cannabisnews.com: NORML's Weekly News Bulletin - November 16, 2006





NORML's Weekly News Bulletin - November 16, 2006
Posted by CN Staff on November 16, 2006 at 14:37:32 PT
Weekly Press Release 
Source: NORML 
San Francisco Adopts 'Deprioritization' Ordinance November 16, 2006 - San Francisco, CA, USASan Francisco, CA: The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 8-3 this week to enact an ordinance 'deprioritizing' the local enforcement of marijuana prohibition laws. The Supervisors are expected to confirm the vote next week, making San Francisco the sixth California municipality to approve such a measure.
Under the ordinance, sponsored by Supervisors Tom Ammiano, Chris Daly, Jake McGoldrick, and Ross Mirkarimi, all law enforcement activities relating to the investigation, citation, and/or arrest of adults engaged in the private use of marijuana will be the "lowest priority" for San Francisco police. The measure also establishes a citizens' advisory board to monitor whether police are complying with the law.San Francisco's ordinance closely resembles a 2003 Seattle 'deprioritization' law that has reduced citywide marijuana arrests to approximately 60 per year.Voters in three California cities Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, and Santa Monica also approved pot 'deprioritization' initiatives in last week's mid-term elections. Oakland voters endorsed a similar ordinance in 2004, as did the West Hollywood city council this past summer.For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500, or Dale Gieringer, California NORML Coordinator, at (415) 563-5858.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7099Feds Scrap Proposed Hair, Sweat, Saliva Tests For Government Workers November 16, 2006 - Washington, DC, USAWashington, DC: Proposed federal regulations to allow for government employers to collect samples of employees' hair, sweat, and saliva to test for illicit drug use have been withdrawn, according to speakers at the Drug and Alcohol Testing Industry Association's (DATIA) recent regulatory summit in Washington, DC.The proposed changes, introduced in April 2004, sought to amend drug testing guidelines for federal employees by allowing for the use of alternative biological matrices (hair, oral fluid, and sweat) to detect past drug use. Currently, federal regulations only allow government employers to use urinalysis as an indicator of past drug use. Urinalysis detects the presence of inactive drug metabolites (compounds produced from chemical changes of a psychoactive substance in the body), not the drug itself, and a positive test result -- even when confirmed -- does not indicate recent use or impairment.Though backed by DATIA and various members of Congress, critics of the amendments questioned the reliability of alternative drug testing technologies, particularly hair and saliva testing. As acknowledged by the Substances Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) -- which sets and oversees the federal drug testing guidelines -- both hair and saliva testing may be negatively impacted by environmental contamination. Hair follicle testing may also yield varying results depending on the person's race and/or hair color. Because of these potential problems, the agency initially recommended confirming alternative specimen testing with urinalysis, before recently deciding to withdraw the guidelines changes altogether. The proposed regulations also suggested allowing federal employers to utilize automated, on-site point of collection testing (POCT) immunoassay devices in lieu of laboratory testing.DATIA criticized SAMHSA's decision to withdraw the proposal, arguing that the federal drug testing guidelines have remained unchanged since 1988, and that alternative specimen testing is becoming "widespread" in the private workforce."DATIA will continue to work on alternative matrices testing as a top agenda item for our activities in Washington, DC," the group stated on its website.About 400,000 federal employees, primarily Department of Transportation workers, are subject to workplace drug testing.For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at (202) 483-5500.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7098Students For Sensible Drug Policy To Hold 2006 National Conference This Weekend November 16, 2006 - Washington, DC, USAWashington, DC: Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) will be holding its 2006 national conference this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, DC.NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre and NORML Senior Policy Analyst Paul Armentano will be speaking at the conference, along with MSNBC analyst Bill Press, Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune, SAFER (Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation) Executive Director Steve Fox, MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) President and NORML board member Rick Doblin, Drug Policy Alliance Director Ethan Nadelmann, and many others. The three-day conference will include a Congressional lobby day on Friday.About 350 students are expected to attend the conference.For registration information or a complete schedule of speakers and events, please visit: http://www.ssdp.orgDL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7100Source: NORML Foundation (DC)Published: November 16, 2006Copyright: 2006 NORML Contact: norml norml.org Website: http://www.norml.org/CannabisNews NORML Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/NORML.shtml 
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Comment #29 posted by potpal on November 17, 2006 at 05:20:44 PT
SAFER
Looks like the UK desparately need a chapter! http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6156026.stm 
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Comment #28 posted by Wayne on November 16, 2006 at 22:15:34 PT
and now your moment of zen..
It seems our old friend Melvin Sembler from Straight, Inc. is having some trouble these days. He is suing a guy for harassment. Unfortunately this guy is a former Straight student AND counselor, and he wants to go to trial and expose Sembler. The trial is set for February, and I for one can't wait! I hope that son-of-a-b***h gets what's coming to him.
DIRT AND THE DIPLOMAT
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Comment #27 posted by Hope on November 16, 2006 at 21:46:48 PT
Milton Friedman
I hope it's possible he knew about the San Francisco decision before he passed through.We all want to see this injustice and horror end before we pass through the portal. I have to hope he knew what happened in San Francisco...which, I think, was his home. 
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Comment #26 posted by FoM on November 16, 2006 at 21:25:18 PT
Dankhank
I think it will be a very good movie. After the assassinations of John Kennedy then Martin Luther King and then Bobby Kennedy I thought no one that is loved by the people will ever be allowed to have power and make a difference. All the good people were murdered. I think that is one of the reasons I never cared for politics. If I really like someone then might get killed. 
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Comment #25 posted by Dankhank on November 16, 2006 at 21:02:16 PT
Bobby
could be a good movie ...http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/review/2006/11/17/bobby/
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Comment #24 posted by FoM on November 16, 2006 at 20:28:57 PT
 ekim
That's interesting about Senator Kennedy. I like him. I have always liked the Kennedys. I know he has made serious mistakes in his life but I think he is loved by the people who keep voting for him. 
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Comment #23 posted by ekim on November 16, 2006 at 20:07:08 PT
speaking of Pete he has respect for Mr. Friedman
 Thursday, November 16, 2006 Milton FriedmanLink 
An Open Letter to Bill Bennett
by Milton Friedman, April 1990
www.drugwarrant.com 
In Oliver Cromwell's eloquent words, "I beseech you, in the bowels of Christ, think it possible you may be mistaken" about the course you and President Bush urge us to adopt to fight drugs. The path you propose of more police, more jails, use of the military in foreign countries, harsh penalties for drug users, and a whole panoply of repressive measures can only make a bad situation worse. The drug war cannot be won by those tactics without undermining the human liberty and individual freedom that you and I cherish. You are not mistaken in believing that drugs are a scourge that is devastating our society. You are not mistaken in believing that drugs are tearing asunder our social fabric, ruining the lives of many young people, and imposing heavy costs on some of the most disadvantaged among us. You are not mistaken in believing that the majority of the public share your concerns. In short, you are not mistaken in the end you seek to achieve. Your mistake is failing to recognize that the very measures you favor are a major source of the evils you deplore. Of course the problem is demand, but it is not only demand, it is demand that must operate through repressed and illegal channels. Illegality creates obscene profits that finance the murderous tactics of the drug lords; illegality leads to the corruption of law enforcement officials; illegality monopolizes the efforts of honest law forces so that they are starved for resources to fight the simpler crimes of robbery, theft and assault. Drugs are a tragedy for addicts. But criminalizing their use converts that tragedy into a disaster for society, for users and non-users alike. Our experience with the prohibition of drugs is a replay of our experience with the prohibition of alcoholic beverages. I append excerpts from a column that I wrote in 1972 on "Prohibition and Drugs." The major problem then was heroin from Marseilles; today, it is cocaine from Latin America. Today, also, the problem is far more serious than it was 17 years ago: more addicts, more innocent victims; more drug pushers, more law enforcement officials; more money spent to enforce prohibition, more money spent to circumvent prohibition. Had drugs been decriminalized 17 years ago, "crack" would never have been invented (it was invented because the high cost of illegal drugs made it profitable to provide a cheaper version) and there would today be far fewer addicts. The lives of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of innocent victims would have been saved, and not only in the U.S. The ghettos of our major cities would not be drug-and-crime-infested no-man's lands. Fewer people would be in jails, and fewer jails would have been built. Columbia, Bolivia and Peru would not be suffering from narco-terror, and we would not be distorting our foreign policy because of narco-terror. Hell would not, in the words with which Billy Sunday welcomed Prohibition, "be forever for rent," but it would be a lot emptier. Decriminalizing drugs is even more urgent now than in 1972, but we must recognize that the harm done in the interim cannot be wiped out, certainly not immediately. Postponing decriminalization will only make matters worse, and make the problem appear even more intractable. Alcohol and tobacco cause many more deaths in users than do drugs. Decriminalization would not prevent us from treating drugs as we now treat alcohol and tobacco: prohibiting sales of drugs to minors, outlawing the advertising of drugs and similar measures. Such measures could be enforced, while outright prohibition cannot be. Moreover, if even a small fraction of the money we now spend on trying to enforce drug prohibition were devoted to treatment and rehabilitation, in an atmosphere of compassion not punishment, the reduction in drug usage and in the harm done to the users could be dramatic. This plea comes from the bottom of my heart. Every friend of freedom, and I know you are one, must be as revolted as I am by the prospect of turning the United States into an armed camp, by the vision of jails filled with casual drug users and of an army of enforcers empowered to invade the liberty of citizens on slight evidence. A country in which shooting down unidentified planes "on suspicion" can be seriously considered as a drug-war tactic is not the kind of United States that either you or I want to hand on to future generations.
Milton Friedman passed away today at the age of 94.5:57:19 PM | drug policy | permalink | trackback | comment [3] 
 
http://www.drugwarrant.com 
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Comment #22 posted by ekim on November 16, 2006 at 19:37:56 PT
FoM Ted K said something about smoken up is down
i dont recall if it was on the Daily show or Talk of the Nation with Neil Cohen on NPR.------stated that he questioned the reasoning because something other then cigs were smoked. i like Ted all of us need him. He went to Iran for gods sake -- i feel to help get us together. well come on Ted and give us a smigen of that great insight of yours.-------;;
tonight on Link TV a show on the ACLU was shown -- it had Howard Wooldridge of LEAP on -- the guy is true blue.
Howard along with Pete of www.drugwarrant.com will be at the SSDP getogether this weekend in DC.Last mon the cable access did i interview with a new company that is converting fuel injected engines to run on 85% ethanol and 15% gas called E85 its about 500 for a 4cyl and 1000 for a 8cyls. it a mother board that keeps allows the eng to take in more ethanol as the car can be switched to reg gas with the flick of the switch.well the question of what is going on in the feedstock for ethanol and the guests said that in ILL the workers are cutting allong the free ways and keeping the grass -- its Switch Grass that has been planted that last for a few years -- it was reported on the History Ch that at the National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden CO --- Switch Grass is yeilding 1150 gals per acre. well to get to the end -- it seems that Sen Obmama helped with it.i have been asking the question of how many tons per acre are we talken. and how does it stack up with Hemp of 77% cellulose --- any one know
http://www.leap.cc/events
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Comment #21 posted by FoM on November 16, 2006 at 19:05:59 PT
Dankhank
Thanks. I did a search and it said that was where the name came from.*** In politics, a whip is a member of a political party in a legislature whose task is to ensure that members of the party attend and vote as the party leadership desires. The term originated in the Parliament of the United Kingdom and derives from the "whipper-in" at a fox hunt.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whip_(politics)
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Comment #20 posted by Dankhank on November 16, 2006 at 18:53:59 PT
Whip ...
perfect analogy, FoM ,,,keep them dogs whipped into shape ...[]:-)
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Comment #19 posted by The GCW on November 16, 2006 at 18:36:02 PT
Meatballed
This is your brain... This is your brain on meatballs http://www.boulderweekly.com/incaseyoumissedit.html
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Comment #18 posted by mayan on November 16, 2006 at 18:16:40 PT
Priorities
From the second article on the bulletin...Proposed federal regulations to allow for government employers to collect samples of employees' hair, sweat, and saliva to test for illicit drug use have been withdrawn, according to speakers at the Drug and Alcohol Testing Industry Association's (DATIA) recent regulatory summit in Washington, DC.Maybe the fascists are more concerened about invading Iran than weeding out drug users right now? Times are tight and they must have their priorities. Maybe they're just worried about not having any employees left!THE WAY OUT IS THE WAY IN...9/11: The Key to Knowledge and Power:
http://prisonplanet.com/articles/november2006/161106Key.htmThe 9/11 Conspiracy of Incompetence:
http://www.mediachannel.org/articles/2006/11/16/The_911_Conspiracy.htmlEnforcers or Enablers? Will the Demcrats Become Part of the Problem?
http://counterpunch.org/roberts11092006.htmlFirefighter Describes "Molten Metal" at Ground Zero, like a "Foundry" (video): 
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/november2006/161106_b_Foundry.htmThermate at WTC:
http://www.supportthetruth.com/jones.php
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Comment #17 posted by FoM on November 16, 2006 at 18:14:03 PT
Ted Koppel on The Daily Show Last Night
Article: http://newsbusters.org/node/9114Video: http://newsbusters.org/media/2006-11-15-CCTDSKoppel.wmv
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Comment #16 posted by FoM on November 16, 2006 at 17:59:10 PT
greenmed 
That is such good news. I really have hope again. The Republicans have hurt us so much. The party of control and punishment it seems.
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on November 16, 2006 at 17:56:55 PT
Sensory Deprivation
What I experienced was a denial of music, tv or any reading material except the Bible they had in the room. Basically they said sit and think. We couldn't have coffee or sugar and they gave us drugs but I don't know what they were. 
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Comment #14 posted by greenmed on November 16, 2006 at 17:53:41 PT
three for three
The top Dems Pelosi, Hoyer, and Clyburn all supported Hinchey this session. Murtha did as well. This could be the time.http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2006/roll333.xml
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Comment #13 posted by FoM on November 16, 2006 at 17:37:42 PT
whig
What's a Whip? I would go Foxhunting on horses when I was a teenager like the English did before it was illegal. It was very formal and taught us discipline and how to work with others. (we didn't kill the fox) I was asked to be a Whip one time and it was hard work but worth it. I had to help keep the hounds from straying off. Is that what a Whip is in the government?
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Comment #12 posted by whig on November 16, 2006 at 17:35:53 PT
Sensory deprivation
It seems to me that there are a lot of things (including drugs) which people can choose voluntarily but if given against someone's will is an incredible violation of human rights.
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Comment #11 posted by whig on November 16, 2006 at 17:33:56 PT
FoM
Jim Clyburn has an 83% rating from DPA.
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on November 16, 2006 at 17:33:00 PT
goneposthole
Many years ago I went to the movies when Clock Work Orange was released. The link you posted and how they act towards the young people reminds me of that movie. I tried to watch it again a few years ago and I couldn't handle it. Sensory deprivation is used in detox hospitals because they used it on me.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensory_deprivation
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Comment #9 posted by whig on November 16, 2006 at 17:30:02 PT
ta da
http://www.wcsc.com/news/state/4666146.html
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Comment #8 posted by whig on November 16, 2006 at 17:29:09 PT
FoM
I wonder who the majority whip will be? I haven't seen anything about that yet.
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on November 16, 2006 at 17:27:57 PT
goneposthole and whig
Thank you. Soon we will be starting year number 9. Will year number 9 be the year we see change? It could happen now.
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Comment #6 posted by whig on November 16, 2006 at 17:24:56 PT
goneposthole
I should say I was agreeing with both Comment #1 and #3.
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Comment #5 posted by goneposthole on November 16, 2006 at 16:51:15 PT
Here is why prohibition will end
http://www.crayzee.com/straight/
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Comment #4 posted by whig on November 16, 2006 at 16:49:16 PT
goneposthole
I agree.
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Comment #3 posted by goneposthole on November 16, 2006 at 16:40:03 PT
still a great site
Good old Cannabisnews. A great place on the internet earth, it is, by golly.After eight years of its presence in cyberspace, cannabisnews just keeps getting better.Hats off to you, FoM. You do a good job.It's all good here, you know.
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on November 16, 2006 at 15:54:13 PT
goneposthole 
It's good to see you and I agree.
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Comment #1 posted by goneposthole on November 16, 2006 at 15:48:38 PT
good old prohibition
Looks like it is losing steam in San Francisco.It doesn't look good for prohibition.If it withers and dies on the vine, what will the US government ever do?Prohibition needs to just go away.The 'Hemp Revolution' is succeeding.
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