NEWSBRIEFS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
June 1993
x
MANDATORY MINIMUMS
Attorney General Reno Questions Mandatory Minimums for Minor Drug Crimes
Mandatory Minimums Virtually Ignored Except in Drug and Weapons Cases
MARIJUANA AND MEDICAL MARIJUANA
"Marijuana As Medicine" Video Available
Canadian Legislator Backs Pot Legalization as Others Admit Use
Evidence of Ancient Medicinal Use of Marijuana Reported in
Nature
Small Oklahoma University Hosts Forum on Recreational Marijuana
Israel Zion Coptic Church Raises Defense of the Establishment Clause in Wisconsin Marijuana Cultivation Case
California Assembly Rejects 'Smoke A Joint, Lose Your License' Bill
COCA AND COCAINE
Bolivian Health Minister Vows to Press Legalization of Coca
Inner-City Use of Crack Cocaine Declining, Surveys Suggest
Disparate Sentencing for Powder, Crack Cocaine Racist, Many Contend
Ventura County, Calif. Drug Abusers Who Get Caught Are White, Prefer Cocaine
11,000 Pounds of Cocaine Seized in Second Largest Maritime Bust
HEROIN
Half the Heroin Seized in South Florida Smuggled by Poor in Their Stomachs
DAWN Heroin-Related Hospital Emergencies Continue Sharp Rise in Third Quarter
URINE TESTING
Medical Review Officers Warned Not to Report Positive for Those Legally Prescribed THC
CORRUPTION IN LAW ENFORCEMENT
New York Commission Targets Corrupt DEA Task Force
Jailed Federal Judge Bribed by Drug Dealer Faces Impeachment
PRISONS, CORRECTIONS AND DEATH PENALTY
Atlanta-Area Police Theft Ring Recruited Officers by Promising to Rob Drug Dealers, Participant Says
Two District of Columbia Police Officers Arrested in Crack Sale
Former Winston-Salem Police Officer Convicted on Cocaine Charges
Two Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputies Charged for Selling Inmates Drugs
Miami Money Launderer Lives Good Life After Deal With U.S. Attorney
Rise in Drug Inmates Boosted 1992 U.S. Prison Population to New High
State by State, Prison Crowding Spurred by Mandatory Drug Sentences Becomes National Issue
Executing Felons More Costly Than Imprisonment, Study Shows
THE COURTS and "DRUG COURTS"
High Court Invalidates Ringleader's Challenge of Illegal Stop of Courier
Federal Judge Halts Random Searches of Chemical Company Customers by DEA
California Municipalities Move Towards Treatment-Based Drug Courts
New York's Top Court Says Treatment Programs May Not Exclude Pregnant Women
FORFEITURE
Conservative Rep. Henry Hyde Introduces Civil Forfeiture Reform Bill
Some Former Justice Department Officials, Federal Prosecutors Warn of Forfeiture Abuses
Asset Forfeiture Reform Bill Progresses in California Assembly
WAR ON DRUGS
Rumor That New York Journalist's Killing Tied to Colombian Cocaine Cartels
City Barricades Streets to Stop Drug Selling
Paralyzed Woman Being Evicted From Apartment for Marijuana Possession
North Carolina Police Twice Raid Wrong Homes
FBI Sting Nets 13 in Money Laundering Crackdown
DARE
University of Wisconsin Study Questions DARE Effectiveness
Most Antidrug Programs Ineffective but Costly, Analysis Shows
WASHINGTON WAYS
Rev. Jesse Jackson Defends Bush-Era Interdiction Program at Drug Policy Summit
GOP Threats Against Judges Laughable, Judicial Observers Say
AIDS AND NEEDLE EXCHANGE
Burma's Ban on Condoms, Current Needle Ban, Pushed Up HIV Infection Rate
INTERNATIONAL
Leading Mafia Fugitive Captured in Sicily
Italian Voters Decriminalize Virtually All Drug Possession
Mexican Cardinal Killed in Shootout by Traffickers at Guadalajara Airport
Top Drug Cartels Penetrating Mexican Government, Judiciary at All Levels
Mexican Police Kill Top Cocaine Trafficker
Colombian Officials Continue Battling Poppy Farmers in Mountains
Chinese Fight Growing Addiction With Draconian Penalties
Taiwan Broadens Application of Death Penalty Following Record Heroin Seizure
Pakistani Tribal Leaders Criticize West as Hypocritical for Opposing Opium
One-Ton Cocaine Shipment in Russia Reflects New Colombian Link, Officials Say
Dozens Beheaded as Saudis Unsuccessfully Try to Stem Drug Traffic
VIEWS
New York Times
Editor A.M. Rosenthal Terrified by End of Drug War
New York Post
Columnist: Call Drug War by True Name -- Prohibition
Analyst Says Clinton Must Reinvent U.S. Drug Policy, Eliminating Supply Side Strategies
The Economist:
'Bring Drugs Within the Law'
RAND's Reuter Warns That Government Must Focus on Reducing Harm, Not Reducing Total Numbers of Drug Users
Nashville Tennessean
Columnist: Pot Could Be Great Source of Tax Revenue
Raleigh-Durham Newspaper Endorses Marijuana Legalization
Former Addict: Other Former Addicts Must Join Drug Debate to Ensure Justice
Chapel Hill News
: Drug War Driving Police to Act Like 'Storm Troopers'
MEDIA NOTES
San Francisco's Big Newspapers Highlight Declarations of Drug War Failure
Front-Page Feature in
Philadelphia Daily News
Terms Drug War a 'Bust'
Airman
Magazine Glorifies War on Drugs
INHALANTS
Highly Toxic, Glue and Other Inhalants Are Drugs of Choice From Guatemala to Japan