Date: Wed, 24 Jul 2002 18:15:10 -0700
Subject:Canada: Hydroponic System A Medicinal Potboiler Up TOC

Newshawk: Join CMAP (http://www.mapinc.org/cmap/lists.htm)
Pubdate: Wed, 24 Jul 2002
Source: Montreal Gazette (CN QU)
Webpage: www.mapinc.org/cancom/F9821694-6BE0-42D7-BB33-1AED9EA16714
Copyright: 2002 The Gazette, a division of Southam Inc.
Contact: letters@thegazette.southam.ca
Website: http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/274
Author: Mike Boone

HYDROPONIC SYSTEM A MEDICINAL POTBOILER

A new Montreal company promises to take the guesswork out of growing your
own marijuana.

The Power Grow system is idiot-proof, efficient - and perfectly legit. The
product is being marketed as a safe, efficient system for Canadians who
have the federal government's blessing to use marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Health Canada has established a "compassionate framework" that allows
patients suffering from serious illnesses to relieve their pain with
marijuana. There is a licensing process, during which patients supply
information on their ailments and indicate whether they plan to grow their
own marijuana or have someone grow it for them.

In 12 months since the introduction of the Marijuana Medical Access
Regulations, more than 800 Canadians have received permission for
therapeutic drug use. There are three legal ways for licensed marijuana
users to obtain the drug. They can get it from the government, they can
grow their own or they can designate a grower.

The feds predictably have made a hash of growing marijuana. An attempt to
set up a government pot plantation in an abandoned mine in Manitoba was
aborted and the plants were destroyed.

Private enterprise thinks it can do the job better. Power Grow, a company
based in British Columbia, manufactures and sells hydroponic units that
turn out primo weed without use of pesticides, herbicides or half the back
yard.

Two 20something Montrealers, Frederick Robson and Marie-Christine
Deschamps, are partners in HydroMedic. They're the distributors, in Quebec
and Atlantic Canada, of Power Grow aluminum units that include fluorescent
lights, a watering system and ventilation equipment.

They're a bit larger than a refrigerator. Each holds about a dozen
marijuana plants in various stages of growth. Plants can be harvested every
six to eight weeks, yielding up to 1.5 pounds.

It's called hydroponic agriculture. The technology was developed in Israel,
where water and arable soil are at a premium.

It's a long way from the Middle East to the Eastern Townships - and
marijuana is a more lucrative cash crop than Jaffa oranges.

In Sutton and vicinity, the RCMP recently busted a hydroponic pot-growing
operation. Illicit growers were exporting 225 kilos of cannabis to the U.S.
every week. Last week, a raid in Roxboro shut down a hydroponic plantation
in a private home. Cops seized 480 marijuana plants.

During a press conference at a downtown hotel yesterday during which they
displayed Power Grow units, Robson and Deschamps were asked whether they'd
want to see Health Canada licenses to use pot before selling a Power Grow unit.

"Our responsibility ends with the sale and after-sales service," Robson
said. "We are selling a legal product."

Like rolling papers - only packages of Zig-Zag don't cost $4,500.

"It's ideal for marijuana, but you could also grow plants or vegetables,"
Deschamps added, with a straight face. Like anyone's going to spend almost
five grand to grow zucchini.

You could rig up a chaise longue and get a decent winter tan in your Power
Grow. But let's be serious: this is a machine that does a very nice job of
growing an illegal drug.

And there is nothing to prevent a criminal from buying Power Grow. He can
pull a tractor-trailer up to the warehouse on Monk Blvd. and drive off with
HydroMedic's entire inventory of hydroponic appliances.

"Yeah, sure, pal. I got the cancer real bad. I'll need 20 of these."

But drug dealers tend to be adept with pocket calculators - or, in the case
of full-patch tycoons, Palm Pilots. And the units that HydroMedic is
selling do not yield commercially viable quantities of marijuana.

The way Robson crunches the numbers, however, Power Grow is a good buy for
a medicinal pot licensee. Robson hypothesized that a patient consumes an
ounce of marijuana a week, $200 to $250 at prevailing street prices.

"The unit will pay for itself in four to five months," he said.

Robson, who is a designated marijuana grower for a patient whom he wouldn't
identify, said he's been using the system for three months. He describes
Power Grow as a "turn-key" appliance. You flick the switch and hydroponic
agriculture does the rest. All the grower has to do is refill the water
reservoir and check pH levels.

Turn it on and - well, you complete the cheap joke.

Marc-Boris St-Maurice of the Marijuana Party offered an unsolicited
testimonial, calling Power Grow a very good product with "enormous
potential." St-Maurice, who advocates legalization, said the government
should subsidize medicinal users' purchase of the units.

HydroMedic offers everything the home pot farmer needs - except seeds.
Robson said marijuana seeds are easily obtainable from stores he wouldn't
name and Internet Web sites he would not identify.

HydroMedic hopes to sell 50 units during its first year of operation.
Robson said he hopes to create a network among doctors, patients and
medicinal marijuana growers.

Business will boom if and when the government finally decriminalizes
marijuana and allows cultivation for personal use. Power Grow units will
move faster than fridges - and Robson and Deschamps will become the Brault
& Martineau of hydroponic home appliances.

- - There's more information on the Power Grow system at the HydroMedic Web
site, www.hydromedic.com. The phone number of Health Canada's Office of
Cannabis Medical Access is (866) 337-7705. The office's Web site is
www.hc-sc.gc.ca.
__________________________________________________________________________
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, 24 Jul 2002 18:16:11 -0700
Subject:CA: SF Considers Growing Its Own Medicinal Pot Up TOC

Newshawk: Jane Marcus
Pubdate: Wed, 24 Jul 2002
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Copyright: 2002 San Jose Mercury News
Contact: letters@sjmercury.com
Website: http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/390
Author: Kim Curtis, Associated Press

S.F. CONSIDERS GROWING ITS OWN MEDICINAL POT

Supervisors Put Measure On November Ballot

Frustrated by the federal government's determination to shut down medicinal
marijuana clubs, San Francisco is thinking about growing its own.

The board of supervisors voted late Monday to put a measure on the November
ballot that would have city officials explore growing marijuana on publicly
owned lots and distributing it to ill patients.

Job Training

Supporters said such a program could double as job training for the unemployed.

"I don't think it would be all that dramatic a venture," said Supervisor
Mark Leno, who proposed the idea with three colleagues.

The city already issues medicinal marijuana use cards to patients who have
a doctor's permission. California was the first state to approve the use of
medicinal marijuana, with the passage of Proposition 215 in 1996.

"The health department or some other entity would distribute it over their
own counter," Leno said Tuesday. "We already have 4,000 San Franciscans
coming in to get medical marijuana ID cards; now they could also get their
marijuana."

Leno said he drafted the proposal because the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration remains determined to close down medicinal marijuana clubs
in the city and across California. When DEA Administrator Asa Hutchinson
spoke in San Francisco in February, Leno was protesting out front with a
bullhorn.

"If the federal government is going to continue to harass and shut down
these clubs, then I think it's the city's responsibility to take action,"
he said.

Supervisors, hesitant to take on the federal government without being sure
of their own political support, voted to put the measure on the ballot.

"Challenging federal law is a significant step for a city to take," Leno
said. "Before the elected body should do that, I think it's important for
voters to share their opinions. If 60 or 70 percent of voters say 'yes,'
the supervisors would be on very solid ground knowing that voters would be
with us."

"We have a lot of land," Leno added. "That's not going to be a problem."

The problem is that cultivating, possessing and distributing marijuana are
illegal under federal law.

"Unless Congress changes the law and makes marijuana a legal substance,
then we have to do our job and enforce the law, whether or not it's
popular," said Richard Meyer, a DEA spokesman in San Francisco.

Meyer said that if San Francisco began growing marijuana, it would be
"business as usual. We'd conduct an investigation, collect the evidence and
take appropriate action."

Four Arrests

Pro-pot advocates in California have already faced a series of federal
crackdowns that culminated in a raid and four arrests at a medicinal
marijuana club just hours before Hutchinson spoke.

San Francisco District Attorney Terence Hallinan, who also protested
Hutchinson's speech, was unavailable for comment but has been outspoken in
his support of the clubs. Police have refused to participate in any raids,
and last year city leaders declared San Francisco a sanctuary for medicinal
cannabis use.

Medicinal marijuana advocates lauded the ballot measure.

"The real fight we've been having is distribution," said Wayne Justmann,
who has been HIV positive for more than 15 years, carries the first
city-issued ID card and operates one of San Francisco's 11 remaining pot clubs.

Canada and Holland already grow and distribute medicinal marijuana, said
Jeff Jones, executive director of the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative.
__________________________________________________________________________
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, 24 Jul 2002 18:17:11 -0700
Subject:NV: 'Drug Czar' Blasts Proponents Of Pot Legalization Up TOC

Newshawk: Krissy www.mpp.org
Pubdate: Wed, 24 Jul 2002
Source: Las Vegas Sun (NV)
Webpage: www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/lv-gov/2002/jul/24/513757928.html
Copyright: 2002 Las Vegas Sun, Inc
Contact: letters@lasvegassun.com
Website: http://www.lasvegassun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/234
Author: Ed Koch
Cited: Marijuana Policy Project (www.mpp.org)

'DRUG CZAR' BLASTS PROPONENTS OF POT LEGALIZATION INITIATIVE

Proponents of a state ballot initiative to legalize the possession of small
amounts of marijuana are throwing up a smoke screen when they say the
measure is meant to help law enforcement, the White House drug czar said today.

"Let's not kid ourselves -- this is about helping the marijuana dealers by
making it easier to buy and sell on a wider scale and eventually legalize
all drugs," said John Walters, the national drug control policy director
and so-called "drug czar."

Walters was in Las Vegas today to address an anti-drug law enforcement
convention at the Hilton.

Prior to a news conference, he told the Sun that Nevada is a key
battleground in the war on drugs because of the initiative that got put on
the November ballot by the Marijuana Policy Project.

Billy Rogers, who is on leave from that organization to organize efforts
for local supporters of the measure, Nevadans for Responsible Law
Enforcement, said Walters is "out of touch with reality" and doubts he has
read the initiative.

"It is not true that our goal is to legalize all drugs," Rogers said.

"And if the drug czar had read the initiative he would not have said that
this would aid the marijuana dealers because it says transfer of marijuana
in and out of Nevada is strictly prohibited."

Passage of the question in November and again in 2004 would
constitutionally protect the rights of people to possess up to three ounces
of marijuana.

Rogers' group argues that the police and the courts are clogged with too
many minor pot possession cases.

The group also says there are safeguards in place in the initiative that
would provide stiff penalties for people who smoke marijuana in public,
sell pot to minors or kill people while operating vehicles under the
influence of marijuana.

Walters was not impressed.

"We already have stronger prohibitions under current laws," he said. "I
would not expect that anyone with common sense would accept that the law
would work any better with passage of this initiative because there would
be more drugs available and marijuana use would be a lot higher."

Walters said this is an issue that will be highly influenced by marketing.
He says proponents will spend a lot of money and use marketing tools to
pass the measure.

Walters said he would make another trip to Nevada as election day draws
closer to help educate voters.
__________________________________________________________________________
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, 24 Jul 2002 18:19:47 -0700
Subject:Canada: U.S. MARIJUANA USERS SEEK CANADIAN HAVEN Up TOC

The Globe and Mail
Tuesday, July 23, 2002
U.S. MARIJUANA USERS SEEK CANADIAN HAVEN

By JANE ARMSTRONG

VANCOUVER -- They say they're the political casualties of America's
so-called war on drugs, and they want Canada's Immigration Department to
make it official.

Citing persecution in their homeland because of attempts to grow, cultivate 
or use marijuana for medical purposes, at least three Americans living in 
B.C. have made refugee claims to stay in Canada.

Observers say the persecution allegations made by Steve Kubby, Ken Hayes
and Renee Boje, all Californians who were embroiled in high-profile court 
cases in the United States, could bring a flood of would-be refugees.

"It's a war zone down there," said Ms. Boje, an illustrator who fled Los
Angeles three years ago after she was charged with growing and possessing 
pot with the intent to distribute it.

"It's a real political war against people who are sick and people who are 
poor."

Ms. Boje, 32, said many other Americans are hiding out in Canada, waiting 
to see how the refugee panel rules on these initial cases. If the claimants 
are successful, Ms. Boje predicted a flood of similar claims.

Ms. Boje is fighting extradition to face drug charges in the United States 
and has launched a refugee claim in the meantime. Last year, she married a 
Canadian and now has a five-month-old baby. She said she never wants to 
return to the U.S.

There have been reports that hundreds of Americans have crossed the border 
into Canada in recent months after U.S. Attorney-General John Ashcroft 
ordered clampdowns on medicinal marijuana clubs in states where voters have 
passed measures approving them.

Particularly hard hit has been California, where Proposition 215 in 1996
allowed marijuana use with a doctor's recommendation.

Mr. Hayes, of Petaluma, Calif., last year won a court case in Sonoma
County, where he was acquitted of marijuana trafficking charges concerning 
a buyers club he co-owned.

But right after his acquittal, federal drug agents began investigating the 
club. He faces drug-trafficking charges that could put him behind bars for 
life. In January, he fled to B.C. with his girlfriend and three-year-old 
daughter. The United States has requested his extradition.

Mr. Kubby, who is a host of Pot TV, a Web site with breaking news about
marijuana issues, once ran for governor of California as a Libertarian
candidate. He was diagnosed with adrenal cancer in 1975 and has been 
smoking cannabis "heavily" since the early 1980s to curb symptoms, said 
Alex Stojicevic, his lawyer.

Mr. Kubby was flagrant about his pot use and eventually was charged with 11 
counts of possession and trafficking. He was acquitted on all but two 
possession charges, for which he was sentenced to four months.

Mr. Kubby fled to Canada before serving his sentence to take the job with 
Pot TV. His refugee claim states that he smokes pot for medical reasons. 
The United States has requested his return also.

Mr. Stojicevic, who is handling claims for Mr. Kubby and Mr. Hayes, said
the U.S. government has made it clear that it does not support marijuana 
use for medicinal purposes. The lawyer predicted that many who use pot and 
who are involved in growing and cultivation will seek asylum in Canada.

In the past, similar refugee claims haven't fared well, Mr. Stojicevic
said. He said he knew of three or four that were successful, but were
overturned by the federal court.

Hilary Black, a spokeswoman for the B.C. Compassion Club Society, said
Canada should accept the claims.

As Canada appears to be moving toward greater liberalization of its
marijuana laws, it's only logical that it should grant asylum to people who 
are fleeing years of imprisonment south of the border, she said.

Ms. Boje likened the crackdown on marijuana users to other events in U.S. 
history that prompted waves of immigration to Canada, such as the Vietnam 
War and the slave trade.

"Canada has a history of protecting people in the United States from their 
own government," Ms. Boje said.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2002 07:59:37 -0700
Subject:Transcript from Stroup/Huchinson debate on CNN's Crossfire Up TOC

CARVILLE: Welcome back to CROSSFIRE. We're coming to you live from the
George Washington University in beautiful Foggy Bottom.

Since Congress can't seem to get around to providing a drug benefit for
Medicare, perhaps folks should just be allowed to grow their own. A lot of
people think marijuana can't hurt people with cancer, glaucoma or other
painful diseases, and it may even help. So why not let them have it?

In the CROSSFIRE is Keith Stroup, executive director of NORML, the
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws; and joining us
from Oklahoma City is Asa Hutchison, who heads up the United States Drug
Enforcement Administration.

CARLSON: Keith, thanks for joining us.

KEITH STROUP, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NORML: Thank you. Nice to be here.

(APPLAUSE)

CARLSON: Here's the problem I have. If you're for legalizing marijuana, I
think you have a legitimate argument, probably not a correct one, but a
legitimate one on your side.

STROUP: Thank you.

CARLSON: Why not just make it, rather than rolling out, as you did today
at a press conference, people who are ill almost as a form of moral
blackmail, support our position or you take a position against these ill
people here up on the stage? Why not just make the argument directly
rather than this kind of phony roundabout medical way?

STROUP: I would actually suggest that it is the other side that's doing
that, and let me briefly explain. We do favor, my organization NORML
believes, you should not arrest responsible marijuana smokers regardless,
whether they're a patient or just smoking it for the fun of it.

Nonetheless, that issue is a side issue. The country is largely divided on
that issue. I think we have a slight majority of the country on our side.
But there's a lot of debate that has to happen. On the issue of whether
seriously ill patients should have marijuana as a medicine or if their
doctor recommends it, 73 percent of the American public now support that.
Nine states have now approved it under state law, eight by voter
initiative and one, Hawaii, by legislature.

It is inconceivable to me that we would want to deny an effective
medication to seriously ill and dying patients. There are tens of
thousands of seriously ill patients who get no relief from traditional
medication. These are cancer patients, AIDS patients, MS patients, people
with chronic pain, especially neuropathic pain. If marijuana helps them, I
can't imagine a justification for denying them that medication.

CARVILLE: Mr. Hutchinson, let me give you just a chance before I get into
it to respond to what Mr. Stroup said. He made a lot of points here. I
thought some of them sounded good. So, tell us why he's all washed up and
wrong.

ASA HUTCHINSON, ADMINISTRATOR, DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION: Well,
first of all, on the point that we would not want to deny effective
medication to someone who is ill or dying, we would not want to do that.
We're a compassionate society. But we have always listened to the
scientific and medical community as to what is good medicine. And thus
far, they have not said that.

I think that we ought to listen to the American Medical Association that
believes there is a not a medical benefit for marijuana, for smoking
marijuana. And so I think that's the group that we should listen to, and
they have not said it is good medicine. We want to be -- we are a
compassionate society. We want to provide good medicine. We're authorizing
continued studies of any health benefits. Thus far, they're not there and
so we have the right policy.

CARVILLE: Let me read to you -- let me show you something here, Mr.
Hutchinson. I'm going to read to you from Al Hunt's column in the "Wall
Street Journal": "John Ashcroft's pre-September 11 agenda was fighting gun
control, abortion, state laws permitting assisted suicide or medical
marijuana and going after hookers and their clients, not terrorism. There
are many more crimes and crime-catchers in America. So, priority is
important." my question to you is, why should I really care or you care or
the FBI or John Ashcroft care if some guy is taking chemotherapy, wants to
take a couple of tokes. I mean, let him have it. What the hell. What's the
problem?

HUTCHINSON: Well, first of all, Attorney General Ashcroft is certainly
concentrating on our fight against terrorism. We have priorities that are
out there from heroin and cocaine to terrorism. We also have
responsibility, one of them is to enforce our laws in regards to
marijuana.

Whenever you look at marijuana, 400 -- excuse me -- 225,000 Americans each
year are admitted to treatment programs because of marijuana dependence.
More teenagers go into treatment for marijuana addiction than any other
drug including alcohol. It is a serious problem in our country. It has
health consequences. It is more toxic than tobacco, and most people are
not out there advocating we ought to increase tobacco use. When it comes
to medical use, let's listen to science and medicine, and whatever they
say, we should follow.

CARLSON: Now, Keith, here is the problem I have with the medical marijuana
issue. It is apt, A, to make liars out of people. I think it already has
in some places where people pretend to have ailments and they need to
smoke dope to relieve those ailments; and, B, I think it implicates the
government in the dope trade, essentially. San Francisco considering
growing marijuana on city-owned property.

STROUP: Well, but they're only considering growing marijuana because the
federal government will not allow the state to provide medicine that
patients need. For example, the bill that we held a press conference on
today, that former President Ronald Reagan's top chief, Lynn Noffsinger
(ph) supports for example, and Dana Rohrbacher from California. It's not
just a bunch of liberals.

What this bill does is simply amend federal law so that states that wish
to allow the medical use of marijuana may do so legally and may provide it
so that you don't have to have the city of San Francisco growing it. Right
now, what happens is there is a conflict between state and federal law.

CARLSON: But I am just struck that there's no -- I mean, look, if smoking
marijuana, as (UNINTELLIGIBLE) would say, marinol, you know, the pill
form, if smoking marijuana was a treatment that was so effective that no
other treatment could work for gravely ill patients, you would imagine --
you would have physicians protesting in the street on behalf of it, but
you don't have that, do you?

STROUP: No, no, you do have many. In fact, the Institute of Medicine
reding ourselves in.

CARLSON: Very quickly, Keith Stroup, that's, I think, an important point.
Should we have referendum-based medicine? Why not wait for the FDA to
approve it?

STROUP: Well, because we've been waiting for over 20 years already, and
the government has planted their head in the sand.

Canada just legalized the medical use of marijuana. England is just a step
away from legalizing it. Most of Western Europe is too.

So the fact that we have ideologues in our Congress who refuse to deal
with marijuana as a medicine on a rational basis does not mean we should
deny it to patients.

(CROSSTALK)

CARLSON: We're going to have to leave it there.

Keith Stroup, thank you so much.

STROUP: Thank you.

CARLSON: Mr. Hutchinson, thank you.

CARVILLE: Thank you so much, as always, both of you. Thanks for coming.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2002 09:40:11 -0700
Subject:Canada: Hey Man! Don't Bogart That Joint Up TOC

Newshawk: Join CMAP (http://www.mapinc.org/cmap/lists.htm)
Pubdate: Wed, 24 Jul 2002
Source: Calgary Herald (CN AB)
Webpage: http://www.mapinc.org/cancom/79E729A5-A300-447F-B788-E0771A053134
Copyright: 2002 Calgary Herald
Contact: letters@theherald.southam.ca
Website: http://www.canada.com/calgary/calgaryherald/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/66
Author: Catherine Ford

HEY MAN! DON'T BOGART THAT JOINT

It was 8 a.m., but in the dim light of Toronto underground parking, it
could have been the middle of the day or night. Those of us who lived in
that massive complex in Cabbagetown -- yuppies among the remnants of a
distressed district of shabby boarding houses and derelict Victorians --
always felt slightly uncomfortable hanging around. Standing still meant
attracting drunks and panhandlers. Years later, the district would be
gentrified and the local liquor store would stock Merlot rather than $1.05
Old Sailor.

Even then, there were two classes of people in the neighbourhood --
middle-class white folks who were protected by the police and the rest, who
were harassed by them. Guess who was smoking the marijuana? Not the
homeless or the drunkards. And, I guess I have to admit, not me. Not for
lack of desire, but for the simple logistics: The smell of pot might
permeate the hallways of the apartment building, and Rochdale College was
reportedly drug central. For people my age who missed the drug generation
by a few years, the only illicit drug we knew was underage drinking.

It was possible, even at the height of the '60s, never to have seen
marijuana, let alone try it. I would subsequently address that gap in my
education, but, on the morning in question, I was standing uneasily in the
half-light by my car, waiting to drive a friend to work. It was my Monday
as the car-pool and he was late.

I waited. And waited. By 8:45, I left.

Later, I discovered why my colleague had not appeared. The night before he
had been arrested, charged with trafficking and smuggling a carload of pot
into Canada stuffed in lamps. He was convicted and sentenced to the minimum
of seven years.

The point of the story is that he did not fit anyone's stereotype of a drug
dealer -- then or now. Under normal circumstances, he would never have been
bothered by the police, given his middle-class profile. He was caught
because of a tip from an angry co-conspirator. And even today, were
marijuana decriminalized, he would still have done time for importation and
for dealing.

Moving toward the decriminalization of soft drugs such as marijuana is a
logical step for Canada, as it is for England. There are plenty of
examples: Germany, Portugal, Belgium and Switzerland have decriminalized
the private use and possession of marijuana. The Netherlands, the most
liberal of the drug-approving countries, has not ceased to function because
marijuana is readily available.

Standing in our way, though, is the expensive, time-consuming and
essentially silly American war on drugs. No matter how racist this
operation is, regardless of the lives it has destroyed on both sides, it
soldiers on because it is a billion-dollar industry -- on both sides of the
law. The United States would be seriously perturbed should Canada relax its
drug laws and the pressure, both diplomatic and political, is on.

That being said, Canada is a sovereign nation whose lawmakers no longer see
the logic in zero tolerance. They'd be hard-pressed to find someone between
25 and 55 who hasn't tried recreational drugs. The list of notables
reportedly includes Justice Minister Martin Cauchon, Industry Minister
Allan Rock and Alberta Premier Ralph Klein.

None of this is to suggest addiction isn't a problem, but those who are
addicted to drugs aren't made that way by laws governing access. And it
hasn't escaped anyone's notice the most dangerous drug in the country --
liquor -- is readily available. In Alberta or Quebec, we can go to a corner
store, although unlike Quebec, where the depanneur will sell you milk and
cigarettes with the wine, in Alberta the private liquor stores don't sell
non-related products.

The comparison between liquor and drugs is cultural, not affective. Booze
is as addictive as any drug, is abused with frequency and causes heartaches
and pain to those who are hooked and families who watch their
disintegration. The difference is we don't jail someone for buying a mickey
of rye. Canadians with liquor in their houses don't get a criminal record.

Let the U.S. police its own borders, and let the government of Canada make
its own decisions, including decriminalizing 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: Ariel
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2002 09:43:38 -0700
Subject: Transcript Zeese on CNN's Wolf Blitzer Reports

CNN WOLF BLITZER REPORTS

Excerpt of Kevin Zeese / Ken Connors debate:

BLITZER: The hot debate over using marijuana in certain medical cases just
got hotter. Democratic Congressman Barney Frank, today, introduced
legislation that would repeal federal restrictions on medical marijuana.
Federal law now prevents states from allowing marijuana to be used to ease
pain in terminally ill patients and other cases. Joining us with their
opposing views on this issue, Kevin Zeese is president of Common Sense For
Drug Policy, and Ken Connor is president of the Family Research Council.

Gentlemen, thanks for joining us. Let me begin with you, Kevin. Why should
this federal law, this proposed bill, be enacted?

KEVIN ZEESE, PRESIDENT, COMMON SENSE FOR DRUG POLICY: Because the federal
government is blocking the voter's decisions in nine states. Overwhelming
numbers of voters have voted for medical marijuana. The research shows
marijuana works as a medicine. Patients need it desperately and the federal
government is wasting precious resources prosecuting seriously ill people.
We're seeing federal prosecutions of nonviolent medical marijuana cases at a
time when we're on terror alert. It's a waste of resources.

BLITZER: Ken, if someone is terminally ill and going through chemo and
suffering and this medical marijuana might ease that pain somewhat, what's
wrong with letting a doctor give that kind of prescription?

KEN CONNOR, PRESIDENT, FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL: Because there are approved
alternatives, which the Food and Drug Administration, Wolf, has already
passed on. And when you smoke marijuana, you actually ingest about 500 other
compounds besides THC, which is then refined in federally approved form, in
pill form, and will soon be available in the form of suppositories and
inhalers as well. The effect of these other compounds, which are inhaled or
ingested by the patient, can react negatively with other drugs or with other
conditions.

ZEESE: The problem is that research that compares the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) pill
with smoked marijuana and they show the same thing. Marijuana is safer and
more effective for the patient. The reality is these approved medicines don't
work for a lot of patients. There was testimony today on Capitol Hill from
patients who have tried the legal drugs. They didn't work. These people are
suffering now. You're talking about coming up with progress within 10
years...

CONNOR: The reality...

ZEESE: There's going to be people suffering while you do it.

CONNOR: Wolf, it's a stalking horse for the drug legalization law because...

BLITZER: It is a slippery slope, is that what you said?

CONNOR: It absolutely is.

ZEESE: Well, I'll tell you...

(CROSSTALK)

CONNOR: These folks want to legalize...

ZEESE: What you're doing is you're putting...

BLITZER: One at a time. One at a time.

CONNOR: They're using the plight and problems of people who are suffering.
They're exploiting them in a way to advance a political agenda. The reality
of it is that there are federally approved alternatives that can provide
palliative relief.

ZEESE: The reality is...

(CROSSTALK)

ZEESE: ... you're the one playing politics with this issue, unfortunately.
Voters are voting for this issue in overwhelming numbers. We've never lost a
vote around the country. People are suffering while you are propping up the
drug war with this fight against medical marijuana.

CONNOR: Science doesn't support...

ZEESE: Seventy-three -- the science does supports it. In fact, the science
supports it very strongly. There's overwhelming evidence in the science on
this. Seventy-three percent of the public, according to a number of polls
recently, support medical marijuana.

Who are you to block -- I mean this is democracy. Get out of the voter's way!

CONNOR: Wolf, The Institute of Medicine said we shouldn't do this. This...

ZEESE: The Institute of Medicine said the opposite.

CONNOR: It's not good for patients.

ZEESE: The Institute of Medicine said, "make marijuana available."

CONNOR: There are alternatively -- there are alternative forms that are 
available
that can provide palliative relief. This is just a stalking horse for drug
legalization and Mr. Zeese is in the forefront of that battle.

ZEESE: I'm -- the reality is that people are suffering today and you're
standing in their way. These other medicines don't work for everybody and we
need to make a medicine available that does work. It takes a decade...

BLITZER: But...

ZEESE: It takes a decade for a new medicine to come to the market. And during
that decade, people will suffer.

BLITZER: Kevin, what guarantees would there be that Mr. Connor and his
associates might be reassured with that this would be strictly for medical
purposes, that it is not the beginning of the legalization of marijuana?

ZEESE: The best guarantee is to allow marijuana to be available by
prescription like any other medicine. Cocaine is available by prescription.
Morphine is available by prescription. We're not...

(CROSSTALK)

ZEESE: There's no...

(CROSSTALK)

Well, it's much more dangerous than marijuana.

CONNOR: Look what's happened in Oregon with respect to those who applied for
IDs to use miracle -- medical marijuana. Forty percent of the applicants were
awarded IDs and prescriptions by a 78-year-old physician, most of which came
over the phone, many of which -- including, for...

ZEESE: Do you know why that is?

CONNOR: ... instance a 14-year-old little girl.

BLITZER: What's the answer?

CONNOR: The reality is there is no quality control.

ZEESE: The reason why there is is because the federal government is
threatening doctors. You need a doctor who has not got nothing to fear. A
78-year-old doctor with that many years of experience is not afraid of the
federal government so he has more guts than most of us who are threatened
by...

CONNOR: The reality is people are using it on a pretext because they want to
smoke pot...

ZEESE: Make it available by prescription and you avoid that.

CONNOR: ... instead of using it as medical marijuana.

BLITZER: We have to leave it, unfortunately, right there. We'll see if this
legislation does get enacted. Thank you very much.

ZEESE: Thank you very much.

CONNOR: Thank you.

BLITZER: This debate is obviously going to continue.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2002 12:14:17 -0700
Subject: CA: Take Action to Oppose Sentencing of Medical Marijuana Offender

Americans for Safe Access is planning events around the August 26
sentencing of Bryan Epis in Sacramento, CA. Bryan is facing a
mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in federal prison for
growing medical marijuana for himself and other patients -- and since
his home (where the marijuana was growing) was within 1,000 feet of a
school he could be facing an even greater sentence. The jury was
instructed only to determine whether he grew marijuana and not consider
the fact that it was for medical use. If you can do anything to help
draw attention to this injustice please do so. Let Hilary 
of ASA know if you decide to take any action.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2002 12:15:40 -0700
Subject: CA: Patients With Pot

Newshawk: Jay Bergstrom
Pubdate: Wed, 24 Jul 2002
Source: Sacramento Bee (CA)
Webpage: http://www.sacbee.com/content/opinion/story/3700814p-4726663c.html
Copyright: 2002 The Sacramento Bee
Contact: opinion@sacbee.com
Website: http://www.sacbee.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/376

PATIENTS WITH POT

State Moves Slowly On Medical Marijuana

The California Supreme Court last week usefully tidied up one small corner
of the medical marijuana mess. It ruled that state voters meant what they
said in 1996 when they legalized pot use by seriously ill people who've got
authorization from their doctors. Now, with the court having done its job,
it falls to Gov. Gray Davis finally to clean up the rest of the confusion
about implementing the notoriously fuzzy Proposition 215, the medical
marijuana measure.

The court's decision came in the case of a diabetic, blind Tuolumne County
man who was arrested for growing and using marijuana under a doctor's
order. In a unanimous opinion by Chief Justice Ronald George, the court
ruled that Proposition 215 gives people arrested for medical marijuana use
or cultivation limited immunity from prosecution.

The court ruled that patients have a right to seek dismissal of the charges
prior to trial by showing that they are seriously ill and have a doctor's
written or oral prescription for marijuana. And if a case moves to trial,
patients need only create reasonable doubt about whether they had been
prescribed marijuana in appropriate amounts. "As a result of (Proposition
215), the possession and cultivation of marijuana is no more criminal -- so
long as its conditions are satisfied -- than the possession and acquisition
of any prescription drug with a physician's prescription," the court found.
Unfortunately, that sensible reading of voters' intent isn't sufficient by
itself to clear up the confusion that surrounds the implementation of
Proposition 215. For one thing, marijuana use is still against federal law
and U.S. Attorney John Ashcroft seems determined to use scarce federal
resources to go after patients and doctors in states where voters have
approved medical marijuana.

Another problem for law enforcement is identifying which people qualify for
medical marijuana and how much of the drug they can reasonably possess. The
Legislature is ready to put in place a reasonable regulatory scheme to deal
with those questions. SB 187, by Sens. John Vasconcellos, D-San Jose, and
Maurice Johannessen, R-Redding, would set up a system of voluntary
identification cards for patients authorized to use marijuana and establish
by regulation the amount of the drug they could possess without danger of
arrest.

Unfortunately, the bill, which is supported by the backers of Proposition
215 and law enforcement, has been held in the Senate because Davis told the
author last September that more time was needed to study the issue. Davis
now has had nearly a year to bone up, but a spokesman for the governor last
week again described the bill as "premature."

In fact, this kind of measure is badly overdue. The court and Legislature
have done their duty to make Proposition 215 workable; now it's the time
for the governor to do his.
__________________________________________________________________________
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: Thu, 25 Jul 2002 12:16:31 -0700
Subject: UK: Cannabis Trial Stubbed Out

Newshawk: Jane Marcus
Pubdate: Wed, 24 Jul 2002
Source: BBC News (UK Web)
Copyright: 2002 BBC
Contact: http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/talking_point/forum/
Website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/558

CANNABIS TRIAL STUBBED OUT

Police who ran the "softly, softly" approach to cannabis possession in a
London borough will arrest people who smoke the drug in public from next week.

Lambeth police are launching an advertising campaign to mark the end of
their year-long pilot scheme.

Lambeth Acting Borough Commander Brian Moore

The trial - where people with small amounts of cannabis were warned rather
than arrested - is due to end on 31 July.

This campaign follows Home Secretary David Blunkett's announcement that
cannabis would be downgraded from a Class B to a Class C drug.

It has been argued that there has been public confusion over drugs policy
following Mr Blunkett's announcement.

'Safe haven'

Officers in Lambeth will make arrests for personal cannabis possession if
they fear disorder, if the drug is smoked openly, or if it is found on
anyone under 17 - in line with national policy.

It has been claimed that some cannabis smokers have regarded Lambeth as a
"safe haven" for smoking the drug.

Leaflets in different languages will be handed out and posters will be put
in pubs and clubs.

Lambeth Acting Borough Commander Brian Moore said: "The aim of this
campaign is to clearly explain to everyone in Lambeth that cannabis is
illegal and will remain illegal".

  From 1 August cannabis would be seized and formal warnings issued, he said.

"Where aggravating circumstances apply, officers will be able to exercise
discretion over whether to arrest," the officer added.

There have been claims of people being drawn into Lambeth to buy and sell
cannabis because of the scheme.

More than 1,000 people have been warned for possession since the scheme
began last July.

Of those, 52.7% were from outside the borough, a similar proportion to
those caught in possession before the pilot, suggesting people were not
flooding into the area to buy drugs, said police.
__________________________________________________________________________
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: Tue, 23 Jul 2002 17:09:46 -0700
Subject: CA: Drug Agents Confiscate 2,600 Marijuana Plants

Newshawk: Jane Marcus
Pubdate: Tue, 23 Jul 2002
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Copyright: 2002 San Jose Mercury News
Contact: letters@sjmercury.com
Website: http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/390

DRUG AGENTS CONFISCATE 2,600 MARIJUANA PLANTS

Drug agents raided a field teeming with more than 2,600 marijuana plants
worth $10 million in the east foothills of Mount Hamilton on Sunday morning
and arrested two San Jose men, officials said Monday.

The men, ages 27 and 35, were arrested on cultivation and other charges as
they tended to the plants, an irrigation system and a large dam in the San
Antonio Valley.

Nearby residents called police after noticing a suspicious car in the area,
said detective Steve Dennis of the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department.

The 4-foot-high plants were among pine, shrub and California oak, he said.
The five-acre area of pot was in a remote, rugged spot about three-quarters
of a mile off the roadway.

Officials would not release the suspects' names because they expect more
arrests. One suspect was armed with a stolen rifle, police said.

The bust is one of the first of the pot-growing season, which lasts until
October. Last year, agents seized 47,574 plants in the county, according to
representatives of the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting. Nearly half of
that came from a single bust in September when 21,000 plants were seized
near Mount Madonna County Park.
__________________________________________________________________________
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
------------------------------
End of Restore-Digest V2002 #146
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