April 03, 1997

     * LATEST DRUG PLAGUE HITS HARDEST IN HEARTLAND

        It's been a record winter for snowfall in Fargo, N.D. As spring
                settles in, the Red River is certain to swell,
                threatening the tidy homes and industrial shops that line
                its banks. [MEMPHIS COMMERCIAL APPEAL, PAY PER VIEW, 705
                words, $1.00]

     WARRANTLESS DRUG SEARCH VIOLATED MAN'S RIGHTS

   Racine County drug agents who entered a man's home and searched for
          marijuana and drug paraphernalia without a warrant or his
          verbal OK violated his constitutional rights, an appeals court
          ruled Wednesday. [SAINT PAUL PIONEER PRESS, PAY PER VIEW, 360
          words, $1.00]

     MEDICAL MARIJUANA CAN EASE DREADED ILLS

   DEAR DR. GOTT: What do you think of marijuana use for medical
          purposes? I strongly favor this, because THC has been shown in
          many medical studies to be an effective antidote for the pain
          and dread associated with chronic diseases ... [MEMPHIS
          COMMERCIAL APPEAL, PAY PER VIEW, 480 words, $1.00]

     Vietnam to Set up New AntiDrug Body

   Vietnam will set up an antidrug police department to fight the
          growing drug abuses and trafficking in the country, an official
          report said today. [XINHUA, BASIC, 90 words]

     Five arrested in Italy; cocaine seized

   Italian police broke up a trafficking ring in which some dlrs 60
          million worth of cocaine was smuggled from Latin America to
          Italy in containers filled with the pulp of tropical fruit,
          authorities said Wednesday. [Associated Press, PREMIUM, 105
          words]

     Cociane shipment seized in U.S.Colombian drug op

   The U.S. Coast Guard and the Colombian navy seized 1,440 pounds of
          cocaine in a joint operation in waters close to the Caribbean
          islands of San Andres and Providencia on Wednesday, officials
          said. [Reuters, PAY PER VIEW, 146 words, $1.00]