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Heroin is "Good for Your Health": Occupation Forces support Afghan Narcotics Trade (May 10, 2007)
"The occupation forces in Afghanistan are supporting the drug trade, which brings between 120 and 194 billion dollars of revenues to organized crime, intelligence agencies and Western financial institutions."

U.S., allies seen as losing drug war (May 7, 2007)
"The United States and its Latin American allies are losing a major battle in the war on drugs, according to indicators that show cocaine prices dipped for most of 2006 and U.S. users were getting more bang for their buck."

101-year-old Zambian man nabbed over cannabis cultivation, trafficking (May 3, 2007)
"DEC spokesperson Rosten Chulu confirmed the arrest of Timothy Chilekwa, a peasant farmer of Namembo village in Southern province who was born in 1906. Chulu said the old man was nabbed for alleged unlawful cultivation of cannabis weighing 1.2 tons. He was also found trafficking two sacks of cannabis weighing 6. 95 kg, Chulu said. The spokesperson said the 101-year-old would appear in court soon."

Was Timothy Leary Right? (May 3, 2007)
"Are psychedelics good for you? It's such a hippie relic of a question that it's almost embarrassing to ask. But a quiet psychedelic renaissance is beginning at the highest levels of American science, including the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and Harvard, which is conducting what is thought to be its first research into therapeutic uses of psychedelics (in this case, Ecstasy) since the university fired Timothy Leary in 1963. But should we be prying open the doors of perception again? Wasn't the whole thing a disaster the first time? The answer to both questions is yes."

The Farce of the War on Drugs (May 1, 2007)
"My brother Howard Wooldridge served as a decorated police officer and detective in Lansing, Michigan for 18 years. During that time, he collared killers, drunk drivers, child molesters, rapists, wife beaters and drug dealers. What he learned launched him on a crusade to stop the federal government’s useless 35 year 'War on Drugs.'"

Coca Growers Shake the Andes Once Again (April 27, 2007)
"During the last few days, coca growers, especially in Peru and Colombia, have been in the news again, as their actions have given the media something to talk about."

LSD as Therapy? Write about It, Get Barred from US (April 27, 2007)
"BC psychotherapist denied entry after border guard googled his work."

No Jail for Willie Nelson on Drug Charge (April 25, 2007)
While the editor of DrugWar.com applauds this decision by the judge, I can't help but wonder how hard the judge would have thrown the book at me for the exact same offense.

The War on Salvia Divinorum Heats Up (April 14, 2007)
"Middlebury, Vermont, this week declared a public health emergency to prevent a local business from selling it. It's already illegal in five states -- Louisiana, Missouri, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Delaware -- and a number of towns and cities across the country, and now politicians in at least seven other states have filed bills to make it illegal there. For the DEA, it is a 'drug of concern.'"

Book Offer: Lies, Damn Lies, and Drug War Statistics (April 14, 2007)
"Normally when we publish a book review in our Drug War Chronicle newsletter, it gets readers but is not among the top stories visited on the site. Recently we saw a big exception to that rule when more than 2,700 of you read our review of the new book Lies, Damned Lies, and Drug War Statistics: A Critical Analysis of Claims Made by the Office of National Drug Control Policy."

Plant growers served search warrant (April 11, 2007)
"Three WSU students were surprised when a plant they were growing in their closet was mistaken for marijuana."

California in bid to impose 7.25% sales tax on cannabis (April 10, 2007)
"For decades, smoking marijuana has been an illicit affair, a key anti-establishment ritual for America's counter-culture underground. But the legalisation of the drug for medicinal purposes in California has presented its advocates with a dilemma: to remain firmly on the wrong side of the law or accept a demand to pay taxes on its sale."

The Other War: Democratic Candidates are Deafeningly Silent on the Drug War (April 9, 2007)
"There is a major disconnect in the 2008 Democratic race for the White House. While all the top candidates are vying for the black and Latino vote, they are completely ignoring one of the most pressing issues affecting those constituencies: the failed War on Drugs, a war that has morphed into a war on people of color."

Ex-officer likens drug war to Prohibition (April 8, 2007)
"Retired police officer Peter Christ on Tuesday compared the contemporary war on drugs to National Prohibition of the 1920s."

Minnesota drug laws: Are they too harsh? (April 8, 2007)
Momentum gathers for review of sentencing rules

Drug Czar Blasted for Lack of Leadership (April 8, 2007)
"During the course of research for this series, it became apparent that many prominent players in the war on drugs don't have many compliments for the current drug czar, John Walters."

Is the Drug War Nearing an End? (April 8, 2007)
"Little by little by little there is some hope that the "war" on drugs is becoming a political issue - the first step in undoing a set of policies that make little sense no matter how you look at them."

Law Enforcement Group Visits Maine To Advocate For Legalization Of Drugs (April 8, 2007)
"LEAP, or Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, says it has 5,000 members, made up mostly of retired and active law enforcement professionals. The group tours the country speaking to various civic groups about what they call a $60 billion failed war on drugs."

Afghans pin hopes on a new economy (April 8, 2007)
"As a competitive economy awakens in one of the world's poorest countries, the residents of Kabul are jockeying to get ahead in a city flush with cash from US soldiers, foreign aid workers, new investors, parliamentarians, and drug traffickers."

Salvadoran Murders in Guatemala (April 8, 2007)
"If the trip to Guatemala was a fiasco, Colombia was no better, Bush's arrival in Bogotá couldn't have happened at a worse time as every moment ticked off another scandal, some of them leading in the direction ofo President Uribe's office, and nothing that Bush or Uribe president could say concealed the fact that the Colombia phase of the U.S. anti-drug war was more dead than alive, which was even more certain when it came to extraditing Colombian suspected felons to the U.S."

Analysis: U.S. anti-drug war in Afghanistan (April 8, 2007)
"In a bluntly worded letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the lawmakers said inter-agency rivalry and U.S. policy failures in Afghanistan risked allowing it to slide back into chaos."

Law Enforcement: This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories (April 7, 2007)
"A Georgia fire captain gets caught peddling coke, a pair of New Haven narcs lose their jobs, a former Mississippi police chief cops a plea, and a former Ohio cop goes back to prison. Let's get to it...."

Methamphetamine: Feds Make First Cold Medicine Bust Under Combat Meth Act (April 7, 2007)
"An Ontario, New York, man last Friday won the dubious distinction of being the first person arrested under the 2005 Combat Meth Epidemic Act. According to a DEA press release, William Fousse was arrested for purchasing cold tablets containing more than nine grams of pseudoephedrine within a one month period."

Harm Reduction: New Mexico Governor Signs Overdose Death Reduction Measure (April 7, 2007)
"New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) Wednesday signed innovative legislation that would protect friends or family members who seek medical attention for drug overdose victims. The law is the first of its kind in the country."

Pot-Growing Takes Root in the Suburbs (April 1, 2007)
"In Coldwater Creek, a middle-class housing development outside Atlanta, the neighbors mind their own business and respect each other's privacy - ideal conditions, it turns out, for growing marijuana in the suburbs."

Bob Barr Flip-Flops on Pot (March 28, 2007)
"Bob Barr, who as a Georgia congressman authored a successful amendment that blocked D.C. from implementing a medical marijuana initiative, has switched sides and become a lobbyist for the Marijuana Policy Project."

What the heck is Sibel Edmonds' Case about? And why should I care? (March 28, 2007)
"Essentially, there is only one investigation – a very big one, an all-inclusive one... But I can tell you there are a lot of people involved, a lot of ranking officials, and a lot of illegal activities that include multi-billion-dollar drug-smuggling operations, black-market nuclear sales to terrorists and unsavory regimes, you name it... You can start from the AIPAC angle. You can start from the Plame case. You can start from my case. They all end up going to the same place, and they revolve around the same nucleus of people."

Mexican Envoy Highly Critical of U.S. Role in Anti-Drug Effort (March 23, 2007)
"The United States has contributed 'zilch' to Mexico's efforts to combat the nations' joint problem with criminal narcotics gangs, Mexico's new ambassador to Washington said yesterday."

Colorado Has Song in Its Heart, and Not Drugs on Its Mind (March 14, 2007- Free NYTimes registration required)
"The Colorado General Assembly wants to be quite clear on this point: When the singer-songwriter John Denver praised the joys of Colorado and sang about 'friends around the campfire, and everybody’s high,' in 1972, he was not referring to illicit drugs. Definitely not. Don’t even think it. The high in question, lawmakers say, is really about nature and the great outdoors — the tingly feeling you get after a nice hike, perhaps."

U.S. faults friends, foes in drug war (March 5, 2007)
"The United States said top anti-terror allies Afghanistan, Pakistan and Colombia had fallen short in the war on drugs despite enhanced counter-narcotics efforts and it criticized perennial foes Iran, North Korea and Venezuela for not cooperating."

Cuba’s War on Drugs (March 5, 2007)
"A review of the main results of the Cuban efforts against illegal drug trafficking as well as prevention during 2006, shows a marked reduction in the presence of drugs on the island, with 1.7 tons of narcotics seized, the lowest figure of the past 11 years and almost four times less than the amount detected in 2003."

Drug War Corrupting Cops In Hawaii and Elsewhere (March 5, 2007)
"Claiming to be the 'world’s leading drug policy newsletter,' the Drug War Chronicle publishes a regular online feature called, 'This Week’s Corrupt Cops Stories.' The typical Hawaii newspaper reader probably comes across these cops-gone-bad stories pretty rarely. But, when hundreds of reports compiled over the past year from around the nation are read at one sitting, they add up to a hidden cost of America’s ill-fated drug war -- widespread corruption inside local police departments, prisons and jails."

Drug war rips apart Mexico (March 5, 2007)
"More than 250 people were executed last year in Acapulco as the sweltering Pacific resort became the latest battleground between rival cartels battling for supremacy of the multibillion-dollar drug trade."

In Guatemala, officers' killings echo dirty war (March 5, 2007)
"The two sets of brazen killings set off a vicious diplomatic conflict between Guatemala and El Salvador — heightened by news reports suggesting that the congressmen were indeed drug dealers — and ignited a political scandal here. It shed light on how corrupt the National Police has become, and raised questions about links between drug dealers and high-level police officials, as well as whether the government can contain drug trafficking without international help."

Collision Course: Bolivia's "Coca, Si; Cocaine, No" Policy Runs Afoul of the International Drug Control Board and, Probably, the United States (March 1, 2007)
"A confrontation is brewing over Bolivian President Evo Morales' effort to rationalize coca production in his country and expand markets for coca-based products....Now, the Morales government is also pushing for expanded legal markets for coca products and, in a joint venture with the Venezuelan government, is preparing to begin coca product exports to that country."

Ga. Reconsiders No - Knock Warrant Rules (March 1, 2007)
"A group of lawmakers wants to make it harder for police to use ''no-knock'' warrants in the wake of a shootout that left an elderly woman dead after plainclothes officers stormed her home unannounced in a search for drugs."

Here we go again (Feb. 22, 2007)
"We're happy we could help with that, Mr. Vice President, but Colombian cocaine is still readily available in U.S. cities, so we have a difficult time thinking we got a good deal for our $4 billion. In fact, we don't believe Americans are getting their money's worth for any of the cash the government has thrown into the bottomless pit of the drug war. Court dockets are packed and prisons are overcrowded, yet illicit drugs are still readily available to anyone who wants them."

Latin America: Mexico Moves to Decriminalize Drug Possession -- So It Can Concentrate on Drug Traffickers (Feb. 22, 2007)
"Legislators from Mexican President Felipe's Calderon's National Action Party (PAN -- Partido de Accion Nacional) have introduced a bill in the Mexican Senate that would decriminalize the possession of small amounts of drugs for 'addicts.'"

DPS officials were told of lax lab security (Feb. 22, 2007)
"Texas Department of Public Safety officials were aware of security breaches in the handling of their drug evidence as recently as 2006 and as far back as at least 2003 — problems such as failure to log evidence out of storage, containers of marijuana left open and the lack of a monitoring system for a high-security drug vault — according to the agency's internal audits."

'Safest city' now has drug war (Feb. 22, 2007)
"From the shopping malls and the fashionable clothes of its residents, this could be any affluent U.S. suburb. Residents pride themselves on their prosperity. But in recent weeks, drug-related violence has shattered the tranquillity."

Mexican president gives soldiers pay hike as drug war intensifies (Feb. 22, 2007)
"Soldiers waging a nationwide offensive against drug traffickers will get a pay hike of nearly 50 percent this year in a bid to insulate them from corruption, Mexican President Felipe Calderon announced Monday."

New Federal Study Shows Methamphetamine Use Decreased Between 2002 and 2005 (Jan. 31, 2007)
"A new analysis of data from The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) shows that past-year use of methamphetamine, a highly addictive stimulant, declined between 2002 and 2005 among persons age 12 or older....The study also shows that the number of persons who used methamphetamine for the first time in the 12 months before the survey remained stable between 2002 and 2004 but decreased between 2004 and 2005."

Tell Governor Spitzer to Support Rockefeller Drug Law Reform (Jan. 31, 2007)
"The Rockefeller Drug Laws require extremely harsh prison terms for the possession or sale of relatively small amounts of drugs. Most of the people incarcerated under these laws are convicted of low-level, nonviolent offenses, and many of them have no prior criminal records. Today 14,139 people are locked up for drug offenses in NY State prisons, comprising nearly 38% of the prison population. This costs New Yorkers over half a billion dollars a year. Send a message to Governor Spitzer now, urging him to support real reform."

Mexico eyes Colombian experience in drug battle (Jan. 27, 2007)
"Mexico's top prosecutor on Thursday looked to Colombia's experience in counter-narcotics and conflict for lessons to help his government battle drug cartels whose violence has engulfed parts of the country."

Rio gang kills seven as drug war spreads (Jan. 27, 2007)
"The mutilated bodies of seven youths, some with their heads and legs chopped off, have been found in an abandoned car in a notorious Rio de Janeiro slum. They appeared to be the latest victims of a long-running drug war that has made Rio, which depends heavily on tourism, one of the most violent cities in the world."

Drug Policy Reform Group to Partner with State of New Mexico in Federally-Funded Meth Prevention Education Program (Jan. 27, 2007)
"In a first for drug reform organizations, the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) New Mexico office has been designated to create a statewide methamphetamine education and prevention program directed at high school students, thanks to a $500,000 grant obtained by US Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) as part of a Justice Department appropriations bill. The grant is the result of years of close collaboration between DPA and New Mexico state and local officials dating back to the administration of former Gov. Gary Johnson (R), a prominent voice for drug law reform."

Spot in brain may control smoking urge (Jan. 27, 2007)
"Damage to a silver dollar-sized spot deep in the brain seems to wipe out the urge to smoke, a surprising discovery that may shed important new light on addiction. The research was inspired by a stroke survivor who claimed he simply forgot his two-pack-a-day addiction - no cravings, no nicotine patches, not even a conscious desire to quit."

Case highlights medical-pot dilemma (Jan. 23, 2007)
"'If they didn't arrest me with 1,500, it's not likely they're going to come back and arrest me for 50,' said Sarich, whose advocacy group, CannaCare, says it has provided marijuana plants for 1,200 patients all over the state. Some of his new plants, delivered by patients in Longview, Federal Way and Vancouver, Wash., are descendants of the plants he lost."

Alleged cartel members extradited to Texas (Jan. 23, 2007)
"A suspected Mexican drug lord whose cartel allegedly smuggled more than 4 tons of cocaine a month over the U.S. border will stand trial in Texas. Osiel Cardenas-Guillen, the alleged kingpin of the Gulf Cartel, and three other alleged drug lords appeared in a Houston court Monday. Mexican authorities delivered Cardenas-Guillen and 14 other alleged Mexican drug dealers and criminals to Houston late Friday and early Saturday, the Drug Enforcement Administration said."

Burdened U.S. military cuts role in drug war (Jan. 22, 2007)
"Stretched thin from fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. military has sharply reduced its role in the war on drugs, leaving significant gaps in the nation's narcotics interdiction efforts."

S.F. area is No. 1 for regular drug use, study says (Jan. 21, 2007)
"The San Francisco metropolitan area has a higher percentage of people who are regular drug users than any other major metropolitan area in the USA, a study from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found."

Executive Order 13420 -- Dismantling the DEA (Jan. 21, 2007)
"This is the order I will sign after delivering my inaugural address," says Steve Kubby, who is again running for office this time seeking the nomination from the Libertarian Party as their Presidential candidate.

Cocaine found on 99.9% of UK banknotes (Jan. 21, 2007)
"Pretty well every banknote in the UK shows traces of cocaine, forensic scientists have claimed. According to a report in the Sunday Telegraph, 99.9 per cent of the two billion notes currently in circulation have come into contact with Bolivian marching powder."

A Legacy of Torture: From Cointelpro to the Patriot Act (Jan. 21, 2007)
"In today's world, the US government's use of torture and complicity in its clients' use of it is part of the headlines on a regular basis. Yet very few US citizens believe that methods like waterboarding, beating, and electrical shocks could be -- and have been -- used on US citizens." But the fact that torture is used profusely in US jails and prisons is unsurprising to those who've been inside the US "justice" system.

Reefer Madness (Jan. 21, 2007)
"I was never an activist until I got busted [noted Tommy Chong]. But it ’s not so much my efforts as the substance itself. Pot lives and dies on its own reputation....Years ago, people would do booze jokes. Then they start dying of cirrhosis of the liver and all these alcohol-related car accidents. Alcohol started out as a fun thing and ended up as this evil thing that kills people. Pot is the opposite...."

In the Costly War on Drugs, Who's To Say What Is Right? (Jan. 21, 2007)
"It seems like you lack a certain enthusiasm for the war on drugs, I said. I do lack enthusiasm for the war on drugs, he said. I asked about legalization. He shrugged. 'Monday, Wednesday and Friday I think they should be legalized. Tuesdays and Thursdays I think they should be illegal. I don't like drugs. I strongly disapprove of them. The costs are great. But it's expensive to incarcerate somebody. The costs are enormous either way. I don't know what's right.'"

Democracy and Plan Colombia (Jan. 21, 2007)
Just what effects are the massive spraying in anti-cocaine and poppy efforts that are one of the main tenents of Plan Colombia, not to mention all the arms and training given to the Colombian military and governments to combat Colombian peasents...errr, I mean, dastardly narco-terrorists? No major advancement of democracy it appears.

Drug mafia, CIA blamed for sacking of Afghan governor (Jan. 21, 2007)
"As The Washington Post has plainly summarized, 'corruption and alliances formed by Washington and the Afghan government with anti-Taliban tribal chieftains, some of whom are believed to be deeply involved in the trade, [have] undercut the [counter-narcotics] effort.'"

PAST NEWS ARCHIVE

Man caught with painkillers and heroin (Nov. 30, 2002)
After all the taxdollars spent on this ultra-expensive War on Some Drugs and Users, police are still saying they're seeing ever more hard drugs, in this case heroin, hitting US city streets.

Heroin "stolen" in police raid (Nov. 30, 2002)
"A police anti-corruption taskforce is investigating claims that $370,000 in cash and a kilogram of high-grade heroin were stolen during a raid by drug squad detectives."

Heroin main drug of misuse in EHB area (Nov. 30, 2002)
"The Drug Treatment Centre is the largest provider of specialist drug treatment services in Ireland, managing over 96,000 client visits each year."

Judge gives heroin addict a chance to go straight (Nov. 30, 2002)
"The judge told Field that if he failed then he knew that he was looking at an immediate 326 days imprisonment in addition to a further sentence for the theft."

Cannabis Can Ease the Pain (Nov. 30, 2002)
"A former Torquay head teacher who took part in the world's biggest clinical trials of cannabis wants the drug to be legalised for medical use."

Warning to cannabis smokers (Nov. 30, 2002)
"Male marijuana smokers risk damaging their testicles, while female cannabis users can harm their reproductive organs. That was the warning from Speaker Peter Lewis yesterday during a parliamentary debate on a Bill to remove hydroponically grown cannabis from the expiation system."

U.S., ACLU agree on January deadline to release surveillance records (Nov. 30, 2002)
"In response to a suit brought by the ACLU and other groups, the Justice Department also said it would supply a list of documents that it would keep confidential, citing national security concerns. The ACLU could challenge the decision to withhold any documents."

Reefer Madness (Nov. 30, 2002- Free New York Times registration required)
"We interrupt our coverage of the war on terrorism to check in with that other permanent conflict against a stateless enemy, the war on drugs. To judge by the glee at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, the drug warriors have just accomplished the moral equivalent of routing the Taliban — helping to halt a relentless jihad against the nation's drug laws," writes Bill Keller in this editorial for the New York Times.

Cannabis pioneers remember Mellow Yellow cafe (Nov. 30, 2002)
Amsterdam is celebrating 30 years of cafe shops openly selling smoke, and allowing their patrons to smoke on premises.

Greek league suspends former NBA first-round pick for cannabis use (Nov. 30, 2002)
"Former NBA first-round draft pick Erick Barkley was suspended by the Greek Basketball Federation after he tested positive for cannabis, sporting authorities said Wednesday."

Cop Who Believes In "Regulating" Drugs Riding Horse Into Town (Nov. 29, 2002)
"He is associated with LEAP: Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. He states, 'After three decades of fueling the U.S. war on drugs with over half a trillion tax dollars and increasingly punitive policies, illicit drugs are easier to get, cheaper, and more potent than they ever were."

Don't put pot in the joint (Nov. 29, 2002)
"George Washington, raising support in France for the American Revolution, gave this excuse for cutting his visit short: 'I wouldn't miss the hemp harvest in Mount Vernon for all the tea in China.'"

Departing Governors Face Next Steps (Nov. 29, 2002)
"New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson hopes to climb Mount Everest in the spring, and then start a foundation aiming to end the war against drugs."

Former drug czar says smarter policy needed (Nov. 29, 2002)
"In an interview last week, McCaffrey was unflappable in his belief that the nation's counter-drug policy has worked effectively - despite a public perception that the so-called 'war on drugs' is an utter failure."

Double Jeopardy (Nov. 29, 2002)
"A long-ago bust gets a city staffer fired and raises questions about drug policy."

Some Call New Drug "Legal Marijuana" (Nov. 29, 2002)
"Last month a bill was introduced in congress to outlaw salvia divinorum. But on the streets of Southwest Florida, law enforcement agencies are just now learning about the drug."

GJ man, 57, pleads guilty to trafficking marijuana (Nov. 29, 2002)
"Jose Pedrego-Lugo pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and money laundering, both felony crimes."

Australia- Liberal MP claims SA Magistrate offered him marijuana (Nov. 29, 2002)
"Mr Brindal made the claim during debate on the bill to remove hydroponically grown marijuana from the cannabis expiation scheme."

Britain 'bombed itself to fool Nazis' (Nov. 28, 2002)
But leaders in the US would never, ever behave like this, right?

Kissinger lied about East Timor (Nov. 28, 2002)
"Disinfo Editor's Note [Russ Kick]: To remind everyone of just one reason why Kissinger's appointment to head the 9/11 probe is such a cruel, hideous joke, we're posting this excerpt from Appendix A of Everything You Know Is Wrong. It presents the smoking-gun memo that proves Kissinger and Ford greenlighted Indonesia's genocidal invasion of East Timor, something that Kissinger has always denied."

Dirty Dozen? The FBI May Have Dragged Its Feet on Investigating the Saudi Money Trail (Nov. 28, 2002)
"Although the CIA had a secret list of 12 prominent Saudi businessmen accused of continuing to funnel millions to Osama bin Laden, ABCNEWS has learned that the FBI may have dragged its feet in following the Saudi money trail." Does it sound to anyone else like someone is setting up Saudi Arabia as the next target in the War on Terror? Or, are stalwart allies of the US really supporting terrorists who want to bring down the United States? Either way this is not cheerful news.

Canada- Why drug education doesn't work (Nov. 28, 2002)
"Community groups usually pay for police officers to be trained as DARE instructors; while Ottawa does not contribute, the U.S. government has given $750,000 to pay for the training of Canadian instructors." As a Canadian subscriber to the DrugWar.com list wrote when alerting us to this article, "So let me get this straight: to use American language, an alien power is spending money to subvert our sovereign drug policies and influence our police."

Medical marijuana activist wins round one (Nov. 28, 2002)
"In Sechelt court on Monday, charges of cultivating and possession for the purpose of trafficking against Steve Kubby were dropped, and the judge ordered the return of his growing equipment and the marijuana seized by the RCMP."

Intelligence experts pan call for domestic spying agency (Nov. 28, 2002)
"A new domestic spying agency would neither serve the interests of police or spying agencies nor ameliorate Americans' fears about enhanced electronic surveillance by the government, a panel of intelligence experts largely agreed, for different reasons, on Friday."

Senator lies — to protect us, of course (Nov. 28, 2002)
"I woke up Friday morning listening to a U.S. senator lie through his teeth....U.S. law does not treat leaks of defense information as a criminal act, nor should it. But leaks of business information will now be a crime. We have our priorities."

Whistleblower's payout (Nov. 28, 2002)
US-based military mercenary outfit Dyncorp has been ordered to pay one of their fired whistle-blowers, who informed authorities of rampant criminality and the buying of prositutes by Dyncorp employees in the Balkans, more than $100,000.

Kissinger To Head 9-11 Commission (Nov. 28, 2002)
In one of the most insulting and egregious examples of disregard to truth, justice and accountability, (besides the fact that John Poindexter holds a Pentagon job spying on American citizens instead of a spot on a prison bunk somewhere) George W. Bush has appointed Henry Kissinger, a real, honest-to-goodness war criminal who helped plot the Sept. 11, 1973 overthrow of the democratically elected government of Salvadore Allende of Chile, illegally bombed Laos and Cambodia way back into the most primitive of stone ages, and helped perpetrate a whole bunch of other murderous crimes against humanity, to "un" cover the truth about what happened on Sept. 11, 2001. Our own President Bush is Not Likely to Testify in any Sept. 11 Probe.

Professional Spinners Called in for Canadian House of Commons Drug Report (Nov. 28, 2002)
"The Special Committee on Non-Medical Use of Drugs met in camera at 4:15 p.m. this day, in Room 701, La Promenade Building, the Chair, Paddy Torsney, presiding." Read the minutes of this meetings here.

Australia- Marijuana-related suicide an epidemic, says MP (Nov. 28, 2002)
Yet another totally bizarre and destructive prohibitionist theory right out of the the Reefer Madness handbook.

Man gets life term over 3 lbs. of mailed marijuana (Nov. 28, 2002)
Life in prison for just over 3 pounds of flowers. What in the hell is happening here? Oh yeah, there's a War going on, and the prohibitionists are not playing games, they're intent on committing as much evil as possible before it ends.

Marijuana is smuggled both ways (Nov. 28, 2002)
"'Alaska marijuana holds the national record for THC content,' said Zoran Yankovich of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. 'Mat-Su bud is known throughout the West Coast. We've seen it exchanged pound for pound for cocaine in L.A. in operations there.'"

Teen kicked out for pot ordered back into school (Nov. 28, 2002)
"The most exclusive private schools in the Twin Cities area can have their pick of students. But apparently, they can't always choose whom they kick out."

Canada- Marijuana 'grow houses' booming (Nov. 28, 2002)
"Authorities say more than 50,000 houses now used exclusively for plant cultivation."

Hagel says he's never smoked marijuana (Nov. 28, 2002)
Nebraska's senior Senator Chuck Hagel tells students he's never smoked pot, and opposes legalization.

The Office of Strategic Influence Is Gone, But Are Its Programs In Place? (Nov. 28, 2002)
"The Federation of American Scientists has pointed to a startling revelation by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld that mainstream media have missed: In remarks during a recent press briefing, Rumsfeld suggested that though the controversial Office of Strategic Influence (OSI) no longer exists in name, its programs are still being carried out."

pi911- The People's Investigation of 9/11 (Nov. 28, 2002)
"We declare a national emergency in uncovering what really happened on 9/11/2001 through an immediate call for an independent collaborative investigation worldwide. The U.S. government could help us but instead is doing everything it can to stop any investigations into 9/11."

Pasadena narcotics officers seize $216,000 of marijuana (Nov. 28, 2002)
"Baird said the men arrested had the marijuana with the intent to sell it, thought it is not known where they planned to sell the dope."

Rail firm rap over Amsterdam ad (Nov. 27, 2002)
This is an article taken right out of the Reefer Madness handbook.

Cops Grab Cannabis in Raid on Isle Office (Nov. 27, 2002)
Maggie Fyffe, who lives on the office, "confirmed the plants taken by police were cannabis. She added: 'It's not news. Most people here wouldn't bat an eyelid. I told police I thought the law had been relaxed.'"

Cannabis use rises sharply among teenagers (Nov. 27, 2002)
"Increasing numbers of British teenagers are using cannabis, a survey revealed."

Hemp embassy to record cannabis raid accounts (Nov. 27, 2002)
"Nimbin's hemp embassy says an independent report is to be compiled into an expected pre-Christmas police operation to eradicate cannabis crops."

The Killer Among Us (Nov. 27, 2002)
"What state officials aren't telling you about chronic wasting disease -- the politics and blunders behind its spread and the true dangers."

The Drug and Terror Connection (Nov. 27, 2002)
"What we can control, however, is the money in drugs. Due to prohibition, $1,000 worth of coca base from Colombia sells for $25,000 here. If this market were turned legit, the profit margin would drop like a stone, eventually driving out the criminal element. (Remember alcohol prohibition?)"

Supreme Court Slated to Reconsider Miranda (Nov. 27, 2002)
"Two officers, Andrew Salinas and Maria Pena, had stopped to question a man they suspected, wrongly it turned out, of selling drugs. When they heard the squeaky bike approach in the dark, they called for the rider to stop." They wound up shooting this guy almost to death, then aggresively interrogating him while he lay screaming in agony with bullet holes through his face and other body parts."

Marijuana debate heats up (Nov. 27, 2002)
"John Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, has been appointed by President Bush as deputy drug czar. Walters believes he can help Americans by fighting the war on drugs, but many pro-pot supporters say a czar who claims he has never smoked pot cannot fully understand the pro-pot movement."

Dead Man's Bluff (Nov. 27, 2002)
"For almost 15 years, Fidel [Castano] was at the center of Colombia's chaos, enmeshed in its massacres, land grabs and cocaine deals. He was the founding father of the country's right-wing paramilitaries, which financed their fierce war against the leftists with drug money. He was a self-made millionaire, amassing a cattle empire and trafficking in illegal drugs and stolen art. He was the man who had taken on one of the world's most fearsome drug lords, Pablo Escobar, and helped snuff him out."

Methadone treatment more than heroin replacement (Nov. 27, 2002)
"Freda is one of hundreds who line up in front of a county-owned building for a daily drug fix. But this fix is legal."

The Declaration of a Renewed American Independence (Nov. 27, 2002)
"There is a ‘War on Crime’ being fought in our country today, and while a portion of this war is fought to protect us, in many forms, including the ‘War on Drugs,’ it is also used as an excuse to unbearably disrupt the lives of inoffensive Americans."

Bush signs homeland bill (Nov. 27, 2002)
"Asa Hutchinson always said the war on drugs had a lot in common with the war on terrorism. He will soon find out just how much."

Balkans: Officials Pledge To Tackle The 'Cancer' Of Organized Crime (Nov. 27, 2002)
"Officials attending a European Union-led conference on organized crime in Southeastern Europe have agreed to step up cooperation in fighting corruption, smuggling, and illegal immigration in the Balkans."

Swiss join EU efforts to combat Balkan crime (Nov. 27, 2002)
"Experts see the Balkans as the main gateway to Europe for drug trafficking, people smuggling, money laundering and weapons smuggling."

But Conspiracy, Folks … Don't gut conspiracy laws when we need them most (Nov. 27, 2002)
"In Recio, a Nevada police officer stopped a truck driven by two men—Manuel Sotelo and Ramiro Arce. The officer discovered several million dollars' worth of marijuana and cocaine in the truck."

THE FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE SURVEILLANCE COURT OF REVIEW CREATES A POTENTIAL END RUN AROUND TRADITIONAL FOURTH AMENDMENT PROTECTIONS FOR CERTAIN CRIMINAL LAW ENFORCEMENT WIRETAPS (Nov. 27, 2002)

All Charges Against Kubbys Dismissed in Sechelt Court (Nov. 26, 2002)
"Steve and Michele Kubby were in court today to ask for the return of their growing equipment and medicine, but the ended up with more than they had bargained for."

UK- Cannabis smoking by teenagers surges by 50 per cent (Nov. 26, 2002)
"Cannabis, which is being downgraded from a Class B to a Class C drug, was the only illegal drug not considered to be "always unsafe" by older children, the unit found."

Get serious about drugs (Nov. 26, 2002)
"Now if you mention 'legalize hemp' you can be tossed into the group called 'South Dakota Farmers Union.' Last week, the SDFU voted to support the legalization and production of hemp."

What’s he smoking? (Nov. 26, 2002)
"The White House drug czar’s ludicrous pot potency claim" is looked at Daniel Forbes, again linked here at DrugWar.com due to it's clear headed shredding of the Drug Czar's latest malarkey about pot.

Weed Killer (Nov. 26, 2002)
"Is the end near for Sonoma County's besieged medical marijuana clinics?"

Police Dog Boris 'Nose' His Stuff (Nov. 26, 2002)
Poor dog.

Top cop takes policing personally (Nov. 26, 2002)
"Barely two weeks after becoming police commissioner in late April, Johnson launched his multi-million dollar, overtime-driven cleanup of the city's 300 worst drug corners by keeping cops on the corner up to 24 hours a day."

The new drug war (Nov. 26, 2002)
"In recent weeks, Dr. Harry Kipperman of the Milford Pediatric Group said he has repeated warnings to 20 to 30 patients each day that the prescriptions he writes may or may not be approved when they get to the pharmacy."

A powerless pawn in Colombia's war (Nov. 26, 2002)
"Imagine a presidential campaign in which a leading third-party candidate is kidnapped, just as the campaign begins. The campaign continues without her, and her major political opponent is elected to office by a landslide."

Bottlenecks arise in mock attack Bioterror 'event' checks readiness for high school (Nov. 26, 2002)
"Officers with assault rifles and paramedics armed with hypodermic needles invaded Mesa's Westwood High School on Thursday."

Lesser of two 'evils' can save US a lot of trouble and lives (Nov. 26, 2002)
"Ever since the September 11 attacks, Republicans have used the terrorist threat as a pretext to push a right-wing political agenda," write Noam Chomsky. "For the congressional elections, the strategy has diverted attention from the economy to war. When the presidential campaign begins, Republicans surely do not want people to be asking questions about their pensions, jobs, healthcare and other matters."

A one-way information highway (Nov. 26, 2002)
"The homeland security bill shows a government that wants to learn more and divulge less."

Subverting the UN (Nov. 26, 2002)
"These protesters realize that they do not want the United States to initiate a pre-emptive and illegal war, but perhaps they do not yet realize that they are also fighting to retain an international order based on multilateralism, the rule of law and the United Nations itself."

Pray for the Homeland (Nov. 26, 2002)
"I find it incredible no one has really pointed this out; that no one is expressing fear, or at least wariness, of this monstrous new federal bureaucracy, which already has sweeping secret powers."

Civil liberties on hold lately (Nov. 25, 2002)
"The power granted by this ruling basically states that all criminals may be tied to terrorists, so we need to eavesdrop on them. Most notably would be drug dealers and drug traffickers, who are painted as funding terrorist activity by many TV ads. This ruling allows Ashcroft to now wiretap these traffickers and use any information, whether terrorist or non-terrorist related, to incriminate them."

City, county war on drugs to be merged (Nov. 25, 2002)
"'There is competition between the Police Department and Sheriff's Department on different individuals sometimes making bigger busts,' Gulledge said. 'Sometimes we work against one another instead of pulling the force together and work as one unit.'"

Legitimate reasons to legalize cannabis (Nov. 25, 2002)
"If marijuana were to become legalized, it would have three main functions: industrial use, medical use and personal/recreational use. Before I get into the reasons I support its legalization, I'll list a brief history of cannabis in the United States."

Two arrested in large marijuana-growing operation (Nov. 25, 2002)
"The size and scope of a marijuana operation in Putnam County shocked even the authorities who made the drug bust."

Cape police report more marijuana cases this year over last (Nov. 25, 2002)
"'We'll ask people to leave if they start talking about that because we don't want any trouble,' he said, standing next to issues of High Times magazine on the counter. 'I've heard third-hand that some people are calling us the 'drug store,' but we don't sell anything illegal here. The pipes are a tool that buyers could use for illegal things, but that doesn't mean they will.'"

Pentagon Papers' Ellsberg Sees Deja Vu in Iraq (Nov. 25, 2002)
"A week after the October release of his [Ellsberg's] book, "Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers," Congress authorized President Bush to wage war if necessary to disarm Baghdad. Ellsberg is busy doing what he wishes he had done earlier during the Vietnam War -- sounding the alarm."

Lucio Wins in Ecuador The Colonel of the People, President-Elect (Nov. 25, 2002)
"The people have chosen the new president of Ecuador. The winds of change have arrived to sweep the garbage away...."

Marijuana continues to be a hazy topic (Nov. 24, 2002)
"Another reason marijuana might be dangerous is because it shuts off the vomiting center in a person's body, McCracken said. She said this could be dangerous when a person consumes high quantities of alcohol and then smokes marijuana. The person may be suffering from alcohol poisoning while they are unable to vomit." This person has never tried to smoke pot while drunk on alcohol at the same time, resulting in the spins, a common cause of vomiting.

Ruling forces dismissal of medical marijuana case (Nov. 24, 2002)
"A new California Supreme Court ruling that enhanced medical marijuana users' and growers' rights has, for the first time in this county, resulted in dismissal of a court case."

Marijuana arrest snares police officer (Nov. 24, 2002)
"A Philadelphia police officer on administrative leave was indicted on conspiracy and drug charges in Portland for allegedly trying to buy marijuana from two men who were under surveillance by federal drug agents."

Police Skeptical About Medical Marijuana (Nov. 24, 2002)
Should this really surprise anyone, when such a high percentage of police department budgets are derived from waging war on pot and other drugs? Of course there are police who are unhappy with the idea of medical marijuana.

Stoudamire, Wallace charged with marijuana possession (Nov. 24, 2002)
"Damon Stoudamire and Rasheed Wallace of the Portland Trail Blazers were cited for possessing marijuana after the car they were in was stopped for speeding early Friday."

Drugged Driving Hopes (Nov. 23, 2002)
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration chief Jeffrey Runge "should be pulled over for hyperventilating under the influence of false and misleading statistics" reports Steven Milloy for FOX News on the new Drug Czar Walters touted Drugged Driving Initiative, under a page heading, "Junk Science." He also noted that "NHTSA's press release for the 'drugged driving' initiative claims, 'Over eight million persons aged 12 or older reported driving under the influence of illegal drugs during 2001.'" Aged 12 and older? Driving?

Infinite Jest- Rodney Dangerfield's Life Long Romance with Marijuana (Nov. 23, 2002- Free LA Times registration required)
"He can no longer drink, because alcohol interferes with his various medications. Ever the warhorse, Dangerfield will appear on 'The Tonight Show With Jay Leno' tonight, his birthday," writes Paul Brownfield. "This was where he was a year ago, on his 80th, when Dangerfield suffered a mild heart attack backstage. Admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, he smoked some pot in his room and ran afoul of the staff.:

Colombian President Urges Drug Tests (Nov. 23, 2002)
The US is giving this raving lunatic billions in US taxdollars and military aid. He wants all European and US citizens drug tested on a mass scale, all of us, in order to win the War on Some Drugs and dry up drug production in his country, where possession of small amounts of both heroin and cocaine for personal use is legal. He does want US and European executives to be the first tested though, which is actually a great idea in that the War on Some Drugs and Users would probably end immediately.

DEA Recruits Prepare to Enter Frontline of War on Drugs (Nov. 23, 2002)
"They are the group in charge of making sure cocaine, heroin and ecstasy stay out of our cities." If that is really what the DEA has been doing, they've utterly failed for over three decades now, wasting billions of taxdollars that could be spent on actually helping the taxpayers themselves in some way.

Governor: Financial crisis hurts drug fight (Nov. 23, 2002)
Never mind that the War on Some Drugs and Users is futile and causing nothing but destruction and angst, and that there's a severe lack of money in the state, Kentucky Governor Patton "urges agencies to boost [anti-drug] programs despite limited funds," while babbling on about Oxycontin.

Complete Interview with Jack Glaser (Nov. 23, 2002)
Attention being paid to racial profiling "really came into prominence in the 80's and 90's with the advent of the drug war and the aggressive police efforts to try to catch drug users and dealers, especially people who were trying to deliver drugs along American highways," notes Glaser in this online interview.

Toward Drug Legalization (Nov. 23, 2002)
"That is the thesis maintained for almost ten years by Gustavo de Greiff, former Attorney General of Colombia and former ambassador of the same country in Mexico, who says that legalization doesn’t have to produce a rise in the consumption of drugs and, in fact, will end the violence, corruption and the progressive breakdown of society caused by narco-trafficking."

Drug war or vigilante rampage? (Nov. 23, 2002)
Another glaring result of prohibition is violence, in this case the murders of these suspected dealers.

Saudi Arabia links to Sept. 11 attacks went unexamined by FBI, CIA, reports say (Nov. 23, 2002)
"In its draft report, the joint congressional committee staff said investigators should have followed up on the meetings of the four men to determine whether there was a Saudi connection to the hijacking plot."

Apple 'It' Girl Breaks Silence (Nov. 23, 2002)
Ellen Feiss, the stoned looking Apple Computer commercial star, has finally given an interview, apparently disclosing to a Brown University newspaper just what drug she was on while filming, which apparently was not pot.

The Week Online with DRCNet, issue #264 (Nov. 23, 2002)
Green Aid starts a defense fund for Ed Rosenthal, a California town won't rat out medical marijuana users to the DEA, the Arkansas Drug Car resigns after his DUI bust, and a whole lot of other stories and articles can be found in this week's issue, as well as that ever helpful and informative Reformers' Calendar.

Akha Childrens' Books are Now Finished (Nov. 23, 2002)
Matthew McDaniel has finished the printing of 20 thousand childrens' books for the Akha people in Thailand.

Safeguard civil liberties (Nov. 23, 2002)
When even the USA Today begins editorializing about the dangers of a government surveillance system run amok, it seems things are getting really serious. "Even the courts, traditional bulwarks against overzealous law enforcement, offer little protection when the nation is battling a foreign enemy, as Chief Justice William Rehnquist pointed out in a 1998 book. Courts, he wrote, are reluctant to 'rule against government on an issue of national security during wartime.'"

Our big brother, John Ashcroft (Nov. 23, 2002)
"Now, the U.S. federal government may be listening in, making sure you aren't cooking up a batch of Anthrax or building a pipe bomb. They don't need proof you are a terrorist, they don't have to tell anyone about it and anything they hear is fair game for possible arrest."

Marijuana Linked to Schizophrenia, Depression (Nov. 22, 2002)
These people have just got to be kidding, right? Unfortunately no, the prohibitionists are dead serious about pushing this sort of fallacious malarkey in trying to justify their insane War on Pot and Pot Users.

‘Drug Nation’ (Nov. 22, 2002)
Charles Bowden's new book "Down by the River," according to this review at MSNBC, "is a wondrous feat of both reporting and writing. In it, Bowden tackles the 1995 shotgun murder of Bruno Jordan, the younger brother of Patrick Jordan, one of the DEA’s rising stars."

Pot Raids Spur Calls to Quit Working With DEA (Nov. 22, 2002- Free Los Angeles Times registration required)
"Reacting to raids of California medical marijuana cooperatives by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, several cities around the state are pushing local police to stop cooperating with federal agents."

Case dropped, money kept Brunswick hangs on to funds from drug raids (Nov. 22, 2002)
Acting in true prohibitionist insanity, "Money confiscated by Brunswick County officials during a drug raid in which charges were later dismissed does not have to be returned to the suspects, according to a decision made this month by the N.C. Court of Appeals."

John Walters Project (Nov. 22, 2002)
Head of the ONDCP, US Drug Czar John Walters got a lot of press coverage during his recent visit to Canada to lecture the Canadians on reform issues. His reception, as well as most of the press coverage, was not exactly the polite, lap-dog response the prohibitionists have grown used to here in the US. Included in this selection is an interview with a guy who was smoking hash just feet from Walters in a Vancouver cafe. Great stuff here.

Stop marijuana trade, U.S. drug czar urges (Nov. 22, 2002)
"$6-billion worth of highly potent B.C. product flows south each year, director says."

Propaganda Techniques (Nov. 22, 2002)
How to utilize propaganda to further one's aims.

U.S. Hopes to Check Computers Globally (Nov. 22, 2002)
More news from the Big Brother saga currently underway.

New York State Creates Its Own "Operation TIPS" Snitch Hotline (Nov. 22, 2002)
"Although some in Congress realized the chilling implications of this Stasi-esque snitch line, the politicians of New York State apparently lack that insight."

Pentagon to Track American Consumer Purchases (Nov. 22, 2002)
"A massive database that the government will use to monitor every purchase made by every American citizen is a necessary tool in the war on terror, the Pentagon said Wednesday."

Surveillance tactics used by FBI remain 'mysterious,' 'quiet' (Nov. 22, 2002)
"They have broken into homes, offices, hotel rooms and automobiles. Copied private computer files. Installed hidden cameras. Listened with microphones in one couple's bedroom for more than a year. Rummaged through luggage. Eavesdropped on telephone conversations. It's the FBI, operating with permission from a secretive U.S. court in a high-stakes effort pitting the nation's premier law enforcement agency against the world's spies and terrorists."

Unsolicited U.S. advice on defence irks McCallum (Nov. 22, 2002)
"Defence Minister John McCallum says Washington should mind its own business and let Canada decide how much to spend on its military." So how about all that advice on how Canada wages the War on Some Drugs and Users?

Comedian has his own signs for the times (Nov. 21, 2002)
"In the following interview, [Bill] Maher answers questions about his tour, the government's war on drugs and missing 'Politically Incorrect.'"

Free trade in drugs (Nov. 21, 2002)
"Marijuana and cocaine are economic mainstays on the Paraguayan-Brazilian border." DrugWar.com reposts this link to Mike Ceaser's recent graphic report on serious border troubles between Brazil and Paraguay due to rampant, prohibition empowered cartels waging their own bloody Drug War battles, against each other.

Met warns London on cusp of drugs war (Nov. 21, 2002)
"The head of drugs strategy at the Metropolitan police warned yesterday that the capital was "on the cusp" of turf wars between gangs from rival communities who are wrestling for control of the heroin and cocaine trade."

Funds help Hmong teens (Nov. 21, 2002)
Children of the CIA's "secret" opium-producing Laotian soldiers during the Vietnam war now transplanted to the US are suffering many problems trying to fit in to American society.

Zaragoza Bridge tests contraband detector (Nov. 21, 2002)
"A new high-technology system that uses fast moving subatomic particles to detect contraband, ranging from illegal drugs to explosives, will be in place by summer at the Zaragoza Bridge."

U.S. may punish Colombia air force unit -paper (Nov. 21, 2002)
"The U.S. has contributed nearly $2 billion to Colombia over the last several years to wage war on drug trafficking and rebels in the Andean nation."

Afghanistan adrift politically, economically (Nov. 21, 2002)
"But drug use, pedophilia and prostitution, almost non-existent under the Taliban, have re-emerged with the market economy."

Ideas fly in war against drugs (Nov. 21, 2002)
"Decriminalizing illegal drugs is not an option, Carnevale said. For one reason, the federal government will not allow it. Carnevale said decriminalizing drugs is akin to surrendering to the problem instead of addressing it."

Seminar to Bolster Free Expression in Colombia (Nov. 21, 2002)
"Columbia is considered one of the worst places to be a journalist, with 29 journalists murdered in the last decade. The Colombian press has been under siege for reporting on drug trafficking, corruption and violence, and many now are going into exile as the country's civil conflicts intensify and government support for the press is wavering."

Falsely Accused Former Officer Speaks Out (Nov. 21, 2002)
"Imagine this: The War on Drugs adversely effects innocent police officers too."

Drug arrest at San Luis downplayed as isolated (Nov. 21, 2002)
"The arrest of the top immigration official at the San Luis port of entry has been called an isolated case - one sad story of a slide into drug addiction."

Too Many Secrets (Nov. 21, 2002)
"Why does the White House sometimes seem so determined to close the door on the people's right to know what their government is doing?"

Bush's War on the Sick and Dying (NOv. 21, 2002)
"As most of you know by now, my photo went all over the country as the first patient to receive medical cannabis from the city officials of Santa Cruz on September 17; I assume the organizers pushed me up front because of my age, my white beard, my wheelchair and my general resemblence to a colorful Gothic ruin," writes Robert Anton Wilson.

Breaking on Through Again (Nov. 21, 2002)
"Ram Dass wraps his expanded mind around the last of the truly taboo subjects--death and dying."

The Homeland Security Monstrosity (Nov. 21, 2002)
"The list of dangerous and unconstitutional powers granted to the new Homeland Security department is lengthy," writes US Representative Ron Paul, (R- Tx).

The Truth About Forced Vaccinations (Nov. 21, 2002)
The US government, responsible for secretly testing illegal drugs and horrendous biological agents on its own people again and again, has now given itself the right to force us all to accept vaccinations they decree to be necessary or the people will face repressive legal repercussions.

Information Awareness Office Goes Primetime (Nov. 21, 2002)
The Guerrilla News Network takes a hard look at the new Information Awareness Office.

WAR, WHATEVER (Nov. 21, 2002)
"George Bush's top security adviser last night admitted the US would attack Iraq even if UN inspectors fail to find weapons."

Amendment to Homeland Security Bill Defeated (Nov. 21, 2002)
"The provisions targeted by the Democrats would benefit businesses in a number of ways, including limiting legal liability for companies that produce vaccines, provide airport security equipment and services and develop anti-terrorism technologies."

Another Coup Failed in Venezuela (Nov. 21, 2002)
Yet another coup against oil producting Venezuela has been exposed.

True Majority- Your Eyes and Ears in Congress (Nov. 21, 2002)
Ben Cohen of Ben and Jerry's fame has put together one of those websites that give some hope in the American Way, offering news and alerts to Congressional and other government actions.

Police seize millions in marijuana (Nov. 20, 2002)
"Several trucks were needed to remove millions of dollars worth of cannabis plants seized by police during raids in the NSW Blue Mountains."

Pine Bluff trio arrested for possession of marijuana (Nov. 20, 2002)
"Three Pine Bluff men have been charged with possession with intent to deliver. Their arrest stems from a traffic violation on I-30."

Digeridoo maker jailed for possessing marijuana (Nov. 20, 2002)
"A 49-year-old man described as one the most recorded indigenous musicians in Australia has been found guilty of possessing a commercial quantity of cannabis." Arms dealing by rich white guys is cool, but indigenous musicians dealing pot is not?

Fewer N.S. teens smoking tobacco, but marijuana use constant: study (Nov. 20, 2002)
So once again, proof that real education works, while lying doesn't.

Another medical marijunana user arrested, for having too much pot (Nov. 20, 2002)
"Todd Gellman, 40, was arrested last week after a sheriff's deputies' raid. They said 33 pounds of packaged marijuana were found along with 70 plants growing in two homes under lamps."

Sebastopol passes medical marijuana proposal (Nov. 20, 2002)
"The city council here passed a resolution making it police department policy not to report medical marijuana cases to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and affirming the council's support of the use of medical marijuana by authorized patients."

The Function of the Drug War (Nov. 20, 2002)
"The function of the Drug War is to create the Drug Crisis. The Drug Crisis involves billions of dollars in hidden cash flow. Addicted to this flow of money are law enforcement agencies, drug producers and distributors, covert agencies who use it as a source of black funding, and politicians and bankers who are hired to protect the drug revenues. Addiction to drug revenues requires that the drug war be fought so as to be lost. Failure thus becomes the criterion of success," write J. Orlin Grabbe in this astute and well stated explaination as to why the War continues endlessly.

CCLE Publishes Updated Report on Salvia Divinorum (Nov. 20, 2002)
Find out what Salvia Divinorum is, and what is going on with prohibitionist plans to outlaw this unique and special plant.

The Myth of Potent Pot (Nov. 20, 2002)
"The drug czar's latest reefer madness: He claims that marijuana is 30 times more powerful than it used to be," reports Daniel Forbes in this shredding of the US Drug Czar's latest bologna about marijuana.

Innocent Drivers Could Suffer from White House “Drugged Driving” Initiative, Say Leading Drug Policy Experts (Nov. 20, 2002)
"Under the initiative, a driver who tests positive for illegal drugs, regardless of when they were taken, could lose his driver’s license and face severe criminal penalties, even if not actually driving under the influence."

Former JAG: Military Aid in D.C. Sniper Pursuit May Have Broken Law (Nov. 20, 2002)
"A longtime expert in military jurisprudence contends Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld likely violated the law last month when he directed U.S. Northern Command -- the military headquarters for homeland defense -- to help track down the Washington area snipers."

Chipping Away at Liberty (Nov. 20, 2002)
"The decision does not actually make it any easier for the government to conduct wiretaps or searches. But it grants the government one more sphere in which it gets to unilaterally choose the rules under which it will pursue the war on terrorism." Which has lead Attorney General John Ashcroft to Praise the Surveillance Ruling.

War crimes arrest blow to Iraqi opposition (Nov. 20, 2002)
"Danish police arrested last night an exiled Iraqi general tipped as a possible replacement for President Saddam Hussein. He faces charges that he was responsible for killing thousands of Kurds in a chemical weapons attack 14 years ago."

'Catch' for this crew is bales of cocaine (Nov. 19, 2002)
"'During this tumultuous time in our nation's history, as our battle against terrorists moves forward, an equally important yet less-publicized war continues thousands of miles from our shores -- the war on drugs,' Raimondo said." How about we simply quit wasting money and lives in this idiotic, wasteful, destructive War, a war that causes ever so much damage to ourselves and society as a whole that any use of any drug has ever done? It seems that tactic is just too sensible and intelligent for prohibitionists to even consider.

DEA plans to work with community groups (Nov. 19, 2002)
"Along with enforcement of drug laws, the DEA will provide personnel to help local agencies work with churches and community groups to combat drug use before it starts and try to cut off the supply line for the addicts who buy drugs. This is certainly a different approach for the DEA, which just two years ago got a new face of its own when Congressman Asa Hutchinson of northwest Arkansas resigned to take over its reigns."

Cannabis kit shop opens (Nov. 19, 2002)
"Marijuana seeds and cultivating equipment are being sold over the counter in Cambridge, just yards from a drug addiction clinic."

Boise brothers arrested in marijuana case (Nov. 19, 2002)
"Two Boise brothers were arrested this past weekend on marijuana charges after detectives seized 25 plants and a half pound of pot from their Cassia Street home."

Agents find marijuana hidden in tractor tires (Nov. 19, 2002)
"The bust was made Friday as the truck driven by Jose Manuel Arreola-Marron, 48, of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, was being inspected at the World Trade Bridge in Laredo."

Brother convicted of murder in long-term marijuana enterprise (Nov. 19, 2002)
"A 36-year-old man accused of running a large marijuana enterprise with his four brothers was convicted Monday in federal court of murder, weapon possession and drug conspiracy." Prohibition obviously helps keep the trade out of the hands of cut-throat criminals.

Four years after player's positive to marijuana, FIFA ends up looking dopey (Nov. 19, 2002)
"Australian soccer officials covered up a player testing positive to marijuana four years ago because the drug was not on FIFA's list of banned substances."

So, you thought you were safe settling for the decaf (Nov. 19, 2002)
"Decaffeinated coffee can give the heart every bit as big a jolt as the full-strength equivalent, according to new research which suggests a mystery ingredient of coffee has yet to be discovered."

Ruling expands surveillance powers of Justice Department (Nov. 19, 2002)
But don't worry, they'll never abuse these "new" powers, and will only spy on terrorist criminal types.

CIA on Campus (Nov. 19, 2002)
The CIA has spent one heck of a lot of time on US campuses.

Pursue the Truth About Sept. 11 (Nov. 19, 2002)
"The White House sure was stalling on this one, citing concerns about possible leaks that could compromise ongoing intelligence work. An investigation, it claimed, would distract authorities from the fight against terrorism. Isn't that just a touch convenient, not to mention suspicious? Or am I just being paranoid?" So asks Antonia Zerbisias in this blunt editorial.

CIA tried in 1999 to recruit associate of 9-11 hijackers in Germany (Nov. 19, 2002)
But the CIA knew nothing of the impending terrorist attacks. Hmmm.

Drug dealer who admitted smuggling cannabis resin from Spain to sell here set for sentencing (Nov. 19, 2002)
Poor guy.

On the border (Nov. 18, 2002)
"It is naive to think that corruption stops at the border or that the problem is merely American demand for drugs and Mexican willingness to supply it. The Mexican police are notoriously corrupt, but drugs wouldn't get through without complicit American officials."

Colombian Town Rises Up in Outrage (Nov. 18, 2002)
"The townspeople who went on a rampage here hold the AUC responsible for killing Eugenio Escalante, 47, a favorite son whose body turned up soon after he met with several paramilitary leaders who wanted him to get out of next month's mayoral elections. The AUC has deep ties to Colombia's political and financial establishment."

Bribery a threat at border (Nov. 18, 2002)
"The arrest of the top immigration official at the San Luis port of entry has been called an isolated case - one sad story of a slide into drug addiction. But the arrest of Lisa Stubbs last week adds to a growing list of corruption cases in San Luis, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office."

Suffering in Camelot JFK Hid Health Problems, Took Drugs For Pain (Nov. 18, 2002)
"President John F. Kennedy's medical records reveal that he had suffered health problems since childhood, and used an arsenal of drugs, including painkillers and stimulants, to treat various medical conditions during his presidency...The medical records reveal that Kennedy variously took codeine, Demerol and methadone for pain; Ritalin, a stimulant; meprobamate and librium for anxiety; barbiturates for sleep; thyroid hormone; and injections of a blood derivative, gamma globulin, a medicine that combats infections."

Prescription drug abuse on the rise nationwide (Nov. 18, 2002)
"Prescription drug abuse has been likened to a modern-day plague, affecting more than 6 million Americans. The homemaker next door or the high-profile politician can fall prey to medications perceived to be safe."

Bush’s double standard: protecting corporations, victimizing workers (Nov. 18, 2002)
"These provisions were added to the bill after the November 5 election, when the White House decided to use the revived bill as a vehicle for rewarding some of its most important corporate supporters, such as the drug manufacturers."

Goal of drug summit is to develop strategy to fight meth in Missouri (Nov. 18, 2002)
"Springfield Police Chief Lynn Rowe agreed that drugs, especially meth, can't be tackled by police alone. Rowe says that without a plan for reducing demand, police are put 'in the unenviable position of locking up people that can't get off an addiction cycle' and that 'we'll never be able to arrest our way out of this problem.'"

Nazis on speed - new report says drug could have changed history (Nov. 18, 2002)
This article seems to be asserting that some kinds of speed-taking lead to positive results, at least in terms of war and soldiers being able to carry on killing byond all normal endurance levels.

Czar Wars (Nov. 18, 2002)
"In the end, it didn’t matter what we serfs believed. The czar had not come to debate drug policy. He doesn’t believe debate is even possible. He thinks the government’s side — which I would argue is mindless, hysterical, absolutist, puritanical, inconsistent, cruel, totalitarian and embarrassing — is always right and the other side’s arguments have no credibility," writes Bill Steigerwald of the uselessness of debating with the dogmatic prohibitionist Drug Czar John Walters.

Economic highs in a coffee joint (Nov. 18, 2002)
This is a look at the High Times Cannabis Cup competition, coming up in Amsterdam in a week's time.

No high, no fly in Drug War (Nov. 18, 2002)
"An airline is cancelling flights to Britain - because not enough seats are being filled by DRUG smugglers!"

Savage speaks on sex, drugs and politics (Nov. 18, 2002)
"'The U.S. has spent over $75 million on the drug war to decrease the availability of pot,' he added. 'Anyone here having a hard time getting their hands on pot in Madison?'"

Home marijuana growing operation discovered (Nov. 18, 2002)
"A search warrant executed Thursday at the home of a Scott County couple uncovered the largest indoor marijuana growing operation seen in Southeast Missouri in more than a dozen years, according to Kevin Glaser of the SEMO Drug Task Force."

Police charge two in Jersey City marijuana deal (Nov. 18, 2002)
Cops grab almost $400 worth of pot. Wow.

Pentagon creates a Big Brother so Uncle Sam can keep his eye on us (Nov. 17, 2002)
"In a development which has provoked outrage across America's political spectrum, the IAO has begun work on a global computer surveillance network which will allow unfettered access to personal details currently held in government and commercial databases around the world." And even worse, it will be headed by John Poindexter, one of the traitorous felon masterminds who thought up selling missiles to Iran for the Iran-Contra criminal enterprise.

Ibogaine Conference Updates (Nov. 17, 2002)
Check out the upcoming conferences on the topic of Ibogaine and its use in treating addiction.

The Week Online with DRCNet, issue #263 (Nov. 17, 2002)
Lying cops, pain doctors raided and prosecuted, more lying cops, the MPP drug law reform conference in Anaheim, more lying corrupt cops, and lots more stories, as well as the ever useful Reformers' Calendar, can be found in this week's issue.

Uribe Urges Tighter Border Security (Nov. 17, 2002)
"Colombia's president urged the leaders of neighboring countries Saturday to help tighten security and deny access to drug traffickers and guerrilla fighters."

Cocaine inroads damage Peru forests (Nov. 17, 2002)
So what do all the toxic poisons the US and others are spraying in the region to combat the coca plants do to the the forests?

Columnist makes fallacious claim (Nov. 17, 2002)
"Pakistan's military secret service invented the idea of using drug money for terrorist activities. In 1994, Pakistani newspapers published numerous accounts where the secret service and Pakistan army were involved in drug trafficking," writes Saboor Raheel in this commentary. He has GOT to be kidding. Think LAOS in the 60s and 70s for crying out loud, where US CIA planes, (from Air America) shipped opium all over the freakin place so their private army could wage illegal war, or the CIA working hand in glove with cocaine and other drug shipping cartels in Central and South America, way back in the 80s. This is ignoring the benefits of legal opium. Legalize it all and remove the power and profits from the hands of cartels. How simple can it be?

Cannabis claims go up in smoke (Nov. 16, 2002)
"The claim that smoking three cannabis joints a day would damage the lungs as much as 20 cigarettes a day needs its own health warning."

Tox lab says brownies contained ‘cannabis substance’ (Nov. 17, 2002)
"The seventh grader brought the brownies to school and was passing them out to several classmates when the school police officer intervened and confiscated them, said Vance."

Marijuana movement rolls into the mainstream (Nov. 17, 2002)
"Antidrug activists say they've noticed that the marijuana movement has gotten a makeover and has seen widespread success among mainstream voters, but they warn the public should still be wary."

Ex-Stone Wyman: Stop Using My Name (Nov. 17, 2002)
Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones has apparently lost his mind.

The deceit on Wall Street reaches right to the top (Nov. 17, 2002)
"As the latest in a long line of Wall Street morality plays, the one involving Sanford I. Weill, the chairman of Citigroup, and Jack B. Grubman, his firm's former star telecommunications analyst, is unfolding in depressingly familiar fashion." But no arrests so far it seems. Pot smoking and selling is really bad, ripping off thousands of investors and taxpayers is not so bad.

Bolivian president reaffirms commitment to coca eradication, seeks trade agreement with U.S. (Nov. 16, 2002)
"Sanchez de Lozada said his government is examining its drug strategy, but that it was still seeking to convince coca growers 'to do something else, like produce T-shirts for the United States.'"

No mom-and-pop outfit (Nov. 16, 2002)
"Enid Police Chief Rick West recently declared war on drugs and has increased the size and personnel of the narcotics unit to enforce drug laws."

Free trade in drugs (Nov. 16, 2002)
The War on Some Drugs and Users is endlessly waged, "the drug trade, however, shows no sign of slowing down" in Paraguay and Brazil.

Central Asia: Russia Urges Cooperation In Fight Against Drug Trafficking (Nov. 16, 2002)
More War on Some Drugs, more power to the cartels.

Legalize heroin: End the war on drugs (Nov. 16, 2002)
Alan Randell is not happy with the War, and says so in the letter to the editors at the Montreal Gazette.

Sell Out? Me? (Nov. 16, 2002)
"Elton is so practiced at his art that he is then able to launch effortlessly into an old sketch about the terminology of his own 'drug of choice:' 'For the last twenty-five years I have been experimenting with lager; I am a lager user. If you use enough lager, if you 'do' enough pints you see this dazzling display of colour and shape in front of your eyes. But unlike with other drugs, with lager the display's still there on the carpet in the morning.'"

The human cost of our fruitless war on drugs (Nov. 16, 2002)