Nova Scotia Marijuana Party founder Michael Patriquen, serving a six-year prison sentence for conspiring to possess and traffic in marijuana, is now being hounded by the taxman. The 49-year-old Middle Sackville man was in Dartmouth provincial court Wednesday to enter pleas to two counts of attempted federal income tax evasion, but the case was put over until Oct. 1 to allow him more time to consult with a lawyer. Mr. Patriquen is charged with evading taxes of $24,026 on unreported business income of $99,049 in 1998. He's also accused of evading taxes of $17,344 on unreported income of $78,858 in 1999. [continues 223 words]
Some say it is a problem. Some say it isn't. But students say they know drugs are in their school. Hayden High School students have mixed feelings about a new policy that requires them to submit to random drug testing if they wish to leave campus for lunch. But most are aware of drug use at their school. The issue of drug use and the new policy will be formally addressed at a public forum to be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Hayden High School auditorium. Principal Nick Schafer and guidance counselor Danica Moss will address concerns and answer questions regarding the issues. [continues 367 words]
A new national police organization that is meeting for the first time this week wants to stop Ottawa from softening Canada's marijuana laws. The new 54,000-member Canadian Professional Police Association plans to use its increased clout to persuade federal politicians that loosening the laws is the wrong tack to take in the battle for the street, said president Tony Cannavino. "The marijuana issue is very important," the former head of the Quebec Provincial Police Officers Association said Tuesday. [continues 133 words]
U.S. Rep. Sam Graves plans to introduce Missouri schools to Teens in Prevention, a program that aims to deter teen drug use. The federal Drug Enforcement Administration started the program about four years ago in El Paso, Texas. It now has chapters in three states, with three more planned. Graves, a Republican from Liberty, hopes to make Missouri the seventh state to take part. The agency establishes chapters at high schools and trains a core group of students to act as role models for younger children, detect habitual drug use and form partnerships within their communities. [continues 209 words]
AMARILLO LAWYER Jeff Blackburn didn't ask Rick Perry to pardon the Tulia 35, but he's delighted the governor did. It means his clients, having been victimized by a bottom feeder of the Texas law enforcement establishment, wouldn't face being victimized by those at its top. Most Texans, including Perry, are appalled at the fact that dozens of citizens were sent to prison based on little more than the testimony of an apparently lying undercover agent with a sleazy history. [continues 701 words]
"I think it's great. I was involved in some of the original meetings. I got some insight into other drug courts around the country." -- Daviess County Sheriff's Detective Sgt. Jim Acquisto on his county's drug court program. Sgt. Acquisto, described as a "tough cop," is among several in Daviess County law enforcement who have been won over by its drug court program. Here in Henderson County, some of the early skeptics have also become converts, especially after becoming involved in a drug court training program that is preparing a team to implement a similar program locally. The concept behind drug court is that it gives those charged with certain non-violent, drug-related crimes the opportunity to become drug free, productive members of society instead of being sentenced to jail or prison. [continues 199 words]
Utah Senator Orrin Hatch and four of his Republican cronies are out to make the word "narco-terrorism" a household term. Dan Eggen of the Washington Post reports that a draft of the Vital Interdiction of Criminal Terrorist Organizations Act (that's VICTORY as an acronym) would make broad changes to drug trafficking laws, allow for expanded FBI and local police wiretapping, and clamp down on a traditional Middle Eastern form of money transfer. According to Ryan Singel at Wired News, a draft of the bill defines narco-terrorism as "the crime of selling, distributing or manufacturing a controlled substance with the intent of helping a terrorist group." Essentially, the Victory Act would make it easier for Ashcroft and his minions to charge drug offenders with aiding terrorists, and could potentially freeze the assets of a suspected offender. Though Hatch's spokespersons refused to comment on the legislation, she did acknowledge the push to investigate the drug-terrorism link, stating that Hatch "is continuing to look at all legislative options for combating the nexus between drug trafficking and terrorism." [continues 636 words]
One of the drug warriors' favorite arguments against state medical marijuana laws and initiatives is that the medical use of marijuana has not been approved by the FDA and that more scientific research must be conducted. What they don't say is that marijuana is treated differently than all other drugs. The federal government, through the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), retains a monopoly on the supply of cannabis that can be used in FDA-approved research and has twice refused to supply it to privately-funded FDA-approved studies. Over two years ago the Medicinal Plant Program at The University of Massachusetts/Amherst applied for a license to produce cannabis for research purposes only to be confronted by a series of dilatory tactics by the DEA. [continues 1277 words]
Read This Publication On-line at: http://www.drugsense.org/dsw/2003/ds03.n315.html * This Just In (1) Canadian Govt Begins Selling Pot (2) Abstinence Is For Quitters (3) Drug USe Seen On Rise In Iraq (4) Data Not Showing 'Ice' Effect On Fetuses * Weekly News in Review Drug Policy (5) Pardons Let Texas Panhandle Drug Defendants Get On With Their Lives (6) Federal Lawsuit Filed Over 1999 Tulia Drug Raid (7) GOP Bill Would Add Anti-Terror Powers (8) Seized Car Drives Legal Dispute (9) Thief Makes Off With Lots Of Urine [continues 166 words]
Nigeria has been re-admitted into the UN Economic Council, following satisfactory performance on its war against drug, the Chairman, National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Alhaji Bello Lafiagi, has said. Lafiagi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja yesterday that Nigeria's re-admission into the council followed the agency's successes on drug war both in the country and West African sub-region. He said the agency currently coordinates the sub-regional drug war involving the 13 west African countries. [continues 199 words]
