Our Nation's Drug Czar Is Annoyed. If proponents have their way, the District of Columbia will vote later this year to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes for the second time. John P. Walters, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, took some pot shots at the issue in a recent Washington Post piece that has been reprinted across the country. Unfortunately, he brings more smoke than light. "After years of giggling at quaintly outdated marijuana scare stories like the 1936 movie "Reefer Madness,' " he writes, "we've become almost conditioned to think that any warnings about the true dangers of marijuana are overblown." He then proceeds with unintended irony to give an "overblown" warning of his own about "The Myth of "Harmless' Marijuana." [continues 557 words]
WASHINGTON -- Our nation's drug czar is annoyed. If proponents have their way, the District of Columbia will vote later this year to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes for the second time. John P. Walters, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, took some pot shots at the issue in a recent Washington Post piece (reprinted in the Bee on May 13, "Pot's weird effects on brains of youth"). Unfortunately, he brings more smoke than light. "After years of giggling at quaintly outdated marijuana scare stories like the 1936 movie 'Reefer Madness'," he writes, "we've become almost conditioned to think that any warning about the true dangers of marijuana are overblown." [continues 639 words]
WASHINGTON - Our nation's drug czar is annoyed. If proponents have their way, the District of Columbia will vote later this year to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes for the second time. John P. Walters, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, took some pot shots at the issue in a recent Washington Post piece. Unfortunately, he brings more smoke than light. "After years of giggling at quaintly outdated marijuana scare stories like the 1936 movie `Reefer Madness,"' he writes, "we've become almost conditioned to think that any warning about the true dangers of marijuana are overblown." [continues 634 words]
Our nation's drug czar is annoyed. If proponents have their way, the District of Columbia will vote later this year to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes for the second time. John P. Walters, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, took some pot shots at the issue in a recent Washington Post piece that has been reprinted across the country. Unfortunately, he brings more smoke than light. "After years of giggling at quaintly outdated marijuana scare stories like the 1936 movie 'Reefer Madness,"' he writes, "we've become almost conditioned to think that any warning about the true dangers of marijuana are overblown." [continues 577 words]
My thanks go out to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg for clearing away some of the smoke surrounding the marijuana debate. It was not his idea. He was involuntarily drawn into it by a $500,000 print, broadcast and bus ad campaign by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws Foundation. As part of NORML's campaign against the city's policy of arresting and jailing public pot smokers, the ads feature a blown-up photo of Bloomberg next to a quote he gave last summer as a mayoral candidate. [continues 590 words]
My thanks go out to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg for clearing away some of the smoke surrounding the marijuana debate. It was not his idea. He was involuntarily drawn into it by a $500,000 print, broadcast and bus ad campaign by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws Foundation. As part of NORML's campaign against the city's policy of arresting and jailing public pot smokers, the ads feature a blown-up photo of Mr. Bloomberg next to a quote he gave last summer as a mayoral candidate. [continues 650 words]
WASHINGTON - My thanks go out to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg for clearing away some of the smoke surrounding the marijuana debate. It was not his idea. He was involuntarily drawn into it by a $500,000 print, broadcast and bus ad campaign by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws Foundation. As part of NORML's campaign against the city's policy of arresting and jailing public pot smokers, the ads feature a blown-up photo of Mr. Bloomberg next to a quote he gave last summer as a mayoral candidate. [continues 585 words]
My thanks go out to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg for clearing away some of the smoke surrounding the marijuana debate. It was not his idea. He was involuntarily drawn into it by a $500,000 print, broadcast and bus ad campaign by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws Foundation. As part of NORML's campaign against the city's policy of arresting and jailing public pot smokers, the ads feature a blown-up photo of Mr. Bloomberg next to a quote he gave last summer as a mayoral candidate. [continues 649 words]
WASHINGTON - My thanks go out to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg for clearing away some of the smoke surrounding the marijuana debate. It was not his idea. He was involuntarily drawn into it by a $500,000 print, broadcast and bus ad campaign by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws Foundation. As part of NORML's campaign against the city's policy of arresting and jailing public pot smokers, the ads feature a blown-up photo of Bloomberg next to a quote he gave last summer as a mayoral candidate. [continues 622 words]
MY thanks go out to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg for clearing away some of the smoke surrounding the marijuana debate. It was not his idea. He was involuntarily drawn into it by a $500,000 print, broadcast and bus ad campaign by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws Foundation. As part of NORML's campaign against the city's policy of arresting and jailing public pot smokers, the ads feature a blown-up photo of Bloomberg next to a quote he gave last summer as a mayoral candidate. [continues 648 words]
My thanks go out to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg for clearing away some of the smoke surrounding the marijuana debate. It was not his idea. He was involuntarily drawn into it by a $500,000 print, broadcast and bus ad campaign by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws Foundation. As part of NORML's campaign against the city's policy of arresting and jailing public pot smokers, the ads feature a photo of Bloomberg next to a quote he gave last summer as a mayoral candidate. A New York magazine writer asked whether Bloomberg had ever smoked pot, and he responded cheerfully, "You bet I did. And I liked it." [continues 573 words]
My thanks go out to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg for clearing away some of the smoke surrounding the marijuana debate. It was not his idea. He was involuntarily drawn into it by a $500,000 print, broadcast and bus ad campaign by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws Foundation. As part of NORML's campaign against the city's policy of arresting and jailing public pot smokers, the ads feature a blown-up photo of Bloomberg next to a quote he gave last summer as a mayoral candidate. [continues 648 words]
WASHINGTON - My thanks go out to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg for clearing away some of the smoke surrounding the marijuana debate. It was not his idea. He was involuntarily drawn into it by a $500,000 print, broadcast and bus ad campaign by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws Foundation. As part of NORML's campaign against the city's policy of arresting and jailing public pot smokers, the ads feature a blown-up photo of Bloomberg next to a quote he gave last summer as a mayoral candidate. [continues 651 words]
WASHINGTON -- My thanks go out to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg for clearing away some of the smoke in the marijuana debate. It was not his idea. He was drafted by a $500,000 print, broadcast and bus ad campaign by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws Foundation (NORML). As part of NORML's campaign against the city's policy of arresting and jailing public pot smokers, the ads feature a photo of Bloomberg next to a quote he gave last summer as a mayoral candidate. New York magazine asked whether he had ever smoked pot and he responded cheerfully, "You bet I did. And I liked it." [continues 510 words]
The Attorney General Makes A Backdoor Assault On Oregon's Law Tribune Media Services W ASHINGTON -- "It is always consoling to think of suicide," the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once wrote, "in that way one gets through many a bad night." Restless nights have returned to Oregon, thanks to Attorney General John Ashcroft. Despite more urgent matters on Ashcroft's platter these days, Ashcroft has found time to make a backdoor assault on the Oregon law that permits doctor-assisted suicide. [continues 711 words]
Right To Die "It is always consoling to think of suicide," the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once wrote, "in that way one gets through many a bad night." Restless nights have returned to Oregon, thanks to Attorney General John Ashcroft. Despite more urgent matters on Ashcroft's platter these days, he has found time to make a backdoor assault on the Oregon law that permits doctor-assisted suicide. In a Nov. 6 letter to the Drug Enforcement Administration, Ashcroft declared that any doctor who prescribes lethal drugs for terminally ill patients can face revocation of his or her license to prescribe federally controlled drugs. [continues 648 words]
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court has spoken. Federal anti-drug laws trump state laws that allow patients to have marijuana when their doctors recommend it. That's sad news to Kathleen Marie "Kitty" Tucker, a 57-year-old lawyer and mother who favors the legalization of marijuana for medicinal use. She could use some. Since 1987 she has suffered from migraines and fibromyalgia, a chronic muscle pain disorder, too severe to let her work outside her suburban Maryland home. She's been using such legal drugs as Marinol, a synthetic version of the active ingredient in marijuana. But none relieve her symptoms as well -- and with as few side effects -- as smoking marijuana used to, she says. [continues 655 words]
The Supreme Court has spoken. Federal anti-drug laws trump state laws that allow patients to have marijuana when their doctors recommend it. That's sad news to Kathleen Marie ''Kitty'' Tucker, a 57-year-old lawyer and mother who favors the legalization of marijuana for medicinal use. She could use some. Since 1987 she has suffered from migraines and fibromyalgia, a chronic muscle pain disorder, too severe to let her work outside her suburban Maryland home. She's been using such legal drugs as Marinol, a synthetic version of the active ingredient in marijuana. But none relieve her symptoms as well --- and with as few side effects --- as smoking marijuana used to, she says. [continues 643 words]
THE Supreme Court has spoken. Federal anti-drug laws trump state laws that allow patients to have marijuana when their doctors recommend it. That's sad news to Kathleen Marie "Kitty" Tucker, a 57-year-old lawyer and mother who favors the legalization of marijuana for medicinal use. Since 1987 she has suffered from migraines and fibromyalgia, a chronic muscle pain disorder, too severe to let her work outside her suburban Maryland home. She's been using such legal drugs as Marinol, a synthetic version of the active ingredient in marijuana. But none relieve her symptoms as well -- and with as few side effects -- as smoking marijuana used to, she says. [continues 601 words]
The U.S. Supreme Court has spoken. Federal anti-drug laws trump state laws that allow patients to have marijuana when their doctors recommend it. That's sad news to Kathleen Marie "Kitty" Tucker. The 57-year-old lawyer and mother favors the legalization of marijuana for medicinal use. She could use some. Since 1987 she has suffered from migraines and fibromyalgia, a chronic muscle pain disorder. Both aliments are so severe she cannot work outside her suburban Maryland home. She looked with great hope to the nearby District of Columbia and to the eight states where marijuana for medicinal purposes has been legalized. [continues 662 words]
In the hit drug movie "Traffic," the drug czar played by Michael Douglas laments a shocking discovery: The war on drugs, he says, "is a war on our nation's most precious resource . . . our children." At the time, I thought that line was a bit of an exaggeration, some purple prose from a director trying too hard to make a point. Now I'm beginning to wonder whether Douglas' line didn't go far enough. "War on our children" sounds like a pretty good description of a 3-year-old federal law that denies financial aid for a year or more to students convicted of drug crimes, no matter how minor the crime might have been. [continues 665 words]
WASHINGTON -- In the hit drug movie "Traffic," the drug czar played by Michael Douglas laments a shocking discovery: The war on drugs, he says, "is a war on our nation's most precious resource - our children." At the time, I thought that line was a bit of an exaggeration, some purple prose from a director trying too hard to make a point. Now I'm beginning to wonder whether Douglas' line didn't go far enough. "War on our children" sounds like a pretty good description of a three-year-old federal law that denies financial aid for a year or more to students convicted of drug crimes, no matter how minor the crime might have been. [continues 723 words]
WASHINGTON - In the hit movie "Traffic," the drug czar played by Michael Douglas laments a shocking discovery: The war on drugs, he says, "is a war on our nation's most precious resource ... our children." At the time, I thought that line was a bit of an exaggeration, some purple prose from a director trying too hard to make a point. Now I'm beginning to wonder whether Douglas' line didn't go far enough. "War on our children" sounds like a good description of a federal law that denies financial aid for a year or more to students convicted of drug crimes, no matter how minor the crime might have been. Think about it: You can have a record for rape, murder, burglary or child molestation and it won't hurt your chances for a federal student grant or loan. But get caught lighting up a joint at a rock concert and you can kiss tuition help goodbye for a year or more, depending on the severity of the offense. Rep. Mark Souder calls it "accountability." He's the Indiana Republican who authored the anti-drug measure as a 1998 amendment to the Higher Education Act. "The concept is simple," he told me in a telephone interview. "If you want taxpayer funds, accountability goes with it. Some states do it with driver's licenses. The federal government does it with public housing. I wanted to do it with student loans." [continues 594 words]
IN THE hit drug movie "Traffic," the drug czar played by Michael Douglas laments a shocking discovery: The war on drugs, he says, "is a war on our nation's most precious resource . . . our children." At the time, I thought that line was a bit of an exaggeration, some purple prose from a director trying too hard to make a point. Now I'm beginning to wonder whether Douglas' line didn't go far enough. "War on our children" sounds like a pretty good description of a 3-year-old federal law that denies financial aid for a year or more to students convicted of drug crimes, no matter how minor. You can have a record for rape, murder, burglary or child molestation and it won't hurt your chances for a federal student grant or loan. But get caught lighting up a joint during a rock concert and you can kiss that tuition help goodbye for a year or more. [continues 540 words]
In the hit movie "Traffic," the drug czar played by Michael Douglas laments a shocking discovery: The war on drugs, he says, "is a war on our nation's most precious resource ... our children." At the time, I thought that line was a bit of an exaggeration, some purple prose from a director trying too hard to make a point. Now I'm beginning to wonder whether Douglas' line didn't go far enough. "War on our children" sounds like a good description of a federal law that denies financial aid for a year or more to students convicted of drug crimes, no matter how minor the crime might have been. [continues 732 words]
HERE'S a not-so-trivial trivia question for you: Under which president did the most Americans go to prison for serious crimes: Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton or the first George Bush? Here's a hint: He likes to give out lots of pardons. Yes, a study released last week by the Washington-based Justice Policy Institute found that Bill "You Beg My Pardon" Clinton wins this dubious distinction. Some 673,000 inmates were added to state and federal prisons and jails under Clinton's two terms, the institute found, compared with 343,000 during Bush's term and 448,000 during Reagan's two terms. Love him or hate him, you can't call Clinton soft on crime. [continues 659 words]
WASHINGTON-- We didn't need any more dramatic examples of how drug addiction should be treated as a health issue, but Robert Downey, Jr.has given one to us anyway. Like Darryl Strawberry, Downey just can't seem to keep illegal drugs out of his bloodstream or his body out of jail. While most of the rest of the country was enjoying Thanksgiving weekend, Downey was getting busted for possession of cocaine and methamphetamines in his Palm Springs, Calif., hotel room, after police were alerted by a tipster. [continues 655 words]
WE didn't need any more dramatic examples of how drug addiction should be treated as a health issue, not just a criminal issue, but Robert Downey Jr. has given one to us anyway. Like Darryl Strawberry, Downey just can't seem to keep illegal drugs out of his bloodstream or his body out of jail. While most of the rest of the country was enjoying Thanksgiving weekend, Downey was getting busted for possession of cocaine and methamphetamines in his Palm Springs hotel room, after police were alerted by a tipster. [continues 834 words]
Until now, I have admired Al Gore's candor on the marijuana question. After all, he is the first presidential candidate to admit not only that he smoked marijuana but also that he inhaled it. His boss, President Clinton, confessed during his 1992 campaign to smoking the wicked weed in his youth, but insisted that he "didn't inhale." That's like saying you subscribe to Playboy for the articles. Maybe he enjoyed that distinctive marijuana smell, which is sort of like burning socks. [continues 655 words]
WASHINGTON - Until now, I have admired Al Gore's candor on the marijuana question. After all, he is the first presidential candidate to admit not only that he smoked marijuana but also that he inhaled it. His boss, President Clinton, confessed during his 1992 campaign to smoking the wicked weed in his youth but insisted that he "didn't inhale." That's like saying you subscribe to Playboy for the articles. Maybe he enjoyed that distinctive marijuana smell, which is sort of like burning socks. [continues 657 words]
Until now, I have admired Al Gore's candor on the marijuana question. After all, he is the first presidential candidate to admit not only that he smoked marijuana but also that he inhaled it. His boss, President Clinton, confessed during his 1992 campaign to smoking the wicked weed in his youth, but insisted that he "didn't inhale." That's like saying you subscribe to Playboy for the articles. Maybe he enjoyed that distinctive marijuana smell, which is sort of like burning socks. [continues 558 words]
Until now, I have admired Al Gore's candor on the marijuana question. After all, he is the first presidential candidate to admit not only that he smoked marijuana but also that he inhaled it. His boss, President Clinton, confessed during his 1992 campaign to smoking the wicked weed in his youth, but insisted that he "didn't inhale." That's like saying you subscribe to Playboy for the articles. Maybe he enjoyed that distinctive marijuana smell, which is sort of like burning socks. [continues 656 words]
WASHINGTON -- Until now, I have admired Al Gore's candor on the marijuana question. After all, he is the first presidential candidate to admit not only that he smoked marijuana but also that he inhaled it. His boss, President Clinton, confessed during his 1992 campaign to smoking the wicked weed in his youth, but insisted that he "didn't inhale." That's like saying you subscribe to Playboy for the articles. Maybe he enjoyed that distinctive marijuana smell, which is sort of like burning socks. [continues 603 words]
WASHINGTON -- Until now, I have admired Al Gore's candor on the marijuana question. After all, he is the first presidential candidate to admit not only that he smoked marijuana but that he even inhaled it. His boss, President Clinton, confessed during his 1992 campaign to smoking the wicked weed in his youth but insisted he "didn't inhale." That's like saying you subscribe to Playboy for the articles. Maybe he enjoyed that distinctive marijuana smell, which is sort of like burning socks. [continues 647 words]
WASHINGTON- Here's a twist. The Rev. Al Sharpton is complaining that the New York City police have not acted aggressively enough. Yes, this is the same Rev. Al who has charged police from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., to Riverside, Calif., with behaving too brutally. The shoe is on the other foot in the wake of the nationally publicized assault on more than 40 women by roving mobs of grabbing, groping and robbing hooligans in Central Park following the city's Puerto Rican Day parade last week. Some of the women say they tried to summon police to the scene but were ignored. [continues 664 words]
TAKOMA PARK, MD. If the movement to legalize medical marijuana needs a poster family, here it is. They live in Takoma Park, a mostly middle-class suburb of Washington, D.C. The mother, a lawyer, suffers from migraines and a chronic muscle pain disorder that is hard to pronounce and even harder to spell: fibromyalgia. It is a condition that is severe enough for her to be considered totally disabled by the Social Security Administration, according to her attorney, Steven Kupferberg. [continues 661 words]
IF you pay much attention to the presidential campaign (and these days our numbers seem to me to be remarkably few), you will hear a lot of talk about who is setting the best example to young people and who isn't. President Clinton's scandal with Monica Lewinsky has made this a particularly strong issue with Republicans. Some viewed with alarm a front-page Washington Post story last spring about an apparent increase in oral sex among students at a local middle school. It quoted one eighth-grade girl as excusing her act with, ``President Clinton does it.'' [continues 690 words]
Dubyah's 'Gotcha' Game Like countless other Americans, I have been trying to figure out what to make of George W. Bush's reluctance to answer the cocaine question. Although "Dubyah," as the Republican front-runner has become widely known, has been quite forthcoming about some aspects of his wild and woolly youth before age 40, he has repeatedly brushed off questions about whether he ever used cocaine. He refuses to play that "Washington game" of "gotcha," he has said. During the Iowa Straw Poll weekend, for example, he said on CNN's "Evans, Novak, Hunt & Shields" that "the game of trying to force me to prove a negative and to chase down unsubstantiated, ugly rumors has got to end." [continues 716 words]
Coming soon, perhaps to a birth control clinic near you: a $200 bribe to get yourself sterilized, either temporarily or permanently. Of course, there is a catch. To qualify for this program, you must be a drug addict, either actively or in recovery. A cash-for-sterilization offer begun by an organization called Children Requiring a Caring Kommunity, or CRACK, two years ago in Anaheim, Calif., has opened its first national expansion office in Chicago. CRACK also has put up billboards in Florida and Minnesota with a toll-free hot-line and this straightforward offer: "If you are addicted to drugs, get birth control. Get $200 cash. Stop the cycle of addicted newborns now!" [continues 683 words]
Will This Solve One Problem Caused By Drug Addiction? WASHINGTON Coming soon, perhaps to a birth-control clinic near you: A $200 bribe for you to get yourself sterilized, either temporarily or permanently. Of course, there is a catch. To qualify for this program, you must be a drug addict or in recovery. A cash-for-sterilization offer begun by an organization called CRACK (Children Requiring a Caring Kommunity), was founded two years ago in Anaheim and has opened its first national expansion office in Chicago. [continues 728 words]
Wars on crime have collateral damage too. That was not the theme of U.S. Atty. Gen. Janet Reno's speech to the National Press Club last week, but it might as well have been. In her strongest statement yet on the subject, Reno announced new steps to restore trust between police and minority communities. Among other moves, she planned to include questions about police behavior in the Department of Justice's annual Crime Victimization Survey. It would be the federal government's first national measure of how often police abuses occur. [continues 672 words]
Expect the worst and you won't be disappointed. That's been a slogan of mine for as far back as I can remember. Experience tells me I am not alone. Most of us have at least a trace of misanthropy in us. Unfortunately, some of us let it get carried away. Take, for example, three recent cases of white men who lost their jobs for making statements that offended blacks. Only one was quickly hired back. Each illustrates in strikingly different ways how you can get into trouble these days for expecting the worst in people. [continues 710 words]
HEY! Psssst, Over here, Pal. Are you, by any chance, a major drug dealer who has gotten nailed with the goods? Are you facing life imprisonment in a federal prison without parole because of get tough anti-drug legislation? Are you singing the blues at the prospect of life caged up with a wife named Bruno? Relax, pal. You can be out of jail in five years or less. You might even be able to walk out of the courtroom scot free. [continues 748 words]
HEY! Psssst. Over here, Pal. Are you, by any chance, a major drug dealer who has gotten nailed with the goods? Are you facing life imprisonment in a federal prison without parole because of get-tough anti-drug legislation? Are you singing the blues at the prospect of life caged up with a wife named Bruno? Relax, pal. You can be out of jail in five years or less. You might even be able to walk out of the courtroom scot free. [continues 756 words]
Are you, by any chance, a major drug dealer who has gotten nailed with the goods? Are you facing life imprisonment in a federal prison without parole because of get-tough anti-drug legislation? Are you singing the blues at the prospect of life caged up with a wife named Bruno? Relax, pal. You can get out of jail in five years or less. You might even be able to walk out of the courtroom scot-free. All you have to do is snitch. Rat. Be a stoolie. [continues 811 words]
WASHINGTON -- Hey! Ps-s-s-s-st. Over here, pal. Are you, by any chance, a major drug dealer who has gotten nailed with the goods? Are you facing life imprisonment in a federal prison without parole because of get-tough anti-drug legislation? Are you singing the blues at the prospect of life caged up with a wife named Bruno? Relax, pal. You can get out of jail in five years or less. You might even be able to walk out of the courtroom scot-free. [continues 822 words]
Ventura's win crushes the myth of generational apathy ON the day after the recent elections I put a riddle to Michele Mitchell, author of a fascinating new book on the political views of Generation X. ``What,'' I asked, ``do you get when young voters show up at the polls?'' She demonstrated her expertise by giving the correct answer: ``Jesse `The Body' Ventura.'' Watching the election returns in her Brooklyn apartment, Mitchell, 28, was delighted with the former professional wrestler's upset victory in the Minnesota governor's race. She had been predicting that young people would fuel the rise of an alternative party. But she had expected it to come in 2000 or later, not this soon. [continues 485 words]
WHAT? The major media? Too conservative? Now, there's a point of view you don't hear very often these days. Voices ranging from Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., to Rush Limbaugh, the syndicated talk show host, have been howling for years about ``liberal media'' bias. But it is a conservative bias that concerns the New York-based Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. As you can see on its Internet home page (www.fair.org), FAIR has found numerous examples of what it perceives as a conservative bias in news and public policy coverage. [continues 690 words]
