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Dennis Peron's San Francisco Cannabis Club Ordered To Close In Five Days -
Oakland Club Defies Feds, Rejects DEA Infiltrator (News Release
From California NORML)

Subject: DPFCA: SF Cannabis Club Shutdown
Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 01:45:50 -0800

Dennis Peron's S.F Cannabis Club Ordered to Close in Five Days;
Oakland Club Defies Feds, Rejects DEA Infiltrator

San Francisco, May 21, 1998: Superior Court Judge William Cahill
issued a temporary restraining order to close Dennis Peron's San
Francisco cannabis club within five days, marking the likely end of the
road for the nation's largest medical marijuana club after nearly two
years of legal battles. The TRO was granted after narcotics agents
posing as patients made undercover buys at the club following its recent
reorganization under the directorship of Hazel Rodgers.

The closure of Peron's club, which currently counts some 8,000
members, by far the largest in the state, threatens to seriously
disrupt the availability of medical marijuana to thousands of Bay Area
patients suffering AIDS, cancer, and other serious diseases. Meanwhile,
across the bay, the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Club has
defied federal threats to shut it down, apprehending a DEA agent
redhanded as he tried to gain access under false pretenses. The agent,
who presented an invalid identification under the name of "Brian
Zanza," tried to gain entry during a press conference, but was forced to
beat a hasty retreat, hiding his face in speechless shame as reporters'
cameras cornered him in an elevator. Oakland CBC director Jeff Jones
vowed to continue distributing medical cannabis to needy patients
despite a federal injunction by Judge Charles Breyer ordering the club
to desist from distribution and manufacture of marijuana. "Being a
patient, I'm really afraid" declared Oakland CBC member Ken Estes, a
quadriplegic who relies on marijuana for pain relief, "If the club
closes, I'll have to go back to the streets." Defense attorney Gerald
Uelmen argued that the Oakland C.B.C. was not
engaged in illegal distribution, but in lawful "joint possession"
justified by medical necessity, and would be vindicated by a jury.

California NORML views the threatened closure of California's
medical marijuana clubs as a threat to public health and safety,
and urges concerned citizens to support the Medical Marijuana Patients'
and Caregivers' Fund, a legal defense fund opposing the federal
shutdown.

Contact: Dale Gieiringer, Cal NORML, (415) 563-5858,
canorml@igc.org. ---- // canorml@igc.apc.org
2215-R Market St. #278, San Francisco CA 94114

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Pot Club Ordered Closed By San Francisco Superior Court
('San Francisco Chronicle' Version)

Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 11:40:23 -0400
To: DrugSense News Service 
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US CA: Pot Club Ordered Closed By S.F. Superior Court
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: compassion23@geocities.com (Frank S. World)
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Contact: chronletters@sfgate.com
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Pubdate: Fri, 22 May 1998
Authors: Henry K. Lee, Jaxon Van Derbeken, Torri Minton, Chronicle Staff
Writers

POT CLUB ORDERED CLOSED BY S.F. SUPERIOR COURT

A San Francisco Superior Court judge yesterday declared the nation's
largest medical marijuana club a ``public nuisance'' and ordered it shut down.

The Cannabis Healing Center was infiltrated by undercover agents this month
and must close by Tuesday, stated Judge William Cahill.

Even with voter approval of Proposition 215, Cahill found that the center's
sale, possession and cultivation of cannabis violates state law.

``There is no legal defense to selling marijuana,'' Cahill ruled.

His order came a day after a federal order was announced, barring six
Northern California pot clubs from selling medical marijuana. Yesterday,
business continued as usual at many of the clubs, including the Cannabis
Healing Center.

The center remained open into the evening, and staff vowed to continue
serving an estimated 8,000 patients while their lawyer appeals the Superior
Court decision. Cahill's ruling marked the third time in two years that a
medical pot club founded by Dennis Peron was ordered closed.

``This is just a small battle in the war,'' said registered nurse and
Cannabis Healing Center volunteer Lynne Barnes. ``We think patience and
compassion will win in the end.''

The state attorney general's office, however, was ``very pleased,'' said
spokesman Matt Ross. He said the ruling ``will shut down that whole
operation.''

``We argued that the law allows for a patient to have a primary caregiver
to care for their needs on a consistent basis,'' he said. ``That was not
what was happening here. . . .''

Judge Cahill noted that three times in May, undercover agents bought
marijuana at the center after submitting phony prescriptions with no
verification.

On May 1, an agent went to the center with a phony doctor's recommendation
for pot, completed the form, and was taken to the third floor where four
lines of six people each stood before a counter with a marijuana ``menu
board on it,'' Cahill stated.

That agent allegedly bought one-quarter ounce of marijuana for $20.

Agents visited the Market Street club again on May 3 and 5, each time
buying pot, Cahill said.

``The evidence shows that marijuana can be purchased in practically any
quantity by anyone willing to fill out the Cannabis Healing Center's forms
and to designate (director) Hazel Rodgers as their `exclusive' caregiver
for the purposes of obtaining medical marijuana,'' Cahill found.

Meanwhile, the federal order barring California pot clubs from selling
medical marijuana in violation of federal law seemed to have little effect.

In Oakland, a club openly defied the federal court order -- even kicking
out an undercover agent wearing a shirt with the word ``cannabis'' on it.

Staff at the 2-year-old cooperative on Broadway hawked pot brownies, Rice
Krispies and muffins. They made sure everyone had valid identification and
doctor's permission.

``The marijuana has been such a godsend for me,'' said Yvonne Westbrook,
45, of Richmond, a multiple-sclerosis patient and wheelchair user who
received one-eighth of an ounce of ``mid-grade'' marijuana in a baggie.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer has ordered six Northern California pot
clubs from growing or distributing marijuana -- two in San Francisco and
one each in Oakland, southern Marin County, Santa Cruz and Ukiah.

The state has more than 30 medical marijuana clubs.

``What kills me is that the people have already spoken -- since when does
the law mean nothing?'' said Westbrook, who uses the marijuana to reduce
leg spasms.

As a news conference was about to start at the center, a security guard
stopped a plainclothes Drug Enforcement Administration agent who tried to
get in with a phony doctor's note and driver's license.

The long-haired agent did not respond to questions and hid his face with
his hand.

Attorney Gerald Uelmen, a Santa Clara University law professor who is
defending the Oakland club, said the ruling exempts the distribution of
marijuana for medical purposes.

Meanwhile, the San Francisco Sheriff's Department intends to carry out the
order against the Cannabis Healing Center by no later than 5 p.m. on
Tuesday, said Eileen Hirst, the sheriff's chief of staff.

``This is not your average everyday eviction,'' Hirst said. ``We need to do
some planning, and we'll do it within the time the judge ordered.''

The order calls for the sheriff to change all the locks, to arrange to
remove property that does not belong to the owner of the building and to
remove all unauthorized people, including 79-year-old Rodgers, the center's
director, and founder Dennis Peron.

(c)1998 San Francisco Chronicle

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Pot Distributors Stay Open In Defiance Of Court Order ('Oakland Tribune'
Version Notes All Is Still Quiet On The Oakland CBC Front)

Date: Sat, 23 May 1998 00:55:05 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US CA: Pot Distributors Stay Open In Defiance Of Court Order
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Jerry Sutliff
Source: Oakland Tribune
Contact: triblet@angnewspapers.com
Pubdate: Fri, 22 May 1998
Author: Monica Gyulai, Staff Writer

POT DISTRIBUTORS STAY OPEN IN DEFIANCE OF COURT ORDER

Authorities mull options

It was business as usual Thursday at the Oakland Cannabis Buyers
Cooperative, where people with multiple sclerosis, AIDS and other illnesses
bought small bags of marijuana, despite a court order prohibiting clubs
from distributing the drug.

"I smoke marihuana every day," said Yvonne Westbrook, 45, a Richmond
resident with multiple sclerosis, who moved around the club on a motorized
scooter. "It allows me to cut back on prescription drugs and reduce my pain."

In defying U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, the Oakland co-operative and
other medical marijuana clubs in the Bay Area risked forced closure by
growing plants under heat lamps and distributing the drug the day after a
preliminary injunction was publicized.

Owners cite referendum

Club owners believe their actions are legal because Californians passed
Proposition 215 in 1996, allowing seriously ill patients to use marihuana
to ease the pain and side effects of debilitating diseases and their
treatment. But Breyer said federal drug laws that ban marijuana would
remain in effect.

U.S. Attorney Michael Yamaguchi said the government "intends to take action
and is considering all possible options," but he would not specify the next
move. "It's unacceptable to defy a court order," he added.

Westbrook said she will be sorry if the clubs are shut down, but she won't
stop using marihuana. "It's the easiest thing in the world to get," she
said, referring to widespread street sales. "But in here, you know what
you're getting. Here you buy the best you can afford instead of taking your
chances."

Free 'care packages'

Several poor patients, including Rodney Wilson of Oakland, received free
"care packages" of 1.5 grams of marijuana.

"I'm on disability," said 51-year-old Wilson, who has AIDS and lost 57
pounds before he began using marijuana. "I smoke it for relaxation and as
an appetite stimulant."

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Marijuana Sales Continue Despite Ruling By Judge
('Orange County Register' Version)

Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 21:18:27 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US CA: Marijuana Sales Continue Despite Ruling By Judge
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: John W.Black
Pubdate: Fri, 22 May 1998
Source: Orange County Register(CA)
Contact: (letters@link.freedom.com)
Website:(http://www.ocregister.com/)

MARIJUANA SALES CONTINUE DESPITE RULING BY JUDGE

It was business as usual at many of California's medical marijuana clubs
Thursday despite a court order prohibiting them from distributing the drug.

At Oakland's Cannabis Buyers Cooperative, clerks defied U.S. District Judge
Charles Breyer's ruling, made public Wednesday, by selling baggies full of
the drug to members who could show a doctor's recommendation and current
identification.

The Cannabis Healing Center in San Francisco did the same. Clubs in Ukiah,
the Marin County town of Fairfax and West Hollywood also opened and
distributed the drug as usual.

In his ruling, Breyer said Proposition 215, the November 1996 initiative
that legalized medical marijuana under California law, did not and could
not override the federal ban on the drug.

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San Francisco Tops All Counties In Drug Care And Deaths
('San Francisco Chronicle' Says California's First-Ever Report
Comparing How Well The State's 58 Counties Provide Various Services,
Available In Full Online, Shows San Francisco Has The Highest Rate
Of Deaths From Alcohol And Other Drugs, But Also Offers More Treatment
To Alcohol And Other Drug Addicts Than Any Other Large County -
The Average Waiting Period For Treatment Is 19 Days In San Francisco
Compared To 50 Days In San Mateo County)

Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 23:10:51 -0400
To: DrugSense News Service 
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US CA: S.F. Tops All Counties In Drug Care And Deaths
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: compassion23@geocities.com (Frank S. World)
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Contact: chronletters@sfgate.com
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Pubdate: Fri, 22 May 1998
Authors: Greg Lucas, Yumi Wilson, Chronicle Staff Writers

S.F. TOPS ALL COUNTIES IN DRUG CARE AND DEATHS

When it comes to drugs and alcohol in San Francisco, there is good news and
bad news.

The good news is that San Francisco offers more treatment to drug and
alcohol addicts than any other large county, according to a new state study
released yesterday.

The bad news is that San Francisco has the highest rate of death from drugs
and alcohol in California.

``The bottom line is we all know what to do, but no one has the political
guts to stand up to it,'' said Supervisor Gavin Newsom, who believes that
the government must take the billions of dollars spent on punishment and
redirect that money to prevention. ``For every dollar we invest in
prevention, taxpayers in San Francisco save more than $7.''

The findings come from the state's first-ever comparison of how each of
California's 58 counties performs in various areas, such as collecting
child support, keeping libraries open, caring for foster children and
treating cases of drug and alcohol abuse.

Overall, the nine Bay Area counties rated higher in delivering services to
their citizens than most other counties in the state. Singled out were San
Mateo and Santa Clara, which generally ranked the highest in performance.
Although there was less information available for Marin and San Francisco,
they, too, ranked near the top.

The report noted that the residents of those counties are some of the
wealthiest in the state, therefore providing the counties more revenue.

However, the report added that the generally high ratings in San Mateo,
Santa Clara and Marin might stem partly from low numbers of social service
and criminal justice cases within their borders.

``Many Bay Area counties do better than other counties around the state,''
said Marianne O'Malley, who coordinated the survey for the state
Legislative Analyst's Office.

``But even so, a lot of county services are not being provided at a level
people would expect. These counties are trying mightily, but they're still
forced to do triage,'' O'Malley said.

Generally, most Bay Area roads are safe. Napa and Sonoma had a high rate of
injury traffic accidents. A high rating means that the county is 10 percent
or more above the state's average accident rate of one injury accident per
million miles traveled.

Marin and Santa Clara had low accident rates. Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin
and Solano were at the statewide average.

Foster care performance was spottier.

San Mateo was able to place 89 percent of children it served in permanent
foster homes within four years. Santa Clara could do so for 86 percent.

But both San Francisco and Alameda were below the statewide average of 75
percent. San Francisco was at 60 percent, the lowest rate in the Bay Area.
Alameda was at 63 percent.

Some counties excelled in one area but fared poorly in others.

Sonoma County, for example, has the best record in the state for collecting
child support for families involved in the CalWORKS welfare program.

San Mateo was the next highest-ranking Bay Area county, with a rate of
collection that was 80 percent of Sonoma's. Santa Clara, San Francisco and
Solano followed with rates that were, respectively, 73, 64 and 59 percent
of Sonoma's collection rate.

Even though San Francisco has the most beds, people needing drug or alcohol
treatment must wait 19 days before they get it. In San Mateo, the wait is
50 days.

San Mateo keeps its 13 libraries open more hours of the week than any other
county. But San Francisco has the most staff per 10,000 residents.

Alameda has more sheriff's deputies per 10,000 residents than any other
county. Yet from 1986 to 1996, the county crime rate fell only 1.4 percent.

The complete findings can be viewed at the Legislative Analyst's Web site,
www.lao.ca.gov.

BC: ASSESSING COUNTY PERFORMANCE In the first statewide assessment of how
well California's counties are doing their jobs, the state Legislative
Analyst's Office compared each county in various areas. The full results of
the report can be viewed on the Legislative Analyst's Web site at
www.lao.ca.gov. Below is a look at how the nine Bay Area counties fared on
child support collections, the safety of their roads and highways and the
number of libraries they operate and how many hours a week they stay open.

BC: CHART:

Child Bay Area Support Accident Number of libraries Counties Collections(x)
Rate(y) and hours open(z) . Alameda 61% Medium 12/7 hours Contra Costa 64%
Medium 26/10 hours Marin Not available Low 12/26 hours Napa Not available
High Not available San Francisco 64% Not available 29/14 hours San Mateo
80% Medium 13/19 hours Santa Clara 73% Low 11/13 hours Solano 59% Medium
6/6 hours Sonoma 100% High Not available (x) - Child support collections
for families on welfare only. County percentages are based on how well they
did compared to best performing county, Sonoma. (y) - Accident rate
calculated based on average statewide accident rate of one injury accident
per 1 million miles traveled. A ``high'' rating is 10 percent or more above
statewide average. ``Low'' is 10 percent or more below. (z) - Hours of
operation are per 10,000 county residents. .

Source: Legislative Analyst's Office

(c)1998 San Francisco Chronicle

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San Francisco Called Soft On Drug Crimes ('San Francisco Chronicle'
Says Police, Prosecutors And Frustrated Merchants Spoke At A Meeting
Of The San Francisco City/County Board Of Supervisors Yesterday
Called By Supervisor Jose Medina, Who Said He Plans To Introduce Resolutions
Before The Supervisors Next Week Urging The Superior Court
To Raise Bail Rates)

Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 23:17:06 -0400
To: DrugSense News Service 
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US CA: S.F. Called Soft On Drug Crimes
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: compassion23@geocities.com (Frank S. World)
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Author: Jason B. Johnson, Chronicle Staff Writer
Contact: chronletters@sfgate.com
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Pubdate: Fri, 22 May 1998

S.F. CALLED SOFT ON DRUG CRIMES

Low Bail Rates Blamed For Attracting Criminals To City

San Francisco's lax attitude toward drug dealers and other criminals
attracts offenders from counties throughout the Bay Area, where bail is
higher and justice swifter.

That was the message police, prosecutors and frustrated merchants gave at a
Board of Supervisors committee hearing yesterday.

Several witnesses talked of suspects being busted for major crimes, only to
end up back on the streets before the ink dried on the arrest blotter.

``Many times they're home before the officer is finished writing the
report,'' said Vernon Grigg III, assistant district attorney in charge of
narcotics prosecutions. ``If the officer is injured, we've had cases where
they are home before the officer is out of the hospital.''

The hearing to consider the consequences of San Francisco's bail rates was
called by Supervisor Jose Medina, chairman of the board's Housing and
Neighborhood Services Committee.

Medina said he plans to introduce resolutions before the supervisors next
week urging the Superior Court to raise bail rates. The board does not have
the authority to mandate such changes.

``Some of these bail rates look more like traffic fines,'' Medina said. ``I
(also) see the need to expand this beyond drug-related offenses.'' Speakers
told the supervisors that criminals consider San Francisco ``the place to
go'' to sell drugs.

Someone arrested in the city for selling cocaine can post bail for $2,500.
A person busted for the same offense in San Mateo County must post $20,000
bail, while in Alameda County the offense carries a $15,000 bail.

``San Francisco is far and away the lowest bail of any of the contiguous
counties in the region,'' Grigg said. ``I would ratchet it up by a factor
of two to three.''

Along the Geneva Avenue border with Daly City, Grigg said, many dealers
will not make a sale unless they are on the San Francisco side.

San Francisco's overloaded system also results in criminals being released
on bail before authorities discover they are wanted on other offenses,
sometimes committed under an alias, officials told the committee.

Once a suspect is out on bail or personal recognizance, he or she can delay
resolution of a case for a year or more. Suspects in custody are much more
eager to get cases settled.

``Our caseload never lightens,'' said Lieutenant Kitt Crenshaw of the
police narcotics division. ``That's why drug dealers prefer to do business
here.''

Crenshaw said drug dealers come here to deal from as far as San Pablo,
Richmond and Pittsburg.

Business groups said something has to be done to keep repeat offenders out
of their neighborhoods.

``Our area is the most blighted area in San Francisco. Some of us are just
barely able to hold on,'' said Steve Raymond of the U.N. Plaza/Mid-Market
Merchants Association.

Raymond said several foreign countries have ``red-lined'' the area, warning
its citizens not to go there when vacationing in San Francisco.

``The people are afraid to do business in our area, and for good reason,''
said Raymond, sales manager at the Renoir Hotel. ``Guests are afraid to
come to our hotel.''

(c)1998 San Francisco Chronicle

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Call To Raise Bail Of San Francisco Crack Suspects ('San Francisco Examiner'
Version Also Fails To Compare The Typical Costs Of Bail For Acts Of Violence,
Theft And Other Real Crimes)

Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 19:42:10 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US CA: Call To Raise Bail of S.F. Crack Suspects
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: compassion23@geocities.com (Frank S. World)
Pubdate: Fri, 22 May 1998
Source: San Francisco Examiner (CA)
Contact: letters@examiner.com
Website: http://www.examiner.com/
Author: Chuck Finnie and Rachel Gordon, Examiner Staff

CALL TO RAISE BAIL OF S.F. CRACK SUSPECTS

Lenient bail decisions by San Francisco judges lure crack dealers to The
City and plague residents with revolving-door justice, police and
prosecutors say.

Law enforcement officials appeared before a Board of Supervisors committee
Thursday to urge City Hall to press judges to get tougher.

They called on the courts to increase the bail that suspects must post in
San Francisco to be released from custody. The City generally has the lowest
bail schedule in the Bay Area, which critics contend makes San Francisco a
magnet for lawbreakers.

"We keep arresting some of these same subjects over and over, and we do see
this infusion of out-of-town dope dealers who find it far less risky to deal
narcotics in San Francisco than in other cities," said San Francisco police
Capt. Dennis Martel, commander of Southern Station.

"Not only do we suffer frustration, my heart goes out to the residents of
this city and the commercial districts in this city that suffer from a
concentration of narcotics trafficking because they see these dope dealers
on their street corners, in front of their homes, in front of their
business, creating extremely unsavory conditions."

The presiding judge of the Municipal Court said she's heard similar
complaints in discussions with community groups since she took over the
court's leadership post last summer. Judge Donna Little said, however, that
individual judges decide on a case-by-case basis what the bail should be.

"We look at several issues," she said. "Do they have a prior record? How
long ago since their last arrest? Was there violence or weapons involved?"

Privately, other judges grumbled that they weren't given the courtesy of an
invitation to appear at the hearing called by Supervisor Jose Medina to
explain in general terms just how they decide these matters.

Little, however, struck a conciliatory tone, saying she intends to ask her
colleagues to focus specifically on crack cases when they hold an annual
meeting this year on the court's bail schedule.

Medina vowed to step up pressure on the courts, and plans to introduce a
nonbinding measure to the full board Tuesday that would put the supervisors
and mayor on record supporting higher bail for some drug offenses.

"We are a bargain basement when it comes to bail," he said.

The bail schedule, set by the judiciary, is used as a guideline for judges
when a defendant first appears in court.

All counties must have one, according to state law, and all defendants,
except in capital murder cases, are entitled to the setting of bail.

In San Francisco, for example, the bail schedule is comparatively soft in
cases of crack cocaine sale and possession. The schedule calls for a bail of
$2,500 for each count, although judges are free to depart from that figure,
setting either more or less bail.

In Alameda County, for the same offenses, the schedule calls for a bail of
$20,000. In Santa Clara County, it is $15,000. In Contra Costa County, it is
$30,000.

To illustrate the problem, local police and prosecutors cited examples of
drug dealers at the Daly City-San Francisco border near the Cow Palace
scrambling to make sure that if they do get arrested, they're popped in San
Francisco territory.

"A lot of the narcotics dealers that we would encounter even on the
larger-scale deals say they would much rather do the deal in San Francisco
than outside the county," said police Capt. Greg Suhr of Mission Station.

Law enforcement authorities said the benefit of forcing suspects to post
higher bail in San Francisco would be immediate.

"If we were able to rewrite the bail schedule, we would eliminate the
incentives, we would be able to keep people in custody, we would have fewer
cases as a result and the standard of living for citizens of this county
would be dramatically improved," said Vernon Grigg, managing attorney for
the San Francisco district attorney's narcotics unit.

But the proposal has its foes. In an interview, San Francisco Public
Defender Jeff Brown ripped the critics of the status quo, calling their
accusations politically expedient.

"It is very easy to make judges the whipping boy," Brown said. "But police
and prosecutors have ready access to the courts, and frankly I have not
heard the district attorney complaining until now."

To the contrary, Brown said, District Attorney Terence Hallinan has been an
advocate of alternatives to incarceration, including a program that gets
young dealers out of jail and into intensive counseling, educational and job
training.

John Shanley, Hallinan's spokesman, said the district attorney agrees with
police, but didn't mean to blindside the courts, either.

While the office disputes bail in individual cases, it has not raised the
overall issue with the judges. Shanley said there may be blame to be shared
on that score.

Shanley said San Francisco's low bail schedule is, in large part, a product
of inertia from earlier in the decade when the entire criminal justice
system was looking for answers to jail overcrowding -- a problem that has
waned since a new lockup opened three years ago.

Brown added he doesn't believe "bail policies in San Francisco are lenient"
and in fact the "decisions appropriately reflect the dangers the defendants
pose and the likelihood they will return to court" when their cases are called.

But hotelier Steve Raymond, representing the U.N. Plaza-Mid-Market Merchants
Association, disagreed, saying that firsthand experience shows him that
change is needed.

"Many of the drug pushers that stand in front of our doorways all day come
into San Francisco on BART from other cities around the Bay Area," said
Raymond, marketing director for the Renoir Hotel on McAllister Street. "When
the dealers are arrested, they are always immediately able to post bail or
they are released on their (own recognizance) and by the following day have
returned to our doorsteps. The effect of this policy is to put us all out of
business." Raymond noted that at least two foreign governments, Japan and
the United Kingdom, have warned their citizens to steer clear of the area
because of the illegal drug activity.

(c)1998 San Francisco Examiner

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Farmer Sues Over Hemp, Drug Laws - Rep. Owen Wants Right To Grow Plant
('The Associated Press' Says The New Hampshire Hemp Council Of Keene
Is Joining New Hampshire Farmer And State Representative Derek Owen
Of Hopkinton In Suing The DEA, Saying Congress Exempted Hemp
When It First Outlawed Marijuana In 1937 And Again In 1945,
So The DEA Has No Authority Over It)

Date: Wed, 03 Jun 1998 03:47:50 -0500
From: Paul Chang (jahemp@DAFFODIL.InfoChan.COM)
Reply-To: pfx@DAFFODIL.InfoChan.COM
To: Cannabis Patriots (cannabis-patriots-l@teleport.com)
Cc: Rob/Nga Otto (alme@muskoka.com),
Mary Otto Chang (miochang@passport.ca)
Subject: CanPat - [Fwd: NH vs DEA]
Sender: owner-cannabis-patriots-l@teleport.com
Date: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 09:35:50 +0100
To: Recipient List Suppressed:;@wco.com
From: "C. Penn" (hempstrs@wco.com)
Subject: NH vs DEA

From: "Karl D. Bond" (thnkhemp@worldpath.net)
Subject: NH vs DEA
Date: Sat, 30 May 1998

Farmer sues over hemp, drug laws
Rep. Owen wants right to grow plant

Friday, May 22, 1998
By MICHELLE EMERY
The Associated Press

Hopkinton, NH - The U.S. Justice Department says a state representative who
wants to grow hemp has no legal grounds to stand on.

Hopkinton Rep. Derek Owen has filed a lawsuit against the Drug Enforcement
Agency saying it has no legal authority to regulate the growing of hemp.

The New Hampshire Hemp Council of Keene is joining Owen, who is also a
farmer, in his lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court on April 30. Owen wants
the court to issue a restraining order barring the agency from using
marijuana laws to ban hemp farming. A hearing is scheduled for today.

Justice Department lawyers defending the agency say in their response, filed
yesterday, that the marijuana laws do apply to hemp.

Owen's bill to legalize hemp production lost by 11 votes in the Legislature
in February.

Owen's lawsuit notes that marijuana and hemp belong to the same species,
cannabis sativa. But it says where marijuana plants are grown to produce
high levels of THC, the chemical that produces a high, hemp's levels are too
low to have the same effect.

Hemp is grown for its fiber, which can be used for clothing, rope, paper and
building materials. Oil from its seeds can be used for fuel and to make plastic.

The suit says Congress exempted hemp when it first outlawed marijuana in
1937 and did so again in 1945, so the DEA has no authority over it.

But Justice Department lawyers defending the agency say marijuana is defined
as all parts of the cannabis sativa plant, meaning hemp is included in
Congress's definition of marijuana.

"Because there is not a dispute that hemp is a form of the cannabis plant,
or that marijuana is a controlled substance under the Controlled Substance
Act, it necessarily follows that hemp is a controlled substance," the
lawyers say in their response. The lawyers say cultivation is therefore
illegal without DEA registration and approval, which they said Owen did not
seek.

The Justice Department says the issue is moot because hemp growing is
illegal under New Hampshire law as well.
Owen has argued that if the court grants the injunction, he could push the
legislation again before the session ends. He said a court decision in his
favor could increase the bill's chance of passage, and blamed its defeat on
testimony from a DEA agent who said legalizing hemp sends the wrong message
to children.

"We badly need to support small-scale, local agriculture. It's a suffering
sector of our economy," said Owen's lawyer, Gordon Blakeney. "Owen hopes to
plant hemp at his farm this season, if a restraining order is granted."

The Justice Department also argues that the court doesn't have jurisdiction
to hear the case. Lawyers said Owen's claims of injury are speculative,
rather than the result of concrete government action, so claims of his First
Amendment and Fifth Amendment rights being violated are invalid.

The lawyers accuse Owen of trying to silence the DEA for speaking out
against his bill.

The department argues an injunction would hurt police efforts to crack down
on marijuana.

Opponents to hemp crops say hemp fields would only provide a smoke screen
for marijuana growers, or that legalizing hemp would lead to legalizing
marijuana.

Blakeney said Owens' lawsuit is the first of its kind, filed two weeks
before a group of farmers filed a similar suit in Kentucky.

"I'm anxious that New Hampshire be first," he said. "I'm anxious that New
Hampshire get going on it because I think it is a huge cash crop."

***

Candi Penn, Board of Directors - Secretary
HIA - Hemp Industries Assoc.
PO Box 1080, Occidental, CA 95465
1-500-HIA-HEMP & 707 874-3648
FAX: 707 874-1104
Email: info@thehia.org
Websites: http://thehia.org
& http://hempstores.com

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Business Briefing - Pfizer ('Chicago Tribune' Notes The Stock Of The Company
Manufacturing Viagra Dipped A Little On The News That The Drug-Maker
Was Issuing New Warnings About It)

Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 19:36:18 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US: Business Briefing: Pfizer
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Steve Young
Pubdate: Fri, 22 May 1998
Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
Contact: tribletter@aol.com
Website: http://www.chicago.tribune.com/
Author: From Tribune News Services: Compiled by Steven Morris

BUSINESS BRIEFING: PFIZER

Pfizer Inc. said Thursday it will warn paramedics and emergency-room
physicians not to treat patients on its impotence pill Viagra with
nitroglycerin.

The warning sent Pfizer shares down $3.69, to $109.12. Nevertheless, Pfizer
shares have more than doubled in the last year on prospects for Viagra. It
reached an all-time high of $121.75 on April 21.

Viagra's label already contains a warning that it shouldn't be used by those
taking organic nitrates such as nitroglycerin, primarily used to treat
angina, or chest pain.

Pfizer said it will send out 10,000 letters this week to emergency-room
personnel who might not realize they're treating Viagra users. Viagra, which
is easier to use than other impotence remedies on the market, became one of
the best-selling U.S. drugs after its April introduction.

Meanwhile, the nation's leading discount chains are vying in a Viagra price war.

Kmart Corp. has taken out national newspaper ads to promote its price of
$39.99 for a five-tablet prescription.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Tobacco Bill Suffers Setback Over Liability-Limit Vote
(Knight Ridder Newspapers Version In 'Seattle Times')

Date: Sat, 23 May 1998 10:15:44 -0700
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US: Tobacco Bill Suffers Setback Over Liability-Limit Vote
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: John Smith
Source: Seattle Times (WA)
Contact: opinion@seatimes.com
Website: http://www.seattletimes.com/
Pubdate: Fri, 22 May 1998
Author: Robert A. Rankin, Knight Ridder Newspapers

TOBACCO BILL SUFFERS SETBACK OVER LIABILITY-LIMIT VOTE

WASHINGTON - A bipartisan Senate majority uniting liberals and
conservatives stripped a key provision from the sweeping tobacco-control
bill yesterday, raising new doubts about Congress' ability to pass any
tobacco measure this year.

The Senate, in a 61-37 vote, in essence eliminated the legal protections
from damage suits for the tobacco companies that were included in the
tobacco bill sponsored by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.,

The protections would have placed an $8 billion-a-year limit on liability
payments by the tobacco companies under pending lawsuits. Proponents said
such a limit was essential if the tobacco companies were to meet some of
the severe restrictions the bill places on them.

Sen. Slade Gorton, R-Wash., voted in favor of retaining the $8 billion
limit; Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., voted against it.

The setback appears to have left the legislation in critical condition. Its
sponsors had hoped to complete Senate action on it this week, before
Congress begins a weeklong Memorial Day recess.

Instead, the measure was to be pulled off the Senate floor today for more
urgent legislation. Plans are to take it up anew at some unspecified time
in June, and many contentious amendment battles are still ahead. The
Senate's June schedule is already crowded with many must-pass
appropriations bills.

McCain conceded that delay serves the bill's opponents. The House, whose
Republican leaders are determined to scale back any tobacco-control bill,
has yet to begin work on legislation, and won't until the Senate finishes.

House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., called yesterday for
Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., to schedule a House vote on tobacco
legislation before July 4, but that now appears unlikely.

The quest to kill the liability cap united liberal Democrats outraged at
tobacco companies and conservative Republicans seeking to undermine
McCain's bill. McCain got support from only 16 other Republicans and 20
Democrats in this key test of strength.

Sens. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., and Pat Leahy, D-Vt., led the effort to strip the
liability cap. They argued that the companies do not deserve "immunity" or
"protection" from liability.

"It is just beyond comprehension that an industry that produces a product
that kills people, which they designed to addict kids, would be chosen as
the industry to which we are going to give immunity protection. It makes
absolutely no sense," Gregg said.

"Nobody is running up to me in the streets of Vermont and saying, `Oh,
please, whatever you do, be sure to give a lot of liability protection to
the tobacco companies,' " Leahy said.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., led defenders of the liability cap. He denied
that it gives the tobacco companies any immunity or protection from
lawsuits.

"No protection. None. Zero protection. There is no immunity in this bill.
Zero. None," Kerry emphasized.

All the liability cap would do, Kerry said, is set an $8 billion limit on
the amount the companies would have to pay in any single year to cover
penalties they incur from lawsuits. If they owe more than that, the amount
owed above $8 billion would roll forward to be paid in ensuing years, but
still must be paid in full.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Smoking Becomes Habit For One-Third Of Students Who Try It
('Associated Press' Account In 'The Orange County Register' Of A Survey
Of More Than 16,000 Students Nationwide By The Centers For Disease Control
And Prevention - Previous Studies Had Estimated That 33 Percent To 50 Percent
Of People Who Experiment With Cigarettes Become Regular Smokers)

Date: Sat, 23 May 1998 12:50:05 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US: Smoking Becomes Habit For One-Third Of Students Who Try It
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: John W. Black
Source: Orange County Register (CA)
Contact: letters@link.freedom.com
Website: http://www.ocregister.com/
Pubdate: 22 May 1998
Author: Russ Bynum, Associated Press

SMOKING BECOMES HABIT FOR ONE-THIRD OF STUDENTS WHO TRY IT

Addiction: Seventy three percent of those teens said they had tried to quit.

ALANTA - More than a third of high school students who try cigarettes
develop a daily smoking habit before they graduate, the government said today.

In a survey of more than 16,000 students nationwide, nearly 36 percent who
had ever smoked said their smoking escalated to at least a cigarette per
day, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Nearly 73 percent with a daily habit said they had tried to quit. But only
13.5 percent successfully stopped, the CDC said.

"That's strictly a testimony to the power of nicotine," said Michael
Eriksen, director of the CDC's Office of Smoking and Health. "We were
really struck by how this little drama of tobacco addiction really is
completely played out before high school graduation."

The CDC report was released as Congress debates anti-smiling legislation
that would raise taxes on cigarettes and levy stiff fines against tobacco
companies if teen smoking rates fail to drop significantly.

The Tobacco Institute, the lobbying arm of the tobacco industry, had no
immediate response to the study.

Seventy percent of students surveyed said they had tried cigarettes at
least once. The percentage is probably higher among teens overall because
the survey did not include dropouts, Eriksen said.

Previous studies had estimated that from 33 to 50 percent of people who
experiment with cigarettes become regular smokers.

But now researchers can show that smokers develop a pattern of nicotine
addiction and a desire to quit in their teens, Eriksen said.

Students in all 50 state were surveyed in 1997. Students were considered
daily smokers if they had ever smoked at least once a day for a period of
30 days. The report counted former smokers as those who had quit for at
least 30 days before they were surveyed.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Mexican Politicians Criticize US Undercover Drug Operation
(According To An 'Associated Press' Article In 'The Orange County Register,'
Mexico's Foreign Relations Secretariat Said It Had Filed A Formal Protest
Over US Agents In 'Operation Casablanca' Violating Mexico's Sovereignty
And US-Mexico Agreements)

Date: Sat, 23 May 1998 10:26:05 -0700
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: Mexican Politicians Criticize US Undercover Drug Operation
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: John W.Black
Source: Orange County Register (CA)
Contact: letters@link.freedom.com
Website: http://www.ocregister.com/
Pubdate: Fri, 22 May 1998
Author: John Rice-The Associated Press

MEXICAN POLITICIANS CRITICIZE US UNDERCOVER DRUG OPERATION

They say the money laundering sting violated their nation's sovereignty and
U.S.-Mexico agreements.

MEXICO CITY - Mexico accused the United States on Thursday of using
undercover agents on its territory during a highly touted operation against
drug-money laundering, possibly in violation of Mexican law.

Mexico's Foreign Relations Secretariat said it had filed a formal protest
over the actions of U.S. agents in "Operation Casablanca."

The secretariat also indicated Washington had not properly informed the
government about the three-year undertaking until a number of Mexican
citizens had been lured to the United States and arrested.

The announcement was a dramatic reversal from the government's earlier
acceptance of the operation, which U.S. Justice Dept. officials called the
biggest money-laundering case ever.

U.S. officials said they did not tell Mexico about the massive sting
because it might have endangered its undercover agents.

In a statement to reporters, Attorney General Jorge Madrazo Cuellar said
U.S. officials initially gave Mexico the false impression the U.S. agents
had not carried out probes inside Mexico.

President Ernesto Zedillo ordered his diplomats to deliver the protest
after he determined that the conducting of a hidden operation on Mexican
soil violated the terms of several agreements between the two countries as
well as the spirit of the close bilateral relationship, officials said.

U.S. officials said they did not inform their Mexican counterparts about
the operation, which involved more than 200 undercover agents, until less
than two hours before they announced its results.

Mexican justice officials also believe that these undercover agents and
confidential informants who worked in Mexico broke several Mexican laws,
Madrazo said. Justice officials here are analyzing court documents with an
eye to preparing legal action against people involved in the operation,
Madrazo said.

He also said Mexican authorities had arrested four of the 26 Mexican
bankers cited in the U.S. indictments announced Monday. The four, he said,
admitted their participation in operations "related to money laundering"
and offered to cooperate with Mexican prosecutors.

As part of money-laundering probes, Madrazo said, Mexico has seized 129
bank accounts of 85 people, with a value of about $1.6 million.

All together, about 150 people were indicted under Operation Casablanca.

Mexican prosecutors endorsed the three-year operation as soon as it was
announced Monday, and they vowed to cooperate with the U.S. investigation.

But the Permanent Commission, which represents Mexico's congress when it is
not in session, voted unanimously Wednesday to demand an investigation into
Casablanca and criticized possible "intervention" by U.S. agents.

"It is true that all Mexicans are against drug trafficking," said Sen.
Eduardo Andrade of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party. "But we
are also against foreign intervention and attempts to destabilize Mexican
institutions."

Andrade said U.S. agents apparently lured Mexican bankers into criminal
acts. "They did not succumb to the corrupting power of drug traffic. They
succumbed to the corrupting power of the government of the United States."

Mexico's largest opposition party, National Action, published newspaper ads
calling the operation "a sneak attack" and "a criminal operation" that
violated agreements to exchange information on drug-fighting operations.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Secret Drug Operation Draws Protest ('Chicago Tribune' Version)

Date: Sat, 23 May 1998 10:33:20 -0700
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: Mexico: Secret Drug Operation Draws Protest
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Steve Young
Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
Contact: tribletter@aol.com
Website: http://www.chicago.tribune.com/
Pubdate: Fri, 22 May 1998

SECRET DRUG OPERATION DRAWS PROTEST

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO -- Mexico said Thursday it formally will protest a U.S.
undercover operation that exposed the laudering of more than $110 million
in drug money through 12 Mexican banks.

It charged that the agents acted secretly in Mexico without informing the
government.

Atty. Gen. Jorge Madrazo Cuellar accused Washington of deceiving Mexico by
making officials believe the entire three-year undercover operation, known
as Casablanca, had been conducted inside the U.S.

President Ernesto Zedillo ordered his diplomats to deliver the protest
after he determined that conducting a hidden operation on Mexican soil
violated several agreements between the countries, officials said.

U.S. officials said they did not inform their Mexican counterparts about
the operation, which involved 200 undercover agents, until less than two
hours before they announced its results Monday.

Officials also believe the agents and confidential informants who worked in
Mexico broke several Mexican laws.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

House Backs Military Patrols Of US Borders
(Lengthier 'Associated Press' Version In 'Orange County Register')

Date: Sat, 23 May 1998 12:47:43 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US: House Back Military Patrols of US Borders
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: John W.Black
Source: Orange County Register (CA)
Contact: letters@link.freedom.com
Website: http://www.ocregister.com/
Pubdate: 22 May 1998
Author: Tom Raum, Associated Press

Politics: Opponents in the $270 billion defense bill, is a waste of scarce
resources.

Washington-The House passed a $270 billion defence bill Thursday that
includes authorizing the military to help patrol U.S. borders in the war
against drug smuggling and illegal immigration.

Opponents said the plan - an amendment approved 288-to-132 - could turn the
U.S. Mexican border into an armed corridor.

The overall bill, covering military programs and spending for the fiscal
year that begins Oct. 1, was then passed on a 357-60 vote. The Senate is
expected to vote on its aversion next month.

The total price tag on the legislation is roughly the same as this year's
Pentagon spending, and many members complained the lack of growth in the
budget was hurting military readiness.

The legislation includes $1.9 billion to keep U.S. forces in Bosnia and a
3.6 percent pay raise for the military - half a percentage point more than
the Clinton administration had requested.

The overall bill is also notable for one thing it doesn't include: another
round of base closings sought by the Clinton administration.

In an emotional debate, lawmakers sparred over whether the Pentagon could -
or should - be called upon to deploy forces for "monitoring and patrolling"
the U.S. Mexican border.

Rep. James Traficant, R-Ohio, sponsor of the amendment, told the House the
legislation only authorizes such a deployment - and doesn't require it.

First, the Immigration and Naturalization Service or the Customs Service
would have to request the help - and the defense secretary would have to
approve it.

The Defense Department opposes the measure.

"Maybe the Pentagon doesn't want it," said Traficant. "The American people
not only want it, they need it."

But opponents said that border patrolling was not a legitimate function of
an already resource strapped Defense Department.

"We shouldn't put thousands of Army soldiers on the border of Texas," said
Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Texas. He said it would "make the Texas-Mexican border
look like East Berlin after World War 11."

But Rep. Charlie Norwood, R-Ga., said, "It is time this country did
something about drugs. Put the 82nd Airborne on maneuvers down there if you
want to stop drugs."

The annual defense bill authorizes $270.4 billion for fiscal 1999, roughly
the same amount as last year.

The bill provides $3.8 billion for ballistic missile defense and $417
million to assist in removing military and nuclear threats from the former
Soviet Union.

House members rejected, by a 251 to 167 vote, an attempt by Reps. Barney
Frank, D-Mass., and Tom Campbell, R-Standord, to force to the floor an
amendment that would require the 8,500 U.S. troops now in Bosnia to be
brought home by year's end.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

People Think Murder Rate Is Rising, But It Isn't ('The Toronto Star'
Says A New Survey Of 1,000 Ontario Residents Shows Most Think
The Crime Rate Is Going Up And Punishments Are Too Soft -
But They Would Still Rather Spend Money On Prevention
And Alternatives To Jail Than Build More Prisons)

From: creator@islandnet.com (Matt Elrod)
To: mattalk@listserv.islandnet.com
Subject: People think murder rate is rising, but it isn't
Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 10:29:33 -0700
Lines: 58
Newshawk: creator@mapinc.org
Source: Toronto Star
Contact: LetterToEd@thestar.com
Pubdate: May 22, 1998

People think murder rate is rising, but it isn't

By Elaine Carey
Toronto Star Demographics Reporter

Most Ontario residents think crime is going up and punishments are too
soft, but they would rather spend money on prevention and alternatives
to jail than build more prisons, a new study finds.

More than two-thirds think crime in general and the murder rate -
particularly for youths - are rising even though they're not,
according to the survey of 1,000 Ontario residents released yesterday.

As well, a large proportion of those surveyed overestimate the amount
of violent crime.

When given no other choices, most call for harsher sentences.

But, when questioned more deeply, most prefer alternatives, said
University of Toronto criminologist Anthony Doob.

He designed the survey and analyzed the results for Springboard, a
community agency working with adult and young offenders.

``Contrary to what people would lead you to believe, residents of
Ontario are more enthusiastic about doing something sensible about
crime than in simply punishing more people - adults or youth - by
locking them up,'' he told a news conference.

More than 85 per cent said they would rather spend money on crime
prevention than build more prisons and three-quarters prefer spending
money on the development of alternatives to imprisonment.

When asked the best way of controlling crime, few chose to make
sentences harsher.

More than half called instead for either reducing unemployment,
increasing social programs or using punishments other than prison.

``This is not an issue of being soft or tough on offenders,'' Doob
said. ``What they want is a sensible response to crime.''

The survey found Ontario residents also underestimate the maximum
penalties available.

``When they say that they want the laws to be tougher, one has to
remember that they do not know what the laws are,'' the study says.

The public thinks crime is going up ``because most people tell them it
is,'' Doob said.

The survey is considered accurate 95 per cent of the time within 3.1
percentage points plus or minus.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Tonner's 'Truth' A Sore Point For Some Readers (Vancouver, British Columbia,
Cop And 'Province' Columnist Mark Tonner Is Taken Aback By A Rash
Of Confrontations With Drug Policy Reform Advocates)

Date: Mon, 25 May 1998 06:40:39 -0700 (PDT)
To: mattalk@listserv.islandnet.com
From: arandell@islandnet.com (Alan Randell)
Subject: Tonner's 'truth' a sore point for some readers
Newshawk: Alan Randell
Pubdate: May 22, 1998
Source: Province, The (B.C., Canada)
Contact: provedpg@pacpress.southam.ca
Author: Mark Tonner

Tonner's 'truth' a sore point for some readers

Mark Tonner - Out of The Blue

Lately, the ratio between insulting and supportive mail has taken a
contrary turn. Last week's article, on poetry I'd seen on skid-row
walls, extended the trend.

Deb Harper wrote electronically to question my comment that police are
encouraged to examine the root of problems.

Harper asks "on which planet" this was encouraged, insisting that such
soul-searching should be left to psychiatrists, support groups and
friends.

Alan Randell took time to protest, saying my insight was merely part
of a good-cop bad-cop routine.

I was, of course, dubbed a bad cop and "parliament's willing whore"
for enforcing unjust and ineffective laws. As a drug "war criminal" my
comeuppance was inevitable, once the feds came to their senses and put
me and my kind on trial.

Drug laws, according to Randell, were enacted to repress Oriental
culture, protect white manufacturers and grant privileges to the
medical profession.

The state was said to have no right to ban any drug and my "rinky-dink
little management-sanctioned column" to have no purpose other than to
persuade the public that all laws are good.

I was portrayed as a smirking fiend, bent on throwing innocent, poor
and non-whites into drug-infested prisons.

Randell sends me regular e-mail, outlining the latest in
decriminalization thought, much of it interesting and none of it
(until now) abusive.

The only reply I'd ever sent was a plea for peaceful disagreement,
along with a request to keep the e-mail messages flowing and a promise
to read them with an open mind.

One of the few civil comments came in the form of a poem, written by
Lisa Hoolselma, for a terminally ill friend. She felt its message
applied equally to helpless addicts.

"My child's cry of torment falls upon deaf ears, but rings throughout
the heavens, your pain seen through my tears. Although you do not see
me, my spirit comes from above.

"To hold you in my tender arms, and fill you with my love. Fear not of
being alone my child, I whisper in our ear. For I have taken you under
wing. The Comforter is here. Please open up your heart to me, and you
will clearly see. I have far greater things for you. Life eternally"

Nice touch. I ran into green-haired David Malmo-Levine outside a
Vancouver hemp shop this week.

Having attacked this column in print some months ago, he recognized me
and the marijuana activist asked: Why do you hate us so much?"

I replied: Don't assume I hate you - I actually care more than you
know."

David launched into a tirade so frenzied that I realized that rational
exchange was impossible.

He followed me to my car and continued his rant even though I'd
powdered up the window. Doubtless the man's lips are still moving.

It IS possible to feel for addicts, yet oppose legalization of
narcotics. It seems, however, impossible to speak such opinion without
facing a barrage of political power words.

I've heard enough cries of "hurtful," "hateful," "mean-spirited" and
"offensive" to last a lifetime. Is it mean-spirited or offensive to
hope that, somewhere in that lifetime, the truth will be back in
style?

Const. Mark Tonner is a Vancouver police officer. The opinions
contained in this column are those of the writer, not necessarily the
Vancouver police department or the police board. Tonner may be reached
at the Province or at marcuspt@direct.ca

-------------------------------------------------------------------

On Sending Messages (Letter To The Editor Of Britain's 'Sun'
Wonders What Sort Of Message President Clinton Meant To Send
When He Consumed A Deadly Drug In Public During His Recent Stay
In England)

Date: Sat, 23 May 1998 00:53:22 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: UK: PUB LTE: On sending messages
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: webbooks@paston.co.uk (CLCIA)
Source: Sun, The (UK)
Contact: news@the-sun.co.uk
Pubdate: Fri, 22 May 1998
Comment: Title by Editor

Section: Have Your Say

Both the UK and USA Governments say that to legalise cannabis would send
out the wrong message.

I wonder what message President Clinton wanted to send out about the beer
and chips he had in a pub on his recent UK visit?

Perhaps he treated that "dangerous drug" beer the same way as his
experiments with cannabis - by not swallowing!

Alun Buffry Norwich

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Top Chefs Are Going To Pot (Britain's 'Sun' Says An 'Investigation'
By 'Caterer And Hotelkeeper' Magazine Alleges Senior Cooks
At Some Of Britain's Top Restaurants Are Encouraging Young Staff
To Take Pot, Ecstasy And Cocaine To Help Them
Deal With Working Conditions)

Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 19:41:16 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: UK: Top Chefs Are Going To Pot
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: webbooks@paston.co.uk (CLCIA)
Source: Sun, The (UK)
Contact: news@the-sun.co.uk
Pubdate: Fri, 22 May 1998

TOP CHEFS ARE GOING TO POT

Chefs at some of Britain's top restaurants are turning to drugs, an
investigation revealed yesterday.

Senior cooks are encouraging young staff to take pot, Ecstasy and cocaine.

Chefs take drugs to help them deal with long, unsociable hours and the high
pressure in kitchens, they told Caterer and Hotelkeeper magazine.

Experts warned that staff and customers are at risk unless owners take
action to stamp out the problem.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

New Study On Mandatory Drug Tests For Prisoners ('Irish Times'
Says A Survey Of 148 Prisoners In Britain By An Oxford Criminologist,
Dr Kimmett Edgar, And The Director Of The Irish Penal Reform Trust,
To Be Presented In Dublin Tomorrow, Showed That Three Quarters Of Prisoners
Use 'Drugs' In Prison - After Mandatory Testing Was Instituted In 1996,
More Than A Quarter Of Those Using Drugs Said They Stopped As A Result,
But Just Over 50 Per Cent Said They Had Not Changed Their Habits - One In 10
Using Cannabis Said They Tried Heroin To Evade Detection)

Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 21:15:55 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: Ireland: New Study On Mandatory Drug Tests For Prisoners
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Martin Cooke 
Pubdate: Fri, 22 May 1998
Source: Irish Times (Ireland)
Contact: lettersed@irish-times.ie
Author: Catherine Cleary

NEW STUDY ON MANDATORY DRUG TESTS FOR PRISONERS

Mandatory drug testing of prisoners works best if treatment is integrated
into the system, according to a study to be presented in Dublin tomorrow.

A survey of 148 prisoners in Britain by Oxford criminologist Dr Kimmett
Edgar and the director of the Irish Penal Reform Trust, Dr Ian O'Donnell,
found that some prisoners had switched to hard drugs to avoid detection.

Britain introduced mandatory drugs testing of all prisoners in 1996. Under
the scheme 10 per cent of prisoners are tested at random every month.

Those who test positive face a loss of privileges such as open visits and
days are added to their sentences.

According to the survey, three quarters of prisoners use drugs in prison
and more than a quarter of those using drugs said they had stopped as a
result of mandatory testing.

Seventeen prisoners said they had reduced their drug use and just over 50
per cent said they had not changed their habits.

One in 10 of prisoners using drugs said they tried heroin to evade
detection. Cannabis residue stays in the body for up to a month, whereas
heroin remains for only three days.

"Some inmates felt that if they took heroin there was less of a chance of
being caught," Dr Edgar said. "There was a fear that many prisoners would
move to hard drugs, but the 11 people who had tried to evade detection did
so by altering the balance of their drug use. Most were already multi-drug
users," he said.

The study will be presented at an open forum on "Drugs in Prison" at the
James Joyce Centre, 33 North Great George's Street, Dublin.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Press Release - Global Days Against The Drug War (Amsterdam Activists
Give URL And Outline Events Organised By 90 Reform Group In 40 Cities
Worldwide June 10-15 - Discussion Forums, Demonstrations, Seminars,
Press Conferences, Street Parties, Publications, Concerts, A Congress,
And More)

Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 13:38:15 -0700 (PDT)
From: Legalize! Alliance (alliance@shaman.lycaeum.org)
Subject: PRESS RELEASE: Global Days against the Drug War
Sender: alliance@shaman.lycaeum.org
Reply-To: coalition@stopthedrugwar.org

P R E S S R E L E A S E

THE GLOBAL DAYS AGAINST THE DRUG WAR, JUNE 10-15
Events in 40 cities worldwide - 90 reform organisations unite

AMSTERDAM (May 22) - Drug policy reform groups all over the world
will declare the 'Global Days against the Drug War', to take place
from Friday June 5th through Wednesday 10th.

Events for alternative drug policies will be held in more than 40
cities, at the occasion of the United Nations Special Session of
the General Assembly on Drugs, UNGASS, which starts Monday June 8th.

More than 90 organisations have recently united to form the
'Global Coalition for Alternatives to the Drug War'. They
insist that it is of great importance that proposals for drug
policy reform are heard during the coming UN session. The coalition
is issuing a declaration that will be presented in New York at the
Non-Governmental Organisations conference that is part of UNGASS,
and that will be published widely in the coming weeks.

UNGASS was originally conceived as a critical examination of
worldwide anti-drug policy. Under the guidance of repressive
forces inside the UN, the focus of the session has been narrowed,
however. According to the new guidelines, only the expansion of
existing policies will be open for discussion.

"In terms of crime, economic and financial damage, and social and
personal harm, repressive drug policy is turning into a worldwide
crisis. Now the United Nations aims to escalate drug repression
tactics in a misguided quest towards a drug free society",
says Arno Adelaars, one of the speakers at a forum in Amsterdam
on Sunday June 7th, and a member of the Recreational Drugs
Committee, one of the coalition member organisations.

He continues, "To anyone who is aware of the damage, fysical
and emotional, inflicted by drug prohibition, it is obvious that what
is needed is not an escalated drug war, but reform policies
aimed at reducing the damage currently done".

The Global Days against the Drug War will feature discussion
forums, demonstrations, seminars, press conferences, street
parties, publications, concerts, a congress, and other types of
events. A street party in Amsterdam on June 6th is expected to
attract thousands to state their desire for an end to the drug
war in a joyful way. A congress will be held in Paris, Friday 5th
and Saturday 6th, with a demonstration at the Paris UN delegation
on Sunday 7th. An event hosting many well-know speakers will take
place in San Francisco on the 6th.

A large demonstration is planned to take place in New York on
Monday 8th, and the 'Global Coalition' will hold a forum inside the
UN on Tuesday June 9th, in cooperation with the European Council
on Drugs and Development, an organisation that has established
a coalition of 50 organisations working in the field of north-south
relations. Other organisations all over the planet are planning
their own version of the Global Days against the Drug War.

"It is heartening to see how many individuals and organisations
are ready to stand up and express themselves; many concerned people
have taken this chance to make an unequivocal statement that enough
harm has been done, that it is time to stop and think again",
according to Adelaars.

He adds, "An impressive number of reform organisations exists.
If UNGASS will have one positive effect, it will be that the drug
policy reform movement is going to stand united and become stronger
because of it. More and more people are convinced that drug
prohibition has been a tragic mistake. Politicians should finally
find the courage to admit that as well."

The Global Coalition for Alternatives to the Drug War currently
consists of more than 90 organisations. Among them are the Drug
Reform Coordination Network, the National Organisation for Reform
of Marijuana Laws, Coordinamento Radicale Antiprohibizionista, the
November Coalition, the Campaign for Equity-Restorative Justice,
the Transnational Radical Party, Common Sense for Drug Policy,
the Legalize! Initiative, the Media Awareness Project, the American
Society for Action on Pain, Compassionate Care Alliance, the Campaign
for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp, FORUM DROGHE, the
National Alliance of Methadone Advocates, Mothers against Misuse
and Abuse, and many other organisations.

During the Global Days against the Drug War events take place in
Alsfeld, Amsterdam, Auckland, Berlin, Bonn, Brussels, Christchurch,
Colville, Dallas, Dunedin, Eugene, Fort Lauderdale, Hamburg, Houston,
Ilmenau, Jena, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Marbella, Melbourne,
Munich, New Orleans, New York, Oslo, Paris, Rome, Salt Lake City,
San Francisco, Schengen, Seattle, Sidney, Stockholm, Tallinn, Tel
Aviv, Trier, Tucson, Washington, Wellington, and Winnipeg.

The declaration of the Global Coalition against the Drug War,
information about the coalition member organisations, about the
events taking place, about the UN panel, and event contact information,
is available at: http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/globalcoalition/

For further information please contact:

Kevin B. Zeese, Common Sense for Drug Policy,
phone: 703-354-5694 fax: 703-354-5695
e-mail: kevzeese@laser.net

Adam Smith, Drug Reform Coordination Network,
phone: 202-293-8340
e-mail: ajsmith@intr.net

or write to: coalition@stopthedrugwar.org

P R E S S R E L E A S E

***

Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 09:33:11 -0400
To: mattalk@islandnet.com, maptalk@mapinc.org, hemp-talk@hemp.net
november-l@november.org, drctalk@drcnet.org
From: Richard Lake (rlake@mapinc.org)
Subject: HT: The coalition: 85 organisations (FWD)
Sender: owner-hemp-talk@hemp.net

From: Harry Bego (hbego@knoware.nl)

Hi all,

for those of you who dislike checking web sites, here's the current
list of 85 organisations that have joined the Global Coalition for
Alternatives to the Drug War so far; for information about all these
organisations, check http://www.legalize.org/events/
The list isn't complete yet - even more organisations will be added soon.

Note that the coalition has submitted a proposal for a forum to be
held during UNGASS; together with ENCOD/ICN, a coalition of over 50
organistions, with which we work together; the UN doesn't seem to
particularly like our forum, though ... which makes sense, since it
is supported by over 140 organisations - maybe we're coming on a
little strong for them.

Marco Cappato, of Transnational Radical Party in New York, and
Ken Bluestone, of ENCOD, are fighting hard to get the forum accepted.

Harry

***

American Antiprohibition League, Arthur Livermore, board member, Portland,
Or.

American Society for Action on Pain (ASAP), Skip Baker, president,
Williamsburg, VA

Antiprohibicni Liga (AL), Richard Stockar, general secretary, Prague, Czech
Republic

Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party (ALCP), Brandon Hutchison, secretary,
Canterbury, New Zealand.

Arkansas Law Reform Group, T.E. Kezele, representative, Fayetteville, AR

Association for Emancipatory Drug Policy (DEBED), Martine Hutsebaut, chair,
Brussels

Auto Support des Usagers de Drogues (ASUD), Jimmy Kempfer, porte parole,
Paris

A Better Way to Fight Drugs & Crime, Sara Sikes, chair, Connecticut

British Columbia Anti-Prohibition League (BCAPL), Joanne Oake,
representative, Victoria, B.C., Canada

California NORML, Dale Gieringer, coordinator, San Francisco/Oakland, CA

Campaign for Equity-Restorative Justice (CERJ), John Wilmerding, general
secretary, Brattleboro, VT

Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp (CRRH), D. P. Stanford,
coordinator, Portland, Or.

Campaign to Legalise Cannabis International Association (CLCIA), Alun
Buffry, coordinator, Norwich

Cannabis Action Network, Debby Goldsberry, national coordinator, Berkeley, CA

The Cannabis Freedom Fund, Chuck Conrad, director, Los Angeles

Christians For Reform, Kent Watson, co-founder, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Citoyens Comme Les Autres, Bernard Luypaert, administrateur, Bruxelles

Collectif d'Information et de Recherche Cannabique (CIRC), Jean-Pierre
Galland, president, Paris

Collectif pour l'abrogation de la loi 70, Yves Tévessin, porte parole, Paris

Common Sense for Drug Policy (CSDP), Kevin Zeese, president, Falls Church, VA

Compassionate Care Alliance, Ann McCormick, chair, Darlington, Rhode Island

Coordinamento Radicale Antiproibizionista (CORA), Eric Picard, secretary,
Brussels

Detroit Organizational Needs In Treatment (DONT), Aaron Rolnick, Davison,
MI Dogwood Center, Dawn Day, director, Princeton, NJ

Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii (DPFH), Donald Topping, president, Honolulu,
Hawaii

Drug Policy Forum of Texas (DPFT), G. Alan Robison, executive director,
Houston

Drug Policy Reform Group of St. Paul, Paul Bischke, coordinator, St. Paul,
Minnesota

Drug Reform Coordination Network (DRCNet), Adam Smith, associate director,
Washington

Drug Users Rights Forum (DURF), Andria Efthimiou-Mordaunt, coordinator,
London

Dutch Drug Policy Foundation, Freek Polak, board member, Amsterdam

El Cogollo, Revista Cannábica, Esteban Escobar, coordinator, Zaragoza

Entheogen Awareness Committee, Michael Silva, public relations, Los Angeles

Fachforum Drogen des GAJB, Daniela Noll, Christian Schlicht, coordinators,
Mannheim

Families and Friends for Drug Law Reform, Brian McConnell, president,
Canberra, Australia

Forum Droghe, Grazia Zuffa, president, Rome

Green Prisoners Release, Henk Poncin, founder, Amsterdam

HANF! Magazine, Jörg Jenetzky, chief editor, Bielefeld

Hanfparade, Martin Müncheberg, coordinator, Berlin

Help End Marijuana Prohibition SA (Hemp SA), Andrew Duffy, representative,
Adelaide, Australia

HempWorld, Mari Kane, publisher, Forestville, California

HighLife, opinie en lifestyle magazine, Cliff Creemer, chief editor,
Amsterdam

Houston NORML, Steve Nolin, vice-president, Houston, Tx

Human Rights and the Drug War Exhibit Project, Mikki Bach, coordinator, El
Cerrito, Cal.

INitiative for a New drug policy (INN), Frank Lorvik, co-ordinator, Oslo,
Norway

Instituto de Documentación e Investigación del Cannabis (IDIC), B. de
Tudela, coordinator, Zaragoza

JEJUNE Magazine, Gwendolyn Albert, editrix, Prague, Czech Republic

Kansas State Lobbyists for Cannabis Law Reform, Debby Moore, founder, Wichita

"Kne Bossem" - The NPO for Changing Israeli Drug Laws, Shlomi Sandak, chair

Legalise Cannabis!, Derek Williams, coordinator, Norwich, UK.

The Legalize! Initiative, Harry Bego, coordinator, Utrecht

Libertarian Party of Kosciusko County, Michael Houze, chair, Pierceton,
Indiana

The Libertarian Party of San Francisco, Starchild, county chair, San
Francisco

Media Awareness Project (MAP), Mark Greer, executive director

Medical Cannabis Advocates of Key West, Zvi Baranoff, founder, Key West, Fl.

Medical Marijuana Advocating Coalition, Toni Leeman, president, Fort
Lauderdale, FL

The Medical Marijuana Magazine, Peter McWilliams, publisher, Los Angeles

Mothers Against Misuse and Abuse (MAMA), Sandee Burbank, director, Mosier, OR

National Alliance of Methadone Advocates (NAMA), Joycelyn Woods, executive
vice president

National Organisation for Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), Keith Stroup,
executive director

New South Wales Users & AIDS Association, Susan McGuckin, information
officer, Sydney

NORML New Zealand, Chris Fowlie, board member, Auckland

November Coalition, Nora Callahan, director, Colville, WA

Old Grove Neighborhood Alliance, Marcello Aurelio Lanfranchi, chair,
Oakland, California

Orange County Hemp Council (OCHC), Dave Myers, coordinator, Orange County,
California

Oregonians for Personal Privacy (OPP), George Stephano-Rose, coordinator,
Eugene, Oregon

Pikes Peak Hemp Coalition, Patrick L. Lilly, newsletter editor, Colorado
Springs, Colorado, USA

The Positive Solutions Group, Don Duncan, director, Berkeley, CA

Quad City Hemp Coalition, James Getman, coordinator, Quad Cities, Iowa and
Illinois

Recreational Drugs Committee, Erik van Ree, chair, Amsterdam.

Republican Party of New Haven, Thomas Fagan, Chairman, New Haven, CT

The SF Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, Peter Franck, representative,
San Francisco

San Francisco Medical Research Foundation, Da Vid, MD, director, Mill
Valley, CA.

San Miguel County, Colorado, Art Goodtimes, county commissioner, Telluride,
CO.

Sons and Daughters of Suburbia, Samuel O. Simpson, founder, Blacksburg,
Virginia

Suffolk County Libertarian Organization, Chris Garvey, candidate governor,
Suffolk County, NY

Swedish Cannabis Association (SCA), Mikael Linden, coordinator, Malmö

Swedish National Association for the Rights of Drug Users, Thomas Gilek,
president, Stockholm

Transform, Danny Kushlick, director, Bristol

Transnational Radical Party (TRP), Olivier Dupuis, secretary general,
Brussels

Tri Tec GmbH, Frank Zander, director, Bochum, Germany

Vermont Grassroots Party, Dennis Lane, chair, Waitsfield, Vt.

Washington Hemp Education Network, David L. Edwards, representative,
Olympia, Washington,

***

The Legalize! Initiative is the international action forum for all
people concerned about the effects of current drug policy. Join us at
http://www.legalize.org. global@legalize.org is our general discussion list.
For introductory information, send mail to legalize-info@legalize.org.
To unsubscribe from this list, send a message to majordomo@legalize.org,
with unsubscribe global as text of the message.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

The Week Online With DRCNet, Issue Number 43
(The Drug Reform Coordination Network's Original News Summary For Activists,
Including 'Operation Casablanca' - Feds' Big Money Laundering Bust
Amounts To Chump Change; 40 Events Scheduled For Global Days
Against The Drug War; Another Bad Raid, Another Lawsuit For The City
Of New York; Reverend Calvin Butts Calls Rudolph Giuliani 'Racist';
House Amendment To Higher Education Bill Bars Marijuana Smokers
From Receiving Student Aid; Bolivian Anti-Drug Squadron
Eats Disabled Peasant's Fruit Crop, Leaving Her Without Income;
Quote Of The Week - Milton Friedman On Colombia; Media Alert -
'Brandweek' Takes On The Partnership; Link Of The Week -
Oregonians For Medical Rights; New Book - 'Dark Alliance' By Gary Webb
Tells The Whole CIA-Crack Story)

Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 15:31:41 EDT
Originator: drc-natl@drcnet.org
Sender: drc-natl@drcnet.org
From: DRCNet (manager@drcnet.org)
To: Multiple recipients of list (drc-natl@drcnet.org)
Subject: The Week Online with DRCNet, Issue #43

THE WEEK ONLINE WITH DRCNet, ISSUE #43 -- MAY 22, 1998

-- PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE --

(To sign off this list, mailto:listproc@drcnet.org with the
line "signoff drc-natl" in the body of the message, or
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this list, visit http://www.drcnet.org/signup.html.)

(This issue can be read on our web site at
http://www.drcnet.org/rapid/1998/5-22.html.)

HELP BUILD THE MOVEMENT: If you are interested in
accelerating the growth of the reform movement, and if you
like to talk to people, DRCNet needs your help. Are there
events coming up in your area this summer? Can you get a
table at this event, or would you be willing to spend a
couple of hours carrying a clip-board? If so, please let us
know and we will send you some email sign-up sheets and
brochures. Just tell people about our free e-zine and
legislative alerts, and urge them to become part of the
solution. It's a great way to get out and talk to people
about the issue. You'll be surprised at how many of them
already agree with us, but just didn't know how to make
their voices heard.

Send requests for sign-up sheets to drcnet@drcnet.org and
indicate how many you'd like (there are 20 spaces on each
sheet), or we can send just one for you to copy to your
heart's content. Thanks.

SPECIAL OFFERS FOR NEW YORK AND TEXAS SUBSCRIBERS: In
partnership with our allies, the ReconsiDer Forum on Drug
Policy in New York state and the Drug Policy Forum of Texas,
we are offering special discounted memberships for those
wishing to join multiple groups. Along with canvassing for
e-mail addresses for DRCNet, working with one of these
quality state groups is a great way to get involved in local
activism. If you live in one of these states but didn't
receive the appropriate bulletin last Wednesday, please let
us know, so we can put you on the right state distribution
sublist. In the meantime, the offers are posted at
http://www.drcnet.org/rapid/1998/5-20-1.html and
http://www.drcnet.org/rapid/1998/5-20-2.html.

COUNTDOWN TO DRUG CRAZINESS: Mike Gray's new book from
Random House, Drug Crazy, continues to get rave reviews from
everyone we talk to who has seen it. You can help Drug
Crazy go big by simply visiting or calling bookstores in
your area and asking them if they have it. You don't even
need to place an order or leave your name (though doing so
is even better, and you may as well, because the book is
fantastic). Your calls will make the stores look twice at
Drug Crazy and get the book displayed more prominently in
more places. DRCNet is lauded and featured in the intro to
the book's appendix, so supporting Drug Crazy will build the
movement as well as educate the public. Some book chains
that may be in your area: Crown, Barnes & Noble, B. Dalton,
Border's, Doubleday, Brentano's, Scribner's, Waldenbooks,
Pyramid -- let us know if we've missed any, so we can add
them next week. Call, call, call! (Set your web browser to
http://www.drcnet/org/rapid/1998/5-22.html#drugcrazy to
check out Drug Crazy's striking book cover.)

(Though we urge our readers to call stores and/or buy the
book in person, if you're just not going to do that, you can
order the book through amazon.com -- DRCNet will earn a 15%
commission if you order the book via our link from
http://www.drcnet.org/rapid/1998/5-22.html#drugcrazy. The
book will be shipped out to you by amazon as soon as it
becomes available.)

LAST CHANCE FOR FREE COPIES OF MARIJUANA MYTHS, MARIJUANA
FACTS: After nearly half a year, we are getting ready to
wind up our MMMF membership premium offer and move on. To
get your free copy, and a one-year DRCNet membership send
$30 or more, and make sure it gets postmarked or submitted
online by May 31. Please use our online registration form
at http://www.drcnet.org/drcreg.html, or just send your
check or money order to: DRCNet, 2000 P St., NW, Suite 615,
Washington, DC 20036. Please note that donations or
membership dues paid to DRCNet are not tax-deductible.

***

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. "Operation Casablanca": Feds' Big Money Laundering Bust
Amounts to Chump Change
http://www.drcnet.org/rapid/1998/5-22.html#chumpchange

2. 40 Events Scheduled for Global Days Against the Drug War
http://www.drcnet.org/rapid/1998/5-22.html#globaldays

3. Another Bad Raid, Another Lawsuit for the City of New
York
http://www.drcnet.org/rapid/1998/5-22.html#badraid

4. Reverend Calvin Butts Calls Rudolph Giuliani "Racist"
http://www.drcnet.org/rapid/1998/5-22.html#calvinbutts

5. Medical Marijuana Summit Scheduled in California
http://www.drcnet.org/rapid/1998/5-22.html#mmjsummit

6. House Amendment to Higher Education Bill Bars Marijuana
Smokers from Receiving Student Aid
http://www.drcnet.org/rapid/1998/5-22.html#studentaid

7. Bolivian Anti-Drug Squadron Eats Disabled Peasant's
Fruit Crop, Leaving Her Without Income
http://www.drcnet.org/rapid/1998/5-22.html#bolivia

8. Quote of the Week: Milton Friedman on Colombia
http://www.drcnet.org/rapid/1998/5-22.html#quote

9. Media Alert: Brandweek Takes on the Partnership
http://www.drcnet.org/rapid/1998/5-22.html#brandweek

10. Link of the Week: Oregonians for Medical Rights
http://www.drcnet.org/rapid/1998/5-22.html#omma

11. New Book: Dark Alliance by Gary Webb tells the whole
CIA-Crack Story
http://www.drcnet.org/rapid/1998/5-22.html#garywebb

12. Job Announcement: DPF Hiring an Assistant
Communications Director
http://www.drcnet.org/rapid/1998/5-22.html#opportunity

13. Editorial: Bad raids
http://www.drcnet.org/rapid/1998/5-22.html#editorial

***

1. FEDS' BIG MONEY LAUNDERING BUST AMOUNTS TO CHUMP CHANGE

This Monday, the US Treasury Department announced the
results of "Operation Casablanca," a three year
investigation into drug trafficking and money laundering
that has culminated in indictments against three Mexican
banking institutions and the arrest of more than two hundred
individuals, many of them mid-level banking officials
representing twelve of Mexico's nineteen largest banks. In
addition to the indictments, seizures of more than a hundred
bank accounts in the US and Europe are expected to net more
than 130 million dollars.

In a press release, Treasury Department Under Secretary for
Enforcement Raymond Kelly noted that the success of
Operation Casablanca was "extremely significant, because of
the sheer volume of the amounts of money involved," and
because "it exposes a link between the Cali and Juarez
Cartels and their relationship with Mexican banks."

At a press conference, Kelly was asked whether the Mexican
authorities had cooperated with Operation Casablanca. He
responded, "We had a lot of undercover officers involved who
were at great risk, so this information was not shared with
the Mexican government."

Attorney General Janet Reno added, "When I talked with the
Attorney General of Mexico today, they indicated that they
wanted to cooperate in every way possible."

So far, most of those arrested are Mexican citizens. No US
citizens have been charged with any crime, nor have any US
banking institutions been implicated in the sting--although
one of the Mexican Banks, Banca Confia, was recently
purchased by Citibank, and many of the seized accounts were
located in US banks. Spokespersons for Citibank have said
that Citibank was not aware of Confia's involvement in
illegal activities.

The Week Online asked Ian Vasquez, Director of the Cato
Institute's Project on Global Economic Liberty, whether
Operation Casablanca had made a dent in the cartels.
"Unfortunately," he said, "seizing a few million or even a
hundred million dollars is not going to have much of an
effect on a 50 billion dollar industry. In fact, it is more
likely that attacking the drug problem from the money
laundering side will result in an even greater profit motive
for the traffickers, more violence, and stronger incentives
for institutional corruption."

***

2. 40 EVENTS SCHEDULED FOR GLOBAL DAYS AGAINST THE DRUG WAR

The Global Days Against the Drug War is an international
series of events to be held June 5-10 in response to the
United Nations Special Session on Narcotics. As of this
writing, forty separate events are planned, meaning there's
likely to be one in a city near you. We urge you to
participate and to make the Global Days a turning point in
the international debate over an increasingly global and
militaristic Drug War.

For those who have asked about the New York event, there
will not be a demonstration at the UN due to several
logistical and strategic factors. But there will be a large
demonstration in favor of syringe exchange taking place at
Bryant Park (42nd and 6th) at 5 PM on Monday, June 8th.
This event is not yet officially part of the Global Days,
although that may change. Further announcements may be
forthcoming.

Events in cities other than New York, however, are all of
the public-attendance variety! Event and contact
information, as well as the Declaration (please sign it, if
you haven't already) can be found at
http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/globalcoalition/.

Participating cities include:

Alsfeld, Amsterdam, Auckland, Berlin, Bonn, Brussels,
Christchurch, Colville, Dallas, Dunedin, Eugene, Hamburg,
Houston, Ilmenau, Jena, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Munich,
New Orleans, Paris, Rome, Salt Lake City, San Francisco,
Schengen, Seattle, Sidney, Stockholm, Tallinn, Tel Aviv,
Trier, Tuscon, Washington, Wellington, and Winnipeg.

***

3. ANOTHER BAD RAID, ANOTHER LAWSUIT FOR THE CITY OF NEW
YORK

In New York last week (5/12), the victim of yet another
"wrong apartment" raid filed suit against the city. The
plaintiff, a 29 year-old Latino woman with four young
children, is seeking $20 million in damages.

The raid occurred on June 5, 1997 at 8:30 AM when 15
narcotics agents stormed the Brooklyn apartment, pulled the
nearly-naked woman from her bed, held a gun to her head and
repeatedly demanded to know where the guns and drugs were.
Susan Karten, the plaintiff's attorney, told United press
International that the police refused to let her client
comfort her 2 year-old child, and that other officers
interrogated her 7 year-old about the woman and her
boyfriend. Karten also claims that her client was told to
"shut up" when she asked to see a warrant.

The warrant, which the police apparently did have in their
possession at the time of the raid, indicates that the wrong
apartment was being searched, and, upon closer inspection,
that the officer who swore to its contents was either
indifferent to, or unaware of the facts to which he
attested.

Attorney Susan Karten spoke with The Week Online. "The
warrant, which was issued on a tip from a confidential
informant, of whom the officer states he has had 'personal
knowledge and conversation'. In the warrant, the officer
states that he has 'observed the premises' at 396 New Jersey
Avenue, and that it is a 'four-story brown brick building.'
In fact, 396 New Jersey is a three-story gray brick
building."

"The warrant also reads, 'I am informed that apartment 2-M
can be reached by ascending the stairs at the front of the
building to the second floor and turning left,' and that it
is the only gray door in the building. Well, first of all,
the apartment that my client lives in, that the police
kicked in the door of, with guns drawn, was apartment 2-L,
and it has a red door. In fact, there is no apartment 2-M
in the building at all. However, if you follow the
directions in the warrant, ascending the stairs in the front
and turning left, you will find apartment 1-L which,
coincidentally, has the only gray door in the building, and
which, according to published reports, was raided, and
heroin was found there, a month later."

Karten continued, "My question is, someone, apparently
operating under NYPD guidelines, made the decision to kick
in the door anyway. We, and by 'we' I mean the citizens of
New York City, have a right to see those guidelines and to
evaluate why it is that these obvious mistakes were ignored,
and a door was kicked in by fifteen officers with guns
drawn, and an innocent family was terrorized."

New York City police commissioner Howard Safir, addressing
reporters, claimed that "it was the correct apartment as
designated by the search warrant." Safir also dismissed the
recent rash of "bad raid" lawsuits, saying, "It's just like
a number of other cases that are popping up as people line
up to see if they can sue the city for big dollars."

Neither the NYPD Press Office, nor the NYPD Commissioner's
Office responded to requests for comment on this story.

***

4. REVEREND CALVIN BUTTS CALLS RUDOLPH GIULIANI "RACIST"

On Tuesday (5/19) during an appearance on "Inside City Hall"
a local cable television program on news station "New York
1," Reverend Calvin Butts of the Abyssinian Baptist Church
in Harlem, one of New York City's most powerful and well-
respected African American leaders, said of New York City's
Mayor, "I don't think he likes black people." Then, on
Wednesday, speaking at a news conference along with other
religious leaders and several Harlem residents who say
they've been harassed by police, Butts added "People say
'Reverend, why are you speaking out? The city is cleaner
and safer.' What I want to tell people is that it's not
happening in our community."

Reverend Butts claimed that Giuliani's leadership has led to
an atmosphere among police whereby more young blacks and
Harlem merchants are being harassed and brutalized. He also
stated at the press conference that he would "be big enough
to admit I was wrong about calling you a racist" if the
mayor would address his concerns.

In response, Mayor Giuliani told the Associated Press "I
think it's really a shame for him to be name-calling like
that, particularly since he's a religious person. So I
think this is a reflection on Calvin Butts."

***

5. MEDICAL MARIJUANA SUMMIT SCHEDULED IN CALIFRONIA
- Barrington Daltrey for DRCNet

Sen. John Vasconcellos, chair of the California State Senate
Committee on Public Safety, has responded to the need for a
reliable medical marijuana distribution system by scheduling
a "summit" on Tuesday, May 26, 1998 in Sacramento.

The meeting, officially entitled "Medicinal Marijuana
Distribution Summit," was announced by teleconference
Monday, May 18, 1998, and further specifics have now been
made available by Vasconcellos' office. Speakers will
include representatives of law enforcement organizations,
district attorney's offices, the medical profession, and
cannabis providers. Vasconcellos is promoting statewide
participation.

Recognizing the seriousness of the situation and responding
to the will of a majority of Californians expressed in
Proposition 215, Vasconcellos released a press advisory with
the following statement:

"Pursuant to Californians declaring via Proposition 215 our
will to allow medical uses of marijuana, a number of
courageous, passionate Californians have endeavored to fill
a void left by the inability, unwillingness of government to
address the issue of distribution. To varying degrees of
success, they provide the essential service to otherwise
law-abiding citizens whose only other option is to purchase
marijuana from street dealers. However, many of these
courageous citizens have become targets of the state and
federal criminal justice system."

Consistent with their antagonistic stance toward the
California law, federal law enforcement and Dept. of Justice
officials have reportedly declined to participate.
Nevertheless, notable speakers are scheduled from around the
state. Among the many announced speakers are George
Kennedy, President of the California District Attorneys'
Association; Terence Hallinan, San Francisco County District
Attorney; Glen Craig, Sacramento County Sheriff; Dr. Neil
Flynn, UC Davis Medical Center; Dr. Jonathan Fielding, Los
Angeles County Health Officer; Peter McWilliams,
author/publisher; and Scott Imler, Los Angeles Cannabis
Buyers Club.

The agenda reflects an apparent "pro-medical marijuana"
stance, in accord with the goals stated in the press
advisory. Among the topics are, "What County Health
Directors are Doing and Need to Do," "Implementing Prop. 215
Without Jeopardizing Public Safety," and "What Needs to
Happen after Marijuana is Recommended."

The summit will be open to the public and will include a
public comment period. It is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. to
5:00 p.m. in Room 112, State Capitol building, Sacramento.


6. HOUSE AMENDMENT TO HIGHER EDUCATION BILL BARS CONVICTED
DRUG OFFENDERS FROM RECEIVING STUDENT AID

(reprinted from the NORML Weekly News, http://www.norml.org)

May 21, 1998, Washington, DC: The House overwhelmingly
approved legislation this month denying convicted marijuana
offenders from receiving federal student loan assistance.
The language, introduced by Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) as House
Amendment 582 to the Higher Education Programs Authorization
Extension Bill (H.R. 6), mandates that "An individual
student who has been convicted of any offense under any
Federal or State law involving the possession or sale of a
controlled substance shall not be eligible to receive any
[federal] grant, loan, or work assistance."

NORML National Campus Coordinator Aaron Wilson said that the
legislation unfairly punishes marijuana users. "It is
outrageous that Congress would pass this law denying
financial aid to students for minor non-violent drug
offenses, while a felony conviction for a serious violent
crime brings no such penalty," he said. "What kind of
message is Congress sending?"

Souder's amendment suspends first time drug offenders from
receiving student aid for a period of one year. Second time
offenders will be ineligible for two years, and multiple
repeat offenders will be barred indefinitely. Drug sellers
will be ineligible for two years after their first
conviction, and indefinitely prohibited from receiving aid
upon a second conviction. Students may resume eligibility
before the completion of their suspension if they
participate in a drug rehabilitation program and pass two
random drug tests.

Wilson questioned how fairly the new law would apply to
marijuana offenders. "In many states, marijuana possession
is decriminalized (a civil violation punishable by payment
of a small fine), while in others it's a misdemeanor or a
felony. Depending on which state students live in, this
legislation may or may not apply to you."

The House approved H.R. 6 by a vote of 414 to 4, far
exceeding the two-thirds majority necessary to override a
veto by President Clinton. The bill now awaits action from
the Senate.

For more information, please contact either Keith Stroup,
Esq. at (202) 483-5500 or Aaron Wilson at (212) 362-1964.

***

7. BOLIVIAN ANTI-DRUG SQUADRON EATS DISABLED PEASANT'S FRUIT
CROP, LEAVING HER WITHOUT INCOME

Felipa Mamani, a peasant farmer in Shinahota, in the Chapare
region of Bolivia, lost her leg after being wounded on
November 15, 1995, in a confrontation between the UMOPAR
(Bolivia's DEA) and townspeople. The UMOPAR had occupied a
hall, preventing a cocalero (coca growers union) meeting, as
well as a campaign meeting for a local mayoral candidate,
from taking place. During the several hour confrontation,
the UMOPAR used large quantities of tear gas and rubber
bullets and fired off warning rounds with automatic weapons.
About 20 people were arrested and nine police were
wounded, although none by gunfire. Mamani, who was one of
six civilians wounded, was hit in the right thigh by a
bullet which severed her femural artery. A doctor at the
local clinic determined that she needed specialized medical
care and would have to be transported to a larger clinic in
a nearby town. While the doctor was looking for
transportation to the other clinic his clinic was surrounded
by UMOPAR agents and bombarded by gas delaying the removal
of patients for at least half an hour.

In the hospital in Ibuelo it was determined that Mamani
needed to go to Cochabamba due to the severity of her wound.
She waited more than two weeks in the public hospital while
the coca growers union and the Permanent Assembly of Human
Rights negotiated with the government to pay for the
treatment of her leg. By the time the government had
agreed, the leg had to be amputated. In agreeing to pay for
Mamani's medical costs, the government assumed no
responsibility for the incident in Shinahota and refused to
pay for any of the medical follow up that she needed. (The
incident is described in reports by Human Rights Watch --
see http://www.hrw.org/hrw/summaries/s.bolivia965.html and
http://www.hrw.org/hrw/summaries/s.bolivia957.html.)

Earlier this year, the Andean Information Network, an
organization that monitors and disseminates information on
the impact of the anti-narcotics effort in Bolivia, raised
funds for Mamani to purchase a new prosthesis to replace her
old artificial leg that had become non-functional after
three years of use. According to AIN's appeal, "Felipa has
been an invaluable resource not only for AIN but for
international human rights organizations as well. She has
always been willing to allow interviews, photos and
countless retellings of the fateful events of that day. We
have found her to be a tireless defender of human rights in
the Chapare."

On April 29, AIN's Lee Cridland visited Mamani at the union
headquarters to let her know that they had raised sufficient
funds and that she was now on the company's waiting list.
Mamani told her that on the previous day, government
soldiers, now installed in the Chapare to forcibly eradicate
coca, had entered her property and eradicated all of her
coca plants. The soldiers had also eaten all of the fruit
that was ready for picking, leaving her with no source of
income. Says Cridland, "I could hardly believe what she was
saying and you can imagine her fear as the soldiers
entered the property from the back and she could not get
back there to see what they were doing. Once she calmed
down a bit we took her back to her land 15 kilometers away
and confirmed with our own eyes what she had told us."

(Those of you who have been with us for awhile might recall
the alert we redistributed for AIN last year, archived at
http://www.drcnet.org/rapid/1997/4-23-1.html. AIN can be
contacted at paz@pino.cbb.entelnet.bo.

***

8. QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"The available evidence indicates that our attempt to
deprive individuals of the freedom to use drugs such as
heroin and cocaine has done far more harm than good. It has
filled our jails, corrupted our police, deprived people of
their civil liberties and imposed unbelievable horrors on
other countries such as Mexico and Colombia. On just this
last issue -- the effect of our drug policy on other
countries -- I have never found anyone able to give me a
plausible answer on what right the U.S. has to destroy a
country like Colombia just because we can't enforce our own
laws. If we could enforce our laws, there would be no drug
cartel there, no black market, no endless string of drug
killings and less instability in the government. Because we
can't enforce our laws, the country is being destroyed."

- Milton Friedman, San Jose Mercury News, 5/17, "Leading
Question" weekly feature

***

9. MEDIA ALERT

Brandweek, the sister publication to Adweek, the advertising
industry's leading trade publication, featured an analysis
of the effectiveness of anti-drug advertising in its April
27 issue. The discussion decried an absence of evidence for
the campaigns' efficacy, and scolded the ONDCP and
the Partnership for a Drug Free America for taking shortcuts
and not doing the research that any company embarking on a
multi-billion dollar ad campaign would perform. Senior
Editor David Kiley points out that there is a lot at stake -
- keeping kids off drugs and making effective use of
taxpayer money -- and that the standards for planning should
therefore be higher than they are for private clients'
accounts, not lower.

Reportedly, Kiley and Brandweek have since received an
onslaught of negative criticism about their coverage.
Please send letters of support to: David Kiley, Senior
Editor, Brandweek, 1515 Broadway, 12th Floor, New York, NY
10036, fax: (212) 536-1416, dkiley@brandweek.com.

The articles can be accessed on the web in full at
http://www.marijuanamagazine.com/toc/051898.htm.

***

10. LINK OF THE WEEK: Oregonians for Medical Rights

The proponents of the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act have
created a web site with the full text of the legislation and
an extensive set of links to informational resources. Check
OMMA out at http://www.teleport.com/~omr/.

***

11. NEW BOOK: Dark Alliance

In August 1996, the San Jose Mercury News published a series
of articles by reporter Gary Webb, titled "Dark Alliance",
discussing evidence of possible connections between the CIA,
the Nicaraguan Contras, and cocaine trafficking rings
operating between Central America and inner-city Los
Angeles. Webb, who is no longer with the Mercury, has
written a book with the same name, detailing the rest of the
information that the Mercury, under pressure, declined to
publish. Though the CIA has denied engaging in drug
trafficking, earlier this year they acknowledged that they
did work with drug traffickers and did not report them to
the DEA or other law enforcement agencies.

You can order Dark Alliance by going to our site at
http://www.drcnet.org/rapid/1998/5-22.html#darkalliance and
following the amazon.com link. DRCNet will earn a 15%
commission on your purchase.

Another important book of relevance to the cocaine problem
is Crack in America, edited by sociologists Craig Reinarman
and Harry G. Levine, a compilation of 17 essays by renowned
experts (including the editors) providing a comprehensive
look into the latest "demon drug". Follow the link from
http://www.drcnet.org/rapid/1998/5-22.html#crackinamerica to
earn DRCNet a commission.

Land of Opportunity: One Family's Quest for the American
Dream in the Age of Crack, by William Adler, narrates the
gripping history of a family that made it big in the crack
world only to fall later. A revealing look at the real
world behind the rhetoric. Follow the link from
http://www.drcnet.org/rapid/1998/5-22.html#opportunity to
earn DRCNet 15%.

***

12. JOB ANNOUNCEMENT: DPF Seeks Communications Associate/
Assistant Editor

The Drug Policy Foundation seeks a media-savvy person to
assist Communications Director to generate media coverage,
produce policy journal, monitor news sources, and post Web
info. Applicants must be detail-oriented, write clearly/
concisely, know standard proof-reading and editing
practices, and possess talent for layout/artistic design.
Media experience a must; knowledge of drug policy reform a
plus. BA with 2+ yrs exp.

Duties and Responsibilities:

* Responsible for assisting Communications Director and
Foundation senior staff in identifying public policy,
legislative, and grassroots activities that warrant
publicity/media attention.

* Assists the Communications Director in developing and
maintaining media relationships and database.

* Coordinates media interviews for DPF representatives and
acts as logistical liaison for DPF press conferences and
briefings.

* Conducts research, writes, edits, provides design
assistance for DPF press releases, op-ed columns, letters
to the editor, DPF's quarterly Drug Policy Letter, and
other in-house publications including the Web site.
Assists in the coordination and distribution of DPF
releases and publications.

* Monitors print and electronic news and media sources and
coordinates DPF responses. Covers and reports on other
newsworthy events for DPF publications.

* Assists in the continuing development and maintenance of
the Foundation's Web site and in responding to public
correspondence including email.

Full benefits, mid-$20s starting salary. Send resume,
writing sample to: Comm Search, The Drug Policy Foundation,
4455 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite B-500, Washington, DC 20008-
2328. No emails please.

***

13. EDITORIAL... Bad Raids

It's 8 AM, your family is up and about, the kids are getting
ready for school, someone's in the shower, and your mind is
already focused on all that awaits you at work today.
Suddenly -- your front door explodes inward -- there's an
explosion and a flash of light, and smoke, and men, men with
guns are everywhere, rushing into your home screaming and
cursing and pointing their weapons -- grabbing everyone in
the house -- putting them on the floor -- screaming orders -
- questions -- demands -- your children! Where are the
children?! You hear them screaming and crying "don't shoot
my mommy!! Don't shoot!! Daddy, Help!! Help!! But you
can't help. You've been pinned to the floor by three of the
men and there's a gun pressed up against the back of your
neck.

It is not until the first few agonizing minutes of terror
have passed that you realize that these are not outlaws,
these are the police. You, apparently, are the outlaw. At
least as far as they're concerned. So you sit helpless as
you are all handcuffed, and screamed at, and threatened, and
cursed and manhandled. As your children are interrogated.
And for hours that seem like days you watch as your
residence, and your belongings, and your life are torn
apart, and broken, and scattered across the floors of this
place that up until this morning was your home... and your
castle.

Over the past three years, in cities all across the United
States, a very curious thing has happened: crime rates have
dropped precipitously. There are many reasons for this
trend. Demographics have changed for one, meaning that
there has been a dip in the number of 15-24 year-old males,
a trend which will soon reverse itself with a vengeance.
There is also the fact that after watching a generation of
their elders suffer through the misery of crack dependence,
fewer young people in poor neighborhoods will touch the
stuff. And yes, community policing, at its best, has had an
impact as well.

But there is one factor, perhaps the most important of all,
which has been little remarked upon. Over the past three
years, the drug trade, be it cocaine or heroin or marijuana,
has, to a large extent, undergone an important change in its
standard operating procedure. Over the past three years, in
most large cities across America, the drug trade has moved
indoors.

Open air drug markets, persistent throughout the seventies
and eighties, have given way to beepers and cell phones.
Transactions which used to be done out in the open are now
done, to a large extent, behind closed doors. Orders are
placed, deliveries are made, and business is transacted out
of public, and police view.

This has made a tremendous difference in the quality of life
of many communities. In parts of Los Angeles, in
Manhattan's Washington Heights, children can play outside
without the constant threat of erupting gunfire. People
walk their streets without having to negotiate a phalanx of
street dealers and their customers. It hasn't happened
everywhere, and drugs are still sold on the streets in some
neighborhoods, but to a large extent, in a lot of places, it
has changed.

But with this change in the drug trade has come a change in
the policing of the drug trade. Narcotics officers used to
be able to appear in certain neighborhoods, put everyone on
the ground and begin making arrests. It was like shooting
fish in a barrel. And while all of those arrests did little
or nothing to limit the availability of drugs in the
community, at least there were statistics, body counts,
tangible evidence that the police were doing something.

So, soon after it became apparent that the drug trade had
moved in off of the street, the police followed. And if
watching a street sweep, with dozens of neighborhood
residents lying spread-eagle on the pavement, was troubling
to those Americans still enamored of freedom and liberty,
the sound of doors being kicked in at private residences by
armed narcotics squads is truly heartbreaking.

In 1991, the New York City police department executed 1,174
narcotics search warrants. Less than five months into 1998,
they have already executed 1,357. In narcotics cases, a
large percentage of warrants are granted, and executed, on
the word of confidential informants. These are usually
people who have been charged with crimes of their own, and
who have decided, often under enormous pressure, to turn
snitch. In fact, in many jurisdictions it is standard
procedure to offer to drop charges in exchange for five
names, with the alternative being near a certain long-term
prison sentence.

Not surprisingly, reports are beginning to surface in New
York about a growing number of "bad" raids. Either the
wrong door was kicked in, or the informant took a guess, or
perhaps the he simply had a grudge against someone living in
the apartment. Whatever the reason, it doesn't much matter
to those whose homes and lives have been irreparably
violated. In recent months, at least six lawsuits have been
filed against the NYPD for bad raids. These are just the
ones who have come forward. And there are doubtless
numerous other cases where the raid netted but a small
amount of a banned substance, an eighth of an ounce of
marijuana perhaps, thus legally justifying the invasion and
eliminating any chance of civil recourse.

There is very little to compare with the abject terror of a
family whose home is suddenly invaded by a large group of
angry, armed men. And it makes little difference who they
are working for when they come. The process of search and
destroy, the verbal and physical abuse, the broken
possessions and shattered sense of security are a judgment,
and a punishment of their own. And the aftermath, even for
the innocent, can be a long and enduring nightmare.
Children who are afraid to go to sleep, bumps in the hall
that make entire families jump, and the sense that the
police, paid with your tax dollars, are agents of harm. And
if you should be so unlucky as to have anything suspicious
in your home; too many Ziplock sandwich bags, a scale that
weighs in grams or ounces, or perhaps even a gun to protect
your family from "real" invaders, charges are likely to be
held over your head for a good long while. Perhaps until
you have signed away your right to sue.

Howard Safir, the commissioner of the NYPD said recently,
"the drug trade has moved inside, and we're going to go in
and get it." But the innumerable consensual transactions
that make up "the drug trade" will not be eliminated by
kicking in even hundreds of thousands of doors, any more
than it was eliminated by hundreds of thousands of street-
corner arrests over the past twenty years. We will simply
slide steadily down the path toward even greater police
powers, and even less regard for the sanctity of the home
against incursion by the sovereign. That sanctity was once
a very important concept for Americans. But that was a long
time ago. Before the war.

Adam J. Smith
Associate Director

***

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