tagged w/ Drug War
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Hallucinogenic mushrooms, long valued by Central American cultures for their mystical qualities, may enhance the spirituality of people of faith, according to a new study in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.
Volunteer subjects reported conversing with God, experiencing ''ultimate transcendence'' and being suspended in a ''tactile field of light.''
According to the study, conducted by researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the Council on Spiritual Practices, subjects who took doses of psilocybin, a drug found in hallucinogenic mushrooms, reported sustained spiritual and religious benefits 14 months after ingestion.
Sixty-seven percent of participants rated the experience as one of the five most spiritually significant events in their lives, while 64 percent said it had increased their well-being or life satisfaction.
The 36 volunteers had no previous exposure to hallucinogens, and all identified themselves as regularly engaging in religious or spiritual activities.
Participants came from a mix of predominantly Christian backgrounds. Researchers said the results showed no correlation between an individual's denomination and the drug's spiritual effects.
The report is a follow-up to the group's 2006 study in which volunteers were given a single dose of psilocybin once during a two-month period and asked to rate their experience in a series of questionnaires.
Roland Griffiths of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, who led the study, said researchers are ''just scratching the surface'' of the relationship between spirituality and science. Griffiths cautioned that psilocybin is not tantamount to ''God in a pill.''
''There are some people who say this is the meaning of spirituality or God, and it's not,'' Griffiths said. ''These kinds of observations cannot address the ultimate existential question of the existence of God or the existence of a higher power.''
Psilocybin has been used for centuries by indigenous cultures in North and South America but is illegal in the United States. The federal government classifies the drug as a Schedule 1 substance with no medical value. In recent years, research has been conducted to determine whether doses of psilocybin may have beneficial effects for patients with terminal illnesses or severe addictions.
''There are dangers even in a supervised setting,'' warned David Murray, chief scientist for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. Murray compared taking psilocybin to playing Russian roulette, saying it can cause fear, joy, elation or weeping, depending on the subject's mental state.
''You never know what you're going to get,'' Murray said. ''It's dangerous.''
Some proponents of the drug argue that psilocybin and other psychoactive substances used in religious ceremonies - known as entheogens - produce chemical changes no different from severe illness or prolonged fasting, which have been known to produce spiritual awakenings.
The Rev. Ken Barnes, a California United Church of Christ pastor and former director of the Council on Spiritual Practices, said bans on psychoactive drugs are part of a larger problem.
''I believe that in our secular society, we've moved away from primary religious experiences,'' said Barnes. ''Entheogens can introduce the spirit in a very dramatic way. I see them mainly as inductors into the spiritual world.''
Barnes expressed optimism that psilocybin would someday follow the same path to legalization as peyote, a hallucinogen found in cactus which was legalized for religious use in 1994. Hallucinogenic mushrooms, long valued by Central American cultures for their mystical... more
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WE, THE inhabitants of earth, have reached that stage where we need to redesign and reconsider our lifestyles for further survival on this planet. If we want the generations to look forward to a healthy and green earth, then we really have to change ourselves at the earliest.
No denying the fact that the forest cover of the whole world has drastically depleted over a period of time owing to the human needs and activities. One contributing factor towards this is the paper industry.
I’m putting forward some of the facts regarding paper:
Worldwide more than 300 million metric tons of paper and paperboard is produced every year.
Of the total global wood harvest for industrial use. 42 per cent goes into paper making and it is expected to reach 50 per cent in the next fifty years.
In our country we have about 600 paper mills producing different varieties of paper.
On an average each one of us uses 700 pounds of paper products every year.
For the production of paper special kind of tree plantations are made called as the managed timberlands.
These managed timberlands comprises of the special kind of trees, which are required for the pulp and paper manufacturing like the softwood tress (pine, fir etc). It means the diverse natural forests have been replaced by these managed plantations (like fast growing conifers), which has a direct impact on the biodiversity of the whole forest.
Designing of the managed timberlands for pulp generation means the loss of valuable wildlife habitats, poor soil quality and ecosystem. They have 90 per cent fewer species than the natural forests.
The managed timberlands often use chemical herbicides and pesticides in order to ensure fast production rates, causing acute environmental pollution.
Paper can be made from a variety of other materials like cotton, hemp, grass and even elephant dung but unfortunately in most parts of the world it is made by sacrificing the trees only.
Paper products are the largest ingredients at a waste disposal sites.
Pulp and paper production industry is the third largest producer of air and water pollutants, waste products and the gases responsible for climatic changes (green house gases).
Pulp and paper production is the largest industrial consumer of energy, water and forest resources.
Huge water consumption involved in paper making process can lead to reduced water levels, required for fish and other aquatic flora and fauna along with alterations in the water temperature.
Air discharges of the pulp industry include certain hormone disrupting and carcinogenic chemicals like the polyclinic aromatic hydrocarbons.
About one fifth of the contents of household dustbins consist of paper and card, of which half is newspapers and magazines.
Industrial nations with 20 per cent of the world's population consume 87 per cent of the world's writing and printing papers.WE, THE inhabitants of earth, have reached that stage where we need to redesign and... more
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Congressman Phil Hare, D-Rock Island, will vote in favor of legalizing medical marijuana for the second straight year.
This time, however, he has the support of seven religious leaders in the 17th district. Clergy from the Disciples of Christ and United Church of Christ are standing by Hare in the push to legalize the Schedule I drug.
“Medical marijuana is an issue of mercy and compassion,” said the Rev. William Pyatt, Carthage United Methodist Church, in a news release. “Being seriously ill is stressful enough already without living in fear of arrest for taking doctor-recommended medicine.”
An additional 55 religion leaders throughout Illinois have added their support to the legislation.
Hare agrees that a patient comfort should come first.
“We want to give patients the best quality of life,” Hare said. “As long as it is done within the consultation of a doctor.”
The legislation would prevent the federal government from interfering in state medical marijuana laws. Currently 12 states allow the use of medical marijuana. It is often used for patients with cancer, AIDS and multiple sclerosis.Congressman Phil Hare, D-Rock Island, will vote in favor of legalizing medical... more
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Cannabis suppliers will be easier to track after the compiling of a national genetic database of cannabis samples. The database of 500 plants, seized in drug busts across Australia, culminates 15 years of research by the Australian Federal Police, the Australian National University and the Canberra Institute of Technology.
It could help break organised crime rings and identify legal hemp plantations being used as a cover for the production of drugs.
AFP forensic and data centres national manager James Robertson said he believed the database was the first of its kind in the world.
''In our view, it's the first time that forensic botany's reached this stage from a validation viewpoint,'' Dr Robertson said. ''That's important, because if forensic botany in the future is going to become a more important part of the forensic scene, then we need to produce the sorts of tools that reach the standard.''
Scientists built the database of DNA profiles from plants grown in fields, hydroponic operations and pots. They analysed DNA from root, stem and leaf samples seized in raids around Australia, focusing on 10 characteristics of DNA called short tandem repeat markers. They showed there was enough genetic diversity in Australian cannabis to identify individual plants from the 10 markers.
The results of their work will be published in the July edition of the Journal of Forensic Science.
The ANU school of botany and zoology's Professor Rod Peakall said establishing links between the plants was a complex process. Professor Peakall said the database would become more powerful as samples were added, but the genetic evidence would have to be combined with other evidence to support a conviction.
''DNA evidence never stands alone, but the database is another tool to be used in the legal process,'' Professor Peakall said.
The ANU is looking to set up a new Master of Molecular Genetic Analysis program to meet the growing demand for experts in the field. The AFP hopes the database will be ready for police operations in just over a year.Cannabis suppliers will be easier to track after the compiling of a national genetic... more
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The unemployed will be forced to declare drug or heavy drinking habits when they apply for benefits and will have payments cut if they give misleading answers, under government proposals which were announced yesterday.
Probation officers, prison staff and the police will also be asked to share with Jobcentres any information they have about individuals' habits so that those deemed to have problem habits can be identified and compelled to seek treatment if necessary. Those who conceal drug use, or refuse to co-operate with treatment, face benefit cuts.
A leaked copy of the green paper to be published tomorrow by James Purnell, the Work and Pensions Secretary, suggests that the scheme could start with heroin and crack cocaine users before extending it to 'those dependent on cannabis and alcohol'.
But critics said the plans, which emerged just days ahead of the by-election in Glasgow East, could catch vast numbers of recreational drugs users whose habits were not a problem, while addicts whose benefits were cut would simply turn to petty crime. They also raised concerns about confidentiality.
'It does look as though government departments will swap information in order to ensure that sanctions are more rigorously applied, and we should all be worried by this,' said Adam Sampson, a director of the UK Drugs Commission. 'If you look at the research about who has taken drugs, that includes, statistically, you, me and most of the Cabinet. Once you open up these powers they could be applied to anybody.
'And who defines "problem" in this context? The pragmatic behaviour on the part of drug users will be to conceal, to evade and to lie.'
The proposals also risk a backlash from traditional Labour voters, three days before the by-election in a seat containing high proportions of benefit claimants and families on low incomes. However Purnell, who obtained clearance from the Labour campaign team before publishing it, is said to believe it will be popular among poorer voters who often have more draconian views on welfare cheats than the liberal middle classes.
The paper admits there are potential 'drawbacks' to the plan and its impact would need to be studied, since only half a per cent of those applying for the job seekers allowance every year were thought to be problem drug users.
But it says that 'making declaring drug use and taking steps [to conquer it] a condition of benefit is consistent with the obligations on those in receipt of welfare help', and would show the government recognised the link between addiction and unemployment.
It estimates there are up to 240,000 people in England on out of work benefits who are problem drug users, and that up to 7 per cent of incapacity benefit and job seekers allowance claimants are on drugs, although only just over 2 per cent are registered with Jobcentres as having drug problems.
The paper proposes legislation to require information from police drug tests to be passed on to Jobcentres - individuals arrested for certain offences in 23 police authorities may be tested for heroin, crack or cocaine use - along with information from courts about people on drug programmes and information from jails about prison leavers with drug habits. This could amount to up to 150,000 people.
Harry Fletcher, of the National Association of Probation Officers, said that forcing probation officers to disclose information about clients' drug use posed serious ethical dilemmas: 'The relationship between an offender and the probation officer would be based on trust, so that people would not give information if they think it's going to be passed on. And the notion of sanctioning benefits for chaotic users means they will just steal more.'
A spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions said sanctions would be 'the last resort', and Jobcentres would have advisers to decide the difference between problem and recreational users. The information would not be passed on to potential employers, she added.The unemployed will be forced to declare drug or heavy drinking habits when they apply... more
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A Canadian court heard Thursday that cannabis is safer than aspirin and can restore the balance in people's bodies to help fight illness.
That was the testimony of Dr. Robert Melamede, an associate professor at the University of Colorado, who was brought in by the defense team for the four men accused in the Holy Smoke Culture Shop drug trafficking case taking place in Nelson this week.
Melamede's testimony comes on the second day of what is supposed to be a week-long trial. In a lengthy scientific explanation, the U.S. expert told the court that the human body produces marijuana-like compounds, or endocannabinoids, which act as a "lubricant" for food produced chemicals called "free radicals" that are very reactive and can cause an imbalance in the body.
"You can look at the harm caused by free radicals as biological friction or biological rust and the endocannabinoid system minimizes the impact of that and directly acts as an antioxidant as well as modifying the biochemistry in a way that minimizes the impacts," said Melamede outside court Thursday, likening endocannabinoids to humans like oil is to cars. He said if you don't have lubrication in your car, your car breaks. In the human body, the damage comes in the form of age-related diseases.
"I'm saying what science has now shown is that marijuana and cannabinoids are effective anti-aging agents which means that they are effective in minimizing the onset and the severity of age-related illnesses which include cognitive dysfunction things like Alzheimers, cardiovascular disease be it heart attacks, strokes, or clogged arteries," he said.
But while it does not work for every one, cannabis can also help those people with auto-immune diseases and cancer.
Melamede explained that you would have to take 40,000 times the therapeutic dose before causing harm to your body. But the therapeutic index for aspirin is 15 to one.
"It's extremely safe," said Melamede of marijuana, noting the overdose amount would equal 40,000 joints.
"And you die happy," added Judge Don Sperry during a rare moment of levity in Thursday's testimony.A Canadian court heard Thursday that cannabis is safer than aspirin and can restore... more
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SIXTEEN people were caught carrying drugs including heroin, ecstasy and cannabis during a police crackdown on antisocial behaviour in the city on Friday night.
The Safe Streets police taskforce made the arrests in a joint operation with transit police that focused mainly on Flinders Street Station.
Police spokesman Senior Constable Adam West said 18 people were arrested. One person faces weapons charges and another was caught with outstanding warrants.
Another 16 on-the-spot fines were handed out for various infringements on the public transport network.
The joint operation, which includes the use of passive alert detector dogs at CBD train stations to detect drug offences, continued last night with transit police targeting public drunkenness, assaults and other public disorder offences.
Passive alert dogs are different from earlier versions of sniffer dogs in that they don't scratch at their targets, but sit down next to them, staring at the source of the offending odour.
An earlier press release from Victoria Police said the taskforce would also be focusing on intercepting drunks at Flinders Street station and other public transport hubs in the city — and immediately sending the offenders home to sober up. A police spokeswoman said yesterday she was not aware if that aspect of the operation had been fulfilled.
She also said the taskforce was "completely separate" to the 2am nightclub lock-out as a strategy for reducing street violence.
The officers and dogs were back on the beat from 7 o'clock last night.
Police were also using banning notices, introduced last year, to order drunks, the violent and those committing public order breaches to stay out of the city for 48 hours.
Police say results from this weekend will determine whether similar operations will be mounted in the future. The public was warned about this weekend's operation, but police have said that there may be no notice of subsequent deployment of dogs.
Asked if he believed the dog patrols were too intrusive, Premier John Brumby said: "You've got people who have been arrested for carrying and, in some cases I understand, trading in illegal drugs like ice and heroin. And people who don't break the law, who don't trade drugs, aren't carrying around heroin, have nothing to fear. We make no apologies for this. We want a vibrant nightlife, but we don't want too much violence."SIXTEEN people were caught carrying drugs including heroin, ecstasy and cannabis... more
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In last week's Life section of this newspaper was the headline, "Youth are dying for a drink". It continued on page C3 under "Drinking" and went on to tell about college-age deaths, which are way up from binge drinking!
At the end of the article was a very large ad for Kadota Liquors, our "drive-in" liquor store, promoting our legal drug.
In all of recorded history not a single person has ever died from an overdose of cannabis ( marijuana ). And yet my Volcano neighbor was recently sentenced to 20 years in prison for growing the herb.
Alcohol ( one of the most toxic of all drugs ) is legal, while cannabis ( the least toxic of all drugs ) is not. What is wrong with this picture?
Barbara McIntosh
Volcano
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom In last week's Life section of this newspaper was the headline, "Youth are... more
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Substances need to be decriminalized, controlled, says Joy Strickland
As an advocate in the crusade to prevent teen violence, my starting point is that every child deserves a safe and supportive home, school and community. Prevention strategies such as mentoring and conflict resolution - not to mention personal responsibility - are key pieces of the strategies of Mothers Against Teen Violence and other groups committed to preventing violence in our communities.
But those pieces are only part of the solution and must be balanced and supported by a rational and effective national drug policy.
Enacted during the Nixon administration, the so-called war on drugs was designed to reduce supply and diminish demand for certain substances deemed harmful or undesirable. But the drug war has never met this objective, and unintended consequences have undermined the health and safety of our citizens, especially our children.
I will never forget 9-year-old Cory Weems, who was killed by a stray bullet in 1994 while having ice cream on his grandmother's front porch in Dallas. A drug dealer engaged in a car chase was convicted of this crime. Cory's picture hangs on my office wall, a reminder of one of the drug war's victims.
Or consider that despite billions spent annually toward arresting and prosecuting nearly 800,000 people for marijuana offenses, high school students continue to find marijuana easy to obtain.
By some estimates, as many as 250,000 people die every year from the proper use of prescription drugs. On the other hand, I am not aware of one single death directly caused by marijuana. Yet we pay $25,000 per year to send a drug user to prison, where he will likely have access to the same drugs for which he has been incarcerated.
If we can't keep drugs out of prisons, it is irrational to expect that we can keep them off our streets. It is equally irrational to lock up an individual because of what he chooses to put in his own body.
Drug addiction is not a moral issue. It is a medical problem requiring medical intervention. But if news reports are any indication, it is easy to believe that the rich and famous go to rehab while the poor go to jail. This disparity is the real moral issue.
The drug war keeps prices for the targeted substances artificially high, assuring that drug trafficking remains an incredibly profitable venture. The fantastic sums of money flowing from illegal drug sales have caused elected officials, police officers and prison guards - just to name a few - to fall prey to drug trafficking.
I have never used illegal drugs, nor do I advocate their use. But I believe the time has come for a change because our drug laws have failed us. The substances targeted by the drug war need to be decriminalized and controlled.
Those concerned about the message decriminalization would send to our children would do well to consider the message we are sending by continuing the status quo.
We don't want our children to face the same powerful temptations that many adults in authority have been powerless to resist. Instead, we want to remove the fantastic financial incentives to sell these substances to our children or recruit them into drug trafficking.
We don't want our children to die as innocent victims of turf wars and gang violence. We want all nonviolent drug abusers, regardless of class or race, to have access to rehabilitation.
And finally, we don't want our tax dollars spent enforcing ineffectual policies that undermine faith in our nation's laws.
Joy Strickland is CEO of the local chapter of Mothers Against Teen Violence and may be reached through www.matv inc.org.
MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin Substances need to be decriminalized, controlled, says Joy Strickland
As an... more
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As a Michigan police officer, marijuana use generated zero calls for service during my 18 years on the street. The fact is marijuana prohibition is a cash cow for law enforcement in terms of job security and an excellent way to earn overtime ( going to court for pot cases ).
My colleague Chief Rohmer's support for continued prohibition is curious. He knows that every hour his officers spend searching for and arresting an adult using pot in their own homes means less time for the deadly DUI, child molesters etc. No question that pot prohibition reduces public safety.
Howard J. Wooldridge
Education Specialist, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
Washington, DC
MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin As a Michigan police officer, marijuana use generated zero calls for service during my... more
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LUMBERTON - Two Robeson County men, including one who was serving a life sentence, have exited prison after having provided federal authorities information as part of the investigation called Operation Tarnished Badge. Federal District Judge Terrence Boyle, in releasing them during a hearing Wednesday, also expressed concern about the fairness of their trials.
Boyle on Wednesday granted a motion from the U.S. Attorney's Office reducing the sentences of Eugene Strickland and Mickey Strickland to "time served." According to the Bureau of Prisons' Web site, both were released from the federal prison in Butner on Thursday.
Both Sticklands, along with 10 other family members and friends, were indicted in 1999 on a single count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and related firearm offenses. Eugene Strickland, 34, received a life sentence and Mickey Strickland, 47, was sentenced to 21 years.
Both Stricklands were interviewed by federal officials investigating corruption in the Robeson County Sheriff's Office. Operation Tarnished Badge has led to guilty pleas from more than 20 former county lawmen, including former Sheriff Glenn Maynor.
According to Robert J. McAfee, Eugene Strickland's attorney, the government had requested that the sentences be cut by one-third. The judge, however, decided the sentences should be cut even more.
"Judge Boyle voiced a number of concerns during the hearing about the use of corrupt deputies to build a criminal case, and how such corruption undermined the notion of a fair trial in federal court," the attorney said.
McAfee also said that he is not sure how many of the other eight people convicted along with the Stricklands in 1999 will try to have their sentences reduced. He said he has just been appointed to represent Marshall Strickland, Eugene Strickland's brother.
"I don't know how much information the others have given to federal investigators," he said.
Robeson County District Attorney Johnson Britt said Thursday night that he only became aware of Boyle's ruling when contacted by a reporter. He said that he had not prosecuted the Stricklands on state charges and that the two were already serving time in federal prison when they provided information related to Operation Tarnished Badge.
"The use of Rule 35 in federal criminal practice is commonly used to get sentences reduced," Britt said. "This isn't unusual."
Britt also told The Fayetteville Observer earlier Thursday that he expects others to seek relief from either the state or federal courts as a result of Operation Tarnished Badge. His office has already thrown out more than 300 cases involving the former lawmen.
During the Stricklands' trial in 1999, four lawmen who have pleaded guilty to charges in Operation Tarnished Badge testified. Those officers were Charles Strickland, Steve Lovin, Roger Taylor and Kevin Meares.
Strickland, a former lieutenant, supervised the Sheriff's Office Drug Enforcement Division. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and was sentenced to seven years in prison.
Lovin is a former detective with the Drug Enforcement Division. He pleaded guilty to money laundering, satellite piracy and conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Taylor is a former deputy with the Drug Enforcement Division. He pleaded guilty to engaging in money laundering and satellite piracy. He was sentenced to three years, 10 months in prison.
Meares, a former deputy with the Drug Enforcement Division, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. He was sentenced to eight months in prison.
Maynor, the former sheriff, pled guilty to perjury and having deputies campaign and perform yard work while on the county clock. He is scheduled to report to prison on Aug. 1 to being serving a six-year sentence.
MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin LUMBERTON - Two Robeson County men, including one who was serving a life sentence,... more
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State Trooper Edward Lattin's arrest earlier this week has put our state's DUI laws under scrutiny again. A federal judge is already looking at Nevada's DUI law as it pertains to marijuana because of the Jessica Williams case from eight years ago.
"I know it's right to fight for myself, and I know I should be but I feel extremely guilty and I don't want to stand up for myself. And I'd really rather just not be alive," said Jessica Williams.
Williams has spent more than eight years behind bars because of an accident on I-15 that killed six teenagers who were picking up trash. Williams admitted she had smoked marijuana the night before.
Blood tests showed she had minuscule amounts of marijuana ingredients in her system, a few nanograms or parts per billion. Investigators at the scene did not believe she was impaired. A jury agreed that she wasn't impaired but convicted her anyway under Nevada's revised DUI law that basically says drivers are guilty of DUI if they have any measurable amounts in their system -- even parts per billion.
"There are people daily who approach me and say that I'm praying for her and they need to let that little girl out of prison," said defense attorney Ellen Bezian. She and John Watkins have never stopped in their effort to free Jessica because of what they see as an inherently flawed law.
"It's wrong. It's wrong to have a law to put people in prison when you are not impaired. Jessica Williams is an example of that," said Watkins.
Williams, wracked with guilt and often suicidal in the years since her incarceration, relies on Bezian as a primary link to the outside world and her grip on reality.
"I can't count the number of calls I got, notes -- attorneys, judges -- countless people would say, but for the grace of God that could be me," said Bezian.
The question of fair treatment is at the heart of an appeal filed by Watkins in federal court, and a ruling could also affect his newest client, NHP trooper Edward Lattin. Watkins argues that Nevada's DUI law is a violation of the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution, for a couple of reasons. One is that 1000 or so Nevadans have prescriptions for medical marijuana. They could do what Williams or Lattin did, have pot in their system -- and not go to prison.
So someone could drive with that amount, have an accident, kill someone and not be prosecuted?
"Correct," said Watkins.
Another problem, Bezian says, is that under Nevada law, there are parts of the marijuana plant that are legal, parts such as stems and seeds that have amounts of THC, the psychoactive ingredient.
"How can anyone show a person ingested or had levels of cannabinoid from a legal or illegal part of the plant?" asked Bezian.State Trooper Edward Lattin's arrest earlier this week has put our state's... more
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This is how Daniel Akwasi Amankwaah describes Cannabis users:
"He may have high sexual appetite and at the same time very low inhibitions and therefore will not consider raping a three year old person. He may hear voices and see images that are not real. There are many things that can happen to a person who smokes marijuana but if these are all the problems associated with marijuana there will not be much cause for alarm."This is how Daniel Akwasi Amankwaah describes Cannabis users:
"He may have... more
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Dutch customs officers have seized 19 tonnes of marijuana with a street value of 60 million euros ($A98 million) on a vessel in the port of Amsterdam.
The ANP news agency quoted authorities as saying the seizure was the biggest of the century.
Police arrested four people on suspicion of drug trafficking.
The unidentified ship was carrying a cargo of walnuts in containers. The drugs were hidden in jute bags in one of the containers.Dutch customs officers have seized 19 tonnes of marijuana with a street value of 60... more
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An Auckland teenager used a mobile phone to record other students from the school apparently smoking cannabis - then turned the recording over to school authorities.
The unusual situation left the Auckland high school's board of trustees scratching their heads over whether they could use the images when investigating. Ron Mulligan, of the NZ School Trustees Association, said at the association's conference in Christchurch yesterday it was one of the first cases of its type.
"The school had never come across it before, and we never had."
Mr Mulligan said the association advised the school it could use the images in its disciplinary proceedings about a month ago.
He said a school representative told him they intended to take still images from the footage to reduce the chance of indicating where the camera operator was standing - and, in turn, identifying who filmed the scene.An Auckland teenager used a mobile phone to record other students from the school... more
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Written by Editor Choice
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
SnitchCraft, an urban novel by Edrea Davis, recently landed on the required reading list in a curriculum guide examining snitching at the Yale National Initiative of the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute.
The Introduction to Criminal Justice course, Police Investigative Challenges: To Snitch or Not to Snitch, That is the Unanswered Question, seeks to teach a comprehensive curriculum on the problems and repercussions associated with uncooperative witnesses.
SnitchCraft is required reading, notes Christine F. Shaub, a Yale National Fellow and creator of the curriculum unit, "because it looks at the present day social phenomenon of snitching, police corruption and the use of paid confidential informants in solving crime." The guide also points out that many students have not been introduced to crime fiction and do not realize it can help them identify issues connected to real life situations.
Highlighting the impact of the course, Shaub expressed how the students took ownership of the topic after reading the book. “"They researched and developed informative brochures about snitching and conducted a "Snitching Awareness Campaign" in the city. They then presented their campaign to the Mayor of Wilmington, the Wilmington Police Department Chief of Police and also visited 9th grade classrooms in school to make youngsters aware of the snitching problem and its affects," reveals Shaub
The students wanted to put city officials on notice about things the felt the officials had the authority to improve. Shaub adds, “They also addressed police corruption as it relates to snitching. I was really impressed with their efforts. These students went on to be recognized by the State of Delaware in April 2008 with a Silver Medal from an organization called SkillsUSA!" Written by Editor Choice
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
SnitchCraft, an urban novel... more
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EMPLOYEE TESTS SHOW POT SMOKING ON RISE
Employees testing positive for marijuana use continued on an upward trend in the second quarter of the year, according to statistics released by Diagnostic Laboratory Services.
From April through June, 2.5 percent of the drug tests conducted on workers tested positive for marijuana, the report said. In the first quarter of the year, 2.3 percent tested positive, while a little more than 1.5 percent of the tests came back positive in the second quarter of 2007, the report said.
Drug use in other categories remained stable, the report said.
"There's a slight uptick in opiate use, but cocaine use is slightly down," said Carl Linden, DLS scientific director of toxicology. "While amphetamine use remains the same at a relatively low percentage of 0.6 percent, it is still roughly three times higher here than on the Mainland."
The company, which describes itself as Hawai'i's largest drug-testing company, releases drug statistics each quarter. The company handles drug testing for about 800 local businesses and the quarterly sample size typically includes 7,000 and 10,000 drug tests.
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom EMPLOYEE TESTS SHOW POT SMOKING ON RISE
Employees testing positive for marijuana... more
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The Arts District Healing Center, a Los Angeles-based medical marijuana provider, filed a federal lawsuit Thursday, claiming that the Drug Enforcement Administration extorted its landlord by sending a letter threatening imprisonment and property seizure.
James Shaw, a spokesman for the center, filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles. Co-plaintiffs are the Healing Center and Union of Medical Marijuana Providers.
Shaw opened his shop in April 2006 and sold marijuana -- legalized in California for medicinal purposes under Proposition 215, passed by state voters in 1996. However, under federal law, Marijuana remains a prohibited drug.
Representatives from the DEA's Los Angeles office were not available for comment. However, DEA Special Agent Jose Martinez told the Los Angeles Daily Journal that the letters weren't meant as a threat but as "an education process" for the public.
The Los Angeles Field Division of the DEA sent such a letter to Shaw's landlord, L.A. Citiproperties, stating that a marijuana dispensary was operating on the property, located on the 600 block of East 1st Street in July, the lawsuit said. The dispensary is less than a half-mile from the DEA's Los Angeles office.
"Federal law takes precedence over state law. It is not a defense to this crime or to the seizure of the property that the facility operating on the property that the facility operating on the property is providing 'medical marijuana' under California law," a letter from Timothy Landrum, special agent in charge of the DEA's Los Angeles field office, said, according to the lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, Landrum also threatened L.A. Citiproperties with a prison sentence of up to 20 years.
In September, L.A. Citiproperties gave the Arts District Healing Center an eviction notice, which Shaw is fighting, the lawsuit said.
DEA agents executed a search warrant at the center on October 11, four days before the scheduled eviction trial, the lawsuit states. Federal agents also froze several bank accounts and seized funds belonging to the center.
The lawsuit claims the search warrants were in retaliation for Shaw fighting the eviction notice.
The DEA, Landrum and Deanne Reuter, acting group supervisor of the DEA's Los Angeles Field Office, have been named as defendants in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, attorneys' fees and a permanent injunction against the DEA from sending similar letters to landlords in the future. The Arts District Healing Center, a Los Angeles-based medical marijuana provider,... more
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KUALA LUMPUR, July 11 (Bernama) -- A taxi driver was sentenced to eight years jail and 10 strokes of the rotan by the Sessions Court here today for possessing cannabis.
M.Selvaveloo, 45, was found guilty of possessing eight packets of cannabis weighing 86.5gm in front of Menara Maybank in Jalan Pudu, at 7.45pm on Feb 12 last year.
Judge Muhamad Sekeri Mamat ordered the sentence to run from the date of his arrest on Feb 12 last year.
The offence under section 6 of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 carries life imprisonment or five years jail and a minimum 10 strokes of the rotan on conviction.
Selvaveloo was represented by counsel S.S.Seelen while Chief Insp S.Bala prosecuted.KUALA LUMPUR, July 11 (Bernama) -- A taxi driver was sentenced to eight years jail and... more
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Drug prohibition has been a fact of life in the United States for roughly a century now. While it was ostensibly designed to protect American citizens from the dangers of drug use, it now has a momentum of its own, independent of that original goal, at which it has failed spectacularly. As the prohibitionist response to drug use and sales deepened over the decades, then intensified even more with the bipartisan drug war of the Reagan era, prohibition and its enforcement have created a constellation of groups, industries, and professions that have grown wealthy and powerful feeding at the drug war trough.Drug prohibition has been a fact of life in the United States for roughly a century... more
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