cannabisnews.com: McCartney Very, Very Scary in Japanese Jail





McCartney Very, Very Scary in Japanese Jail
Posted by FoM on April 24, 2001 at 09:44:10 PT
By Paul Majendie 
Source: Reuters
Paul McCartney, speaking for the first time in 21 years about the drug bust that sent him to jail, admitted it was "very, very scary" in his Japanese cell. McCartney hardly slept and had terrible dreams during the nine days he spent in jail after being arrested at Tokyo airport in 1980 when customs officers seized marijuana from his suitcase. His arrest was a disaster for the former Beatle -- it led to the breakup of his band Wings and cost him one million pounds in compensation to the group's Japanese tour organiser. 
"I was thrown into nine days of turmoil in that Japanese jail," McCartney recalled in a new documentary about Wings, the group he formed with his late wife Linda after the Beatles disbanded. "It was very, very scary for the first three days. I don't think I slept very much at all. And when I did sleep I had very bad dreams," he told his daughter Mary in the interview being screened next month. He confessed: "I don't know what possessed me to just stick this bloody great bag of grass in my suitcase. Thinking back on it, it almost makes me shudder." McCartney, who was first told that he faced seven years hard labour for what he had done, passed his time in prison on "cigarette breaks" when he was allowed to talk to fellow inmates. They included a Marxist student and "a guy who was in for murder, a gangster guy, he had a big tattoo on his back, which is the sign of the gangsters in Japan." To pass the time, he started playing a game which he had played with his fellow Beatles at the Abbey Road studios in London. "It was who can touch the highest part of the wall. Of course, because I was taller than all of the other prisoners as they were Japanese, I tended to win the game," he said. The two-hour film, which took three years to make, will be launched on American television on May 11 and then broadcast around the world. It includes previously unscreened home movie footage of Paul and Linda, who died of breast cancer in 1998. Alongside the film, a double CD featuring 40 songs by Wings will be released. One of their greatest hits was "Mull of Kintyre" which topped the British charts for nine weeks in 1977 -- but many music critics felt the band was a pale successor to the Beatles.Source: ReutersAuthor: Paul Majendie Published: April 24, 2001Copyright: 2001 Reuters UnlimitedCannabisNews - Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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Comment #19 posted by dddd on April 28, 2001 at 15:34:55 PT
Young family
Try the link that was provided in the earlier posthttp://www.hr95.org/Young.htmlLet us know if you think it's funny.You wouldchange your tune if it was your brother,or your son.
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Comment #18 posted by dddd on April 28, 2001 at 15:28:59 PT
one of these days
Someday,Frances,,,you are going to know what we mean,andyou will think back on your smug,childish comments with regret.At least FedRegs maintains a certain amount intelligable respect,and hints of reasonable intentions.I dont know where you're comingfrom with these nasty little immature blurbs.....A narrow mind,isa small mind.dddd
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Comment #17 posted by Frances on April 28, 2001 at 15:16:44 PT:
young family
WHERE can I read about the Young family.Those numbers sounded more like ages of their children NOT prison terms: 15 years - 10 years - 5 years and 3 years. How old were the children? What were they doing that got them those graduated sentences?Strange.............
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Comment #16 posted by Frances on April 28, 2001 at 15:11:21 PT:
Little Tommy Tuckers
What pray tell were those Tuckers doing that got them arrested "tucked away" in prison?Were they in the midst of planning a church picnic conspiracy, a mosque event, a synagogue supper?Strange.............
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Comment #15 posted by roman on April 27, 2001 at 07:37:32 PT
I love it when......
an anti comes on and tries to make a lame point. It's the equivalent of being torn limb for limb without the violence. The best of both worlds. Keep it up kaptin, observer and DanB, I enjoy a good non violent coliseum type activity, especially when it's an 'anti' that is "thrown to the lions". HEE HEE :)
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Comment #14 posted by observer on April 25, 2001 at 10:57:52 PT
The Tucker Family, The Young Family
Nobody named ONE person in federal (OR state prison) for "PASSING A JOINT." PULEEEEESE!!! What are their names (a public record), where did they PASS THIS JOINT, and where are they incarcerated? NAME ONE.here are some poeple in jail for 10+ years ... and they didn't have any marijuana. ``The Tuckers had no marijuana, none on their person, none in their homes, none in their store. Nor did they have any drug paraphernalia. They were never caught selling drugs or buying drugs.''http://www.hr95.org/Tuckers.html``Gary Tucker, serving 10 years; Steve Tucker, serving 10 years; Joanne Tucker, serving 10 years, 1 month''Read about the Young family: ``No drugs were found. . .'' on perjured testimony (I know, I know: nothing unusual about perjured prosecution testimony) ``Clyde and Patricia Young and four of their children were found guilty of possession and conspiracy to distribute marijuana in an on-going criminal enterprise. Clyde was given 26 years. Patricia got 24 years, 8 months. Their four children received 15, 10, 5, and 3 years each.''http://www.hr95.org/Young.htmlSo, passing a joint isn't even necessary. You could be in jail tomorrow, looking at a similar term for your "crimes", Frances. What? You aren't a "drug dealer"? Tell it to the judge, hon. The Young family thought they were innocent, too. And the Tuckers, also. Nobody is nore than one anonymous accusation away from prison. 
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Comment #13 posted by observer on April 25, 2001 at 07:55:57 PT
re: real
 Nobody named ONE person in federal (OR state prison) for "PASSING A JOINT." PULEEEEESE!!! We didn't have to Frances; the "distribution" laws have no minimum amounts. Nobody goes to jail for "a joint"; because that one joint is called "possession with intent to distribute" or "distribution." But true enough, no laws mention "a joint" in title of the statute. . .seehttp://www.norml.org/legal/state_laws.shtmlNotice, Frances: "distribution" charges dopnt' turn into "possession" because "its only a joint." Mandatory sentencing guidelines are ruthless. A first offense of simple marijuana possession now carries a five-year federal penalty.234 Escalator clauses take advantage of the repetitive nature of drug use. First-time possession of crack can be punished by five to twenty years if the amount exceeds five grams. A second offense brings the same punishment if the weight exceeds five grams. And a third offense brings the same punishment of the weight exceeds one gram. "Three felony convictions for drug offenses carries mandatory life with no parole, and it is a felony to commit a drug offense within 100 feet of a pinball or video arcade containing more than 10 games."235 Possession of a marijuana cigarette is such a felony. Federal law permits a $10,000 fine for possessing one marijuana cigarette.236 An Oklahoma man received a life sentence for felony possession of marijuana, 0.005644 of an ounce.237(Richard L Miller, Drug Warriors and their Prey, 1996, pgs.63-64) http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0275950425 What are their names (a public record), where did they PASS THIS JOINT, and where are they incarcerated? NAME ONE. Again, you've been thoroughly refuted. "Passing a joint" isn't the "crime"; that's called "distributon", or "conspiracy to distribute", etc. No one here owes you "names" or "places" or such drug war victims.Also, if you're so sure no one never, ever, ever goes to jail for personal use of cannabis or the "passing a joint" (that you're in denial over), then I'm sure you'll want to join with us in calling for an end to the arrests of people who use marijuana and are caught "passing a joint" (i.e. distribution of small amounts? I mean, since you tell us that no one is ever arrested or serves jailtime for using small anmounts of marijuana, you'd want to join with us in calling for an end to the laws that allow police to arrest peple for using marijuana, right Frances?Typical prohibitionist: deny that the laws really, really affect those victimized by the laws; while, at the same time, screaming bloody murder if one suggests the laws be changed. 
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Comment #12 posted by Dan B on April 25, 2001 at 07:51:27 PT:
Federal Guidelines
The federal guidelines for Cultivation, Delivery or Sale of marijuana are as follows:>/= 100 plants or 100 kg.: 5 years MMS - 40 years; $2,000,000>/= 1,000 plants or 1,000 kg.: 10 years MMS - life; $10,000,000 Interesting that Frances left off the little part about the enormously extravagant fines. Of course, Frances also neglected to mention the draconian penalties enacted by states.By the way, the government's own statistics show that 5% of federal and 27% of state prisoners who are there on drug charges are there for possession alone. Look up the facts, Frances; stop relying on only your morally impoverished opinions.Law enforcement can do much harm to a person, even if that person has not been convicted of a crime:"Those victims were luckier than a St. Louis driver stopped by police who found a container of white powder in the car trunk. The driver said it was flour; police suspected it was an illicit drug and seized the car until the substance could be analyzed. Whenever the owner asked for return of the car over the next three months, police told him the powder had not been analyzed yet. The owner lost his job when he lost his transportation to work and was evicted from his trailer when he ran out of rent money. He began living in the streets and asked police to arrest him for somthing so he would have a place to live. Finally police reported that no charges would be filed against him and that he could have the car back as soon as he paid them over $900 for towing and storage costs, moeny he did not have. Eventually the storage fee was waved and law officers told him he could have the car back upon paying the $33 towing fee. He tried panhandling to get the money, but police cited him for begging and confiscated the $22 he had obtained. The man wept as he told his story to a reporter." from Drug Warriors and Their Prey, by Richard Lawrence Miller.Go ahead, Frances. Respond to this message and reveal to us more of your cruel and sadistic tendencies.Thanks, Observer, for the excellent, informative posting.Dan B
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Comment #11 posted by kaptinemo on April 25, 2001 at 07:47:56 PT:
OK Frances, you asked for it.
Crime in the United States: 1997, FBI Division of Uniform Crime Reports; Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1998; pages 221-222.Where it shows that: there were more than 700,000 marijuana arrests in the United States in 1997. Of these arrests, 87% were for possession rather than sale or manufacture. Now, mind you, these figures are compiled by people whom we are all paying to keep the records straight; employees of the Department of Justice. Government Accounting Office. And Lord knows whatever bean-counting firms that were 'outsourced' to ensure proper statistical procedures were followed by the Government. They should know what they are doing, right? After all, they're the government which you seemingly adore, and believe can do no wrong. They were reporting to your beloved Barry the very same figures. He had to have accurate figures relating to the proper performance of his job.So why is it that he is continually 'misrepresenting the facts' (Which is a nice way of saying lying) Now, if you wish to go back to each and review every police blotter and pick out each and every name of each and every prisoner incarcerated solely for possession, please, help yourself. You obviously have more time on your hands than you know what to do with, whereas I am very busy holding down a job and making various payments.Which, according to your reasoning, I should be unable to do because occasional cannabis use should have left me a drooling, soul-less zombie husk of a human being, dependant upon carboard boxes for my shelter and dumpsters for my groceries.You implore people to 'get real'. Evidently, there appear to be different realities present here. There's the reality that there are millions of responsible cannabis users who hold down good jobs, raise families, go to church, pay mortgages, vote in local, State and National elections, give to charities (and in my case, provide pro bono support via equipment, technical knowledge and assistance to groups that simply couldn't afford it otherwise) and generally are good and decent citizens.Some of which are behind bars, right now. Thanks to people like you.Then there's the 'reality', seemingly present only in the minds of antis - and nowhere else - that cannabis users are sub-human creatures threatening to somehow destroy the very fabric of Western Civiliztion by their choice of intoxicant. Which has been responsible for 0% deaths from usage in 5,000 years of recorded human history. Can you say the same for alcohol, Frances?(Having been attacked by both drunken relatives and strangers who were imbibing - but never by cannabis users - I know whose company I prefer.)Frances, if you wish to be taken seriously, then do your homework. Prior to my own revelations concerning cannabis, I was just another happy sheep, grazing away contentedly, unconcerned about what my government was doing in the name of 'protecting' me. Baahing and scratching and nodding my head at every government pronouncement as if it were the Burning Bush.But when I was confronted with the truth about the lies the government had told for 6 decades about cannabis, I did do my homework. And was shocked at what I found out. Having had such a rude awakening, I have resolved to never be so accepting of government propaganda - or the promulgators thereof - ever again. If you continue to refuse to examine the available data from all sides of the cannabis prohibition equation instead of clinging desperately to what you believe vindicates you, (as you so evidently are doing right now,) then you cannot ever expect to win any converts.Save amongst even more ignorant and easily-led sheep.
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Comment #10 posted by Frances on April 25, 2001 at 05:55:24 PT:
get real, cont'd
Nobody named ONE person in federal (OR state prison) for "PASSING A JOINT."     PULEEEEESE!!!What are their names (a public record), where did they PASS THIS JOINT, and where are they incarcerated? NAME ONE.
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Comment #9 posted by sm247 on April 25, 2001 at 05:49:25 PT
I always get my wishes
Ya Frances 1.6 mil arrested maybe the next will b u.
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Comment #8 posted by observer on April 24, 2001 at 22:50:51 PT
re: real
Frances writes, That Johnson looked like a deer in headlights and talked even goofier. "Deer in headlights"? Where do you get this? He's quite some "deer in headlights", with the CNN interview, the CSPAN coverage, etc. while in DC. Gov. Johnson has been doing a great job, putting ideas out there where they have been hard to ignore. I admire Gary Johnson for speaking out. He said 1.6 million people had been drug arrested. REALLY?! FOR WHAT?! Smokin dope? Some one name one person in prison for only SMOKIN' dope. The "SMOKIN' dope" part of that is about 700,000.http://norml.org/legal/index.shtml (1997 data)Here are total US figures; a little over 1 million in 1992; so 1.6 mil. now sounds about right. What do your figures say? http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/graphs/31.htm (1992 data) We're talking dealing and trafficing. A person has to handle 220 lbs OR 100 plants of marijuana to get 5 federal years. 100 Plants! Wow! You mean someone caught with ten rows of ten seedlings each would get a mandantory minimum of five years? I don't think the punishment fits the "crime" there at all."Dealing and trafficing", eh? You're joking, right? This mendacious government defines "dealing" as passing a marijuana cigarette to a friend. Yeah, "dealing." You're forgetting about the escalator clauses, aren't you?  Laws that double, triple, (or more) prison terms for things like "paraphenalia" (a roach clip), and "drug-free school zones" (i.e. wherever you are), and "drug-related weapons" laws (that jack up minor misdemeanor possession penalties into big felonies for having grandpappy's shotgun in the attic if you're caught with a reefer, downstairs). That's not even scratching the surface. The population explosion of drug offenders in the penal system was caused by politics. Not partisan politics, but a political decision to make war on drug users. Although few drug users turn themselves in to police, such criminals are easy to detect through means discussed earlier in this book. Generally a person's drug use is far easier to detect than a person's gun use. Take the ease of detection, add lengthy mandatory sentences that do not apply to non-drug criminals, and we get a penal system filling up with drug users.Another political decision contributing to expansion of prison populations is the decision to include escalator clauses in drug laws. Because of hate propaganda promoted by politicians, the public became dissatisfied with fining a marijuana user $25 for misdemeanor possession. Such a penalty seemed insufficient for someone ostensibly threatening American society. Yet a harsh increase in penalty is difficult to achieve: If a $25 fine was sufficient penalty yesterday, how can the same offense carry a $10,000 fine plus ten years mandatory imprisonment today without lawmakers appearing to violate the ban on cruel and unusual punishment? The answer is to invent new offenses so that a single act can violate multiple laws. Through escalator clauses, a drug violation that starts as a misdemeanor can be transformed into a felony with lengthy mandatory imprisonment.For example, Missouri law says that possessing less than 35 grams of marijuana is a misdemeanor, but under a bill considered by the legislature in 1994, anyone possessing more than 28 grams was defined as a dealer (a felony) if the person had failed to report such misdemeanor possession to state revenue authorities. Failure to pay a state tax on the misdemeanor amount was also classified as a felony.8 Laws of other states had similar provisions. Authorities in Kansas bragged that $500,000 in annual revenue was generated by prosecuting drug offenders for tax fraud.9 Less publicized is the fact that converting a misdemeanor offense into multiple felonies can imprison a harmless marijuana user for years. We have seen how "armed drug offender" clauses apply to drug users never accused of violence and how President Bush sought to define all drug offenses (such as marijuana possession) as crimes of violence. "Violent offender" status implements sentences far longer than those for "nonviolent" crimes (such as illegal arms sales by White House aides), and "violent offender" sentences are also mandatory and without parole.Another escalator is dealer status. Drug dealing is always a felony, but typical "dealers" are users who share supplies with friends, sometimes for small reimbursement, sometimes for free. These felons are "drug dealers" in the sense that a tobacco smoker who hands a cigarette to someone is a tobacco dealer, or a beer drinker who shares a six-pack is a liquor dealer. Another escalator clause boosts penalties for repeat offenses. Police can depend on marijuana consumers to possess the product time and again, just as some sexually active persons routinely possess condoms or birth control pills. Escalating prison terms are unlikely to discourage marijuana use or contraceptive use, but such sanctions are guaranteed to sweep targeted persons off the streets. Legislation promoted by Missouri Governor John Ashcroft in 1992 would have converted a third misdemeanor marijuana possession offense into a felony.10 That particular drug warrior effort failed, but laws already on the books escalated prison terms for repeated possession of felony amounts of marijuana (an amount equivalent to little more than one pack of tobacco cigarettes).In addition to escalator clauses, double jeopardy helps concentrate drug users in prison by reincarcerating victims who have already served one sentence. . .Richard L Miller, Drug Warriors and their Prey, 1996, pgs.144-145http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0275950425/ NOBODY was innocently arrested on their way to a church, synagogue, or mosque picnic. some may take exception to thatseeChristians for Cannabishttp://www.christiansforcannabis.com/etc. GET REAL!! We are, you need to be.
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Comment #7 posted by dddd on April 24, 2001 at 22:43:29 PT
What are you on?
Frances,,one wonders about your blunt comment.In other words,everything is just fine with you.You have no problem with the way things are,and peoplewho have concerns about the war on drugs,are living ina delusional world of unreality?Perhaps you would be so kind as to clarify your position,andviewpoint.Tell us more about how to "Get real".Thank you...............dddd
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Comment #6 posted by Frances on April 24, 2001 at 20:20:49 PT:
get real
That Johnson looked like a deer in headlights and talked even goofier.He said 1.6 million people had been drug arrested. REALLY?! FOR WHAT?! Smokin dope? Some one name one person in prison for only SMOKIN' dope. We're talking dealing and trafficing. A person has to handle 220 lbs OR 100 plants of marijuana to get 5 federal years.NOBODY was innocently arrested on their way to a church, synagogue, or mosque picnic.GET REAL!!
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Comment #5 posted by JailhouseRock on April 24, 2001 at 19:13:14 PT
SissyBoyBlues
Nine days of smoke breaks and games with his cellies and he was scared and wanted his mum. Fookin poof!
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Comment #4 posted by Charlie on April 24, 2001 at 14:19:35 PT
Decriminalization
I believe McCartney has called for it in the past. At least saying something like you shouldn't lock people up for smoking pot. Bob Dylan, I recall, shared a fatty with the fab four and the rest is history. Yeah yeah yeah.The times they are a changin'...
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Comment #3 posted by bible belt, or Ken P on April 24, 2001 at 14:04:44 PT:
Antis will play all cards now
This story is just a start of the media barrage that will be played out by th"ANTES". Berry got his butt kicked by Johnston Sunday Morning.They will now revert to every tactict that we on this list have seen before.Ashlinger used stars to get attention to his drug efforts when news became slow in the 50's. Here we go again.Lets bring in an influencial rock star to reaffirm and comfort all the soccer moms and dads as to how bad drugs are.It's all about keeping folks comfortable with what they already think they know.This is a fascinating lesson in human history. Knowing all the parties or players involved, world wide, for and against the drug issue makes this better than a sporting event. What will be the out come of this game. I am ready to become a full time player. I have read this list for two years now every day. I can stand up to anyone in a debate situation on this drug subject.I hope the press reads this list and begins to report on the effects of the drug war with out reffering to law inforcement or berry every time they want a safe feel good report.This is the biggest story of our day. Carreers have been made and will continue to be made on this subject for both sides.Thank you FMO for giving us the tool to learn and understand the nasty truth about proibition first hand.I have called C-span twice. Radio shows more than once and I always try to make reference to this site.this my second post with NO Fear...thank youKen P. Living in the bible belt.Trying to teach the lambs the truth without offending them. 
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Comment #2 posted by observer on April 24, 2001 at 13:28:24 PT
''Searching Everyone''
''The Jailer Man And Sailor Sam Were Searching Every One . . .''-- Band On The RunPaul McCartney & Wingshttp://personal3.iddeo.es/smiquel/botrun.htm#Band
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Comment #1 posted by sm247 on April 24, 2001 at 13:05:05 PT
Lets go back
When they arressted Paul we should have dropped another one on em and finished what they started in Pearl Harbor.
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