Drug War Chronicle, Issue #593 -- 7/10/09

Drug War Chronicle, Issue #593 -(2 editorals + URLs)- 7/10/09
Phillip S. Smith, Editor, psmith@drcnet.org
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/593

A Publication of Stop the Drug War (DRCNet)
David Borden, Executive Director, borden@drcnet.org
"Raising Awareness of the Consequences of Drug Prohibition"

Table of Contents:

1. FEATURE: CENSORSHIP IN SOUTH DAKOTA -- MARIJUANA ACTIVIST
SILENCED BY JUDGE AS CONDITION OF PROBATION
South Dakota's loudest voice for marijuana law reform has just
been silenced. In imposing a sentence for a marijuana possession
conviction, a Rapid City judge has ordered Bob Newland to shut
up about legalizing it.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/593/bob_newland_sentence_marijuana_free_speech_marijua
na_south_dakota

2. FEATURE: CENSORSHIP IN CALIFORNIA -- MPP MARIJUANA AD
CAMPAIGN HITS BUMPS AS STATIONS REJECT IT
The Marijuana Policy Project has a TV ad campaign supporting the
taxation and regulation of marijuana running in California. But
don't be surprised if you haven't seen it -- several major TV
stations don't want you to.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/593/marijuana_policy_project_mpp_california_tv_ad_camp
aign

3. DRUG WAR CHRONICLE FILM REVIEW: "THE WAR ON KIDS" (2009,
SPECTACLE FILMS, 99 MIN., $19.95)
You see it all the time: A kindergartener arrested for kissing a
classmate, a middle school student strip-searched in a desperate
hunt for Ibuprofen, a high schooler jailed for bringing a joint
to school. It's all part of the "War on Kids," according to a
new documentary by that name. We review it this week.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/593/war_on_kids_spectacle_films_review

4. LAW ENFORCEMENT: THIS WEEK'S CORRUPT COPS STORIES
A crooked Chicago cop goes to prison and a pair of jail guards
get stung.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/593/police_drug_corruption

5. LAW ENFORCEMENT: CALIFORNIA BUDGET CRISIS COULD GUT STATE
NARCS, DRUG TASK FORCES
It's not just teachers, health care, and parks that are facing
the budget axe in California. Some state narcs could be out of a
job, too.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/593/california_budget_cuts_bureau_narcotics_enforcemen
t_task_forces

6. FEEDBACK: DO YOU READ DRUG WAR CHRONICLE?
Do you read Drug War Chronicle? If so, we need your feedback to
evaluate our work and make the case for Drug War Chronicle to
funders. We need donations too.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/593/do_you_read_drug_war_chronicle

7. AFGHANISTAN: COALITION DEATH TOLL MOUNTS AS FIGHT FOR OPIUM
CENTER HELMAND PROVINCE RATCHETS UP
Things are getting very bloody in Afghanistan as thousands of US
Marines pour into Helmand province, the country's opium capital,
in a bid to drive out the Taliban.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/593/afghanistan_helmand_opium_taliban_marines

8. LATIN AMERICAN: MEXICAN ARMY ACCUSED (AGAIN) OF TORTURE IN
DRUG WAR
Mexico's prohibition-related violence is very ugly, and it's not
just the narcos committing atrocities. The Mexican military has
been accused of more than 2,000 human rights abuses, ranging
from theft and robbery to rape, torture, and murder as it wages
war on the so-called cartels.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/593/mexico_army_accused_of_torture_in_drug_war

9. EUROPE: LONDONERS FINED FOR MARIJUANA POSSESSION ARE TEARING
UP THEIR TICKETS
Since cannabis went back to being a Class B drug in England,
London police have been ticketing and fining marijuana users
like crazy. But funny thing -- they aren't bothering to pay the
fines.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/593/london_cannabis_fines_not_paid

10. EUROPE: COPENHAGEN PONDERS CANNABIS DECRIMINALIZATION,
COFFEE SHOPS
The Danish government cracked down on the Christiania enclave's
famous "Pusher Street" six years ago. But now, with the hash
trade spreading across the city and fomenting gang violence,
"Pusher Street" doesn't seem so bad in retrospect, and
Copenhagen officials are pondering whether to open
Amsterdam-style coffee shops.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/593/copenhagen_cannabis_hash_coffee_shops

11. EUROPE: DUTCH CANNABIS COMMISSION RECOMMENDS MAKING COFFEE
SHOPS "MEMBERS ONLY," LEGALIZING CULTIVATION FOR SUPPLY
The future of Holland's pragmatically tolerant approach to
cannabis sales is up for debate this year. A government
commission has recommended making the coffee shops "members
only," but also legalizing the supply of cannabis to the coffee
shops. Neither is likely to fly within the broader European
Union context.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/593/dutch_commission_recommends_members_only_coffee_sh
ops_legal_cannabis_supply

12. WEEKLY: THIS WEEK IN HISTORY
Events and quotes of note from this week's drug policy events of
years past.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/593/drug_war_history

13. WEEKLY: BLOGGING @ THE SPEAKEASY
"Snitch Exposed in Charlie Lynch Case," "South Dakota Judge
Sentences Marijuana Reform Activist to Shut Up," "California TV
Stations Try to Censor Marijuana Debate," "New Michael Phelps Ad
Tries to Capitalize on Marijuana Controversy," "Jim Webb's Quest
to Reform the War on Drugs Gains Momentum," "Excellent Drug
Policy Book Available for Free."
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/593/blogging_at_the_speakeasy

14. ALERT: MEDICAL MARIJUANA DEFENDANT BRYAN EPIS WANTS YOU TO
TAKE POLITICAL ACTION
Bryan Epis was the first medical marijuana provider to be
prosecuted by the federal government, and he is one of dozens of
people whose fate is still caught up in the federal system
despite recent policy shifts by the Obama administration. Bryan
is asking all of us to take action to help those who have risked
much to help patients.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/593/bryan_epis_action_alert

15. STUDENTS: INTERN AT STOPTHEDRUGWAR.ORG (DRCNET) AND HELP
STOP THE DRUG WAR!
Apply for an internship at DRCNet and you could spend a semester
fighting the good fight!
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/593/drcnet_internships_to_stop_the_drug_war

16. JOB OPPORTUNITY I: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INTERFAITH DRUG
POLICY INITIATIVE, WASHINGTON, DC
The Interfaith Drug Policy Initiative (IDPI), based in
Washington, DC, is seeking a new executive director to lead
efforts toward non-punitive, non-coercive drug policies
nationwide.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/593/idpi_executive_director_job_opportunity

17. JOB OPPORTUNITY II: INTERNSHIPS, MARIJUANA POLICY PROJECT,
WASHINGTON, DC
The Marijuana Policy Project is hiring fall interns to work in
their State Policies and Federal Policies departments.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/593/mpp_internships_state_federal_policies

(Not subscribed? Visit http://stopthedrugwar.org to sign up
today!)

===============

1. Feature: Censorship in South Dakota -- Marijuana Activist
Silenced By Judge as Condition of Probation
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/593/bob_newland_sentence_marijuana_free_speech_marijua
na_south_dakota

For most of this decade, Bob Newland has been the voice of
marijuana law reform in South Dakota. The photographer and Black
Hills resident has organized Hempfests, lobbied for reform
legislation in the state capitol, relentlessly crisscrossed the
state from the Black Hills to the Sioux Valley, and organized
medical marijuana petition drives. He is the director of South
Dakota NORML (http://www.sodaknorml.org) and founder of South
Dakotans for Safe Access (http://www.sodaknorml.org/sdsa.htm).
As a marijuana reform activist, Newland has been unstoppable --
until now.

Newland was arrested earlier this year after being pulled over
while driving for carrying slightly under four ounces of
marijuana on what his lawyer described as a "mission of mercy."
Originally charged with possession with intent to distribute,
the veteran activist accepted a plea bargain and pleaded guilty
to possession of under a half-pound of marijuana, an offense
that carries a sentence of up to two years in the state
penitentiary. Prosecutors agreed to make no sentencing
recommendations.

On Monday, Newland appeared in court in Rapid City to learn his
fate. Judge John Delaney didn't throw the book at him -- he was
sentenced to one year in jail, with all but 45 days suspended --
but threw him a curveball instead. While under the court's
supervision for the next year, Newland must not exercise his
First Amendment right to advocate for marijuana law reform in
South Dakota.

According to the Rapid City Journal
(http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2009/07/07/news/local/doc4a528132b9e9f476288923.
txt),
which had a reporter in the courtroom, Judge Delaney had two
issues with Newland's marijuana reform advocacy. He was
determined that Newland not appear to have gotten off lightly,
and he did not want Newland's words to encourage young people do
drink or use drugs.

"You are not going to take a position as a public figure who got
a light sentence," Delaney warned Newland before talking about
how juvenile courts are packed with kids who have drug problems.
"Ninety-five percent of my chronic truants are using pot,"
Delaney said.

The no free speech probation condition raised ire and eyebrows
not only in South Dakota, but across the land. Concerns are
being expressed not only by drug reformers and civil
libertarians, but also by legal scholars.

"Surrendering our First Amendment rights cannot be a condition
of probation," said Allen Hopper, litigation director for the
ACLU Drug Law Reform Project (http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy).
"The Constitution clearly protects the right to advocate for
political change without fear of criminal consequence. It is a
shame that the court feels obligated to muzzle protected speech
in a misguided effort to guard society from unfounded fears of
open debate. Bob Newland is just the latest victim of a baseless
drug policy that continues to clog our prisons and trample our
rights."

"Courts impose conditions on probationers all the time, but this
sort of condition is very unusual," said Chris Hedges, professor
of law at the University of South Dakota. "People ought to be
able to argue that the law should be changed, but now he can't
do that. We always have to be concerned when someone's speech is
infringed," she said.

"Bob is a classic example of an individual activist who was one
of the lone activists in the whole state and who now knows
smartly the pains of prohibition," said Allen St. Pierre,
executive director of national NORML (http://www.norml.org).
"Those of us familiar with South Dakota laws and practices were
not surprised with the jail time, but clamping down on First
Amendment rights is something else. Judges put all kinds of
restrictions on people on probation, but they don't usually say
you can't engage in First Amendment activity."

It was precisely Newland's role as the face of marijuana reform
in the state that earned the censorious probation, St. Pierre
said. "Bob's pot bust was hardly an aberration, but the judge
recognized he had the state's leading reefer rabble rouser in
front of him. Had the judge had Joe Blow in front of him, I
can't imagine that he would be saying you can't talk to anybody
about this."

"It's appalling," said Bruce Mirken, communications director for
the Marijuana Policy Project (http://www.mpp.org). "I can't
imagine any reason why anyone should, as part of a criminal
sentence, be barred from arguing that the law he was arrested on
is wrong and should be changed. This is profoundly troubling.
Whatever you think of the individual or the law, we do have
something called the First Amendment, and it should apply to Mr.
Newland as well as anyone else. I can't imagine how the people
of South Dakota could be endangered by allowing Mr. Newland to
advocate for what he believes in."

"It's really sad what happened to Bob on Monday," said Emmett
Reistroffer, who has stepped up to take Newland's place as
leader of South Dakotans for Safe Access, which currently has a
signature gathering drive under way to get a medical marijuana
initiative on the 2010 ballot. "I've never heard of that before
in my life. I'm not an attorney, but the first thing I think is
what basis does the judge have for depriving someone of their
First Amendment rights?"

Newland himself was surprised at the probation condition, but
uncertain as to whether it was worth fighting. In what may be
his last words on the subject -- for the next year, anyway -- he
told the Chronicle he feared the "negative effects" of
challenging it. In other words, he doesn't want to get thrown in
jail for even longer than he will already have to serve.

"This seems to me to be a quite unusual sentence provision, of
a sort I have never encountered in all my years of activism and
watching other people get sentenced for illegal substances. It
certainly plays at the edges of suppression of speech of the
sort we expect to see in totalitarian countries," he said.
"Judge Delaney wanted to make a statement with the sentence, and
he surely did. If I were inclined to fight the provision, the
immediate negative effects on my life would almost certainly
outweigh any gain I could accomplish. Therefore, I must say that
I accept the judge's decision in the same light that I accept
all the other provisions of the sentence. If this statement so
far hasn't taken me over the boundaries of taking a 'public
role' in reform advocacy, I'd probably better wait a year to add
to it."

But Newland may not be silenced just yet. Those words were
written Wednesday, before the ACLU Drug Law Reform Project had a
chance to discuss the issue with him. That organization is
definitely interested in pursuing the case. If Newland wants to
move forward with challenging the no free speech provision, drug
reform groups will stand with him, said St. Pierre and Mirken.

"Drug policy reform groups have an immediate interest in this
case," said St. Pierre. "It sets a terrible precedent and is
such an aberration to be told what political subjects you can
talk about. The right to exercise political speech is the
fulcrum this will turn on."

Newland may also gain some reassurance from law professor
Hutton. Newland should be free to challenge the no free speech
condition without fear of legal reprisal, said Hutton. "If he
just filed something to challenge that, it cannot be used
against him," she said.

Ironically, the judge's probation condition may prove to be a
boon to the movement in South Dakota, said St. Pierre. "Just the
fact that this has happened has caught the attention of people
around the world," he said. "Painful as this is, Bob is now
probably going to raise the profile of this debate higher than
10 years of wearing out shoe leather -- and without saying a
word."

===============

2. Feature: Censorship in California -- MPP Marijuana Ad
Campaign Hits Bumps as Stations Reject It
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/593/marijuana_policy_project_mpp_california_tv_ad_camp
aign

The Marijuana Policy Project (http://www.mpp.org) kicked off a
TV ad campaign aimed at gaining support for a California
marijuana legalization bill in the legislature on Wednesday, but
ran into problems with several TV stations around the state,
which either rejected the ad outright or just ignored MPP
efforts to place it. Still, the spots are up and running on
other Golden State stations.

Playing on California's budget crisis -- the state is $26
billion in the hole and currently issuing IOUs to vendors and
laying off state workers -- the 30-second spots
(http://www.mpp.org/califad) feature middle-aged suburban
Sacramento housewife Nadene Herndon, who tells the camera:

"Sacramento says huge cuts to schools, health care, and police
are inevitable due to the state's budget crisis. Even the
state's parks could be closed. But the governor and the
legislature are ignoring millions of Californians who want to
pay taxes. We're marijuana consumers. Instead of being treated
like criminals for using a substance safer than alcohol, we want
to pay our fair share. Taxes from California's marijuana
industry could pay the salaries of 20,000 teachers. Isn't it
time?"

As Herndon finishes speaking, the words "Tax and regulate
marijuana" appear on the screen, as well as a link to
Controlmarijuana.org (http://www.controlmarijuana.org). Clicking
on that link actually takes you to MPP's "MPP of California" web
page.

"I'm a medical marijuana user," Herndon told the Chronicle. "I
was at Oaksterdam University with my husband looking at some
classes, and the chancellor [Richard Lee] came out and said I
would be perfect for an ad they were thinking about. I talked to
my husband, and he said maybe I should do it. It is a cause near
and dear to my heart, so I did," she said.

The response from acquaintances has been very positive, she
said. "I've gotten lots of positive messages, and a few who are
worried for my safety or that my house might be vandalized,"
said Herndon. "I have gotten a couple of odd phone calls,
though, so I've changed my number."

The spots are aimed at creating public support for AB 390
(http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/asm/ab_0351-0400/ab_390_bill_20090223_introduced
.pdf),
a bill introduced in February by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San
Francisco). That bill would legalize the adult possession of
marijuana and set up a system of taxed and regulated cultivation
and sales.

The bill and the ad campaign come as support for marijuana
legalization is on the rise in California. A recent Field poll
showed support at 56%
(http://stopthedrugwar.org/in_the_trenches/2009/may/20/rejection_of_budget_measures_boo).
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has gone on the record saying that
legalization needs to be discussed. And, thanks to the state's
medical marijuana laws, millions of Californians can see with
their own eyes what a regime of legal marijuana sales might look
like.

It would appear that marijuana legalization is a legitimate
political topic in California, but that's not what a number of
the state's major market TV stations think. At least six
stations have rejected or ignored the ads. Oakland NBC affiliate
KTVU and San Francisco ABC affiliate KGO declined to air the ad,
as did San Jose NBC affiliate KNTV. Three Los Angeles stations,
KABC, Fox affiliate KTTV, and KTLA also refused to air the ad.

KGO told MPP that they "weren't comfortable" with the spot,
while KNTV said only that "standards rejected the spot." KABC
claimed the ad "promotes marijuana use."

But while some local stations have balked, the ad is running on
stations in Oakland, Sacramento, and San Francisco, as well as
on MSNBC, CNBC, and CNN, via California cable operators.

"We are astonished that major California TV stations chose to
censor a discussion that Governor Schwarzenegger has said our
state should have on an issue supported by 56% of voters,
according to the Field poll," said Aaron Smith, MPP California
policy director. "The two million Californians who use marijuana
in a given month deserve to have their voices heard -- and their
tax dollars should help solve the fiscal emergency that
threatens our schools, police and parks."

"That those stations would refuse to run the ad is appalling,"
said MPP communications director Bruce Mirken. "This wasn't
something we expected; this wasn't a stunt to get press
coverage. This was intentionally a very innocuous ad."

Mirken took special umbrage at KABC's suggestion that the ad
"promotes marijuana use." "It's a really tortured reading of
that ad to claim that," he said. "The ad is simply recognizing
the reality that there are lots of marijuana consumers out there
unable to pay taxes on their purchases because we have consigned
marijuana to a criminal underground," he said.

Alison Holcomb, drug policy director for the ACLU of Washington,
told the Huffington Post
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anthony-citrano/california-tv-stations-ju_b_228342.html)
that while the refusals don't "implicate the First Amendment
from a legal standpoint," she believes the practice "undermines
a core principle underlying the First Amendment: that the
strength of a democracy flows from the exchange of ideas."

As Holcomb noted, the various stations' refusal to accept the ad
is not a First amendment violation in the strict sense -- no
governmental entity is suppressing MPP's right to seek air time
to run its ad, and the stations are within their legal rights to
refuse it. But the effect is to suppress MPP's ability to
compete in the marketplace of ideas, and MPP smells a double
standard.

"When the governor of the state has said we ought to have this
debate, it would seem to mean letting all sides air their
views," said Mirken. "Pretty much all of these stations that
rejected our ad have aired ONDCP anti-marijuana ads, which are
often blatantly dishonest, so they are effectively taking sides
in the argument. That feels fundamentally unfair."

The battle continues. As of Thursday, MPP was effectively shut
out of the Los Angeles market, except for the cable news
networks. But Mirken said he hoped to have the ad on the air
there by the weekend.

===============

...

___________________

It's time to correct the mistake:
truth:the Anti-drugwar
<http://www.briancbennett.com>

Cops say legalize drugs--find out why:
<http://www.leap.cc>

Stoners are people too:
<http://www.cannabisconsumers.org>
___________________

later
bliss -- Cacoa Powered... (at sfo dot com)

--
bobbie sellers - a retired nurse in San Francisco

"It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the beans of cacoa that the thoughts acquire speed,
the thighs acquire girth, the girth become a warning.
It is by theobromine alone I set my mind in motion."
--from Someone else's Dune spoof ripped to my taste.

[ Auf dieses Posting antworten ]

Antworten

Judy Scobee (15.07.2009 07:31)