Christmas may have come early this year for the families of thousands of federal inmates with crack cocaine convictions, thanks to recent actions by the U.S. Supreme Court, President George W. Bush and the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

Back in the 1980s at the height of the crack epidemic in urban America, our nation's leaders labored under the misconception that the less expensive form of cocaine was much more addictive than its powder form, based on the testimony of an "expert" government witness. Distorted visions of crack babies overtaking inner cities danced in their heads, much to the detriment of fair and reasonable public policy.

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Punishment - Prosecutors Say Penalties for Big-Time Traffickers Are Too Soft; Lawmakers and Activists Are Working to Change That

In the spring of 2004, the U.S. government freed a sophisticated young drug dealer named Isidro Linares from prison and deported him to Mexico.

Linares shrugged off this inconvenience by sneaking back to Oregon and legally registering a Corvallis business called La Poderosa Mexican Store. Soon he'd turned the grocery into the hub of a drug gang that moved up to 40 pounds of methamphetamine a month through the heart of the Willamette Valley.

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Medical Marijuana Sites, Especially, Become Targets For Gunmen Seeking Cash

One October evening, just five months after buying a $400,000 home on a sleepy block in one of the better neighborhoods in Portland, a couple had some visitors.

Two men, one brandishing a gun, forced their way in the front door, used duct tape to tie up the couple and a friend. One of the men claimed he was looking for the dealer who hooked his sister on drugs.

Eventually, the men left the house, in the 4600 block of Southeast Madison Street, when the residents convinced them they had the wrong address.

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Although I agree with Greg Francisco ("Stop getting tough on drugs, get smart," Valley Times, Dec. 13) that cigarettes arguably kill more Americans than all other drugs combined, his comparison of nicotine use to alcohol, heroin, methamphetamine or other such substances shows the weakness of his entire argument. Tobacco is a legal substance for adults to purchase and ingest. Tobacco does not impair one's ability to drive or think clearly, nor do nicotine addicts rob, steal, burglarize or murder to support their nicotine habit.

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After all the lies of reefer madness the government and law enforcement say about cannabis (marijuana) how do citizens, and especially youth, know they're telling the truth about meth? ("Continue, expand fight against meth," Valley Times, Nov. 29.)

According to government reports, cannabis is the biggest problem in North America, not meth - just ask the U.S. drug czar.

Today's pot is more like cocaine, causing cancer and all. Cannabis which, to my knowledge, has never killed anyone in over 5,000 years of documented use is a Schedule I substance right next to heroin, and meth is only rated a Schedule II substance - so meth must not be a big deal, right?

What's the truth?

Dillon, Colorado

[end]

Brian Zanotelli Says City's Case Against Merchant Is 'Pretty Lame'

Ontario - The owner of Old School, the downtown Ontario business the City of Ontario is suing for allegedly selling drug paraphernalia, has retained Vale attorney Brian Zanotelli to represent her side of the case in court.

"It's a pretty lame case," Zanotelli said Wednesday of the suit against his client, Victoria Miller.

He said the city delivered the civil suit to Miller Dec. 4 or Dec. 5, and she has 30 days to respond. Zanotelli said he is still preparing the response, but said he will deliver it in a week or so.

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The Curry County Commissioners held their Wednesday, December 17 meeting in front a scant group of listeners to address a variety of topics, a recent controversial one and a sure fire political hot button issue for the November 2008 election.

The Commissioners approved a letter, under the advise of County Counsel Jerry Herbage that will be going out to those with unresolved Measure 37 claims. The letter informs claim holders about the changed in the state law after the passage of Measure 49 and advises them of possible courses of action. Herbage said the letter will be sent to people who filed claims outside of urban growth boundary.

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Methamphetamine addiction is a serious problem. Fewer home-based labs churning out meth and toxic waste is good news. Mexican-produced methamphetamine now flooding the market is discouraging but not a reason to wave the white flag. You got all of that exactly right in your Nov. 29 editorial ("Continue, expand fight against meth"). And in the same editorial you reveal exactly why Washington County law enforcement agencies report "as much methamphetamine, possibly even more, is available now."

"A focused and collaborative approach by citizens, legislators and law enforcement officers can make an appreciable difference in the war against meth." So says your editorial. Ummm, aren't you forgetting something? Like the most important piece of the puzzle?

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How should Oregon respond to illicit methamphetamine use? During the crack epidemic of the 1980s, New York City chose the zero tolerance approach, opting to arrest and prosecute as many offenders as possible. Meanwhile, Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry was smoking crack and America's capital had the highest per capita murder rate in the country. Yet crack use declined in both cities simultaneously.

Simply put, the younger generation saw firsthand what crack was doing to their older brothers and sisters and decided for themselves that crack was bad news.

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Cannabis Awards - at a Portland Event, the Crop Is Called "Consistently Consistent. . . . There Were No 10s. Lots of Nines"

David Verstoppen is worried.

The 52-year-old licensed marijuana grower has just left a private smoking area at the sixth annual Oregon Medical Cannabis Awards. But it's not the smoke, which wafts around the entrance to the Ambridge Event Center on Saturday afternoon, that's making him feel a little anxious.

It's the competition. Verstoppen traveled 300 miles to Portland from Long Creek in Grant County to be here. In the past two years, his entries have taken top honors. This year, three of his medical marijuana strains -- nicknamed "Medicine Man," "Medicine Woman" and "Purple Erkel" -- are among 28 entries vying for recognition.

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Regarding the Nov. 28 article about drug abuse at the forefront of local concerns, by John Sowell. Nice job of separating methamphetamine abuse and prescription drug abuse from medical cannabis use in your article -- not.

Too bad it was one-sided in favor of prohibitionists, drug treatment agencies and county agencies which are supposed to, but fail to follow state law, especially in regard to the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act, ORS 475.300 et seq.

Why was the use of medical cannabis in front of this council? Using medical cannabis is not considered a substance abuse problem except by rabid prohibitionists. The implication of being included in your report with no rebuttal indicates a bias towards those who legally use medical cannabis.

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To the Editor: Thanks for publishing Allan Erickson's thoughtful letter, "Legalization seems to be the way to go in drug war" (Dec. 6).

Imagine if we had no "drug-related crime." Imagine if our overall crime rate was a small fraction of our current crime rate.

We once had such a situation here in the United States. Prior to the passage of the Harrison Narcotics Act of 1914, the term "drug-related crime" didn't exist.

And drug lords, drug cartels or even drug dealers as we know them today, didn't exist either.

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Paul Stanford Is Oregon's "Drug Czar." Now He's Under Attack.

Paul Stanford should be at the top of his game.

After more than two decades growing, toking and agitating to legalize cannabis, the 47-year-old Portlander is now running the largest chain of medical-marijuana clinics in the nation.

Stanford spends half his time jetting between home and Honolulu, Los Angeles, Denver and Seattle, visiting his clinics that have helped thousands gain medical-marijuana permits. His nonprofit, The Hemp & Cannabis (ahem, THC) Foundation, is on track to rake in $2 million this year.

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Owner of Old School Says She May File Her Own Lawsuit Against Ontario

Ontario - Even as Ontario City Council members explained Wednesday why they felt it was necessary to approve a move to file a civil complaint against a local merchant, the owner of the business in question said she may file a counter suit.

The city is preparing to file a civil complaint in Malheur County Circuit Court to force the Ontario business Old School to operate within the Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS). The city asserts Old School is a drug paraphernalia shop and that the owner, Victoria Miller, sold, delivered and possessed with intent to sell numerous products constituting drug paraphernalia.

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The Review's editorial, "Meth Fight Must Go To The Source In Mexico" (Nov. 29) is appreciated. However there are ways of dealing with the meth problem that too often go unmentioned.

While you rightly point out the decrease in domestic "mom and pop" meth labs as laudable the point about production shifting and moving to Mexico was incomplete. In drug policy reform circles that shift in production is known as the balloon theory. If you take an inflated balloon and squeeze it it bulges. Push that bulge down and another pops up somewhere else.

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Kudos to the Tidings and author Nick Budnick for the outstanding article, "One Meth Problem Leads To Another (Nov 29)."

Superbly covered and well written, the article is a classic condemnation of our nation's prohibition-style drug policies.

In drug policy reform circles, there is what is known as the "balloon theory." If you take an inflated balloon and squeeze it, it bulges.

Try and push down on the bulges and they pop up elsewhere. So it goes with leaving the control of the few illegal drugs in the hands of gangs and cartels.

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Regarding your Dec. 4 editorial about how Oregon should respond to illicit methamphetamine use. During the crack epidemic of the 1980s, New York City chose the zero-tolerance approach, opting to arrest and prosecute as many offenders as possible. Meanwhile, Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry was smoking crack, and America's capital had the highest per capita murder rate in the country. Yet crack use declined in both cities.

Simply put, the younger generation saw firsthand what crack was doing to their older brothers and sisters and decided for themselves that crack was bad news. This is not to say nothing can be done about methamphetamine. Access to drug treatment is critical for the current generation of meth users. Diverting resources away from prisons and into cost-effective treatment would save both tax dollars and lives.

The following U.S. Department of Justice research brief confirms my claims regarding the spontaneous decline of crack cocaine: www.ncjrs.org/txtfiles1/nij/187490.txt

Policy analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington, D.C.

[end]

Thank goodness for /EW/ letters. 'Tis about the only place to find occasional mention of the War On (some) Drugs. Writer Robert Simms, in his letter "Politics of Poppies" (11/15), makes noise about some of the most glaring points in the perpetuity of failure that is the drug war.

Besides the economic boost our drug war is providing to the Taliban and others in the Middle East, here at home the story is the same but different. Instead of funding the Taliban, we here in the U.S. fund Asian cartels operating indoor pot farms and Latin American crime organizations responsible for outdoor pot "farms" growing thousands and tens of thousands of plants in single locations, ruining domestic water sources and destroying habitat. Where once domestic herb came from the toil of hard-working locals, now we have international criminal syndicates reaping the profits.

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Thanks for publishing Robert Simms' outstanding letter: "Politics of Poppies" (11/15). I especially liked his line, "this war (drug war) was never meant to be won."

U. S. drug czar John Walters is essentially the head cheerleader for the drug war bureaucracy. Like all bureaucrats, his goal is the continuation and expansion of his bureaucracy. All bureaucracies want more power and more money. The drug-war bureaucracy is no exception.

The only way to achieve victory in the so-called drug war is to re-legalize all of our now illegal drugs so they can be sold in licensed, regulated and taxed businesses.

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Police Aim To Shut Down Ontario Shop

Ontario - Ontario Police Chief Mike Kee said Tuesday he hopes to force what he asserts to be a downtown drug paraphernalia shop, Old School, to operate within the Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) by filing a civil complaint in Malheur County Circuit Court.

"Where we would like to get is to a point where what she's doing is authorized by the law" he said. "It's all I can do."

The owner of Old School and the defendant in the complaint, Victoria Miller, said she has always operated within the law. And, she said, she thinks of her business as a tobacco accessory and art shop, not one that sells drug paraphernalia.

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