Lungs 'best in late afternoon' (Oct. 27, 2004)
"Lung function dips and rises on a 24-hour cycle, reaching a peak for most people in late afternoon, researchers have found...A five-year analysis of 4,835 patients found lung function was at its least effective around midday, rising to a peak between 4pm and 5pm." In other words, it's now been proven scientifically what all stoners already know- that a smoke at 4:20 really hits the spot!

OMA Calls for Needle Exchange Program for Jails (Oct. 27, 2004)
"Ontario's doctors are calling for provincial jails to start needle exchange programs to prevent the spread of diseases."

Needle exchange order is signed (Oct. 27, 2004)
"With the HIV infection rates running high in the state's urban centers, Gov. James E. McGreevey yesterday signed an executive order giving three cities the opportunity to establish needle-exchange programs for drug users."

Medical marijuana advocates likely to get a break under Kerry (Oct. 26, 2004)
"Kerry says he would end the raids that have been a feature of the Bush administration's crackdown on medical marijuana in California, where voters approved the use of the drug for medical purposes in 1996. The Massachusetts senator has also signed a letter urging the administration to stop blocking medical marijuana research at the University of Massachusetts."

A Culture of Cover-Ups (Oct. 26, 2004-Free NYTimes registration required)
The Bush administration is engaged in myriad coverups of its numerous, on-going criminal actions. What will the upcoming election bring, a further coverup of the coverups, or a big, bright light finally blazing upon their criminal behavior?

On Stand, Terrorist's Lawyer Denies Aiding Violent Cause (Oct. 26, 2004-Free NYTimes registration required)
A hugely important case in terms of our right to legal representation without fear of the government going after our lawyers for helping defend us in court, the government's case against Lynn Stewart is a case that must be watched by all freedom loving people all across the US. The implications for justice are dire.

NASA Expert Criticizes Bush on Global Warming Policy (Oct. 26, 2004- Free NYTimes registration required)
"A top NASA climate expert who twice briefed Vice President Dick Cheney on global warming plans to criticize the administration's approach to the issue in a lecture at the University of Iowa tonight and say that a senior administration official told him last year not to discuss dangerous consequences of rising temperatures."

Cover-Up Alleged in Probe of USS Liberty (Oct. 26, 2004)
"A former Navy attorney who helped lead the military investigation of the 1967 Israeli attack on the USS Liberty that killed 34 American servicemen says former President Lyndon Johnson and his defense secretary, Robert McNamara, ordered that the inquiry conclude the incident was an accident."

Hysterica Passio (Oct. 26, 2004)
"Now we come at last to the heart of darkness. Now we know, from their own words, that the Bush Regime is a cult - a cult whose god is Power, whose adherents believe that they alone control reality, that indeed they create the world anew with each act of their iron will. And the goal of this will - undergirded by the cult's supreme virtues of war, fury and blind faith - is likewise openly declared: 'Empire.'"

The Case That Kerry Cracked (Oct. 25, 2004)
"One gets an eerie sense of déjà vu watching John Kerry battle the Bush clan. He's done it once before, against the old man, President Bush's father, though many voters have probably forgotten. That battle involved the first Bush administration's attempt to put the lid on an investigation that connected a worldwide criminal bank to narco-traffickers, terrorists, and to Middle East money men who helped the Bush family make piles of cash. Those links connect to people now on the U.S. post-9/11 terrorist list."

How Needle Exchange Programs Fight the AIDS Epidemic (Oct. 25, 2004)
"When New York passed its law, about half the city's addicts were infected with H.I.V., and were regularly passing on those infections to others. Since the syringe exchanges were legalized and expanded, however, the infection rate among addicts has dropped from about 50 percent to a little more than 15 percent."

Missing Facts in the Magbie Case (Oct. 24, 2004)
"Respect seems hard to come by for Jonathan Magbie, the 27-year-old quadriplegic who was dispatched to the D.C. jail by a Superior Court judge for 10 days for simple possession of marijuana. Magbie died five days after being placed in the custody of the D.C. Department of Corrections."

Black Coalition to Target Drug Policies (Oct. 24, 2004)
"On Wednesday, a dozen African-American professional groups announced the creation of the National African American Drug Policy Coalition, hoping to spark reform with a two-pronged approach: In a handful of cities, including Baltimore, they plan to advise judges to offer treatment rather than prison sentences for drug crimes and to push education and prevention in communities."

Viktor ‘B’: international outlaw, valued partner (Oct. 24, 2004)
"While after 9/11 the Bush administration suspected Bout of running arms to al-Qaida, according to a Belgian secret service source, the US nonetheless used Bout to ferry arms shipments to the northern Alliance for its operations against the Taliban. In 2004, the Bush administration began to press for Bout to be left off planned UN sanctions, in spite of French efforts at the UN in March 2004 to freeze his assets and an outstanding Interpol warrant for his arrest."

We Ain't Endorsing Anyone (Oct. 23, 2004)
"Trying to make a choice among the lackluster candidates for President this year is like trying to decide if you want your daughter to marry Charles Manson or Adolph Hitler. It's not a choice but a nightmare scenario."

God and Sex (Oct. 23, 2004-Free NYTimes registration required)
"As for the New Testament, Jesus never said a word about gays, while he explicitly advised a wealthy man to give away all his assets and arguably warned against bank accounts ('do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth'). Likewise, Jesus praises those who make themselves eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven, but conservative Christians rarely lead the way with self-castration."

Checkpoint Near Canada Called Unsafe (Oct. 23, 2004-Free NYTimes registration required)
"Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, federal border patrol agents have been stepping up their use of checkpoints on highways near the country's borders to inspect vehicles for illegal immigrants, narcotics, terrorists and terrorist weapons." Considering the number of people killed at these checkpoints, rational people must wonder if the federal "cure" is worse than the "disease."

Two Arrested for Hurling Pies at Columnist (Oct. 23, 2004)
"Two men ran onstage and threw custard pies at conservative columnist Ann Coulter as she was giving a speech at the University of Arizona, hitting her in the shoulder, police said." As Coulter herself asks, how could they miss her from so close a distance?

Weedman rolls up victories in court (Oct. 21, 2004)
"The Weedman smokes on."

Ice Ain't Nice: A Cautionary Drug Tale (Oct. 21, 2004)
"Is ice, a highly refined form of methamphetamine, really as bad a problem in the Midwest as recent reports say? One thing is for sure: the stuff is hard to shake once you start."

A better Senate choice (Oct. 21, 2004)
"There are major differences with the Libertarian candidate, however. Instead of hammering on the deficit, as Perot did, Orange County Superior Court Judge Jim Gray is taking the two major parties to task for their lock-step perpetuation of the failed drug war and other bipartisan abuses of governmental power."

Military resists Afghan drug war (Oct. 21, 2004)
"Military officers at the Pentagon are resisting proposals to get troops directly involved in the drug war in Afghanistan, defense sources say."

Narco News Publishes Seven Essays from We Are Everywhere (Oct. 21, 2004)
"A Primer on Radical Actions of the Last Decade… with Lessons and Ideas for All Movements"

Midway Customs Agents Charged In Drug Ring (Oct. 20, 2004)
"Two customs and border protection officers at Midway Airport and 16 others were charged in a federal complaint unsealed Tuesday with being part of a drug ring that smuggled millions of dollars in heroin, cocaine and marijuana from Mexico to American cities."

Marijuana 'petition' actually voter registration form (Oct. 20, 2004)
"Students, who last month signed a petition that was being circulated on the Blue Bell campus to legalize marijuana for primarily medicinal purposes, now are finding out that they are registered Republicans."

Screening of Protesters Unconstitutional, Court Rules (Oct. 20, 2004)
"'We cannot simply suspend or restrict civil liberties until the War on Terror is over, because the War on Terror is unlikely ever to be truly over,' Judge Gerald Tjoflat wrote for the panel. 'Sept. 11, 2001, already a day of immeasurable tragedy, cannot be the day liberty perished in this country.'"

Washington Votes for War in Colombia (Oct. 19, 2004)
"The United States has plowed $3.3 billion in mostly military aid into Colombia since 'Plan Colombia' was passed in 2000--making it the third-greatest recipient of Washington's largesse after Israel and Egypt. Since 9/11 the focus of Plan Colombia has quietly shifted from a counternarcotics campaign to a crusade against 'terrorism.' And now the number of US forces on the ground is set to double."

'Prince Of Pot' Gets Out Of Jail (Oct. 19, 2004)
"Released on Monday after 61 days behind bars, marijuana activist and entrepreneur Marc Emery knelt in the Saskatoon snow and kissed the cannabis-leaf flag his supporters have flown across from the courthouse since Day 1."

Run Ricky Run Football- Pot and Pain (Oct. 19, 2004)
"Williams won't be playing in 2004. In late July he made two related statements: that he was retiring from football, and that he found marijuana to be '10 times more helpful than Paxil' as a confidence builder. (Glaxo promptly purged him from the Paxil website.)"

Financial Torture (Asset Forfeiture) (Oct. 19, 2004)
"The forfeiture laws enacted by Congress allow the government to seize and claim property used to facilitate a federal crime. Forfeiture claims usually -but not always- accompany criminal cases....The forfeiture move against Marino and his landlord has sent a shiver of fear through the medical marijuana community, especially growers and distributors with assets the government might covet."

Report: Jeb Bush Ignored Felon List Advice (Oct. 18, 2004)
These are the people who are controlling access to the polls, and offering us our choices in mainstream candidates. They still cheat even though they control the two main parties. How scary can it get, and how much more obvious is the outright organized criminal nature of these people like Jeb Bush and crew going to be before the sheeple stop voting these maniacs and repressive warmongering greedheads into power?

A Son's Death, a Mother's Unanswered Questions (Oct. 18, 2004)
Judge Judith Retchin, who sentenced this first-time offender and quadriplegic to a jail sentence resulting in his death, is a prime example of how despicable, of how truely bent most idealistic prohibitionists are. Judge Retchin went so far as to demand Magbie show up in her court even after Magbie's lawyer explained that Magbie been hospitalized earlier that week for pneumonia. Judge Retchin threatened to issue a bench warrant for Magbie's arrest if he did not appear before her. Perverted and evil are adjectives which barely begin to cover this sort of insanity.

The making of the terror myth (Oct. 18, 2004)
"Since September 11 Britain has been warned of the 'inevitability' of catastrophic terrorist attack. But has the danger been exaggerated? A major new TV documentary claims that the perceived threat is a politically driven fantasy - and al-Qaida a dark illusion. Andy Beckett reports."

Broad Use of Harsh Tactics Is Described at Cuba Base (Oct. 18, 2004- Free NYTimes registration required)
Torture is just fine, so long as it's US thugs doing the torture. Anyone who has been arrested for any drug offenses in the US knows how awful and meanspirited cops can be towards druggies. Those caught up in the currentanti-terrorism campaign are experiencing time-honored tradition, as well as practices honed during the War on Some Drugs and Users.

Pfizer Warns of Risks From Its Painkiller (Oct. 16, 2004-Free NYTimes registration required)
"Pfizer said a clinical study involving more than 1,500 patients showed that those who had undergone bypass surgery and had taken Bextra intravenously and orally were at higher risk for heart attacks. An initial study last year raised similar concerns in the same kinds of patients."

California marijuana law leaves state dazed and confused (Oct. 16, 2004)
"Enforcement of California's first-in-the nation medical marijuana law is all over the map - literally. A patient in one place may be arrested next door. In Berkeley, for instance, a doctor's note lets you carry 2 1/2 pounds of marijuana. Drive to neighboring Emeryville, however, and you could be called a dealer."

Political Dirty Work: Medical Marijuana (Oct. 16, 2004)
"Given the Bush presidency's horrid record of lying about everything from preemptive war to domestic issues such as the environment, health care and education, it should come as no surprise that they're at it again. This time, it's to interfere in Montana's election on medical marijuana, I-148."

Needles in the 'New Normal' (Oct. 15, 2004)
"With a War on Terror -- or even a War on Terrorism -- raging, who has time to worry about dirty needles, heroin or the spread of AIDS?"

Ex-drug addict urges recovery stories (Oct. 15, 2004)
"Nurses and other professionals who have battled drug and alcohol problems – or who have helped others overcome them – need to share their stories about recovery with community leaders around the country to help remove the stigma of addiction."

Bufford says war on drugs costly failure; money better spent improving valley life (Oct. 15, 2004)
"In the history of America's love-hate relationship with marijuana, George Washington grew hemp on his plantation. Now there's a bong salesman running for Congress."

Official: War on Drugs at 'Tipping Point' (Oct. 15, 2004)
"Amid record seizures of cocaine and massive spraying of coca plantations, a senior U.S. official says the 'tipping point' in the war on drugs has finally been reached. But skeptics are unconvinced and say the war remains unwinnable."

War On Drugs Includes Fighting Medical Marijuana (Oct. 15, 2004)
"Oregon, Montana, Alaska Consider Some Legalization For Pot."

Syracuse city lawmakers consider new strategies for war on drugs (Oct. 15, 2004)
"'It's become increasingly apparent to a lot of different people that the war on drugs is not working,' said Stephanie Miner, chairwoman of the Syracuse Common Council's finance committee."

Drug debate gets heated (Oct. 15, 2004)
Arch prohbitionist Rep. Mark Souder (R-Indiana), meets with other prohibitionists, each one clamoring to increase the War on Some Drugs and Users, each one trying to out-harsh, out-mean the others, vying to illustrate publicly just how out of touch and how flat out evil they are.

Culkin Pleads Not Guilty on Drug Charges (Oct. 15, 2004)
"Former child star Macaulay Culkin pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Oklahoma City to charges of possession of marijuana and prescription anxiety pills."

Battling the war on drugs (Oct. 14, 2004)
"Colorado Sheriff Bill Masters is on a crusade. Of course, he does his job working to protect the citizens of his county and arresting the bad guys there. But his greatest passion is reserved for righting what he sees as a truly great wrong, and that wrong is the so-called War on Drugs."

Your bong: Basis of 'narco-terrorism'? (Oct. 14, 2004)
"Two cheers for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), whose latest public relations effort usefully reminds us that propaganda is not simply intellectually dishonest. It's also morally repulsive. Even critical news accounts of the DEA's traveling exhibit, 'Target America: Drug Traffickers, Terrorists, and You' don't quite convey the truly repugnant nature of this taxpayer- and government-contractor-funded display of drug war hysteria."

Initiative saving lives -- and money (Oct. 14, 2004)
"Proposition 36 has helped reclaim the lives of tens of thousands of other Californians with substance-abuse problems -- nearly 50 percent of whom are receiving it for the first time, according to a major UCLA study of the impact of Proposition 36."

North To Alaska! (Oct. 14, 2004)
"If a new ballot initiative succeeds, Alaska will become the only state where it's legal to smoke, buy and sell pot."

All Tripped Up (Oct. 14, 2004)
Joel Miller's first book, Bad Trip: How the War Against Drugs is Destroying America (WND Books), is a devastating examination of government anti-drug policies. Publishers Weekly calls the book a 'well-researched, bitingly written account,' and 'a formidable challenge to the reigning prohibitionist orthodoxy.'"

Drugs "to be Legal in 20 Years" (Oct. 14, 2004)
"The report, launched at the House of Commons and with the backing of several Labour MPs, calls for a root-and-branch reform of drugs policy. It said the war on drugs had been lost, keeping them illegal promoted crime, cost £16billion to enforce and helped spread Aids and ill-health."

Drug czar defends administration meth policy in Alabama visit (Oct. 14, 2004)
"Responding to criticism earlier this week from Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards, Walters said the government was trying to both clamp down on the availability of meth ingredients from manufacturers and to encourage states to limit retail access to common cold remedies that are used to make meth."

FDA OKs Implantable Info Chip (Oct. 13, 2004)
Flash your chip, and your info is brought up on the computer. How nice, how pat, how neat and tidy. Scary as hell too, but hey, don't worry, it's the convenience that matters, right? It's only for easy access to medical records after all. It wouldn't ever be used for anything else, right? No national id systems using these things would ever be implimented or their use in correctional supervision either of course.

Plenty of Cause to Abandon Bush (Oct. 13, 2004)
"But the concerns for many conservative voters - concerns that may cause them not to vote for Mr. Bush on Nov. 2 - fall generally into three categories: fiscal, physical (as in the physical security of our nation) and freedom (as in protecting our civil liberties)," writes former Representative Bob Barr. For this maniac to be discussing civil liberties as something just now endangered, after his years long rabid and capricious support of the most un-civil War on Some Drugs and Users, this man is a hypocrite almost without peer. Still, for this bozo to be opposing Bush now hopefully doesn't bode well for the ultra-maniacs holding power today.

Under Cheney, Halliburton Helped Saddam Hussein Siphon Billions from UN Oil-for-Food Program (Oct. 12, 2004)
The lies and profiteering, the killing and the outright evil on the part of Dic Cheney and GW Bush and friends is so obvious, so utterly Orwellian in its presentaion to the world at large, it is extremely difficult for me to understand how anyone could possibly still support these hypocritical, lying maniacs.

Questions on the $3.8 Billion Drug Ad Business (Oct. 12, 2004- Free NYTimes registration required)
"In the seven years since the F.D.A. lifted longstanding strictures against such ads, prescription drug advertising has grown into a $3.8-billion-a-year business. And the F.D.A. says that, despite the controversy accompanying the withdrawal of Vioxx, it has no plans to place new curbs on such ads."

Edwards Unveils Plan to Fight Methamphetamine Abuse (Oct. 12, 2004)
John Edwards is calling for a "new" war on methamphetamines. I wonder what JFK would have thought of war being declared on a drug he used in large amounts, or what US fighter pilots think of civilians being locked up for using the very same drugs they are using while flying death machines around war zones.

Former Astro Ken Caminiti dead at 41 of apparent heart attack (Oct. 12, 2004)
"In recent years, Caminiti, had been beset by legal and drug problems."

Follow the Money (Oct. 11, 2004)
"All that changed in early 1988, when John Kerry, then a young senator from Massachusetts, decided to probe the finances of Latin American drug cartels. Over the next three years, Kerry fought against intense opposition from vested interests at home and abroad, from senior members of his own party; and from the Reagan and Bush administrations, none of whom were eager to see him succeed." Current President Bush himself did business with BCCI-affiliated institutions while head of Harken Energy, BCCI being the "mother and father of terrorist financing operations."

John Lennon, Drug Inquiry 1969 (Oct. 10, 2004)
"I mean, I got -- the drug propaganda handed 'round is the American police propaganda saying, 'Marijuana the killer sex drug', and that was -- everybody's theme dropped that poster, and it's a laugh, you know, and that's the attitude taken to any propaganda coming down about speed, H, and all the sleepers and the bombers and the rest of that stuff. Nobody believes it. I certainly didn't. I had to find out, and some people can't -- some people cannot...." Lennon would have been 64 yesterday, so in celebration of the day, read what he had to say about drugs and maniacs and blue meanies waging war upon them.

Montel's Five Minutes (Oct. 9, 2004)
"I have taken Percocet, Vicodin, OxyContin, and a morphine drip, risking overdose to subdue the pain. Instead, I became spacey and dull. I could not function. Something had to give. Something did. I discovered medical marijuana, which is illegal everywhere in the country according to federal law, even though eight states have laws in effect that allow patients to use it without fear of arrest."

Protests Rise over Award as Thai Prime Minister Prepares for New Round of Drug War (Oct. 8, 2004)
"Last year, Thaksin presided over a murderous four-month campaign to suppress drug use in Thailand, resulting in the killings of at least 2,275 drug suspects, according to human rights observers. While official ire was directed at drug traffickers, drug users have been among the victims."

Drug Policy and the Presidential Election -- Introduction (Oct. 8, 2004)
"Drug War Chronicle this week runs a feature overview of drug policy and the presidential election campaigns."

Editorial: A Tragedy in the Capital (Oct. 8, 2004)
"It is too late to save Jonathan Magbie -- the decision-makers who needed to do that didn't try hard enough. But this sad episode must not be allowed to go gently into the night. Magbie and his family deserve a full accounting, and a reflection on the sad state of criminal justice in this country is long overdue. Let it start here."

Area activists arrested in D.C. (Oct. 8, 2004)
"Four Bay Area activists were among more than a dozen arrested Tuesday for civil disobedience on the steps of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., as they protested federal marijuana policy."

Outside interests finance local pro-marijuana effort (Oct. 7, 2004)
"A group working to decriminalize marijuana in Alaska has been bankrolled by an Outside organization to the tune of half a million dollars, making it one of the best-funded ballot issue groups in state history, according to reports filed with the Alaska Public Offices Commission."

US set to aid Brazil drug shootdown plan-officials (Oct. 7, 2004)
"Washington is likely to help Brazil in its plan to shoot down planes suspected of smuggling drugs after determining it has enough safeguards to prevent accidental killings, senior U.S. officials said on Wednesday." Talk about terrorism, this is one more murderous form of it.

Are Anti-Drug Ads a Big Waste? (Oct. 6, 2004)
"It sounds like a public-service 'slam dunk' in current Beltway-speak, but the General Accounting Office and Congress are studying whether any link can be made between the ads and declining drug use. So far, the only study that tried to assess this found no connection and concluded that the campaign may actually backfire: The more ads some kids see, the more likely they are to try pot."

The Only Woman Candidate in the Election Denounces the Persistence of Discrimination against Women (Oct. 6, 2004)
"'I am sure that - the President - Karzai could have done a great many things for us, but he hasn't,' adds Mrs. Surosh. Shaina, who manages the Committee's leSgal department, asserts, without any illusions: 'The main problem is that men don't understand they don't have the right to kill their wife or their sisters. They first have to accept that women have rights,' she says."

Lead Levels in Water Misrepresented Across U.S. (Oct. 6, 2004)
Were these facilities lying about the trace amounts of THC in the various cities' water supplies they provide, there would have been numerous arrests already- but lead isn't such a big concern to the feds it appears.

Red Mitsubishi tablet claims life of teenager (Oct. 6, 2004)
Be careful folks, there are very real dangers to using any illegal drug today (not to mention legal ones), as there are serious quality issues besides the basic law enforcement complications. "The so-called 'red Mistubishi' pills emerged after a series of overdoses in Sydney and one death in Adelaide. Several Sydney users had been hospitalised after apparently taking the drug in recent weeks."

High-court sentencing showdown (Oct. 5, 2004)
"Two drug dealers - one from Wisconsin and one from Maine - are at the center of a legal dispute that has brought the federal criminal justice system to a near standstill...The central question is whether the federal sentencing guidelines impermissibly empower judges to perform a function the Constitution reserves for jurors. How the high court answers that question will have implications not only for how federal sentences are meted out, but also for how indictments are written, trials conducted, and plea bargains negotiated."

Medical pot limit weighed (Oct. 5, 2004)
"The Board of Supervisors will consider a proposed ordinance Tuesday that would allow patients to keep 3 pounds of pot on hand, and even more if a doctor recommends it."

New Initiative Planned to Get Marijuana Curbs Eased (Oct. 5, 2004)
"Americans for Safe Access, a Berkeley, Calif., coalition of patients and doctors wanting easier access to pot for research and patient use, plans to file a petition with the Department of Health and Human Services charging the agency with spreading inaccurate information about the drug's medical value."

Why Bush Left Texas (Oct. 5, 2004)
Allison said that the younger Bush's drinking problem was apparent. She also said that her husband, a circumspect man who did not gossip and held his cards closely, indicated to her that some use of drugs was involved. "I had the impression that he knew that Georgie was using pot, certainly, and perhaps cocaine," she said.

Election a 'win-win situation' for secretive Bonesmen (Oct. 1, 2004)
"Both major presidential candidates are members of a small secret society at Yale University - the Order of Skull & Bones. On different Sunday mornings, 'Meet the Press' anchor Tim Russert asked George Walker Bush and John Forbes Kerry if they could talk about their memberships in this 172-year-old clandestine club. Tossed off with nervous laughter, their answers were, 'It's so secret that I can't talk about it," and, "Not much, because it's a secret.'"