Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2002 23:15:56 -0700
Subject:HI: Police Return Marijuana To Candidate Up TOC

Newshawk: The War on Drugs IS Terrorism
Pubdate: Tue, 13 Aug 2002
Source: Hawaii Tribune Herald (HI)
Contact: htrib@hawaiitribune-herald.com
Copyright: 2002 Hawaii Tribune Herald
Website: http://www.hilohawaiitribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/185
Author: Hunter Bishop
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Jonathan+Adler
Note: For more on medical cannabis and cannabis eradication in Hawaii
go to http://www.mapinc.org/areas/Hawaii

POLICE RETURN MARIJUANA TO CANDIDATE

In a reversal of what usually happens, police gave Jonathan Adler marijuana
Monday morning.

About an ounce of dried marijuana buds in a Tupperware container that was
taken from Adler's wife, Nuansawat, 10 months ago was returned to Adler at
the state courthouse in Hilo under order from Third District Court Judge
Jeffrey Choi.

Adler, 50, was the fourth Big Island resident in recent weeks to get back
marijuana that had been seized by police. All four residents had state -
issued permits to possess and use marijuana for medical reasons.

The longtime marijuana advocate had tried to get the marijuana back last
week after getting the court order Tuesday, but was told he needed to wait
until Monday because the marijuana was evidence in a criminal case. Evidence
is normally kept for 30 days in the event of an appeal.

Adler's marijuana was seized after he was arrested on a bench warrant for
failing to make a court appearance for a 1998 marijuana charge in which
police seized 98 plants from his Hawaiian Paradise Park home. Police
instructed Nuansawat by telephone to bring her husband's medicine to the
police station. When she brought the marijuana buds instead of Adler's
Marinol, a marijuana extract, she was arrested for possession. She was later
convicted of a misdemeanor and fined $25.

Adler said all the marijuana taken was returned to him "and now it's all
cured. They made my stuff better just by keeping it." Afterward, he smoked
some in the courthouse parking lot.

Adler has a state medical permit to use the otherwise illegal drug and
claims he smokes it to ease pain from a head injury suffered in an
automobile accident. In the past Adler has also sought to use marijuana
legally to treat insomnia and asthma.

Adler also claims a legal exemption that would allow him to use marijuana as
a religious sacrament. The religious exemption was rejected in June however
by Third Circuit Court Judge Greg Nakamura, who convicted Adler of a felony
charge of commercial promotion of marijuana. Adler is due to be sentenced
Aug. 26, and he plans to appeal the judge's ruling.

Adler is also on the Hawaii ballot as a Natural Law party candidate for
governor, but his candidacy may be in question if sentenced on the felony
charge.
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2002 23:16:14 -0700
Subject:CA: DEA Raids Lynn and Judy Osborne Up TOC

from Steve Kubby

BREAKING NEWS:

Pot TV has just been informed by attorney Bill Panzer that his clients, Lynn
and Judy Osborne were raided and arrested by DEA agents earlier today, after
a medical cannabis garden was found at their ranch in Ventura.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2002 23:19:19 -0700
Subject:AZ: Marijuana Initiative Qualifies for Ballot Up TOC

Newshawk: Plylar - State Congress - http://www.plylar.org
Pubdate: Tue, 13 Aug 2002
Source: Arizona Republic (AZ)
Webpage: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0813marijuana13.html
Copyright: 2002 The Arizona Republic
Contact: opinions@arizonarepublic.com
Website: http://www.arizonarepublic.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/24
Author: Elvia Diaz
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/props.htm (Ballot Initiatives)

MARIJUANA INITIATIVE QUALIFIES FOR BALLOT

A medical marijuana initiative has made it to the November ballot amid
claims that Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley continues to misuse his
office to fight the proposal.

Proposition 203, which would require a state agency to provide marijuana to
the ill and decriminalize small amounts of the drug, has enough signatures
to qualify for the ballot, the Secretary of State's Office said Monday.

Sam Vagenas, who is backing the ballot initiative, said Romley is using his
county attorney's Web site to oppose the measure. State law prohibits
Romley from using county resources to promote a ballot initiative.

Last month, Romley admitted using county stationary to challenge John
Sperling, the chief sponsor of Proposition 203, to a debate. He has
reimbursed the county $2.89 for the stationery, said Romley's spokesman,
Bill FitzGerald.

But there is nothing illegal in posting news releases out of his office
because discussing drug policy issues is part of Romley's responsibilities,
FitzGerald said.

Romley is backing Proposition 302, which would let judges send first- and
second-time drug offenders to jail if they refuse treatment.
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jackl
s------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 09:24:56 -0700
Subject:Canada: Pot options open: Grit Up TOC

Newshawk: CMAP (http://www.mapinc.org/cmap)
Pubdate: Wednesday, August 14, 2002
Source: Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB)
Website: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/
Feedback: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/letters_to_editor/index.html
Address: 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg Manitoba R2X 3B6
Contact: letters@freepress.mb.ca
Author: Tara Brautigam

Pot options open: Grit

No pressure to reject legalization as U.S. wants, justice minister says

By Tara Brautigam

TORONTO -- Federal Justice Minister Martin Cauchon says he's felt no
pressure to back off from possible decriminalization of marijuana despite
criticism from the United States.

Two committees from the House of Commons and the Senate are looking into the
decriminalization of the drug. Recommendations are expected in the fall.

"I will just like to wait for the recommendations from the two committees
and we'll see afterwards," Cauchon said yesterday.

"I've heard nothing from the United States. I'm working within Canada,
within my home government... we'll see what will be the recommendations of
the report, we'll see where is our society exactly."

But just moments before Cauchon spoke, a senior official in Washington
openly criticized Canada's possible foray into decriminalization.

"If you decriminalize the use of drugs, you are increasing the vector by
which the disease of addiction is spread," said John Walters, director of
the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. "I fear that even in
Canada, our own ignorance has also contributed to an attitude that marijuana
is not a dangerous, addictive substance that is particularly a vice for
children," he said.

"Again, the drug problem is not about 25-year-olds or 35-year-olds or
40-year-olds making maybe unwise decisions in the privacy of their own home
about what they use for entertainment or fun. The drug problem is about
children."

Walters added that if people stopped experimenting with drugs as teenagers,
addiction problems likely wouldn't surface later in life.

Back in Toronto, Cauchon also discussed possible reform of divorce laws,
same-sex marriages and legal aid.

The minister, who said on Monday the adversarial terms "custody" and
"access" will be eliminated from divorce legislation this fall because the
words create a "perception" of winners and losers, stressed the importance
of social services for couples in crisis and children in need of help.

"Sometimes I feel that there's not enough services in order to guide them,
in order to help them out," he said. "The human goal is to try to make sure
that families won't get to the divorce. We're talking about a prevention
mode." Cauchon declined to give his personal view on same-sex marriage,
saying it was inappropriate to do that as federal justice minister.

"I believe we're facing a different decision from one province to another,
from one court to another. We need to keep all our options open," he said.

Addressing possible legal aid reform, Cauchon said he was willing to look at
the models of other countries to improve access to the courts in Canada.

He made his remarks after announcing an $8.6 million infusion to fight youth
crime in Ontario. The money, which was allocated in the December 2001
federal budget, is intended to combat substance abuse, poverty, home
violence, lack of education, and hunger -- all underlying causes of youth
crime, Cauchon said.

"Where there are safe, healthy and happy children, there is invariably a
safe, healthy and happy community," he said. "Sadly, too many Canadian
children do not enjoy a healthy start to life."

The cash will go to 145 community organizations throughout the province,
such as Big Brothers and Sisters branches and the Canadian Tamil Youth
Development Centre in Toronto.

Neethan Shanmugarajah, program co-ordinator for the centre, said the funds
will help run projects similar to a recent one-year examination it conducted
of Tamil youth gang structure.

"It shed a lot of light into youth issues that the Tamil youth face," said
Shanmugarajah. -- Canadian Press
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 09:29:14 -0700
Subject: US: Brothels, Blackjack, and... Bongs? Oh My.

US NV: OPED: Brothels, Blackjack, And ... Bongs? Oh My.
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1497/a09.html
Newshawk: The War on Drugs IS Terrorism
Pubdate: Wed, 14 Aug 2002
Source: Christian Science Monitor (US)
Contact: oped@csps.com
Copyright: 2002 The Christian Science Publishing Society
Website: http://www.csmonitor.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/83
Author: Steve Friess
Cited: Marijuana Policy Project http://www.mpp.org
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?162
(Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)


BROTHELS, BLACKJACK, AND ...  BONGS? OH MY.

LAS VEGAS - This famously live-and-let-live state, where legal
prostitution has given rise to $7 million brothel-resorts and where
legal gambling includes video poker machines in grocery stores, may now
be poised to break another vice barrier.

A first-in-the-nation initiative appearing on Nevada's ballot in
November asks the public to legalize marijuana.  Not just for medicinal
purposes.  For recreational use, too.  If the initiative is approved,
it would then have to pass again in 2004 to become a constitutional
amendment.

It's no accident that the Silver State has become the national focus of
this debate.  The Washington-based Marijuana Policy Project scoured the
political landscape last year for a test state and settled on Nevada
because of its well-known libertarian bent, a small population that
makes the campaign less expensive, and an electorate who already
overwhelmingly approved the medical use of marijuana in two ballot
questions.

Indeed, there's a real possibility that Nevadans could approve the
measure, despite federal drug laws that bar any possession whatsoever.
The petition effort that placed the initiative on the ballot garnered
more than 109,000 signatures - nearly double the required number.  And
two recent local newspaper polls show the public evenly split.

"It's a tight race, and we haven't even started yet," says Vincent
Frey, deputy campaign manager for Nevadans for Responsible Law
Enforcement, the group pushing the initiative.  "We plan to identify
25,000 households that we think can swing this our way."

Specifically, the initiative would decriminalize possession of less
than three ounces of cannabis for anyone over 21.  It would also
require state legislators to devise a regulatory system for its
manufacture and sale.

The largest newspaper in the state, the Las Vegas Review-Journal,
endorsed the measure as a means to "bring compassion and common sense
to drug laws." Gov.  Kenny Guinn, a Republican, won't take sides,
saying through his spokesman that he's "anxious to see how the
electorate votes."

Pro-Pot's Campaign Machine

To further its cause, the Marijuana Policy Project spent $375,000 on
the petition drive.  Another $150,000 has already been raised.  More is
promised as the campaign gears up to buy TV advertising, open offices
in both Las Vegas and Reno, and hire more than 50 employees.

These pro-pot forces argue that law-enforcement officers have better
things to do in this age of terrorism than to bust marijuana users for
what some see as a harmless hobby.  "We know some people develop an
unhealthy relationship with marijuana, but the same can be said about
alcohol or tobacco," says Robert Kampia, executive director of the
Marijuana Policy Project, which is funding and directing the Nevada
effort.  "That doesn't mean all adults who use marijuana should be
arrested."

Even federal officials admit that the measure could be effective,
inasmuch as the issue is primarily on the state and local level anyway.
  The feds handle only the biggest marijuana busts, so if state or local
agents didn't press these charges in Nevada, they'd largely go
unprosecuted, says Tom Riley, spokesman for the Office of National Drug
Control Policy.

Nevada's police apparently provided some surprising backup for such
arguments last week.  The umbrella organization for nine
law-enforcement unions announced its endorsement on grounds that "a
simple marijuana arrest takes [police] off the street for several hours
and sometimes over half of [a] shift."

That endorsement was rescinded two days later amid embarrassing
headlines calling Nevada's cops pro-pot.  Some union chiefs insisted
either they thought they were supporting the medical use of marijuana
or they didn't know they were discussing an official endorsement of a
real ballot question.

The flap - which ended in the resignation of the umbrella
organization's president - jarred the dormant opposition into action.
The day after the endorsement, a group of about 25 law-enforcement
officials, drug-treatment advocates, and social conservatives met to
plan their strategy.

Particularly appalled is Deputy District Attorney Gary Booker, who is
leading the as yet-unnamed counter group and heads the vehicular crimes
unit in Clark County, which includes Las Vegas.  The prosecutor says
the proposal as it is worded could invalidate current laws governing
driving under the influence of marijuana, raise auto insurance rates
for everyone, and turn Nevada into a "stoner haven."

"All Nevada is going to do is look stupid and foolish," says Mr.
Booker, who borrowed three ounces of cannabis from the police-evidence
room to show the media that it's enough for 250 joints.  "It would be
like enacting a constitutional amendment that legalizes slavery.  It's
illegal and it will still be illegal."

Leave Us Alone

Still, such attitudes run counter to Nevada's independent streak.
"Nevadans generally have an attitude that, wherever possible, leave the
people alone to make their own choices," says Craig Walton, a professor
of ethics and policy studies at University of Nevada at Las Vegas.
"This measure is probably a natural for a state with a frontier
mentality that says, 'Law and order is useful, but let's not go too
far.' "

Moreover, many in this state are bitter with the federal government
over its decision to go ahead with a national nuclear-waste dump about
100 miles outside of Las Vegas.  So this move could be cast for voters
as a form of rebellion, says Mr.  Frey of Nevadans for Responsible Law
Enforcement.

And rather than being offended by the possibility of becoming the
nation's Doobie Capital, some Sin City businesses are positively high
on the prospect.  "There are unlimited tourism possibilities," travel
agent Terry Wilsey gushes.  "Las Vegas could become the American
Amsterdam."


------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 11:10:38 -0700
Subject:USA-v-White Plume update Up TOC

 From Bob Newland

A Colorado attorney sent me the following analysis of why the US
Attorney for So. Dak. decided to seek civil "relief" from Alex White
Plume's annoying hemp fields.

I believe this is, indeed, the essence of the Govt's conspiracy to
prevent the Lakota people of the Oglala SIoux Tribe from producing
industrial hemp, the ONLY crop which has a chance of making a few more
tribal members self-sufficient and economically productive.

Bob Newland
http://www.sodakhemp.org/summons.htm

(If your REPLY bouinces, try <rjnewland@yahoo.com>)

============================
Civil Suit Against White Plume / No Jury Trial


Gov't is seeking injunctive relief because it's quick and efficient.
The judge decides whether to issue the injunctions and is
not likely to "nullify."  Assume the injunctions will issue.

Once the injunctions are in place, any further hemp growing/
distribution activities by the White Plumes can be charged as
violations of the injunctions, thus contempt of court.

Gov't can ask for contempt citation; a quick hearing can be convened;
and the judge alone will decide punishment if
punishment is less than six months in jail.  Also see 18 USC sec 3691,
where jury trials for contempt (where acts also
constitute a statutory crime) are available under limited circumstances,
but not if the charge is disobedience to a lawful court
order when the US gov't is the plaintiff.

So civil injunction route will allow for criminal contempt punishments
by judicial conviction.

Pretty neat, huh!  No grand jury indictments, no jury trial, just
proceedings before a judge.  A slam dunk!
==============================
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 11:15:59 -0700
Subject:Donate to Nevada's Pot Initiative: Nevadans split 48% to 48% Up TOC

Message from Rob Kampia of the Marijuana Policy Project:

With only 12 weeks to go, our Nevada ballot initiative campaign is in
a dead heat. And some police officers are possibly breaking the law
- -- and certainly lying -- in their desperate scramble to try to
defeat us.

The Reno Gazette-Journal, the largest newspaper in Reno, has released
a statewide poll showing that 48% of the voters are planning to vote
for our initiative, 48% are opposed, and 4% are undecided. Our
campaign is closing the gap ...

A week prior, a statewide poll conducted by the Las Vegas
Review-Journal found 44% in favor, 46% opposed, and 10% undecided.

In a political campaign where both sides are running neck-and-neck,
the side with the most money wins.

Would you please visit http://www.NRLE.org to donate $10 or more?
Your donation will be used to purchase hard-hitting TV ads at the close
of the campaign. And we are going to need it. Please read on ...

======================================================================

A few hostile police in Las Vegas may have broken the law in their
zeal to oppose us. A few days ago, they removed three ounces of
marijuana from an evidence locker and waved it around on national TV
in an attempt to show that three ounces is too much for personal use.
(Three ounces is the equivalent of five packs of cigarettes. It is
perfectly legal for an adult to own a carton of cigarettes or a wine
cellar, so owning five packs of marijuana cigarettes hardly qualifies
one as a "drug dealer.")

By doing this, the police may have broken the law, which states that
they can only possess drugs in the context of performing official
duties -- not to use them in a political campaign.

And they may have broken the law a second time by campaigning against
us while on the clock; taxpayer money cannot be used to pay their
salaries while they are campaigning against our initiative. Our
campaign is fed up with rogue cops who think they are above the law,
and we are publicly calling for their prosecution.

This morning on NPR, I debated one of those rogue cops, a narcotics
detective who outright lied as I backed him into a corner.

First, I argued that police resources could be better spent on violent
crimes rather than hunting down thousands of nonviolent marijuana
users across the state. He responded by saying that the police really
aren't spending that much time on marijuana.

Second, I argued that MPP's initiative will dry up the criminal market
by bringing marijuana in off the streets and regulating it. I went on
to say that the people who oppose our initiative must want marijuana
to be sold and purchased on the streets by criminals. MPP, on the
other hand, prefers an orderly, regulated system that will make it
easier for law enforcement to focus on the real crimes in our society.

He responded by saying that the initiative would not regulate
marijuana, but rather it would have the state government growing and
selling marijuana like a "drug dealer."

Incredulous, I responded by saying, "The whole reason you oppose this
initiative is because we are trying to change how marijuana is handled
in Nevada. Surely, if this initiative simply maintained the status quo
- -- if it simply kept marijuana unregulated and in the criminal market
- -- then you wouldn't even be opposing the initiative."

I went on to make my third point: "By bringing marijuana in off the
streets and regulating it, we will be taking marijuana out of the
hands of teenagers, who currently find marijuana easier to obtain
than beer."

The narc then flat-out lied: "Your initiative would make it legal to
distribute marijuana to minors."

"That's simply not true!" I interjected. "Our initiative prohibits the
distribution of marijuana to minors, and it prohibits the use of
marijuana by minors."

He responded by saying, "No, your initiative prohibits selling
marijuana to minors, but you make it legal to give it away for *free*
to minors."

I corrected him by referring to the actual text of the initiative,
which prohibits "the distribution or sale of marijuana" to people
under the age of 21. If our opponents cannot do better than this, we
should all be encouraged!

Would you please donate $10 or more at http://www.NRLE.org ? "Nevadans
for Responsible Law Enforcement" is the name of our PAC in Nevada.

======================================================================

This initiative to end the arrest of all marijuana users -- which
Nevadans will vote on in only 84 days -- is by far the best
opportunity we have ever had to end marijuana prohibition anywhere in
the country.

(Please see http://www.NRLE.org for a compendium of news articles and
the complete text of the initiative.)

Would you please go to http://www.NRLE.org or the bottom of this
message to choose one of the three options above for how you want to
participate (or not participate) in the Nevada campaign?

If you and most of the other subscribers on this list would each
donate $10 or more between now and Election Day, this will generate
all of the money we need to run hard-hitting TV ads in Nevada at the
end of the campaign ... which will catapult our initiative to an
historic victory on November 5.

Thank you for anything you can do to help.

Sincerely,

Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.

P.S. With only 84 days until November 5, we don't have much time to
      raise the substantial sum of money that is needed to run
      hard-hitting TV ads at the end of the campaign. Please visit
      http://www.NRLE.org right away to donate $10 or more. Thank you!

P.P.S. By donating $250 or more now, you will receive a videotape of
        all of the campaign's hard-hitting TV ads in October, as well
        as all of the TV news coverage of the Nevada campaign. Better
        yet, we are making a special offer whereby donations of $250 or
        more can be tax-deductible.

P.P.P.S. Our first-ever national conference will begin two days after
          Election Day in Anaheim, California. To join us for what will
          hopefully be a victory celebration, please register at
          http://www.mpp.org/conference .



 
 


**




web:     http://www.crrh.org/

------------------------------
End of Restore-Digest V2002 #166
********************************