Date: Wed, 21 Apr 2004
Subject: #288 Please Tell Congress To Identify Impaired Drivers

PLEASE TELL CONGRESS TO IDENTIFY IMPAIRED DRIVERS

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DrugSense FOCUS Alert #288 Wednesday, 21 April 2004

Yesterday the Cincinnati Post published an OPED and an Editorial,
below, about a new bill before Congress. The NORML website describes
the bill as follows:

H.R. 3922, sponsored by a bipartisan coalition of legislators
including Reps. Robert Portman (R-OH), Sander Levin (D-MI), Steven
LaTourette (R-OH), Mark Souder (R-IN) and Jim Ramstad (R-MN), seeks to
impose so-called “model” DUID legislation upon all 50 states –
demanding they enact statutes sanctioning anyone who operates a motor
vehicle “while any detectable amount of a controlled substance is
present in the person’s body, as measured in the person’s blood,
urine, saliva, or other bodily substance.”

And another is a bill aimed at the same target, also as described by
NORML:

H.R. 3907, sponsored by Rep. Jon Porter (R-NV), demands that state
legislatures amend their DUID (driving under the influence of drugs)
to enact mandatory minimum penalties for anyone convicted of driving
under the influence of illegal drugs. Under the proposal, states have
until 2006 to pass and enforce DUID laws “approved by the
Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,”
or lose portions of their federal highway funding.

The OPED below clearly points out the problem with these bills, and
the Editorial gives additional reasons for taking action.

Need More Facts? See:

Cannabis and Driving http://www.drugwardistortions.org/distortion12.htm

and

References on Drugs and Driving http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Misc/driving/contents.htm

Related news clippings may be found at

http://www.mapinc.org/topics/impaired+driving

and

http://www.mapinc.org/find?224 (Cannabis and Driving)

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ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE:

Write a LTEs to the papers in your state about this issue. This is a
good example of a topic that may result in a printed letter without
the need to tie it to any other specific item the papers may have printed.

To find your state/local newspapers, go to MAP’s media links page
at:

http://www.mapinc.org/media.htm

Using the ‘List by Area” dropdown find and bring up the list of
newspapers in your state and their LTE contact. Note those with the
higher numbers of Clippings or Excerpts as this tends to indicate a
higher interest by the paper in our issues, and thus should be your
first targets.

Also consider sending them both the OPED and the Editorial. Ask your
papers to please print similar editorial page items about these bills.

And last, but not least, let your members of congress know about how
you feel about this issue. If you can, visit with the members, or
visit their state/local offices as telling them or their staff
directly always shows a deep concern, stronger than any other message.

You can use NORML’s Take Action page to send your concern to your
Member of Congress. Just go to this link, personalize the message with
your own thoughts and facts, and send. It is easy and fast:

http://capwiz.com/norml2/issues/alert/?alertid=5384696

Thanks for your effort and support.

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,
email messages, etc.)

Please post a copy of 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] if you are not
subscribed. Your letter will then be forwarded to the list so others
can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit.

This is _Very_ Important as it is one very effective way of gauging
our impact and effectiveness.

Subscribing to the Sent LTE list ([email protected]) will help you to
review other sent LTEs and perhaps come up with new ideas or
approaches as well as keeping others aware of your important writing
efforts.

To subscribe to the Sent LTE mailing list see http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm
and/or http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm#form

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

The OPED:

Pubdate: Tue, 20 Apr 2004
Source: Cincinnati Post (OH)
Copyright: 2004 The Cincinnati Post
Contact: [email protected]
Website: http://www.cincypost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/87
Author: Paul Armentano
Note: Paul Armentano is the senior policy analyst for the NORML Foundation
in Washington, DC.

PORTMAN BILL IS EXCESSIVE

Imagine if it was against the law to drive home after consuming a
single glass of wine at dinner. Now imagine it was against the law to
do so after having consumed a single glass of wine two weeks ago.

Sound absurd? No more so than newly proposed Congressional legislation
by Ohio Rep. Rob Portman mandating that each state enact laws
sanctioning anyone who operates a motor vehicle “while any detectable
amount of a controlled substance is present in the person’s body, as
measured in the person’s blood, urine, saliva, or other bodily substance.”

While the expressed purpose of this legislation, the “Drug Impaired
Driving Enforcement Act of 2004,” is to target and remove
drug-impaired drivers from our nation’s roadways, the reality is that
this poorly worded proposal would do little to improve public safety.
Rather, it would falsely categorize sober drivers as “intoxicated”
simply if they had consumed an illicit substance, particularly
marijuana, some days or weeks earlier.

A case in point. John and Jane Doe attend a party. John enjoys a glass
of wine while Jane takes a puff from a marijuana cigarette. The next
day, John and Jane are pulled over. John is given a breathalyzer test
and tests negative for alcohol. Jane is asked to submit to a urine
test and tests positive for marijuana. Jane is then arrested for
“driving under the influence of drugs,” despite the fact that any
impairment she experienced from smoking marijuana would have worn off
hours earlier.

That’s because Portman’s proposal, so-called “zero tolerance” per se
legislation, presumes individuals guilty of driving while intoxicated
simply if trace levels of a controlled substances or even drug
metabolites (inactive compounds indicative of past drug use) are
detected in their bodily fluids — even if the individual is neither
under the influence nor impaired to drive. For anyone who enjoys an
occasional toke from a marijuana cigarette, this news ought to be
especially unsettling, as marijuana metabolites are often detectable
in a person’s urine for days or even weeks after the drug is consumed.

Aside from being poorly drafted, this unfunded federal mandate from
Congress is unnecessary. All states already have DUID (driving under
the influence of drugs) statutes on the books. Most are “effect-based”
laws that forbid drivers to operate a motor vehicle if they are either
“under the influence” of a controlled substance, or if they have been
rendered “incapable of driving safely” because of their use of an
illicit drug. This is a multidisciplinary standard that focuses on the
totality of circumstances and rightly punishes motorists who drive
while impaired from having recently used illicit drugs.

There is no need for additional legislation, especially from the
federal government.

While driving under the influence of illicit and licit substances is
obviously a serious issue, Portman’s proposal neither addresses the
problem nor offers a legitimate solution. “Zero tolerance” laws are
neither a safe nor sensible way to identify impaired drivers; they are
an attempt to misuse the traffic safety laws in order to identify and
prosecute recreational drug users.

At a minimum, laws targeting drug drivers should identify “parent
drugs” (in other words, cocaine or THC), not simply inactive drug
metabolites. Further, these laws must have scientifically sound
cut-off levels that correlate drug concentration to impairment of
performance, similar to the 0.08 BAC standard that now exists for
drunk driving. There must also be assurances that the laws mandate any
and all drug testing to be performed and confirmed by accredited state
labs using uniform procedures and standards.

Until these measures are in place, it is premature and illogical for
Congress to strong-arm states to adopt this unnecessary and unsound
“zero tolerance” drugged driving policy.

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The Editorial:

Pubdate: Tue, 20 Apr 2004
Source: Cincinnati Post (OH)
Copyright: 2004 The Cincinnati Post
Contact: [email protected]
Website: http://www.cincypost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/87

A NEW FRONTIER

U.S. Rep. Rob Portman, who has established himself as a national
leader in the war on drugs, recently opened a new frontier. He and
several others in the U.S. House introduced legislation aimed at
boosting state enforcement of laws against drug impaired driving.

The broad goal of getting drug-impaired drivers off the road is
obviously one that should command broad support. And this is a
generally restrained push in that direction.

But there are legitimate objections to certain of the bill’s
assumptions — and every reason in the world to suspect that what’s
being touted today as a carrot to help states will eventually turn
into a stick used to punish those that don’t climb onto the wagon.

Proponents of the bill cites statistics by the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration which suggest that illegal drugs (often
in conjunction with alcohol) are used by between 10 percent and 22
percent of drivers involved in crashes. Portman says that nearly 11
million people drove under the influence of illegal drugs in 2002. And
there is no shortage of horrific local examples about what can happen
when motorists drive under the influence of marijuana, cocaine and
alcohol.

In nine states, the mere presence of illegal drug residues in the body
is regarded as evidence of drug-impaired driving, regardless of
concentration or whether there’s evidence the motorists ability to
control a vehicle really was compromised. The bill acknowledges,
however, that the technology for identifying illegal drugs in the body
is inadequate, and authorizes federal grants to develop it.

The bill would also:

. Authorize grants to train police officers and prosecutors about drug
impaired driving.

. Require the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to develop model
legislation for use by states.

. Support research into impaired driving — and the dissemination of
results to judges, prosecutors, policymakers and others.

. Require annual reports to Congress on what states are doing about
drug-impaired driving.

The bill proposes a modest boost in funding for such purposes, to $2
million annually from the $1.2 million being spent now.

Some advocacy groups (see the guest column on the opposite page)
complain the bill promotes a double standard by criminalizing trace
amounts that can stay in the body for days after any incapacitating
effect has worn off.

The bigger concern, we submit, is Washington’s intention over the long
haul.

State motor vehicle laws are not properly a federal issue. You don’t
see federal prosecutors handling drunken driving cases before federal
judges, and Washington isn’t picking up the cost to incarcerate or
treat folks convicted of DUI. But that didn’t stop Congress from
threatening to withhold federal highway funds from states that refused
to lower their DUI blood-alcohol levels to .08 percent. Nor has
Washington seen fit to reimburse state and local governments for the
costs of what was functionally a mandate.

There is every reason to expect the same pattern will eventually play
out with drug-impaired driving. At a time when most states, for
financial and policy reasons, have decided that drug abusers don’t
belong in prison, and when casual marijuana use has effectively been
decriminalized, we might well see Congress turning the screws to get
more people into the criminal justice system via driving laws — and
sticking state and local governments with the tab.

If the states want to put drunken and drug-impaired driving on equal
footing — genuinely equal footing — fine. Punish behavior — that
is, those who drive while impaired — and direct most resources at the
alcoholics and addicts who are by far the greatest risk to the
motoring public. But the federal role here ought to be quite limited.
Besides, a government as hideously indebted as this one doesn’t need
to be looking for new spending agendas.

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ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts, Please See:

Writer’s Resources http://www.mapinc.org/resource/

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

TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS:

Please utilize the following URLs

http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm

http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm

We wish to thank all our contributors, editors, Newshawks and letter
writing activists.

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

Prepared by: Richard Lake, Focus Alert Specialist

Date: Tue, 30 Mar 2004
Subject: #287 College Rehabilitates

COLLEGE REHABILITATES

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DrugSense FOCUS Alert #287 Tue, 30 Mar 2004

The New York Times says it as it is in the editorial
below:

“Researchers Have Discovered and Rediscovered That Inmates Who Earn
College Degrees Tend to Stay Out of Jail.”

Thus your letters to the editor in praise of the editorial, along with
additional supportive facts, will be appreciated.

You may find facts worthy of including in your letters at or linked
from these websites or pages:

Students for Sensible Drug Policy

http://www.november.org/

http://www.drugwarfacts.org/prison.htm

There is much more you can do to support this issue, if you
will.

Write a LTEs to the papers in your state about this issue. This is a
good example of a topic that may result in a printed letter without
the need to tie it to any other specific item the papers may have printed.

To find your state/local newspapers, go to MAP’s media links page
at:

http://www.mapinc.org/media.htm

Using the ‘List by Area” dropdown find and bring up the list of
newspapers in your state and their LTE contact. Note those with the
higher numbers of Clippings or Excerpts as this tends to indicate a
higher interest by the paper in our issues, and thus should be your
first targets.

Also consider sending them the New York Times editorial and asking the
papers when they will print a similar editorial.

And last, but not least, let your members of congress know about how
you feel about this issue. If you can, visit with the members, or
visit their state/local offices as telling them or their staff
directly always shows a deep concern, stronger than any other message.

You can use the drug policy action center easily to send a message to
Restore Student Financial Aid. Just go to this link, personalize the
message with your own thoughts and facts, and send. It is easy and
fast:

http://actioncenter.drugpolicy.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=14997

Thanks for your effort and support.

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,
email messages, etc.)

Please post a copy of 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] if you are not
subscribed. Your letter will then be forwarded to the list so others
can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit.

This is _Very_ Important as it is one very effective way of gauging
our impact and effectiveness.

Subscribing to the Sent LTE list ([email protected]) will help you to
review other sent LTEs and perhaps come up with new ideas or
approaches as well as keeping others aware of your important writing
efforts.

To subscribe to the Sent LTE mailing list see http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm
and/or http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm#form

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

The New York Times EDITORIAL:

Pubdate: Tue, 30 Mar 2004
Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 2004 The New York Times Company
Contact: [email protected]

OILING THE REVOLVING DOOR

The American prison system will release more than 600,000 prisoners
this year – and half will commit new crimes and be back in prison
three years from now. There is at least one proven way to break the
cycle. Researchers have discovered and rediscovered that inmates who
earn college degrees tend to stay out of jail. But former offenders
have found it increasingly hard to educate themselves and gear up for
productive lives since Congress began to cut them off from federal
education aid in the 1990’s.

Congress may be ready to consider at least a half-step back from that
mistake. Lawmakers may not be prepared to revisit the federal ban that
made convicted felons ineligible for Pell grants, the federal tuition
aid aimed primarily at poor and middle-income students. But the House
of Representatives is at least talking about changing the 1998 law
under which more than 140,000 students have been turned down for
federal student loans because of drug offenses, some of which are
minor and a decade old.

The law was not supposed to work this way. According to Representative
Mark Souder, the Indiana Republican who wrote the measure, it was
aimed only at students who committed drug crimes while receiving
federal loans. But the law has instead been applied to every applicant
with a drug conviction, even if the conviction was so minor as to
carry no jail time, and even if it occurred long before the student
ever envisioned going to college. Mr. Souder has put forth a revised
version of the law that would return to his original intent. That
would be an improvement, but student aid should still not be turned
into a law enforcement weapon, particularly for those convicted of
minor offenses that a court would appropriately dismiss with a fine or
probation. Congress should repeal this law instead of just tinkering
with it. Beyond that, the country needs to back away from all policies
that prevent ex-convicts from attending college, because college is
the one sure way to get them back into the mainstream and keep them
out of jail.

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

ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts, Please See:

Writer’s Resources http://www.mapinc.org/resource/

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

TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS:

Please utilize the following URLs

http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm

http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm

We wish to thank all our contributors, editors, Newshawks and letter
writing activists.

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

Prepared by: Richard Lake, Focus Alert Specialist

Date: Sun, 28 Mar 2004
Subject: #286 Dr. Joycelyn Elders Destroys Medical Marijuana Myths

DR. JOYCELYN ELDERS DESTROYS MEDICAL MARIJUANA MYTHS

*********************PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE*************************

DrugSense FOCUS Alert #286 Sunday, 28 Mar 2004

There is little doubt that the printing of the OPED by Dr. Elders,
below, in Rhode Island’s largest newspaper will further the efforts to
pass a medical cannabis bill there.

Rhode Island residents should consider sending a LTE to The Providence
Journal thanking them for printing the OPED, and adding an additional
fact or two supporting medical cannabis. LTEs may be sent to
[email protected]

Sending a message with a copy of the OPED and your supporting opinions
to your legislators is also a good idea. If you are not sure who your
legislators are, you can obtain the info and modify a pre-written
letter from the Take Action link on the Alert page at
http://www.mpp.org/RI/alerts_395.html

So you don’t live in Rhode Island? Here are actions you can consider
taking:

Let your Rhode Island friends know about this alert, and ask them to
take the actions suggested above.

Email your local and state newspapers asking that they either reprint
the OPED – or at least the myths and facts section, or contact Dr.
Elders to ask if she will write one for their paper (newspapers know
how to find the contacts for Dr. Elders).

Tell your newspapers they can obtain reprint permission by emailing
Pat Welker, managing editor/administration for The Providence Journal
at [email protected] It is probably best to simply send the link to
the OPED on the Journal’s website, so your newspaper(s) can see it for
themselves:

http://www.projo.com/opinion/contributors/content/projo_20040326_26ctelder.22fed4.html

To find your state/local newspapers, go to MAP’s media links page
at:

http://www.mapinc.org/media.htm

Using the ‘List by Area” dropdown find and bring up the list of
newspapers in your state. Note those with the higher numbers of
Clippings or Excerpts as this tends to indicate a higher interest by
the paper in our issues, and thus should be your first targets. Using
the email address or webform found by clicking the Contact link will
reach editorial page folks who would consider reprinting the OPED or
asking Dr. Elders to write one for them.

And, finally, of course, let your elected officials at all levels know
that you support making medical cannabis available to patients. Send a
copy of the OPED along with additional facts and your message of
support for the issue.

Need more medical cannabis facts? Click these links:

http://www.mpp.org/med_mj.html

http://www.drugwarfacts.org/medicalm.htm

Thanks for your effort and support.

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,
email messages, etc.)

Please post a copy of 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] if you are not
subscribed. Your letter will then be forwarded to the list so others
can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit.

This is _Very_ Important as it is one very effective way of gauging
our impact and effectiveness.

Subscribing to the Sent LTE list ([email protected]) will help you to
review other sent LTEs and perhaps come up with new ideas or
approaches as well as keeping others aware of your important writing
efforts.

To subscribe to the Sent LTE mailing list see http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm
and/or http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm#form

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

Source: Providence Journal, The (RI)
Copyright: 2004 The Providence Journal Company
Contact: [email protected]
Website: http://www.projo.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/352
Author: Joycelyn Elders

MYTHS ABOUT MEDICAL MARIJUANA

THE RHODE ISLAND General Assembly is now considering legislation to
permit the medical use of marijuana by seriously ill patients whose
physicians have recommended it.

This sensible, humane bill deserves swift passage. The evidence is
overwhelming that marijuana can relieve certain types of pain, nausea,
vomiting and other symptoms caused by such illnesses as multiple
sclerosis, cancer and AIDS — or by the harsh drugs sometimes used to
treat them. And it can do so with remarkable safety. Indeed, marijuana
is less toxic than many of the drugs that physicians prescribe every
day.

But right now, Rhode Island law subjects seriously ill patients to the
threat of arrest and jail for simply trying to relieve some of their
misery. There is no good reason that sick people should face such treatment.

Still, foes of the medical-marijuana bill keep raising objections. So
let’s look at their arguments, one by one:

“There is no evidence that marijuana is a medicine.” The truth: The
medical literature on marijuana goes back 5,000 years. In a 1999 study
commissioned by the White House, the Institute of Medicine reported,
“nausea, appetite loss, pain and anxiety . . . all can be mitigated by
marijuana.” In its April 2003 issue, the British medical journal The
Lancet reported that marijuana relieves pain in virtually every test
that scientists use to measure pain relief.

“The medical community doesn’t support this; just a bunch of drug
legalizers do.” The truth: Numerous medical and public-health
organizations support legal access to medical marijuana. National
groups include the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American
Public Health Association and the American Nurses Association.
Regional groups include the New York State Association of County
Health Officials, the California Medical Association and the Rhode
Island Medical Society.

I know of no medical group that believes that jailing sick and dying
people is good for them.

“Marijuana is too dangerous to be medicine; it’s bad for the immune
system, endangering AIDS and cancer patients.” The truth: Unlike many
of the drugs we prescribe every day, marijuana has never been proven
to cause a fatal overdose. Research on AIDS patients has debunked the
claim of harm to the immune system: In a study at San Francisco
General Hospital, AIDS patients using medical marijuana gained
immune-system cells and kept their virus under control as well as
patients who received a placebo. They also gained more needed weight.

“There are other drugs that work as well as marijuana, including
Marinol, the pill containing THC (the main psychoactive chemical in
marijuana).” The truth: These other drugs don’t work for everyone. The
Institute of Medicine noted: “It is well recognized that Marinol’s
oral route of administration hampers its effectiveness, because of
slow absorption and patients’ desire for more control over dosing.”
Inhalation gives a more rapid response and better results. For some
very sick people, marijuana simply works better.

“Smoke is not medicine; no real medicine is smoked.” The truth:
Marijuana does not need to be smoked. Some patients prefer to eat it,
while those who need the fast action and dose control provided by
inhalation can avoid the hazards of smoke through simple devices
called vaporizers. For many who need only a small amount — such as
cancer patients trying to get through a few months of chemotherapy —
the risks of smoking are minor.

“Medical-marijuana laws send the wrong message to kids, encouraging
teen marijuana use.” The truth: That fear, raised in 1996, when
California passed the first effective medical-marijuana law, has not
come true. According to the official California Student Survey, teen
marijuana use in California rose steadily from 1990 to 1996, but began
falling immediately after the medical-marijuana law was passed. Among
ninth graders, marijuana use in the last six months fell by more than
40 percent from 1995-96 to 2001-02 (the most recent available figures).

It is simply wrong for the sick and suffering to be casualties in the
war on drugs. Let’s get rid of the myths and institute sound
public-health policy. The Rhode Island General Assembly should pass
the medical-marijuana bill immediately.

——

Dr. Joycelyn Elders was U.S. surgeon general in 1993-94 and is
Distinguished Professor of Public Health at the University of Arkansas
School of Medicine.

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

ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts, Please See:

Writer’s Resources http://www.mapinc.org/resource/

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

TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS:

Please utilize the following URLs

http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm

http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm

We wish to thank all our contributors, editors, Newshawks and letter
writing activists.

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

Prepared by: Richard Lake, Focus Alert Specialist

Date: Mon, 09 Feb 2004
Subject: #285 Drug War Prosecutor Defames Reformers

DRUG WAR PROSECUTOR DEFAMES REFORMERS

*********************PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE*************************

DrugSense FOCUS Alert #285 Tue, 10 Feb 2004

Our last Focus Alert in January was targeted at Ocean County New
Jersey Special Prosecutor Terrance Farley and his column in the
Ashbury Park Press where he lambastes a retired circuit court judge
who called for an end to the drug war. See http://www.mapinc.org/alert/0284.html

SP Farley has also logged a fair number of column inches in another
New Jersey paper – The Ocean County Observer – during the past year
in which he criticizes drug policy reform efforts of any kind. And in
rebuttal, the OC Observer has provided a very fair amount of space to
letter writers who disagree with Farley’s support Prohibition.

On Feb 1, Farley let loose with his most venomous attack on drug
policy reform ideas with a column length letter in the Observer. In
this one, he notes the large amount of criticism his writings have
received. He attributes all such criticism to be from ‘dope smoking
legalizers’ and cites several organizations.

The voluminous response of rebuttals to Farley’s writings in
particular is a direct result of his mean spirited attacks on Cheryl
Miller in this newspaper for using cannabis as medicine and being
public about it – attacks going back over a year. See
http://www.mapinc.org/source/Ocean+County+Observer

Thanks to newshawk Gary Storck – and to Jim Miller for those letters
which the newspaper does not put on line, for providing us with the
letter below.

And, of course, to all the letter to the editor writers. This drug
warrior has been made to look as foolish and mean spirited as he is on
the pages of his home town newspaper because you wrote.

That’s what the Media Awareness Project is all about, in my opinion –
empowering activists so that we may win the hearts and minds of the
public through the press.

Oh, of course all of the PUB LTE writers are not “minions” of any
organization – not paid by anyone to write the letters to the editor
they write. Nor is their salary dependent upon feeding at the public
trough, unlike our SP.

Please write a letter to the Ocean County Observer telling them why
you disagree with Farley’s drug war views. If you match any of the
descriptions for people he claims, “…never write to criticize
me…”, please make note of that as well.

Letters should be 200 words or less for best chance of publication.
Please note that unlike major newspapers which print only very prompt
responses, this newspaper has printed letters sent in many days after
the item you are responding to was published.

Thanks for your effort and support.

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,
email messages, etc.)

Please post a copy of 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] if you are not
subscribed. Your letter will then be forwarded to the list so others
can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit.

This is _Very_ Important as it is one very effective way of gauging
our impact and effectiveness.

Subscribing to the Sent LTE list ([email protected]) will help you to
review other sent LTEs and perhaps come up with new ideas or
approaches as well as keeping others aware of your important writing
efforts.

To subscribe to the Sent LTE mailing list see http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm
and/or http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm#form

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

CONTACT INFO

Source: The Ocean County Observer

Contact: [email protected]

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

Pubdate: Sun, 01 Feb 2004
Source: Ocean County Observer (NJ)
Section: Page 10, Opinion page
Contact: [email protected]
Website: http://www.injersey.com/observer/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1212
Author: Terrence P. Farley

FARLEY RESPONDS TO HIS NATIONAL CRITICS ON DRUGS

For the regular readers of the Observer, it must be apparent that
either it has become a national publication or I have become the
target of the dope-smoking drug legalizers across the nation. They are
represented by groups like the National Organization to Reform
Marijuana Laws, the Drug Policy Alliance, the Ohio Marijuana Party
Political Action Committee and others with Web sites that spew out
garbage trying to change the minds and mores of our legislators and
the general public.

Quite frankly, I am pleased and somewhat flattered that these people
are so concerned about my articles and presentations that they have
their minions from places like Northhampton, Ma., Washington D.C.,
Green Bay, Wisc., Baton Rogue, La., Denton, Texas and other places
take the time to write to the Observer to attack me personally and the
facts and studies upon which I rely. One of the recent letters
indicated that I have spent my life putting people in jail, neglecting
to note that I was a fairly successful criminal defense lawyer for 20
years; they also indicate that I have taken my anti-drug stances
because I need to keep my job and make a living, neglecting to note
that I left a very lucrative partnership in the largest law firm in
the county at the height of my income-producing years, or that I paid
more in taxes while in private practice than I made as a prosecutor.

It should not surprise anyone that we don’t see these letters coming
from the families of drug-addicted individuals who have to live with
this problem or, worse, have lost a child to drugs. Nor do we hear
this type of diatribe from the addicts themselves. In fact, quite to
the contrary, we hear them extol the benefits of our actions such as
our Drug Court, how it helped them overcome the scourge of addiction
to again become productive family members, parents and members of
society; all I might add through the coercion of the criminal justice
system.

I only hope that those pro-legalization forces continue to direct
their venom at me while we work with school authorities, prevention
specialists, treatment providers and law enforcement officers in an
effort to rid our nation of our drug problems rather than making them
incredibly worse through legalization, as they propose.

Terrence P. Farley

First Assistant Prosecutor

Director, Ocean County Narcotics Strike Force

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

ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts, Please See:

Writer’s Resources http://www.mapinc.org/resource/

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

TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS:

Please utilize the following URLs

http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm

http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm

We wish to thank all our contributors, editors, Newshawks and letter
writing activists.

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

Prepared by: Stephen Heath, Focus Alert Specialist – Law Enforcement

Date: Tue, 20 Jan 2004
Subject: #284 New Jersey Drug Prosecutor Defends Drug War

NEW JERSEY DRUG PROSECUTOR DEFENDS DRUG WAR

*********************PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE*************************

DrugSense FOCUS Alert #284 Tue, 20 Jan 2004

On Wednesday, Jan 14, one of the few strident defenders of the drug
war – Orange County, NJ’s Terrence Farley – got loose with a lengthy
diatribe criticizing former Superior Court Judge Martin Haines’
criticism of the failed war on some drugs.

It’s understandable that Farley would defend the war. After all his
pay depends on it because of his dual role as assistant prosecutor for
the county and Director of the county’s Narcotics Strike Force.

Without exception, every point that Farley uses to defend the war has
its basis in the policy of prohibition, rather than in the drugs
themselves. He seems very concerned about the so-called ‘social
costs’ to society, but seems to have no problem with our governments –
federal and state – spending over 40 billion dollars annually just to
run it’s war on some drugs.

He smoothly begins his discussion talking about ‘illegal drugs’ than
quotes a ream of statistics that include alcohol use and abuse. If
Farley truly believed the statistics he quotes as justification for
criminalizing drugs, he should be the first in line to introduce laws
prohibiting the distribution of alcohol and tobacco since they are the
most harmful commonly abused legal drugs in America.

His paragraph on the perceived risks of marijuana fails to acknowledge
that none of these risks are as detrimental to a person’s health as a
sentence in a prison cage or the damage of a lifetime criminal record
simply for possessing marijuana. Further, he endorses putting cancer,
AIDS and other medical patients in prison if they elect, with the
advice of their doctor, to use more harmful legal drugs or narcotics.

Finally, his comment about ‘one third of those in treatment are there
because the criminal justice system put them there’ implies that drug
users must be coerced into treatment with threats of prison or they
will not participate. The experiences of over 100 million former
tobacco addicts and tens of millions of former alcoholics show this
statement to be without merit.

Please consider writing a letter today to the Asbury Park Press to let
them know that the alternative ideas presented by Martin Haines are
not as crazy as Terrence Farley suggests with his derogatory commentary.

Thanks for your effort and support.

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,
email messages, etc.)

Please post a copy of 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] if you are not
subscribed. Your letter will then be forwarded to the list so others
can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit.

This is _Very_ Important as it is one very effective way of gauging
our impact and effectiveness.

Subscribing to the Sent LTE list ([email protected]) will help you to
review other sent LTEs and perhaps come up with new ideas or
approaches as well as keeping others aware of your important writing
efforts.

To subscribe to the Sent LTE mailing list see http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm
and/or http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm#form

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

CONTACT INFO

ASBURY PARK PRESS (NJ)

Contact: [email protected]

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

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Notes: This original article is also on line at the newspaper’s website,
which notes “Terrence P. Farley is first assistant Ocean County prosecutor
and director of the Ocean County Narcotics Strike Force.”

http://www.app.com/app/story/0,21625,887721,00.html

The referenced column of Superior Court Judge Martin Haines is
at

http://www.app.com/app/story/0,21625,883486,00.html

Pubdate: Wed, 14 Jan 2004
Source: Asbury Park Press (NJ)
Copyright: 2004 Asbury Park Press
Contact: [email protected]
Author: Terrence P. Farley

ATTACK AGAINST THE DRUG WAR IGNORES SOCIAL COSTS

In his Jan. 8 column, former Superior Court Judge Martin Haines
attacked the so-called “war on drugs.” It is hard to figure out
whether his philosophy is leftist, libertarian or simply nonsensical.
His ignorance of the facts and his lack of logic is so evident one
might believe that he was a paid lobbyist for the Drug Policy
Alliance, the goal of which is to legalize all drugs.

Haines begins his diatribe quoting statistics for drug arrests and the
numbers of people in state and federal jails and prisons ( a common
ploy of the Drug Policy Alliance ), but never cites the number of drug
overdose hospitalizations, deaths or murders — figures which are of
more interest to the families affected by drug abuse — or even the
enormous costs to society when these drug users and dealers are out on
the street.

He then cites financial figures for the costs of fighting the “war” on
drug and alcohol abuse. He neglects, however, to recite that it costs
the taxpayers of this country about $143 billion annually in
preventable health care costs, absenteeism, premature deaths,
increased insurance and health care costs, accidents, crime and lost
productivity. Alcohol and drug abusers are late for work three times
more often than fellow employees; have absences of eight days or
longer 2.5 times more often than other employees; are five times more
likely to file a worker’s compensation claim and are 3.6 times more
likely to cause a workplace accident.

Haines then accuses “our governments” of misleading the public about
the dangers of drug abuse so that we can have “harsh criminal laws,
tough prosecutions and stiff penalties.” He wants judges to have more
discretion in sentencing, and to reduce penalties for marijuana, as it
is “mostly harmless.” He also boldly states that marijuana has
beneficial medical uses.

The pro-legalization rhetoric about the government wanting harsher
laws, tougher prosecutions and stiffer penalties is not backed up by
any statements or reasoning because it’s pure nonsense. As to the
reason for mandatory minimum sentences, it was brought about by judges
who failed to fulfill the duties of the job to which they were
appointed or elected. There was a twofold reason for their
introduction:

( The public was fed up with criminals not going to jail. Former Sen.
Phil Gramm, R-Texas, once noted that “mandatory minimum sentencing is
a massive no-confidence vote by the American people in the
discretionary powers of our judges.”

( The very nature of the drug trade requires that prosecutors have a
tool with which to deal with drug traffickers. Without drug dealers
facing stiff penalties, there would be no incentive for them to
cooperate with law enforcement.

Haines’ statements regarding the “harmless” drug marijuana fail to
take into account any of the relevant medical studies of marijuana
that have found, among other things, that marijuana contains much more
tar, carbon monoxide and other dangerous chemicals than tobacco; that
marijuana smoking affects fertility in both men and women; that it has
led to increases in cancers of the head, mouth and neck; that it
affects school and work performance more than any other drug; that the
Food and Drug Administration has ruled that “smoked marijuana is
neither safe nor effective as a medicine for any ailment; and that the
National Institutes of Health have stated “patients with HIV or any
diseases of the immune system should avoid marijuana.” There are many
more adverse studies on marijuana.

Haines also promotes the use of needle exchange programs without
looking at, or ignoring, the facts. He should look at the 1995
Montreal study, which found that 78 percent of needle exchange program
users and 72 percent of non-needle exchange program users shared
needles. In the Vancouver study, the rate of HIV infections for
intravenous drug users rose from 2 percent prior to the needle
exchange program to 27 percent after — despite the fact that 92
percent of the intravenous drug users used the needle exchange program.

While I agree that we need more prevention, education and treatment
efforts, we must remember that about one-third of all people in
treatment are there only because the criminal justice system put them
there. Drug courts are but one of the new programs available.

I agree with Haines that we need more public discussion on these
issues. (I do approximately 100 lectures per year.) I hope, however,
that the people who have these discussions are more informed and
willing to discuss the real issues than Haines, who merely brought a
knife to a gunfight.

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

PLEASE NOTE When writing your own letter: While you may consider many
of the talking points expressed above, please be sure that your own
letter is in your own words to avoid suggestions of plagiarism.
Additionally, be sure and keep your word count to 250 words or less
for better chance of publication.

Thank you again for taking the time to write an LTE on in response to
this Focus Alert.

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

ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts, Please See:

Writer’s Resources http://www.mapinc.org/resource/

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

TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS:

Please utilize the following URLs

http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm

http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm

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

Prepared by: Stephen Heath, MAP Focus Alert Specialist
http://leap.cc/tbay

Date: Fri, 02 Jan 2004
Subject: # 283 Please Support Our LTE Writing Efforts

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR LETTER TO THE EDITOR WRITING EFFORTS

*********************PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE*************************

DrugSense FOCUS Alert #283 2 Jan 2004

As we enter our ninth year at The Media Awareness Project, we thank
the thousands of letter writers who have used our website and letter
writing resources. We also thank the many people who volunteer their
time to identify printed Letters to the Editor on the topic of drug
policy reform and who then ‘newshawk’ the items. Thanks to this
latter group, we are more able to accurately archive as many PUB LTEs
as possible from newspapers throughout the U.S. and Canada and also
from other countries around the world.

“PUB” LTEs are what MAP describes as letters which PUB-licize the
idea(s) of drug policy reform in one or may ways. This is in contrast
to a simple “LTE” which is a letter discussing drug policies but that
endorses continuation of the drug war status quo. It is our intent to
accurately archive ALL drug policy related Letters to the Editor, so
that anyone who visits our site can see clearly how the sentiment of
the public is moving strongly in favor of reform ideas. In the past
three years, the ratio of PUB LTEs to those LTEs which support the
drug war has been over 3 to 1 – a percentage that accurately reflects
other polling on this topic, which is that over 70% of Americans view
the drug war as an utter boondoggle in urgent need of new and workable
ideas.

Over the past eight years, MAP has archived over 14,000 PUB LTEs, with
over two thirds – about 9,500 – of them being published in just the
past three years. Research done by MAP’s founders in 1997 suggests
that the average printed LTE is worth $1,000 if the same space were
to be used for commercial advertising. How better can activists
without deep pockets contribute to the reform efforts from their home
computer?

Our data shows that in the past three years, well over three fourths
of the PUB LTEs have come from the pens and keyboards of MAP-aware
readers. During 2003 MAP’s news archives was visited by an average of
over a quarter million people – unique visitors – from about 125
countries – each month.

By going to our home page and using the LETTERS link at the bottom of
the page, you can easily see the names of our most prolific letter
writing friends and supporters. A dropdown menu will permit you to
see all of the PUB LTE authors, even those with just one printed
letter to their credit. Each and every name in that list has made a
significant contribution to making the Media more Aware of smart
alternatives to the failed policies of the drug war and to each of
these writers we say THANK YOU.

We challenge everyone to make the effort of writing more LTEs,
especially to those papers in your home state.

An election year in the United States will provide increased
opportunities for writing those letters.

Nor is MAP alone in encouraging the writing of letters to the editor.
We can not think of any drug policy reform organization that does not
also encourage writing LTEs.

Data provided by our most successful letter writers suggests that for
at least every eight letters submitted, one or more will be printed!
Thus, if you were to take the time needed to submit just two letters
per week, you would likely find yourself being published at least once
a month. Oh, and even if a letter you send is not printed, the
newspaper’s editorial page editor is made aware that there is strong
public interest in our issues.

Everyone likely realizes that submitting just two letters weekly is
not a huge time investment. It’s ‘easy’ to do, but so many of us
don’t take those few minutes due to our otherwise busy and demanding
schedules. However, please consider joining us in this effort over
the coming 12 months.

In case you think getting printed once a month is overly difficult or
not possible for you, please read below for a list of people who had
at least 12 PUB LTEs in just one year. We think you’ll agree that you
could join this group in 2004 and help us continue the success of
MAP’s campaign to educate and make the Media more Aware of how
right-minded people worldwide feel about the failed drug war and how
we can best reform said policies in the months and years ahead.

Thanks for your effort and support.

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

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

PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTERS OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID (Letter,
email messages, etc.)

Please post a copy of 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] if you are not
subscribed. Your letter will then be forwarded to the list so others
can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit.

This is _Very_ Important as it is one very effective way of gauging
our impact and effectiveness.

Subscribing to the Sent LTE list ([email protected]) will help you to
review other sent LTEs and perhaps come up with new ideas or
approaches as well as keeping others aware of your important writing
efforts.

To subscribe to the Sent LTE mailing list see http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm
and/or http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm#form

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

LETTER WRITERS WITH AT LEAST 12 PUB LTEs in JUST ONE
YEAR

Kevin Allan, British Columbia

Thomas Angell, Rhode Island

Mett Ausley, North Carolina

Don Barnard, United Kingdom

Dean Becker, Texas

Paul Bischke, Minnesota

Chuck Beyer, British Columbia

Allan Buffry, United Kingdom

Chris Buors, Manitoba

Scott Burke, Nova Scotia

Ray Carlson, California

John Chase, Florida

Sandy Cote, Ohio

Pat Dolan, British Columbia

Chris Donald, Nova Scotia

Duncan Eddy, New Zealand

Lee Eisenstein, Hawaii

Matthew Elrod, British Columbia

Jerry Epstein, Texas

Allan Erickson, Oregon

Redford Givens, California

Chris Hagglund, Ontario

Tom Hawkins, Washington

Kim Hanna, Massachusetts

Stephen Heath, Florida

Steve Helms, Texas

M V Hollingsworth, Texas

Jay Hunter, Pennsylvania

Christopher Joseph, Ohio

Christopher Largen, Texas

Anthony Lorenzo, Florida

Jason Marrs, New York

B. McConnell, Australia

Tim Meehan, Ontario

Dave Michon, Wisconsin

Bruce Mirken, Washington, DC

Kirk Muse, Arizona

Loretta Nall, Alabama

Thomas O’Connell, California

Wayne Phillips, Ontario

Mike Plylar, Colorado

Alan Randell, British Columbia

Richard Rawlings, Illinois

Scott Russ, Louisiana

Clifford Schaffer, California

Larry Seguin, New York

Robert Sharpe, Washington, DC

Richard Sinnott, Florida

Larry Stevens, Illinois

Gary Storck, Wisconsin

Gerald Sutliff, California

Bruce Symington, Alberta

Danny Terwey, California

Jim White, Ohio

Stan White, Colorado

Adam Wiggins, California

Walter Wouk, New York

Stephen Young, Illinois

Plus probably a dozen or two more folks we missed simply because not
all newspapers carry their letters to the editor on line, or a
specific newspaper among the almost three thousand in MAPs source
database didn’t get newshawked on the day a letter was printed.

In addition, there are 40 other writers who have been printed at least
a dozen times, though over multiple years.

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

ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts, Please See:

Writer’s Resources http://www.mapinc.org/resource/

Stephen Heath of DPF Florida has kindly offered to review draft
letters, if you would like his advice. Please send your drafts to him
at this address, if you wish:

[email protected]

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

TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS:

Please utilize the following URLs

http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm

http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm

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

Prepared by: Stephen Heath, Drug Policy Forum of Florida
http://www.dpffl.org

= Please help us help reform. Send drug-related news to
[email protected]

Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2003
Subject: #282 Please Write Today To Save Steve Kubby’s Life

STEVE’S HEALTH IS DETERIORATING — YOUR HELP IS URGENTLY NEEDED!

*********************PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE*************************

DrugSense FOCUS Alert #282 Wed, 10 Dec 2003

Monday, upon hearing the news that Canada had denied Steve Kubby’s
refugee application, we wrote:

It is with great sadness that we at MAP read of this incomprehensible
decision. Steve Kubby has been an active MAP supporter since it’s
early days. The fact is, without question, that if Steve Kubby is sent
back to California he will most likely be jailed. When he was
originally jailed in California, and again when he was jailed once in
Canada, he came very close, within hours, of death. Local California
officials have stated, repeatedly, that he will be denied his life
saving medicine, which he now grows with the approval of Health
Canada, when he is jailed.

Today we received the following message. As Michele Kubby asks, please
write letters to the editors of the listed papers as soon as possible.
Thank you!

Dear friends,

I’m very concerned that the continual harassment by government
officials is killing my husband. This entire Refugee process has put
Steve’s health into a terrifying tailspin.

Yesterday, I was shocked to see Steve so sick that he could barely
walk. When he did walk, he had great difficulty with his balance. He
is suffering from extremely elevated high blood pressures. He is
nauseous, has diarrhea, he’s weak, shaky, has difficulty urinating
from kidney damage and soaking his sheets from night sweats.

All of this is the direct result of the Refugee Protection Board
Ajudicator, Pauhla Dauns’ dishonest, shameful and cowardly decision.
She denies that returning Steve to the States will cause him harm, but
her very decision has put his life at risk.

It wasn’t easy for Dr. Connors to find the time or the courage to
testify on Steve’s behalf, but he did it because he clearly feels, as
we all do, that Steve’s life is at risk. Dr. Connors explained in
very graphic frightening details how my husband is a walking time bomb.

For the first time in my marriage with Steve I am truly frightened
about his welfare. He’s still struggling from the radiation he
subjected himself to to prove that there are no other therapies but
cannabis. Steve has never hurt a fly. It’s always the government
that accuses him of criminal behavior. This woman, Pauhla Dauns is a
criminal for putting my husband’s life in danger.

Steve saw by the third day of our hearings, in March, that Pauhla
Dauns and the Refugee Protection Officer were dyed in the wool
prohibitionists and could never provide a fair hearing. This is in
the transcripts. However, when Steve officially objected and asked
for a new hearing with the full Refugee Board, as is his right, Pauhla
Dauns assured him that she would look solely at the facts. Now with
this decision, we know that Ms. Dauns deliberately excluded key
evidence and testimony or completely misrepresented testimony by Dr.
Connors and Judge James Gray.

This is murder, happening before our eyes, and I need your help now.
I know that with cannabis and some peace, Steve can recover, but not
with this continual and criminal harassment by government officials.

I beg you, please write a letter today to any of the major newspapers
that have published articles about this decision and help us expose
this murder in progress. Please, I don’t want my husband to become
another Peter McWilliams, but that is exactly what is going to happen
if we don’t act together as a community to help one of our own.

Gratefully,

Michele Kubby

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

Below is a list of newspapers for which we have verified that the
linked article was in print (not just posted to their website as part
of their news feeds), along with the contact for sending letters to
the editor:

Canada No Pot Haven, Refugee Ruling Shows

URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1895/a04.html

Pubdate: Tue, 09 Dec 2003

Source: Globe and Mail (Canada) Page: A14

Contact: [email protected]

***

Medical Marijuana Activist Loses Bid for Refugee Status

URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1895/a03.html

Pubdate: Tue, 09 Dec 2003

Source: Province, The (CN BC)

Contact: [email protected]

***

Pot User’s Refugee Bid Is Rejected

URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1894/a09.html

Pubdate: Tue, 09 Dec 2003

Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)

Contact: [email protected]

***

Canada Rejects Medical Pot Asylum

URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1895/a01.html

Pubdate: Tue, 09 Dec 2003

Source: Press Democrat, The (CA)

Contact: [email protected]

***

Board Denies Refuge to Marijuana Smoker

URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n1904.a06.html

Pubdate: Wed, 10 Dec 2003

Source: Olympian, The (WA)

Section: Briefs Across the Northwest

Contact: http://www.theolympian.com/forms/lettrfrm.shtml

***

Note: The Associated Press sent out a story today, Wednesday, so it is
possible that other newspapers may print it. MAP will add the verified
printed articles at this link:

http://www.mapinc.org/people/Steve+Kubby

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

Additional Background:

Michele has accurately characterized bias exhibited by the Refugee
Protection Board Adjudicator, Pauhla Dauns. Even reporters noted it,
as can be seen in the two articles at the following links:

http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n521/a06.html

http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n517/a05.html

The case is on line at http://www.irb.gc.ca/en/decisions/kubby/va2_01374_e.htm
and the actual Determination at http://www.irb.gc.ca/en/decisions/kubby/va2_01374_e.htm#determination

The bottom line is that there is an outstanding warrant for Steve
Kubby to be returned to Placer County, California to serve his 120 day
sentence. No prisoner has ever been allowed to have medical cannabis
in any jail in the United States. The county has made it very clear
that when they jail Mr. Kubby, he will not be the first exception.

Pauhla Dauns stated in her finding “I also find that the claimant is
not a person in need of protection in that his removal to the United
States would not subject him personally to a risk to his life or to a
risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment….”

Being denied life saving medicine and allowed to die is not cruel and
unusual treatment?

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

ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts, Please See:

Writer’s Resources http://www.mapinc.org/resource/

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

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

Please post a copy of 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] if you are not
subscribed. Your letter will then be forwarded to the list so others
can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit.

This is _Very_ Important as it is one very effective way of gauging
our impact and effectiveness.

Subscribing to the Sent LTE list ([email protected]) will help you to
review other sent LTEs and perhaps come up with new ideas or
approaches as well as keeping others aware of your important writing
efforts.

To subscribe to the Sent LTE mailing list see http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm
and/or http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm#form

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

TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS:

Please utilize the following URLs

http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm

http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm

We wish to thank all our contributors, editors, Newshawks and letter
writing activists.

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

Prepared by: Richard Lake

= Please help us help reform. Send drug-related news to
[email protected]

Date: Tue, 04 Nov 2003
Subject: #281 Jeb Bush Invades DoctorPatient Privacy

JEB BUSH INVADES DOCTOR/PATIENT PRIVACY

*********************PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE*************************

DrugSense FOCUS Alert #281 Tue, 4 Nov 2003

Less than ninety days after his own daughter was released from a
state-sponsored drug treatment program, Florida Governor Jeb Bush is
making dire pronouncements about using heavy handed law enforcement
against others in Florida who commit the same crime of prescription
drug fraud.

In a commentary written for the Orlando Sentinel, Bush touts a
‘prescription validation system’ wherein all prescriptions will be
tracked by law enforcement. The proposed system does not define
precise numbers that result in criminal violation nor does it
precisely define what levels of drug use constitute abuse. Only the
law enforcement officers, the prosecutors and – by proxy – the
governor will be free to determine who will be charged as criminals.

The obvious result will be an increase in doctors’ under medicating
patients in need for fear of being criminally charged and losing their
livelihoods. Additionally, these same under medicated patients will
be motivated to buy from the black market, which will further
strengthen the finances of actual criminal drug dealers. Finally,
this proposal seeks to make drug war enemies out of doctors who help
hundreds, and often thousands of patients over time, simply because a
relatively tiny number of patients elect to abuse prescribed
pharmaceuticals. In effect, Bush’s idea causes dire pain and
inconvenience for hundreds of thousands of Floridians all in the
supposed name of saving a few hundred. Bush remains ignorant of the
fact that those who want to abuse drugs will choose to do so with or
without the governor’s stamp of approval.

Bush insists that the proposed system would respect doctor/patient
privacy. But this ignores the many police and prosecutors who will
have access to the information.

Please write a letter today to The Orlando Sentinel to tell them what
you think about Bush’s suggestion. Ask why Floridians in need of
medication should first get the approval of Gov. Bush and his law
enforcement agencies.

Thanks for your effort and support.

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,
email messages, etc.)

Please post a copy of 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] if you are not
subscribed. Your letter will then be forwarded to the list so others
can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit.

This is _Very_ Important as it is one very effective way of gauging
our impact and effectiveness.

Subscribing to the Sent LTE list ([email protected]) will help you to
review other sent LTEs and perhaps come up with new ideas or
approaches as well as keeping others aware of your important writing
efforts.

To subscribe to the Sent LTE mailing list see http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm
and/or http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm#form

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

CONTACT INFO

Source: Orlando Sentinel

Contact: [email protected]

TARGET ANALYSIS

The Orlando Sentinel is the 38th largest circulation newspaper in the
United States, with a daily circulation of just over a quarter million
copies. The average published Letter to the Editor is 190 words in
length. It is rare for the Sentinel to publish a letter over 250 words
in length. The newspaper does print letters from out of state.

ADDITIONAL TARGETS

You may wish to send letters to other Florida newspapers on this
topic, even if they have not provided coverage, as the issue of the
state working hand in hand with the DEA to make life harder for pain
doctors and their patients is important.

Current DrugNews items from Florida newspapers may be reviewed
at:

http://www.mapinc.org/states/fl/ (Florida)

By going to the MAP media links page, and using the location dropdown
to select Florida, you can obtain the contact information for letters
to the editor for many Florida newspapers. Those showing larger
numbers of clippings are likely to be better targets for your efforts.

http://www.mapinc.org/media.htm

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

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

US FL: OPED: Bush Vows Crackdown
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n1707.a08.html
Newshawk: http://www.november.org
Pubdate: Sat, 01 Nov 2003
Source: Orlando Sentinel (FL)
Copyright: 2003 Orlando Sentinel
Contact: [email protected]
Website: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/325
Author: Jeb Bush, Florida’s governor
Note: Jeb Bush, Florida’s governor, wrote this commentary for the Orlando
Sentinel.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/jeb+bush
Related: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1656/a02.html

BUSH VOWS CRACKDOWN

Governor: Prescription-Drug Use Too Deadly To Ignore

In a recent series of articles, the Orlando Sentinel focused on the
alarming spread of prescription-drug abuse in Florida and the tragic
consequences for Floridians caught in its grip. Reporter Doris
Bloodsworth has exposed a problem that is too widespread and deadly to
ignore, and I hope her work will spur public support for a
comprehensive, coordinated approach to solving it.

Three years ago, Florida authorities noticed a disturbing trend of
rising prescription-drug abuse. Law enforcement found widespread
trafficking in illicit pharmaceuticals. Treatment centers reported a
shift among addicts, away from meetings with drug dealers in dark
corners in favor of doctor/pharmacy shopping. Internet drug sales
expanded, adding a new avenue of access for addicts and dealers.

Not surprisingly, Florida emergency rooms reported a significant
increase in drug overdoses from pharmaceuticals. Medical examiners
confirmed that the number of prescription-drug-related deaths in
Florida each year now exceeds the total deaths by cocaine and heroin
abuse combined. Every day, five Floridians lose their lives to
prescription-drug abuse.

It is not enough to mourn the lost or damaged lives; we must stop this
epidemic. We will continue to increase treatment opportunities for
addicts. We will continue to aggressively pursue and prosecute those
who prey on their vulnerabilities. And we must eliminate access to
illicit prescription drugs.

Today, addicts and dealers can exploit cracks in our prescription
system to obtain large quantities of potent prescription drugs. For
the past two years, with my strong support, Sen. Mike Fasano and Rep.
Gayle Harrell have sponsored legislation to create a prescription-drug
validation program to close these gaps, while maintaining the sanctity
of the doctor-patient relationship. Although the bill was endorsed by
the medical and law-enforcement communities, and passed overwhelmingly
by the Senate, the House has yet to bring this important legislation
to a final vote.

We will introduce the legislation again next spring, and I am
encouraged by the commitment of House Speaker Johnnie Byrd to see it
passed. With support from Floridians, we will create a validation
system that keeps drugs out of the hands of dealers and addicts, while
protecting the privacy of Floridians with legitimate prescriptions to
fill.

Florida continues to fight drug abuse on all fronts — prevention,
treatment and law enforcement. However, as with most diseases,
effective prevention is better than the cure. A prescription-validation
system will prevent addicts and those who supply them from obtaining
pharmaceuticals for illicit use. I applaud Fasano and Harrell for
their commitment and tenacity regarding legislation to achieve this,
and thank the Orlando Sentinel for raising awareness of this issue. A
statute with an equal focus on prevention and privacy will be a
valuable tool in the fight against prescription-drug abuse in Florida.

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

SAMPLE LETTER

To the editors of The Orlando Sentinel:

Governor Jeb Bush’s touting of a prescription drug ‘validation’
program demonstrates ignorance about the fact that those who wish to
engage in abusive behavior will do so with or without his government
program intrusion. His own daughter’s actions in 2002 are a stark
example. The pharmacy she attempted to give a fraudulent prescription
to had a program in place, yet she chose to engage in the abusive
behavior regardless. And even if the Florida legislature were to pass
Bush’s proposed program, future Noelles would do whatever it takes to
obtain their desired drugs.

Further, the most harm from his proposal, if enacted, would come to
the tens of thousands of Floridians in real need of pain medication
who would now be seeing doctors afraid to accurately prescribe needed
drugs for fear of becoming a law enforcement target. As for those on
the fringe of true AB-use, they will be motivated to seek their drugs
from the black market, further enhancing the profits of true criminal
drug dealers.

Finally, his suggestion that such a program would respect
doctor/patient privacy belies the fact that law enforcement agencies
and prosecutors would have full access to the previously private
information. And these same officers and prosecutors would thus
become the arbiters as to who, when and how much medication is
appropriate, rather than medical doctors. Why must Floridians get law
enforcement clearance before receiving needed medical treatment?

Sincerely,

Stephen Heath

Please note: This is a sample letter only. Your own letter should be
substantially different so that it will be considered. Please provide
your name and telephone number along with your letter. You will be
called if your letter is being considered for publication.

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

ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts, Please See:

Writer’s Resources http://www.mapinc.org/resource/

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TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS:

Please utilize the following URLs

http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm

http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm

We wish to thank all our contributors, editors, Newshawks and letter
writing activists.

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

Prepared by: Stephen Heath, DPF Florida http://www.dpffl.org

= Please help us help reform. Send drug-related news to
[email protected]

Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003
Subject: #280 Washington Post Series Exposes Internet Drug Sales

WASHINGTON POST SERIES EXPOSES INTERNET DRUG SALES

*********************PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE*************************

DrugSense FOCUS Alert # 280 October 21, 2003

As the newspaper of record in the nation s capital, the Washington
Post is one of the most influential newspapers in America. So when
the Post runs a series of front page articles on the pharmaceutical
industry, it will be read by members of Congress. The five-day series
identifying and documenting the shadow market for prescription drugs
resulted from a yearlong investigation by two Washington Post
reporters that included more than 500 interviews and the analysis of
100,000 pages of court filings, regulatory cases, investigative
reports and computer records.

The ongoing series presents a wealth of opportunities for activists to
get a drug policy reform argument into a newspaper read by key
policymakers. Potential talking points include:

* Pain management: due to an overzealous Drug Enforcement
Administration, under treatment of chronic pain is a serious problem
for Americans who suffer from intractable pain. Legislators need to
take great care to not further exacerbate the problem when attempting
to close the loopholes that have given rise to the growing trade in
illegal pharmaceuticals. For best results, make it personal when
using this argument.

* Skewed priorities: potentially deadly drugs are easily obtained via
the Internet, record numbers of Americans are abusing prescription
drugs, yet drug czar John Walters is focusing the federal governments
limited resources on a reefer madness revisited campaign. By raiding
voter-approved medical marijuana providers in California, the very
same federal government that claims illicit drug use funds terrorism
is forcing cancer and AIDS patients into the hands of street dealers.

* Market forces: the government s artificial manipulation of legal
drug supply has a created a highly-profitable shadow market in
pharmaceuticals replete with the same problems that plague the illegal
drug market. Drugs of dubious origin and fluctuating purity do pose a
public health risk. The experience of drug prohibition suggests that
government may be the problem, not the solution.

* Thank you: civility increases the likelihood of a published
response. Regardless of the reform angle you choose, be sure to
commend the Post for exposing serious problems within the
pharmaceutical industry.

Thanks for your effort and support.

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,
email messages, etc.)

Please post a copy of 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] if you are not
subscribed. Your letter will then be forwarded to the list so others
can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit.

This is _Very_ Important as it is one very effective way of gauging
our impact and effectiveness.

Subscribing to the Sent LTE list ([email protected]) will help you to
review other sent LTEs and perhaps come up with new ideas or
approaches as well as keeping others aware of your important writing
efforts.

To subscribe to the Sent LTE mailing list see http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm
and/or http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm#form

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

CONTACT INFO

Source: The Washington Post

Contact: [email protected]

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

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

The entire series can be found at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/health/specials/pharmaceuticals/

U.S. Prescription Drug System Under Attack

Multibillion-Dollar Shadow Market Is Growing Stronger

By Gilbert M. Gaul and Mary Pat Flaherty

Washington Post Staff Writers

Sunday, October 19, 2003; Page A01

First of five articles

For half a century Americans could boast of the world’s safest, most
tightly regulated system for distributing prescription drugs. But now
that system is undercut by a growing illegal trade in pharmaceuticals,
fed by criminal profiteers, unscrupulous wholesalers, rogue Internet
sites and foreign pharmacies. In the past few years, middlemen have
siphoned off growing numbers of popular and lifesaving drugs and
diverted them into a multibillion-dollar shadow market. Crooks have
introduced counterfeit pharmaceuticals into the mainstream drug chain.

Fast-moving operators have hawked millions of doses of narcotics over
the Internet. The result too often is pharmaceutical roulette for
millions of unsuspecting Americans. Cancer patients receive
watered-down drugs. Teenagers overdose on narcotics ordered online.

AIDS clinics get fake HIV medicines. Normally, drugs follow a simple
route. Manufacturers sell them to one of the Big Three national
wholesalers — Cardinal Health Inc., McKesson Corp. and
AmerisourceBergen — which sell to drugstores, hospitals or doctors
offices. Regulators and industry officials have long considered this
straightforward chain to be the gold standard.

The shadow market exploits gaps in state and federal regulations to
corrupt this system, creating a wide-open drug bazaar that endangers
public health. A yearlong investigation by The Washington Post has
found: Networks of middlemen, felons and other opportunists operating
out of storefronts and garages fraudulently obtain deeply discounted
medicines intended for nursing homes and hospices.

The diverters have stored drugs in U-Hauls and car trunks in blazing
heat, stuffed them in plastic sandwich bags and traded them in a daisy
chain of transactions with no purpose except to enrich the traders.
Those drugs are ultimately sold to unwitting patients. The diverters
pave the way for counterfeiters who use pill-punching machines and
special inks to produce near-perfect copies of the most popular and
expensive drugs. Some fakes have passed undetected through wholesalers
to the shelves of retail pharmacies.

Pharmaceutical peddlers take advantage of lax regulations to move
millions of prescription drugs into the United States from Canada,
Mexico and elsewhere. Overwhelmed customs workers inspect less than 1
percent of an estimated 2 million packages containing medicine shipped
into the country each year. Virtually all of those shipments are
illegal, yet the Food and Drug Administration fails to enforce its own
import regulations, saying it lacks the resources to intercept the
illegal packages.

Rogue medical merchants set up Internet pharmacies that serve as
pipelines for narcotics, selling to drug abusers and others who never
see doctors in person or undergo tests. The sellers move tens of
millions of doses of hydrocodone, Xanax, Valium, Ritalin, OxyContin
and other controlled substances. Scores of customers have become
addicted, overdosed or died. The shadow market, which includes both
legal and illegal operators, has grown rapidly yet received little
public attention.

Isolated problems nationwide have attracted the interest of some state
and federal prosecutors and resulted in lawsuits. But the increasing
recalls of tainted medicines, overdoses on Internet-bought drugs and
cross-border pharmaceutical trade are part of a larger pattern. Taken
together, the worst elements of the shadow market constitute a new
form of organized crime that now threatens public health.

In St. Charles, Mo., Maxine Blount, a 61-year-old woman with advanced
breast cancer, received a diluted drug distributed to her local
drugstore. “It makes you angry,” she said in an interview last year.
“It shakes your faith. It saps strength you need to live.” She died of
her cancer a month after the interview.

In La Mesa, Calif., Ryan T. Haight, 18, died in his bedroom of an
overdose after taking narcotics obtained on the Internet.

In Sacramento, James Lewis, 47, shopped the world for painkillers that
flowed unimpeded from pharmacies in South Africa, Thailand and Spain.
His wife discovered him dead of an overdose on the living room couch.

These victims are emblematic of the dangers that occur when
profiteering and cowboy criminality invade the nation’s drug
distribution system.

The shadow market takes advantage of technology, global trade, vast
disparities in pharmaceutical prices, the explosive growth of enticing
new miracle drugs and the self-medicating habits of an aging baby-boom
population. It extends from small, backroom operations to buck-raking
Internet pharmacies to the warehouses of the nation’s largest drug
distributors.

Diverters reap millions illegally by buying drugs at a discount to
sell to secondary wholesalers, which then sell them to other
distributors, including the Big Three wholesalers that supply most
major hospitals and chain stores. The Big Three risk buying from these
secondary sources because they can get drugs more cheaply than if they
bought them directly from manufacturers. In some cases, the drugs have
turned out to be diverted, diluted or counterfeited.

William K. Hubbard, senior associate FDA commissioner, stressed that
the U.S. drug distribution system is the safest in the world. “People
can have a high degree of confidence,” he said in an interview. Yet he
acknowledged that in recent months the FDA has been overwhelmed by
illegal imports from Canada and offshore pharmacies. The agency also
had to apologize to Congress in June for releasing a quarantined
shipment of fake Viagra to consumers. And the FDA is now scrambling to
keep up with a rise in drug counterfeiting.

Phony medicines have surfaced in pharmacies from Florida to Hawaii,
including tens of thousands of doses discovered in warehouses of the
Big Three wholesalers. Last summer, nearly 200,000 tablets of Lipitor,
the world’s best-selling cholesterol-lowering medication, was found to
be counterfeit and recalled by a small Missouri wholesaler. Some of
the pills had already reached Rite Aid and CVS pharmacies.

“This is hurting people,” said Thomas E. Getz, a federal prosecutor in
Cleveland who has pursued pharmaceutical fraud. “It’s one thing to ask
people to choose between name brand or generic,” he said. It’s another
to “choose a bottle that came from a manufacturer or one that’s been
sitting in a hot semi for three weeks.” In the past year, a Texas
wholesaler bought cancer drugs that had been spirited out in backpacks
and, at least once, in a fast-food bag, from Methodist Hospital and
the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. A
drugstore in Scotch Plains, N.J., sold insulin and brand-name drugs
stolen from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Pharmacies
and wholesalers from Miami to Los Angeles sold medicines that Medicaid
fraud rings bought on the streets.

The growth of the shadow market comes as Americans are spending more
money than ever on prescription drugs. Between 1994 and 2001, the
number of prescriptions swelled to 3.1 billion — a nearly 50 percent
increase. In nearly the same period, sales soared from $61 billion to
$155 billion. There were several reasons for this. Americans took
advantage of new and better medicines, including a range of preventive
drugs. Insurers promoted the use of prescription drugs to keep down
the number of more expensive hospital stays. Employers picked up a
large share of drug costs. And advertising by drug manufacturers drove
demand, especially for lifestyle drugs such as Viagra and Celebrex.
“Americans want their Lipitor,” said David B. Nash, a physician who
directs the Office of Health Policy and Clinical Outcomes at Thomas
Jefferson University in Philadelphia. “They want to be able to take it
on their way to McDonald’s.”

The Drug ‘Diverters’

At the center of the shadow market are the “diverters” — armies of
little-known brokers who illegally gain control of discounted
medicines intended for nursing homes, hospices and AIDS clinics. Those
drugs are supposed to be sold only to small pharmacies that serve
those facilities and have no retail business. In return for favorable
prices from drug manufacturers — as much as 80 percent off — the
pharmacies must enter into contracts pledging not to resell those
drugs on the open market. For that reason, they are also known as
“closed-door pharmacies.” But criminals often hide behind those closed
doors.

An examination of numerous court filings shows that drug diverters
from Florida to North Dakota to California have set up hundreds of
institutional pharmacies, buying billions of dollars’ worth of
prescription drugs. In some cases, the diverters get their own
licenses in states where regulation is lax. In other instances, they
use straw men to front for them. In still others, the diverters bribe
owners of closed-door pharmacies to order drugs for them.

Often, fraudulent closed-door pharmacies consist of little more than a
desk, a fax machine and a few shelves. Yet they place excessively
large orders with drug manufacturers. Anthony Rizzo, who owned a small
drugstore in Jamestown, N.Y., obtained millions of dollars in
discounted drugs by claiming to serve nursing homes with 4,100 beds.
In fact, he served none, court records show. “In an ideal world, the
volume of his orders should have raised red flags, but everyone was
too happy to be making a buck,” said John E. Rogowski, who prosecuted
Rizzo, now in prison. The diverters take the discounted drugs, mark up
the prices and rapidly move them to small wholesalers who add another
markup and sell to other wholesalers. In some cases, pharmaceuticals
may change hands six or more times, going from state to state.

No one knows how big the drug diversion market is. State and federal
investigators say losses easily amount to billions of dollars
annually. If Jesse James were alive, “he wouldn’t make his money
robbing banks,” said Terrell Vermillion, who oversees criminal
investigations for the FDA. “He would have a cell phone, fax and mail
drop and be an illicit-drug diverter.”

One of the masters is Marty Rubin, a hulking 53-year-old with a
penchant for Las Vegas gambling tables. Rubin moved from Brooklyn to
California with hopes of pitching in the major leagues. When that did
not happen, he became a stock boy in a drugstore and found the
business “he loved,” his lawyer later said. His real business was
fraud. Three times since 1989, Rubin has been caught diverting
medications. Federal cases in Phoenix, Kansas City, Mo., and Los
Angeles depict Rubin as the man behind pharmacies and wholesaling
operations throughout the West and Southwest that illegally moved $12
million worth of drugs. He has repeatedly apologized to judges and
promised not to divert again. Each time, he has broken his promise.
Rubin, who declined requests for an interview, is finishing up a
five-year federal sentence. As drugs are diverted, the integrity of
the country’s drug distribution chain is imperiled, said Louis Ling,
general counsel to the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy. Diversion, he
said, has “gone from being an embarrassing nuisance to a dangerous
piracy.”

Many Licenses, Few Inspectors

Existing laws and regulations present few barriers to entry into the
wholesale drug market. It can be harder to become licensed as a
beautician than as a pharmaceutical distributor. With a $700 permit
fee and a $200 bond, a pair of Florida manicurists got a license to
sell intravenous drugs. An auto body shop owner in Miami got a license
to sell drugs in Maryland. Nevada awarded a license to a 23-year-old
former restaurant hostess to operate an Internet pharmacy that
specialized in narcotics. “The problem is, just about anybody can get
a license: 50 states, 50 sets of rules, 50 places to venue shop,” said
Joe Riley, an FBI agent in Newark who has investigated pharmaceuticals
stolen in cargo heists. “And that’s the first thing that’s thrown back
once they’re caught with stolen goods or counterfeit drugs: ‘Hey, the
guy I bought from faxed me a copy of his license.’ ” Florida gave
licenses to at least a half-dozen felons, records show. Two states —
Georgia and Tennessee — gave a wholesaler license to James R. Suozzo
of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., a convicted cocaine user with a long history
of heroin abuse, investigative records show. Suozzo’s background
surfaced when he was arrested in February on suspicion of attempting
to sell adulterated Procrit, Epogen and Neupogen to another small
wholesaler. His attorney, Ty Terrell, declined to comment.

Nationwide, there are an estimated 6,500 small wholesalers, yet most
states have only a handful of inspectors. In some states, amusement
park rides, elevators and even dog kennels are inspected more
frequently than drug wholesalers.

Virginia has nine inspectors for 684 wholesalers; Maryland has seven
for 632. Maryland permits wholesalers to operate from private homes,
which explains how Ultra Medical Inc. is licensed at a buff-colored
split-level with maroon shutters on High Tor Hill Drive, a cul-de-sac
in Columbia. The company Web site advertises products for cancer, HIV
and plasma.

Pauline Clarke answered the door recently and said she ships and
receives pharmaceuticals for Ultra Medical, whose president lives in
Atlanta. “I try not to keep the refrigerated stuff more than 24
hours,” said Clarke, who declined to allow a reporter inside. Company
president Sony Roy said in an phone interview from Atlanta that Ultra
Medical has only “two or three customers who buy from time to time.”
The Web site is out of date, Roy said, and the company “is dwindling.”
Nationwide, federal investigators cannot compensate for the outmanned
state regulators. The FDA has 170 criminal investigators who must
stretch to cover cases involving everything from spoiled food to
herbal medicine to complicated drugs.

In 1988, Congress attempted to stop diverters by passing the
Prescription Drug Marketing Act. The law required that wholesalers
provide a piece of paper — similar to a car title — disclosing all
prior sales. The paper trail, known as a pedigree, would allow each
wholesaler to verify they were buying from reputable sources. But
wholesalers objected to what they deemed to be burdensome paperwork
and said the new law would drive some smaller wholesalers out of
business. Small wholesalers fill gaps in rural and niche markets, said
Amanda Forster, spokeswoman for the Healthcare Distribution Management
Association, a trade group. The small wholesalers are part of a supply
chain that is “incredibly safe and secure.”

On four occasions, wholesalers’ protests caused the FDA to back off
from implementing the rule, leaving it in limbo for 15 years. “It is
not surprising, then, that some pharmaceutical wholesalers have fought
so hard and long to keep the federal rule in abeyance,” a Florida
grand jury concluded earlier this year. “In essence, the wholesale
industry is fighting for the right to keep secret from their own
customers the history of the drugs that they’re being sold.” Rep. John
D. Dingell (D-Mich.), who pushed the original bill, said, “Counterfeit
drugs are becoming a bigger problem now than when the bill was passed
in 1988. The FDA clearly needs to do more.” When some states crack
down, the problem shifts elsewhere.

In the late 1990s, Nevada tightened its licensing requirements and
limited the amount of product a wholesaler could sell to another
wholesaler. Nevada’s number of licensed wholesalers plummeted from
about 50 in 2002 to eight this year.

But they merely moved across the state line, said Judi Nurse,
supervising inspector for the California Board of Pharmacy. “We have
more of them now than ever,” she said. “I’m scrambling just to try to
keep up.” The Big Three Drug Wholesalers

Three Fortune 500 companies — Cardinal Health Inc. of Dublin, Ohio;
McKesson Corp. of San Francisco; and AmerisourceBergen of
Chesterbrook, Pa. — dominate the drug wholesaling industry, with
combined annual revenue of $146 billion. They are known in the
business as the Big Three. The wholesale drug industry is
characterized by high volumes and a razor-thin profit margin of about
1 percent of revenue. If the large wholesalers can purchase drugs for
less than the manufacturer’s price, the spread goes straight to their
bottom line.

The firms said they sometimes buy from smaller companies when reserves
are tight, a sudden need arises or special promotions produce better
prices. All three firms said they limit purchases from smaller
wholesalers: McKesson, 1 percent; AmerisourceBergen, 2 percent; and
Cardinal, 3 percent. And all three said that since 2001 they have been
buying cancer, injectable and other drugs attractive to criminals only
from manufacturers. James Larkin, spokesman for McKesson, said the
company does “rigorous due diligence” on the small
wholesalers.

But lawsuits and drug recalls show that deals with small wholesalers
have exposed the Big Three to counterfeit and diverted medications.
Since 2000, the large wholesalers have had to recall thousands of
bottles of counterfeit product. On occasion, the giants have sued
small wholesalers, alleging that they were the source of the bad
drugs. In 2000, AmerisourceBergen bought 52 bottles of counterfeit
Retrovir, an HIV medication, from a small Ohio wholesaler, Florida
health inspectors said. The bottles were found during a routine
inspection in 2001 at AmerisourceBergen’s Orlando distribution center.
By turning to the smaller wholesaler rather than buying directly from
the drug’s manufacturer, AmerisourceBergen saved about $8 per bottle
on a product that costs nearly $300 a bottle, sales records show.

The company paid a $50,000 fine in the Orlando case. In a letter to
Florida authorities, the company said that it “regrets that alleged
counterfeit Retrovir was received and distributed.” The letter also
said that “due to the volume of product received daily,” the company
“is not able to inspect each piece of product that is received.” In
1999, federal prosecutors in Las Vegas targeted Amerisource as part of
a broad investigation of illegal drug diversion in the Southwest.
Working with Fred Evans, a two-time felon, the FBI set up an
undercover business known as V.N. Chicago Inc. in Las Vegas. In seven
months, V.N. bought $31.2 million worth of deeply discounted drugs
meant for hospices and nursing homes from the Sacramento division of
Amerisource.

V.N. quickly diverted the drugs to other smaller wholesalers, earning
nearly $1 million in profit. The FBI in Las Vegas shut down its
investigation in February 2000 without charging Amerisource or the
other wholesalers. The case lay dormant for two years until FDA and
FBI agents in California took over the file. In July, the U.S.
attorney in Sacramento charged Robert Strusz, a sales manager at
Amerisource’s distribution center there, with mail fraud. He pleaded
guilty in August and is cooperating with investigators. Strusz had
worked closely with Evans to arrange the sale of the discounted drugs
to V.N. Chicago. Strusz saw his bonus boosted by the sales and he also
received kickbacks, according to his plea agreement. A spokesman for
AmerisourceBergen said the diversion scheme stopped at Strusz, who
declined to comment. The spokesman said the company became suspicious
of Evans in January 2000 and stopped selling to him a month later.

‘Golden Boy’ Gets Caught

In the mid-1990s, David Dyck was known as the “golden boy” around
Bindley Western Industries Inc.’s drug distribution center in San
Dimas, Calif., federal investigators said. Personable and charming,
Dyck brought in millions in sales and played a large role in making
San Dimas one of the huge wholesaler’s most profitable hubs. Dyck’s
job included recruiting business from the hundreds of closed-door
pharmacies in the Southern California-Las Vegas corridor. He took his
job an extra, illegal step, introducing those pharmacies to diverters.
Dyck was paid handsomely, court records show. He received
approximately $500,000, which he funneled through a shell company he
set up in his daughter’s name, Santa Susanna Consultants Inc. He was
caught by a federal investigation. In 1999, he pleaded guilty to mail
fraud and began to cooperate. Nearly 18 months later, Bindley pleaded
guilty to conspiracy in federal court in Nevada and agreed to pay a
record $20 million fine.

The San Dimas case was not the first time Bindley’s name surfaced in
drug diversion. In 1989, the company pleaded guilty to mail fraud
involving its Atlanta distribution center and paid a $500,000 fine.
Four Bindley managers, including a top executive at headquarters in
Indianapolis, also pleaded guilty. Bindley did not respond to a
request for an interview. However, in a 2000 news release, company
officials said they were “shocked” to learn of Dyck’s crimes. Dyck,
who now works for another California health care company, recently
said in an interview, “Believe me, I didn’t do anything without the
knowledge of superiors. Do you think Bindley paid $20 million because
I did something wrong?”

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

SAMPLE LETTER

Dear Editor,

I’ve been following your series on the pharmaceutical industry.
Apparently the legal drug market is experiencing the same problems
that have plagued the illegal market for years: counterfeit drugs,
dosages of fluctuating purity and greedy middleman. The experience of
the war on drugs does not inspire confidence in the ability of
government to regulate away the problem.

Perhaps it’s a question of priorities. When watching television I am
invariably exposed to the White House Office of National Drug Control
Policy’s ubiquitous anti-marijuana campaign. When checking email I am
invariably exposed to numerous SPAM messages from internet pharmacies
trying to sell me Viagra and prescription painkillers.

Like millions of Americans, I smoked marijuana in my youth, so I know
it’s not nearly as exciting as the drug czar’s sensationalist reefer
madness campaign would have kids believe. As a parent, I worry more
about the internet pharmacies peddling potentially deadly drugs.
Thank you for exposing a glaring public health problem that needs to
be addressed.

Sincerely,
Juan Costo

Please note: This is a sample letter only. Your own letter should be
substantially different so that it will be considered adding to the
discussion.

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ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts, Please See:

Writer’s Resources http://www.mapinc.org/resource/

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