view that his procedure was aimed at studying the
neurophysiological basis of opiate withdrawal and that it was not valid for
so-called street addicts--a view that he sustained in a meeting organised
by Brewer's Stapleford Centre and held at the Royal Society of Medicine in
London.2 Similarly, Brewer's views were presented in the BBC1 documentary
QED aired in April, 1995, at which he maintained that it was a minor
scandal that British heroin addicts had to travel to Spain to be treated
under anaesthesia. Other more recent attempts at treatment are also very
limited. Brewer's Stapleford Centre treatment protocol, presented by Yugan
Mudalier in Israel, excludes patients on more than 1·5 mg per day of heroin
and states that patients on methadone have to reduce their dose to 20 mg
per day, enter as inpatients for 2 days, and still come out with pain. More
than 15% of my patients use more than 1·5 mg per day of heroin. Are we not
talking about a different treatment, since from the beginning UROD is used
with any type of opiate addicts, even street addicts, and without
limitations as to type or amount of opiate, successfully?
Second, they state that CITA clinics make false publicity by claiming that
UROD is safe and painless, whereas patients have died in the immediate
post-anaesthetic period. No ministry of health has made such an accusation
for the more than 4000 patients treated since 1992.
Brewer and colleagues also state that CITA lies about success rates. CITA
always offers publicly success rates in the short and medium term.3,4 Since
100% of patients who begin detoxification finish it and 57% are still well
1·5 years later, is there enough scope for lying?
They also state wrongly that since CITA only offers a single treatment
excluding other cheaper approaches, our advice to patients may not be
impartial or in the best interest of the patient. CITA clinics in Spain
offer all treatment possibilities, and in the USA UROD is not even given
unless the patient signs up for rehabilitation.5
Finally, they accuse CITA of immorality for aggressive franchising,
requiring non-disclosure agreements from our employees in a "fundamentally
altruistic profession". CITA does not franchise but establishes agreements
with fully informed public and private hospitals, as well as with doctors
from Europe and the USA. These agreements are not only for minimum levels
of excellence of treatment for the patient but also limit the prices and
assure a 6-9 month follow-up by psychologists and psychiatrists. The
agreements also require the collection of data for research, which is
published3,4 and freely offered through the scientific press.5
I have never before criticised any specialist. I have offered through all
channels treatment data for more than 1200 patients, each with more than
100 variables. The Spanish Ministry of Health has evaluated, at my own
request, all stages of treatment and the data. In 6 years since the first
UROD was done, CITA has opened centres in public and private hospitals in
Europe and the USA, and has organised scientific meetings, published
scientific work has developed ultrarapid treatments for benzodiazepine
dependence, and freely offers a computer video for cognitive restructuring
and data for patients and treatment protocols.
Juan J Legarda CITA (Centre for Investigation and Treatment of Addiction)
28007 Madrid Spain
1 Brewer C, Williams J, Carreno E, Bobes Garcia J. Unethical promotion of
rapid opiate detoxification under anaesthesia (RODA). Lancet 1998; 351: 218.
2 Pini P. Controversial approaches to heroin addiction aired in London.
Lancet 1996; 348: 743.
3 Legarda JJ, Gossop M. A 24-h inpatient treatment for heroin addicts: a
preliminary investigation. Drug Alcohol Dependence 1994; 35: 91-93.
4 Rabinowitz J, Cohen H, Tarrasch R, Kotler M. Compliance to naltrexone
treatment after ultra-rapid opiate detoxification: an open label
naturalistic study. Drug Alcohol Dependence 1997; 47: 77-86.
5 Stephenson J. Experts debate merits of 1-day opiate detoxification under
anaesthesia. JAMA 1997; 277: 363.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Woman Guilty Of Supplying Drugs ('Irish Times' Says A Paraplegic
Who Allegedly Used A Specially Adapted Mercedes And A Young Addict
To Distribute Heroin In Dublin Was Convicted Of Having For Sale
11 'Deals' Of Heroin Worth £110)
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: "MN"
Subject: MN: Ireland: Woman Guilty Of Supplying Drugs
Date: Sat, 16 May 1998 20:59:22 -0500
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Martin Cooke
Source: Irish Times (Ireland)
Contact: lettersed@irish-times.ie
Pubdate: Sat, 16 May 1998
Woman Guilty Of Supplying Drugs
A paraplegic used a specially adapted Mercedes and a young addict to
distribute heroin in a Dublin area frequented by prostitutes, Dublin
District Court was told yesterday.
Valerie Horgan (33), of Grange Manor Avenue, Rathfarnham, was convicted of
having 11 "deals" of heroin worth £110 for supply at Mespil Road on November
10th last.
Garda Tony Ryan told the court he was acting on confidential information
when he followed a grey Mercedes at about 2 a.m. being driven by Horgan with
a young woman in the passenger seat.
He described "suspicious activity" as the car was driven from a fast food
restaurant to Wilton Terrace and Herbert Street before the gardai stopped it
at Mespil Road.
The defendant told her passenger: "Swallow it, swallow it," and the younger
woman was found to have 10 "deals" of heroin in her mouth while another
"deal" was found in the defendant's handbag.
Horgan, who was confined to a wheelchair following a car accident, denied
dealing in drugs or using the younger woman as a courier.
She said she had not used heroin in nine years but could not account for the
heroin in her bag.
Judge Gerard Haughton convicted the defendant of supply involving both
amounts. He imposed a £250 fine as she had no previous convictions and the
amount involved was small.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Cannabis - Man Escapes Gallows ('The Daily Express' In East Malaysia
Says A 26-Year-Old Man From Kudat Who Originally Was To Receive
A Mandatory Death Penalty For Possession Of 228 Grams Of Cannabis,
A Little Over Eight Ounces, Was Offered A New Plea And Will Receive 12 Years
In Prison And 12 Strokes Of The Rotan - The Man Originally Expected
The Death Penalty, In Accordance With The Dangerous Drug Act 1952,
One Assumes Written Under US Sponsorship)
Date: Sun, 28 Jun 1998 17:55:52 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: Malaysia: Cannabis: Man escapes gallows
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Asia
Source: The Daily Express (East Malaysia)
Contact: sph@tm.net.my
Website: http://www.infosabah.com.my/Daily_Express/
Pubdate: Sat 16 May 1998
CANNABIS: MAN ESCAPES GALLOWS
KOTA KINABALU: A 26-year-old man from Kudat escaped the gallows when the
charge against him for possession of 228g of cannabis was amended by the
prosecution in the Sessions Court Friday.
Judge Abdul Rahman Sebli sentenced Rasdin Daluman to 12 years' jail and 12
strokes of the rotan.
Rasdin, who was first charged in the High Court here in April under Section
39B of the Dangerous Drug Act 1952 which carries the mandatory death
sentence, pleaded guilty to the amended charge framed under Section 39A of
the Dangerous Drug Act 1952 which provides for life imprisonment and whipping.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Duncan Sikodol told the court, Rasdin was arrested
on June 1 last year at about 12.10am in a garden in front of the Restoran
Sungei Wang, Kudat town.
Duncan said a police party led by Insp V Segaran had been tailing Rasdin
who was holding a black plastic bag containing the drug from the Dynasty
Karaoke to the restoran.
Upon reaching the garden, Rasdin sat on a masonry wall in the garden.The
police party who had been observing then stopped him and a search later
revealed that the bag he was carrying earlier was hidden among some flowers
in the garden.
Duncan said Rasdin admitted the bag containing the drug belonged to him.
Duncan also tendered a report from the Chemistry Department confirming the
contents of the bag were cannabis.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
[End]
to 1998 Daily News index for May 14-20