Drug War Chronicle, Issue #499 -- 8/24/07
Phillip S. Smith, Editor, psmith@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Publication of Stop the Drug War (DRCNet)
David Borden, Executive Director, borden@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"Raising Awareness of the Consequences of Drug Prohibition"
Massive increases to our web site traffic have increased our
costs. Will you help us pay for this and more?
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/499/
massive_increases_in_web_site_traffic_have_increased_our_costs
Table of Contents:
1. FEATURE: PUSH FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA UNDERWAY IN KANSAS
A Republican former Kansas attorney general spoke out for
medical marijuana last Friday as a push to get a bill passed
there gets underway.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/499/
kansas_medical_marijuana_push_underway
2. FEATURE: POT PEACE IN SEATTLE AS ANOTHER HEMPFEST CELEBRATES
CANNABIS NATION
An estimated 150,000 people attended Seattle's two-day Hempfest
last weekend. Billed as the world's largest drug reform rally,
Hempfest is also a celebration of the Cannabis Nation.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/499/seattle_hempfest_pot_peace
3. DRUG WAR PRISONERS: 86-YEAR-OLD ALVA MAE GROVES DIES BEHIND
BARS
Alva Mae "Granny" Groves died in federal prison last week. The
86-year-old grandmother was 13 years into a 24-year sentence for
cocaine distribution charges she always said were punishment for
failing to snitch on her children.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/499/alva_mae_groves_dies_in_prison
4. DRUG WAR PRISONERS: PAIN PATIENT RICHARD PAEY TO GET SHOT AT
EARLY CLEMENCY
Richard Paey was sent to prison for 25 years as a drug dealer
after going from pharmacy to pharmacy in his wheel chair to
obtain pain medications. Now he will get an early shot at
clemency.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/499/
pain_patient_richard_paey_expedited_clemency
5. DRUG WAR PRISONERS: ROCKEFELLER LAW VICTIM TURNED ACTIVIST
VERONICA FLOURNOY DEAD AT 39
Veronica Flournoy, 39, wanted to get her family back together
and change the drug laws after her release from prison in New
York state. Instead, lung cancer killed her.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/499/
veronica_flournoy_dead_rockefeller_victim_activist
6. APPEAL: MASSIVE INCREASES TO OUR WEB SITE TRAFFIC HAVE
INCREASED OUR COSTS...
Massive increases to our web site traffic, particularly during
the last three months, have forced us to upgrade our web server
-- not once, but twice -- and have increased our costs. We need
your help to pay for it.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/499/
massive_increases_in_web_site_traffic_have_increased_our_costs
7. WEEKLY: BLOGGING @[EMAIL PROTECTED]
THE SPEAKEASY
Visit DRCNet's "Speakeasy" blog every day for extensive
discussion of the latest developments in drug policy.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/499/blogging_at_the_speakeasy
8. LAW ENFORCEMENT: THIS WEEK'S CORRUPT COPS STORIES
More prison guards are in trouble. A Louisiana cop gets busted
for pills -- corruption or desperation?
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/499/police_drug_corruption
9. MEDICAL MARIJUANA: IS AN OHIO INITIATIVE IN THE WORKS?
With a medical marijuana initiative effort well underway in
Michigan, some drug reformers are turning their attention to a
similar effort next door in Ohio.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/499/
ohio_medical_marijuana_initiative_in_the_works
10. MEDICAL MARIJUANA: OBAMA SAYS END RAIDS, ALL DEMOCRATIC
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES NOW ON BOARD
With Sen. Barack Obama saying Tuesday he would end DEA raids on
patients and providers in states where medical marijuana is
legal, every Democratic Party presidential candidate (and two
Republicans, too) are in agreement that the raids should end.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/499/
obama_says_no_medical_marijuana_raids
11. MARIJUANA: HUMBOLDT COUNTY SUPERVISORS SAY LEGALIZE IT
Humboldt County this week became the second county in Northern
California's "Emerald Triangle" to call for the legalization of
marijuana.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/499/
humboldt_county_california_says_legalize_marijuana
12. EUROPE: FIRST GERMAN PATIENT APPROVED TO USE MEDICAL
MARIJUANA
Following a court ruling requiring the government to
individually consider medical marijuana applications, a German
federal institute has for the first time approved its use by a
patient.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/499/
germany_approves_medical_marijuana_first_patient
13. WEEKLY: THIS WEEK IN HISTORY
Events and quotes of note from this week's drug policy events of
years past.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/499/drug_war_history
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evaluate our work and make the case for Drug War Chronicle to
funders. We need donations too.
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17. RESOURCE: REFORMER'S CALENDAR ACCESSIBLE THROUGH DRCNET WEB
SITE
Visit our new web site each day to see a running countdown to
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http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/499/drug_reform_calendar
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================
1. Feature: Push for Medical Marijuana Underway in Kansas
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/499/
kansas_medical_marijuana_push_underway
An effort to bring Kansas into the ranks of the medical
marijuana states took a big step forward last Friday as one of
the state's most well-known political figures appeared at a news
conference at the state capitol to announce his sup****t of such
a move. Former Attorney General Robert Stephan, a Republican who
held the position from 1979 to 1995, told the news conference
the state has an obligation to act to allow its citizens to use
medications that would alleviate suffering.
"Let me make clear that I am in no way advocating drug
legalization," said Stephan, who has been on record as a medical
marijuana sup****ter since 1983. "But I also do not believe that
the state should preempt the role of the physician when it comes
to deciding what's best for ill Kansans. That's why I sup****t
changing state law to ensure that individuals can obtain and use
a limited amount of marijuana if recommended by their doctor --
without fear of prosecution."
Stephan cited his own experience as a cancer patient, as well as
the suffering of other patients, in calling for a Kansas medical
marijuana law. Rejecting opposition to the medicinal use of
marijuana as "voodoo medicine" and recounting the moans of
misery he heard on the cancer ward, Stephan said, "It seemed
incomprehensible to me that there should be such suffering and
any drug, including marijuana, should be available to assist the
patient." Stephan said access to medical marijuana should not be
limited to cancer patients. It has proven useful for glaucoma,
AIDS, Multiple Sclerosis, and other diseases, he said.
Stephan declined a Drug War Chronicle request for an interview.
He said he feared talking to a publication that advocates for
drug legalization would damage his cause.
Last Friday's event marked the public coming out for the Kansas
Compassionate Care Coalition (http://www.ksccc.org),
which has
been busy laying the groundwork for a campaign it hopes will
lead to legislation next year. It certainly garnered attention
in the Jayhawk State. A Google search this week produced dozens
of local media mentions of the news conference.
And that's just fine with KSCCC head Laura Green. "Our goal is
to get a bill introduced in the Kansas legislature to protect
seriously ill Kansans from arrest and prosecution for using
marijuana as a medicine," said Green, "and this will kick-start
the conversation."
It is a conversation that could use a boost in the Heartland.
Twelve states with some 50 million inhabitants currently have
medical marijuana laws, but none of them are in the Midwest.
Efforts in legislatures in states such as Illinois and Minnesota
have not reached fruition, while voters in South Dakota last
year narrowly defeated a medical marijuana initiative -- the
first state to reject medical marijuana at the ballot box.
The KSCCC is not carrying a pre-drafted bill to present to the
legislature, said Green. "We're still five months away from the
legislative session, so we don't have a bill yet," she said.
"We're working with individual legislators and trying to built
sup****t and a consensus. There are many different medical
marijuana models out there, and we're looking for one that our
legislators can get comfortable with," Green said.
Some Kansas politicians were quick off the mark to reject
medical marijuana after last Friday's press conference, but
Green is not concerned. "We don't have a lot of political
sup****t right now, but that's to be expected," she argued. "Some
politicians say they haven't had a chance to hear from their
constituents, while even some of the ones who say publicly
they're against it tell us something different in private."
It's not just legislators, said Green, who added she and the
KSCCC will do everything they can to make sure elected officials
do hear from constituents favoring a medical marijuana bill. The
coalition is about a year old and some 400 members strong right
now. "We're going around the state recruiting members --
patients, physicians, nurses, members of the religious community
-- to try to build our numbers," Green said.
The Kansas State Nursing Association is a key target. The
influential group will vote on a medical marijuana resolution in
October, Green said, noting that an endorsement from the nurses
will be a powerful tool.
The group is also attempting to get the Kansas clergy on its
side. "We are getting a lot of religious sup****t," said Green,
who, as head of the Drug Policy Forum of Kansas
(http://www.dpfks.org)
spent long hours mapping out the state's
hundreds of congregations as part of laying the groundwork for
drug reform efforts. "We did a mailer to members of the clergy
last Friday, and we've already had 30 responses. The response
from the clergy has really been great," Green said.
If the legislative record in other medical marijuana states is
any indication, KSCCC and its sup****ters have a long and
twisting road in front of them. Passage of a medical marijuana
law seems to be almost universally a three-year affair, or more.
But in Kansas, patient proponents have been laying the
groundwork for a year or more, and now they have emerged with a
key state political figure standing with them. If they manage to
enter the legislative session in January with some momentum,
they just might short-circuit the normal, glacial legislative
process.
================
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