Drug War Chronicle, Issue #543 -(urls + editorial)- 7/18/08

A Publication of StoptheDrugWar.org
David Borden, Executive Director,
http://stopthedrugwar.org/user/borden
"News and Activism Supporting Sensible Reform"

Students: Intern at StoptheDrugWar.org to stop the drug war now!
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/543/drcnet_internships_to_stop_the_drug_war

Drug War Chronicle Seeking Cases of Informant Abuse
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/543/help_us_find_botched_drug_war_informant_cases

Table of Contents:

1. FEATURE: BEYOND 2008 -- GLOBAL CIVIL SOCIETY TELLS THE UN
IT'S TIME TO FIX INTERNATIONAL DRUG POLICY
Meeting in Vienna last week, representatives of more than 300
non-governmental organizations concerned with various aspects of
drug policy crafted a consensus document calling for a
fundamental shift in global drug control.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/543/beyond_2008_ngos_united_nations_drug_resolution

2. CHRONICLE BOOK REVIEW: "DYING TO GET HIGH: MARIJUANA AS
MEDICINE," BY WENDY CHAPKIS AND RICHARD J. WEBB (2008, NYU
PRESS, 244 PP., $22.00 PB)
Two sociologists take on medical marijuana and Santa Cruz's
Wo/Men's Access to Medical Marijuana (WAMM) collective. We
review their efforts and find them worthy.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/543/book_review_dying_to_get_high_chapkis_webb

3. MEDIA: DAVID BORDEN IN TELEVISED DRUG LEGALIZATION DEBATE
StoptheDrugWar.org's executive director recently did a 25-minute
debate on drug legalization on a network that airs across Europe
and the Middle East. Video is online here.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/543/televised_drug_legalization_debate

4. STUDENTS: INTERN AT DRCNET AND HELP STOP THE DRUG WAR!
Apply for an internship at DRCNet for this fall (or spring), and
you could spend the semester fighting the good fight!
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/543/drcnet_internships_to_stop_the_drug_war

5. LAW ENFORCEMENT: THIS WEEK'S CORRUPT COPS STORIES
A North Texas officer snitches for the Zetas, a Louisiana cop
gets a package of pot from Mexico, a New Jersey Transit cop gets
popped with pounds of pot, a Mississippi cop gets nailed for
stealing from the dope fund, and an Ohio narc goes to prison for
stealing cocaine.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/543/police_drug_corruption

6. MEDICAL MARIJUANA: SEATTLE POLICE SEIZE HUNDREDS OF PATIENT
FILES IN RAID ON CO-OP
Washington has a medical marijuana law and Seattle has a lowest
law enforcement priority ordinance, but that didn't stop Seattle
cops from seizing hundreds of patient files from a Seattle
co-op.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/543/seattle_police_seize_medical_marijuana_patient_files

7. SEARCH AND SEIZURE: STRIP SEARCH OF SCHOOL GIRL FOR IBUPROFEN
WENT TOO FAR, FEDERAL APPEALS COURT SAYS
You can't strip search a school girl to see if she's carrying a
low-grade pain reliever, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals has
ruled. The only shocking thing about this verdict is that five
out 11 of the justices disagreed.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/543/ninth_circuit_school_cannot_strip_search_student_ibuprofen

8. EUROPE: BATTLE OF THE SWISS DRUG REFERENDA
Voters in Switzerland will have a clear choice on drug policy as
they go to the polls November 30.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/543/swiss_drug_referenda

9. EUROPE: AUSTRIAN PARLIAMENT OKAYS MEDICAL MARIJUANA, BUT ONLY
STATE AGENCY CAN GROW IT
Austria's parliament has taken a first step toward making
medical marijuana available. A bill it approved allows a state
agency to grow it.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/543/austria_parliament_bill_medical_marijuana

10. EUROPE: RASTAFARIANS CAN SMOKE MARIJUANA, ITALIAN COURT
RULES
Italy's highest court has recognized the religious use of
marijuana in a case involving an Italian Rastafarian.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/543/italian_court_rastafarians_marijuana

11. DEATH PENALTY: INDONESIA GIVES GO-AHEAD FOR MORE EXECUTIONS
Indonesia had not executed anyone for four years as its high
court considered a constitutional challenge to the death penalty
for drug offenders. But the challenge is over, the death penalty
remains, the executions have started again, and there are more
on tap.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/543/indonesia_resumes_death_penalty_drug_offenders

12. EUROPE: SELLING GROW EQUIPMENT NOT A CRIME, BRITISH APPEALS
COURT RULES
Selling equipment used to grow marijuana is not in itself a
crime, a British appeals court has ruled.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/543/selling_marijuana_grow_equipment_no_crime_british_court

13. WEEKLY: THIS WEEK IN HISTORY
Events and quotes of note from this week's drug policy events of
years past.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/543/drug_war_history

14. JOB OPPORTUNITIES: TWO FULL-TIME JOBS, A FELLOWSHIP, AND AN
INTERNSHIP, MARIJUANA POLICY PROJECT, DC
The Marijuana Policy Project has openings for an Office
Administrator/Bookkeeper, a Director of State Policies, a
Membership and Events Fellow, and a State Policies Intern in
their headquarters in Washington, DC.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/543/MPP_jobs_fellowship_and_internship

15. JOB OPPORTUNITY: OUTREACH DIRECTOR, STUDENTS FOR SENSIBLE
DRUG POLICY, DC OR SAN FRANCISCO
Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) is seeking a highly
motivated, well-organized Outreach Director for its Washington,
DC or San Francisco office to assist with strengthening the
student movement to end the failed War on Drugs.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/543/SSDP_outreach_director_job_opportunity

16. JOB OPPORTUNITY: MEDIA RELATIONS DIRECTOR, FAMILIES AGAINST
MANDATORY MINIMUMS (FAMM), WASHINGTON, DC
Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) seeks a Media
Relations Director to prepare and disseminate information on
FAMM's federal and state campaigns through newspapers,
periodicals, television and radio and other forms of media.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/543/FAMM_media_relations_director_job_opportunity

17. WEEKLY: BLOGGING @ THE SPEAKEASY
"Drug Testing Advocate Gets Busted For Drugs," "U.S. Drug
Warriors Interfere With Vienna Drug Policy Summit," "Former
Staffer Accuses Drug Czar's Office of Faking Statistics,"
"Opponents of Marijuana Reform Can't Keep Their Story Straight,"
"The Link Between Sagging Pants Laws and the Drug War,"
"Prosecutors Spend Confiscated Drug Money on Margarita Machine,
Win 'Best Margarita' at County Fair," "Save the Children,
Legalize Drugs," "How Many Patients You Say??... Well Here Are
Their Names, Addresses, and Card Numbers."
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/543/blogging_at_the_speakeasy

18. HELP NEEDED: DRUG WAR CHRONICLE SEEKING CASES OF INFORMANT
ABUSE
Drug War Chronicle is seeking information on serious police
misconduct or misjudgments in the treatment of informants.
Confidentiality will be protected.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/543/help_us_find_botched_drug_war_informant_cases

19. FEEDBACK: DO YOU READ DRUG WAR CHRONICLE?
Do you read Drug War Chronicle? If so, we need your feedback to
evaluate our work and make the case for Drug War Chronicle to
funders. We need donations too.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/543/do_you_read_drug_war_chronicle

20. WEBMASTERS: HELP THE MOVEMENT BY RUNNING DRCNET SYNDICATION
FEEDS ON YOUR WEB SITE!
Support the cause by featuring automatically-updating Drug War
Chronicle and other DRCNet content links on your web site!
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/543/drug_policy_content_syndication_feeds_now_available

21. RESOURCE: DRCNET WEB SITE OFFERS WIDE ARRAY OF RSS FEEDS FOR
YOUR READER
A new way for you to receive DRCNet articles -- Drug War
Chronicle and more -- is now available.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/543/drug_policy_RSS_feeds_now_available

22. RESOURCE: REFORMER'S CALENDAR ACCESSIBLE THROUGH DRCNET WEB
SITE
Visit our new web site each day to see a running countdown to
the events coming up the soonest, and more.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/543/drug_reform_calendar

(Not subscribed? Visit http://stopthedrugwar.org to sign up
today!)

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

1. Feature: Beyond 2008 -- Global Civil Society Tells the UN
It's Time to Fix International Drug Policy
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/543/beyond_2008_ngos_united_nations_drug_resolution

Last week, some 300 delegates representing organizations from
across the drug policy spectrum met in Vienna for the Beyond
2008 NGO Forum
(http://www.vngoc.org/details.php?id_cat=8&id_cnt=56), an effort
to provide civil society input on global drug policy. Building
on a series of regional meetings last year, the forum was part
of an ongoing campaign to reshape the United Nations' drug
policy agenda as the world organization grapples with its next
10-year plan.

In 1998, the UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on
drugs issued a declaration outlining its 10-year strategy to
"eliminate or significantly reduce" the cultivation of
marijuana, coca, and opium poppies. "A drug-free world -- we can
do it!" was the motto adopted by UNGASS a decade ago. Now, with
the 10-year review bumped back to next March, it is clear that
the global anti-drug bureaucracy cannot claim to have achieved
its goals, and civil society is taking the opportunity to
intervene in search of a new, more pragmatic and humane
direction in global drug policy.

The NGO meeting, which included drug treatment, prevention,
education, and policy reform groups, harm reduction groups, and
human rights groups from around the world, resulted in a
resolution that will be presented to the UN Commission on
Narcotic Drugs (CND) at its meeting next March. At that meeting,
the CND will draft the next UN 10-year global drug strategy.

Of the nine regions of the world, only North America sent two
delegations. The first, which had met in St. Petersburg,
Florida, in January, deliberately excluding harm reduction and
drug reform groups, was the "official" delegation, representing
hard-line prohibitionist organizations aligned with the Office
of National Drug Control Policy, such as the Drug-Free America
Foundation and the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America
(CADCA), the California Narcotics Officers Association, and the
National Association of Drug Court Professionals.

The second North American grouping, which had held its regional
meeting in Vancouver in February
(http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/522/vancouver_forum_UN_vienna_ngo_committee),
included dozens of organizations in drug reform and harm
reduction, as well as treatment, prevention, and rehabilitation
groups. Among the organizations from the Vancouver meeting that
went to Vienna were the ACLU Drug Law Policy Project, Students
for Sensible Drug Policy, Virginians Against Drug Violence, Law
Enforcement Against Prohibition, the Harm Reduction Coalition,
Break The Chains, and the Institute for Policy Studies.

In many ways, the three-day meeting in Vienna was a debate among
North Americans, with the NGOs of the other eight regions having
largely agreed on a reformist and harm reduction approach. And
strikingly, for the first time at a UN event, the
prohibitionists found themselves in a distinct minority.

After three days of sometimes heated discussion, the unanimous
declaration of the NGOs at Beyond 2008 called for:

* Recognition of "the human rights abuses against people who
use drugs";

* "Evidence-based" drug policy focused on "mitigation of
short-term and long-term harms" and "full respect for human
rights and fundamental freedoms";

* The UN to report on the collateral consequences of the
current criminal justice-based approach to drugs and to provide
an "analysis of the unintended consequences of the drug control
system";

* Comprehensive "reviews of the application of criminal
sanctions as a drug control measure";

* Recognition of harm reduction as a necessary and worthwhile
response to drug abuse;

* A shift in primary emphasis from interdiction to treatment
and prevention;

* Alternatives to incarceration;

* The provision of development aid to farmers before
eradication of coca or opium crops;

* Acknowledging that young people represent a significant
proportion of drug users worldwide, are disproportionately
affected by drugs and drug policy, and should be actively
involved in the setting of global drug policy.

"We achieved a set of declarations of what the people of the
world think drug policy ought to look like," said Graham Boyd of
the ACLU Drug Law Policy Project. "We reached a consensus on a
set of policies that is really different from what we've seen so
far. It's a shift away from interdiction, arrests, and
imprisonment, and toward including concepts like human rights
and harm reduction."

"We hammered out a pretty amazing set of suggestions as to where
the UNODC and CND should go in the next decade," said Jack Cole,
executive director of LEAP. "I thought it was wonderful. This is
a consensus document," Cole noted. "While that means anything
that everybody couldn't agree on didn't get in, it also means
that every single person there agreed with what did get in.
That's why I'm so pleased with this. At the end, we were able to
agree on some really, really good things."

"I think we accomplished a lot," said Lennice Werth of
Virginians Against Drug Violence. "What was really important was
where the rest of the world stood, and it was clear from the
regional meetings that everyone else mentioned harm reduction
and the decriminalization of drug use as goals. By the end of
the meetings, the whole world was sitting back and watching as
two US factions slugged it out. It became evident that the whole
world is seeing the light except for these hard-liners in the
States."

"This was a really good reality check for the US
prohibitionists," said Sanho Tree of the Institute for Policy
Studies. "They've never been forced to sit in a room with so
many people who have evolved so far beyond them. A real wake-up
call. And we even got some of them to engage us, and found we
had a lot in common. That leaves the hardliners way out in the
cold."

"The NGO community is united in insisting that the UN and member
states respect the human rights of people who use drugs, and
that all drug strategies must be drafted in the spirit of human
rights declarations," said Kris Krane, executive director of
SSDP. "If adopted by the United Nations, this could have a
profound impact in many parts of the world where drug users are
routinely treated as subhuman, and subjected to treatment that
would be unthinkable even in the context of repressive United
States drug policy."

"We achieved some important gains," said Frederick Polak,
speaking as a member of ENCOD, the European Coalition for Just
and Effective Drug Policies. "But the central issue for ENCOD
and its 150 organizations is to get alternative drug control
policies on the agenda of CND and of individual countries. It is
no longer acceptable that alternative policies are simply not
discussed by governments, and not at the UN, at least not at the
level of policymakers."

In that regard, said Polak, Beyond 2008 did not go far enough.
"We made very little progress on actually getting legalization
and regulation on the agenda, and only in the sense that most
people are aware now that the issue 'hangs in the air' in
Vienna," he said.

The haggling between the prohibitionist fringe and the rest of
the NGOs not only prevented the adoption of more overtly
anti-prohibitionist language, Polak said, it also prevented
discussion of additional proposals for alternative drug control
policies, including one advanced by ENCOD.

But it is a ways from passing a civil society resolution to
seeing it adopted by the global anti-drug bureacracy. Now that
Beyond 2008 has crafted its resolutions, the goal is to see that
it has some impact on the deliberations of the UN drug bodies
next year. That involves not only showing up in Vienna, but also
impressing upon national governments that they need to heed what
civil society is telling them.

"This was the first quarter in a game that has three quarters
left," said Boyd. "But we did well in the sense that until this
conference, NGOs didn't really have a place at the table when it
came to discussing international drug policy. What this means is
that when the nations convene and reassess international drug
policy in coming months, they will know that NGOs from all of
their countries have really called on them to reassess the
direction they're going," he continued.

"This is going to provide traction for reform of the
international drug control system, and the fact that it was a
consensus document make it even more powerful," said Tree. "The
prohibitionists were so marginalized, they had to consent. Some
even opened their ears and listened. We have opened the door for
drug policy approaches like harm reduction, public health,
regulation, and ending the folly of blaming other countries for
our demand."

"Now we need to make sure our voices are heard," said Boyd.
"Part of that is just showing up in Vienna, but part of that is
speaking to our national government representatives and making
sure they're really representing us. In our case, our national
government hasn't shown much empathy for the positions we've
taken, but we're a democratic society, so I hope they will
include our views."

Reformers must also continue to make the case against drug
prohibition, said ENCOD's Polak. "The theory of prohibition is
that it will diminish drug production, supply and use. Yet in
reality it has achieved the exact opposite, and has additionally
created violence, corruption and chaos that is now destroying
millions of lives. It's safe to say that prohibition theory has
been proven false," he said.

"In any other field of policy, alternative methods would be
explored, but in international drug policy, consideration of
alternative policies is taboo," Polak continued. "With this
argument, drug policy activists should try to convince public
opinion and politicians in their country that there is an urgent
need for a thorough and rational study of alternative drug
control policies."

"This could be an exercise in futility," said Werth,
acknowledging the slow pace of change at the UN and the
uncertainty over whether change will occur at all. "But it
doesn't seem like it. The UN moves at a glacial pace, but they
know they didn't achieve a drug-free world, and when they move,
it will undercut the gang in charge of drug policy in this
country."

================
___________________
It's time to correct the mistake:
truth:the Anti-drugwar
<http://www.briancbennett.com>

Cops say legalize drugs--find out why:
<http://www.leap.cc>

Stoners are people too:
<http://www.cannabisconsumers.org>
___________________

later
bliss -- C O C O A Powered... (at california dot com)

--
bobbie sellers - a retired nurse in San Francisco

"It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the beans of cocoa that the thoughts acquire speed,
the thighs acquire girth, the girth become a warning.
It is by theobromine alone I set my mind in motion."
--from Someone else's Dune spoof ripped to my taste.

date: Fri, 18 Jul 2008 08:27:27 -0700 author: bobbie sellers