State Among 10 Defendants Named in Wrongful Death Complaint SANTA FE - Just shy of the second anniversary of the death of Hannah Bruch, a 14-year-old Santa Fe girl who died after ingesting a hallucinogenic drug while attending a rave concert at Expo New Mexico, a lawsuit alleging negligence was filed against 10 defendants in Santa Fe District Court on Monday. In the wrongful death complaint filed by a representative of Hannah Bruch's estate, the defendants are listed as the state of New Mexico, three companies that co-promoted the event, two security companies, an ambulance company, a hospital, and two paramedics who provided emergency medical care at the show. [continues 751 words]
City Ordinance to Decriminalize Marijuana Possession Is Ignored SANTA FE - Last summer, the Santa Fe City Council took action to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, making it a civil nuisance violation under city law as opposed to a criminal charge under a coexisting state statute. But it appears Santa Fe police officers, who retained the discretion to cite offenders under either law, lately have been ignoring the city ordinance altogether. The difference is significant. Those charged under state law face a criminal petty misdemeanor - punishable by up to 15 days in jail and fines up to $100 - that remains on a person's record. [continues 662 words]
Non-Binding Question on Tuesday's Ballot Will Ask About Support for Decriminalization You might call it an "altitude check." Voters in Santa Fe County have a chance to weigh in on just how high they are on seeing their elected officials, law enforcement and courts lighten up on marijuana laws. They will do so by answering an advisory question appearing on the Tuesday general election ballot that asks whether the County Commission should "support county, city and statewide efforts to decriminalize possession of one ounce or less of marijuana." [continues 1075 words]
Is Officer Discretion Too Big a Part of Equation? Police Officers Can Choose to File Under the New City Code or the Existing State Law Santa Fe broke new ground for New Mexico last month when it decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana, making the violation a mere civil nuisance violation under city ordinances. But just because Santa Fe has decriminalized having an ounce or less of pot in the city code doesn't necessarily mean people caught with a joint won't get criminal charges on their record and face the possibility of jail time. That, apparently, will be left to individual police officers. [continues 1564 words]
Commission to Consider an 'Advisory Question' For November Ballot SANTA FE - Voters in Santa Fe County, and not just those inside Santa Fe city limits, may get to weigh in on whether possession of small amounts of marijuana should be decriminalized - but they won't vote to actually create a law to lower pot penalties. The Santa Fe County Commission today will consider placing an "advisory question" on the November ballot. The results would serve as an opinion poll on decriminalization. "It's not binding, but it lets voters weigh in," said Pat Davis of ProgressNow New Mexico, which pushed petition drives to put pot decriminalization measures on the ballot in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. [continues 234 words]
But There May Not Be Enough Space for Question SANTA FE - The Santa Fe County Commission on Tuesday voted 4-0 to put proposed decriminalization of possession of small amounts of marijuana within the Santa Fe city limits on the ballot for the Nov. 4 general election. But questions remain as to whether there's enough room on the ballot to publish the question. State Secretary of State Dianna Duran and her Bureau of Elections Director Bobbi Shearer outlined several concerns about whether there is enough space on the ballot to handle the pot proposal and having different ballots in precincts split between city and county voters. [continues 349 words]
But Measure Faces Mayoral Veto and Lack of Space on Ballot Petitioners calling for decriminalization of possession of small amounts of marijuana have filed enough valid voter signatures to put a proposal on the ballot in Santa Fe, the city clerk has confirmed. Proponents are aiming to have the question go before city voters as part of the November general election. In Albuquerque, however, the picture is not so clear. The City Council late Monday narrowly agreed to ask voters whether they support reducing marijuana penalties. [continues 923 words]
With its marijuana coffee shops, the Netherlands has a reputation for being the most drug-friendly country in Europe: the epitome of the continent's permissive cultural attitude to illegal drug use. The Dutch have long favored "harm reduction" rather than law enforcement in their drug-related public policies, and many coffee shops have been able to flout what rules there are regarding the sale of cannabis. In March 2006, though, the Dutch minister for justice, Piet Hein Donner, proposed an amendment that would make it easier to shut down shops selling drugs illegally--it is still under debate. Later that spring, he was not only able to defeat a parliamentary proposal to allow regulated, large-scale production of marijuana, but the legislature also raised the maximum sentence for large-scale marijuana cultivation. Last Friday, the Dutch government banned the sale and cultivation of magic mushrooms after a series of high-profile incidents. A justice ministry spokesman promised that the law would be enforced and coffee shops caught selling them closed down. The city of Rotterdam has also passed a law that will shut down nearly half of its "grow" shops. [continues 918 words]
There's a wonderful scene in the movie Traffic in which a captured drug kingpin, played by Miguel Ferrer, is being interrogated by two federal agents. Ferrer says to them disdainfully: "You people are like those Japanese soldiers left behind on deserted islands who think that World War II is still going on. Let me be the first to tell you, your government surrendered this war a long time ago." It's a brilliant bit of filmmaking; it's also bunk. Over the last five years, while no one was paying attention, America has been winning its war on drugs. [continues 695 words]
The year 2005 in Toronto can best be described as the year of the gun. There were 52 gun related killings in the city. Toronto has had its share of tragic events with SARS and most recently Legionnaire's disease. Instead of Toronto the good, it is Toronto the bad. Something must be done to stop the gun violence in Toronto. I believe the blame must be placed squarely on the Politicians. They have sat by idly while thugs and killers roam the streets at will. It is time for them to wake up. [continues 132 words]
Where does music come from. Sometimes we know, and sometimes we don't. When we listen to classical music, like Beethoven or Mahler or Bach, it's easy to picture how the music got from someone's pen to our ears. The same can be said for much of rock and roll: We understand the genesis of music from The Beatles and U2. But there are some genres of music whose origins remain mysteries. Who can tell where "I Got Rhythm," "Body and Soul," or "Mack the Knife" -- the great standards -- come from. [continues 1216 words]
The Former Drug Czar And Pr Hound Is Just Wild About What Castro Has Done For The War On Drugs GENERAL Barry McCaffrey met Fidel Castro on Saturday night, Reuters reports. It was love at first sight. In Havana on the Center for Defense Information's dime, the former drug czar spent twelve hours in meetings with the Cuban dictator--and his brother, the minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, Raul. After the marathon session, McCaffrey announced, "Cuba is an island of resistance to the drug threat." [continues 278 words]
