-------------------------------------------------------------------
Warrants Not Needed For Drug Dog Searches ('The Associated Press'
Says The Oregon Supreme Court Reversed A 1997 Decision By The Oregon Court
Of Appeals, Ruling That A Drug-Sniffing Dog Outside A Storage Unit
Didn't Require A Search Warrant Because The Dog Was In A Public Space,
If Not The Marijuana Found In A Storage Locker In Brookings
Rented By Desmond Smith)
Date: Sat, 25 Jul 1998 19:09:02 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US OR: Wire: Warrants Not Needed For Drug Dog Searches
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Patrick Henry (resist_tyranny@mapinc.org)
Pubdate: Sat, 25 Jul 1998
Source: Associated Press
Author: Charles E. Beggs
WARRANTS NOT NEEDED FOR DRUG DOG SEARCHES
SALEM, Ore. (AP) -- The Oregon Supreme Court, reversing a lower court, says
a drug dog's sniffing outside a storage unit didn't require a search warrant.
Friday's ruling overturned a 1997 decision by the Oregon Court of Appeals
that had cast doubt on use of dogs to gain evidence in drug cases.
The appeals court had held 6-4 that police needed warrants in many cases to
use the dogs.
The Supreme Court unanimously overruled the appeal court, saying dog
sniffing for drugs generally doesn't infringe on privacy rights.
"The use of a dog to sniff property in this manner is not a search for
constitutional purposes," the Supreme Court said.
Police use of drug-sniffing dogs is in some legal doubt because of an Oregon
Court of Appeals decision that police need to get search warrants to employ
the canines in most cases.
The case involves marijuana found in a storage locker in Brookings rented by
Desmond Smith.
An informant told Brookings police that Smith stored harvested marijuana in
the rented locker. A police narcotics detection dog in 1993 indicated by
sniffing that drugs were kept in Smith's locker.
Police then obtained a search warrant and found marijuana in the locker. But
the appeals court said because the warrant was not obtained before the
dog-sniffing operation took place, the operation violated the Oregon
Constitution's protection against unreasonable search and seizure.
The Supreme Court said a search "commonly involves some form of invasion
into private space."
The case involved using a dog to "detect the presence of a particular odor
caused by the presence of odor molecules in the air outside a clearly
defined, private space," the court said in an opinion by Justice Michael
Gillette.
"At least when they are conducted in a public place, dog sniffs are not
searches" and thus don't require warrants, Gillette said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Sun Is As Plentiful As The Beer At 11th Fest ('The Oregonian'
Shows Its Support For Portland's Dominant Drug Culture And Double Standards
In Journalism As It Emphasizes The Positive Aspects Of An Alcohol Festival
In Waterfront Park)
Date: Sun, 2 Aug 1998 11:04:39 -0700
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US OR: Sun is as Plentiful as the Beer at 11th Fest
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Source: Oregonian, The
Contact: letters@news.oregonian.com
Website: http://www.oregonlive.com/
Pubdate: Sat, 25 Jul 1998
Author: John Foyston of The Oregonian staff
Newshawk comment: note the allusion to Frederick's Hempen Ale being
consumed by naughty parents.
SUN IS AS PLENTIFUL AS THE BEER AT 11TH FEST
Thousands at the annual event in Waterfront Park enjoy perfect drinking weather
Ben Franklin said beer was proof that God loves us. Franklin might've
interpreted the weather for this weekend's 11th annual Oregon Brewers
Festival as proof that he's partial to a good beer festival, too.
As soon as the gates opened Friday at noon, the clouds that had threatened
all morning began to dissipate. By 1 p.m., the sky was a brilliant blue,
and gentle breezes wafted off the Willamette through the tables and the
large tents set up in Tom McCall Waterfront Park.
It was perfect beer-drinking weather, said Mike Rasmussen of the Oregon
Brew Crew: Cool enough while people were setting up tents, displays,
restaurant booths and the six refrigerated trailers that each held a dozen
kegs from breweries across the country. But warm enough to encourage some
beer-drinking in the afternoon with the promise of a glorious evening on
the river as the sun dipped low.
Portland appeared to agree with Rasmussen's estimate: By 2 p.m., pedestrian
traffic was on the rise, and the noise level in the two big pavilions
suggested that at least a couple thousand Portlanders had found pursuits
more salutary than returning to the office for the afternoon.
"This is already busier at 2 p.m. Friday than any festival I remember,"
said Jerry Fechter, who brews beer at the Old Lompoc in Northwest Portland.
"And what was last year's attendance, 92,000? If this keeps up, I'll bet
they break the 100,000 mark for the weekend."
With temperatures predicted in the 90s for Saturday and Sunday, it's
entirely possible that a cold beer will sound perfect to a good portion of
the population.
People will find lots of that at the festival. This year, organizers have
bought kegs from breweries as diverse as Smuttynose Brewing in Portsmouth,
N.H., and Kona Brewing in Hawaii. Local breweries are well-represented from
the biggest -- Widmer -- to some of those fascinating littler guys such as
Umpqua, Mt. Hood and Hair of the Dog.
The festival bought more of the out-of-state beers this year -- 15 kegs
each instead of 10 -- to avoid the late-afternoon shortages that have
plagued the festival's favorite beers in the past. Organizers will tap just
six kegs of each beer Friday and Saturday and save the remaining three kegs
for Sunday.
It's no surprise that people can find lots of good beer at the festival,
but some of the other things they'll find will be a pleasant surprise.
"This really is the best outdoor festival in the country," said Tom
Dalldorf, who publishes the California-based Celebrator Beer News. "The
Oktoberfest in Munich is bigger and longer, but only the five breweries
that have a lock on the festival are represented."
Dalldorf also praised the event's atmosphere. "Because people pay for each
taste, unlike festivals that charge a high admission and don't charge for
beer, there's none of that frenzy as people try to drink up their money's
worth."
Tracy Dana, who was sitting with her partner, Fechter, and their
9-month-old daughter, Gabrielle Fechter, said, "We were just commenting on
how many strollers we see." The adults sipped Frederick's Hempen Ale while
Gabrielle occasionally took a pull at her bottle of lemonade. "I don't feel
at all uncomfortable bringing my daughter to this festival. I might feel
different on Saturday evening, but it seems to be a fine place for kids."
Well, you do have to choose your spot. Moments later a security guard told
the couple they couldn't be in the pavilion with a child.
"Oh, well," Dana said. "We'll just move out under the trees . . . but I
guess this is the first time that Gabrielle's been eighty-sixed from
anyplace."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Antelope Valley Man Indicted In Huge Pot Ring (The Antelope Valley Press'
In Palmdale, California, Says David Richards Of Lancaster Has Been Indicted
And Arrested As Part Of The Alleged Marijuana Cultivation Conspiracy
Including Medical Marijuana Patient/Activists Todd McCormick
And Peter McWilliams)
Date: Sun, 26 Jul 1998 16:51:38 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US CA: AV Man Indicted In Huge Pot Ring
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: compassion23@geocities.com (Frank S. World)
Source: Antelope Valley Press (Palmdale, CA)
Contact: letters@avpress.com
Website: http://www.avpress.com/
Pubdate: July 25, 1998
Author: KEVIN McKEEHAN Valley Press Staff Writer
AV MAN INDICTED IN HUGE POT RING
LOS ANGELES - A Lancaster man has been indicted by a federal grand jury in
Los Angeles along with eight other men who allegedly operated a massive
marijuanagrowing organization, which cultivated and shipped thousands of
cloned marijuana plants across Southern California.
David Richards, who resided on the 43700 block of Birchtree Avenue, was
arrested Thursday, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Richards and his eight alleged co-conspirators are charged with conspiracy
to grow marijuana, possessing the drug with the intent to distribute and
distributing it.
In the nine-count indictment handed down by the grand jury Friday,
authorities allege Richards received thousands of dollars to help oversee a
large marijuana farm in West Los Angeles.
Furthermore, it is alleged that Los Angeles resident Peter McWilliams, who
authorities say wanted to be the "Bill Gates of medical marijuana," funded
most of the yearlong operation.
The men utilized several homes throughout the county, including a
$2,500-a-year house in Littlerock, which was promptly turned into a
marijuana growing site. Homes, which were in reality farms, were also
maintained in Bel Air, Pacific Palisades, Winnetka and Chino.
According to the indictment, thousands of dollars worth of lamps, lights,
mixers and shifters poured into the Littlerock home, the exact location of
which was unavailable Friday.
The operation began in December 1996 with an infusion of money from
McWilliams, which was funneled through his Los Angeles self-help publishing
company, Prelude Press.
From those funds, McWilliams' men, including Richards, allegedly purchased
tons of equipment and marijuana seeds. McWilliams, the indictment stated,
wanted to be the sole supplier of pot for the Los Angeles Cannabis Club.
The operation came to a screeching halt with several arrests a year after
it got under way.
Indicted along with Richards and McWilliams were Bel Air resident Todd
McCormick, 25, Hollywood resident Kirill Dyjine, 33, Manhattan Beach
resident Christopher Carrington, 32, Van Nuys resident Gregg Collier, 25,
and Malibu resident Andrew Scott Hass, 34, who allegedly did much of the
work at the farm in Littlerock.
Richards is scheduled to be arraigned in federal court Monday.
Two men who were indicted but still at-large are Los Angeles residents
Aleksandra Evangulidi, 24, and Renee Boje.
1998 Antelope Valley Press, Palmdale, California, USA (805) 273-2700
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Proposition 215 Disallowed In Pot Trial ('The Orange County Register'
Says Santa Ana Superior Court Judge Robert Fitzergald Ruled Friday
That Orange County Cannabis Co-Op Founder Marvin Chavez Cannot Use
The California Compassionate Use Act Of 1996 As A Defence In His Upcoming
Traffickng Trial, And Upheld The Prosecutor's Subpoena For Former Co-Op
Members' Medical Records)
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 00:47:59 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US CA: Prop.215 Disallowed In Pot Trial
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: John Black
Pubdate: Sat, 25 Jul 1998
Source: Orange County Register (CA)
Contact: letters@link.freedom.com
Website: http://www.ocregister.com/
Author: Jeff Collins-OCR
PROP.215 DISALLOWED IN POT TRIAL
Courts: A judge says prosecutors can subpoena Cannabis Co-Op patients'
medical records.
A Santa Ana judge ruled Friday that Orange County Cannabis Co-Op founder
Marvin Chavez cannot use Prop. 215 as a defence in his upcoming pot-peddling
trial, Chavez's defence attorney said.
And Superior Court Judge Robert Fitzergald also upheld a prosecutor's
request for proof that people who obtained pot for alleged ailments were
actually ill, defence attorney Jon Alexander said.
The "medical marijuana" initiative allows people to use and grow marijuana
for medical purposes if they get their doctor's approval. The prosecution
contends that Proposition 215 did not allow anyone to sell marijuana.
Deputy District Attorney Carl Armbrust subpoenaed the medical records of
about 50 of Chavez's co-op clients.
The prosecution wants to examine client medical records to find out how many
had a doctor's authorization, said Alexander, who argued unsuccessfully that
the subpoenas violated the patient-doctor privilege.
Fitzgerald also granted Armbrust's motion to block a Prop.215 defence at
Chavez's trial, scheduled to begin Aug.3. Alexander said. Chavez, 41
contended that he gave marijuana to patients who made voluntary "donations."
Alexander said he plans to appeal both rulings.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Pot Case Is Put On Hold ('The Press-Telegram' Version Does A Good Job
Noting The Prejudicial Conduct Of Santa Ana Superior Court Judge
Robert Fitzergald)
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1998 03:07:59 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US CA: Pot Case Is Put On Hold
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: FilmMakerZ@aol.com
Pubdate: Sat, 25 July 1998
Source: Press-Telegram (CA)
Contact: speakout@ptconnect.infi.net
Website: http://www.ptconnect.com/
Author: Joe Segura, Staff Writer
POT CASE IS PUT ON HOLD
Prop 215: DA office has 3 days to review 200 medical records.
SANTA ANA -- An Orange County Superior Court judge granted a prosecutor's
motion Friday to review some 200 medical records of people using medicinal
marijuana under Prop. 215, and barred the use of the 1996 measure from an
activist's defense on felony drug-sale charges.
Lawyers for Garden Grove resident Marvin Chavez said Judge Robert R.
Fitzgerald's ruling was expected and said they plan to file an appeal next
week with the 4th District Court of Appeal.
Chavez and his attorneys, Robert Kennedy of Long Beach and Jon Alexander of
Orange County, said they were stunned by the judge's off-the-cuff remarks
about marijuana during the proceedings.
"There are some Thai-sticks in the back, if anybody wants them," Fitzgerald
cracked about a potent form of marijuana, a few minutes before the Chavez
hearing.
And as the Chavez case was being called, Fitzgerald said, "Why don't we do
the dope case?"
There was an audible gasp in the courtroom, and one person muffled a booing
reaction.
Kennedy said the comments were insulting to Chavez and about 10 people who
are members of his Orange County Patient-Doctor-Nurse Support Group.
"That was outrageous, to make comments in jest about people who have very
serious illnesses, including cancer and AIDS," he said after the court hearing.
Chavez was arrested in April after allegedly selling marijuana to an
undercover officer posing as a caregiver for a terminally ill uncle.
In Friday's hearing, the prosecutor pushed to ban any reference to Prop.
215, known as the Compassionate Use Act of 1996.
Fitzgerald allowed the defense 72 hours to file its appeal before allowing
the prosecutor to issue the subpoenas on the medical records.
Deputy District Attorney Carl Armbrust, head of the Narcotics Enforcement
Team, said Chavez was simply attempting to hide behind Prop. 215, and that
the medicinal marijuana measure does not allow for the sale of the substance.
The donation that the support group normally recommends for the medicinal
marijuana is tantamount to a sale, he said.
Armbrust said he estimates that Chavez and the support group make between
$2,000 and $10,000 a week in sales.
"This is a very sophisticated marijuana sale operation," he added.
Kennedy said the merits of the case, including Chavez's activities under
Prop. 215, should be decided by a jury.
Fitzgerald allowed the defense 72 hours to file the appeal before allowing
the prosecutor to issue the subpoenas on the medical records.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Pot Legalization Support Bill Stalls (The 'Press-Telegram'
Says California Senate Bill 1887, Which Would Fulfill Proposition 215's
Mandate That State Authorities Find A Way To Provide Medical Marijuana
To Authorized Patients, Has Passed The Senate, But Is Bogged Down
In The Assembly's Health Committee)
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1998 03:12:56 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US CA: Pot Legalization Support Bill Stalls
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: FilmMakerZ@aol.com
Pubdate: Sat, 25 July 1998
Source: Press-Telegram (CA)
Contact: speakout@ptconnect.infi.net.
Website: http://www.ptconnect.com/
Author: Joe Segura, Staff Writer
POT LEGALIZATION SUPPORT BILL STALLS
SACRAMENTO - State Sen. John Vasconellos, D-Santa Clara, has authored a
bill, SB 1887, to put teeth into Prop. 215, the ballot measure that was
described as legalizing the medicinal use of marijuana in California.
The Vasconellos measure has passed the Senate, but it's bogged down in the
state Assembly's Health Committee. State Assemblyman Scott Baugh, R-
Huntington Beach, the vice chairman of the committee, recently voted against it.
Among other things, the bill gives local communities the power to adopt
zoning areas where cannabis co-ops can be established. It also would
mandate that every medically eligible person be given access to marijuana,
even if they cannot afford to purchase it. It would limit distribution to
weekly supplies, while also requiring photo identification cards. Medical
records would be kept confidential, but authorities could inspect program
centers without notice.
Authorities would be allowed to determine whether patients receiving
marijuana had a physician's authorization.
Vasconellos said he expects eventual passage of SB 1887, but he also expects
Gov. Pete Wilson to veto it. The Clinton Administration, he said, is his
biggest headache.
"It's absolutely insane, hysterical and embarrassing," Vasconellos said.
"The frustration level is very high, because we're fighting an uphill battle
against a federal government that's gone mad."
However, the pro-Prop. 215 legislators continue to seek federal cooperation
for what they consider a health issue. The Clinton Administration has put
more restrictions on marijuana than on morphine or cocaine, Vasconellos
said. Marijuana, according to the federal government, is classified as a
dangerous drug with no medical use.
However, the concern in Sacramento prompted 25 state legislators to recently
petition Clinton to reconsider his administration's policy.
"Mr. President, we can't ignore this issue," the letter stated. "It won't
go away -- so long as human beings believe they have the right to attend to
their own illness, as their doctor recommends, rather than as government
dictates."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Veteran Probation Officer Sentenced ('The Antelope Valley Press'
Says Christopher Bryon Truitt Of Lancaster, California, A Six-Year Veteran
Of The County Probation Department Who Bragged About His Drug Connections
To Undercover Sheriff's Deputies During A Massive Sting Operation,
Was Sentenced Thursday To 16 Months In State Prison For Selling Marijuana
And Cloned Cell Phones)
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 11:34:27 -0700
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US: Veteran Probation Officer Sentenced
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: compassion23@geocities.com (Frank S. World)
Source: Antelope Valley Press
Contact: editor@avpress.com
Website: http://www.avpress.com/
Pubdate: Sat, 25 Jul 1998
Author: Kevin McKeehan - Valley Press Staff Writer
VETERAN PROBATION OFFICER SENTENCED
LANCASTER - A six-year veteran of the county Probation Department who
bragged about his drug connections to undercover sheriff's deputies during
a massive sting operation was sentenced Thursday to 16 months in state
prison for selling marijuana and cloned cell phones.
Christopher Bryon Truitt's March 31 arrest was part of the sheriff's Men In
Black sting operation, during which deputies ran a phony pawn shop in
Lancaster, buying all sorts of stolen goods and drugs.
He later pleaded no contest to possession of marijuana with intent to sell
and to cloning a cell phone, after being slapped with a variety of criminal
counts.
Truitt then, according to prosecutors, angled to avoid time in prison or
jail. Yet prosecutors said the evidence, which included a videotape of
Truitt selling deputies a block of pot, was too overwhelming and the crimes
too serious not to send Truitt to prison.
Now, it seems Truitt is in a rush to get to state prison. Truitt has vowed
to surrender to corrections authorities at the state prison in Wasco in
August, avoiding spending any time in the Los Angeles County jail. Truitt
will remain free until that time.
"He's going straight to prison," Deputy District Attorney Kelly Cromer said.
If he does not surrender to authorities in August, Cromer said Truitt, when
caught, would be forced to serve a two-year prison stint rather than 16
months.
"That way he has something hanging over his head," Cromer said.
Truitt's transformation from a probation officer who worked with troubled
teens to a convicted felon with troubles himself took only half a year.
According to court documents, Truitt and his girlfriend contacted the
undercover deputies in January and asked them if they were interested in
buying cell phones.
A few days later, Truitt and his girlfriend, who also worked at the
Challenger Youth Center, approached the dingy pawn shop on Lancaster
Boulevard with two sacks full of cell phones. The deputies offered the
couple $250 for everything they had.
"I was thinking $300," Truitt replied.
"You're two batteries short," a deputy said.
"Give us $300," Truitt's girlfriend responded, "and I'll go get you two
batteries."
The deputies relented and paid the couple $300 for approximately $3,500
worth of cellular phone equipment.
But Truitt, the probation officer, never knew or seemed to suspect that he
was looking directly at fellow law enforcement officers. He promised them
he would not only bring more phones but also bring phones he intended to
have "hit," or cloned - an illegal process involving the altering of the
phone's electronic serial number.
He soon returned to the store, bringing with him video game systems that he
said a "connection" obtained for him. But as he made the transaction,
another deputy was making a drug buy.
"I got a buddy," Truitt said. "Whatever you need - weed . . . I can just
ask him - ounce, half ounce, pound. I know for a fact, like, half a pound -
$250; two ounces - $80; pound - $500 to $525. Right now."
Later that day, Truitt returned to the storefront with half a pound of
marijuana molded into a brick.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Criminal Problems - Civil Solutions ('The San Jose Mercury News'
Says San Jose's Attempt To Have 47 Suspected Gang Members Barred
From A Wide Range Of Conduct In A Central Neighborhood Has Renewed Debate
Over The Nationwide Trend Of Using Public-Nuisance Laws
To Address Criminal Problems)
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 00:45:17 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US CA: Criminal Problems -- Civil Solutions
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Marcus/Mermelstein Family (mmfamily@ix.netcom.com)
Pubdate: Sat, 25 Jul 1998
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Contact: letters@sjmercury.com
Website: http://www.sjmercury.com/
CRIMINAL PROBLEMS -- CIVIL SOLUTIONS
San Jose's effort to curb gangs is part of controversial trend
San Jose's third attempt to combat gang violence through public-nuisance
laws is the latest in an increasing trend: governments using unconventional
civil remedies for criminal problems.
Generally, experts agree that applying civil tools to public safety problems
can accomplish what standard policing often cannot. They add that
authorities have been using them more often in recent years because of that
success.
But even as San Jose attempts to have 47 suspected gang members barred from
a wide range of conduct in a central San Jose neighborhood near Almaden
Avenue and Vine Street, the city's effort has also renewed debate over
similar tactics.
On one side are city attorneys, prosecutors and others who believe the
criminal justice system sometimes does not allow for creative solutions to
problems such as drugs, prostitution and violence.
``Criminal prosecution doesn't always accomplish what needs to be done,''
Karyn Sinunu, an assistant Santa Clara County district attorney, said Friday.
On the other side are critics who argue such methods can mean governments
will strip suspects of their constitutional rights, become more tempted to
act corruptly and target innocent people.
``There is a grave danger in dealing with problems that are basically
criminal in nature through civil legal tools,'' said John Crew, a lawyer
with the Northern California branch of the American Civil Liberties Union.
``Often the choice to pursue the civil legal process is an end run around
the basic constitutional protections offered in criminal proceedings.''
The standard way for governments to deal with illegal activity, of course,
continues to be police forces that deter crime through patrols and
investigations. Arrested suspects can be prosecuted in a criminal justice
system that comes with an array of guarantees.
Among them are the right to an attorney, freedom from self-incrimination,
the presumption of innocence and an extensive set of due process
protections. Defendants in serious cases can demand a jury trial, and can
only be found guilty if evidence proves it beyond a reasonable doubt.
By contrast, the civil system does not carry the same level of
constitutional safeguards and has a lower burden of proof. Many cases are
decided by judges, who critics say may be more likely to side with the
government than with defendants.
Attacking the cause
But supporters say they can use the flexibility of the civil system to
prevent problems before they occur, to address a widespread pattern of
criminality and to attack the cause of crime rather than the effects.
Moreover, some legal experts stress that because the cases are civil, they
do not require or deserve the same protections as criminal cases. If a
member of the public gets sued, one asked rhetorically, should they get a
public defender?
For instance, authorities have used public-nuisance laws to stem the source
of criminal problems. That's what San Jose is trying to do in this most
recent case.
The city attorney's office has identified 47 people who allegedly belong to
four gangs and have turned the neighborhood near downtown known as
Almaden/Vine into a battleground.
In sealed court papers filed July 10, the city is asking a judge to prevent
those 47 people from engaging in a wide range of legal and illegal behavior
while in the area. Examples of the conduct attorneys want blocked include
carrying beepers, making loud noises or helping people flee police.
Their application for a gang-abatement injunction is scheduled to go before
a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge Friday. It is similar to two
others the city successfully obtained in recent years in the Rocksprings and
Appian Lane areas. Both have helped dramatically lower crime in those
neighborhoods, the city says.
Efforts elsewhere
Gang-abatement injunctions are most popular in Southern California; Los
Angeles, San Fernando, Inglewood, Burbank, Long Beach, Pasadena and Norwalk
have all used them.
Salinas is seeking one to root out a gang problem in a five-block
neighborhood. And Deputy City Attorney Trish Aljoe said even as hearings
continue in the case, the measure has had a dramatic effect there.
``The police told us it was like a ghost town,'' she said. ``Even though it
wasn't officially granted yet, the gang members knew about it and were
abiding by it.''
But that type of approach is not confined to fighting gangs. It also allowed
San Jose to close Charlie's Liquors, a store that downtown residents said
caused innumerable problems by freely selling alcohol.
In February, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office used the same
method to shut down a Mountain View massage parlor.
Among the other prominent civil tools governments have at their disposal are
asset-forfeiture laws. Those allow governments to confiscate property that
either enabled a crime or represents its profits.
In Oakland, for example, police are seizing the cars of people suspected of
seeking drugs or prostitutes. Attempts to reach the Oakland city attorney's
office Friday were unsuccessful.
The ACLU has filed suit because of that program, saying it has cast too
broad a net and denies due process. Crew contended that in some forfeiture
cases owners get their cars seized when they were not responsible for the
alleged misconduct.
Although civil laws have been used as an alternative way to battle crime for
years, they have become enormously more popular in the 1990s. That trend is
the result of several factors, according to experts.
One source is frustration with the workings of a cumbersome and overcrowded
criminal justice system. If someone violates a judge's order in a civil
case, that person can be thrown into jail instantly for contempt of court --
a much simpler process than prosecuting a repeat offender in the criminal
system.
``The assessment on the part of the police is if you just do it one by one,
defendant by defendant, you're incarcerating those individuals,'' said
Robert Pugsley, a professor at the Southwestern University School of Law.
``But there seems to be an inexhaustible supply of others.''
He said that with court orders, authorities can uproot problems in a single
attempt. But while civil approaches are being used more frequently, Pugsley
said they are unlikely to become commonplace because they are so
labor-intensive to obtain.
Customized solutions
Another factor is the rise of community policing. That philosophy holds that
officers should work with residents and other agencies to solve problems
because they can't do it alone. A third is the attempt to develop customized
solutions to complex problems.
But none of those reasons satisfies critics.
Crew said there is a misperception that the criminal justice system is
flawed when old-fashioned police work really is enough to protect public safety.
Civil approaches would ``criminalize otherwise normal behavior when these
people aren't doing anything criminal,'' said Steven Rease, a deputy
Monterey County public defender representing 12 juveniles in the injunction
case in Salinas. ``You're conceding, as far as we're concerned, that these
people haven't committed a crime.''
-------------------------------------------------------------------
300 Pounds Of Marijuana Seized Near Border Crossing
('The Associated Press' Says US Border Patrol Agents Interdicted
Six Duffel Bags Containing 300 Pounds Of Marijuana And Arrested
One Man Near The Northeastern Washington Town Of Metaline Falls
In The Biggest Marijuana Bust In Pend Oreille County History)
From: "W.H.E.N. - Bob Owen - Olympia" (when@olywa.net)
To: "-Hemp Talk" (hemp-talk@hemp.net)
Subject: HT: 300 pounds of marijuana seized near border crossing
Date: Sun, 26 Jul 1998 08:10:26 -0700
Sender: owner-hemp-talk@hemp.net
300 pounds of marijuana seized near border crossing
The Associated Press
7/25/98 7:28 PM Eastern
METALINE FALLS, Wash. (AP) -- Authorities intercepted six duffel bags
containing 300 pounds of marijuana and arrested one man near this
northeastern Washington town.
Three men walking near the U.S.-Canadian border station here dropped three
4-foot-long bags after being spotted Thursday by U.S. Border Patrol agents.
The three other bags were found later in the woods near Crescent Lake, in
the same general area where the first three bags were dropped.
One man was arrested. The two others got away.
The arrested man identified himself as Jeffrey Scott Dermott, 22, of
Sicamous, British Columbia, said Pend Oreille County deputy prosecutor Tony
Koures.
But authorities were unsure of his identity because no driver's license
records could be found for that name, Sheriff Doug Malby said.
Bail was set at $50,000 in a preliminary appearance Friday. The man was
being held in the county jail for investigation of felony possession of
marijuana with intent to deliver.
Each of the bags contained about 50 pounds of high-grade marijuana packed in
plastic bags, Malby said.
He estimated the marijuana's street value at $500,000, making it the largest
marijuana bust in county history.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
MADD Takes On Clothing Catalog (An 'Associated Press' Article
In The Illinois 'Daily Herald' Says The Group Mothers Against Drunk Driving
Is Targeting Abercrombie & Fitch In New York And Its Latest Magazine-Catalog
For Combining Hot Back-To-School Fashions With Drinking Games And Recipes
For Hard-Core Cocktails Like The 'Woo-Woo' And The 'Brain Hemorrhage')
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 12:02:55 -0700
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US: MADD Takes On Clothing Catalog
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Steve Young (theyoungfamily@worldnet.att.net)
Source: Daily Herald (IL)
Contact: fencepost@dailyherald.com
Website: http://www.dailyherald.com/
Pubdate: Sat, 25 Jul 1998
Author: AP
MADD TAKES ON CLOTHING CATALOG
NEW YORK - Abercrombie & Fitch's latest magazine-catalog combines hot
back-to-school fashions with drinking games and recipes for hard-core
cocktails like the "Woo-Woo" and the "Brain Hemorrhage."
Way uncool, says the head of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
She bashed the trendy clothier for encouraging bad behavior that many of
its customers aren't even old enough to do.
"This catalog is an abomination," MADD President Karolyn Nunnallee said
Friday. "They are a company that is in a position to influence, and whether
or not they are making a profit they have a responsibility and that
responsibility is not to promote unsafe behavior."
About a million copies of the catalog, touted as part magazine, was
distributed about two weeks ago in the company's 165 stores and by
subscription.
The retailer admits it went too far in an A&F Quarterly story titled
"Drinking 101."
"In retrospect, the company feels that it should have initially provided
balance in that story," said Lonnie Fogel, a company spokesman at its
Reynoldsburg, Ohio, headquarters.
The two-page story gives directions for "creative drinking" that students
can substitute for the "standard beer binge," including drinks called
"Woo-Woo" and the "Brain Hemorrhage."
The catalog features photos of muscled, sometimes shirtless men with
fresh-faced women - all in Abercrombie fashions. It also includes stories
on travel, book and film reviews, advice for heading back to school and an
article on campus streaking.
Nunnallee wants Abercrombie to discontinue distribution of the 215-page
catalog, issue a letter of apology to everyone who received it and devote
at least one page in the next four issues to underage drinking and drinking
and driving.
For now, she'll have to settle for warning stickers affixed to catalogs not
yet distributed and postcards to subscribers with the same message, which
also appeared on the company's Web site.
The stickers say, in part: "We don't want to lose anybody to
thoughtlessness and stupidity. For some, part of college life includes
partying and drinking - be smart and be responsible."
Fogel said the catalog "aims to be a chronicler of the American college
experience today" and that experience, at least for some, includes alcohol.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Court Quashes Police Practice ('The News And Observer'
Says A North Carolina Court Of Appeals Panel In Raleigh
Reversed A Marijuana Conviction, Ruling That Police
Cannot Consciously Lie To Secure A Search Warrant)
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 00:43:43 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US NC: Court Quashes Police Practice
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Patrick Henry (resist_tyranny@mapinc.org)
Pubdate: Sat, 25 Jul 1998
Source: News & Observer (NC)
Contact 1: http://www.news-observer.com/feedback/
Contact 2: forum@nando.com
Author: Anne Saker
Note: Anne Saker can be reached at 829-8955
or asaker@nando.com
COURT QUASHES POLICE PRACTICE
Reversing a marijuana conviction, a Court of Appeals panel rules that a
police investigator cannot consciously lie to secure a search warrant.
RALEIGH -- In a decision that some lawyers say will remind police to be more
careful in seeking search warrants, the state Court of Appeals has thrown
out a Raleigh man's drug conviction because a police detective lied to get a
warrant for the man's house.
Judge K. Edward Greene, writing for a unanimous three-judge panel, said that
in asking for search warrants, police sometimes make statements they
mistakenly believe are true. But they cannot knowingly lie in making their
case to a magistrate, Greene wrote.
The case does not break legal ground, but it does invalidate a once-common
practice in the Raleigh Police Department: employing the vague term "using
investigative means" to mean police picked up and went through a suspect's
trash.
"I'm delighted," said Raleigh lawyer Duncan McMillan, who appealed the case
on behalf of Michael Severn. "We understood that this was a very frequent
practice. This time, though, the police got caught in a lie."
"It's a good day when the courts recognize that lying under oath is
problematic," said Louis Bilionis, a criminal procedure expert at the law
school of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Raleigh criminal defense lawyer Rick Gammon, once a Raleigh police officer,
said the ruling instructs police that the truth cannot fall victim to the
pressure to make arrests.
"This is a good ruling because it requires the officer to be truthful in the
affidavit, and it preserves the integrity of the affidavit and the search
warrant," Gammon said.
The detective in the case, R.A. McLeod, said Friday, "I'm not going say a
thing about it. Not a word."
Police Chief Mitch Brown and police attorney Dawn Bryant could not be
reached for comment. Assistant Attorney General Elizabeth Parsons said no
decision has been made about taking the case to the state Supreme Court.
Barring a move to the high court, the Court of Appeals ruling Tuesday sends
the case back to Wake County Superior Court.
The case began in August 1996 when McLeod got a tip that Severn, then living
on Ryegate Drive in Raleigh, was selling marijuana from his home.
McLeod went to Ryegate Drive and picked up a full trash bag from a trash can
just outside the house. Amid the trash, McLeod found a plastic straw with
cocaine residue and two grams of marijuana seeds, stems and leaves.
Police can take someone's trash as part of an investigation as long as they
pick it up on the day and time of regular collection.
McLeod then filed an affidavit asking a Wake County magistrate for a search
warrant to go into Severn's house. Instead of saying that he made a trash
pickup, he wrote under oath that he recovered "marijuana and cocaine from
inside Severn's residence, using investigative means."
The detective got the search warrant, and in Severn's house he found
marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Severn was charged with possession.
At a February 1997 hearing, McMillan, Severn's lawyer, asked Judge F. Gordon
Battle to throw out the warrant. McLeod testified then that he had not gone
inside the house himself to get the evidence on which to base the search
warrant.
He also said he wrote the term "using investigative means'' in his affidavit
so Severn would not know that McLeod found the incriminating evidence in his
trash. He said writing that term on search-warrant affidavits was a standard
practice in the department's drugs and vice unit.
But the Court of Appeals said McLeod crossed a fine line between unknowingly
making a false statement and telling a lie.
"It is true that every false statement in an affidavit is not necessarily
made in bad faith," the court said. A person making a sworn statement "may
be unaware that a statement is false and therefore include the statement in
the affidavit based on a good-faith believe of its veracity."
But McLeod, the court said, "admitted that he did not go inside of the
residence; therefore, by stating in the affidavit that he had recovered
evidence from within the residence, he knowingly made a false statement."
The ruling also said the term "using investigative means" does not confer
truthfulness on the affidavit, and it "further supports our holding that the
affidavit was entered in bad faith."
The court ruled that nothing else in the affidavit was good enough to
persuade a magistrate to issue a search warrant, so the court threw out
Severn's conviction.
Christina Fanney, who prosecuted the case in Superior Court, said she thinks
McLeod might have been in a hurry when writing the affidavit.
"We've told officers: If you did a trash pickup, say you did a trash
pickup," she said.
In 1997, officers executed 396 search warrants on Wake County houses. A
review Friday of 60 search warrants issued in 1998 found that a dozen bore
the words "using investigative means." Four of those warrants reported that
police obtained evidence in a trash pickup.
Joining Greene in the decision were Judges Mark Martin and Patricia
Timmons-Goodson.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Former Official Pleads Guilty ('The Associated Press'
Says Former Mecklenburg County Elections Director Bill Culp
Has Pleaded Guilty To Bribery And Corruption Charges In Charlotte,
South Carolina, Blaming Marijuana Use That He Says Began
When He Was A Serviceman In Vietnam)
Date: Sat, 25 Jul 1998 19:06:52 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: US SC: Wire: Former Official Pleads Guilty
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Patrick Henry (resist_tyranny@mapinc.org)
Pubdate: Sat, 25 Jul 1998
Source: Associated Press
FORMER OFFICIAL PLEADS GUILTY
Marijuana use blamed for role in bribery and corruption
CHARLOTTE -- Former Mecklenburg County Elections Director Bill Culp has
pleaded guilty to bribery and corruption charges and blamed marijuana use
that he says began when he was a serviceman in Vietnam.
Culp, 54, who was the county elections director for 28 years until his
retirement in February, pleaded guilty Thursday at his first appearance in
U.S. District Court to charges of conspiracy to commit bribery, public
corruption and mail fraud. He was freed on $100,000 bond and agreed to
undergo counseling for his marijuana use.
If a federal judge accepts the plea agreement in Culp's case, he will
serve 30 months in federal prison and must pay full restitution.
The pleas by Culp on Thursday and by two other men earlier this week
culminated an investigation by the FBI and a federal grand jury that began
early this year and led to the men's indictments.
A voting machine salesman and repairman admitted earlier this week that
they gave Culp more than $134,000 since 1990 in bribes and kickbacks as
rewards for county business. Ed O'Day, 63, of Columbia, S.C., and Gene
Barnes, 64, of Stuarts Draft, Va., entered guilty pleas Tuesday.
They and Culp will be sentenced later this summer, the U.S. Attorney's
Office said.
Culp pleaded guilty to accepting 122 bribes from O'Day and Barnes and
to three counts of mail fraud stemming from his operation of the Mecklenburg
Elections Tabulation Service, which provided news organizations with
unofficial election night results. He allegedly double-billed the county and
news outlets, pocketing $21,131 between December 1994, and January 1998.
O'Day is president of United American Election Supply Co. and was also
an independent sales representative for MicroVote of Indianapolis. He sold
Mecklenburg County more than $6 million in voting machines since 1994.
Barnes, who serviced the county's voting machines for more than 30
years, raised his prices so Culp could get a kickback of $25 per machine
repaired, authorities alleged.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The General McCaffrey Scientific Fool Award (The Stanton Peele
Addiction Web Site Announces A New Award It Will Bestow
On Appropriate Drug Warriors, Starting With The US Drug Czar,
For Such Misstatements During His Recent European Tour As His Claim
That '30.2 Percent Of Dutch Youths Say They Have Tried Marijuana,
Versus 9.1 Percent In The United States')
Date: Sat, 25 Jul 1998 12:41:28 +0000
To: press@drugtext.nl, drctalk@drcnet.org, maptalk@mapinc.org
From: Peter Webster (vignes@monaco.mc)
Subject: The General McCaffrey Scientific Fool Award
The Stanton Peele Addiction Web Site presents:
The General McCaffrey Scientific Fool Award
http://www.peele.net/mccaffrey/
Recently, U.S. Drug Czar General Barry McCaffrey announced that the United
States had 8.22 murders per 100,000 people in 1995 compared to 17.58 in the
Netherlands, which proved, he said, that Dutch drug policy is a disaster.
He was wrong - again. McCaffrey carelessly compared the U.S. murder rate to
the Dutch attempted murder rate. The actual Dutch murder rate is (as the
Dutch Central Bureau for Statistics emphasized the next day in a special
press release) 1.8 per 100,000 people, less than a fourth that in the U.S.!
When McCaffrey's office was confronted with this fact, his spokesman James
McDonough replied: "Let's say [they are] right. What you are left with is
that they are a much more violent society and more inept [at murder], and
that's not much to brag about."
The erroneous Dutch and American murder rates were contained in McCaffrey's
European trip briefing book. The drug czar's book contained similar
misinformation about drug use: for example, "30.2 percent of Dutch youths
say they have tried marijuana, vs. 9.1 percent in the United States." This
figure represent lifetime use for the 16-19 years age group of the
Amsterdam population in 1994, but only current (past month) use by the
American group - obviously a ridiculous and unfair comparison! The
comparable lifetime prevalence ("ever used") figure to the 30.2 percent for
the Amsterdam population for American youths is 38.2 percent in 1994.* In
the U.S., this figure for 1997 was 49.6 percent!
Clinton's Drug Czar deserves an award for scientific malfeasance. SPAWS
will periodically present the General McCaffrey Scientific Fool Award to an
outstanding perpetrator of scientific tomfoolery or fraud in the drug and
alcohol area. The first recipient is - of course - the general himself.
* Lifetime prevalence of cannabis use for twelfth graders in 1994. Source:
Monitoring the future study, University of Michigan. Online:
http://www.isr.umich.edu/src/mtf/pr97t01a.html, accessed on July 23, 1998.
***
This message was issued on the Stanton Peele Mailing List. To join this
low volume read-only list, send e-mail to webmaster@sas.nl and in the
subject field say only "SUBSCRIBE PEELE". To leave this list send a
message to the same address saying "UNSUBSCRIBE PEELE".
The Stanton Peele Addiction Web Site - http://www.peele.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Pot-Pouri Gathers At Cannabis Carnival (A Superficial 'Canadian Press'
Article In 'The Ketchener-Waterloo Record' Recounts This Weekend's Gathering
In Kitchener, Ontario)
From: creator@islandnet.com (Matt Elrod)
To: mattalk@listserv.islandnet.com
Subject: Canada: Pot-pouri Gathers At Cannabis Carnival
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 09:44:09 -0700
Lines: 52
Newshawk: creator@mapinc.org
Source: Ketchener-Waterloo Record
Contact: recordletters@southam.ca
Pubdate: July 25, 1998
Pot-pouri Gathers At Cannabis Carnival
KITCHENER, Ont. (CP) - A "cannabis carnival" this weekend brought together
a motley crew of those seriously committed to changing Canada's marijuana
laws and those who came because it was something fun to do for a few hours.
The carnival, billed as the first for this southern Ontario city, gathered
about 125 mainly young people who passed around marijuana joints- some
openly, some discreetly.
There was only one arrest.
A 20-year-old man was charged with possession of a narcotic when police
initially thought he might have been selling marijuana to some teenagers
but concluded they couldn't prove it.
About half a dozen Waterloo regional police watched the action Saturday,
intervening only to make the arrest and to warn two members of the Church
of the Universe, Walter Tucker and Michael Baldasaro, when they lit up and
passed around a joint.
The colorful duo, who believe marijuana is a sacrament, both exhorted the
gathering to do what they could to vote out politicians who don't support
repeal of marijuana laws.
Baldasaro is one of 15 men who have said they will run for the federal Tory
leadership.
Tucker evoked a roar of laughter when he pointed to Baldasaro, saying it
was encouraging to see him running for office because "I know he has
inhaled."
Speakers generally assailed the current laws prohibiting marijuana use and
called for their repeal, or at the very least, modification to make it
unconditionally available for medicinal use.
The afternoon got off to a noisy beginning when Erika Kubassek, known in
the area for expressing her views on morality on issues such as women
walking around topless, began confronting the marijuana devotees using a
bullhorn.
Police stood close by just in case any members of the crowd around Kubassek
did more than jeer, taunt and outshout her as she was trying to persuade
them they were treading the wrong paths.
(Kitchener-Waterloo Record)
c The Canadian Press, 1998
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Drug Testing Ruled Unlawful (A 'Candian Press' Story In 'The Toronto Star'
Says The Canadian Federal Court Of Appeal Has Ruled That A Drug-Testing
Policy Implemented By The Toronto Dominion Bank To Screen New Hires
Is Discriminatory And Isn't Sufficiently Related To Job Performance)
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 12:04:52 -0700
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: Canada: Drug Testing Ruled Unlawful
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Dave Haans
Source: Toronto Star (Canada)
Contact: lettertoed@thestar.com
Website: http://www.thestar.com/
Pubdate: Sat, 25 Jul 1998
DRUG TESTING RULED UNLAWFUL
TD Bank policy discriminatory, top court says in 2-1 vote
OTTAWA (CP) - A drug-testing policy implemented by the Toronto Dominion
Bank to screen new hires is discriminatory, the Federal Court of Appeal has
ruled.
In the 2-1 decision, the court ruled the policy violates the Canadian Human
Rights Act because it could discriminate against certain employees and
because it isn't sufficiently related to job performance.
The act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability and defines
disability to include those with a previous or existing dependence on a
drug.
``A finding of a trace amount of drugs in one's system does not mean that
the employee is unproductive or about to engage in a work-related crime,''
Justice J. A. McDonald wrote for the majority.
He ruled that the test had the potential to discriminate against employees
and was not sufficiently related to performance on the job.
TD Bank received a copy of the 95-page judgment late Thursday, said
spokesperson Kym Robertson.
``We're reviewing the decision and considering what our next step will
be,'' she said, adding that, in light of the decision, the bank has
suspended its drug-testing policy indef-initely.
In 1990, the bank mandated that new or returning hires would have to
undergo one-time testing for illegal drugs.
``It was always based on the principle that we're a bank and we handle
people's money,'' Robertson said. ``We feel there is a trust implicit in
that.''
Job offers were not rescinded for those who tested positive, she said. But
the individuals would be required to take part in counselling.
The bank does not keep statistics on how many drug tests have come back
positive because the tests are confidential. ``We've had no negative
reaction from employees on this policy,'' Robertson said.
TD Bank has 60 days to decide whether to appeal the decision to the Supreme
Court of Canada, she said.
John Hucker, secretary-general of the Canadian Human Rights Commission,
which had pressed the case through the courts, welcomed the decision.
``There is little evidence that drugs are a problem in the banking
sector.''
A commission statement quoted Hucker as adding that``drug testing will not
necessarily tell an employer very much about actual job performance.''
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association launched a complaint against the
policy with the human rights commission.
With files from Reuters and The Star's Madhavi Acharya
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Cannabis Evidence Goes Before MPs ('The Weekend Herald'
Says A New Zealand Parliamentary Inquiry Into The Mental Health Effects
Of Cannabis Will Begin Hearing Evidence This Week - The Government
Has Ruled Out Any Move To Decriminalise Cannabis Until The Inquiry
Is Carried Out)
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1998 03:51:17 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: New Zealand: Cannabis Evidence Goes Before MPs
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: David.Hadorn@vuw.ac.nz (David Hadorn)
Pubdate: 25/26 July 1998
Source: Weekend Herald (Auckland)
Contact: editor@herald.co.nz
CANNABIS EVIDENCE GOES BEFORE MPs
WELLINGTON - A parliamentary inquiry into the mental health effects of
cannabis will begin hearing evidence from agencies and the public this week.
The health select committee announced its inquiry in April amid calls for
the drug to be decriminalised.
This week the committee will hear evidence from the Ministry of Health, the
Mental Health Commission and Drug policy Forum Trust.
The inquiry will look at the effect of cannabis on people's development, the
role of cannabis as a trigger for mental illness, the effects of cannabis on
Maori mental health and the adequacy of services for those with drug-related
mental illnesses.
The Government has ruled out any move to decriminalise cannabis until the
inquiry is carried out.
The Associate Minister of Health, Roger Sowry, earlier this year dismissed a
report from a group of doctors and professionals calling on the Government
to legalise the drug and take control of the market.
The report from the Drug Policy Forum Trust said such a move would protect
public health and minimise cannabis abuse.
Meanwhile, smoking cannabis would come into the same instant fine category
as minor liquor offences under radical proposals being investigated by
police and supported by the Minister of Justice, Doug Graham.
Richard Arachnid, a Christchurch spokesman for the National Organisation for
the Reform of Marijuana Laws, which wants the marijuana laws reformed,
welcomed the moves as a step towards decriminalisation.
The head of the police national bureau of investigations, Detective
Inspector Harry Quinn, said the infringement notices would apply to about
one gram of cannabis, enough for a cigarette. - NZPA
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Bad Dope (Britain's 'New Scientist' Is Surprisingly Uncritical Of A Study
Involving 17 Subjects, Carried Out By Marinel Ammenheuser And Her Colleagues
At The University Of Texas Medical Branch In Galveston, Supposedly Showing
Marijuana Damages DNA As Much As Tobacco, Creating Potentially Fertile Ground
For Cancers And Begging The Question Why We Don't Lock Up People For Smoking
Cigarettes - The Fact That Pot Smokers Do Not Show A Higher Incidence
Of Cancer Or Lung Disease Is Excused With The Ludicrous Assertion
That Widespread Marijuana Use Is A Recent Phenomenon, Ignoring US Government
Studies Of Lifelong Users In Costa Rica And Jamaica In The 1970s Which Found
They Lived Longer - No Mention Of The Study's Methodological Flaws,
Whether It Was Peer Reviewed, Its Funding By The Current Prohibitionists
Running The US Government, Or That It Contradicts A Vast Body Of Other,
More Credible Evidence)
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 07:57:13 +1000 (EST)
From: duffy@mail.enternet.com.au (Andrew Duffy)
Subject: New Scientist (UK): BAD DOPE
To: pot-news@va.com.au
Reply-To: pot-news@va.com.au
Errors-To: pot-news@va.com.au
***
Pot News - Hemp SA's On-line News Service
***
Newshawk: Peter Webster
Source: New Scientist (UK)
Contact: letters@newscientist.com
Website: http://www.newscientist.com/
Pubdate: July 25, 1998
Author: Nell Boyce
BAD DOPE
MARIJUANA damages DNA as much as tobacco, creating potentially fertile
ground for cancers, according to a study of mothers and their newborn infants.
Marijuana smoke contains many of the same carcinogenic chemicals found in
cigarette smoke, and people tend to hold marijuana smoke longer in their
lungs. Epidemiologists have not yet linked marijuana to cancer, but this
may be because cancers take decades to develop and widespread marijuana use
is a recent phenomenon.
Marinel Ammenheuser and her colleagues at the University of Texas Medical
Branch in Galveston set out to discover whether marijuana smoke directly
damages DNA. Using blood and urine tests, the researchers identified 17
pregnant women who smoked marijuana but did not use tobacco, cocaine or
heroin. The study also enrolled an equal number of women who used none of
the drugs.
The researchers collected blood from each woman and from 10 umbilical
cords. They found that the frequency of mutations in the DNA was nearly
three times as high in the marijuana smokers and their infants as in
nonsmokers (Mutation Research, vol 403, p 55).
Ammenheuser says that the increased mutation rate in marijuana users
resembles that found in tobacco smokers. "It's only a hint that there may
be trouble there, but it's scientifically plausible."
"There's more and more evidence from our lab showing increased levels of
mutations in lungs," says Michael Roth of the University of California's
Los Angeles Medical Center. His group will publish a study next month in
the Journal of the National Cancer Institute showing that marijuana is
associated with mutations known to be linked to lung cancer. He also has
preliminary evidence suggesting that THC, the mood-altering ingredient in
marijuana, may promote the carcinogenic effect.
***
[Portland NORML comments - 'New Scientist' might have shown more objectivity
if it had contrasted this supposed research with other recent research in Italy
that found just the opposite.]
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Heroin Scandal Rocks London's Devout Jewish Community
(Britain's 'Independent' Says London's Orthodox Jewish Community
Has Been Shocked By A Series Of Arrests For Alleged Heroin Smuggling)
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1998 19:23:48 -0500
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: UK: Heroin Scandal Rocks London's Devout Jewish Community
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Martin Cooke (mjc1947@cyberclub.iol.ie)
Source: Independent, The (UK)
Pubdate: Sat, 25 Jul 1998
Contact: letters@independent.co.uk
Website: http://www.independent.co.uk/
Author: Paul Lashmar
HEROIN SCANDAL ROCKS LONDON'S DEVOUT JEWISH COMMUNITY
The Orthodox Jewish community has been shocked by a series of arrests
of its members for alleged heroin smuggling. Police and Customs
inquiries are centering on a drugs link between Israel, Antwerp and
London.
Evidence of the new drugs link follows:
Two Jewish men are to appear British courts on heroin smuggling
charges.
The professional execution on an Antwerp street last week, of a Jewish
jeweller and leading figure in the Russian Mafia.
A Talmudic scholar accused in Tel Aviv this month of laundering drugs
money through his bank account.
The north London Orthodox community is remaining tight-lipped about
the arrests although it is thought to be severely embarrassed.
Several people in the community, who did not want to be named, said
that the arrests were causing anger and deep concern.
The involvement of Orthodox Jews in hard drugs has echoes of the
recent case in New York State where the puritanical Amish sect was
torn by the arrest of several younger members for drug dealing.
The Orthodox and ultra-orthodox communities of Stamford Hill and
Golders Green in north London have a reputation for being largely
crime-free. While some members of the Orthodox community have been
jailed in the past for large-scale VAT frauds and other white collar
crime, it has never been associated with drugs or violent crime. The
fact the arrests involve allegations of heroin has proved even more
shocking.
Police in several European countries began to suspect that the diamond
area of Antwerp was becoming an international centre for drug
smuggling two years ago when an Orthodox Jewish man from Antwerp was
arrested at Ramsgate.
Dror Hazenfratz, then 34, from Antwerp, was jailed for 11 years for
trying to smuggle heroin. He was arrested by British Customs officers
while travelling with his wife and child in the family Peugeot 405.
Underneath the child seat in the back Customs officers found 15 kilos
of heroin worth UKP750,000.
Hazenfratz, who was born in Haifa and holds an Israeli passport as
well as a Belgian identity card, appeared in Canterbury court wearing
traditional dress and carrying the Talmud. He had made other one-day
trips to England.
Hazenfratz said he had been told to meet a Georgian Orthodox Jew at a
north London hotel. The ultimate destination of the drugs was
reputedly David Santini, a Glaswegian who, at the time, was Scotland's
leading heroin dealer.
In an unrelated raid, Santini was arrested while repacking a UKP1.1m
consignment of heroin. He was jailed for 13 years. A senior officer in
the case said: "He had massive connections with Britain's underworld
and leads to European drug cartels."
Following the arrest of Hazenfratz drugs officers began to suspect a
new drugs route. The last stopping point for most drugs coming into
Britain is the Netherlands, but European police forces are making it
more difficult to use that country as a transshipment point.
The collapse of Communism has also opened up new smuggling routes
through Eastern Europe into London and Antwerp is ideally suited as a
drugs centre.
At the end of June British Customs arrested a 19-year-old man from
Antwerp in Dover with 10 kilos of heroin allegedly concealed in his
hire car. He is awaiting trial. Shortly before an older man had been
arrested at Coquelles at the French entrance to the Channel Tunnel.
British Customs allegedly found quantities of heroin and cocaine. The
man was an American Orthodox Jew living in Stamford Hill.
British drugs officers suspect they are seeing the beginning of a new
drug operation involving Antwerp's Orthodox Jews and the Russian
Mafia. The Orthodox community has been a major player in the diamond
and precious metal market. Antwerp has the largest diamond centre in
the world. Other centres of the diamond business are Tel Aviv and
Hatton Garden, London.
Antwerp's Orthodox community is close knitted but cosmopolitan with
close links with similar communities in Israel, London, New York and
Eastern Europe. It is an Askenazi community which originated mainly
from East Europe. However, over the past two years the diamond
business has taken a downturn for the small trader and the trade has
moved mainly into the hands of big corporations such as DeBeers. In
addition, last year, police made a series of raids of diamond
businesses suspected of tax evasion and money laundering.
According to one Customs source, smuggling diamonds from Antwerp to
London's Hatton Garden has been on for many years. This expertise in
smuggling has now been turned to a more sinister trade. The Russian
Mafia has made Antwerp a centre of its operations and has been able to
use the expertise of a community that has fallen on hard times.
Last week, evidence of the violence associated with drug crime
surfaced again in Antwerp. A Jewish trader in precious metals in the
city, Rachmeil "Mike" Brandwain, also reputed to be a leading figure
in the Russian Mafia, was shot dead. Underworld gossip has it that he
had informed on another leading figure in the Russian Mafia who had
been arrested in New York.
In the 1980s Brandwain had sold gold that was smuggled into Britain
for a VAT fraud being run in Hatton Garden. A Customs operation
codenamed "Operation Fiddler" arrested a number of men in London.
Brantwain was also suspected to be a cocaine dealer.
Earlier this month in Tel Aviv, three British drugs officers were in
court to see an Israeli man charged with laundering money from an
international drugs ring.
According to local police, the British officers were from MI6 - the
remit of the overseas arm of British intelligence was extended to
cover international drug smuggling.
Israel Aron Albam, a 38-year-old Talmudic scholar, married with eight
children, was released on a bail of 8m shekels (around UKP1.3m). The
Tel Aviv court was told that British authorities had been involved
with the seizure of two boatloads of drugs, the first in 1992 with two
tonnes of cocaine and one tonne of cocaine.
The shipments originated from Columbia and were heading for Holland.
The second boat was seized in Portugal and a British citizen known
only as "John" was arrested. He claimed that Albam had given him
UKP48,000 to pay for the yacht. The court was told that a number of
men are held by the British authorities in connection with the
smuggling ring.
Albam is an Askenazi of the large Vishmitz sect. Police inquiries
revealed that Albam was on a Israeli government grant for poor
scholars to study the Talmud at the Yeshiva (theology college). He had
travelled to New York and London, apparently collecting money for
charity. However, Israeli police found 400m shekels (UKP66m) in his
bank account. The account was in the Israeli religious bank which is
tax exempt.
Albam admitted that he ran "a private bank" but claims that he did the
laundering only for the charedim (the Orthodox). He has denied any
connection with drugs dealings.
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Anti-Drug Activists For Trial On Man's Killing ('The Irish Times'
Says The Coalition Of Communities Against Drugs Issued A Statement
Condemning The Decision To Have The Three Men Tried Before A Non-Jury Court
For Stabbing A Heroin Addict To Death And Assaulting His Companion)
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 00:35:05 -0400
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
Subject: MN: Ireland: Anti-Drug Activists For Trial On Man's Killing
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Martin Cooke (mjc1947@cyberclub.iol.ie)
Pubdate: Sat, 25 Jul 1998
Source: Irish Times (Ireland)
Contact: lettersed@irish-times.ie
ANTI-DRUG ACTIVISTS FOR TRIAL ON MAN'S KILLING
Three anti-drug activists charged with killing Mr Josie Dwyer (44), a heroin
addict, have been returned for trial to the Special Criminal Court while
nine others will appear before a jury in the Circuit Court.
Mr Bernard Dempsey (30), of Marrowbone Lane, Dublin; Mr Stephen Carney (25),
of Dolphin House, Rialto; and Mr Ronald Byrne (39), of Cremona Road,
Ballyfermot, appeared in Dublin District Court accused of the manslaughter
of Mr Dwyer who was suffering from AIDS.
They are also accused of assaulting Mr Dwyer's companion, Mr Alan Byrne
(25), and violent disorder at Basin Lane, off Thomas Street, on May 15th, 1996.
Nine other men facing similar charges are: Mr Mark Cooke (24); Mr John Kenny
(42); Mr Martin Glynn (39); Mr Hugh Byrne (31), all of Dolphin House,
Rialto; Mr William Kenny (44), of St Anthony's Road, Rialto; Mr Mark Alfred
(24), of Seagull House, Dublin; and Mr Christopher O'Shea (48); Mr John
Fitzpatrick (35); and Mr Andrew Kelly (31), all from Fatima Mansions, Rialto.
Mr Desmond Whelan (27), of Dolphin House, Rialto, who had also been charged
was stabbed to death near his home on April 1st last year.
Judge John Neilan remanded 11 of the men on independent bail of £34,000
each on condition they do not interfere with witnesses, but the court heard
Mr Carney is currently being held in Portlaoise Prison on other charges.
After the hearing the Coalition of Communities Against Drugs issued a
statement condemning the decision to have the three men tried before a
non-jury court.
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[End]
to 1998 Daily News index for July 23-29