U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement Officer Bob O'Neill Removes Marijuana Seedlings From A Remote Hillside EAST BERNSTADT, Kentucky - Bob O'Neill stands on a secluded hillside in the Daniel Boone National Forest. In the palm of one hand, the forestry officer holds a dozen marijuana seedlings that could have grown to a street value of $24,000. Here in these rugged hills, known more for their destitution than their beauty, more than 40 percent of the nation's marijuana is grown - -- an estimated 1.6 million outdoor plants worth $3.9 billion annually in a region where the average household income has yet to break $8,000 a year. [continues 737 words]
BOBBIE BATTISTA, HOST: How much does the White House influence what you watch on television? Salon magazine calls it primetime propaganda. It says television networks allow the government to review and recommend changes to some show scripts in exchange for credits that translate into dollars. The deal involves the White House Office of National Drug Policy Control and some of the most popular shows on television. According to Salon, shows, including "Seventh Heaven," "Beverly Hills 90210," "ER," "The Drew Carey Show" and "Chicago Hope," have pitched anti-drug messages approved by the government. Should the networks open their shows to government approval and tow the White House's line on drugs? [continues 5167 words]
Drug Czar Defends Clinton Administration's Drug Control Policy THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. JESSE JACKSON, HOST: Welcome to BOTH SIDES. My guest today has led the U.S. war against drugs since 1996. He's White House drug policy chief General Barry McCaffrey. Welcome to the program. GENERAL BARRY MCCAFFREY, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY: Good to be with you. [continues 3696 words]
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. GOV. GARY JOHNSON (R), NEW MEXICO: I've said let's open this up to discussion, and I think that logically speaking, if you're going to talk about decriminalization or legalization, I think you're going to start out with the soft drugs. You're going to start out with marijuana. (END VIDEO CLIP) BOBBIE BATTISTA, HOST: New Mexico's Republican governor, Gary Johnson, is talking about legalizing drugs. He says the war on drugs is a failure and people shouldn't go to jail for smoking pot. [continues 6874 words]
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. MARY MATALIN, CO-HOST: Just say no -- or yes. Rivals call on George W. Bush to answer questions about cocaine use. Tonight, is past drug use really such a big deal? Is it time to rethink our drug laws? ANNOUNCER: From Washington, CROSSFIRE. On the left, Bill Press. On the right, Mary Matalin. In the crossfire, in Albuquerque, New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, and in Atlanta, Congressman Bob Barr, a Republican from Georgia. [continues 4188 words]
NEW YORK - The wife of a senior U.S. Army colonel who was in charge of anti-drug efforts in Colombia turned herself in to authorities on Thursday after being charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Laurie Anne Hiett, the wife of U.S. Army Col. James Hiett, was served with an arrest warrant in late June after a package containing 2.7 pounds of cocaine was mailed from the U.S. military base in Bogota with her name on the return address label, according to an affidavit. [continues 269 words]
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- America's anti-drug campaign is succeeding beyond expectations and has led to a "significant" reduction in marijuana use among teenagers, the nation's drug czar said Monday. Barry McCaffrey, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy said that a report, to be released Monday, would show that fewer teens are trying drugs thanks to the national advertising campaign. McCaffrey said he had not expected to see a decline in drug use this quickly, just one year into the five-year campaign. [continues 408 words]
A new flashlight containing an alcohol sensor is helping law enforcement officials identify drunk drivers at police roadblocks, CNN reported June 16. Called "The Sniffer," the device is manufactured by PAS Systems in Fredericksburg, Va. It is designed to sample air from in or around a person's head area and analyze it for the presence of alcohol vapors. "I put it up to the window. Then I push this top button when I ask him say what's your address and this little yellow light comes on and tells me that the pump's working and it sucks air into the flashlight," explained Lou Gregoire, who is with Georgia's Gwinnett County DUI Task Force. "If you get the highest red read-out there then the ambient level inside the car is going to be a .12 or more. Now that doesn't necessarily mean that the driver has had a lot to drink, but somebody in there has been drinking a lot or they've spilled some alcohol inside the car recently." [continues 253 words]
KINGSTON, Jamaica - Jamaica's justice minister is encouraging hemp growers to fill their fields to help the economy, acknowledging that marijuana's less-potent cousin can be used to make paper, clothes, rope and other items. "If, as the potential growers say, the THC content of hemp is so low that it could not be used as a narcotic drug, then there is no law forbidding it being grown," national security and justice minister K.D. Knight said Wednesday in Parliament. "Go ahead and produce acres of hemp. The economy needs this." [continues 196 words]
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: The medical marijuana issue may heat up again. Will a new scientific study change the politics of pot? Also ahead... (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BRUCE MORTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What does a presidential candidate do on St. Patrick's Day. Politic, of course, and wear green. (END VIDEO CLIP) BERNARD SHAW, CNN ANCHOR: Our Bruce Morton on the holiday stomping in New Hampshire. [continues 965 words]
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. JEANNE MESERVE, CNN ANCHOR: An advisory panel to the federal government today issued a report strongly supporting the medical use of marijuana. The Institute of Medicine said the chemicals in marijuana can not provide a cure, but are useful in relieving symptoms in patients for whom other drugs are not effective. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) [continues 433 words]
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. MARY TILLOTSON, HOST: Reefer madness or reefer medicine? A new study out this morning on the medical use of marijuana. Thanks for joining us. I'm Mary Tillotson. About half an hour ago, an outfit called The Institute of Medicine, which is part of the National Academy of Sciences, released a new study on using marijuana as medicine. The study found that, yep, smoking marijuana can help some patients more than it hurts them, that it's not particularly addictive, that it does not lead users to try harder stuff like heroin, and there's no particular reason to believe medical use of marijuana will lead to more recreational use of the drug. [continues 3864 words]
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. ANNOUNCER: This is the MONEYLINE NEWSHOUR, with Lou Dobbs. LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, tonight on the NEWSHOUR, significant developments on three major stories we're following. Cancer and AIDS relief - -- is marijuana the only drug that really helps? Surprising answers, today, from a government commission. And outside Chicago, Amtrak tonight is under heavy criticism while investigators are zeroing in on a set of tire tracks. We'll have the latest for you. [continues 896 words]
U.S., Mexico To Sign Multibillion Pact In Yucatan Summit MERIDA, Mexico (CNN) -- In his first post-impeachment journey abroad, President Clinton began a short summit Sunday in Mexico to bolster the country's struggle against narcotics and corruption and expand its markets for U.S. products. The president and his wife were greeted when they arrived at sunset by Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo and his wife, Nilda. An honor guard saluted the Clintons, and four children presented flowers. The leaders and their wives later headed to a private dinner. [continues 749 words]
WASHINGTON (January 5) -- Citing new figures which show a growing tie between drug use and crime, President Bill Clinton unveiled a new budget proposal Tuesday aimed at curbing drug use by prisoners, probationers and parolees. The president announced a $215 million plan which includes funds to help state and local governments drug test prisoners, probationers and parolees. "To probationers and parolees we want to send a message: If you want to keep your freedom you have to keep free of drugs," Clinton said. He also said those still in prison should expect to remain there if they stay on drugs. The proposal represents more than a doubling of the estimated $100 million spent on combatting drug use by prisoners last year. [continues 330 words]
SAN FRANCISCO (CNN) -- A handful of communities in Northern California are prohibiting some labeled as habitual drunks from buying alcohol in liquor stores. Some of the affected drinkers and the American Civil Liberties Union have questioned the legality of the anti-drinking measures, which include the public circulation of photos of serial drinkers. In San Pablo, pictures of problem drinkers were given to liquor merchants, who could refuse to sell them alcohol. Some merchants were relieved. "Sometimes they hang in certain areas.... No one is going into a store where a bunch of people are standing by," said Elaine Adobe. [continues 274 words]
And sees as many more kidnappings BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) -- Colombian crime-fighters seized more than 54,000 kilograms (59 tons) of cocaine and 350 kilograms (770 pounds) of heroin, worth about $1 billion wholesale in the United States, in record drug hauls in 1998, according to a police report issued Saturday. The National Police's annual crime report also revealed that the Andean nation of 40 million had extended its reputation as the kidnap capital of the world, with 2,388 reported abductions this year -- a 30 percent surge from 1997. [continues 435 words]
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Teen-age use of alcohol, marijuana and other drugs remained stable for a second straight year after years on the rise, with younger teen-agers even less likely to have used drugs over the past year, according to a government report being released Friday. The annual report offers a comprehensive look at drug, alcohol and cigarette use among 8th, 10th and 12th graders. With a few exceptions, it paints an optimistic picture of American teen-agers, according to a summary of the findings provided by a Clinton administration official on condition of anonymity. [continues 706 words]
CHICAGO (CNN) -- With a cheaper, more potent product on the market, heroin use among American teen-agers has more than doubled since 1990, according to a study released Monday. The study, based on an analysis of more than 80 existing studies and other resources on substance abuse, is published in this month's issue of Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. The study found the proportion of American 12th-graders who had used heroin doubled between 1990 and 1996, from 0.9 percent to 1.8 percent. The rates edged up again last year, to 2.1 percent. [continues 324 words]
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- With a deep drag on her glowing pipe, Gail Willock gave a satisfied stare through her hazy basement. In the 30 years she's smoked marijuana for arthritis and glaucoma, it was probably her first legal puff. Willock is among the seriously ill Oregonians who breathed a sigh of relief Thursday as a new medical marijuana law kicked in that allows them to puff with impunity. "I don't feel nearly as criminal as I used to," Willock said. "I don't expect to have any problems with the local police, but I don't know about the feds." [continues 213 words]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Citibank secretly transferred up to $100 million in alleged drug money for the brother of the former Mexican president without examining the source of the funds or his financial background, the Washington Post reported Friday, citing a new congressional report. The General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of the Congress, will release a report Friday concluding that the second-largest U.S. bank failed to follow its own procedures against money laundering and "facilitated a money-managing system that disguised the origin, destination and beneficial owner of the funds," according to the Post report. [continues 225 words]
Mixed Signals Surround Push For Peace CARTAGENA, Colombia (Reuters) -- The United States is heaping praise on Colombia's fledgling peace process, even as it signals a readiness to take the leading role in its fight against Marxist rebels. Those mixed signals to a nation whipsawed between talk about peace and growing fears of all-out war were voiced by senior U.S. officials on a visit this week to the historic Caribbean port city of Cartagena. The officials, led by U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen and Marine Gen. Charles Wilhelm -- commander of U.S. military operations throughout Latin America and the Caribbean -- were in Cartagena for a three-day meeting of defense ministers from across the Americas. The meeting ended Wednesday. [continues 639 words]
ZURICH, Switzerland (CNN) -- Swiss voters on Sunday rejected a sweeping proposal to legalize narcotics, including everything from marijuana to heroin. Backers of the controversial proposal said it would eliminate the drug mafia, while critics declared it would isolate Switzerland as a drug haven. The bold initiative fell short when it failed to carry a majority of Swiss states, the Swiss SDA news agency reported. An exit poll by Swiss state broadcaster DRS found voters were against the ambitious plan by 3-1. [continues 398 words]
WASHINGTON (AP) -- For the first time, U.S. Customs inspectors at airports are giving passengers suspected of smuggling drugs the option of being X-rayed instead of strip searched. In a pilot program under way at New York's Kennedy International Airport and Miami International Airport, the Customs Service is giving some passengers who normally would be stripped searched another choice: Be taken to a nearby hospital for an X-ray that would reveal drugs that had been either ingested or hidden underneath clothing. [continues 324 words]
AUGUSTA, Georgia (CNN) -- A new study that says smoking marijuana is a hazy and impractical way to treat glaucoma is the latest twist to the medical marijuana debate. The study, by ophthalmologist Keith Green at the Medical College of Georgia, found the medical benefits of smoking marijuana are slight and relief is temporary. "Glaucoma is a 24-hour-a-day disease, 365 days-a-year disease and you cannot get away from it," he said. The battle over legalizing marijuana for medical purposes has been smoldering for over 30 years. But the issue has been recently fueled by voters in five states --Alaska, Arizona, Oregon, Nevada and Washington -- who passed laws legalizing the drug to ease the symptoms of certain diseases such as glaucoma, AIDS and cancer. [continues 306 words]
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Thirteen pounds of heroin has been found on the same Colombian Air Force cargo plane on which U.S. Customs agents found 1,639 pounds (743 kilograms) of cocaine Monday, law enforcement sources told CNN. The C-130 was seized at the Fort Lauderdale International Airport after a drug-sniffing dog alerted officials to the cocaine, which was hidden inside the framework of several cargo pallets. The heroin was discovered when Colombian officials, who flew to the United States to help with the investigation, pointed out where they thought more drugs could be hidden. [continues 304 words]
BOGOTA, Colombia(Reuters) -- Eight members of Colombia's Air Force, including a security chief at Bogota's military air base, were arrested on Thursday for their alleged role in a massive shipment of cocaine to the United States, authorities said. Two senior officers were forced to resign in disgrace, meanwhile, as part of the continuing fallout from the military drug-running incident. The air force personnel detained late on Thursday were all stationed at the Catam Air Force base just outside Bogota, judicial sources said. [continues 301 words]
UKIAH, California (AP) -- The rule of law seems to have a weak hold on this county of spectacular forests, canyons, rocky coastal cliffs and some of the finest marijuana in the world. In Mendocino County, pot is the biggest cash crop and the new district attorney is an ex-con. "People tell me one of two things," said District Attorney-elect Norman Vroman. "It's either, `I wish I had the guts to do what you did against the IRS,' or it's `How in world do you believe you can be the top prosecutor if you've served time in federal prison?'" [continues 591 words]
FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (CNN) -- U.S. Customs Service agents held a Colombian Air Force cargo plane in Florida Tuesday, while investigators tried to determine why 1,639 pounds of cocaine was hidden on board. Customs agents were conducting a routine search of the plane Monday when they noticed unusual rivets and the smell of fresh glue on several metal cargo pallets on the C-130 transport. That prompted them to bring drug-sniffing dogs on board. Based on the dogs' reactions, the agents drilled holes in four pallets and found the cocaine inside. [continues 392 words]
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The CIA overlooked or ignored reports that the Nicaragua Contra rebels financed their fight to oust the communist Sandinistas through the sale of drugs in the United States, according to an internal CIA report. Fredrick Hitz, the now-retired CIA inspector-general who supervised the report, admitted that monitoring of the Contras was lax. "We fell down on accountability.... There was a great deal of sloppiness and poor guidance in those days out of Washington," Hitz said. Field offices described criminal activities [continues 295 words]
NEW YORK (AP) -- Swiss investigators have concluded that the brother of former Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari played a key role in Mexico's cocaine trade and the flow of drugs into the United States, The New York Times reported Saturday. Raul Salinas, a food distribution official in his brother's administration, controlled "practically all drug shipments through Mexico," Swiss police concluded in the secret, 369-page report. That control began in 1988, when Carlos Salinas became president. The report claims Raul Salinas took approximately $500 million in bribes to protect the drug trade into the United States, even commandeering government trucks and railroad cars for cocaine shipments north. It also said he funneled drug money into his brother's presidential campaign. [continues 212 words]
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A suspected narcotics trafficker has threatened to "murder at random" American veterinary students on the island of St. Kitts if the U.S. government attempts to extradite him, the State Department said Thursday. Following up on a warning issued by the State Department, U.S. officials were to meet again on Friday with Americans on the Caribbean nation, which comprises the islands of St. Kitts and Nevis. The threats by 37-year-old Charles Miller, wanted in Florida for cocaine smuggling, prompted an implicit warning that American authorities are prepared to go after the man if he harms U.S. citizens. [continues 451 words]
LONG BEACH, California (CNN) -- Verbal interruptions by a defendant in a courtroom prompted a Long Beach judge to order the defendant zapped with 50,000 volts of electricity from a stun belt. The incident last week marked the first time a defendant has been shocked with a stun belt since Los Angeles County began using them three years ago, officials said Thursday. It has also angered some witnesses and at least one human rights organization. The defendant, Ronnie Hawkins, 48, was acting as his own attorney at a sentencing hearing, for an April petty theft conviction, on June 30 before Municipal Judge Joan Comparet-Cassani. [continues 315 words]
BATTISTA: What do you think of this new ad campaign, Mike? GRAY: Well, I'm strongly in favor of prevention messages going out to teenagers. The problem with this ad campaign, like the previous ad campaigns, is it's based upon very flawed premises. Let me tell you, about three years ago when I was in the middle of the research for my book, "Drug Crazy," I got a call from one of my son's former high school buddies. And he said, "I understand you're working on a book about drugs. I need help. I'm a heroin addict." Well, I was blown away. And I couldn't understand what had happened to this kid who was, you know, had a scholarship to college and was on the way to a brilliant career as an artist. And I asked him, "How did you stumble into this hole?" And he said, "Well, they lied to us about marijuana, and I figured they were lying to us about this stuff as well." [continues 2304 words]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is what happens to your brain after starting marijuana. BARRY McCAFFREY, DRUG POLICY DIRECTOR: At the end of the day -- and really this comes lock, stock, and barrel out of Partnership for Drug Free America. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is what your family goes through. McCAFFREY: What we're trying to do is change youth attitudes. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And your friends. REP. NEWT GINGRICH (R) HOUSE SPEAKER: When you have the courage to say, "No, I'm not going to do drugs and you shouldn't do drugs either," when you have the courage to turn in somebody who's a drug dealer, when you have the courage to insist that you want to go to a drug-free school, live in a drug-free neighborhood, when you turn to your younger brother and sister and say, "Don't you do it," you may literally be saving their life. [continues 2204 words]
DR. ALEXANDER: Yes, Mike, I just waned to say I am against legalization for a number of reasons. I think legalizing it takes some of the money aspect out of it, but you've got to realize there's a lot of other things involved - -- the emotional, the psychological, the physical addictions that can occur. And legalizing is not going to take care of anything. In regards, the General's comments, I do think that this is on the rise in all levels. I'm a member of the American College of Emergency Physicians -- that's 20,000 physicians across the country, and I've been talking with my colleagues and we're seeing this in the rise everywhere. It's not just in suburban areas anymore, it's spreading out to rural areas. It's not just in the inner cities. And legalizing this is not going to take care of it. I really think we've got to educate these kids more. [continues 2337 words]
President Clinton has announced a $1 billion campaign to fight drugs by buying commercial time for anti-drug advertising. Could this money have been better spent on drug treatment or interdiction? ROBERT NOVAK, CO-HOST: Tonight, the war on drugs. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, ANTI-DRUG AD) ANNOUNCER: The perfect age to talk to your kid about marijuana is when you think he's too young to talk to him about marijuana. (END VIDEO CLIP) NOVAK: Will it work, or is it a waste of money? [continues 4311 words]
NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) -- A U.S. Army helicopter carrying five people crashed while landing on a Bahamian island, killing two women. "The helicopter was totally lost, totally broken," said Milton Strachan Jr., the owner of a fuel aviation company who watched Monday night's rescue near George Town airport on Great Exuma island. U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Jeff Murphy in Miami said the fatalities apparently were wives of two of three servicemen on the chopper. The identities of those involved were withheld until relatives could be notified. [continues 119 words]
LIMA (May 29) XINHUA - Peru and the United States are building an anti-drug military training center in northwestern Peru to combat drug traffickers using jungle waterways, press reports said Friday. Located in the Amazon jungle of Iquitos, Loreto Department, the center will offer training to Peruvian police forces and marine infantry troops. Training will focus on controlling waterways as more drug traffickers resort to the use of a complicated network of jungle rivers after effective interdiction in the air by the Peruvian Air Force. [continues 65 words]
Discrimination Alleged In Customs Searches Black Women Say They Were Singled Out Unfairly CHICAGO (CNN) -- A group of black women have filed a class-action lawsuit against the U.S. Customs Service alleging that they were unfairly targeted for searches at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. The lawsuit alleges that as many as 52 black women were subjected to pat-downs and intrusive searches at the airport when they returned from trips. The suit seeks to change the Customs Service's non-routine search policy [continues 299 words]
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday it is proposing new rules that would make it easier for drug companies to tell doctors and insurers about "off-label," or unapproved, uses of their products. Under the current system, once a drug or device is approved by the FDA for any use, physicians can prescribe or use them for other ailments or procedures in what is called "off-label" use. Drugs approved to treat one form of cancer, for instance, are often used for other types of cancer, and a cancer drug known as hydroxyurea is sometimes used to treat sickle-cell anemia and HIV infection. [continues 272 words]
LIMA (May 29) XINHUA - Peru and the United States are building an anti-drug military training center in northwestern Peru to combat drug traffickers using jungle waterways, press reports said Friday. Located in the Amazon jungle of Iquitos, Loreto Department, the center will offer training to Peruvian police forces and marine infantry troops. Training will focus on controlling waterways as more drug traffickers resort to the use of a complicated network of jungle rivers after effective interdiction in the air by the Peruvian Air Force. [continues 70 words]
SAN FRANCISCO (CNN) -- With the federal government cracking down on medical marijuana clubs, San Francisco is looking at entering the marijuana distribution business. "With 75 to 80 percent of the people in San Francisco saying it should be available for medicinal purposes and with the district attorney having the same attitude, the Board of Supervisors with the same attitude, I have the same attitude, the Department of Health having the same attitude, there ought to be some way this can be achieved," said San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown. [continues 307 words]
BIRMINGHAM, England (CNN) -- In the secluded splendor of a 17th century estate, leaders from eight industrial nations gathered away from the media's gaze to discuss addressing cross-border crime, drugs and Third World debt. The Irish peace process, nuclear tensions in South Asia, and the domestic crisis in Indonesia also continued to dominate the agenda for the heads of state from the United States, Russia, Japan, Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Canada, officially dubbed the Group of Eight. On Saturday, the G-8 released a statement which "warmly welcomed" the April 10 peace settlement for Northern Ireland. [continues 636 words]
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Clinton administration is poised to lift a ban on using federal funds to pay for needle exchange programs, designed to stop the spread of HIV among intravenous drug users, CNN has learned. However, individuals close to the issue say the decision was made over the objections of White House drug policy director Gen. Barry McCaffrey, who, in a letter to Congress last month, said that "we owe our children an unambiguous 'no use' message." Sources say that an announcement on lifting the 10-year-old ban could come as soon as Friday. Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala signed off on the change and forwarded it to the White House for final approval, sources say. [continues 91 words]
AMSTERDAM, April 16 (Reuters) - The Dutch are less inclined to smoke marijuana than U.S. citizens, although the drug is widely available in Dutch coffee shops, according to a study. The survey by the Centre for Drug Research at the University of Amsterdam found only two to three percent of Dutch over the age of 12 had used marijuana over a one-month period. In the United States, where it is illegal to grow, purchase or use marijuana, a 1996 government study concluded around five percent of the population used the drug at least once a month, the Dutch researchers said. [continues 69 words]
RALPH WENGE, CNN ANCHOR: In most of the developed world, medicine is based on scientific proof, or physiology, anatomy, and biology. Treatments that involve the spiritual or ancient tradition instead of science or frequently called "alternative medicine." But in many places, these so-called alternative treatments are standards medical practice. In fact, four out of five people around the globe have access to nothing but traditional medicine. Traditional healers come in many forms from witch doctors to acupuncturists. One thing they seem to have in common is an interest in healing the soul, as well as the body. [continues 825 words]
JESSE JACKSON, BOTH SIDES: Welcome to the program. My guest is four star General Barry McCaffrey, a man of war brought in two years ago to fight the drug problem in this country. We're winning some battles, but what about the war? We'll find out. Welcome to this program, General McCaffrey. GEN. BARRY MCCAFFREY, DRUG POLICY DIRECTOR: Good to be here. JACKSON: On both sides, whatever the issue you will hear my agenda. I have one. But I'm open to hearing others and who knows, there just might be some common ground. General, before we talk, let's learn more about you. Here's a report from Lee Thornton. [continues 3626 words]
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN ANCHOR: California voters said yes, but the courts say no. As a result, clubs in the Golden State that sell marijuana for medical uses may soon be forced to close. CNN's Rusty Dornin reports. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): A memorial for one of the founding members of the San Francisco Cannabis Buyers Club. As members mourned his death, they also worry that the club he worked hard to open will be forced to close its doors by the order of a California appeals court. [continues 339 words]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ACTOR, "MURPHY BROWN": Brought you something. CANDICE BERGEN, ACTRESS: What? Is this what I think it is? ACTOR: Yes. It's a plastic bag full of marijuana. BERGEN: And where did you get this? ACTOR: I bought it in the park. I understand it might relieve your nausea, and I checked with the Justice Department. Miss Reno is out of town. (END VIDEO CLIP) BOB BECKEL, ANCHOR (voiceover): Should people in severe pain be allowed to use marijuana to ease their suffering? [continues 4647 words]
