--- Begin Message ---
restore Thu, 15 Nov 2001 Volume 1 : Number 132
In this issue:
AK: Effort To Legalize Marijuana Begins Anew With State's OK
Switzerland takes the next step
CA: Give Pot-Case Files To Prosecutors, Judge Orders
Britain Opens 1st Cannabis Cafe'
CA: Editorial: DEA On The Wrong Track
Cal's Flood of Marijuana Prisoners Ebbs Slightly
Canada: Pot kit marketed
ASA HUTCHINSON TO DEBATE GOV GARY JOHNSON ON DRUG POLICY REFORM
Palm Springs, CA: Judge Gray presents an Indictment of War on
Drugs
IL: Proponents Of Hemp As A Crop Delay Vote In Illinois
CA: Panel Pitches City ID Cards For Medical Pot Users
Debate challenge to Barr
*
[EMAIL PROTECTED] daily digest web version: http://www.crrh.org/hempnews/viewrestore.asp
*
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 10:52:49 -0800
From: "D. Paul Stanford" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: AK: Effort To Legalize Marijuana Begins Anew With State's OK
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Newshawk: Sledhead
Pubdate: Tue, 13 Nov 2001
Source: Anchorage Daily News (AK)
Copyright: 2001 The Anchorage Daily News
Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Website: http://www.adn.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/18
Author: Associated Press
EFFORT TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA BEGINS ANEW WITH STATE'S OK
Deadline: Backers Worry They Won't Get Enough Signatures.
Juneau -- A ballot measure seeking to legalize marijuana has cleared its
first major hurdle, but it's unclear whether sponsors have enough time to
put the question to voters in 2002.
The state on Friday approved an application for an initiative petition,
meaning supporters may start collecting the 28,783 signatures required to
get the measure on next year's ballot.
But the deadline to submit the signatures in time for the 2002 election is
Jan. 14, and sponsor Tim Hinterberger said the two-month window is a challenge.
"It's going to take a massive effort by volunteers," said Hinterberger, who
is pushing the measure through an Anchorage-based group called Free Hemp in
Alaska.
The measure would make it legal for people age 21 and older to grow, use,
sell or give away marijuana or other hemp products, according to a state
summary of the initiative. Marijuana could be regulated like alcohol or
tobacco, and the measure allows for laws limiting marijuana use in some
cases to protect public safety, the summary said.
Hinterberger and two other sponsors filed an initiative petition
application earlier this year, but it was rejected in July by the state
Department of Law. State attorneys said the original measure included
unconstitutional language, so the sponsors changed the wording and
resubmitted it in September. It passed legal review the second time.
If supporters miss the Jan. 14 deadline, they will continue gathering
signatures so that the question can be put to voters in 2004, Hinterberger
said.
Alaska voters last November rejected a marijuana legalization measure. In
1998, voters approved a measure allowing medical use of marijuana.
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
---
MAP posted-by: Beth
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 10:47:43 -0800
From: "Joe Wein" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> (by way of "D. Paul Stanford" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>)
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Switzerland takes the next step
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Berne, Tue 13 Nov 2001:
The Social Security and Health Committee (SGK in German) of the
Swiss 'Staenderat' (the upper house of the Swiss parliament) voted
6:4 in favour of legalising use, possession and personal
cultivation of cannabis for adults. It also supported the
government's proposal tolerate commercial cultivation and retail
sales of cannabis under a set of guidelines that control if cases
are prosecuted or not. Sale to minors or to non-residents of
Switzerland will still be prosecuted.
The committee deviated from the government's proposal of March 9,
2001 in two details: Possession of small quantities of hard drugs
such as heroin or cocaine will not be subjected to the expediency
principle, as had been recommended by a commission of inquiry in
1999. Furthermore, cannabis will not be decriminalised from age 16
up (in line with existing Swiss age limits on beer and wine
sales). Instead the age limit will be 18, the same age limit as
for sale of distilled spirits.
Next the draft bill will be subject to debate and a vote by the
whole upper house, then the lower house and finally a referendum
(probably in 2003). According to a February 2001 poll some 50-53%
of Swiss voters favour decriminalisation or legalisation of
cannabis.
An estimated 600 000 Swiss are estimated to be current users of
cannabis.
Joe Wein
--
http://www.drogenpolitik.org
Drugs Policy Association (Germany)
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 11:08:04 -0800
From: "D. Paul Stanford" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: CA: Give Pot-Case Files To Prosecutors, Judge Orders
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Newshawk: Jay Bergstrom
Pubdate: Wed, 14 Nov 2001
Source: Sacramento Bee (CA)
Copyright: 2001 The Sacramento Bee
Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Website: http://www.sacbee.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/376
Author: Denny Walsh, Bee Staff Writer
GIVE POT-CASE FILES TO PROSECUTORS, JUDGE ORDERS
A federal District Court judge in Sacramento has overruled a magistrate
judge's order on how prosecutors must handle at least 6,000 client and
patient files seized from an attorney-physician couple who advocate the
medical use of marijuana.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Gregory G. Hollows last month ordered prosecutors to
use an independent, court-appointed special master to review the files and
determine which of them the government could legally access. He also
ordered that the special master segregate initial-visit questionnaires and
medical records of the clients and patients and return those documents to
the couple.
But U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. overturned both orders,
ruling that the evidence supports the prosecutors' contention that they are
entitled to review all the documents, including computer-generated files.
Burrell approved the government's request that Thomas Flynn, chief of the
appellate section of the U.S. attorney's office, supervise a "taint team"
to weed out and return "inadvertently seized" documents not covered by the
search warrant.
Attorney Dale Schafer and his wife, Dr. Marion "Molly" Fry, challenged a
search of their California Medical Research Center in the El Dorado County
town of Cool. They asserted that their communications with clients and
patients are privileged.
In addition to the center's offices, raids by drug agents Sept. 28-29
included the couple's nearby Greenwood home and a storage unit in Cool. A
U-Haul truck took seized computer and hard-copy files to Sacramento, where
they were placed in the custody of the federal court, pending a ruling on
the legality of the search.
Schafer and Fry have yet to be formally charged with a crime, but Drug
Enforcement Administration agents alleged in an affidavit in support of
search warrants that the lawyer and doctor were unlawfully prescribing
cultivating and selling marijuana.
Hollows noted in his order the prosecution's theory that distributing or
possessing marijuana is a federal crime regardless of claimed medical
necessity.
"Because the government need not produce evidence of various afflictions in
its case, the (medical records are) not relevant," Hollows wrote.
"Moreover, even if tangentially relevant because an accused may attempt to
present a defense based on the overruled medical necessity theory, the
sensitivity attached to such documentation on account of medical or
personal privacy weigh against a needless production and dissemination at
this stage of the proceedings.
But Burrell decided giving things back to Schafer and Fry could weaken a
case against them. "It is premature for the court to determine the ...
value of this evidence to the array of federal crimes that could be
involved," he wrote.
As for a special master, there is no need for one "because there is no
indication that the businesses were engaged in any lawful business,"
Burrell found. Thus, he ruled, the special investigative restrictions
prescribed in case law and imposed by Hollows are unnecessary.
Schafer's attorney, J. David Nick of San Francisco, immediately notified
Burrell that he will take the matter to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals. Nick could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
In support of his conclusion that there is no legitimacy to the couple's
operation, Burrell cited these allegations in the DEA search warrant affidavit:
* The Medical Research Center's advertised Web address is
www.cannabisdoctor.com.
* When an undercover agent telephoned the center and asked if Schafer could
represent him in a car accident case, the agent was informed that "Mr.
Schafer only does medical marijuana and refers all other matters to an
attorney in Placerville."
* An informant who is trading information for leniency in his own case told
a DEA agent that during the time the informant was employed by Schafer and
Fry, they supplied certificates for clients who sought to justify marijuana
possession under the Compassionate Use Act, a ballot measure passed by
voters in 1996 that permits Californians to employ pot therapy when
recommended by a doctor.
"In light of the nature of the business, the law enforcement officials may
review the seized items," Burrell ruled. He ordered the material turned
over immediately to the DEA.
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 12:46:28 -0800
From: Dale Gieringer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> (by way of "D. Paul Stanford"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>)
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Britain Opens 1st Cannabis Cafe'
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Arom: Noble [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Wednesday, November 14, 2001 07:45
To: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: [infowars] Roll up, roll up at Britain's first cafe for dope
smokers
<http://www.observer.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,591446,00.html>http://www.observer.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,591446,00.html
Roll up, roll up at Britain's first cafe for dope smokers
Anthony Browne Stockport
Sunday November 11, 2001
The Observer
The directions from Stockport Tourist Information were
enthusiastic. 'Turn left on to the A6, and walk across the open land.
You can't miss it,' said the telephonist.
Stockport, which has until now been famous only for its hat museum,
has never seen anything like it. Over the last two months hundreds,
if not thousands, of people have been making determined pilgrimages
there from London, Edinburgh, Carlisle and Milton Keynes. They come
by train and car in pursuit of news spreading by word of mouth and
internet: Stockport is home to Britain's first-ever Amsterdam-style
coffee shop.
Tucked away in a quiet, cobbled retail centre, the innocuous-
seeming 'Dutch Experience' is betrayed only by the sound of garrulous
chatter and the distinctive smell of marijuana wafting in the autumn
air. Outside, between the pictures of cannabis leaves, signs
warn: 'Over 18 only, ID required' and 'No alcohol, or drunk and
disorderly persons on the premises'. Inside, alcohol is the last
thing on people's minds.
From its opening at 10 in the morning to closing at 10 at night, the
Dutch Experience is packed with people rolling joints, inhaling
deeply and grinning peacefully. By lunchtime last Wednesday, there
were at least 50 people in its two rooms, by evening over 100. No one
bothered to hide this still illegal activity. It's all totally open.
Its founder, Colin Davies, a former carpenter, said the numbers
increased sharply after the Home Secretary, David Blunkett, announced
that cannabis possession will no longer be an arrestable offence, and
reckons he gets more than 500 visitors a day. 'I've created a
monster,' he laughs, as he sits on the bench, taking a puff. 'They're
coming from all over the country - the closest coffee shop is in
Holland.'
His customers sit playing cards or table football, drinking coffee or
Coca-Cola, chatting and criticising each other's joint-rolling
abilities. 'I've never seen anyone take so long to roll a spliff,'
scolds one woman.
Some are nervous on their first visit, while others have been coming
every day since it opened on 15 September. Paul Cooper, 18, who this
week starts working for a government project on drug use, is one of
the regulars: 'It's such a calm, quiet atmosphere in here; there's
never been a raised voice. There's been no fights. It's not like a
pub, where you drink 10 pints of Stella, and it all gets very rowdy.'
Billy Roberts, 44, a bricklayer, comes as often as he can from
Bolton. 'This place is brilliant - it's just like the ones in
Holland. You know what you are getting when you come here. Colin
Davies is making history - he's a real hero,' he puffed.
Davies became a cannabis activist after shattering his back in a fall
and finding that the illegal drug was the best one for relieving
pain. In 1996 he started the underground medical marijuana co-
operative, secretly growing cannabis as a painkiller for people
suffering from multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis, who had
to provide a doctor's certificate to prove eligibility. He was
prosecuted twice by police, but both times juries simply acquitted
him because he was helping sick people.
But it was the Conservative politician Peter Lilley who inadvertently
persuaded him to open the Dutch Experience. On a plane to visit a
coffee-shop owner in Amsterdam, Davies read about Lilley calling for
the legalisation of cannabis, and by the time he landed he thought
the time was right for coffee shops in Britain.
The purpose of the coffee shop is to use the money made from social
users of cannabis to provide it free - or at cost price - for
medicinal users. 'People in wheelchairs shouldn't have to pay for
their medicine - they should get it free, and that's what we're
doing,' said Davies.
One woman, in her early forties, whose hands are crippled with
rheumatoid arthritis, was particularly appreciative: 'This stuff is
much better quality than what you get on the street - I've been sold
Oxo cubes so many times. It gets to my bones better - the pain relief
is far better than anything I can get from the doctor. And I get it
for free - I couldn't afford to buy it.'
Two weeks before opening, Davies and his Dutch partner Nol van Scheik
wrote to the police and the council setting out their plans. The
police raided on the day he opened, but they reopened a few hours
later and since then the police have left them alone. The council
didn't reply to the letter, but instead sent them a rates
bill. 'That's the only licence I will get from the council,' said
Davies.
He stays on the right side of police tolerance by not selling
cannabis openly through a booth with a menu - he only plans to do
that when he feels the time is right. But he makes sure customers
have no trouble getting hold of either super-skunk grass or Lebanese
gold resin.
The council has not had a single complaint from the public, and is
turning a blind eye. Its leader, Fred Ridley, said: 'This is not a
matter for the council, but for the police. If someone wants to test
the law - and that's the way the law has been changed before - they
must accept the consequences if the law of the land is enforced.'
Manchester Police said in a statement: 'We recognise there is ongoing
debate and research into the medical benefits or otherwise of
cannabis. The police, in appropriate cases, exercise discretion and
judgment.'
The Dutch Experience has had open support from the local MEP, Chris
Davies, who has visited twice. 'I applaud it. It seems an excellent
way of meetings people's desire to try things other than alcohol
without leading them on to harder things,' he said.
Other cannabis campaigners are eyeing the Stockport trailblazer with
envy, and there are already plans to open them in Worthing, Taunton
and Brixton.
<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>[EMAIL PROTECTED]
--
----
Dale Gieringer (415) 563-5858 // [EMAIL PROTECTED]
2215-R Market St. #278, San Francisco CA 94114
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 10:52:01 -0800
From: "D. Paul Stanford" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: CA: Editorial: DEA On The Wrong Track
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Newshawk: Sledhead
Pubdate: Tue, 13 Nov 2001
Source: North County Times (CA)
Copyright: 2001 North County Times
Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Website: http://www.nctimes.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1080
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California)
DEA ON THE WRONG TRACK
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Director Asa Hutchinson has got
his priorities mixed up. As head of the only federal agency wholly
devoted to keeping dangerous drugs off the street, Hutchinson should
be targeting criminals. But in a misguided show of federal force,
about 30 DEA agents recently raided the Los Angeles Cannabis Resource
Center, which provides medical marijuana to 960 members who are
suffering from AIDS, cancer, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other
deadly diseases.
It was a waste of time, money and law enforcement agents, at a time
the nation cannot afford to waste any of those things.
California voters approved Proposition 215 five years ago, legalizing
the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Marijuana can prevent the
nausea associated with some chemotherapy cancer treatments. It eases
suffering for some AIDS patients and restores their appetite and has
been prescribed for years for glaucoma, which can cause blindness if
left untreated.
The DEA agents spent six hours searching and seizing items at the
resource center, including computers that contain clients' medical
histories. That's 180 hours of DEA agents' time spent in forcing
seriously ill people to seek drug dealers to relieve their pain.
After the raid, Los Angeles District Attorney Terence Hallinan asked
Hutchinson to back off. Hallinan said the Cannabis Club has reduced
crime, saved money, contributed to public health, and keeps sick
people away from street drug dealers. Hutchinson should listen up.
His show of force in Los Angeles did no one any good.
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
---
MAP posted-by: Josh
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 12:42:48 -0800
From: Dale Gieringer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> (by way of "D. Paul Stanford"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>)
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Cal's Flood of Marijuana Prisoners Ebbs Slightly
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
CaNORML Press Release 11/14/01
------------------------------------------------------------------------
California's High Tide of Marijuana Prisoners Ebbs Slightly
Sacramento, Nov. 2001. The number of marijuana prisoners in
California declined slightly in the past year but remains near record
levels, according to the latest report from the state Department of
Corrections. The report shows that there were 1600 marijuana felons in
state prison as of June 30, 2001, down 6% from the previous year and down
16% from their all-time record high in 1997. The population of pot
prisoners nonetheless remains a whopping 1,500% higher than at the
beginning of the Reagan administration's war on drugs two decades ago.
California NORML coordinator Dale Gieringer attributes the decline to
an increasing reluctance of juries to convict and prosecutors to press
felony pot charges, as well as to the passage of California's medical
marijuana law, which has opened the way to non-criminal suppliers.
The Department of Corrections report also shows a modest decline in
the total number of drug prisoners to 41,284, down 10% from its record high
in 1999. The number in prison for simple possession has declined
slightly to 18,985, down 5% from its all-time record high of 20,116 in
June, 2000. Possession-only offenders now account for 11% of the total
prison population. The current data predate Prop. 36, which makes
non-violent possession offenders eligible for treatment rather than prison.
Prop. 36 took effect on July 1, 2001.
The Department of Corrections figures do not include offenders in
county jail or federal prison.
Even though California has far more pot prisoners than it did twenty
years ago, this has had little evident impact on marijuana use. According
to the California Student Substance Use Survey, student drug use declined
modestly in the late 1980's but then rebounded in the early 1990s even as
the number of pot prisoners was soaring. California NORML argues that
"lock-em-up" policies have failed and that the state would be better off to
decriminalize marijuana entirely and devote law enforcement resources to
more serious problems.
Release by Dale Gieringer, Cal NORML (415) 563-5858
Source: Cal Dept of Corrections
http://www.cdc.state.ca.us/reports/offender.htm
--
----
Dale Gieringer (415) 563-5858 // [EMAIL PROTECTED]
2215-R Market St. #278, San Francisco CA 94114
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 10:51:03 -0800
From: "D. Paul Stanford" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Canada: Pot kit marketed
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Newshawk: puff_tuff
Pubdate: Wednesday, November 14, 2001
Source: Winnipeg Sun (CN MB)
Website: http://www.fyiwinnipeg.com/winsun.shtml
Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Copyright: 2001 Canoe Limited Partnership
Author: Robert Williams
URL: http://www.canoe.ca/WinnipegNews/ws.ws-11-14-0031.html
Pot kit marketed
Ex-'Pegger designs, sells unit to grow medicinal weed easily
By ROBERT WILLIAMS, staff reporter
Winnipeg Sun
Growing marijuana just got easier.
A portable greenhouse designed by ex-Winnipegger Curtis Woloshen is being
marketed as a simple way to grow medicinal marijuana.
Woloshen, and partners Jason Blueler and Nick Brusatore, have designed the
Power Grow System for people without green thumbs to grow marijuana and
tropical plants.
NEW FEDERAL LAW
"We are the first ones in Canada to use the word marijuana legally in an
advertisement," Woloshen, 26, said during an interview from Vancouver,
where he now lives.
Power Grow System Ltd. has been making the units since July 30 when a new
federal law came into effect allowing people suffering from chronic
illnesses to legally possess, grow and smoke marijuana.
The Canadian Standards Association approved unit is two metres high and
little more than one metre wide. It is made out of two aluminum boxes
containing three compartments for different plant stages and has timers
which control the florescent lights, food and water. It uses a standard 110
volt plug.
The company has sold 320 systems for $4,300, but none in Manitoba. Woloshen
was in Winnipeg last weekend talking to people about opening a franchise
here to distribute the units.
Local hydroponic store operators said the system appears to be the first in
Canada to be marketed specifically for marijuana.
It takes between six and nine weeks to grow up to two pounds of marijuana
with a THC content of up to 20%, depending on the type of clone or seed the
customer is working with, Woloshen said.
THC is the active ingredient in marijuana.
"Once you get into hydroponics that's the best marijuana you can possibly
grow," said Woloshen, a Sturgeon Creek Collegiate grad.
The federal government is growing marijuana with THC levels of 6% in an
underground mine in Flin Flon. The plants will be harvested and distributed
in January, said Andrew Swift, Health Canada spokesman.
Since the new regulations came into effect, 38 people have been authorized
to legally possess and smoke marijuana, while 521 had prior exemptions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Attachment: http://www.mapinc.org/temp/part733.html
CRRH is working to regulate and tax the sale of cannabis to adults like
alcohol, allow doctors to recommend cannabis through pharmacies and restore
the unregulated production of industrial hemp.
*Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp*
mail: CRRH ; P.O. Box 86741 ; Portland, OR 97286 USA
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
phone: (503) 235-4606
web: http://www.crrh.org/
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 10:54:21 -0800
From: "G. Alan Robison" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> (by way of "D. Paul Stanford"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>)
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: ASA HUTCHINSON TO DEBATE GOV GARY JOHNSON ON DRUG POLICY REFORM
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Thanks to Dean Becker for catching this one for us. Someone apparently
posted it to the NY Times drug forum
last night. The original advisory was on the DEA's website, so I guess
they're figuring Asa is going to win this time.
-------------------------------------
Press Advisory
November 9, 2001 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, CONTACT: Michael L. Chapman, Chief,
Public Affair, (202) 307-7977
DEA ADMINISTRATOR ASA HUTCHINSON TO DEBATE GOVERNOR GARY JOHNSON
ON DRUG POLICY REFORM
On Thursday, November 15, 2001, at 8:00 pm, Asa Hutchinson,
Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, will debate
New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson on drug policy reform. This
debate, sponsored by the Yale Law School Federalist Society, will
take place in the Yale Law School Main Auditorium, 127 Wall
Street, New Haven, CT, and is open to the public.
The discussion is entitled "The War on Drugs: A Debate on its
Past, Present, and Future." This is the second debate between
Administrator Hutchinson and Governor Johnson. The first took
place at the University of New Mexico on September 10, 2001.
Administrator Hutchinson has emphasized a balanced anti-drug
strategy that encompasses education and treatment in addition to
law enforcement. He views this debate as an important opportunity
to deliver a positive, anti-drug message and help educate
Americans to the dangers of drug legalization and drug use.
For last minute information, contact Mike Shumsky, Vice-President,
Yale Law School Federalist Society, at (203) 787-5587.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 16:51:59 -0800
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (by way of "D. Paul Stanford" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>)
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Palm Springs, CA: Judge Gray presents an Indictment of War on
Drugs
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
CALIFORNIA SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE JAMES GRAY TO PRESENT
A JUDICIAL INDICTIMENT OF THE WAR ON DRUGS
Sunday, November 18 at 4:30 p.m.
Cathedral City Public Library
California Superior Court Judge James Gray will discuss the failures of
America's War on Drugs and offer workable solutions on Sunday, November 18 at
4:30 p.m. at the Cathedral City Public Library. With publication of his
widely acclaimed book "Why The Drug War Has Failed and What We Can Do About
It," Judge Gray has received national attention and has appeared on numerous
television and radio shows as well as widespread recognition in the nation's
press.
Judge Gray has stated that "our policy of Drug Prohibition has failed from
every standpoint imaginable: unnecessary prison growth, increased taxes,
increased crime and corruption here and abroad, loss of civil liberties,
decreased health, diversion of resources that are needed to address other
problems in society. I hate these drugs so much that I want to change our
policy so that we can reduce drug usage and the other harms these dangerous
drugs are causing. These drugs could not be made more available than they are
under our present system-we can't even keep them out of our prisons, much
less off our streets. But change will come as soon as people realize one
simple truth: Just because we discuss drug policy, or just because we realize
we have options to it, or just because we choose to employ one or more of
those options does not mean that we condone drug use or abuse. As soon as
people understand that simple fact, we will move forward to a more effective
policy, because what we are doing now cannot stand the light of day."
Judge Gray's visit to the Coachella Valley is sponsored by the American Civil
Liberties Union and the Marijuana Anti-Prohibition Project. He will conduct a
book signing of "Why The Drug War Has Failed" at Barnes and Noble in Palm
Desert at 12 noon and also attend a benefit fundraiser at a private home
following his presentation at the Cathedral City Library.
Judge Gray's presentation will be held on Sunday, November 18 at 4:30 p.m. in
the Community Room of the Cathedral City Public Library, 33-520 Date Palm
Drive. There is no charge for admission and all interested persons are
invited to attend. Additional information may be obtained by calling
760-799-2055.
For additional information on Judge Gray and his views on the Drug War,
please see his website at www.judgejimgray.com.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 18:15:31 -0800
From: "D. Paul Stanford" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: IL: Proponents Of Hemp As A Crop Delay Vote In Illinois
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Newshawk: chip
Pubdate: Wed, 14 Nov 2001
Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO)
Copyright: 2001 St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Website: http://home.post-dispatch.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/418
Section: Metro
Author: Kevin McDermott
PROPONENTS OF HEMP AS A CROP DELAY VOTE IN ILLINOIS
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - A plan to study hemp as a possible agricultural crop
hit another snag Tuesday as proponents struggled to overturn a
gubernatorial veto.
The House debated, then postponed, a measure to authorize the University of
Illinois to study legalizing hemp production for use in clothing and other
materials. The bill passed this year, but Gov. George Ryan vetoed it.
In floor debate, supporters talked about the potential economic benefits.
But the sponsor, Rep. Ron Lawfer, R-Stockton, shelved his veto challenge
before it was voted on.
Lawfer needs 71 votes to overturn the veto. "He wasn't sure he had the
votes," said Sen. Evelyn Bowles, D-Edwardsville. She has helped Lawfer push
the hemp-study idea through two passages in the past two years.
Bowles said she would lobby House members this week, talking to "as many of
them as I can," in preparation for a House override vote. It also would
have to pass in the Senate.
Backers say the hemp study could lead to a major new crop for Illinois
farmers. Opponents say hemp is too closely identified with its biological
cousin, marijuana, and shouldn't be promoted by the state.
The Legislature met Tuesday for the first time since the terrorist attacks
of Sept. 11. People entering the Capitol were subjected to bag-searches and
metal detectors. The House, long known for its raucous, open style, was
muted by new rules restricting floor access by staff members, lobbyists and
reporters.
One journalist was expelled from the House chamber after she left her seat
to use the bathroom and tried to return. Other reporters complained to
House Speaker Michael Madigan about lack of access to lawmakers. Madigan
said security issues overrode those concerns.
The hemp bill is HB 3377.
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
---
MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 18:16:06 -0800
From: "D. Paul Stanford" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: CA: Panel Pitches City ID Cards For Medical Pot Users
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Newshawk: Ellen Komp
Pubdate: Thu, 08 Nov 2001
Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA)
Copyright: 2001 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Website: http://www.uniontrib.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/386
Author: Ray Huard
PANEL PITCHES CITY ID CARDS FOR MEDICAL POT USERS
Sick people who use marijuana to relieve symptoms on their doctors' advice
could get city identification cards to protect them from arrest by San
Diego police under a plan recommended by a City Council committee yesterday.
The proposal endorsed on a 4-1 vote by the Public Safety & Neighborhood
Services Committee runs contrary to advice from police Chief David
Bejarano, who said the city should first determine if there is a need for a
city ID card.
"I am convinced that there is need," said Councilwoman Toni Atkins,
chairwoman of the committee.
If there wasn't a need, Atkins said, California voters would not have
approved Proposition 215, the 1996 measure allowing the medical use of
marijuana.
Atkins said her goal is to bring the proposal to the full council for a
vote by the end of the year.
Bejarano, in a memo to the committee, said he "generally supports the
concept of a medical marijuana identification card system." But he
questioned the need for a city program.
Over the past two years, he wrote, the police have encountered only 12
cases in which people found with marijuana said they used it for medicinal
purposes. Of those, he said, five were found to be legitimate medical
marijuana users.
The chief said any ID card program should be run by the San Diego County
Health Department rather than by the city.
But Councilman Ralph Inzunza Jr. said a city ID card program is needed
because county officials have declined to start one.
"We, as a city, have to step forward," Inzunza said.
Proposed state legislation would establish a statewide ID card program.
But Dale Kelly Bankhead, a member of the city's Medical Marijuana Task
Force, said the city shouldn't wait for the state to act.
"We cannot predict what will happen in Sacramento," Bankhead said. "In the
meantime, folks in San Diego don't have the mechanism to prevent
unnecessary arrests."
In establishing the ID card program, Inzunza said, the city also must amend
local ordinances to make it a crime to copy, sell, counterfeit or otherwise
abuse the cards. He said the city also must establish limits on how much
marijuana a cardholder could have.
Atkins said the city also must make it clear that a city ID card wouldn't
protect medical marijuana users from arrest by federal, state or county law
enforcement agencies, nor would it be valid beyond city limits.
Under the committee proposal, which was developed by the citizens task
force, the ID card program would be administered by a nonprofit medical
agency. The task force was created by the council in May to develop
guidelines on implementing Proposition 215.
Councilman Brian Maienschein, who voted against the proposal, said the city
should wait until the courts resolve a conflict between state law, which
allows medical marijuana use, and federal law, which prohibits it.
"There's still some issues that need to be worked out by the courts, and
for us to get ahead of these I don't think is wise," Maienschein said.
Atkins and Inzunza said San Francisco and several other California cities
and counties have ID card programs.
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
---
MAP posted-by: Rebel
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 05:44:16 -0800
From: "JT Barrie" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Debate challenge to Barr
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
FWIW, Barr has been issued an invitation to get his butt kicked big
time in a debate over drug policy. Since it is an unfair debate I don't
expect a reply. Anyone who has to support the status quo - and is barred
from consideration of reform - is doomed to easy humiliation in a public
forum. If an 800 pound gorilla had any money they could easily turn ANY
incumbent into a laughingstock for their support for this irresponsible
policy.
The 800 pound gorilla pac is still a pipe dream - without a 2nd registered
voter in Oregon to sign on. Email me your address and I'll send you the
paperwork. I've decided to act as treasurer until I declare my candidacy
- when undoubtedly, the 2 major parties will still be in hiding on drug
policy issues.
"Everybody does it" is usually not an acceptable reason for children
to use street drugs. However, it is the ONLY reason given by those who
endorse mainstream candidates who support policies which make those drugs
so easily accessible for children.
--
JT Barrie
[EMAIL PROTECTED] - email
(925) 695-2022 x7394 - voicemail/fax
__________________________________________________
FREE voicemail, email, and fax...all in one place.
Sign Up Now! http://www.onebox.com
------------------------------
End of restore V1 #132
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CRRH is working to regulate and tax the sale of cannabis to adults like alcohol, allow
doctors to recommend cannabis through pharmacies and restore the unregulated
production of industrial hemp.
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*Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp*
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phone: (503) 235-4606
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
web: http://www.crrh.org/
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