Date: Wed, 25 Apr 2001
Subject: #207 Drug Warriors Shoot Before Asking Questions In Peru

Drug Warriors Shoot Before Asking Questions In Peru

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PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE
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DrugSense FOCUS Alert #207 Wed. April 25,2001

A seven-month-old baby and her mother were killed in the drug war last
week as the Peruvian military shot down a plane carrying American
missionaries while American CIA operatives watched. The plane was
apparently mistaken as a drug runner, but conflicting reports relating
to the incident indicate little attempt at confirmation was made
before the shooting started.

Several American newspapers have editorialized on the incident this
week. Many say tighter precautions should be taken to avoid such a
tragedy again, but few have dared to take look at the broader picture
of counterproductive drug prohibition. Many newspapers accept official
US reports that tough policies have helped to reduce the illegal drug
trade in Peru. But more thoughtful journalists looking beyond the
propaganda have shown that drug smuggling and drug corruption continue
to run rampant in Peru (see the excellent piece by Kevin G. Hall at
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n718/a09.html?5880).

An editorial from the New York Times (below) touches on these issues,
but somehow still concludes, “If cooperative drug interdiction can be
resumed without continuing risk to innocent fliers, it should be.” By
its very nature, the drug war puts innocent people at risk, and it
will continue to do so. Please write a letter to the NY Times and
other papers that have editorialized on this situation to say that
overly aggressive tactics are only part of the problem – the real
issue is the drug war itself.

NOTE: Would you like to be able to donate the equivalent of $52,800 to
help bring about sensible drug policies and do so without spending a
dime? See the Target Analysis below.

************************************************************************
PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID
( Letter, Phone, fax etc.)

Please post a copy your letter or report your action to the sent
letter list ([email protected]) if you are subscribed, or by
E-mailing a copy directly to [email protected] Your letter will then
be forwarded to the list with so others can learn from your efforts
and be motivated to followsuit

This is VERY IMPORTANT as it is the only way we have of gauging our
impact and effectiveness.
************************************************************************

CONTACT INFO

Source: New York Times (NY)
Contact: [email protected]

EXTRA CREDIT

Several newspapers have editorialized on the Peru shooting, many with
a similar tone to the NY Times editorial. Please send your letter to
some or all of these newspapers as well, or read various editorials
and tailor your letters to each newspaper.

US IL: Editorial: Only Losers In War That We Can’t Win
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n718/a03.html
Pubdate: Tue, 24 Apr 2001
Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL)
Contact: [email protected]

US OH: Editorial: Casualties Of A Lost War
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n718/a12.html
Pubdate: Tue, 24 Apr 2001
Source: Cincinnati Post (OH)
Contact: [email protected]

US FL: Editorial: Innocent Victims
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n717/a06.html
Pubdate: Tue, 24 Apr 2001
Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune (FL)
Copyright: 2001 Sarasota Herald-Tribune

US MI: Editorial: Drug War
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n717/a09.html
Pubdate: Tue, 24 Apr 2001
Source: Detroit Free Press (MI)
Copyright: 2001 Detroit Free Press
Contact: [email protected]

US NJ: Editorial: A Tragedy In Peru
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n723/a03.html
Pubdate: Tue, 24 Apr 2001
Source: Bergen Record (NJ)
Contact: [email protected]

US TN: Editorial: Tragedy in Peru
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n723/a04.html
Pubdate: Tue, 24 Apr 2001
Source: Chattanooga Times & Free Press (TN)
Contact: [email protected]

US IL: Editorial: A Fool’s Errand In Latin America
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n722/a03.html
Pubdate: Tue, 24 Apr 2001
Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
Contact: [email protected]

US MA: Editorial: The Plane Truth In Peru
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n720/a05.html
Pubdate: Tue, 24 Apr 2001
Source: Boston Globe (MA)
Contact: [email protected]

US CA: Editorial: Collateral Damage
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n720/a08.html
Pubdate: Tue, 24 Apr 2001
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Contact: [email protected]

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ARTICLE

US NY: Editorial: Peru’s Reckless Shooting
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n717/a10.html
Newshawk: M & M Family
Pubdate: Tue, 24 Apr 2001
Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 2001 The New York Times Company
Contact: [email protected]
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
Related: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n714/a07.html
PERU’S RECKLESS SHOOTING

It should not have taken the tragic deaths of two innocent members of
an American missionary family to force Washington to re-examine its
cooperation with Peru’s risky drug interdiction program. Although the
facts of last Friday’s incident are still being sorted out, the deaths
raise serious questions about how Peru’s air force has been carrying
out a program involving help from the Central Intelligence Agency to
fight drug trafficking. The White House is right to suspend the
program’s operations until it can be sure more reliable controls are
in place.

The official rules of engagement are designed to safeguard against
mistaken identifications. They are also meant to compel drug
trafficking planes to land rather than shooting them out of the sky.
But Peru’s record suggests a preference for more aggressive tactics.
Several years before this program began, Peruvian jet fighter planes
fired on a United States military transport, killing an American
airman. Some 30 aircraft have been shot down during the six years of
the joint program, although this is apparently the first time that
American civilians have been killed. While the program is suspended,
President Bush should ask for a review of the previous shooting incidents.

Peru’s pugnacious attitude seems to have been a critical factor on
Friday. Americans working for the C.I.A. spotted an unknown aircraft
flying through a zone frequented by drug traffickers and relayed the
information to the Peruvian military. The Peruvian fighter pilot sent
up to investigate apparently ignored precautions designed to prevent
mistaken identifications and opened fire on the suspected plane,
forcing it to crash-land in the Amazon jungle.

The joint drug interdiction program, authorized by Congress in 1994,
was designed to discourage the growing of coca leaf in Peru by making
it more difficult to bring the product to market. The program has
resulted in a nearly two-thirds drop in coca production in Peru since
1995. Much of that lost output simply moved to Colombia, and in recent
years new marketing channels have opened up in Peru, relying on rivers
and roads rather than the skies. But there is little question that
fear of aerial interdiction has been a significant constraint on
Peruvian drug production.

Unfortunately, for most of the life of this program, military
cooperation with Peru meant cooperation with its autocratic former
president, Alberto Fujimori, and his corrupt intelligence chief,
Vladimiro Montesinos. Both men have now been evicted from power, and
senior military commanders from that era have been replaced. But the
aggressive approach they favored apparently remains. If cooperative
drug interdiction can be resumed without continuing risk to innocent
fliers, it should be. But until it can be certain that Peruvian pilots
will not shoot first and ask questions later, Washington should keep
the program in suspension and under an unbiased review.

***********************************************************************

SAMPLE LETTER

To the editor:

In the wake of the missionary plane shooting in Peru, more than Peru’s
“shoot-down” policy needs to be evaluated. The whole
counterproductive, rights-infringing, corruption-producing,
budget-busting, violence-mongering, freedom-hating, race-baiting,
lie-fueled war on drugs ought to be put on trial.

Seven-month-old Charity Bowers is not the first innocent child killed
in the drug war, and she won’t be the last as long as we continue to
accept the myth that force and violence are the best way to address
drug problems.

Stephen Young

contact info

*************************
IMPORTANT: Always include your address and telephone number
Please note: If you choose to use this letter as a model please modify
it at least somewhat so that the paper does not receive numerous copies
of the same letter and so that the original author receives credit for
his/her work.
—————————————————————————-
TARGET ANALYSIS US News and World Reports

NEW YORK TIMES Circulations 1,115,000

The New York Times is one of the most widely read and influential
newspapers in the country A published letter of only 2 column inches
in this paper has an equivalent advertising as if you bought a $52,800
advertisement on behalf of reform and had it published in the NY TImes.

**********************************************************
ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts

3 Tips for Letter Writers http://www.mapinc.org/3tips.htm

Letter Writers Style Guide http://www.mapinc.org/style.htm

****************************************************************************

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***************************************************************************
Prepared by Stephen Young – http://www.maximizingharm.com
Focus Alert Specialist

Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2001
Subject: # 206 US News Tells Only Part Of Colombian Paramilitary Story

US News Tells Only Part Of Colombian Paramilitary Story

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PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE
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DrugSense FOCUS Alert #206 Sunday April 15, 2001

As Plan Colombia rolls ahead, U.S. News and World Reports is taking a
look at the questionable alliance between the U.S., the Colombian
government and the brutal paramilitaries who have helped to fuel the
violence in Colombia. Without going into too much detail, the magazine
does report that the paramilitaries use terror as a weapon.

While it’s important for the American people to understand what they
are paying to support in Colombia, unfortunately, U.S. News only tells
part of the story. The article ignores the fact that the paramilitary
leaders have acknowledged that they benefit from the cocaine trade
(see URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n034/a07.html). This is
profoundly ironic, as U.S. officials have said the goal of Plan
Colombia is to stop Colombian rebel forces from allegedly flooding the
U.S. with cocaine, even though paramilitary involvement in the trade
seems to be deeper than that of the rebels.

Please write a letter to U.S. News urging the magazine to tell the
whole story on the paramilitaries so American citizens can see the
true perversity of Plan Colombia.

************************************************************************
PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID ( Letter,
Phone, fax etc.)

Please post a copy your letter or report your action to the sent
letter list ([email protected]) if you are subscribed, or by
E-mailing a copy directly to [email protected] Your letter will then
be forwarded to the list with so others can learn from your efforts
and be motivated to follow suit

This is VERY IMPORTANT as it is the only way we have of gauging our
impact and effectiveness.
************************************************************************

Contact Info

Source: U.S. News and World Report (US)
Contact: [email protected]

***************************************************************************

ARTICLE

Colombia: Making A Deal With The Devil
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01.n651.a01.html
Newshawk: David Isenberg
Pubdate: Mon, 16 Apr 2001
Source: U.S. News and World Report (US)
Copyright: 2001 U.S. News & World Report
Contact: [email protected]
Website: http://www.usnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/464
Author: Karl Penhaul

MAKING A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL

Colombia’s Violent Vigilantes Pave The Way For U.S.-Backed Antidrug Forces

GUAMUEZ VALLEY, COLOMBIA-Here amid the cocaine-producing drug
plantations of southern Colombia, five recruits with shaved heads and
armed with wooden stakes march down the main street in a dusty village.

A truck packed with 40 right-wing paramilitary fighters, brandishing
assault rifles and rocket launchers, heads off on a search-and-destroy
mission against communist guerrillas. More camouflage-clad combatants
of the outlaw paramilitary force are dug into foxholes in this farming
hamlet and throughout Putumayo province.

These are the warriors of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (
AUC ), who are key to the opening phase of Plan Colombia-the
government offensive, bankrolled with $1.3 billion of mostly military
aid from Washington, to wipe out the drug trade in this longtime rebel
territory.

Since mid-December, the skies above the Guamuez Valley have resonated
with the clatter of Vietnam-era helicopters, donated by the United
States, and the hum of crop-duster planes dumping defoliant on fields
of coca leaf, the raw material for cocaine.

The air assault was preceded by ground operations led by the illegal
paramilitary forces, who drove out guerrilla units and reportedly
massacred suspected civilian sympathizers in areas to be sprayed. That
cleared the way for the Colombian Army’s new, U.S.-trained antidrug
battalions to enter without fear of ambush and reduced the risk of
aircraft being shot down by the rebels. “Plan Colombia would be almost
impossible without the help of the [paramilitary] self-defense
forces,” boasts a paramilitary leader calling himself Comando Wilson,
the head of the AUC’s military operations in Putumayo who formerly
served in an Army counterinsurgency battalion.

Putumayo province, a stronghold of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia ( FARC ) guerrillas, is the hub of world cocaine production,
responsible for about half of Colombia’s annual output of more than
580 metric tons. The rebels get their take in the drug trade, and
those revenues are the mainstay of their war economy.

The AUC moved into Putumayo in early 1998 in an effort to drive out
the FARC, carrying out a wave of massacres that have claimed around
100 civilian lives a year, according to the Center for Popular
Research and Education, a Roman Catholic Church-backed human-rights
group. Since the launch of Plan Colombia, the paramilitary force has
stepped up efforts, and in January it added some 550 reinforcements to
its 800-strong combat force here, according to Wilson.

Along with the coca fields, legal crops such as plantains, maize, and
yucca are withered throughout the Guamuez Valley from defoliant spraying.

That is sparking bitter complaints from peasants like Irma Galarza,
who describes Plan Colombia as a “plan of destruction.”

Success? The Army and senior U.S. officials have heralded the initial
results as a resounding success.

But they recognize that most of the coca crop-60,000 acres of the
total 72,500 acres so far sprayed-has been in areas dominated by
paramilitary forces.

This has enabled members of the new Counterdrug Brigade to “get their
sea legs before moving into areas more heavily controlled by the
FARC,” said a U.S. military official.

The Colombian government is ostensibly under pressure from Washington
to cut ties to paramilitary groups, but there is much evidence that
paramilitary groups are doing the groundwork for Plan Colombia. A
recent U.S. State Department report echoed human-rights groups’
charges that Colombian security forces still cooperate with
paramilitaries. That hardly seems to be in dispute.

Wilson says he and Army officials swap information daily on the
position of their forces, and some soldiers turned paramilitary
fighters still wear the insignias of their former Army battalions. One
paramilitary fighter was seen eating a U.S. Army meal packet; the
meals officially were issued to the U.S.-trained military counterdrug
units.

Publicly, President Andres Pastrana has pledged to crack down on the
paramilitary forces.

And the state security services report killing 89 right-wing gunmen
and arresting 315 others last year ( while also killing 970 leftist
guerrillas and capturing 1,556 ).

Still, it took repeated complaints by the U.N. High Commissioner for
Human Rights before Colombia’s attorney general opened an
investigation into alleged paramilitary collaboration with police
commanders and the former head of the Army’s Putumayo-based 24th
Brigade. Although investigators recommended prosecuting at least five
Army and police commanders, including former 24th Brigade commander
Col. Gabriel Diaz, the inquiry is moving slowly, and Diaz is in line
for promotion to general.

The brigade is currently banned from receiving U.S. military aid
because of its alleged involvement in human-rights abuses.

The brigade’s new commander, Gen. Antonio Ladron de Guevara,
acknowledged to U.S. News that at least 30 men from one of his
counterguerrilla units have joined the paramilitary force ( the
remainder of that unit, the 31st Battalion, has been sent back to
Bogota for retraining ). Paramilitary leader Wilson put the figure at
100 and said many others among his men also are former soldiers.

Military ties to the right-wing death squads color perceptions of the
U.S-backed antidrug effort. “The paramilitary phenomenon in Putumayo
is the spearhead of Plan Colombia,” said German Martinez, outgoing
municipal human-rights ombudsman in the regional center of Puerto
Asis. “It’s a terror tactic.”

***********************************************************************

SAMPLE LETTER

To the editor of US News and World Reports:

While I applaud US News for showing how my tax dollars are going to
support brutal paramilitaries in Colombia, I was disappointed that the
story neglected to mention how paramilitary leaders have used cocaine
to support themselves financially. This is no baseless allegation –
paramilitary leader Carlos Castano has openly acknowledged the fact
(see, for example, the AP report archived at http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n034/a07.html).

US leaders have told the American people that Colombian rebel forces
must be attacked because of their involvement with the cocaine trade,
yet we are cozying up with another group that has relied on drug money
as much or more than the rebels. Plan Colombia will spill a great deal
of Colombian blood, and some American blood, but the cocaine will flow
without interruption.

Stephen Young contact info

*************************
IMPORTANT: Always include your address and telephone number
Please note: If you choose to use this letter as a model please modify
it at least somewhat so that the paper does not receive numerous copies
of the same letter and so that the original author receives credit for
his/her work.
—————————————————————————-
TARGET ANALYSIS US News and World Reports

US News has only four published letters in the MAP archive. They tend
to be short, between 66 and 173 words, with an average of 110 words.

The published letters can be viewed here: http://www.mapinc.org/mapcgi/ltedex.pl?SOURCE=U.S.+News+and+World+Report+(US)

**********************************************************
ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts

3 Tips for Letter Writers http://www.mapinc.org/3tips.htm

Letter Writers Style Guide http://www.mapinc.org/style.htm

****************************************************************************

TO SUBSCRIBE, DONATE, VOLUNTEER TO HELP, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL SEE
http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm

TO UNSUBSCRIBE SEE http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm

***************************************************************************
Prepared by Stephen Young – http://www.maximizingharm.com
Focus Alert Specialist

Date: Thu, 05 Apr 2001
Subject: #205 Time Mag: Narcs Want To Treat Raves Like Crack

Time Mag: Narcs Want To Treat Raves Like Crack

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PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE
——-

DrugSense FOCUS Alert # 205 Thursday April 5, 2001

In their newest quest to criminalize youth, some federal narcs are
attempting to apply “crackhouse laws” that were written in the 1980s
to indict people who organize raves. As Time Magazine reports this
week, the narcs don’t care if the dance party organizers are trying to
sell drugs or not, they just want someone to punish.

As usual, there is no consideration on the part of the drug warriors
that if they do effectively outlaw raves, the parties will be pushed
underground where there is even less chance of reasonable regulation.
Please write a letter to Time Magazine to say that this newest “get
tough” tactic will be just as counterproductive as all the other
“crackdowns” hyped in the name of a drug-free America.

NOTE: A one inch LTE published in TIME Magazine has an equivalent
advertising value of more that $25,000!! See Target Analysis Below.

At Least One Letter a Month. That’s All We Ask!

************************************************************************
PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID
( Letter, Phone, fax etc.)

Please post a copy your letter or report your action to the sent
letter list ([email protected]) if you are subscribed, or by
E-mailing a copy directly to [email protected] Your letter will then
be forwarded to the list with so others can learn from your efforts
and be motivated to follow suit

This is VERY IMPORTANT as it is one way we have of gauging our
impact and effectiveness.
************************************************************************

Contact Info

Source: Source: Time Magazine (US)
Contact: [email protected]

***************************************************************************

ARTICLE

URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01.n587.a02.html
Newshawk: DrugSense http://www.drugsense.org/
Pubdate: Mon, 09 Apr 2001
Source: Time Magazine (US)
Section: Society, Pg 62
Copyright: 2001 Time Inc
Contact: [email protected]
Website: http://www.time.com/time/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/451
Author: John Cloud, New Orleans

ECSTASY CRACKDOWN

Will The Feds Use A 1980s Anti-Crack Law To Destroy The Rave Movement?

Nearly three years after her daughter’s death, Phyllis Kirkland still
visits her grave every day. She drives over from the Monroeville,
Ala., dentist’s office where she works.

She weeps.

Jillian was only 17–“a beautiful 17,” her mom chokes–when she died
from a drug overdose after a sweaty night of dancing at the State
Palace Theatre, a nightclub about a four-hour drive away, in New Orleans.

Jillian’s August 1998 death crushed her mom, but it may also change
how the U.S. government fights its war on drugs like ecstasy.

Jillian’s overdose–the coroner can’t say precisely from what–and the
sad 16 days she clung to life at Charity Hospital enraged doctors there.

Federal agents began investigating, and in January a grand jury
indicted three of the men who ran the club under a novel application
of a 1986 law called the Crack House Statute. It prohibits maintaining
a property “for the purpose of…distributing or using a controlled
substance.” Congress wrote the law to go after sleazebag landlords who
let dealers and addicts hide the crack trade in slums.

This is the first time prosecutors have used it against a nightclub,
and drug enforcers and club owners across the U.S. are watching the
case.

What’s new about this drug-war strategy is that it does not require
the government to show that the defendants–brothers Robert and Brian
Brunet, who managed the State Palace, and Donnie Estopinal, who
promoted its raves–were actually selling drugs.

And so far, the government has offered no evidence that they were,
though investigators have been digging for well over a year.

Rather, U.S. Attorney Eddie Jordan plans to argue that the defendants
looked the other way as druggies turned the State Palace into a kind
of crack house for club drugs.

Cops say it was a place where partiers could easily score hits of
ecstasy and acid without getting hassled by club staff, and where the
staff encouraged the pharmacological festivities by selling
rave-culture gear such as glow sticks and pacifiers.

These are silly fashion accessories for many ravers, but they can be
drug-related too: glow sticks stimulate dilated pupils; pacifiers
relieve the teeth grinding associated with ecstasy.

The Brunets and Estopinal say they did everything they could to keep
their parties sober.

They and their A.C.L.U. lawyers also argue that those who provide
music should not be blamed for its devotees’ crimes.

But the case raises an important question: Given that the use of
ecstasy continues to soar, is there any way to stop club drugs without
stopping the raves?

Could music be to blame for what happened to Jillian
Kirkland?

Before he ever heard of Kirkland, before he became a nationally known
promoter and way before an attorney showed him photos of the prison he
might call home if he loses his case, Estopinal was a frat boy at
Louisiana State University. In the early ’90s, according to
friends–the defendants wouldn’t talk on the record–Estopinal, now
31, was waiting tables, trying to decide whether he really wanted to
be an accountant. Co-workers started taking him dancing. Dance music
was enjoying a revival, having shaken off disco excesses and borrowed
harder beats from underground. Estopinal fell in love with the dance
renaissance and began having parties at a stinky fish-processing
warehouse. By 1995, cops were closing him down for illicit booze sales
and noise, but he knew he could draw thousands of fans of the new music.

He turned to the State Palace to help legitimize his
work.

NOTE: The balance of this article has been snipped for brevity. It can
be read in full at: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01.n587.a02.html

***********************************************************************

SAMPLE LETTER

To the editor of Time Magazine:

So federal narcs want to prosecute organizers of raves where drugs are
used, even if organizers provide reasonable security measures. This is
absurd but not surprising. Drug prohibition itself causes many
problems related to illegal drugs, including dangerous adulterants and
general disrespect for official warnings regarding risks. Drug law
enforcers want to point fingers elsewhere, but a new crackdown is only
going to provide a disincentive for organizers to call an ambulance
when somebody really needs one.

Stephen Young

contact info

*************************
IMPORTANT: Always include your address and telephone number
Please note: If you choose to use this letter as a model please modify
it at least somewhat so that the paper does not receive numerous copies
of the same letter and so that the original author receives credit for
his/her work.
—————————————————————————-
TARGET ANALYSIS Time Magazine Circulation 4,250,000

Time only has seven published letters in the MAP archive. They tend to
be extremely short, between 23 and 83 words, with an average of 65
words. On the other hand, if you can generate a short powerful reply
to this article you could potentially influence a huge audience. A one
inch LTE published in TIME Magazine has an equivalent advertising
value of more that $25,000!!

http://www.mapinc.org/mapcgi/ltedex.pl?SOURCE=Time+Magazine

**********************************************************
ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts

3 Tips for Letter Writers http://www.mapinc.org/3tips.htm

Letter Writers Style Guide http://www.mapinc.org/style.htm

****************************************************************************

TO SUBSCRIBE, DONATE, VOLUNTEER TO HELP, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL SEE
http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm

TO UNSUBSCRIBE SEE http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm

***************************************************************************
Prepared by Stephen Young – http://www.maximizingharm.com
Focus Alert Specialist

PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE

SUN-SENTINEL Medicinal Marijuana A “Mine Field”

DrugSense FOCUS Alert #204 Thursday March 29, 2001

Well in the wake of yesterday’s Supreme Court hearing on the Oakland
Cannabis Club’s case versus the Feds, the FT LAUDERDALE SUN-SENTINEL
gets loose with an editorial that may well have been ghosted by a DFAF
officer. This is implicated due to the fact that FL is the ‘second’
home for DFAF offices and their supporters, outside of St Petersburg.

This one reads like every DFAF anti-MMJ release issued since the
infancy of Prop 215 in California five years ago. It provides a host
of items that can be addressed thru a quick and thoughtful LTE.

Note to letter writers: There are a number of flawed premises and
misleading statements in the article below. Please consider using the
Drug War Facts collection to counter one or more. http://www.drugwarfacts.org

WRITE A LETTER TODAY

If not YOU who? If not NOW when?

************************************************************************

PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID (Letter,
Phone, fax etc.)

Please post a copy your letter or report your action to the sent
letter list ( [email protected] ) if you are subscribed, or by E-mailing a
copy directly to [email protected] Your letter will then be forwarded
to the list with so others can learn from your efforts and be
motivated to follow suit

This is VERY IMPORTANT as it is the only way we have of gauging our
impact and effectiveness.

************************************************************************

CONTACT INFO:

Source: Ft Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
Contact: [email protected]
Pubdate: Wed, 28 Mar 2001

MEDICINAL MARIJUANA A MINE FIELD

The U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments today on a volatile,
extremely important question: Should marijuana be legalized as
medicine? Mark this debate “handle with care.”

Specifically, the justices are being asked to decide whether a state
law authorizing medical use of marijuana can override a federal
anti-drug law saying pot has no medical benefits and can’t be
prescribed for patients.

The case involves a California law, Proposition 215, approved by state
voters in 1996. It permits pot possession, sale, purchase and use for
medical purposes under a doctor’s prescription.

The federal government sued a pot buyers’ cooperative to get it to
stop distributing marijuana. A U.S. appeals court ruled last year
that “medical necessity” is a valid defense against federal laws
banning marijuana possession, sale, purchase or use.

Voters in six other states later approved similar measures. Two
petition drives in Florida, one to legalize medical marijuana and the
other to legalize it for all uses, have stalled.

Among legalization backers is Irvin Rosenfeld of Broward County, one
of eight Americans legally allowed to smoke pot under a doctor’s
prescription. He claims marijuana is the only medicine that relieves
chronic pain from bone tumors.

While various studies of pot’s medical benefits are under way, the
drive to legalize marijuana is based almost entirely on anecdotal
testimony of sick people. Supporters claim pot smoke can stimulate
lost appetite and reduce nausea caused by chemotherapy drugs used to
treat cancer and AIDS patients. They also say it can reduce glaucoma,
arthritis, chronic pain, headaches, muscle spasms and other ailments.

It is legitimate to investigate and consider the potential medical
benefits of any drug, even mind-altering illegal ones. For example,
morphine is a proven pain-killer commonly used in hospitals and
nursing homes.

But medical-marijuana backers see it only as a compassionate way to
fight pain and illness, ignoring many legitimate objections:

No other prescription drug is delivered to patients by smoking it.
Doing so prevents supplying measured, controlled, properly timed doses
or providing stringent quality control to avoid toxic pollutants.
Marijuana smoke contains about 2,000 separate chemicals, in an
unpredictable, unmeasured and unstable mix.

The active ingredient in marijuana, THC, is already available by
prescription in pill form.

Much current marijuana is far more potent, mind-altering and harmful
than before. The side effects can outweigh the benefits. Tests show
pot smoking can damage the heart, lungs, brain, reproductive organs
and the immune system. It can be especially dangerous to those who
seek it the most, suffering chronic, intractable illnesses.

For many of the conditions supposedly helped by marijuana, including
pain management, there are numerous adequately tested and proven,
safer and more effective medicines already available, without
marijuana’s harmful side effects.

Studies have documented the similarity in marijuana addiction, and
difficulty of withdrawal, to that of heroin or cocaine. Drug experts
consider marijuana a “gateway” drug that opens the door to
experimentation with more harmful illegal drugs.

Legalizing pot could hurt sick people by encouraging them to use a
psychoactive ( mind-altering ) drug instead of something else that is
more helpful.

Finally, experts in drug policy believe this so-called “weedotherapy”
campaign is a thinly veiled, well-financed effort to eventually
legalize pot and other now-illegal drugs for purely recreational use.

So far, the negatives of legalization of medical marijuana far
outweigh the positives. State laws, no matter how compassionate the
motivation, cannot be allowed to override federal laws.

********************************************************************

SAMPLE LETTER

To the editors:

Your editorial stated that we should not end the criminal sanctions
against consenting adults who use cannabis for medical relief, based
on the advice of their personal physician.

You said that the active ingredient in cannabis, THC, is already
available in pill form. That is indeed correct, but in our work with
cannabis patients here in Florida, as well as nationwide, we have
determined that many patients are unable to successfully consume pills
as medication due to their specific needs, including chemotherapy
related nausea and AIDS wasting syndrome.

You note that current marijuana is often more powerful and harmful
than before. Powerful yes, as a stronger dose reduces the number of
doses needed. More harmful however is absurd, since cannabis sativa
has had the exact same benefit and harm potential for over five
thousand years. The marijuana being distributed at the Oakland
Cannabis Club was carefully grown, harvested and measured for strength
and purity, with of course no additives or adulterants included.

Your suggestion that the harmful side effects outweigh the potential
benefits is immediately contradicted by the tens of thousands of
patients who elect to use cannabis instead of drug company narcotics.
Clearly they feel your statement is in error, as do their doctors.

Your statement that the effects of cannabis addiction are on par with
heroin or cocaine is patently untrue.* The Institute of Medicine in a
report commissioned by former Drug Czar McCaffery released a report in
Mar 1999 that specificly equated withdrawal from active cannabis use
to be on par with caffeine withdrawal. Uncomfortable, yes. But nothing
akin to withdrawal from opiates or cocaine.

Finally, your reference to the ‘gateway theory'(a hoax that was also
clearly debunked by the IOM report)is just plain outlandish. To
suggest that current cannabis patients have any desire or plan to
‘experiment with other more harmful illegal drugs’ is poppycock.

In the end, your editorial position endorses the arrest, prosecution
and incarceration of patients who elect to use cannabis instead of
heavy duty narcotics and pharmaceuticals, on the advice of
theirdoctor. Now that’s a minefield I’d rather not be part of.

Respectfully submitted

Stephen Heath
Clearwater
***********************************************************************

TARGET ANALYSIS Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel 250,000 Subscribers

Our published letter archive only showed 5 LTEs published in this
paper. Let’s put on a concerted effort to increase that number. Your
LTE could influence and help educate 300,000 people

***********************************************************************
IMPORTANT: Always include your address and telephone number Please note: If
you choose to use this letter as a model please modify it at least somewhat
so that the paper does not receive numerous copies of the same letter and
so that the original author receives credit for his/her work.

***********************************************************************

ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing
efforts

3 Tips for Letter Writers http://www.mapinc.org/3tips.htm
Letter Writers Style Guide http://www.mapinc.org/style.htm
************************************************************************

TO SUBSCRIBE, DONATE, VOLUNTEER TO HELP, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL SEE
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************************************************************************
Prepared by Steve Heath http://www.mapinc.org

Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2001
Subject: #202 Failed Drug Czars Urge Future Czar To Make Things Worse

Failed Drug Czars Urge Future Czar To Make Things Worse

——-
PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE
——-

DrugSense FOCUS Alert # 203 Thursday, March 22, 2001

Well it seems that former Drug Czars may have been failures in their
job at solving America’s drug policy problems, but they still have
plenty of advice for the new Czar, a position yet to be filled by new
President G.W. Bush.

In this week’s Miami Herald, former Czar William Bennett and an
earlier predecessor, Robert DuPont (White House Drug Chief under Nixon
and Ford) get loose with their ADVICE FOR THE NEXT DRUG CZAR.

Their eight point analysis is a regurgitation of basic Drug War myths,
most notably two slams against the ‘legalizers’ who teach us that the
War on Drugs is lost, and that we should not believe that.

Interestingly, the Herald also ran a somewhat opposing viewpoint
titled OUR LONG LOST WAR ON DRUGS, see http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01.n491.a02.html
which focused on the overall public reaction and response to the movie
‘Traffic’.

PLEASE write a letter today to the Miami Herald to not only dispute
the Czars’ article, but also possibly to commend them for printing two
points of view. If you wish to focus on refuting the Czars, may we
suggest that you include a PS with a thanks for balanced editing?

It’s not what others do, it’s what YOU do.

You can make a difference.

************************************************************************
PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID
( Letter, Phone, fax etc.)

Please post a copy your letter or report your action to the sent
letter list ([email protected]) if you are subscribed, or by
E-mailing a copy directly to [email protected] Your letter will then
be forwarded to the list with so others can learn from your efforts
and be motivated to follow suit

This is VERY IMPORTANT as it is a very important method of gauging our
impact and effectiveness.
************************************************************************

Contact Info

Source: Miami Herald (FL)
Contact: [email protected]
Address: One Herald Plaza, Miami FL 33132-1693

***************************************************************************

ARTICLE

URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01.n491.a08.html
Newshawk: Ginger
Pubdate: Tue, 20 Mar 2001
Source: Miami Herald (FL)
Copyright: 2001 The Miami Herald
Contact: [email protected]
Address: One Herald Plaza, Miami FL 33132-1693
Fax: (305) 376-8950
Website: http://www.herald.com/
Forum: http://krwebx.infi.net/webxmulti/cgi-bin/WebX?mherald
Author: William J. Bennett, and Robert L. Dupont
Note: William J. Bennett, co-chair of the Partnership for a Drug-Free
America, served as the 1989-1990 director of the Office of National Drug
Control Policy. Robert L. DuPont, president of the Institute for Behavior
and Health, was the White House drug chief under Presidents Nixon and Ford
and the first director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse in 1973-1978.

ADVICE FOR THE NEXT DRUG CZAR

Gov. Jeb Bush recently held a summit on drug policy in Tallahassee. He
reiterated the ambitious plan announced in 1999: to reduce the use of
illegal drugs in Florida by 50 percent over five years.

We hope that President Bush will follow his brother’s example and
fight aggressively to reduce drug use. As former heads of the nation’s
fight against illegal drugs, we offer him this advice:

* Prevention is the best medicine. The drug czar’s most important job
is to promote a clear message: Drug use is dangerous. The intellectual
elites laughed at Nancy Reagan’s motto, “Just Say No.” Children did
not, for it was simple and effective.

* Support parents’ groups. During the 1980s, when drug use among
children plummeted ( decreasing 63 percent among high school seniors
); they were the leaders in the anti-drug movement. Bush already has
taken steps toward this goal in announcing his intention to fund the
training of a nationwide Parents Drug Corps.

* Prepare for new drug threats. While the crack-cocaine epidemic of
the 1990s has passed, methamphetamine and Ecstasy are growing in
popularity, especially among the young. In 1999 more than a million
Americans used meth, more than used crack and almost three times as
many as used heroin. Meth is devastating and provides a high that
lasts six times as long as that of crack or cocaine. These new
synthetic drugs are cheap and far too easy to obtain; many of them are
manufactured in the United States.

* Supply reduction is demand reduction. When drugs are more plentiful,
cheaper and purer, more people become addicted. Increased drug supply
leads to higher levels of drug demand and to greater amounts of social
harm. We need to be firm in pursuing, arresting and punishing those
who sell and traffic in illegal drugs.

* Develop a plan for interdiction. Simply spending more money to
intercept drugs overseas and crossing our borders is insufficient. We
need a well-developed supply-reduction strategy that takes into
account political, military and geographic factors.

* Law enforcement and treatment work together. Those who want to move
the war on drugs from the criminal to the medical arena neglect the
fact that laws against drug use promote effective treatment.
Successful treatment is a function of the longevity of treatment, and,
for most addicts, the longevity of treatment is a function of
coercion, being forced into treatment – by a loved one, an employer or
by the law.

* Fight legalization. More threatening than the efforts to medicalize
drugs are the efforts to legalize drugs. These efforts – often well
funded – argue that the costs of waging a war on drugs outweigh the
benefits.

The advocates of drug legalization ignore the human costs of overdose
deaths, drug- addicted newborns, broken homes and broken hearts.

* Speak the truth about the war on drugs. We need to counter a
pernicious myth cited by drug-legalization supporters: that we have
lost the war on drugs. That is not so.

The number of Americans currently using illegal drugs peaked in 1979,
when 25.4 million people used drugs monthly or more often. By 1992
that number was down to 12 million – an achievement that is even more
impressive, considering that the population increased by 25 million
over the same 13-year period. In Florida, the rate of youth drug use
is the third-lowest in the nation.

With the right combination of efforts on the legal, international,
medical and moral fronts, we – in Florida and in America – can reduce
drug use even more.

***********************************************************************

SAMPLE LETTER

To the editors:

The two opposing viewpoints expressed in Tuesday’s Herald were very
interesting as readers were able to compare the counsel and viewpoints
of former Drug Czars Bennett and DuPont against the reality of
America’s drug policy efforts in the year 2001.

Dupont was one of the initiators of Nixon’s War on Drugs while
Bennett, who carried the torch for former President Bush now continues
to preach his flawed message via his association with the PDFA.

Most notable in the contrast was the former Czars’ stern
recommendation that the incoming Czar not be ‘fooled by the legalizers
who say the War on Drugs is lost’. While meanwhile, via the opposing
column and it’s references to the movie “Traffic”, we are presented
with the stark and real evidence that the policies of the past 30
years are wreaking untold havoc on our populace, their families and
overall civil liberties.

The new Czar should take to heart the movie’s most poignant message
and know that ‘a War on Drugs is a war against our own friends and
families’, as so eloquently stated by the fictional Drug Czar
portrayed by Michael Douglas. It is simply not possible to coerce our
fellow free citizens into healthy lifestyles via the gun, the badge or
the prison cell.

Rather we will only solve America’s very real problems with drug abuse
when we transfer this war from the military and law enforcement arena
back to the public health arena it properly belongs in.

Sincerely,
Steve Heath

contact info

*************************
IMPORTANT: Always include your address and telephone number
Please note: If you choose to use this letter as a model please modify
it at least somewhat so that the paper does not receive numerous copies
of the same letter and so that the original author receives credit for
his/her work.
—————————————————————————-
TARGET ANALYSIS Miami Herald Circulation 433,000 Subscribers

Is the Herald Biased?

It appears that this newspaper may have a bias against letters which
question the War on Drugs as there are many similar sized newspapers
in the U.S. from which we have dozens, if not hundreds of published
letters in the MAP published letter archives. For the Miami Herald
there are only eleven!

Thus showing reader interest by sending this newspaper letters is very
important.

The Herald tends to publish shorter LTEs, ranging from 64 to 225 words
for the body of the LTE, with an average of 148 words.

You may review the 11 letters published by the Herald in the MAP
published letter archives by clicking this link

http://www.mapinc.org/mapcgi/ltedex.pl?SOURCE=Miami+Herald

**********************************************************
ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts

3 Tips for Letter Writers http://www.mapinc.org/3tips.htm

Letter Writers Style Guide http://www.mapinc.org/style.htm

****************************************************************************

TO SUBSCRIBE, DONATE, VOLUNTEER TO HELP, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL SEE
http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm

TO UNSUBSCRIBE SEE http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm

***************************************************************************
Prepared by Steve Heath and
Stephen Young – http://www.maximizingharm.com
Focus Alert Specialist

Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2001
Subject: #202 McCaffrey Teams Up With Housman To Bend The Truth Again

McCaffrey Teams up With Housman To Bend the Truth (Again)

For a compendium of examples of former drug czar McCaffrey’s loose
affiliation with accuracy and facts please see “Is Truth a Casualty of
the Drug War” http://www.csdp.org/ads/

Note: Please see a new MAP feature the “Target Analysis” at the bottom of
this Focus Alert.

——-
PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE
——-

DrugSense FOCUS Alert #202 Thursday March 15, 2001

Once again drug warriors are taking their misinformation campaign to
the people, this time in a March 15th column in the Los Angeles Times.
Robert F. Housman and Barry R. McCaffrey, former Assistant Director
and Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control
Policy, are claiming success in the never ending drug war. This
despite the finding of last year’s Monitoring the Future survey that
heroin use among high school seniors is at record levels. Likewise,
drug-related emergency rooms are at record levels, along with drug war
spending, yet the promotion of reefer madness hysteria remains the top
priority of Housman and McCaffrey.

McCaffrey has a history of using the availability of pure THC in the
form of the prescription drug Marinol as reason to deny marijuana to
sick and dying patients. However, in this instance the authors chose
to demonize marijuana’s active ingredient, even going so far as to
defend tobacco, by far the deadliest drug in America. Please write a
letter to the Los Angeles times to remind their readers that Housman
and McCaffrey can’t have it both ways.

WRITE A LETTER TODAY

Just DO it! If not YOU who? If not NOW when?

***************************************************************************

PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID (Letter,
Phone, fax etc.)

Please post a copy your letter or report your action to the sent
letter list ([email protected] ) if you are subscribed, or by
E-mailing a copy directly to [email protected] Your letter will then
be forwarded to the list with so others can learn from your efforts
and be motivated to follow suit

This is VERY IMPORTANT as it is the only way we have of gauging our
impact and effectiveness.

***************************************************************************

CONTACT INFO:

Source: Los Angeles Times (LA)
Contact: [email protected]

***************************************************************************

US CA: OPED: Hollywood Is Ignoring A Valid Drug War Script

URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01.n455.a09.html

Pubdate: Thu, 15 Mar 2001
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2001 Los Angeles Times
Contact: [email protected]
Address: Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053
Fax: (213) 237-7679
Feedback: http://www.latimes.com/siteservices/talk_contacts.htm
Website: http://www.latimes.com/
Forum: http://www.latimes.com/discuss/
Authors: Robert F. Housman, Barry R. Mccaffrey
Note: Robert F. Housman Was Assistant Director for Strategic Planning in
the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy From 1997 to January
2001. Barry R. Mccaffrey Was Director of the Office From 1996 to January 2001

HOLLYWOOD IS IGNORING A VALID DRUG WAR SCRIPT

On NBC’s “The West Wing,” President Bartlet sees the fight against
drugs as a lost cause and a huge waste of money. His surgeon general
has declared marijuana less dangerous than cigarettes. His staff
overwhelmingly favors legalizing drugs. Meanwhile, in the
Oscar-nominated movie, “Traffic,” the new drug czar is so rocked by
the enormity of the drug problem and his own daughter’s addiction that
he walks away from the job.

All this makes great entertainment. But it is about as accurate as
saying “The Brady Bunch” was a portrait of real life in America.

The fact is, our national strategy against drugs is working. Over the
last two years, youth drug use dropped 21%. Workplace drug use has
fallen to an 11-year low–4.6%, down from 13.6% in 1988. The number of
murders related to narcotics laws dropped from 1,402 in 1989 to 564 in
1999, the lowest point in more than a decade. The number of people
receiving drug treatment nearly tripled between 1980 and 1998.
Neighborhoods, like New York City’s Harlem, have been taken back from
the dealers and gangs and, once again, offer safe places for
hard-working families to live.

It is true that the number of people arrested for drug crimes has
grown, arguably one reason why drug crimes are down. However, at the
same time, we have dramatically increased the number of diversion
programs to break the cycle of drugs and crime. These programs, such
as drug courts, offer nonviolent, drug-addicted offenders supervised
treatment in lieu of jail. Ironically, the actor who plays President
Bartlet, Martin Sheen, is one of the nation’s leading advocates for
drug courts and against legalization; he believes that the threat of
jail time helped his son break free of addiction.

Contrary to the prevailing wisdom you may see on movie and TV screens,
with exceedingly few exceptions, we are not locking people up for
simple possession of marijuana. During fiscal year 1998, only 33
federal defendants were sentenced to jail for base offenses involving
less than 5,000 grams of marijuana. At the state level, more than 70%
of drug offenders were incarcerated for drug trafficking as opposed to
possession. An overwhelming majority of the total state prison drug
offender population had prior criminal histories, a quarter of which
were violent.

Along these same lines, “The West Wing’s” surgeon general would be
wise to consider new research out of UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive
Cancer Center suggesting that marijuana users may be at higher risk
for cancer than cigarette smokers. THC, the active component in
marijuana, has been shown to cause cancerous tumors. Marijuana
deposits four times more tar in the respiratory tract than cigarette
smoke. And studies show that young people who smoke pot tend to be
lethargic, socially removed, more prone to committing violent and
property crimes and do worse in school. None of these effects are
equally associated with cigarettes.

President Bartlet’s policy team should also take a harder look at the
real impact of legalizing drugs. Each year drug use costs the U.S.
52,000 drug-related deaths and roughly $110 billion in additional
societal costs. Legalizing drugs would compound this suffering. One of
the main reasons why the majority of young people never try drugs is
societal disapproval. Legalizing drugs would make drug use an accepted
behavior and, inevitably, more young people would use them. More
people using drugs would mean more addicts, more traffic fatalities,
more human and economic costs.

Nor would legalization cut crime. The average drug criminal isn’t
waging a turf war over black market territory or shooting it out with
the police. Most drug-related crime is committed by addicts to get
money to buy drugs–the vast majority of drug users rely to some
degree on illicit money to support their addiction. Legalization would
only increase the number of people robbing, stealing and prostituting
themselves for drug cash.

Shows like “Sports Night,” “Dawson’s Creek,” “ER” and “Third
Watch”–some with the sponsorship of the Office of National Drug
Control Policy–have done accurate portrayals of the devastating
impact of drug use on people, families and friends. However, when the
entertainment industry takes dramatic license with the facts about
drug use, it has a real impact. Children see drugs as less risky.
Parents grow less concerned and talk to their children less frequently
about the dangers of drug use. Public support diminishes for the men
and women of law enforcement who safeguard our families. Policymakers
are less inclined to do what’s necessary to fight drugs.

Walking away in disgust from the realities of drug use can add drama
to a movie or a TV script, but in the real world it is plain
irresponsible.

***************************************************************************

SAMPLE LETTER

Robert F. Housman and Barry R. McCaffrey want to have their cake and
eat it to. In their Mar. 15th column the former Assistant Director
and Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy
claim that THC, the principle active component in marijuana, has been
shown to cause cancerous tumors. Yet when arguing against medical
marijuana McCaffrey routinely touts the prescription availability of
100% pure THC in pill form as a healthy alternative. Housman and
McCaffrey exhibit an appalling willingness to bend the truth to suit
their needs. Contrary to what they would have the public believe, THC
has not been shown to cause tumors, in fact recent research conducted
by the Complutense University in Madrid found that THC eliminates
tumor cells in rats.

Their complete lack of credibility is glaring. The $110 billion in
societal costs cited includes the cost of keeping drug offenders
behind bars. The high cost of maintaining the largest prison system
is certainly no reason to put more Americans behind bars. Likewise,
the authors purported 52,000 drug-related deaths per year is extremely
disingenuous. It is not possible to obtain such an inflated estimate
without including deaths caused by alcohol and tobacco, by far the
deadliest drugs in America, despite their legality. Marijuana, the
drug that Housman and McCaffrey mention most, has never been shown to
cause an overdose death. America’s drug problem is far too serious to
allow the blatant misinformation provided by drug warriors to dominate
the debate.

Sincerely, Robert Sharpe, Washington, DC

IMPORTANT: Always include your address and telephone
number

Please note: If you choose to use this letter as a model please modify
it at least somewhat so that the paper does not receive numerous
copies of the same letter and so that the original author receives
credit for his/her work.

—————————————————————————-

TARGET ANALYSIS Los Angeles Times

Your letter, if published, could impact 1.5 MILLION L.A. Times
Readers. Even if it is not published your letter helps educate and
influence an important publication and may help other letters to be
published.

The LA Times tends to publish shorter LTEs, ranging from 101 to 211
words for the body of the LTE, with an average of 151 words. However,
they have frequently printed more than one letter in response to an
item, sometimes as many as four or five.

You may review the 161 letters published by the Times in the MAP
published letter archives by clicking this link

http://www.mapinc.org/mapcgi/ltedex.pl?SOURCE=Los+Angeles+Times

ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing
efforts

3 Tips for Letter Writers http://www.mapinc.org/3tips.htm

Letter Writers Style Guide http://www.mapinc.org/style.htm

***************************************************************************

TO SUBSCRIBE, DONATE, VOLUNTEER TO HELP, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL SEE
http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm

TO UNSUBSCRIBE SEE http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm

***************************************************************************

Prepared by Richard Lake – http://www.mapinc.org, Robert Sharpe, and
Stephen Young – http://www.maximizingharm.com Focus Alert Specialists

Date: Sat, 10 Mar 2001
Subject: #201 Rosenthal Still Fighting To Ignore Reality Of Drug War

Rosenthal Still Fighting To Ignore Reality Of Drug War

NOTE: Rosenthal is one of our favorite drug warrior targets. His
supreme lack of logic combined with his know-it-all doctrinaire
attitude make him easy pickings. If you will read the article below,
you will likely be moved to write a letter responding to his
inaccurate foolishness.

——-
PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE
——-

DrugSense FOCUS Alert #201 Saturday March 10, 2001

Columnist A.M. Rosenthal was fired by the New York Times last year,
but that doesn’t seem to have shattered any of his illusions about the
drug war. The outspoken supporter of prohibition now writes for the
New York Daily News, and this week he is shocked to learn that the
message of drug policy reform has now made it to Hollywood (see his
column below).

While even many prohibitionists have found something to like in the
film “Traffic,” Rosenthal sees it as nothing more than an insult to
his fellow drug warriors and part of a larger “conspiracy” against
them (a conspiracy of common sense perhaps?) . As usual, Rosenthal
disparages a few wealthy individuals who have supported drug policy
reform with a few million dollars in recent years, while he neglects
the fact that the illogical prohibitionist effort spends more than a
billion dollars every _month_ on the utterly failed and monumentally
expensive “war on drugs.”

Of course, Rosenthal and his ilk are right to be concerned that they
have lost control of public discourse on this issue as that is most
obviously the case as demonstrated by the sea change in the national
attitude and the growing support for reform, not only in Hollywood,
but in the print and broadcast media as well as in public opinion.

Please write a letter to the Daily News to remind editors that
Rosenthal’s notion of a noble and righteous drug war may be
sustainable in Rosenthal’s closed mind, but in the real world, fewer
citizens are buying it every day.

WRITE A LETTER TODAY

Just DO it! If not YOU who? If not NOW when?

***************************************************************************

PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID ( Letter,
Phone, fax etc.)

Please post a copy your letter or report your action to the sent
letter list ([email protected]) if you are subscribed, or by
E-mailing a copy directly to [email protected] Your letter will then
be forwarded to the list with so others can learn from your efforts
and be motivated to follow suit

This is VERY IMPORTANT as it is the only way we have of gauging our
impact and effectiveness.

**************************************************************************

CONTACT INFO:

Source: New York Daily News (NY)
Contact: [email protected]

***************************************************************************

ARTICLE

US NY: Column: Hollywood’s Dangerous Drug Line
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01.n419.a08.html
NewsHawk: Sledhead
Pubdate: Fri, 09 Mar 2001
Source: New York Daily News (NY)
Copyright: 2001 Daily News, L.P.
Contact: [email protected]
Address: 450 W. 33rd St., New York, N.Y. 10001
Website: http://www.nydailynews.com/
Forum: http://www.nydailynews.com/manual/news/e_the_people/e_the_people.htm
Author: A.M. Rosenthal
HOLLYWOOD’S DANGEROUS DRUG LINE

The President has appointed a new drug czar – a justice of the Ohio
Supreme Court. Before the judge takes office, he goes to the
Mexican-American border and to Mexico itself. He sees the brutality of
Mexican police officers, themselves part of drug gangs. He sees
American anti-drug agents risk their lives and often lose them.

As he is preparing for his first press conference at the White House,
he finds out that his daughter Caroline, a wholesome-looking teenager,
is a junkie. She is so captured by narcotics that she prostitutes
herself for them.

At the press conference, he begins to read his prepared speech about
the importance of the war on drugs to save the 68 million American
children who have been targeted by the narcotics kings. He cannot go
on. He puts down his speech, turns to leave the room and his career
and says: “I can’t do this. If there is a war on drugs, then our own
families have become the enemy. How can you make war on your own family?”

That’s it – that’s the message that the film “Traffic” delivers toward
the end, where messages are put to be remembered.

It is also a message peddled by Americans who have created a national
network of organizations devoted to ending the war on drugs and making
more narcotics more available to more Americans without legal penalty.
They use nicey-nicey phrases like “drug reform” or “harm reduction”
because they know the public would reject any honest move toward their
real goal – outright legalization.

Supporters of the drug war, like myself, did not think any such
destructive movement would become accepted among people who consider
themselves informed and intelligent, including journalists. Wrong.
With propaganda funds from a few truly rich Americans, the legalizers
have convinced more and more columnists and editorial writers. They
have won state plebiscites that used tricky, concealing language to
make more narcotics available for “medicinal” purposes.

Particularly generous are financier George Soros, Ohio insurance
executive Peter Lewis and the founder of the for-profit University of
Phoenix, John Sperling. They and their organizations hack away at the
very foundation of the struggle against drugs: the three-way
combination of law enforcement, interdiction and therapy.

The money these billionaires put into their hatred for the drug war,
out of whatever cradle trauma, could make helping addicts impossible
by destroying the law enforcement that is essential to effective therapy.

I went back to anti-drug experts I have trusted and learned from for
years. All of them have contributed more to therapy for addicts in a
single week than the moneybags of the war against the drug war have in
their combined lifetimes. I asked these experts if I’m missing
something, if I’m behind the times, about the importance of the union
of therapy, law enforcement and interdiction. Here’s what they said:

Dr. Mitchell Rosenthal, probably the most important therapist in the
country, creator of Phoenix House, the national group of therapeutic
communities where addicts often work a year or more ridding their
minds and bodies of drugs: “Ninety percent of the people who need
treatment do not seek it out themselves. They have to be coerced by a
wife, an employer, a probation officer, a court, the police. Very few
addicts wake up in the morning and say, ‘I am destroying my life. I am
out of control. I need help.'”

Dr. Herbert Kleber of Columbia University, considered by both
supporters and enemies of the anti-drug struggle as one of the
country’s top experts: “The opposition to interdiction does not
include me. It is part of the essential three. It would be wrong to
fight and fight against drugs and leave the sources of drugs
untouched, even if they cannot be controlled fully.”

Is addiction a disease, or is it behavior? “It is a disease that
erodes but does not erase the ability to make choices, as diabetes
gives the patient the choice between eating chocolate bars and
refusing them.”

Sue Rusche, director of National Families in Action, an organization
that provides a university of knowledge on drugs and an army fighting
them: “Addicts rarely enter treatment voluntarily. … We must not
repeat the mistake made when we deinstitutionalized mental health
hospitals and produced a homeless population of untreated mentally ill
people.”

Richard Brown, Queens district attorney: “The major reason for the
drop in crime around the city, including murders, is the breakup of
gangs and the putting away of the criminals who created open-air
markets and public housing drug bazaars.”

Those are their messages for Hollywood directors and producers to
think about – and President Bush, when he gets around to his delayed
duty of appointing a strong drug czar, maybe.

******************************************************************************
SAMPLE LETTER

To the editor:

How typical of A.M. Rosenthal (column ‘Hollywood’s Dangerous Drug
Line’ March 9th).

First he builds a case that a few rich Americans have somehow
hoodwinked all those voters who pass initiatives against the excesses
of the War on Drugs — from cops stealing property for the gain of
their departments without the owner being found guilty of a crime at
least 80% of the time, called asset forfeiture — to marijuana, a
substance who’s medicinal value was recognized in a detailed,
government funded, study by the Institute of Medicine.

Then he asks “if I’m missing something”? But who does he ask? Two
doctors who make their living off the War or its victims, a DA who
supports the Draconian Rockefeller Drug Laws, and the leader of a
pro-War lobby.

It appears that Mr. Rosenthal is still missing something. But don’t
expect him to ask anyone who really understands what is happening any
time soon.

It appears that Hollywood, with the film “Traffic,” may have the
message right. They could have scripted an ending more to Mr.
Rosenthal’s beliefs, then asked the government for a nice check for
their efforts.

Richard Lake
Sylvania, Ohio

IMPORTANT: Always include your address and telephone
number

Please note: If you choose to use this letter as a model please modify it
at least somewhat so that the paper does not receive numerous copies of the
same letter and so that the original author receives credit for his/her work.
—————————————————————————-

ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing
efforts

3 Tips for Letter Writers http://www.mapinc.org/3tips.htm

Letter Writers Style Guide http://www.mapinc.org/style.htm

****************************************************************************

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***************************************************************************

Prepared by Richard Lake – http://www.mapinc.org and Stephen Young –
http://www.maximizingharm.com Focus Alert Specialist

Date: Tue, 06 Mar 2001
Subject: #200 Lack Of Drug War Pardons Is Also A Scandal

Lack Of Drug War Pardons Is Also A Scandal

NOTE: This is The 200th Focus Alert DrugSense and MAP have distributed
to thousands of letter writing volunteers in our ongoing attempt to
educate the media and thereby the public on a wide range of drug
policy topics. Please use this milestone as the catalyst to renew your
commitment and make an extra attempt to become even more involved in
our group letter writing efforts.

It’s not what others do it’s what YOU do

——-
PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE
——-

DrugSense FOCUS Alert #200 Tuesday March 6, 2001

Outrage over former President Clinton’s use of his pardon power has
focused mostly on the role money played in influencing pardon
decisions. While that may be troubling, it is even more outrageous to
think about some of the drug war victims who really deserved
presidential help.

Columnist Cynthia Tucker does so this week in the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution. Please write a letter to the paper to say that
the real scandal of the pardon story is that those who have faced
great injustice because of the drug war received little or no
consideration.

WRITE A LETTER TODAY

***************************************************************************

PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID ( Letter,
Phone, fax etc.)

Please post a copy your letter or report your action to the sent
letter list ([email protected]) if you are subscribed, or by
E-mailing a copy directly to [email protected] Your letter will then
be forwarded to the list with so others can learn from your efforts
and be motivated to follow suit

This is VERY IMPORTANT as it is the only way we have of gauging our
impact and effectiveness.

**************************************************************************

CONTACT INFO:

Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (GA)
Contact: [email protected]
***************************************************************************

ARTICLE

US GA: Column: War On Drugs’ Victims Still Jailed, While Rich Go Free

URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n391/a02.html
Newshawk: Sledhead
Pubdate: Sun, 04 Mar 2001
Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (GA)
Copyright: 2001 Cox Interactive Media.
Contact: [email protected]
Address: 72 Marietta Street, NW, Atlanta, Ga. 30303
Website: http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/
Forum: http://www.accessatlanta.com/community/forums/
Author: Cynthia Tucker

WAR ON DRUGS’ VICTIMS STILL JAILED, WHILE RICH GO FREE

Karen Garrison didn’t have $400,000 to give first brother-in-law Hugh
Rodham, so her twin sons didn’t get clemency from former President
Clinton.

Perhaps if Clinton had just seen Garrison’s heartbreaking letter,
written in October 1998 to the judge in her sons’ drug trial:

“I’m writing this letter with facts, feelings of indescribable
despair, and ( I am ) at your mercy. ( My sons ) were found guilty by
a jury. . . . You may not remember, but next to childbirth, I will
never forget that night. Now I’m asking that you consider ( the facts
) and my torn apart heart. Lamont and Lawrence are not guilty. . .
.”

But Garrison didn’t have millions for Clinton’s presidential library
or connections to well-heeled lawyers with access to the White House.
So her sons remain in prison under harsh laws meant for drug kingpins
but which routinely bury penny-ante dealers, instead.

If Clinton cared about a legacy, he had a perfect opportunity to leave
one. Instead of granting clemency to just a few small-time drug
offenders, as he did, he might have pardoned or commuted the sentences
of thousands. He might have pointed out the folly of the so-called war
on drugs.

With many less-affluent Americans in prison rather than fancy drug
rehab centers, Clinton could have redefined himself as a committed
populist. With many African-Americans ensnared by the injustices of
the system, he could have helped a black constituency that has been
extremely loyal.

He could have started with the Garrison twins. Lamont and Lawrence
were 25 years old, a month away from college graduation, when they
were arrested in 1998. Friends, relatives and teachers all testify to
their honesty, hard work and respect for the law. They had no criminal
records, not even as juveniles. They wanted to become lawyers.

But they had left a car for repair with a Maryland body shop owned by
Tito Abea, and they had argued with him over the work. When Abea was
arrested on drug charges, prosecutors offered him leniency if he
implicated others. His testimony convicted the Garrisons. There was no
hard evidence. Police could not tie the twins to drugs or guns or even
money. Indeed, they were head-over-heels in debt with school expenses.

Now they are felons — Lamont serving 19 1/2 years while Lawrence
serves 15 1/2.

While the case of the Garrisons is so heart-breaking because they are
probably innocent, others — guilty of the charges — deserved
clemency because of sentences too harsh for their crimes. Johnny
Patillo, for instance.

In 1992, he was 27 and desperate for cash. Months away from completing
a San Diego college, he agreed to mail a package for $500. Although he
admits he suspected the contents were illegal, he says he didn’t know
it contained 681 grams of crack cocaine. He is serving 10 years.

Then there is Duane Edwards, a decorated veteran of the Persian Gulf
War. He doesn’t deny selling 126 grams of crack to an undercover
officer in June 1995; Washington, D.C., police found another 61 grams
in his car.

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Edwards’ appeal, although his lawyers
pointed out the unfairness of a sentencing structure that treats
powdered cocaine and crack cocaine differently. Those who traffic in
crack — usually poor blacks — get long prison terms, while those who
handle the same amounts of powdered cocaine — usually middle-class
whites — get lighter penalties.

Clinton owed a debt to felons like Edwards because he was too craven
to oppose that sentencing structure during his tenure. He should have
used his virtually limitless clemency authority not only to free
Edwards but also to right countless other injustices of this foolish
drug war.

Such clemencies would have sparked controversy, but it would have been
a controversy over ideas instead of ethics. And history might have
judged Clinton a courageous president who stood up for the common man
rather than a money-grubber who favored the rich.

******************************************************************************
SAMPLE LETTER

Editor:
Bravo for Cynthia Tucker’s outstanding column, “WAR ON DRUGS’ VICTIMS STILL
JAILED, WHILE RICH GO FREE.” Obviously, since a substantial “donation” was
not attached to the letter pleading mercy from the Mother of twin boys
sentenced to prison, President Clinton didn’t have the time to consider her
plea. Obviously, our color-blind “first black President” was not
color-blind to the color green.

We all know who received most of the Presidential pardons and why.
Most of the pardons were because of money and lots of it “donated”
directly or indirectly to the man who “didn’t inhale”, and who didn’t
have sexual relations with “that woman.”

Hopefully our new compassionate conservative President will take
advantage of this opportunity to demonstrate his compassion by
pardoning people that have made bad decisions. Not bad decisions that
resulted in other people being physically harmed, robed or swindled,
but rather bad decisions regarding the use or abuse of illegal substances.

Hopefully our compassionate conservative President will break the long
standing tradition of past Presidents and not wait until the very end
of his term to pardon those deserving it. Hopefully the recipients of
Presidents Bush’s pardons will be ordinary citizens who made bad
decisions regarding the use or sale of illegal substances.

Kirk Muse

IMPORTANT: Always include your address and telephone
number

Please note: If you choose to use this letter as a model please modify it
at least somewhat so that the paper does not receive numerous copies of the
same letter and so that the original author receives credit for his/her work.
—————————————————————————-

ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing
efforts

3 Tips for Letter Writers http://www.mapinc.org/3tips.htm

Letter Writers Style Guide http://www.mapinc.org/style.htm

****************************************************************************

TO SUBSCRIBE, DONATE, VOLUNTEER TO HELP, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL SEE
http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm

TO UNSUBSCRIBE SEE http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm

***************************************************************************

Prepared by Kirk Muse – http://www.drugwarinfo.com and Stephen Young
Focus Alert Specialists

Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2001
Subject: #199 WSJ Pharmacuitical Companies Attempt To Synthesize

——-
PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE
——-

DrugSense FOCUS Alert #199 Wednesday February 28, 2001

PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES ATTEMPT TO SYNTHESIZE MARIJUANA

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that several researchers are
trying to develop derivatives of marijuana that can be used medically
without inducing a high. Some of the big pharmaceutical industries are
interested. The article does not address the people who need medical
marijuana right now regardless of its intoxicating qualities.

Please write a letter to the Journal to say that efforts should be
made to allow people who need marijuana for medical reasons to get it
now, and to point out the hypocrisy of the pharmaceutical companies,
which help to support the anti-marijuana propaganda of the Partnership
for a Drug-Free America.

WRITE A LETTER TODAY

It’s not what others do it’s what YOU do

***************************************************************************

PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID ( Letter,
Phone, fax etc.)

Please post a copy your letter or report your action to the sent
letter list ([email protected]) if you are subscribed, or by
E-mailing a copy directly to [email protected] Your letter will then
be forwarded to the list with so others can learn from your efforts
and be motivated to follow suit

This is VERY IMPORTANT as it is the only way we have of gauging our
impact and effectiveness.

**************************************************************************

CONTACT INFO:

Source: Wall Street Journal (US)
Contact: [email protected]

***************************************************************************

ARTICLE

US MS: Researchers Aim To Develop Marijuana Without The High
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01.n358.a06.html
Newshawk: Douglas Caddy
Pubdate: Wed, 28 Feb 2001
Source: Wall Street Journal (US)
Copyright: 2001 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Contact: [email protected]
Address: 200 Liberty Street, New York, NY 10281
Fax: (212) 416-2658
Website: http://www.wsj.com/
Author: Mark Robichaux, Wall Street Journal
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
RESEARCHERS AIM TO DEVELOP MARIJUANA WITHOUT THE HIGH

After 10 years of searching, University of Mississippi Professor
Mahmoud El Sohly thinks he has a new way to quiet opponents of
marijuana as medicine: a pot suppository. Designed to ease
post-chemotherapy nausea, among other conditions, its best feature may
be what it doesn’t do. “There is no high,” says Dr. El Sohly.

Whether the Food and Drug Administration ever will approve his drug,
which he has tried out on animals and human subjects, is hard to
predict, pending clinical trials sure to cost millions he doesn’t yet
have. He’s trying to interest drug companies.

For patients turning to marijuana for relief from a symptom such as
nausea, the high may be an unwanted side effect. To the government,
it’s illegal substance abuse. So in labs around the world, researchers
like Dr. El Sohly are attempting to create marijuana pills, aerosols,
injections and sprays that don’t create a buzz. Some are tweaking
molecules, while others are in the greenhouse crossbreeding plants.

One And The Same

What makes the task so tricky is that the same ingredient that appeals
to pot smokers — tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC — is what holds
promise as a medicine. Of the 400 or so chemicals found in the hemp
plant, more than 60 are so-called cannabinoids, and none is more
psychoactive than THC.

Some challengers in the race are already claiming victory. A tiny New
York City firm called Atlantic Technology Ventures Inc. is waiting to
unveil a synthetic compound called CT-3 — claimed to be THC without
the high. Sumner Burstein, a professor at the University of
Massachusetts department of biochemistry and molecular pharmacology,
developed the drug as a pain-reliever and says it is nonpsychoactive:
“I took one myself — no mental aberrations.” At least four years of
testing await the drug, which the company hopes to market one day as a
“super-Tylenol.”

Prof. Audra Stinchcomb of the Albany College of Pharmacy in New York
is testing in the lab a patch designed to relieve the side effects of
chemotherapy in cancer patients. Key to this effort’s success is the
rate of “transdermal” intake of the drug — too little and patients
feel no effect; too much and they get giggly. She attaches
synthetic-THC patches to pieces of skin left over from plastic
surgeries to evaluate absorption.

Fifteen Tons

In southern England, three-year-old GW Pharmaceuticals is hybridizing
cannabis plants to breed out psychoactive agents in some cases, to
increase THC in others. The company, which has a unique license from
the government of the United Kingdom, grows 50,000 plants, producing
15 tons of marijuana a year for medical research. “We have a perfect
factory growing one cannabinoid or another,” says founder and chairman
Geoffrey Guy.

While most other research involves extracting a single THC molecule
from cannabis and modifying it, Dr. Guy hopes to use the
pharmaceutical extracts of the entire plant. One way to reduce
psychotropic effects, says Dr. Guy, would be to increase the content
of other helpful cannabanoids besides THC, such as cannabidiol, or
CBD, which seems to minimize the high.

GW’s first product, which could hit U.K. markets as a pain-reliever by
2003: a device the size of a mobile phone that allows a daily dose of
a prescribed number of squirts under the tongue of cannabis extract,
containing both CBD and THC. The dispenser won’t allow extra squirts.
“We have chaps [in tests] using heavy machinery … some are
teaching,” says Dr. Guy. “They aren’t sitting in a corner high as a
kite.”

At London’s Imperial College, researchers are testing a THC-based drug
that circumvents the brain entirely — delivered by a spinal
injection. Though it is too early for human trials, researchers are
hoping to find that THC derivatives are more effective than morphine
for relieving pain from spinal-cord injuries.

Individual scientists, academic labs and small drug firms are pushing
the research hardest, largely because big drug companies have
traditionally been leery of the cost and political problems associated
with marketing marijuana as medicine. Also, because cannabis is a
natural product in the public domain, it can’t be patented. Today, the
only prescription-based medical marijuana available in the U.S. is
Marinol, a synthetic cousin of THC sold and marketed by Unimed
Pharmaceuticals Inc. Though approved as a nausea drug in 1985, and as
an appetite-stimulant for AIDS patients in 1992, it can induce a drug
high. Sales today reach an estimated $20 million annually.

Big companies are starting to get interested in the field. “We see
them — Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis — all the time at the
meetings of the society now,” says Roger Pertwee, a professor at the
University of Aberdeen in the U.K. and secretary of the International
Cannabinoid Research Society, a group of medical and academic
researchers. “They never came in the past.” Spokesmen for all three
companies said they wouldn’t dispute that assertion but also wouldn’t
confirm that they have had people at meetings. Kate Robins of Pfizer
Inc. said, “Our job is to cure diseases. We have 12,000 researchers.
We leave no stone unturned.”

In 1999, the Institute of Medicine, a branch of the National Academy of
Sciences, made the strongest case to date for cannabis as a potentially
effective treatment for nausea, AIDS-related appetite loss, glaucoma,
multiple sclerosis and other ailments. Its compilation of studies,
“Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base,” concluded that
cannabinoids have “potentially far-reaching therapeutic applications.”

Recent findings suggest that THC holds more potential as a painkiller
than anyone ever guessed. Discoveries that the body produces its own
cannabinoids that bind with receptors located in the brain and
elsewhere lead scientists to believe THC could affect nerve impulses
between cells in precise ways.

“In war, some men lose limbs and they don’t feel pain because the body
can turn pain off,” explains J. Michael Walker, a professor at Brown
University and current president of the cannabis research society. New
research suggests that “when you activate parts of the brain that turn
pain off, it causes the release of cannabinoids. Can cannabinoids
suppress pain pathways? It’s a very exciting science question.”

Some scientists remain skeptical. “Anecdote is not evidence,” declares
Alan I. Leshner, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse,
which funds research on addiction. “There is still very little
controlled clinical research on cannabis that demonstrates medical
benefit.”

Prof. Burstein, of the University of Massachusetts, says other
professors often “get a big grin on their face” when he speaks about
his marijuana research. “They ask, ‘Did you remember to bring the brownies?'”

******************************************************************************
SAMPLE LETTER

To the editor of the Wall Street Journal:

I felt a wave of nausea as I read the story “Researchers Aim To
Develop Marijuana Without The High” (Feb. 28). It only got worse as I
considered that I would need to wait years and likely spend great
numbers of dollars before legally attempting to quell that nausea with
marijuana. No matter how feverishly the pharmaceutical industry works
to eradicate the intolerable side effect of euphoria from marijuana
derivatives, it’s difficult to get excited.

The cynicism on display by the pharmaceutical companies is outrageous,
especially considering that many of them contribute funds to the
Partnership for a Drug-Free America – which creates anti-marijuana
ads. Marijuana is bad, I guess, unless its inherent unprofitability is
removed by way of a patented process.

Of course the pharmaceutical makers sound positively enlightened when
compared with NIDA head Alan Leshner, who still takes the flat-earth
approach that marijuana just can’t be good in any form.

All drugs have potential side effects – are we waiting to use
chemotherapy until the discomfort it can cause is eliminated? Why is
vomiting and a generally bad feeling acceptable but a mild high is
not? If the pharmaceutical companies think there’s a market for
cannabis without the high, then they ought to pursue it. But why are
people who can benefit from marijuana right now denied?

Stephen Young

IMPORTANT: Always include your address and telephone
number

Please note: If you choose to use this letter as a model please modify it
at least somewhat so that the paper does not receive numerous copies of the
same letter and so that the original author receives credit for his/her work.
—————————————————————————-

ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing
efforts

3 Tips for Letter Writers http://www.mapinc.org/3tips.htm

Letter Writers Style Guide http://www.mapinc.org/style.htm

****************************************************************************

TO SUBSCRIBE, DONATE, VOLUNTEER TO HELP, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL SEE
http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm

TO UNSUBSCRIBE SEE http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm

***************************************************************************

Prepared by Stephen Young – http://home.att.net/~theyoungfamily Focus
Alert Specialist