DRUG TRUTH
REAL NEWS! at www.mapinc.org Upcoming Guest List
Dean Becker & Kevin Zeese
- PRIOR GUEST LINKS -
Judge James P. Gray
Answers questions about our Drug War and about his new book:
"Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed and What We Can Do About It"
Tues. June 12, 2001 8PM Eastern Summary of NY Times Visit
Sat. June 23, 2001 10PM Eastern Summary of Drugsense Chat
Reviews, Quotes & More Judge Jim Gray's Website
Deans Notes: I met the Judge a couple of months ago. I took his book, he took a copy of the Declaration of Evident Truth. I soon realized that though I was practically of another species, the "druggies", he accepted me. We can be assured, when the information contained in his new book is disseminated to the masses, the war will soon be over.
Kevin Zeese
Wed. June 20, 2001 8PM Eastern Summary of NY Times Visit
Sun. July 1, 2001 8 PM Eastern Summary of Drugsense Chat
Kevin B. Zeese is President of Common Sense for Drug Policy. He is one of the nation's foremost authorities on drug policy issues. He has worked on a wide array of drug related issues (Curriculum Vitae) since he graduated from George Washington University Law School in 1980.He is the author of Drug Testing Legal Manual, Drug Testing Legal Manual and Practice Aids and co-author of Drug Law: Strategies and Tactics, all three published by Clark Boardman Callaghan. He served as editor of Drug Law Report for Clark Boardman Callaghan from 1983 to 1998. In addition, he is the author of Drug Prohibition and the Conscience of Nations. He is the editor of Friedman and Szasz On Liberty and Drugs and has edited numerous books on drug policy and manuals on criminal defense.
Deans Notes: I feel so lucky that I got a chance to meet Kevin Zeese, a man I feel is going to be in the fore when we win the day. To meet Kevin is to meet a man of integrity, yet a man of the people. I've seen video and heard stories about how Kevin battled every law enforcement agency in Texas last year to bring the Journey for Justice to the state capitol. Kevin takes point for all of us.
Kay Lee & Jodi James
June 26, 2001 8PM Eastern Summary of NY Times Visit
Deans Notes: What can I say, Kay Lee is my telepathic mentor. I try to think like her if at all possible. Her dignity, her cause and compassion are without parallel. Jodi James served well as the "General" on the Texas J4J. Daily battles with Jeb Bush over prison reform are no picnic, just ask these ladies. Please visit their site, there is much to learn there.
Keith Stroup
Sun. July 8, 2001 8PM Eastern Summary of Drugsense Chat
Mon. July 9, 2001 8PM Eastern Summary of NY Times Forum
Mr. Keith Stroup is a Washington, DC public-interest attorney who founded NORML in 1970. He obtained his undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Illinois and his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.
Mr. Stroup served as the National Director of NORML from its founding through 1979, when marijuana was decriminalized in eleven states. He rejoined the board in 1994, and currently serves as the executive director.
Mr. Stroup has worked as an advocate for artists, for family farmers and for criminal defense lawyers, in addition to his work for marijuana smokers. In 1992 he received the Richard J. Dennis Drugpeace Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Drug Policy Reform from the Drug Policy Foundation.
Deans Notes: Through Keith's efforts, we are close to the day when we can light up a doobie without that DEA inspired paranoia settin' in. I met Keith in Austin when he gave a rousing speech to the hundreds gathered at the capitol. I tried to get Woody Harrelson's phone number, to get him to produce "Century of Lies", and I still bug Keith with a call or an email once in a while and again, I am treated with such dignity. I think he is a patriot!
Steve & Michele Kubby
Tues. July 17, 2001 8PM Eastern NYTimes Transcript
Sun. July 22, 2001 8PM Eastern Drugsense Chat Room
Steve & Michele's website: http://www.kubby.com/
"The law that my wife and I helped pass was easy enough for the voters of California and the jurors of Placer County to understand. Only narcotics officers, prosecutors, and others who benefit from the drug war have difficulty understanding a law that grants new rights. I find it amazing how difficult it is for people to understand something when their careers depend upon them NOT understanding it,"
Deans Notes: I'm just like you, I am astounded at the strength and the progress of this couple. They are involved on so many fronts, so many layers of this effort to restore freedom and dignity to our country. I'm really looking forward to these visits. (Governor Kubby or #601753?)
Renee Boje
Tues. July 24, 2001 8PM Eastern NY Times Archive
Sun. July 29, 2001 8PM Eastern Drugsense Archive
Renee Boje's trials and tribulations began after California medical marijuana activist Todd McCormick was arrested growing thousands of cannabis plants in a rented Bel Air mansion in the summer of 1997. Inspired by the recent passage of Proposition 215 that effectively legalized medical marijuana in the state, McCormick began growing the plants as part of his research for a book he was working on, "How to Grow Medical Marijuana."
Renee was initially arrested along with a number of other people on the premises, but her charges were later dropped. In 1998, Renee's lawyer advised her that the charges against her were about to be reinstated so she fled to the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia and eventually filed for refugee status. More recently, she offered to return to the US and stand trial if US Attorney General Janet Reno would drop the charges against co-defendent Peter McWilliams, who has since died of AIDS.
Deans Notes: Everything I have ever read from or about Renee Boje has been about grace, compassion and love. Why our government desires to attack and vilify one so sweet is well beyond my comprehension. We must stand together for the rights of our fellow man. Renee has done more than her share to promote progress. Please join her in calling for reform and enlightenment.
Al Robison
Tues. July 31, 2001 8PM Eastern NY Times Archive
Sun. Aug 5, 2001 8PM Eastern Drugsense Archive
"Not only has THC or a THC-containing product (marijuana, cannabis, hashish, etc.) never been known to kill a human, we were unable even to kill a rat or a mouse with it. But it's still the only drug I ever experimented with for which I couldn't determine an LD50, which is the dose that will kill 50% of a group of animals when administered to a large group. For each species there will be one LD50 when you give it intravenously, another one for subcutaneous injection, and so on for all the different routes of administration you can think of. All the other drugs I can think of, including especially all the other ones that humans like to take, will be lethal to experimental animals in relatively small doses." - Al Robison
Deans Notes: When I first met Al, I was one pissed off MF. Through his guidance and in trying to follow (somewhat) in his example I have managed to achieve certain small results in trying to end the drug war. I have tried to channel my anger and incredulity into more positive measures. Working with input from Al and Jerry Epstein of the DPFT I was able to sponsor the best rally against the drug war Houston has ever seen this past May 5th and by using their guidance, I recently had a LTE published in 4 Texas newspapers at once. We have much to learn from Al about drugs themselves and about drug reform.
Sanho Tree
Wed. August 8, 2001 8PM Eastern NY Times Archive
Sun. Aug 12, 2001 8PM Eastern Drugsense Archive
National Drug Control Strategy
Director,
Drug Policy
Project at the Institute for Policy Studies
"...there is no definition of "victory", no
clear articulation of objectives, and no exit
strategy. Will Congress settle for a 20%, 50% or 100% reduction in drug
production? Or are we trying to push the guerillas south of the equator or
are we trying to "degrade" their military capability a la Kosovo?
Or will the war end when US drug use completely disappears? There is no
capital city to occupy, no enemy flag to seize, and no geographical high ground
to capture. How many Colombians are we prepared to sacrifice for such
undefined objectives? Americans have a right to know what goals we must
achieve before we can declare success and go home. This military
assistance is the first in a series of blank checks in a war that has no
endgame." - Sanho Tree
Deans Notes: I only got to talk with Sanho for a few moments and I'm just glad we have people like him on our side. I look forward to hearing more about the Colombian situation. He has great insight into our dealings down there. Sanho sometimes is called upon by CBS Evening News, to discuss our involvement in Mexico, Central and South America.
Ann McCormick
Thurs. August 23, 2001 8PM Eastern NY Times Archive
Ann's son Todd is still in Federal prison. America's cell blocks are packed with prisoners of the War on Drugs -- too many for us to name or act on individually. Some of these POWs, however, are singled out for "special treatment." As the federal drug warriors, led by Gulf War criminal General Barry McCaffrey, become desperate to stem the advance of state laws legalizing the medical use of marijuana, selected prisoners like Todd McCormick are used as examples of what happens when barbarians don't get their way.
You may have heard of Todd McCormick -- or not. You've almost certainly heard of his late friend, Peter McWilliams, whose blood stains the hands of McCaffrey and company. Peter and Todd worked together to produce Todd's book, "How to Grow Medical Marijuana."
Deans Notes: I first met Ann in Houston last fall. She is so noble and tries each day to bring justice to this land, to her son Todd. This story of Todd, Peter and Renee will some day be used as a benchmark of the evil a society can inflict on itself. Bless you Ann, bless you Todd. May we all work together to bring his day of freedom nearer.
Al Giordano
Tues. July 10, 2001 8PM Eastern NY Times Transcript
Sunday August 26 8PM Eastern Drugsense Transcript
Former Boston Phoenix political reporter Al Giordano reports on the drug war from Latin America. He is publisher of the Narco News Bulletin On July 20th, Giordano and Free Speech attorneys Thomas Lesser and Martin Garbus will be making arguments before the New York State Supreme Court, Manhattan District, in defense of libel charges brought by the National Bank of Mexico (Banamex), recently purchased by Citigroup, in a case known as "The Drug War on Trial."
Deans Notes: Al's stop by the NYTimes was great! Seems like a great guy, just like the wonderful, in-depth stuff he does in Narco News. From what I understand about his situation, the banks are trying to shut down the truth from his publication, because the guts of the drug war are spilling out with his reports.
Jeff Jones
Tues. August 28 , 2001 8PM Eastern NY Times Transcript
Saturday Sept 1, 8PM Eastern Drugsense Transcript
As the cancer stole his father away bit by bit, 14-year-old Jeff Jones would sit by his bedside in their South Dakota home and talk about fishing and camping and other ordinary things a boy might discuss with his father, as though time wasn’t running out.
Those are days that Jones, now 24, does not like to remember. But he forces himself to when he needs a reminder of why he has given up everything—old friends, a college education, the regular worries of a young adult—to become one of Northern California’s leading crusaders for the rights of the ill and dying to use medicinal marijuana.
Soft-spoken and shy, Jones, the co-founder and executive director of Oakland’s Cannabis Buyers’ Cooperative, seems an unlikely person to be at the center of one of the biggest political battles in California.
But in the almost two years since California’s passage of Proposition 215, the law that legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes, Jones’ cooperative has been labeled a model program and Oakland has willingly put itself at legal risk for the club by declaring it a city agency in an attempt to shield it from federal attempts to shut it down.
Deans Notes: Each time I talk with Jeff, I am struck by the intelligence, the strength of the man. Despite what many would think a huge setback by the US Supreme Court for the Oakland Co-Op, Jeff remains upbeat and after sharing information with him, I too felt more upbeat. Be sure to tune in, Jeff will surprise you with his insights and make you feel better about our progress as well.
Mark Greer
Tues. Sept. 4 , 2001 8PM Eastern NY Times Drug Archive
Sunday, Sept. 9, 8PM Eastern Drugsense Archive
Mark Greer has some very ambitious ideas for the future of our country. He is the Executive Director of DrugSense and the Media Awareness Project (MAP) inc.Greer has been interviewed on more than 250 radio and television talk shows on issues of Drug Policy Reform. He has also had scores of letters and articles printed in various publications nationwide, including nearly every major newspaper in the country.
Born in Santa Cruz California, most of his adult life has been spent in the Southern California business world. Greer's education and background is in Business Administration, computer technology, and motivational psychology. He approaches much of his drug policy reform efforts from a business oriented perspective.
DrugSense/MAP is comprised of a nationwide network of volunteer activists dedicated to Disseminating honest and accurate information on all aspects of drug policy to the media, policy makers, and the general public. The organization utilizes state of the art communications technology to directly approach and educate the media and the public on drug policy topics in a variety of ways. The organization has developed the most popular drug policy web pages in existence. It has also archived thousands of news articles. As the largest project of DrugSense MAP has been responsible for generating thousands of published letters to the editor. These letters have an equivalent advertising value of estimated in the millions of dollars. MAP also engages in radio and TV interviews, and letter writing campaigns to political leaders with the aim of educating the media the and the public on drug policy issues
The exciting concepts Greer espouses could well mark the beginning of the end of the fallacious, biased, and often nonsensical information we have long endured in various media presentations on topics of drugs and drug policy. Challenging and exposing the individuals and organizations that put forth such inaccuracies is among Greer's most important objectives.
Deans Notes: I have only talked via email with Mark, and yet I feel that I have made contact with a deeply dedicated and forthright individual. I pride myself on learning more about reform and in making the net enhance my capabilities. I realize much of my current and future progress depends on Mark and his brothers and sisters at Map, DRC, etc.
Daniel Abrahamson
Director, Legal Affairs, The Lindesmith Center - DPF
Sun. Sept. 16 , 2001 8PM Eastern Drugsense Transcript
Link to News Clips @ U.N. World Conference Against Racism
| Dan was at the United Nation's World Conference Against Racism, Durban, South Africa. August 28 - September 7, 2001 and will be discussing the conference. Lindesmith-DPF created and published an open letter, signed by hundreds, for the conference which is at http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/race_conf_letter.html |
Deans Notes: What with the war starting, Ethan is to be re-scheduled for later this fall. I got to talk to Daniel earlier this week and the guy is super. Especially now with the war starting, understanding racial and religious motivations is more important to the drug reform movement than ever before.
Mike Gray
Tues. Sept. 18 , 2001 8PM Eastern NY Times Drug Policy Transcript
Sunday, Sept. 23, 8PM Eastern Drugsense Transcript
Link to Learn More about Mike Gray
| Author Mike Gray is a prominent journalist, screenwriter, author, producer and documentarian, whose best known work includes the film China Syndrome, which he wrote, and the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, for which he has served as a writer and producer. |
| In an era when politicians vie to offer ever more draconian penalties to prove they are "tough on drugs" — and when a marijuana conviction can result in a longer prison sentence than murder — Gray dares to point out that our current policies are an abject failure, despite the world's highest incarceration rates and the expenditure of more than $300 billion in the last fifteen years alone. He eloquently argues for the return of a medical rather than a law enforcement model of drug control. |
| Drug Crazy is being praised in advance of publication from across the political spectrum: By two Nobel Prize winners (economist Milton Friedman and physicist Henry Kendall); by former Attorney General Elliott Richardson and former Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders; by liberal journalist Daniel Schorr and conservative journalist William F. Buckley; and by other prominent academics, scientists, public policy experts, criminologists and social commentators. |
| While many political and sociological treatises have been written on drug policy and reform, Drug Crazy breaks new ground by vividly and dramatically recreating eight decades of ongoing and escalating drug warfare. |
Deans Notes: I admire Mikes work a lot. I am trying to become a screenwriter. I have a few and the ones I'm working on now will leave "traffic" in the dust. (Maybe?) Anybody see the "China Syndrome".. another case of the government running amuck. Mike calls em as he sees em. I'm looking forward to this.
Dr. Joseph McNamara
Tues. Sept 25 , 2001 8PM Eastern NY Times Transcript
Thurs Sept 27, 8PM Eastern Drugsense Transcript
Link to Drug Library @ Dr. McNamara
"..The eroding integrity of law-enforcement officers and the resulting decrease in public credibility are costs of the drug war yet to be acknowledged. Within the last few years, police departments in Los Angeles, Boston, New Orleans, San Francisco, Denver, New York and in other large cities have suffered scandals involving police personnel lying under oath about drug evidence. Some officers in the New York City police and New York State police departments were convicted of falsifying drug evidence. Yet, President Bill Clinton appointed the heads of those agencies to be drug czar and chief of the Drug Enforcement Agency, respectively, and they were confirmed in the Senate. The message that politicians seem to be sending to the nation's police chiefs is that we understand that police perjury is a part of the drug war.
But recently a number of police leaders have conceded that racially disparate arrest rates and illegal police searches and testimony are a problem. Last year, for example, New York Police Commissioner William J. Bratton warned his officers not to lie about how they obtained evidence, saying that he would rather they lose the case than commit perjury. Last month, Baltimore Police Commissioner Thomas C. Frazier ordered his cops to stop arresting drug users and to concentrate on criminals committing gun crimes and other violence.
The vast majority of police forces are still being pushed into waging a war against drugs by politicians who ignore history and mislead the public into believing such a war can be won. Consequently, hundreds of thousands of illegal police searches take place and are lied about in court while drug-war hawks pontificate about the immorality of people putting certain kinds of chemicals into their bloodstream. .." - Has the Drug War Created an Officer Liars' Club?
By Joseph D. McNamara
Los Angeles Times - February 11, 1996
Deans Notes: Dr. McNamara is certain that the Tuesday date will work. Likely we will have him on drugsense on a Thursday to accommodate his schedule. I'll be there and I'm sure many of you are ready for his chat as well.
The Hempcar Crew
Tues. Oct. 2 , 2001 8PM Eastern NY Times Transcript
Sunday, Oct 7, 8PM Eastern Drugsense Transcript
If you're driving on the interstate this summer and you smell a strange odor don't worry: You're not having a flashback and that isn't a "doobie" you smell, it's Hempcar! The exhaust won't "catch you a buzz" but the car is creating one amongst hemp activists and environmentalists. It's a car powered by hemp seed oil and it will be touring the country to promote drug-law reform and environmental fuel technologies.
Grayson Sigler and Kellie Ogilvie created the project to demonstrate the utility of hemp to car crazy Americans. They are embarking on a 10,000 mile journey around the continent beginning in Washington D.C. on July 4, 2001. "We've been pleasantly surprised by the attention the car is getting," says Ogilvie. "The website is starting to take off and we're getting a lot of support from the hemp industry."
The hemp movement has been gaining ground in fits and starts. Since Canada legalized production of industrial hemp, entrepreneurial Americans have created a $100 million per year industry manufacturing hemp products. Americans can now buy hemp paper, clothes, bags, shoes, and even hemp "tofu". However, the DEA hasn't exactly looked on all of this with magnanimity. Just last year the DEA instructed U.S. customs to seize a shipment of sterilized hemp birdseed from Canada, apparently in the "interest" of national security.
Currently, hemp fuels are not one of the hemp industry's products. There is not enough hemp being grown to make hemp fuels a profitable industry. "If hemp were legal to grow in the U.S., technologies such as pyrolysis would make hemp fuels economically competitive with petrol fuels," says Sigler. "The emissions associated with the use of hemp fuels are far less toxic than for fossil fuels, and hemp helps remediate global warming by absorbing CO2 from the air while it is growing."
Deans Notes: The crew will be winding up their long journey about the time of their visit. Should be a new and interesting slant on the inane drug laws. Wonder what Chevron thinks of these guys?
Dr. Thomas J. O'Connel
Tues. Oct. 9, 2001 8PM Eastern NY Times Transcript
Sunday, Oct 14, 8PM Eastern Drugsense Transcript
Dr. O'Connell entered private practice of Thoracic Surgery in San Francisco in 1971 after four years at Letterman. His interest in drug policy issues began upon learning of the US program of spraying Mexican marijuana fields with paraquat in the mid Seventies. This brought home the essential inhumanity of American drug policy and stimulated reading in the field.
His interest remained academic and impersonal for the next twenty years; he continued to read about drug policy, and was troubled by the mounting intensity of the drug war despite highly critical academic analysis. A letter of inquiry to Joseph McNamara at the Hoover Institute brought a suggestion that he attend the Ninth DPF Annual Meeting in Santa Monica in October 1995.
Dr. O'Connell was converted to activism by his experiences at that meeting; not only from listening to luminaries like Trebach, Glasser and Elders, but from attending a DRCNet recruiting session hosted by Dave Borden, Cliff Schaffer and Jim Rosenfield. He recalls meeting Mark Greer as a fellow computer novice. Dr. O'Connell promptly subscribed to DRCNet upon returning home and his life has not been the same since.
An early participant in MAP, Dr. O'Connell discovered a flair for writing about drug policy issues. As a clinician with forty years of medical practice he has seen first hand how drug policy fostering irrational fear of addiction has distorted the attitudes of medical professionals and adversely affects the management of patients in pain on a daily basis.
Deans Notes: I have only had minimal contact with Thomas, yet I hear so many fine things from other reform advocates about him. Everyone I talk to is so excited about his appearance here. Knowing his medical background and his firm commitment to the effort can only bring light and focus to the subject at hand.
Peter Christ
Tues. Oct. 16, 2001 8PM Eastern NY Times Transcript
Sunday, Oct 21, 8PM Eastern Drugsense Transcript
Peter Christ is a retired police captain. Throughout Christ’s 20-year career enforcing drug laws, he believed that "the drug war can never be won, and is doing more harm than good." After retiring from the police force in 1989, Mr. Christ began speaking out publicly against the Drug War. In 1993, he became one of ReconsiDer: Forum on Drug Policy‘s first members, and quickly became the group's leading spokesperson. Mr. Christ’s topics include: the Drug War's impact on the judiciary, police activities in the drug war, the drug war's impact on prison populations and minority communities, sentencing issues, and the effectiveness of drug education programs in reducing drug use.
In addition to working for drug policy reform, Mr. Christ is a member of the Police Conference of New York, the Western New York Association of Retired Police Officers, and the Police Captains and Lieutenants Association of Erie County.
Deans Notes: The work in creating the ReconsiDer publication, in speaking to civic and social clubs about the harms inflicted on our society by the drug war makes Peter a hero of mine. In the years of my activism, I have often been inspired by the writings of Mr. Christ. There is much we can learn from this man.
John Turmel
Tues. Oct. 22, 2001 8PM Eastern NY Times Drug Policy Forum
Sunday, Oct 28, 8PM Eastern Drugsense Chat Room
John "The Engineer" Turmel brought
Ontario residents Robert Neron and John Dupuis before a federal court last April
13, and convinced a judge that Health Canada had been stalling too long in
processing their applications for medical cannabis. The judge gave Health Canada
30 days to process the applications, which had been sitting on their desks for
months (CC#32,
Med-pot Madness in Canada).
Before the 30 days were up, three more people – fed up with long waits for
their medical pot exemptions – joined Turmel's group of protesters. With
Turmel's help, Denise Boidoine, severely injured in a car accident, Nicole
Massicotte, a cancer survivor with crippling arthritis, and Donald Appleby, who
suffers from a terminal illness all had a judge tell Health Canada to fast track
their applications. Health Canada complied, and within 30 days had turned down
every single one.
Undaunted, Turmel went back to court on May 31. "The judge was
appalled," says Turmel, and by June 31, his decision was published in the
federal court archives. He granted a judicial review of Health Canada's
decisions in every case. The reasons for denial given so far are frail.
"Health Canada told Dupuis that he should get psychiatric counseling for
stab wounds to the lung and liver before trying marijuana," said Turmel.
"When the judge heard that he ruled that it was absurd."
Deans Notes: I first read of John Turmel's (The Engineer) work a few months ago. His posts come thru every few days about what he's doing to change the marijuana laws in Canada. John is an engineer, but he's also a one man wrecking crew. He hauls patients to court, gives them sound advice, help in preparing documents, finds them doctors and in general does a thousand things to help reform. I understand they are near to challenging the constitutionality of the Canadian Cannabis law very soon.
Terry Parker Jr. is still denied his medicine and many think it's time to call their bluff. John calls it a case of "fumbling the ball in the end zone." I like to think he is right. He will give us the latest updates when he visits. John has a lot he wants to relay and he promises to give us a real wake up call.
This guy is a doer, a spirit to be reckoned with.
* Drug Panel Mon Nov 5 *
|
Kevin Zeese * Kay Lee |
|
Dr. Joe McNamara * Dr. Tom O'Connell |
LINK TO NEW YORK TIMES TRANSCRIPT
With a police chief, a physician, a top notch reform attorney, the queen of grass roots activists we will help to define the future of drug reform in this country and around the world.
Due to the nature of the event, we will seek questions in advance and then turn control of the venue over to the these American patriots for their response. Mon. Nov 5, at 8PM EDT.
(Subsequent Panels will be scheduled in the following months featuring these and other outstanding reform leaders.)
Eric Sterling
Thurs. Nov. 1, 2001 8PM Eastern NY Times Drug Policy Forum
Tues. Nov 6, 2001 9:30 EDT Drugsense Chat Room
Link to Criminal Justice Policy Foundation
Eric E. Sterling is the President of The Criminal Justice Policy Foundation, a private non-profit educational organization that promotes innovative solutions to criminal justice problems. The Foundation assists policy makers, criminal justice professionals and the public to prevent crime and improve the quality of justice. Mr. Sterling frequently lectures at colleges and universities, and to professional societies throughout the nation about criminal justice issues.Mr. Sterling was Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary from 1979 until 1989. On the staff of the Subcommittee on Crime, (Rep. William J. Hughes (D-NJ), Chairman), he was responsible for drug enforcement, gun control, money laundering, organized crime, pornography, terrorism, corrections, and military assistance to law enforcement, among many issues. He was a principal aide in developing the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984, the Anti-Drug Abuse Acts of 1986 and 1988, and other laws. He has traveled to South America, Europe and many parts of the United States to examine the crime and drug problems first hand. In the 96th Congress, he worked on comprehensively rewriting the Federal Criminal Code. He has worked closely with the nation's police to blunt attacks on the 1968 Gun Control Act, and to protect police and the public from armor piercing ammunition, plastic firearms, machine guns, assault weapons, and explosives. Mr. Sterling has been honored by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service for his assistance to their law enforcement missions.
Deans Notes: Eric seems to me like a great guy. He has worked for the prohibs and now he is working for us. He has a unique insight and will bring us up to speed on how the process really works. Join us and please note the time for the drugsense visit.
Scott Imler
Wed. Nov. 7, 2001 8:00 EDT NY Times Drug Policy Forum
Sat. Nov. 10, 2001 8PM Eastern Drugsense Chat Room
Los Angeles Cannabis Resource CoOperative
The LACRC is a cooperative
effort by and for those individuals and their families who must "obtain and
use marijuana for legitimate medical purposes" as provided in Section
11362.5 of the California Health & Safety Code (Exhibit 1).
The LACRC is a not-for-profit, community-based
organization, operating in West Hollywood California pursuant to a Resolution
of the City Council of West Hollywood (Nov. 4, 1996).
The LACRC strives to serve all qualified patients
without regard to race, gender, disability, or financial limitations
The LACRC provides no diagnostic services
whatsoever and does NOT make primary care physician referrals.
The LACRC continues to advocate for
development of a safe, and well-regulated system of prescriptive medical access
through its legislative arm, Southern Californians for Compassionate Use, for
people living with HIV/AIDS, cancer, chronic pain, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis,
paralysis, and other intractable illnesses. Until then, patients and their
families continue to engage in the collective act of personal and civil
necessity that is the Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Center.
Deans Notes: I got a chance to talk to Scott and he is grieving for the loss of the co-op. Scott is a brave man, and he and the others at the LACRC have taken a blow for us. We need to step up and do everything we can to support their efforts. In this time of terror, we must see the folly of this type of persecution and the terror that surrounds agents of the DEA.
Lynn Paltrow
Sun. Nov 11, 2001 8:00 EDT Drugsense Chat Room
Tues. Nov. 13, 2001 8PM Eastern NY Times Drug Policy Forum
The National Advocates for Pregnant Women is a program of the Women's Law Project.. NAPW is dedicated to protecting the rights of pregnant and parenting women and their children. NAPW seeks to ensure that all women have access to a full range of reproductive health services and choices including abortion, that women are not punished for pregnancy or addiction during pregnancy and that families are not needlessly separated based on medical and public health misinformation. NAPW believes that pregnancy and addiction should be treated as public health issues not criminal justice issues.
Contact: NAPW1@aol.com
Program Director, Lynn M. Paltrow
Biography:
Lynn Paltrow is a civil liberties, civil rights attorney who specializes in reproductive freedom and health issues. She is a graduate of Cornell University and the New York University School of Law where she was an Arthur Garfield Hays Civil Liberties Fellow. Recognized in 1991 by the National Law Journal as one of the "100 Most inflential lawyers in America," Ms. Paltrow is a leading national litigator and strategist involving claims of so called "fetal rights". Among her cases are People v. Pamela Rae Steward. In Re AC, Johnson v. Florida and Whitner v. State. Ms. Paltrow also frequently represents leading public health organizations as amicus in legal cases. Ms. Paltrow was senior staff and Director of Special Litigation for the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy.
In addition to her extensive litigation and organizing background, Lynn Paltrow has worked in the public policy and education arena as a Georgetown Women's Law and Public Policy Fellow, the first legal director for the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League and as Vice President For Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood of New York City. She is also a founding member of Be Present Inc., and the New York/New Jersey Metropolitan Sisters and Allies Training Project.
Ethan Nadelmann
Mon. Nov. 19, 2001 8PM Eastern NY Times Drug Policy Forum
(Ethan had been scheduled for 9/11/01. )
Lindesmith-Drug Policy Foundation Link
Ethan has a B.A., J.D. and PhD. in Political Science from Harvard
and a Masters degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics.
Ethan founded the Lindesmith Center in 1994. He has written for many scholarly and mainstream journals and publications such as
Science, Rolling Stone, Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, The Public Interest,
Daedalus, American Heritage and other leading
publications.
He has appeared on scores of radio and TV programs including ABC's Nightline, The Today show, NBC Nightly News, CBS's 48 Hours, CBS
Morning News, Larry King Live, CNN Headline News, CNN Crossfire, Rivera Live, The Charley Rose Show, William F.
Buckley's Firing Line and the MacNeil/Lehrer Newshour.
"What has the war on drugs done for Darryl Strawberry and
Robert Downey Jr.? Are they better off or worse off? Are they the targets or the
victims? Should they be thankful or regretful?
The war on drugs is really a war on people — on anyone who uses or grows or makes or sells a forbidden drug. It essentially consists of two elements: the predominant role of criminalization of all things having to do with marijuana, cocaine, heroin, Ecstasy and other prohibited drugs and the presumption that abstinence — coerced if necessary — is the only permissible relationship with these drugs. It's that combination that ultimately makes this war unwinnable.
The previous drug czar, Barry McCaffrey, wanted to do away with the rhetoric of the war on drugs while retaining its two core elements. Now the new attorney general, John Ashcroft, wants to intensify the drug war efforts. The implications are ominous..." - Ethan Nadelmann, NY Times, Apr 26, 2001
Deans Notes: We are certain to have too many questions for this man to answer, but I am certain the feedback we get will be excellent.
New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson
Wed. Dec. 5, 2001 5 to 6 PM EDT NY Times Drug Policy Forum
Gary E. Johnson: First Governor in the history of New Mexico to be elected to two four-year consecutive terms. He is a successful, self-made businessman, family man and accomplished triathlete.
The Johnson Administration Goal and Priorities:
Governor Gary E. Johnson’s goal is to improve the quality of life of all New Mexicans by concentrating on four major priorities:
Drug
Policy Reform Proposals
2001
Regular Session (3-2-01)
The
following briefly summarizes the proposed drug policy reform bills currently
introduced in the New Mexico legislature. It
is meant only to provide a brief synopsis, not to set forth an exhaustive
legislative analysis.
New
Mexico Medical Marijuana Law (HB
431; SB 319)
This
bill would create a new Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act and repeal the
existing Lynn Pierson Act. Enacted
in 1978, the Lynn Pierson Act is New Mexico’s existing medical marijuana law.
The current law allows use of medical marijuana only in research
settings, thereby creating a substantial burden on persons who might benefit
from medicinal marijuana.
The
new law would create an exemption from state criminal and civil laws for
possession and use of a reasonable supply of marijuana by qualified patients,
their caregivers, or persons authorized by the Department of Health as suppliers
of medical marijuana. Qualified
patients are those persons suffering from certain debilitating medical
conditions, such as nausea related to cancer chemotherapy, epileptic seizures
and MS-related muscle spasms; and are certified to use medical marijuana by the
secretary of the state Department of Health.
If a patient is under 18, he or she must have parental consent.
The
bill does not allow marijuana use in public, and penalizes lying to a law
enforcement officer regarding medical use of marijuana.
Civil
Asset Forfeiture Reform (HB 18; SB
314)
This bill would amend the current law
allowing police officers to seize property used in certain crimes by requiring
criminal conviction prior to loss of property, a court order before property
seizure, and proof by clear and convincing evidence that the property is subject
to forfeiture.
Under the bill, a person whose property
is seized is provided certain guarantees with regard to the forfeiture
proceeding, such as a trial by jury and ample notice.
Money obtained by the state from property seizures would go into the
general fund instead of into the funds of the law enforcement entity that
accomplished the seizure.
Controlled Substance Possession
Sentencing Reform (SB 317)
Similar to laws recently enacted in
Arizona and California, this bill will favor treatment over incarceration for
first and second time small-amount drug offenders.
The bill will apply in first and second offenses cases involving two
grams or less of cocaine, heroin,
or other narcotics, or involving one to eight ounces of marijuana.
The bill will make all such offenses misdemeanors and require conditional
discharge sentencing (i.e., probation), and will provide a sentencing judge
discretion to require offenders to enter into a drug treatment program either
administered or approved by the Department of Health.
Habitual
Sentencing Reform Relating to Controlled Substances
(HB 919; SB 313)
Current law in New Mexico provides that
if a prosecutor charges an offender as a “habitual offender,” the sentencing
judge must apply an enhancement to the person’s sentence.
This bill provides that if either the current conviction or one or more
of the underlying convictions is a violation of the Controlled Substances Act,
the sentencing judge would have discretion to enhance the sentence but would not
be mandated to do so in every case.
Decriminalization
of One Ounce or Less of Marijuana
(HB 918; SB 315)
This bill would make possession of one
(1) ounce or less of marijuana by a person age 18 or over punishable by a civil
sanction only. The sanction for the
first offense would be $100; second and subsequent offenses would be punishable
by a fine of $500. Marijuana
possession would remain illegal, but would not result in a criminal sanction.
A law enforcement officer, upon
deciding that an offense has been committed, could issue a warning or a citation
requiring the offender to pay the fine via mail or in person at a magistrate
court. If the person receiving the
citation chose to do so, that person could appear in magistrate court in a civil
proceeding to contest the citation. Money
paid for such citations would go into the state general fund.
Permit
Pharmacies to Sell Syringes (HB
812; SB 320)
This bill would further the purposes of
the 1997 New Mexico Harm Reduction Act of decreasing the spread of infectious
diseases by increasing the availability of sterile syringes to drug users.
Under current law, pharmacists face potential criminal liability under
the Controlled Substances Act for selling syringes that are later used for
illicit purposes. The bill will
remove the potential for criminal liability for pharmacists licensed under the
Pharmacy Act when they sell syringes, similar to the protection provided to
those who distribute clean syringes pursuant to the Harm Reduction Act.
Limit Liability For Administration
Of Anti-Opioids (HB 813; SB 318)
This bill would create civil and
criminal immunity for a person who administers, dispenses, distributes, uses or
possesses an opioid antagonist so long as they act in good faith and use
reasonable care. Opioid antagonists
are medications that reverse the effects of opiates (e.g., opium and heroin) and
prevent overdose and death by overdose.
Drug
Treatment Expansion (HB 783; SB 628)
Appropriates $9.8 million from tobacco
settlement monies to expand substance abuse intervention, treatment and harm
reduction initiatives by the Department of Health, and to provide coordinated
substance abuse and treatment services for persons under the supervision of the
Department of Corrections.
Catherine Austin Fitts
Sun. Dec. 2, 2001 8:00 EDT Drugsense Chat Room
Wed. Dec. 5, 2001 8PM Eastern NY Times Drug Policy Forum
Catherine Austin Fitts is a former managing director and
member of the board of directors of Dillon Read & Co,
Inc, a former Assistant Secretary of Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner in the
first Bush Administration, and the former President of The Hamilton Securities
Group, Inc. She is the President of Solari, Inc, an investment
advisory firm. Solari provides risk management services to investors through
Sanders Research Associates in London.
She has written some astounding pieces that appear both in the Mapinc links and in the Narco News website.
Here is a link to Narco News and to her 2 part series on drugsense.
Catherine will be joining us on Jan 7 with Judge James Gray, Nobel Prize winning economist Milton Friedman and Eugene Oscapela, a barrister out of Canada.
Marc-Boris St-Maurice
Sun. Dec. 16, 2001 Drugsense Chat Room
In Quebec, 10 000 voters gave us the mandate to fight for this cause, and since then we have done everything within our power to raise awareness and hopefully put an end to marijuana prohibition. We are a pressure group that uses the structure of a political party to assemble and defend our rights. This democratic involvement lends credibility to the argument that the public supports our position and legitimises our requests. Votes are the tool that will provide leverage and give us a voice in the debate.
Get involved with this fresh initiative in the fight to change the law. The possibilities are endless, but they all lead to the same destination : "Cannabis emancipation". Please help us help you put an end to this madness.
Our main objective is to run candidates in every riding. We need 301 activists and citizens to run in the next general elections. Candidates must be Canadian citizens, aged 18 or over on election day. To be a candidate, you need to believe in ending cannabis prohibition, and to be an activist, you just have to do it. It's that easy.
To achieve this goal we are currently seeking concerned citizens that want to get involved and run under the Marijuana Party banner. There are many levels of involvement and any support is always welcome. A simple message is easier to get across and our relatively limited resources, compared to other parties, means that we cannot afford to take on any other causes in the official platform (see candidates right to dissent). This strategy also gives every Canadian the chance to finally cast a significant vote to end marijuana prohibition. We only have one promise, but we plan to keep it.
Marc-Boris St-Maurice
Marijuana Party of Canada
Our mandate
End marijuana prohibition in Canada
About Boris:
Mr. St-Maurice was arrested in 1991 for possession of marijuana. After a 24 hours stay in prison, he made a promise to do what was in his power to stop the prohibition of cannabis. Since his arrest, he has been the organizer for the annual demonstrations demanding the legalization of cannabis.
Mr. St-Maurice's preoccupations translate into political action in 1997 when he creates the Bloc Pot. His experience gained during the provincial election was preparing him to the federal scene. With his colleagues, Mr. St-Maurice announced publicly in February 2000, the foundation of the Marijuana Party, one week before his sudden arrest as a volunteer for the Club Compassion of Montreal.
Chris Conrad
Wed. Dec. 19, 2001 8PM Eastern NY Times Drug Policy Forum
Mr. Conrad's penetrating research uncovers the facts, faces and cost of hemp prohibition, analyzing the political dynamics working for and against legal reform. He knows his facts and won't duck your toughest questions (yes, he has inhaled). He heads up a number of prominent reform organizations. He was state community action coordinator for the petition drive that launched the 1996 California Medical Marijuana Initiative, Proposition 215, which passed with 56% of the vote. He provides expert testimony, both in court of law and for legislators and their staff.
Chris Conrad has been qualified as an expert witness on industrial hemp, hempseed, marijuana, marijuana cultivation, medical marijuana, and personal consumption of marijuana in the Superior Courts throughout the State of California. He has presented expert testimony in court and at government hearings and consults with legislators.He founded the American Hemp Council in 1989, was a chief proponent of the 1992 and 1994 California Hemp Initiatives, and portrayed "Johnny Marijuanaseed" in the PBS classic The Nineties "Hemp Show #1."
Chris Conrad advocates setting a legal age-of-consent for marijuana use. An acknowledged expert on the broad spectrum of industrial, ecological and social uses of cannabis hemp, he is a popular and entertaining guest speaker on interview and call-in programs, as well as on college campuses. Born in 1953, he is a businessman, consultant, lecturer and speaker, writer, editor, fine and graphic artist, designer, researcher, analyst, community organizer, historian, orator, political cartoonist and philosopher. His original acrylic painting, "Hemp Fields of Tomorrow," is displayed in the Hash- Marihuana-Hemp Museum in Amsterdam, Holland. He wrote and produced a play entitled, Marijuana! Conrad is a former seminarian who holds an honors degree in fine art and communications from California State University, Dominguez Hills.
Deans Notes: I've been lucky to visit over the phone with Chris and his wife Mikki Norris a couple of times. After visiting with them, you hang up the phone with a smile. It's so good to hear positive things, from positive people making a difference in the reform movement. Their long-term and daily activities are so refreshing. I invite you to join us for what's sure to be an outstanding visit.
Dr. Lester Grinspoon
Sun. Dec. 9, 2001 8:00 EDT Drugsense Chat
http://www.marijuana-uses.com/
Prof. Lester Grinspoon is a psychiatrist at Harvard. His book "Marijuana the Forbidden Medicine" has been translated into 7 languages. He is one of the foremost champions of the therapeutic effects of marijuana.
He says that only about 25% of people surveyed in the USA are interested in removing prohibition of marijuana but 80-85% say it should be available as a medicine. He is very articulate on the politics behind the prohibition and is pushing for legislation to be introduced into the US Congress to allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes.
"Since I started my work in this area in 1967, 10 million people have been arrested, not to mention the millions who have been criminalised and whose careers have been destroyed. Marijuana definitely doesn't deserve this kind of notoriety. While it's certainly not harmless, it's much less harmful than both alcohol and tobacco, which aren't nearly as notorious. The kind of notoriety I hope marijuana will get is as a medicine because it's clearly a remarkable medicine.
Marijuana is remarkably non toxic. In all the years that marijuana has been used, there's not been one single documented death from it. I don't know that you can say the same thing about any other drug.
I believe that like penicillin, once marijuana is accepted as a medicine, the price will come down. Most of what you pay now on the street - between $200-400 - is the prohibition tariff. Once it is produced as a medicine, it will cost maybe $20-30 an ounce which translates into something like 30-40 cents per marijuana cigarette.
Suppose a patient who's receiving chemotherapy for cancer is suffering from nausea and vomiting. Although they can take ondansetron or granestotron, these drugs will cost the patient about $30 or $40 a pill and they may need to take up to four pills. Yet one 30 cent marijuana cigarette will do the job at least as effectively.
What we know about marijuana as a medicine is based almost exclusively on anecdotal evidence. Once we allow the large double blind control studies to be done, I am confident that we will see it as the wonder drug of the nineties.
To any any person who has studied the literature, marijuana is a remarkably non toxic substance. Of course, this is the first demand of a medicine, that it not do any harm.
When marijuana regains its rightful place in the US pharmacopoeia, a place it lost after the passage of the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act (the first of the draconian legislation aimed at marijuana), it will be among the least toxic substances in that whole compendium."
Nol van Schaik
Thur Jan 3, 2002 8:00 EDT NY Times Drug Policy Forum
Sun Jan 6, 2002 8:00 PM EDT Drugsense Chat Room
|
Activists Davies and Van Schaik bring pot to Stockport
Davies and Van Schaik were already allies in the European medical marijuana movement. When major British politicians and officials began openly calling for cannabis decriminalization earlier this year, the pair decided that the UK was ready for a cannabis retail system modeled on the Dutch approach to cannabis sales. Davies is already famous for giving marijuana to the Queen Mother and Prince Charles, and for twice being acquitted of marijuana cultivation charges. He founded and manages the British Medical Marijuana Cooperative, which provides medpot to a growing number of patients.
"Nol and I feel that the time is right to be open and honest about the need for cannabis in England," the soft-spoken Davies said. "We'll be opening the country's first public marijuana shop in mid-September, near Manchester. We're calling it 'The Dutch Experience.' We're going to provide low-cost marijuana to medical users, subsidized by sales to recreational users." Van Schaik owns and manages three renowned coffee shops in Haarlem, Holland, 20 minutes from Amsterdam. "I'm helping Colin make this an authentic Dutch experience," Van Schaik explained. "He's got so much heart, and so much good sense, and we're setting up his shop so customers can enjoy the place and get the best marijuana possible for the best prices." Local authorities where Davies intends to open his shop have given mixed signals concerning cannabis cultivation and sales, but Davies says he isn't worried about government interference. "We're going to have a grand opening ceremony attended by Wernard Bruining, who created the first Dutch coffee shop, Mellow Yellow. We'll have cannabis activists and patients from across Europe. The police know that juries don't want to find me guilty for cannabis offenses, and that public opinion is solidly against the war on marijuana. Europe is fast moving toward a rational marijuana policy. I'm grateful for Nol's help in bringing the Dutch experience here to England. We're going to have a great time helping a lot of people get the healing herb," he said.  Information: The UK Medicinal Cannabis Buyers' Club www.mmco.org.uk and The Willie Wortel Workshop www.wwwshop.nl |
Special Panel:
"Indictment of Prohibition!"
Mon. Jan 7, 2002 8 PM EDT NY Times Drug Policy Forum
Featuring:
Judge James P. Gray: Author - "Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed and What We Can Do About It - A Judicial Indictment of the War on Drugs"
*******************************************************************************************
Milton Friedman - Nobel Laureate Economist
************************************************************
Catherine Austin Fitts: Author - "Narco-Dollars For Dummies"
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Eugene Oscapella: Author - "How Drug Prohibition Finances and Otherwise Enables Terrorism"
*****************************************************************************
Will Foster
Tues. Jan 15, 2002 8PM EDT NY Times Drug Policy Forum
Sun. Jan 20, 2002 8:00 EDT Drugsense Chat Room
http://cannabisculture.com/articles/2200.html
Medical marijuana user freed|
Will Foster works to help other victims of drug war
In 1995, Will Foster was one of the millions of "otherwise
law-abiding" marijuana users when his Oklahoma home was raided by
police who accused him of being a drug dealer. A jury found him guilty
and made him into a national symbol of the insanity of excessive
penalties in drug cases by sentencing him to 93 years in prison. Foster
suffered in prison while becoming a marijuana martyr icon. He won
freedom earlier this year, and is now on parole, devoting himself full
time to cannabis law reform. He gave Cannabis Culture this
exclusive interview from his home in Northern California. |
Nora Callahan
Tues. Feb 12, 2002 8PM EDT NY Times Drug Policy Forum
Sun. Feb 17, 2002 8:00 EDT Drugsense Chat Room
My brother, Gary Callahan, had been imprisoned for about seven years when he asked me to organize prisoners with their loved ones to oppose the drug war. That was 1997, and by that time I'd learned that a five-year prison sentence was considered crushing in any other country, and our nation was just about to take title of World's Leading Jailer. My brother had 22 such crushing years left to serve. His drug prosecution and the sentenced imposed on him - quite simply - broke my heart. If you are the loved one of a prisoner, you know firsthand this agony, the feelings of helplessness, confusion and shame.
Today I work on my brother's behalf and on behalf of more than a half million souls, in what I lament publicly as struggling to survive in our nation'sgulags. I work on behalf of those who have been released from prison to broken and dispersed families, who will forever carry the stigma of drug-felon, but I do not work alone. In unity, the November Coalition, growing from the true concerns of thousands of people, toils to protect the future of our nation's children and obtain freedom for imprisoned drug law violators nationwide.
M.E.P. Chris Davies
Wed. Feb. 20, 2002 Special Time! 1:30 EDT
A North West Euro-MP is to call for an end to the prohibition on the sale and use of all drugs, arguing that a policy of legalisation under controlled conditions will save lives and cut crime.
Chris Davies will tell a fringe meeting at the Liberal Democrat Conference in Bournemouth on Sunday (Sept 23) that the multi-billion pound illegal drugs trade provides the money to fund terrorists, fosters crime which affects the entire community, and kills many of its customers.
"I do not want to encourage the use of any drug," he will say, "but prohibition has clearly failed. More lives will be saved and crime will be reduced by adopting an approach based on legalisation, licensing, taxing and informing."
Mr. Davies and other MEP's and dozens of other concerned citizens have been making special efforts to remove all stigmas from the possession of cannabis products. This includes offering themselves for arrest up and inclues the storming of a police station and smoking cannabis on police property. To assess the change now present in the UK policy, it must be noted that often times even these outlandish tactics will not be sufficient cause to get one arrested.
Evils of Prohibition Panel
Thur. Feb. 21, 2002 8:00 pm EDT
Featuring:
Keith Stroup, President of NORML
Keith Stroup
Richard Lake of Mapinc and Drugsense
Richard Lake
Richard is pictured here (on the right) with Fredrick Polak, MD of the Netherlands Drug Policy Foundation, Amsterdam.
Cliff Schaffer - Schaffer Library of Drug Policy
- No Pic -
Dale Gieringer, Ph.D, President of California NORML
- No Pic -
These four gentlemen represent the history, the strength and validity of the drug reform movement. Through their vigilant efforts, they have managed to salvage and maintain much of the relevant data that today makes progress towards reform possible.
Cliff and Richard, via their data gathering and storage mechanisms helped start, energize and greatly enhance the sharing of information that now enables more universal enlightenment of the public.
Keith and Dale, have through their more direct, "in the trenches" experience, been perhaps more able than most of us to to see the minutia of the drug warrior tactics.
Certainly the coming together of these great minds to discuss the outrageous evil that is the drug war, will enlighten us all.
Richard Cowan
Tues. Feb. 26, 2002 8PM EDT NY Times Drug Policy Forum
Prior to (the time as) the National Director of NORML I had always been a very private person, the sort that stepped to one side when someone was taking a picture. I went from that to saying on national television -- in response to a question by Phil Donahue -- that I had smoked marijuana almost everyday for --then -- 27 years. (Now 30, and still counting.)
The reaction to that was, to say the least, amusing. You may judge for yourself the state of my intellect, but it is important to note that I was an adult (27) when I started -- and I take care to use it responsibly -- and I am not stoned as I write this. (Would people have reacted in the same way, if I had said that I have a glass of wine every evening? Think about it.)
And there was more, much more, but never mind.... because, again, this is by me, not about me.
I was always taught to minimize the use of the first person singular. When I was at NORML, this was easy. For one thing, I depended entirely on Allen St. Pierre. Although marijuananews.com is very much a first person singular activity, I hope all the more that you -- the reader -- will get involved by writing me and keeping me informed about what is going on around the world, especially what is not reported in the establishment media.
Dana Beal
Thur. Jan 31, 2002 8PM EDT NY Times Drug Policy Forum
Sun. Mar. 3, 2002 8:00 EDT Drugsense Chat Room
In two articles in Science dated June 30th of last year researchers attempted to explain what is going on in the reward system of the brain with marijuana in terms of indirect firing of dopamine by opioid receptors in the nucleus accumbens of rats. If cocaine equals sex, the effect in question was about equal to food.
The problem was that the National Institute on Drug Abuse and Barry MacCaffrey went on to characterize the action of cannabis as being "even more like heroin than we previously believed." NIDA followed this with a barrage of comments to the effect that analgesics based on cannabinoids would be found that would make medical marijuana obsolete.
The possibility that the majority of therapeutic effects of cannabis might result from a mechanism other than opiate-like analgesia has been introduced by Reiter and Robinson, who say "the fact that smoking marijuana is accompanied by a dramatic increase in melatonin production may explain some of the drug's positive effects"--listing the treatment of migraine, reduction of intra-ocular pressure, treatment of menstrual cramps, moderation of AIDS wasting, amelioration of chemotherapy toxicity and even THC's mild anticancer activity(#1).
Stephen Hale
for
Galveston District Attorney
Democratic Primary:
Vote to DECRIMINALIZE MARIJUANA
A Fair and Experienced former Prosecutor who will be tough on REAL crime!
If you have any questions or would like to help in this campaign, please call (409) 740-3009
Or email : stephenlhale@hotmail.com
 |
|
Some residents of High Island share his green vision.
"We're wasting resources chasing people down and turning them into criminals," says probate attorney Wayne Lynch of Galveston. "They're not going out there and catching enough thieves and robbers and violent types. Instead their focus is all on potheads."
People who have a toke or two aren't evildoers, (Hale) says. Prosecuting people who dance with Mary Jane wastes court time and taxpayer dollars, he contends. "It's insane, it's unjust, and it's unconstitutional. We're not the Taliban. Our country is supposed to be a country of tolerance, not intolerance."
| Grassroots Campaign |
| A Galveston D.A. candidate comes out for cannabis |
| BY WENDY GROSSMAN
Link to: Houston Press Jan 10, 2002 |
POT SHOTS (Houston Press Feb 7, 2002)
A skeptic of Stephen Hale's call to decriminalize marijuana is quoted as saying,
"I don't personally think there's enough stoners out there to get somebody
elected." Anyone who pays taxes has a vested interest in reforming
marijuana laws. In 2000, there were 734,497 arrests for marijuana in this
country, 646,042 for possession alone.
For a drug that has never been shown to cause an overdose death, the allocation
of resources used to enforce marijuana laws is outrageous. Taxing and
regulating marijuana is a cost-effective alternative to the $50 billion drug
war. Decriminalization acknowledges the social reality of marijuana use
and frees users from the stigma of life-shattering criminal records.
What's really needed is a regulated market with enforceable age controls.
Right now kids have an easier time buying pot than beer.
The reefer madness myths have long been discredited, forcing the drug-war gravy
train to spend millions of tax dollars on politicized research, trying to find
harm in a relatively harmless plant. The direct experience of millions of
Americans contradicts the sensationalistic myths used to justify marijuana
prohibition.
Robert Sharpe
The Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation
Washington, D.C.
(Please email us, tell us what you need from these sessions.)
