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The Week Online with DRCNet, Issue #82 - March 12, 1999
A Publication of the Drug Reform Coordination Network
-------- PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE --------
(To sign off this list, mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] with the
line "signoff drc-natl" in the body of the message, or
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. To subscribe to
this list, visit <http://www.drcnet.org/signup.html>.)
This issue can be also be read on our web site at
<http://www.drcnet.org/wol/082.html>. Check out the DRCNN
weekly radio segment at <http://www.drcnet.org/drcnn/>.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Internet Campaign Convinces Congress to Condemn "Know
Your Customer," Battle Not Yet Over
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/082.html#kyc
2. George Bush Jr. Hires Private Eye to Dig Up Own Past
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/082.html#bush
3. Report: US Anti-Drug Forces Corrupted
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/082.html#corrupted
4. Alaska Bill Introduced to Amend State's New Medical
Marijuana Law
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/082.html#alaska
5. Drug Policy Campus Activism Conference
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/082.html#campusconf
6. Washington State Bill Would Increase Judge's Discretion
in Drug Cases
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/082.html#discretion
7. Judge Denies California AIDS Patient's Urgent Plea for
Medical Marijuana
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/082.html#mcwilliams
8. Federal Judge Allows Medical Marijuana Class Action Suit
to Proceed, Questions Why Government Supplies Medical
Marijuana to Some Patients, Not Others
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/082.html#hirsch
9. Events
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/082.html#events
10. Online Petitions
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/082.html#petitions
================
1. Internet Campaign Convinces Congress to Condemn "Know
Your Customer," Battle Not Yet Over
Public outcry against the proposed "Know Your Customer"
banking rules
The Week Online with DRCNet, Issue #82 - March 12, 1999
A Publication of the Drug Reform Coordination Network
-------- PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE --------
(To sign off this list, mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] with the
line "signoff drc-natl" in the body of the message, or
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. To subscribe to
this list, visit <http://www.drcnet.org/signup.html>.)
This issue can be also be read on our web site at
<http://www.drcnet.org/wol/082.html>. Check out the DRCNN
weekly radio segment at <http://www.drcnet.org/drcnn/>.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Internet Campaign Convinces Congress to Condemn "Know
Your Customer," Battle Not Yet Over
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/082.html#kyc
2. George Bush Jr. Hires Private Eye to Dig Up Own Past
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/082.html#bush
3. Report: US Anti-Drug Forces Corrupted
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/082.html#corrupted
4. Alaska Bill Introduced to Amend State's New Medical
Marijuana Law
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/082.html#alaska
5. Drug Policy Campus Activism Conference
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/082.html#campusconf
6. Washington State Bill Would Increase Judge's Discretion
in Drug Cases
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/082.html#discretion
7. Judge Denies California AIDS Patient's Urgent Plea for
Medical Marijuana
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/082.html#mcwilliams
8. Federal Judge Allows Medical Marijuana Class Action Suit
to Proceed, Questions Why Government Supplies Medical
Marijuana to Some Patients, Not Others
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/082.html#hirsch
9. Events
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/082.html#events
10. Online Petitions
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/082.html#petitions
================
1. Internet Campaign Convinces Congress to Condemn "Know
Your Customer," Battle Not Yet Over
Public outcry against the proposed "Know Your Customer"
banking rules prompted Congress this week to pass
resolutions demanding that the rules be scrapped. In what
has been hailed as an example of the power of the Internet
as a tool for grassroots organizing, the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has received more than a
quarter million e-mailed complaints from citizens who
believe the rules would violate their privacy and
Constitutional protections against search and seizure. The
rules would require banks to keep detailed profiles on all
customers, and report unusual or suspicious transactions to
federal law enforcement agencies.
The vast majority of the complaints were lodged through
defendyourprivacy.com, a special web site set up by the
Libertarian Party. But Libertarian Party press director
George Getz told DRCNet that opposition to "Know Your
Customer" spans across all party lines. "I think the
opposition is coming from Libertarians, and from the Left
and the Right," he said. "I was at a press conference on
Capitol Hill the other day, when someone stood up and said,
'We suspect this is just one big special interest effort
behind killing Know Your Customer.' I stood up and said,
'Okay, I confess, I'm a member of a special interest group.
I have a checking account. That's what special interest is
here. If you have a bank account, this affects you. This
'spy on your customer' proposal is reprehensible to every
free-thinking American, even if the politicians and
bureaucrats seem to like it just fine."
As of Thursday, the number of complaints e-mailed through
defendyourprivacy.com and other sites had passed 250,000,
and more were pouring in as the reach of the Internet
multiplied the effectiveness of organizer's efforts. Getz
said the average number of complaints a new regulation
receives is around 200. Politicians are taking notice, as
evidenced by the Senate's 88-0 vote condemning the Know Your
Customer rules. But the resolution is non-binding, and the
FDIC, the Federal Reserve, and other regulatory agencies
involved have not yet backed down. Getz said what's really
needed are laws preventing the regulators from making rules
like Know Your Customer in the first place. "The
Republicans and Democrats on the Hill want to have it both
ways," he said. "They want to pretend that they're outraged
by Know Your Customer, but they don't want to do anything to
really bury it."
Representative Ron Paul (R-TX) is sponsoring two bills that
will place sunset clauses on Know Your Customer and the
Banking Secrecy Act, respectively. Paul's spokesman,
Michael Sullivan, told DRCNet the passage of bills like
these are the only way to protect people's privacy in the
long term. Already, he said, the regulators are considering
simply repackaging Know Your Customer under new euphemisms.
Sullivan said they are missing the point. "Unfortunately,
what the regulators are not admitting is that what people
are complaining about is not the offensive words, you know,
'profiling' and this kind of stuff," he said. "What people
are complaining about is the principle of the thing. If the
FDIC and the Federal Reserve think that simply changing the
title and using different words will make these people
happy, I think they've got another thing coming to them."
Sullivan said that Know Your Customer, intended to thwart
money launderers, is another example of short-sighted
policies with potentially disastrous consequences. "When
the regulators put forward this stuff, it's because we're
trying to fight the drug war, and we're trying to stop money
laundering, and counterfeiting, and all these good reasons.
We all agree that there are bad things out there. But is
the best way to stop them to give these agencies the power
to regulate every aspect of our lives? So that they will
turn us all into criminals? No. Obviously not. So there
has to be, at some point, a modicum of common sense which
says that sometimes great evil is done in the name of doing
good."
Will the Internet play an increasing role in the way
vigilant citizens can make their voices heard? Sullivan
said yes. "If this had been five years ago, six years ago,
these regulations would be in effect now, and no one would
be the wiser. Until people started being arrested, being
investigated. People would not have know about this,
because NBC wouldn't have carried it, ABC didn't carry it,
CBS didn't carry it, CNN didn't talk about it, and on and
on. This just really does show where this new, alternative
source of information is really paying off for people."
George Getz said the Libertarian Party will maintain its web
site. "We intend to keep the defendyourprivacy.com site up
for future government privacy invasions. Whether we're
talking about a national ID card, fingerprints on drivers
licenses, different types of asset forfeiture laws -- we're
going to be updating people through the site for the next
several months."
Thanks to the many DRCNet subscribers who responded to our
alert on Know Your Customer. Your voices made a difference!
The official public comment period on KYC is over, but it's
still worthwhile to drop by http://www.defendyourprivacy.com
to catch up on the latest developments. And of course,
DRCNet will continue to follow the story. Meanwhile, DRCNet
urges its members to ask their Congresspersons to cosponsor
Ron Paul's Know Your Customer Sunset Act and Bank Secrecy
Sunset Act bills.
================
2. George Bush Jr. Hires Private Eye to Dig Up Own Past
George Bush Jr., eyeing the Republican nomination, has hired
a private detective to dig up dirt on the Texas Governor's
past as a pre-emptive measure designed to lower the
possibility of a mid-race bombshell. Bush, whose prior
troubles with alcohol use is legendary, swears that he has
been a faithful spouse, but has been less than forthcoming
when asked about long-rumored drug use, though he has
pointedly avoided denying such charges.
Asked whether he had ever used cocaine or marijuana by the
British paper "Scotland on Sunday," Bush said only "When I
was young and irresponsible, I was young and irresponsible."
Far from simple youthful indiscretion, however, Bush has
admitted that his "irresponsible" period lasted until his
40th birthday. Adding to the sense that he might not be
truthful about his drug use, Bush also advises that parents
lie to their own children about their experiences.
"The question is, have you learned from your mistakes," he
said. "The answer is yes. If I were you, I wouldn't tell
your kids that you smoked pot unless you want them to smoke
pot. I think it's important for leaders and parents not to
send mixed signals. I don't want some kid saying, 'Well,
Governor Bush tried it'."
Questions about Bush's drug use, his message and the impact
that it will have, both on his campaign and on his image
remain.
Rob Stewart, Communications Director for the Drug Policy
Foundation in Washington, DC, wondered how Bush could
maintain the inconsistencies between his own life and the
policies he adopts.
"Assuming that Governor Bush did in fact use illicit drugs,
one has to wonder whether he believes that he would have
benefited from being sent to prison. Judging by his obvious
success in politics, it would be difficult to argue that
prison would have been appropriate. The question, then, is
why he believes that other people, people whose parents are
not oil tycoons, ought to be incarcerated for their own
substance use or abuse. Is he sending the message that drug
use should only result in incarceration for those who get
caught? Or for those whose families don't have the
resources to send them to treatment, or hire expensive
attorneys?"
Sandee Burbank, Director of Mothers Against Misuse and
Abuse, takes issue with Bush's admonition to parents to lie
to their children.
"Governor Bush thinks that the way to keep youngsters from
using drugs is to lie to them. This shows extreme
disrespect for children's intelligence and natural desire to
protect themselves from harm. Parents who use lies,
exaggerations and scare tactics put themselves at tremendous
risk of losing credibility. These tactics can lead some
children to disregard serious warnings, thinking them more
of the same lies."
"MAMA thinks it is better to teach children skills to
evaluate the risks of all drug use and provide them with
accurate information about all drugs. This will serve them
far better than lies."
================
3. Report: US Anti-Drug Forces Corrupted
A soon to be released report from the federal General
Accounting Office (GAO) points to corruption among US forces
along the Southwest border as a serious and growing problem,
according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The number of
such cases investigated by the FBI went from 79 in 1997 to
157 in 1998.
Wayne Beaman, special agent in charge of the McAllen, Texas
field office of the Justice Department's Inspector General's
office, told the Star-Telegram, "It's been overwhelming on
the southwest border."
The release of the study comes at a time when Congress has
been pushing the Clinton Administration to hire 1,000 new
border patrol agents. This week, Attorney General Janet
Reno indicated that they would not, citing the difficulties
in integrating such an influx of inexperienced officers with
concerns over corruption and the inappropriate use of force.
Reno told the congressional appropriations committee on
Tuesday (3/9) that law enforcement experts consider it risky
for more than 30% of any force to be inexperienced. "As of
July, 1998" Reno said, "the percentage of Border Patrol
agents with less than two years of experience or less was
almost 39%."
But that rationale did not temper the criticisms of
proponents of the expansion. In a statement released on
Wednesday, Congressman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) said, "We have
a White House that wants to surrender in the War against
Drugs and an Attorney General who is waving the white flag."
On Thursday, Allen Kaye, spokesman for Smith, when asked
about the upcoming GAO report and the potential for
corruption among both the existing force of Border Patrol
agents and new recruits, told The Week Online, "We currently
have up to 8,000 agents in the Border Patrol and the
overwhelming majority are hard working, patriotic Americans
who are serving their country and who would never even
consider engaging in corrupt activity. They do a superb job
under very difficult circumstances, and we ought to be proud
of them."
Kaye continued. "We also have to realize what they're up
against. They're facing down the international drug
cartels. According to government figures, 70% of all
illegal drugs come into the country over the southwest
border. With that kind of money involved, there's going to
be some corruption."
Asked whether, given the fact that a single truckload of
heroin or cocaine can supply entire regions of the country
with a year's worth of product, the inevitability of "some
corruption" makes the entire enterprise of enforcement
fruitless, Kaye responded vociferously.
"That's a legalization argument," he said. "And Congressman
Smith rejects that argument out of hand. Our children
deserve better than to have us surrender to the drug
cartels. Congressman Smith speaks often to PTA's and
parents' groups and they consistently urge him to fight
hard, not to give up on our children in the War on Drugs.
We must confront the smugglers everywhere, and the
Congressman believes that we need at least two thousand
additional border agents to do that. Even then, he might
not be satisfied."
Dr. Al Robison, Director of the Drug Policy Forum of Texas,
disagrees.
"Once again, it's getting deep up on the hill" he said.
"It's disheartening that legislators like Mr. Smith insist
upon hiding behind the idea that they're somehow protecting
kids with this madness. Another 2,000 agents and perhaps
we'll get a handle on this $400 billion a year industry.
Hah. We haven't achieved a single drug free community in
the whole country, much less a drug free America. The drug
war itself is what allows our kids access to this stuff.
Giving up on our children? We've long sold out our children
in favor of prison industry profits and the budgets of
countless federal agencies. If we really wanted to keep
drugs out of the hands of children, we'd put the drug trade
in the hands of people we could regulate and control.
Today, despite decades of escalation of the drug war, drugs
are accessible to any American child with a few dollars in
his pocket and the desire to use them. To pretend that more
money for the border patrol is going to protect our kids is
the worst kind of disingenuousness."
================
4. Alaska Bill Introduced to Amend State's New Medical
Marijuana Law
- Marc Brandl, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
On March 3rd, 1999, Measure 8, Alaska's medical marijuana
initiative, passed by nearly 60% of voters became law. On
March 4th, state senator Loren Leman introduced SB 94, which
would greatly modify several key provisions of the new law.
Two major proposals of the 15 page bill are seen as very
controversial. The first would require patients to register
with Alaska's Health and Human Services and allow broad
access of that registry to law enforcement agencies.
Measure 8 created the registry to be voluntary. The other
key controversial provision is a statement that doctors
would have to sign in order to recommend marijuana for
patients that states, "There is no other legal treatment
that can be tolerated by the patient that is as effective in
alleviating the debilitating medical condition." Also only
AIDS, cancer and glaucoma would be considered legitimate
conditions for which marijuana could be recommended.
"We think the whole process is outrageous that he would try
to amend this initiative into ineffectiveness just as it is
coming into law," said Alaskans for Medical Rights treasurer
David Finkelstein. "His bill sets up a system where law
enforcement officials have access to a list of patients and
all of their medical conditions. This just isn't a matter
of having access to what drugs they are taking. The
documentation necessary to get medical marijuana includes
the doctor's documentation of their conditions, which
includes AIDS. Some AIDS patients are concerned about that
information getting out. It's essentially full disclosure
to patients' medical backgrounds."
Senator Leman had a different perspective when he talked to
the WOL about SB 94. "We're concerned about enforcing drug
laws in the state of Alaska. The initiative was very poorly
worded, it has a lot of loopholes and opportunities for
abuse. What the bill does is correct some of those while
still maintaining the ability of the so called medical
marijuana part to operate." When asked about concerns over
the requirement in SB 94 that all patients participate in
the state registry to be legal users of medical marijuana,
Sen. Leman replied, "Why did the promoters of this
initiative form a state registry? They did it just to
create the ruse that there was going to be a requirement for
registering. But curiously they don't require that the
users or the primary caregivers sign up and register. Our
legislation requires them to register. Does that create an
unnecessary burden on the doctor/patient relationship? No.
Marijuana is not some harmless food supplement, it is a
dangerous drug."
Another source of concern about Sen. Leman's bill raised by
Finkelstein and several recent letters to the editor in the
Anchorage Daily News is that the new law hasn't been given a
chance to work and this legislation is an attempt to thwart
the will of the voters. Senator Leman strongly disagreed,
saying, "That isn't correct. Most the voters of Alaska, I
believe, who voted for this, did so because they believed it
would be limited, require a doctor's recommendation, that
there would be a registry of users maintained by the state
that people would have to sign up for, and that it would be
limited to those who have a debilitating illness. That is
what the voters of Alaska voted for."
The bill has a long road ahead before it becomes law or is
voted down by the Alaskan legislature, and both sides
believe it will be a long fight. "I am not sure of the
outcome," said Finkelstein. "But we are doing all we can to
convince legislators that compassion for patients out to be
their number one concern and they ought to give the new law
a chance to work."
================
5. Drug Policy Campus Activism Conference
- Marc Brandl, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
On the weekend of March 5-7, over 40 students, representing
10 universities, met to learn more about activism,
leadership, and to discuss ideas. Aaron Wilson, long-time
campus activist and organizer of the conference, said "While
small, as the first ever inter-campus gathering of student
drug policy reform activists it was a significant event.
The level of inter-campus communication and cooperation has
risen quite a bit, with several collaborative projects
already underway. I think the event did a lot to solidify
the participants' commitment to activism on the issue and
provided political skills they need to be more effective. I
am sure the next event will be even better."
The conference, titled "Student Drug Reform Activism: 1999
Advanced Leadership Conference," was held at the University
of Massachusetts, Amherst and was hosted by the nation's
longest running campus marijuana reform group, the Amherst
Cannabis Reform Coalition (UMACRC). The conference focused
on activism, with sessions and panels were held on subjects
such as event organizing, Higher Education Act reform, and
effective political public relations. The focus of all the
conference events was activism and not theory. The
conference also allowed student activists a chance to meet
face to face and share ideas, experiences and plans for the
future long into the morning hours.
Michael Thelwell, one of the original founders of the
Student Nonviolent Campus Coordinators (SNCC), now a
professor of literature in the Afro-American Studies
department at Amherst, was the event's keynote speaker. His
speech inspired activists with memories of the civil rights
movement. "He inspired me to think more about the struggle
and the heart behind what we do instead of simply tactics
and knowledge," said Troy Dayton, who was a communications
and rhetoric trainer at the conference.
Tentative plans are being made to have a similar event in
October at George Washington University in Washington.
Shawn Heller, president of GW Students for a Sensible Drug
Policy (SSDP) said, "Hopefully a conference at GW next
semester will improve upon the trend set up by this
conference, and will bring together all drug policy student
activists in the country." Funding for the conference came,
in part, from a small grant from the Drug Policy Foundation
and several contributions from private donors. Aaron Wilson
would like to thank everyone who made the event possible and
contributed to its success, including Liz Rising (UMACRC),
who did much of the work of reserving hotel rooms, making
arrangements for food and other thankless tasks.
================
6. Washington State Bill Would Increase Judge's Discretion
in Drug Cases
The Washington State legislature is expected to vote next
week on a bill that would allow judges more discretion in
sentencing nonviolent drug offenders. House Bill 1006,
introduced by Republican Representative Ida Ballasiotes,
enjoys broad support from prosecutors, judges, and other
lawmakers, and is widely expected to pass.
Ballasiotes told DRCNet the bill's popularity stems from a
growing disillusionment with the consequences of harsh
mandatory minimum sentences instituted in 1989. "The 'tough
on drugs' approach has held sway for the last ten years or
so," she said. "It hasn't worked well. And corrections is
the fastest growing part of our budget. So my point is, we
have to work smarter with the resources we have."
Nonviolent drug offenders make up 25 percent of the state's
prison population.
House Bill 1006 will not necessarily lower the penalties for
drug offenses, but it will allow judges to sentence some
offenders to supervised drug rehabilitation programs instead
of jail. Ballasiotes said her bill speaks to practicalities
that beyond the "tough on crime" paradigm. "It's not a
matter of getting tough or being soft on crime. I don't
think that's the issue at all. There are ways to treat
these people that are far less expensive, that will have, I
believe, a positive effect."
================
7. Judge Denies California AIDS Patient's Urgent Plea for
Medical Marijuana
(reprinted from the NORML Weekly News, http://www.norml.org)
A federal judge refused this week to alter the conditions of
release that bar a California AIDS patient from using
potentially life saving medicine, marijuana, ruling that the
denial is not a violation of his constitutional rights.
"They're just going to let me die," said patient Peter
McWilliams, a New York Times best-selling author who uses
medical marijuana to alleviate side effects of the AIDS
wasting syndrome and the nausea associated with his AIDS
medications. "My doctor and I have tried every [other
medication,] and we made this very clear in the documents
filed with the court," he said. "Medical marijuana was the
only alternative."
McWilliams physician, Dr. Daniel Bowers, an AIDS specialist
at Pacific Oaks Medical Center in Beverly Hills, said that
his patient's viral load has skyrocketed from undetectable
to dangerously high levels since a federal magistrate barred
McWilliams from smoking marijuana. Bowers said that
McWilliams risks permanent damage to his immune system if
his levels are not reduced.
A judge ordered McWilliams to stop smoking marijuana as a
condition of his bail release last fall after a federal
grand jury charged him and eight others with conspiracy to
cultivate marijuana for commercial sale. This week's ruling
by U.S. District Judge George King upholds that ban despite
McWilliams' worsening health.
"We conclude that imposing the aforesaid conditions of bond
does not violate any of the defendant's constitutional
rights," Judge King ruled. "We do not mean to express
indifference to the defendant's situation, [but] we are not
empowered to grant the defendant what amounts to a license
to violate federal law," he said. King made no mention of
California's law legalizing marijuana for medical use.
McWilliams is a California resident.
King also refused McWilliams' request that he be placed in a
federal program that supplies medical marijuana to a handful
of patients with serious diseases. McWilliams said he will
appeal the ruling. McWilliams' criminal trial on marijuana
charges is scheduled to begin on September 7, 1999.
================
8. Federal Judge Allows Medical Marijuana Class Action Suit
to Proceed, Questions Why Government Supplies Medical
Marijuana to Some Patients, Not Others
(reprinted from the NORML Weekly News, http://www.norml.org)
A US District Judge (Philadelphia) ruled this week that a
government program that supplies medical marijuana to a
small group of seriously ill patients, but refuses to enroll
new applicants suffering from similar diseases, may violate
"equal protection of the law" guaranteed by the
Constitution. District Judge Marvin Katz's ruling allows a
federal medical marijuana class action suit launched by
Philadelphia attorney Lawrence Hirsch to proceed forward.
Hirsch filed the suit on behalf of more than 100 patients
who find medical relief from marijuana.
"We are gratified by Judge Katz's decision to recognize the
central equal protection of law claim of the plaintiffs'
class that it is fundamentally unfair, and apparently
irrational for the United States government to supply
therapeutic cannabis to a total of seven or eight Americans
because it is medically necessary for their conditions, [but
deny it to others,]" Hirsch said.
The federal Compassionate Investigational New Drug (IND)
program began distributing marijuana cigarettes to select
patients in 1978. The program ceased accepting new
applicants in 1992, but continues to supply 300 marijuana
cigarettes monthly to eight patients suffering from diseases
such as glaucoma and epilepsy. Similar statewide programs
also distributed medical marijuana to approximately 1,000
patients in the 1980s, but are no longer active.
Judge Katz dismissed in his ruling several other
constitutional violations alleged by the plaintiffs. NORML
Legal Committee members Michael Cutler, Esq. of Boston, MA
and William Panzer, Esq. of Oakland, CA have joined as co-
counsel in the suit.
================
9. Events
March 20-21, Toronto, Canada, The Second International
Conference on Drug War Prisoners, sponsored by the
Curriculum Committee of the Department of Sociology, York
University. For information, contact John Beresford at
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
March 21-25, Geneva, Switzerland. 10th International
Conference on the Reduction of Drug Related Harm, sponsored
by the International Harm Reduction Association. For info,
call 44 (151) 227 44 23, fax 44 (151) 236 48 29, e-mail
[EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit http://www.ihra.org.uk/geneve/ on
the web.
March 27-29, Washington, DC. Families Against Mandatory
Minimums workshop. For information, call FAMM at (202) 822-
6700 or e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Wednesday, April 7, 4-6pm, New York, NY. Illegal Leisure:
Recreational Drug Use Among 1990s British Youth, seminar
with With Howard Parker, PhD, professor of social work at
the University of Manchester and author of Illegal Leisure:
The Normalization of Adolescent Recreational Drug Use
(Routledge 1998). Parker, director of SPARC, a British
social policy research center, examines the impact of drug
law and policy on British youth. At the Open Society
Institute, 400 West 59th Street (between 9th and 10th
Avenues), 3rd Floor, New York City, free. Call The
Lindesmith Center at (212)548-0695 or e-mail
[EMAIL PROTECTED] to reserve a place.
April 20, Oklahoma City, OK. "PROTEST THE WAR"
demonstration at the State Capitol. For information,
contact Norma Sapp at (405) 840-4367 or Michael Pearson at
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
May 7, New York, NY, 9:00am. RALLY: Mothers in Prison,
Children in Crisis, highlighting the need for in-house drug
rehabilitation as an alternative to prison for mothers with
dependent children, 100 Centre St. Sponsored by the
JusticeWorks Community. For further information, call (718)
499-6704, fax (718) 832-2832, e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED],
or visit http://www.justiceworks.org on the web.
***May 12-15, Bethesda, MD (outside Washington, DC). The
12th International Conference on Drug Policy Reform,
sponsored by the Drug Policy Foundation. (May 11 evening
legislative training session.) For further information,
call (202) 537-5005, e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], or visit
<http://www.dpf.org>.
================
10. Online Petitions
Several online petitions on issues of interest to reformers
are currently in progress at <http://www.e-thepeople.com>.
Visit the "Crime and Public Safety" section to sign and
distribute petitions calling for a moratorium on prison
building, opposing California's three-strikes law, opposing
Michigan's mandatory minimum sentences, calling for
legalization and decriminalization of marijuana, and more.
(DRCNet's weekly editorials will return next week.)
----------------------------------------------------------
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