Youthful indiscretion OUTLAWED!!

You know, I've been thinking about the 13 kids in Palm Beach County, Florida who were entrapped by undercover officers posing as their friends.

Here is a perfect example of the grand hypocrisy and incredible unfairness in the way drug laws are applied.

Rush Limbaugh is practically across the street from where this happened. That obnoxious, nazi f**k was caught with some 320,000 Oxycontin pills, received treatment at a posh facility, kept his home, job and has the ACLU fighting to keep his medical records sealed.
He will never see the inside of a jail cell. (not that I think he should...but you get the point)

Yet, 13 kids from Palm Beach high schools are facing being tried as adults and 15 years in prison for selling dime bags to each other at school.

These kids were nothing short of entrapped by police officers posing as their friends. How hard is it really for officers who have been trained in PsyOps to trick kids into breaking the law?
I mean even the sharpest of us adults can be tricked by a police officer.
To do that to teenagers is just PLAIN EVIL!

Think for a moment about what kinds of kids are more likely to do drugs in high school and also about which ones are most easily tricked into doing things even if they don't use drugs.

The poor ones, the rebellious ones, the somewhat dysfunctional and outcast ones.
Lonely kids who are desperate to be accepted into a group of their peers.

And when you look at the drug war overall you see that those are the same kinds of people in jail and prison for drugs. The poor, the outcast, the rebellious, the mentally ill.

The drug war has escalated to the point where youthful indiscretion has in essence been outlawed. Law enforcement is not even content to wait until our kids are out of school and of adult age and capable of making adult decisions before snatching their lives away from the world and tossing them into the black, gaping maw of the criminal justice system.
No one comes out unscathed.
Many do not come out at all.

It is a GODDAMN OUTRAGE!!

I get so frustrated because if that happened here I would take to the streets at once....even if I had to go it alone...which I have had to do before. Yet, so few people have the balls to say anything.

Florida NORML and SSDP chapters please contact me and let's see what we can cook up in the form of a protest.
Anyone else in that area of Florida please contact me as well.
It's time to make some noise.

Email me at cnall1@charter.net if you want to help.

School District of Palm Beach County Police Department

Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office

THE SCHOOL BOARD OF PALM BEACH COUNTY

Palm Beach Community College Criminal Justice Institute

15th Judicial Circuit of Florida legal resources page with local government section.

15th Judicial Circuit State Attorney Barry E. Krischer

According to the Office of the Public Defender, 15th Judicial Circuit Juvenile Division, "The State of Florida defines a child as someone who is 18 years or younger. In some instances the Office of the State Attorney can decide to charge a child as young as 14 as an adult".

The Florida Narcotics Officers Association and their Region VI (Palm Beach/Broward) leaders.

MEDICATED MINORS

Excerpts from an editorial by Douglas C. Lyons
Published in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel January 29, 2005

Budget-cutting can be way to set program right

I almost hate to admit this. But maybe, just maybe, Gov. Jeb Bush might be on to something with his push to revamp Florida's Medicaid program.

...I do think Bush can wean Florida's foster kids off of dangerous psychotropics and take a whack out of a $34 million drug expenditure in the process.

Psychotropic drugs are powerful medications that include a wide range of anti-depressants. These pills aren't Tic-Tacs; there are potentially life-threatening side effects, and the need for responsible medical supervision in prescribing these drugs is crucial.

Of the 5,641 children taking behavioral drugs, 22 percent are at risk of something the department calls "quality questions." That can be best translated as "overmedicated," by either the dosage or the variety of drugs.

...what replaces the pills for those troubled youngsters? Therapy is one less-expensive alternative, and Medicaid will help pick up the tab.

That may be asking a lot, though. In a bid between "Big Pharma" and a bunch of behavioral therapists and social workers, it's easy to see who holds the clout in the Capitol and has the ear of the governor.

Cop wins RCMP settlement after highway search

CBC News

HOPE, B.C. - A Vancouver man has won an out-of-court settlement from the RCMP after an incident in which he says he was illegally searched by an American police officer.

Last spring, David Laing was driving on a highway near Hope, B.C., when he was pulled over by a man with a heavy Texas accent.

The American was a Texas state trooper working with a member of the Hope detachment of the RCMP. The pair gave Laing a ticket for having two different addresses for his insurance and his registration.

Seconds later, Laing says a different RCMP officer and Texas trooper stopped his car, decided he was driving under the influence of marijuana, and searched his vehicle and two-year-old son.

The RCMP settled with Laing out of court when he threatened to sue for unlawful detention. But the Mounties defend the search, saying Laing looked suspicious because his eyelashes were fluttering and his eyes were flashing.

Murray Mollard of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association says police shouldn't depend on clues like that. He says that it's not a scientifically reliable method.

Ex-detectives settle suit against sheriff

By Michael A. Scarcella
NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE

PORT CHARLOTTE -

Two former Charlotte County detectives who filed whistle-blower lawsuits against the Sheriff's Office have accepted settlements of $87,500 each.

Detectives Keith M. Bennett and Grant C. Davis, who were fired in 2003, claimed in one combined federal lawsuit that administrators retaliated against them because they aided an FBI investigation of one of their colleagues.

Bennett and Davis were members of a vice squad unit that was riddled with problems.

The most serious misconduct case involved Deputy Wyatt Henderson, a narcotics detective who pistol-whipped a teenage drug suspect in May 2002.

After the incident, Bennett and Davis detailed in separate reports that they did not see or hear fellow narcotics agent Henderson smash his gun against the 17-year-old's face.

The blow broke the boy's jaw.

Several months later, the two detectives changed their story. They said they told a high-ranking sheriff's director, and later the FBI, that Henderson, their supervisor, had struck the unarmed teen.

Grand jury charges 11th guard in girls' prison probe

Associated Press

DELAWARE, Ohio - Another prison guard at Ohio's only prison for girls has been charged with mistreating an inmate, bringing the total of guards charged in an abuse investigation to 11.

A Delaware County grand jury on Friday indicted Tanya C. Serrell, 40, of Columbus, on one felony count of endangering children and one misdemeanor count each of assault and falsification.

Prosecutor Dave Yost said the charges stem from an incident on Dec. 13, 2003 in which Serrell allegedly slapped, punched and kicked a 13-year-old inmate.

Yost said the altercation wasn't reported at the time and surfaced during an ongoing investigation of allegations of abuse at the Scioto Juvenile Correctional Facility. In the last two months, the charges against 10 other guards have included assault, sexual molestation and dereliction of duty

Kingston Drug Raid Nets... Nothing

Channel 8 Knoxville

WVLT Volunteer TV’s Ron Sprowl was the only reporter on the scene.

Law enforcement officers from eight different East Tennessee agencies conduct a massive drug sweep at Roane County High School.

These specially trained dogs rub their noses in a lot of things, they sniff out illegal contraband, dogs inside the school and outside in the parking lots.

If the dogs indicate they smell drugs on a car, the car's owner is brought out to the car before it is searched.

"The dogs have indicated on several vehicles in the parking lot... We have indicated on some things in the school," says Washam.

Only this time all that was found was tobacco products.

Still that's illegal if you're under 18.

Last year one student was arrested and five others picked up drug charges.

Marijuana Legislation

Federal judge gives new life to Nevada marijuana petition
KEN RITTER, Associated Press Writer
A federal judge ruled Friday that the Nevada Secretary of State was wrong to disqualify a petition to legalize marijuana possession, giving new life to the initiative and two proposed anti-smoking measures.


Naishtat files marijuana bill
By: News 8 Austin Staff
Texans would be allowed to use marijuana for medicinal purposes under a bill filled by Rep. Elliott Naishtat, D-Austin.
HB 658 would allow doctors to prescribe the herb for patients and allow them a defense in court against prosecution for possessing the plant's leaves.


Medical marijuana bill fails
BRAD PERRIELLO Associated Press
PIERRE, S.D. - Marijuana should not be legalized for medical purposes in South Dakota, legislators decided Friday.
The House Health Committee voted 11-1 against a bill that would have allowed people with certain debilitating illnesses to use pot.

Man Dies After Apparently Swallowing Cocaine

The Associated Press
CHICKASHA, Okla. -- A man died during a drug raid Friday after apparently swallowing cocaine and then receiving a shock from a police officer's Taser stun gun.

The man, whose name was not released, was shocked with the Taser when he tried to run away.

He was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he died, Grady County Sheriff Kieran McMullen said. The cause of death is under investigation.

Police arrest students on drug charges

By DARYL FARNSWORTH
BEE STAFF WRITER
Last Updated: January 28, 2005, 04:38:03 AM PST

Modesto police officers arrested 10 students at Beyer High and Elliott Alternative Education Center on Thursday, culminating a lengthy undercover drug investigation.

The narcotics officers said they developed drug sales cases on 12 students.

Sgt. Ron Cloward, supervisor of the Modesto Narcotics Enforcement Team, said the students were being booked on drug sales on school property. They allegedly sold drugs to an undercover police operative who posed as a student at both schools from September through December.

Cloward said the decoy purchased marijuana from 11 students, with most of the marijuana in $5 and $10 bags. He said the 12th student sold prescription drugs.

Man peed way out of avalanche

A Slovak man trapped in his car under an avalanche freed himself by drinking 60 bottles of beer and urinating on the snow to melt it.

Rescue teams found Richard Kral drunk and staggering along a mountain path four days after his Audi car was buried in the Slovak Tatra mountains.

He told them that after the avalanche, he had opened his car window and tried to dig his way out.

But as he dug with his hands, he realised the snow would fill his car before he managed to break through.

He had 60 half-litre bottles of beer in his car as he was going on holiday, and after cracking one open to think about the problem he realised he could urinate on the snow to melt it, local media reported.

He said: "I was scooping the snow from above me and packing it down below the window, and then I peed on it to melt it. It was hard and now my kidneys and liver hurt. But I'm glad the beer I took on holiday turned out to be useful and I managed to get out of there."

A Sniff is a Sniff

Google search: ion contraband

Who's After Your Pot?

All of these people to name a few.

Cannabis grandmother's book hopes

A grandmother on a drugs charge who cooks treats using cannabis has written a book about her activities which she aims to get published.

Patricia Tabram, 66, of Hexham, Northumberland, bakes cannabis-laced biscuits, soups and casseroles for herself and friends.

She hopes her book called Grandma Eats Cannabis will be in print soon.

Ms Tabram appeared in court this week after admitting possessing cannabis with intent to supply.

Impostor Homeland Security agent caught with pot

Associated Press
Jan. 27, 2005 08:45 AM

LINCOLN, Neb. - One man's plea that he was a Homeland Security agent has gone up in smoke.

Officials of the Nebraska State Patrol say one of their troopers stopped an SUV for tailgating on Interstate 80. The trooper says he found 540 pounds of pot during the traffic stop.

According to authorities, the driver was wearing a DEA cap and produced Immigration and Naturalization Service ID. The man claimed he was working with the Department of Homeland Security.

But troopers say the driver and passenger gave conflicting stories. Authorities asked for permission to search the SUV and a trailer, and say they found the illegal weed packed in boxes in the U-Haul. Both men were busted.

Thirteen Palm Beach County students facing drug charges

The Associated Press
January 28, 2005

Thirteen students were charged with dealing drugs in five Palm Beach County high schools as part of a dragnet that involved young-looking undercover officers who gathered information in school hallways, classrooms and bathrooms.

Six adult students and seven juveniles were arrested Thursday on 33 felony drug warrants that included charges of possession or conspiracy to sell cocaine, marijuana, LSD and ecstasy, Xanax and painkillers, the county's sheriff's office said.

The fresh-faced officers, all in their 20s, assumed the life of high school students during the investigation, dubbed "Operation: Old Schoolhouse," sheriff's Lt. Marcos Martinez said.

The four sheriff's deputies and one Delray Beach officer completed homework assignments, wrote reports and even studied for the FCAT in order to maintain the ruse. They went to football games and even a high school party to gather the trust of schoolmates, Martinez said.

School principals - not teachers - were the only ones aware of the undercover officers' presence.

Adult students immediately were taken to jail. Juveniles waited in deans' offices while their parents were called. They were then taken to juvenile holding facilities.

Officials said similar investigations were in the works.

School District of Palm Beach County Police Department

Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office

THE SCHOOL BOARD OF PALM BEACH COUNTY

Metro must accept pro-marijuana ads

Metro officials must accept advertising that promotes the legalization of marijuana now that the Justice Department has opted not to defend the transit agency's ban on such ads.
Justice officials had until Wednesday to appeal a federal court decision that struck down a law recently passed in Congress stating that transit agencies would lose federal funding if they accepted ads advocating the legalization or medical use of such illicit drugs.
Metro has yet to receive pro-marijuana ads since the Justice Department's decision, but a spokesman said the agency would not reject such ads unless they "showcased profanity."


SWEET!!

Senators to Introduce 'Stop Government Propaganda Act

NEW YORK In response to continued revelations of government-funded "journalism" -- ranging from the purported video news releases put out by the drug czar's office and the Department of Health and Human Services to the recently uncovered payments to columnists Armstrong Williams and Maggie Gallagher,who flacked administration programs -- Sens. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N.J.) will introduce a bill, The Stop Government Propaganda Act, in the Senate next week.

The Stop Government Propaganda Act states, "Funds appropriated to an Executive branch agency may not be used for publicity or propaganda purposes within the United States unless authorized by law."

According to a release, publicity or propaganda is defined in the bill as: news releases or publications that do not clearly identify the government agency responsible for the content; audio/visual or Internet presentations that do not identify the responsible government agency; any attempt to manipulate journalists or news organizations; messages created to aid a political party or candidate; messages with a "self-aggrandizing" purpose or "puffery of the Administration, agency, executive branch programs or policies or pending legislation"; and, finally, messages that are "so misleading or inaccurate that they constitute propaganda."

FBI raids BALCO chief's home

Lance Williams, Mark Fainaru-Wada, Chronicle Staff Writers

FBI agents raided the San Mateo home of suspected steroid dealer Victor Conte Wednesday as part of a federal probe into how The Chronicle had obtained federal grand jury testimony for stories about the BALCO sports- doping scandal, informed sources said.

The sources, who asked not to be quoted by name because of the sensitivity of the investigation, said more than a dozen agents arrived before 8 a.m. at the home of Conte, who is BALCO's founder and suspected mastermind of an international steroid conspiracy.

Agents seized Conte's computer and other items, sources said.

The raid was prompted by Chronicle stories last month that reported on the 2003 grand jury testimony of San Francisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds and New York Yankees first baseman Jason Giambi in the BALCO case, the sources said.

New student group actively opposes War on Drugs

A new SSDP chapter at the University of Georgia

Contributed by By GRAYSON IRVIN

After growing frustrated with current drug policies, University freshman Carsten Singh decided to find his own solution.

It came in the form of starting a new student organization -- Students for Sensible Drug Policy.

SSDP, a Washington, D.C., based organization with chapters at colleges and universities around the nation, provides education on what its members believe to be the harms caused by the War on Drugs.

"Our main goal is increasing student and faculty awareness of harsh drug laws and the ineffectiveness of the government's war on drugs," said Singh, a freshman from Conyers. "Current drug policy is causing more problems than alternative policies which have the potential to reduce damage done on individuals and society."

Codey vs. shock jock

Acting Governor Codey has a fight on his hands, but not with the guy trying to muscle him out of the governor's office. Just before appearing on a radio show on Tuesday night, an angry Codey confronted a shock jock who made on-air jokes about the first lady's mental health problems.

"Somebody made disparaging remarks about my wife, and I defended my wife like any man would," Codey said Wednesday, refusing to back away from his mano a mano showdown with New Jersey 101.5 shock jock Craig Carton.

Codey confronted Carton on Tuesday evening in a hallway at the 101.5 studios in Ewing minutes before Codey appeared on a regularly scheduled call-in show.

"I said that if I weren't governor, I'd take him outside as a result of the remarks he made about my wife," Codey explained Wednesday.

According to Codey's staff, the radio host said, "What Governor Codey ought to do is approve the use of medical marijuana so women can have a joint and relax instead of putting their babies in a microwave. Then all they want to do is cook Doritos."

Mary Jo Codey has detailed the depression that followed the birth of their son 20 years ago. She has admitted in interviews to thinking about drowning the child or placing him in a microwave, but said she knew she would hurt herself first before actually harming the child.

Marijuana Lobby Grows in Sophistication

Thursday, January 27, 2005
By Kelley Beaucar Vlahos

WASHINGTON — Pot. Cannabis. Hemp. Weed. Grass.

The herb takes many names. But in the nation’s capital, where the marijuana lobby was once the recreational diversion of Playboy Magazine's Hugh Hefner, pro-pot special interest groups have crystallized the divergent issues behind the plant and gained a seemingly unified voice.

This article seems to dwell on the private donations given to drug policy reform groups, but then repeats ONDCP propaganda without any mention of the funding behind it. Is the illegal use of money seized from taxpayers somehow superior to the use of private donations?

Drug War Shrinking Bill of Rights

Thursday, January 27, 2005
By Radley Balko

This week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that if you're pulled over by the police for speeding or, say, not wearing your seatbelt, they may bring out drug-sniffing dogs to investigate your car without violating the Fourth Amendment.

That case is just the latest in a number of court rulings and pieces of legislation that have been chipping away at the criminal justice rights of substance-abuse suspects. Ours is quickly becoming a two-tiered criminal justice system, one in which there are one set of criminal protections for drug and alcohol defendants, and a broader set of protections for everyone else.

The problem, as Thomas Jefferson famously said, is that the natural process of things is for liberty to yield and for government to gain ground. It would take a rare and brave politician to stand up and say that we need to roll back or reconsider our drug laws, or that it's unfair to give accused murderers or rapists more rights than we give DWI defendants. But that's exactly what needs to happen.

Snoop Got The Hook-Up

Jan 27 2005

POT-LOVING rapper Snoop Dogg included a demand for high-grade marijuana as part of his rider for a show in Utah's Park City this week.

His other request were a PlayStation, Hennessy cognac, Moet champagne, Corona beer, doughnuts, cashews, peanut butter sandwiches and Starburst and Skittles sweets.

Finally...Someone Gets It!

The Times Daily out of Florence, Alabama ran a story on the meth "epidemic" here in Alabama yesterday.
It's a little long to post here but there are a couple of things that I want to point out.

Tom Gorree of ADECA (the administering agency for Byrne Grants in Alabama) said there are several reasons for the increase in meth.
"A lot of marijuana growers have changed over to manufacturing meth," Gorree said. "The reason is it's so easy to make, easy to conceal and the profit margin is higher."
Also, drug officers say the ingredients used in the manufacturing process are easily obtained.
"But the process is dangerous," Gorree said. "Mixing chemicals can cause an explosion.

I have been saying the same thing for over two years. It looks as though Mr. Gorree understands that problem although I am unaware if he is aware that he understands it. Here is an LTE I wrote in response to his comments.

Dear Editor,

This is in response to "State Looks to Oklahoma in Meth War"

Tom Gorree of ADECA said there are several reasons for the increase in meth.

"A lot of marijuana growers have changed over to manufacturing meth," Gorree said. "The reason is it's so easy to make, easy to conceal and the profit margin is higher."
Also, drug officers say the ingredients used in the manufacturing process are easily obtained.
"But the process is dangerous," Gorree said. "Mixing chemicals can cause an explosion.

I am ecstatic that someone else GETS IT!
Mr. Gorree you have hit the nail on the head.
The rabid enforcement of marijuana laws in Alabama has given rise to the monster known as meth.
Now instead of people tending a garden of beautiful plants they are cooking dangerous chemicals in residential neighborhoods and endangering everyone around them.
Thanks Prohibition for unleashing this nightmare on us.

I'd also like to point out that people who were once happy just smoking a joint and destroying nothing more than a bag of Dorito's have also moved on to meth because of workplace and school drug testing.

Marijuana, albeit the least harmful of illicit substances (and much less harmful than some licit ones) can be detected in your system far longer than the more dangerous drugs like meth. People can use meth on Friday and by Monday it is out of their system.

I say, give people back their pot and they'll forget about the meth.

Respectfully Submitted,
Loretta Nall
President, Alabama Marijuana Party

Pot TV News with Loretta Nall

Loretta brings you the news from Vancouver with special guests Carol Gwilt of Da Kine Cafe, Kirk Tousaw of the BCMP, Prince of Pot Marc Emery and Jude Renaud of Educators for Sensible Drug Policy.
View show page or watch show.

Also, there is an interview that I did in Washington DC back in October now available for viewing.

Loretta Nall on the Roberta Franklin Show

As some of you know I am now co-host on Roberta Franklin's talk show every Tuesday.

We cover a variety of topics dealing with the criminal justice system, drug policy reform, corrupt Alabama politicians, the prison crisis and generally whatever else comes up on a live talk show with un-screened calls.

It gets crazy sometimes!

Always fun!

Listen if you have time (audio only) and enjoy!

P.S. We hope to have the live stream up by next week so you will be able to call in and participate and/or listen live.

View showpage.
Listen to the show (audio only)

Government Seizes Oil Wells It Says Were Bought With Drug Money

Government Seizes Oil Wells It Says Were Bought With Drug Money

New York Times

WASHINGTON, Jan. 25 - The federal government has seized control of 43 oil wells in northwestern Pennsylvania that it says were financed with drug money laundered by a Florida marijuana smuggler in the 1970's, officials said Tuesday.

The federal government has never before taken control of oil wells as part of a money laundering investigation, said officials with the Department of Homeland Security, which ran the investigation.

Drug cartels and financiers of terrorism have been known to hide their assets in a wide variety of ways, including commercial real estate, insurance policies, gold and diamonds, but the officials said this case was the first in which they had found evidence of oil wells being used to launder money. The federal government now becomes the temporary owner of the wells, which are in the Allegheny National Forest in a region that in the 1860's became the country's first major oil producer.

The investigation stems from the 1981 drug smuggling conviction of Paul E. Hindelang, who ran one of the country's biggest marijuana smuggling operations from Florida in the 1970's. After serving time in prison, Mr. Hindelang went on to a successful business career in California and built Pacific Coin into one of the country's biggest pay-phone operators. Many of his business associates were unaware of his criminal past until it resurfaced in 1998, when he agreed to forfeit $50 million in drug assets that the authorities said he had stashed away in overseas accounts years earlier.

But federal investigators believed that many millions of dollars remained hidden even after the $50 million was seized, and their inquiries have led them to locales around the world in search of the money.

"Through a lot of years of work, a lot of evidence, and a lot of agents' time, we've been able to trace the money from the Channel Islands, to Monaco, to Switzerland and now to these oil fields in Pennsylvania," said Cynthia Keuthan, an investigator with the Department of Homeland Security's immigration and customs enforcement bureau in Miami.

Ms. Keuthan said the mineral rights to the 43 oil wells on 1,100 acres in the Allegheny National Forest were bought in 1988 for about $800,000 that was provided by a Monaco business tied to Mr. Hindelang. In 1980, investigators said in court documents, Mr. Hindelang had turned over control of his drug proceeds to a Latin American intermediary, Tomas Batalla Esquivel, and that money in turn was used to finance some $13 million in business operations in Monaco. Investigators said they believed that Shaboom Oil Company, the American firm that owned the wells, was established in 1988 with the express purpose of laundering the drug money from Monaco.

The federal government secured a court order in Miami last February to seize the property, which is in the Cherry Run area of the forest. But it did not take control of the 43 oil wells, and the mineral rights for the entire 1,100 acres in the national forest, until Friday, when it removed Shaboom Oil as owner. The company had been leasing the wells to a private operator for about $3,000 to $5,000 a month, federal officials said.

The oil wells are worth about $1 million, federal officials estimated. The Department of Homeland Security will own and continue leasing the wells for the time being, but it plans to do a full assessment of the property's value and then auction it off, officials said.

As part of its latest actions in the Hindelang case, the department also seized an additional $5.5 million in assets from bank accounts and business interests in Monaco and elsewhere, bringing the total assets recovered in the investigation to $70 million.

No criminal charges have been brought in the money laundering investigation, and officials said that George Basch, a Phoenix businessman who was chief executive officer of Shaboom Oil, was cooperating in the investigation.

Mr. Basch declined to comment on the specifics of the case.

"How did this information even get out?" Mr. Basch said when asked about the seizure of the oil wells and accusations that the property was bought with laundered drug money. "I have absolutely no information about any of that. I was removed as the officer of Shaboom, and I really have no comment beyond that."

A lawyer for Mr. Hindelang in Los Angeles also said he was unaware that the government had seized the Pennsylvania oil wells and declined further comment.

Anti-gay Sheriff NAILED!!

Marshall County Alabama Sheriff's Department



Sheriff: Mac Holcomb
425 Blount Avenue
Guntersville, AL 35976
Phone: (256) 582-2034
Fax: (256) 571-7774
Email:sheriff@marshallco.org

I am proud to be an American and that I was fortunate enough to be born in Alabama. The state that has its motto "We dare defend our rights". I was raised in era, the 1940's as a child and the 1950's as a teenager, which I remember with great affection.

During this era, love of God, family, and country abounded. Men were men and women were women and there was no mistaking which was which. Both were proud of their individual roles. Homosexuality was very queer and a despicable act… an abomination.

During this era, those parents that owned televisions didn't have to worry that their children might be subjected to filth on television such as nudity, the use of God's name in vain, and other profanity because it was unheard of. Parents could allow their children to go to a movie without having to screen it first because the good guy always wore the white hats. (does he mean the Klan with that statement)
There was no question who the "Good Guy" was. Even the "Bad Guy" in the movie didn't use foul language. During this era our nation had a conscience including the television and movie industry.

Children's school days started with the recitation of the "Lord's Prayer" and the "Pledge of Allegiance" to the flag of the United States of America.

It was a shame to break the law. Convicts worked our roadways in unmistakable clothing (black and white prisoner uniforms that clearly identified them as convicts). Their rights were to be sentenced to jail at hard labor as retribution to the victims and their crimes.

The "Ten Commandments" were proudly displayed as a reminder that the real Commander in Chief and Final Judge is God and that this nation was founded on Judeo/Christian principal. Neighbors helped each other instead of jumping at the chance to file a lawsuit.

A man's word was his bond. My word and bond to you, the citizens of Marshall County, is to do my very best to devote all my energy to do my part to return our society to the values that we once held dear. (sounds like you could possibly be rewarded for killing a gay person in Marshall County)



Please join me. I need your help. Our children deserve no less.



Mac Holcomb
Sheriff
Marshall County Alabama--------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yee Haw!!!
A good look at the typical sheriff and cop mentality in this lovely state of mine.
Good thing they didn't find a "Gay Studs" magazine along with the CC or the accused would have been shot on sight with their own gun and bullets!!!!!!

--------------------------------------------------------

Ha this asshole got nailed on his anti-gay views.
From Liberty Flash

The anti-homosexual statement of Marshall County (AL) Sheriff Mac Holcomb has been removed from the official county website, and a similar version has been posted at Holcomb’s personal site. Contrary to media accounts, the wording of the letter has been modified, presumably to counter criticisms of potentially racist views and to remove clear inconsistencies with reality. Holcomb is reported to have issued a press release stating that the letter would be moved.

Holcomb had placed a statement on the public county website extolling people to return to the values of the 40s and 50s. A quote from both the original and new version of the statement includes:

“During this era, love of God, family, and country abounded. Men were men and women were women and there was no mistaking which was which. Both were proud of their individual roles. Homosexuality was very queer and a despicable act… an abomination.”

According to various news reports, Holcomb has received significant national protest about this letter. The protest began when Anniston, AL native Don Hunter, now a deputy administrator for Marin County, CA, complained to the sheriff last month. Various websites, including this one, picked up the cause, and Holcomb and other Marshall County officials have been bombarded with telephone calls and e-mails since then. Holcomb defended his placement of the letter in a local paper, from which an excerpt reads:

“I am not tolerant of behaviors which destroy individuals, families and our culture. After all, traditional values are based upon biblical foundations and principles outlined in the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution.”

Holcomb’s critics asked questions like: “Why does he want our values to move back to a time when crosses burned across Alabama and religion was only free if you happen to be a fundamentalist Christian?” Holcomb responded by slipping a new paragraph into the new version of his old letter which reads:

“Every generation has its flaws. In this era, racism was one of them. Regrettably racism has not been completely eradicated in the South or the rest of the country. Fortunately, today we have black leaders in some of the highest positions in government of which I have the utmost respect.”

He also modified clauses such as:

“During this era, those parents that owned televisions didn’t have to worry that their children might be subjected to filth on television such as nudity, the use of God’s name in vain, and other profanity because it was unheard of.”

to now read:

“During this era, those parents that owned televisions didn’t have to worry that their children might be subjected to filth on television such as nudity, pornography, the use of God’s name in vain and other profanity because society considered it a shame.”

This removes the criticism that “nudity, the use of God’s name in vain, and other profanity” were unheard of in the 40s and 50s.

Holcomb also inserted this paragraph:

“Make no mistake about it; we are at war for the preservation of morality. There are evil forces that are hard at work to steal the hearts and minds of our precious children. We stood idly by and let one woman mount a crusade that took God out of our children’s school classroom. It is crucial that we win this war against the decadence that is invading our country today.”

In order to protect the integrity of the original document, this author has permanently saved the Yahoo search engine’s cached version of the original letter, as well as the current wording on Holcomb’s site.

Disclaimer: Being half-Jewish (although a practicing Christian) , I remember seething with anger when being forced to recite the Lord’s Prayer as a child in Alabama public schools. This anger was perhaps the catalyst for my first conscious realization of how grownups, teachers, government, and other authority figures try to impose their moral will, by force of law, on others.

It is my belief that he has every right to his personal views, but not to impose those views on others or to use instruments of government to promote them. Additionally, Holcomb’s prejudicial attitude does not instill faith that he will act in a just manner with respect to homosexuals in his community, which is an irresponsible position for any public servant to take.

I consider the removal of the letter to a more appropriate location to be reason for the libertarian in all of us to celebrate.
-------------------------------------------------------

It's neat that I was on this story months before the national media picked up on it.

FYI, Marti Taylor moved to a different part of the state and she has not contacted me to let me know what happened at her trial.

Marti....if you are reading this give me a call and let me know how things turned out.

4 Workers Fired for Refusing Tobacco Test

Detroit Free Press

LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Four employees of Okemos-based health benefits administrator Weyco Inc. have been fired for refusing to take a test that would determine whether they smoke cigarettes.

The company instituted a policy on Jan. 1 that makes it a firing offense to smoke -- even if done after business hours or at home, the Lansing State Journal reported Monday.

Weyco founder Howard Weyers said previously that he instituted the tough anti-smoking rule to shield his company from high health care costs.

"I don't want to pay for the results of smoking," he said.

The anti-smoking rule led one employee to quit work before the policy went into place. Since Jan. 1, four more people were shown the door when they balked at the anti-smoking test.

"They were terminated at that point," said Chief Financial Officer Gary Climes.

Even so, Weyco said, the policy has been successful. Climes estimated that about 18 to 20 of the company's 200 employers were smokers when the policy was announced in 2003.

Of those, as many as 14 quit smoking before the policy went into place. Weyco offered them smoking cessation help, Climes said.

"That is absolutely a victory," Climes said.
------------------------------------------------------------

Hmm...If the high cost of healthcare is really the driving force behind this latest nazi tactic then how come this company hasn't banned cheese burgers, alcohol, sugar, laziness and a whole host of other things that make people unhealthy and contribute to the high cost of healthcare.

I think targeting only tobacco smokers is just plain discrimination.

Barthwell Spouts More Bull

Dr. Andrea Barthwell, a former deputy director for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said today's young people are suffering the consequences of smoking a much more addictive and dangerous type of marijuana.

"The higher (the THC) gets, the more rapidly you deliver a large jolt of the active ingredient to the brain," she said. "Today's marijuana is much more powerful and much more addictive than it was a generation ago."

Why does Barthwell insist that a bag of shwag is preferable to some nice two-toke?
Because she is promoting the harm-maximizing agenda of US Drug Control Policy which is to keep prices high and purity low.

Report scolds county policy

By Troy Anderson , Staff Writer

Los Angeles County's injured-worker policy encourages employees to file workers' compensation claims and boost their retirement packages with hefty disability pensions, a study released Monday found.

The Board of Supervisors recently ordered an investigation into the county's injured-worker system after the Daily News reported that an average of 79 percent of firefighters and 56 percent of sworn sheriff's employees received service-connected disability retirements in the past decade, a rate among the highest in the state.

Concern over the validity of some disability pensions was triggered as a result of recent reports showing 70 percent of officers retiring from the California Highway Patrol went out on industrial disability retirements, while 80 percent of top CHP administrators filed workers' compensation claims within two years of retiring.

We're supposed to trust these people with our lives when they are clearly stealing from us?

Another Deputy Charged With Driving Drunk

WOAI San Antonio

Another Bexar County deputy has a lot of explaining to do to the Sheriff, after being charged with drunk driving.
Police say Tammy Jean Johnson was driving 65 in a 50 mile per hour zone Sunday morning.
The officer who pulled her over says he could smell alcohol on her breath. He also says a man riding in the car with her had what appeared to be a bag of marijuana.
Both Johnson and her passenger were arrested. Johnson is the third Bexar County deputy to be arrested since October for allegedly driving drunk.

Police Involved Shooting in Dundalk

Jan 25, 2005 8:20 am US/Eastern
Dundalk, MD (WJZ) Baltimore County police have filed drug charges against the three people found inside a Dundalk home where
an officer shot and killed a woman during a raid last Friday.

Police were serving a narcotics search warrant at a home on Del Haven Road when officers say a resident, 44-year-old Cheryl Noel, pointed a handgun at them and an officer opened fire.

The death remains under investigation.

Meanwhile, 51-year-old Charles Noel has been charged with possession of black powder, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Matthew Noel and Sarah Betz, both 19, were each charged with possession of paraphernalia and possession of marijuana.

Mexico tightens grip on border cities in drug war

By Tim Gaynor

REYNOSA, Mexico, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Hundreds of heavily armed federal police patrolled cities near Mexico's border with Texas on Monday in an assault on drug cartels that have defied President Vicente Fox's government with a spate of killings.

Some 600 extra police descended on the streets of the crime-ridden cities of Matamoros, Reynosa and Nuevo Laredo, part of what Fox has called "the mother of all battles" against narco trafficking.

Army units boosted patrols in Matamoros and the government also dispatched a special police contingent trained in combating organized crime to fight cartel activity, federal police said.

"They have been specifically trained to fight drug traffickers. They know all about organized criminal activity in the (Tamaulipas) state and the capos that control it," a police official said.

Prisoner dies after being restrained

Tuesday, January 25, 2005
CARLA CROWDER (check her out)
Birmingham News staff writer

A prisoner at Donaldson Correctional Facility died after being restrained by prison officers, officials said Monday.

Charles Agee, 47, suffered fatal injuries Friday when he was sprayed with a chemical agent, then subdued in the prison's medical clinic.

His death "is directly related to the restraint," said Jefferson County Coroner Jay Glass. His office is performing an autopsy on Agee, and the full results should be available in about a week.

Agee was under treatment for mental illness.

Man subdued by dogs has video for witness

BY NIKKI WALLER
Miami Herald 01/08/2005
nwaller@herald.com

Lawyers for a Margate man severely bitten by Broward Sheriff's Office dogs last April say BSO used excessive force by not restraining the animals.

The lawyers say the incident was captured on a security video taken during John M. Barton's arrest, during which he was bitten 12 times by three dogs.

Barton's lawyers say the video clearly shows him putting his left arm outside his car window in a gesture of surrender, though the blurred, jerky footage makes it difficult to discern.

A dog leapt to grab Barton's arm, and jumped into the car. A second officer then let another dog into the passenger side; next, the two dogs dragged Barton out of the car and onto the pavement, where he lay on his stomach with blood pooling beneath him, surrounded by officers and dogs.

It's hard to tell from the video whether Barton struggled or resisted the dogs. As one of the dogs wandered off, a third joined in, standing near Barton, then biting his leg, nearly severing his Achilles tendon.

A deposition from a Deerfield Beach Fire-Rescue paramedic said that part of Barton's bicep was missing and not recovered.

Barton was taken to Broward General Medical Center, where he spent nine days in the hospital for severe injuries. Paramedics said he'd lost nearly two liters of blood.

Top U.S. Court Allows More Use of Drug-Sniffing Dogs

Jan. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Police can use drug-sniffing dogs to check vehicles stopped for traffic offenses, even without reason to suspect the presence of illegal narcotics, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled.

``A dog sniff conducted during a concededly lawful traffic stop that reveals no information other than the location of a substance that no individual has any right to possess does not violate the Fourth Amendment,'' Justice John Paul Stevens wrote for the court.

Have a look at the Auburn University Canine & Detection Research Institute.

THINK TANK URGES PRESIDENT KARZAI TO FOCUS ON ALTERNATIVES TO DRUG WAR POLICIES

“The situation in Afghanistan is a crisis. Putting the opium market in the hands of Afghan businessmen and farmers instead of in the warlords can only help build the Afghan state,” said Emmanuel Reinert.

“On one side there is a shortage of Morphine in the world for medical purposes,” said Mr Reinert, “and on the other hand there is too much illegal opium being produced. We need to find a balance between the two; and this can be done whilst alleviating the crisis in Afghanistan.”

For a description of legal opium production see this Drug Intelligence Brief from the DEA. (scroll down to opium)

For a comparison of Afghanistan and Colombia see War, drugs, and the war on drugs from the International Relations and Security Network

The case for legalizing drugs

Doug Bandow from the Cato Institute reviews two books:

BAD TRIP: HOW THE WAR ON DRUGS IS DESTROYING AMERICA
By Joel Miller

DRUG WAR CRIMES: THE CONSEQUENCES OF PROHIBITION
By Jeffrey A. Miron

Medical marijuana cards abound

Sunday, January 23, 2005
DON COLBURN

Nearly 10,000 Oregonians carry medical marijuana cards, about 20 times more than officials predicted when the program started six years ago.

The fee-based program, which gets no money from the state general fund, has grown so fast that it built up a cash surplus of nearly $1 million last year.

To reduce the surplus, officials slashed the annual fee for a medical marijuana card from $150 to $55 this month. For Oregon Health Plan patients, the fee dropped to $20.

Blogging from DC Day 2

Wow what a day here in D.C.!!!
It snowed about 6 inches and another 5 are on the way. I'm cold!

Before I get down to the good stuff I want to address those annoying rabid non-smokers who see fit to bitch about cigarette smoke even when the smoking is occurring out of doors. While walking over to David Clarke School of Law at UDC I met up with three or four other people walking there as well.
I smoke cigarettes. I was walking behind this group of people so as not to get any smoke on them as is polite to do. We were chatting away. Then one of the girls in the group drops back from the rest and says to me "Are you almost done with that cigarette?" I looked at my cig and as it was only about half smoked and cigarettes are close to six dollars a pack here I said "No..why?" and she responded that is was bothering her.
I was like...."I was walking behind you so no smoke got anywhere near you so you could not possibly be bothered by it...besides we are OUTSIDE."

Anyway that totally pissed me off. I understand people do not like to be trapped in a room where there is cigarette smoke. Even I, a smoker, do not like to be in a closed room with smoke. I don't smoke in my own house.
But this was OUTSIDE and therefore there was no reason to bitch, especially when an effort was made to stay behind the pack and not accidentally blow smoke on anyone.

Don't be an anti-smoking nazi. They are seriously irritating.

Now, on to business.

The PDA Conference is going very well. Today’s panel guests included

Keynote Address
U.S. Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr.
"Building A More Perfect Union"

Keynote Panel:
Challenges and Opportunities for Progressive Democrats in 2005
Moderator: Steve Cobble, Policy Advisor, Progressive Democrats of America
Panel participants:
Jim Zogby, founder, Arab American Institute
Medea Benjamin, Global Exchange, CODEPINK
* U.S. Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr.
* U.S. Representative Dennis Kucinich
Hillary Shelton, NAACP, DC
Kim Gandy, National Organization for Women (NOW)

Panel on the Media:
Communicating a Progressive Message to the American Public Through the Media
Moderator: Mimi Kennedy, Progressive Democrats of America, Actor
Panel participants:
Will Rivers Pitt, Journalist, TruthOut.org
Jeff Cohen, Founder of FAIR
Amy Goodman, Host and Executive Producer, Democracy Now
Liz Herbert, Rapid Response Network
Leila McDowell, Media Consultant
Tony Regusters

Panel on Building the Movement:
Building the Progressive Movement Inside and Outside the Democratic Party
Moderators:
Tim Carpenter, Executive Director, PDA
Acie Byrd, National Field Team, PDA
Panel Participants:
Dr. Roger Mitchell, Jr. ("Doc"), Hip-Hop Summit Action Network
Jodie Evans, Co-Founder CODEPINK
Butch Wing, Political Director, Rainbow/Push Coalition
Tom Hughes, Political Director, Democracy for America
Leslie Cagan , Director, United for Peace and Justice
Gloria Totten, Director, Progressive Majority

Panel on Unifying the Movement:
Organizing the Rainbow and Unifying the Movement
Moderator: Adrienne Brown, League of Pissed-off Voters
Panel Participants:
Ralph Miller, Latinos for America
Alexis McGill
Donald Whitehead, National Coalition for the Homeless
Bruce Taub, Executive Board Member, PDA
John Grant, Veterans for Peace

Panel on Spiritual Communities:
Organizing the Spiritual Community to Heal a Divided Nation
Moderator: Damu Smith, Founder and Co-Chair, Black Voices for Peace
Panel Participants:
Rev. Lennox Yearwood, PDA, Hip Hop Caucus
Rabbi Arthur Waskow, Shalom Center
Rev. Dr. Carolyn Boyd

Now, I sat and listened to these panels all day talk about things like racial profiling, overcrowded prisons, the disproportionate number of minorities and poor people in prison, disenfranchisement, loss of voting rights, marginilization and the war in Iraq.

And they all had great points and ideas. But not one time did the words “DRUG POLICY REFORM” ever come up. Not one time was it ever uttered that drug policy in this country is responsible in large part for the problems mentioned above with the exception of Iraq.

When the floor was finally opened for questions I “SPRANG” from my seat to claim second in line. If you have never seen a big Alabama girl intent on being heard spring up from a chair like that then my friends you have not lived.

When it was my turn to ask a question I said;

“Hello I am Loretta Nall, founder and President of the US Marijuana Party, the Alabama Marijuana Party and anchor for internet based Pot TV News. I have sat and listened to all of your great ideas today about solving the problems we have in this country. You have talked about racial profiling, overcrowded prisons, the disproportionate number of minorities and poor people in prison, disenfranchisement, loss of voting rights, marginalization and the Iraq War. I want to tell you that there is a war going on right here in the US under the guise of the drug war that is causing many of the problems we face as a nation. The very people the Democratic Party claims to represent are the ones who are most at risk under current US drug policy.

Where is the Democratic Party on the issue of Drug Policy Reform? Why do you never address this issue? The Democratic party must include drug policy reform in its platform if we are to ever see any real change.”
The audience responded very positively to my questions and issues. Some of the panel members, including a Doctor from Washington U Hospital who works with the Hip Hop Summit Action Network, were excited as well. However, the moderator said,


“That was a statement and not a question.”

No one on the panel addressed the questions.

So I guess that is the Democratic Party’s response to Drug Policy Reform, which is a non-response, which is the usual.
CSPAN was taping all day long so my question should be played on there at some point in the future. While many of you may be bored to tears by CSPAN and wouldn’t bat an eyelash at being on there…. I find the possibility THRILLING. So I’m easily amused…so what?

As I was making my way back to my seat many people swarmed me and exchanged information. Most were very excited to finally hear the issue raised and all agreed that some dramatic changes must be made.

Hope springs eternal.

Now, after all I just said I would like to announce that I have decided to seek the democratic nomination for Gov. of Alabama in the 06’ election.

In my networking here I have met the South Central Regional co-coordinators for the PDA. Stan Merriman and Sheril Smith from Texas. We have been discussing the best way for me to go about seeking the nomination. They have given me paperwork and names and numbers of the people in Alabama that are vital to this project and lots of other pointers and suggestions.

I am seeking the dem nomination because I am serious about being Governor of Alabama or, at the very least, scaring the absolute hell out of the current establishment in my beloved home state. Here is the real kicker though.
Roy Moore The Ten Commandments Judge, could be my Republican opponent in the Governor’s election.
Can you imagine?

A pot smoking, freedom-loving atheist running against a right wing, evangelical, thinks he was appointed by God, freedom-hating prohibitionist wacko.

I’ll come off looking like a genius up against that guy.
That will be the most polarized election since Wallace, possibly the most watched ever and definitely the most entertaining. I’ll win by a landslide. Me….I can’t wait til 2006. There is lots of work to be done though.

As I made my way out to the lobby Paul from Poker Face spotted me and invited me back to the bands room.


Poker Face 

It was great to finally meet the guys in person. Hugs were exchanged and pictures were taken. Then we decided to go out to their bus for a bit of refreshment. We shared a couple of nice fat joints and some rips of nitrous oxide and talked politics in between the nitrous hits when our heads weren’t going wah…wah…wah…wah…wah….you know what I’m talking about.

These guys are very politically savvy and serious activists. I am glad to know them and encourage all of you to check out their website and support them so that they can continue to travel and spread the word through their music.

I sat in the van and reflected on how enriched my life as become since I joined the fight for drug policy reform. Some of the very best people on earth are the ones in this fight. I consider it a high honor to be in this great city with some of the greatest minds in America fighting for social justice.

I do not despair tonight. I drew my line firmly in the sand today. I raised our issue before many important people. That’s a start. The audience response is an indicator that all the Democrats really need to pick up this issue is a little more pushing from regular Americans like YOU!!

We must infiltrate the DEMOCRATS!

ONWARD!!

On my way back to the hotel I got lost (sort of) in the subway. I was in the right place but couldn’t figure out which escalator to take to get to the shopping mall located under my hotel. Some of the subway stations are quite large and can be daunting to a country girl like me after a long day. Anyway, I must have had that “lost little girl” look on my face because an older Irish gentleman asked me if I was having trouble. I told him that I was and he said he was lost as well but knew which way I needed to go and pointed me in that direction. Before I could thank him he said, “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course you can.”

“Would you like to come to and Irish Pub in Chinatown with me for a beer and an Irish dinner?”

I was both flattered and a little taken aback by his request. This gentleman had to be in his late 60’s, a lovely genuine Irish accent, which I guess, is the first real one I have ever heard in person, and he was just as earnest and sincere as he could be. If he had said “Noothin” like Bono does in the live version of “One” then I would have been no way I could have refused. But he didn’t, so I politely declined his offer and thanked him for his help. I handed him a business card and he let out a deep chuckle.

It was a sweet ending to a great day.

I’ll see y’all tomorrow.

Loretta

Bali girl's letter of defiance

GOLD Coast woman Schapelle Corby has written an emotion-filled letter to her mother from her Bali jail cell, saying she is determined to beat drug-smuggling charges.

The 27-year-old has been held in the Indonesian island's notorious Kerobokan prison since October, when she was arrested on her arrival in Bali with 4kg of marijuana in her bodyboard bag

"Mum, thank you so much for the support and strength you have shown me, thank you for all your love and care, I am your baby girl," she wrote.

"I know you would do anything possible to get me set free from here, to prove my innocence and bring me home where I belong with my family and friends.

"I do love you so much, I hope you know that you are in my thoughts each day when I wake, and each night to help me fall asleep.

"You have so much strength in you, your whole life you have pushed and proven how strong you are, no doubt that I have inherited such a respectful quality from you to get me through this."

Schapelle then jokingly pondered where she might have inherited her "bitchy streak" from, before saying she had to quickly finish the letter.

"This is our last day and I have to prepare myself for saying goodbye to you," she wrote. "I believe I will be coming home soon, I have too much support from so many people for the courts to convict and with such an absurd case. This is just so cruel that this is happening to me. Not just me but also painful to you and everyone in my family and everyone who knows me. I am sorry that you are being put through this pain. I love you . . . your daughter, Schapelle."

Texas Running Out Of Prison Space

Texas is facing a very familiar crisis -- too many inmates with too few places to put them all.

The state's prison population is at its maximum capacity.

A new report released Friday shows the prison population topping 165,000 by 2010. That's nearly 11,000 more inmates than the system's current, total capacity.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is already taking bids from counties to lease bed space and, TDCJ is asking lawmakers for $62 million to pay for it in the next budget.

California Narcotics Seizure Statistics

CALIFORNIA -- The most recent statistics show drug agents seize more than a quarter million pounds of marijuana each year in California.

The Drug Enforcement Agency says its agents confiscated more than 350,000 pounds of pot and more than 10,000 lbs of cocaine in 2003.

Methamphetamine is third on the list of narcotics seized, but agents call it is the state's top drug threat.

They also seized 300 pounds of heroin and 136,000 tablets of ecstasy, but agents say the use of so-called "club drugs," such as ecstasy, are on the decline.

War against drugs lost, former officer claims

By James Conmy, Citizens' Voice Staff Writer

Peter Christ is treasurer of a group called LEAP, or Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. He will be in Wilkes-Barre next week to meet with community groups and Luzerne County Commissioner Greg Skrepenak.

"Prohibition does not work," Christ said. "Not only does it not work, it also creates problems that exist in our society."

"To continue on the course we are on is futile and a threat to our society. We've created the obscene profit in drugs by making them illegal."
Legalizing drugs and regulating them controls cost, access and drug profits, Christ said.

Christ, a retired police captain from Tonawanda, N.Y., a suburb of Buffalo with a population of 85,000, believes law enforcement's role was lost in the drug war.

"I know what law enforcement's job is," Christ said. "That is to protect people from each other. It's never been to protect people from themselves. That is the job of family, friends, education, health care and religion.

Germany sees Afghan unrest as drug war intensifies

BERLIN, Jan 21 (Reuters) Violence in Afghanistan is expected to increase when the Afghan government steps up its war on drugs, German Defence Minister Peter Struck said today.

"We have to expect that the security situation will worsen when the Afghan government massively increases measures to combat drugs, probably in the next two or three months," Struck told a news conference.

"The question of when one can assume Afghanistan is stable and the central government in Kabul has consolidated its authority cannot be answered as of today ... Of course we are trying to make that happen as soon as possible," Struck said.

A drug war is always a useful tool for consolidating the authority of a central government.

Blogging from DC

I arrived in Washington D.C. yesterday Jan. 20 fresh from 6 days of hard earned and much deserved R&R in Vancouver, British Colombia, Canada, courtesy of my friend Marc Emery.
Thanks Marc, I had a lovely time.

I am here in DC for the Progressive Democrats of America Conference. This conference is geared toward pushing a more progressive and liberal agenda under the next four years of the "Bush Regime". We may not gain any ground but we want to make damn certain that we do not lose any.

Opening ceremonies were exciting. The atmosphere is electrifying. Everyone seems so dedicated.

What surprised me most was the number of people who knew me on sight. I had no idea that the Democrats were paying such close attention to the US Marijuana Party. I am glad that they are. The Democratic Party in the US needs my fire and they need to become exceedingly more vocal about the horrors of current US drug policy. That issue alone could clench them victories at every level nationwide.

I was honored to be added to the list of speakers for future PDA events and I am very much looking forward to any future addresses I might give to this group.

Something happened today that really surprised me. I was on my way over to the Drug Policy Alliance office for lunch with Naomi and Caren. While chatting with the cabbie, a gentleman from Pakistan, he revealed to me that he is a strong Bush supporter.
I was shocked!

It is hard for me to imagine anyone supporting Bush, although apparently some people do or he wouldn't be where he is, but to see a brown skinned person of middle eastern/asian origin supporting Bush made me so curious I had to ask him why.

Apparently this gentleman is a christian convert and he said he supported Bush based solely on his religious views.
Seriously!!
Nothing else mattered.
Just religion.

Later on when I was headed to the PDA opening ceremonies I was again chatting with the cabbie, a gentleman from Ethiopia, and in the course of our conversation he revealed that he too is a Bush supporter. His justification for support was the fact that Bush is anti-abortion.
No other reason.

I'm sorry....but that shit is just too wierd!!

You'd think that people would vote for the leader of their country based on more than one qualification.

You'd also think that two men, minorities, immigrants from countries that have suffered the negative impact of US foreign policy,and they themselves are likely snatched out of every airport line and searched (wait, I take that back....the TSA screeners are always too busy threatening to stick their hands up my ass because they fear the almighty joint to be worried about the Middle Eastern men boarding the flight to DC)to be supporters of George W. Bush.

Hell, go figure.

Luckily on the way back across town I got a cabbie from India who was not from the "Twilight Zone" and understood that a DRAMATIC CHANGE in US foreign policy is the only way to "fight terrorism".
I am glad to have found a sane middle eastern/asian person who understood as well as I do what the real problems are.
Those other two had me completely wierded out and about ready to pack my bags and flee this place.

Anyway, I may go out with my friend Caren tonight to a DJ Party. That should be fun.
Tomorrow I will be at the conference again and tomorrow evening I will be hanging out with Poker Face.
We have been trying to get together since the Libertarian convention in Atlanta last year....which I missed.
I have been invited to hang out during set up. And hey....Paul wants to start a Ganja and Guns Party.

Sounds like fun to me!!!

Signing off for tonight.....Loretta in D.C.

Bush's new book for a new term

By Clare Murphy
BBC News

When it comes to President George W Bush and books, the most enduring image remains that of his reading My Pet Goat to a class of primary school children as planes flew into the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001.

But Mr Bush is hoping that another publication will come to define his second term in office.

The commander-in-chief has been actively promoting the latest work by former Soviet Jewish dissident and Israeli politician Natan Sharansky, recommending it as a must-read for those who want to grasp his own world view.

The Case For Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny and Terror by Natan Sharansky, Ron Dermer, Anatoly Shcharansky
One review of this book says,"Freedom, the authors claim, is rooted in the right to dissent, to walk into the town square and declare one's views without fear of punishment or reprisal".
Tell this to the jackass narcotics task force that raided my home with a warrant based on the fact that I had written a letter to the editor of the Birmingham News calling for drug policy reform.

Justin Raimondo at antiwar.com explains the literary source of the Bush inauguration speech line "By our efforts we have lit a fire as well, a fire in the minds of men."

With Bush expressing his desire to light a fire, let's have one more look at my bushantichrist video.

Guards escorting teen before fatal fall huddled before interviews with police

JOHN COTTER

EDMONTON (CP) - The guards who clashed with a disruptive teen before his fatal fall down a courthouse elevator shaft were left together for hours before they were questioned by police, an inquiry heard Thursday.

Bertsch testified the guards were together for more than five hours before they went as a group to Edmonton police headquarters where they were questioned separately about Young's death. Those interviews were videotaped by police.

The guards have all testified they got into a noisy scrap with Young, who was shackled and handcuffed, two days after the slim youth assaulted a female court officer.

The guards say they dragged Young, who they say was screaming and causing a disturbance, from the courthouse young-offender holding cells to an area near the elevator.

When he wouldn't calm down, one guard placed him face-first against the elevator door as they waited to move him to another floor.

Fayad, who is six-foot-four and weighs 240 pounds, has testified he pressed the boy into the elevator door and Young fell to his death.

Juvenile inmates were thrown to ground, hit against walls by guards

By ELIZABETH PIERSON
elizabethp@valleystar.com
512-323-0622

AUSTIN — The boy didn’t pull his pants up to a level that guards thought met the dress code, so he was handcuffed and his head was slammed into the door as he was taken out of the room, resulting in a baseball-sized blood blister.

Next, a 225-pound guard lifted the same 125-pound boy into the air and threw him. The boy landed on his head and sprained his neck.

It is one of several grisly episodes Texas Youth Commission investigators confirmed happened at the Edinburg Evins Regional Juvenile Center the weekend of Nov. 6-8, when guards from a Central Texas and West Texas detention center joined those from Evins in mistreating detainees, according to TYC documents released Thursday.

Eight officers, including two who were permanently stationed at Evins, are on unpaid leave because of the weekend. TYC would not release names of the officers pending possible appeals.

Today near Houston, parents and activists will rally to bring attention to alleged mistreatment of a TYC center there, Sanchez said.

Last year, TYC had 1,400 complaints of mistreatment, 500 of which were confirmed, Sanchez said.

Police stun device severely burns woman during drug raid

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. A western New York woman is in a burn unit after suffering severe injuries from a police explosive device tossed into an apartment during a drug raid.

Authorities say 18-year-old Rhiannon Kephart is in serious condition at Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo with second- and third-degree burns on her chest and stomach.

Police were conducting a raid on an apartment in Niagara Falls yesterday when officers tossed a flash-bang device into a room and Kephart was burned by the explosion.

Police say the device is only intended to stun people or divert their attention. Authorities say Kephart wasn't the target of the drug investigation.

A Niagara Falls police official says police feel "terrible" about injuring the woman.

Authorities say Niagara Falls officers were assisting Homeland Security Department agents in the drug raid, which resulted in the arrest of a man on felony conspiracy charges.

Copyright 2005 Associated Press

So this is what the Department of Homeland Security does. Burns Americans alive in their own beds.
How many more?

Suit filed over destroyed plants

The Associated Press
The Clarion-Ledger

A Harrison County hunting club owner has filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking compensation for law enforcement officers' destruction of kenaf plants, a look-alike for marijuana that's used as feed to attract deer.

Authorities raided the Boargog Hunting Club in September and seized 500 suspicious plants.

After the raid, Sheriff George H. Payne Jr. said the plants were thought to be marijuana. Payne later said his deputies were only assisting agents assigned to a federal drug enforcement team.

Waltman was not charged in the raid. His complaint accuses the sheriff and his agents of negligence, trespassing, invasion of privacy and defamation.

Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) seeds are available here from Mississippi State University and also from a variety of commercial sources. Some varieties such as the Tainung 2 have a palmate leaf shape (resembling marijuana) while other varieties do not.

Gov. website to help fight meth war

Interesting excerpt from this story:

U-S Attorney Paul Laymon says putting purchasing limits on these products will also impact the meth war.

"They did this in Oklahoma. They past legislation in Oklahoma...not quite a year ago but dealt with meth labs and the availability of acetaminophen and it's been pretty successful in Oklahoma."

"Many don't believe it's a dangerous drug and they get involved through family members other significant relationships...usually without a clue how dangerous it really is."

Truly someone is clueless. Acetaminophen?

Alliance Work on Behalf of Pregnant Women Bears Fruit

Doctors in Texas are not required to report drug use by their pregnant patients, according to a recent opinion by the state’s attorney general. The Drug Policy Alliance together with other groups wrote to the attorney general in support of the rights of pregnant women in Texas.

Legal staff from the Drug Policy Alliance worked with National Advocates for Pregnant Women (NAPW), the Texas ACLU, local lawyers and other national advocates to challenge the policy of arresting pregnant women.

The Alliance also filed an amicus brief in a similar case in Missouri on behalf of a woman who was arrested for child endangerment for allegedly smoking marijuana while pregnant. The prosecutors dropped all charges against the defendant based on a Missouri statute which says that all toxicology tests performed on a mother or her newborn are confidential.

Even with these important victories in Texas and Missouri, a movement to arrest pregnant women who use drugs is spreading, with states like Idaho, Iowa, Indiana, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming now considering harsh new penalties.

Senator seeks to penalize Columbia, Mo., for marijuana laws

By Kelly Wiese
Associated Press
01/19/2005

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Columbia will pay a price for easing restrictions on marijuana prosecutions if one lawmaker gets his way.

Sen. Chuck Gross, a St. Charles Republican, proposed legislation Wednesday that would prohibit public schools from holding athletic tournaments in Columbia.

The legislation by Sen. Chuck Gross, R-St. Charles, would bar schools that receive state money from participating in "sporting events or athletic tournaments" in cities that have soft marijuana laws.

Drug Lab Explosion Released Toxic Chemicals

Newsday

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Pfizer Inc. has agreed to pay a $22,500 penalty for failing to properly notify state and federal officials about a chemical release at its research and development plant in Groton in 2002.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday that an explosion in June 2002 led to the release from a chemical warehouse of about 1,400 pounds of tetrahydrofuran, a solvent used in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals. Seven people were injured.

Seafood restaurant's manager accused of selling pot in to-go boxes

By RENEE C. LEE
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

CONROE - A restaurant manager accused of selling marijuana packaged in Long John Silver's to-go boxes from his car was arrested on felony drug charges after a three-month investigation by Conroe police.

John Sweeten, 31, was arrested Friday in the parking lot of the Long John Silver's/A&W restaurant, where he is the general manager, said Conroe police Sgt. Bob Berry.

Before narcotics officers arrested Sweeten, who had been indicted earlier this month, they set up surveillance outside the restaurant, police said.

"As they watched, Sweeten set up shop and began selling marijuana in Long John Silver's to-go boxes," Berry said. "He apparently would make deals in the parking lot."

Legislature stirs over medical marijuana

By TERRENCE DOPP
The Express-Times

TRENTON -- In a move anti-drug activists called counterproductive to their cause, advocates renewed their quest Tuesday to legalize medicinal marijuana in New Jersey.

The legalization calls came moments after the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey touted successes in fighting teen use of illicit drugs with better communication between parents and children.

Legislation is pending in the Senate and Assembly that would legalize a medical form of marijuana, if prescribed by physicians to patients with diseases or other conditions that left them with severe and chronic pain or nausea. Eligible patients would need to enroll in a state registry.

Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and Montana have passed medicinal marijuana laws; the federal government has opposed all of them.

Ken Wolski, director of the New Jersey Coalition for Medical Marijuana, said the federal government has been "irrationally opposed" to such laws, resistance he called cruel to those suffering from serious diseases.

Marijuana group offers help

By ALLISON FARRELL
Gazette State Bureau

HELENA - Low-income and ailing Montanans who are qualified to use medical marijuana are now eligible for financial help with the one-time $200 fee the state is charging patients to get on the medical marijuana registry.

The Marijuana Policy Project of Washington, D.C., the main driver behind Montana's new medical marijuana law, has donated $2,000 to a financial assistance fund for low-income Montanans.

The project is also seeking private donations to the fund. The new law was passed by voters on Nov. 2 and took effect Jan. 1.

Ex-cop: Rein in the war on drugs

By Mike Seate
TRIBUNE-REVIEW

Howard Wooldridge rode into town last weekend on his horse, just like a lawman from the Old West. But the former detective didn't visit Pittsburgh to lock up bad guys. He was here to lecture on what he feels is the biggest fraud ever perpetrated on the American public.

"After 15 years in law enforcement, I realized what incredible waste the war on drugs really is. I was arresting drunk drivers who were a real danger, while my colleagues were going after kids with Baggies full of pot. It didn't make any sense," Wooldridge said.

"What grinds me up is the way law enforcement people perpetuate the lie that arresting drug dealers will make a difference in the availability and strength of drugs," he said. "The smugglers are smart enough to factor in a loss of maybe 20 percent of a shipment. So even when there's a big bust, they just ship more."

With the constraints of police work behind him, Wooldridge plans to finish his cross-country horseback tour astride his faithful companion Molly. Then he'll head to Washington, D.C., where he'll put his skills to work as an anti-drug-war lobbyist.

Public Law 108-495

Public Law 108-495 institutes the "Video Voyeurism Prevention Act of 2004."

It "amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit knowingly videotaping, photographing, filming, recording by any means, or broadcasting an image of a private area of an individual, without that individual’s consent, under circumstances in which that individual has a reasonable expectation of privacy.

It further defines a "private area" as "the naked or undergarment clad genitals, pubic area, buttocks, or female breast of an individual."

However, the government is exempt from this act. The prohibition is "inapplicable to lawful law enforcement, correctional, or intelligence activity."

Shelby deputies get semiautomatic rifles

MALCOMB DANIELS
News staff writer

The Shelby County Sheriff's Department has bought 100 semiautomatic rifles and is issuing them to its personnel.

The AR-15 rifles will be provided to all patrol deputies as well as investigators and administrators who go out on emergency calls, Sheriff Chris Curry said.

The purchase coincides with the Alabama State Troopers' and Birmingham Police Department's acquisition of the same type of weapons.

The rifles will be equipped with a hologram-type sighting mechanism to provide better accuracy.

The sight, which the officer can use without having to squint an eye, provides a lighted image of the target that can be seen in the dark.

Wide range of changes possible for training schools, officials say

EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS
Associated Press

RAYMOND, Miss. - Don Taylor says a positive mind-set is one of the most important qualities a worker can bring to a job in either of Mississippi's two juvenile training schools.

Mississippi's training schools have come under close scrutiny since July 2003, when the U.S. Justice Department released a 48-page report based on interviews with students who'd spent time there.

The report said adolescents had been hogtied, shackled to poles, ordered to exercise at odd hours and forced to eat their own vomit when they got sick from the exertion. The report also said staff at Oakley and Columbia had used "excessive force with impunity."

In December 2003, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit over conditions at the two schools. Taylor, who wasn't working for DHS when the suit was filed, expects the case to go to trial in December.

In Georgia, march aimed to draw attention to black man's slaying

BY DAHLEEN GLANTON
Chicago Tribune

Reminiscent of the marches in the South during the 1960s, more than 4,000 blacks locked arms and sang spirituals as they walked downtown to the Columbus Civic Center. Civil rights leaders from the days of King - the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, and the Rev. Joseph Lowery, former president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference - mingled with newer voices such as television judge Greg Mathis and former Iraq prisoner of war Shoshana Johnson.

The carefully orchestrated Columbus march was used to bring national attention to the case of Kenneth Walker who was killed by a white sheriff's deputy and to provide a platform to address issues of racial profiling and police brutality.

Walker, a 39-year-old insurance analyst, was killed by a Muscogee County sheriff's deputy in December 2003, after the sport utility vehicle in which he was riding was stopped during a drug investigation. Walker was shot in the head, though no drugs or weapons were found.

"You can't fight terror in Iraq and not come to terms with acts of terror in Columbus. This was an act of terror." said Lowery.

Jackson said the Walker case shows that there is a "season" of violence in the United States and that African-Americans are disproportionately the targets.

"They lock us up for profit and they kill us for sport," said Jackson. "How do we celebrate Dr. King's birthday? We must never forget and we must turn our pain into power with massive voter registration and electing people who represent us."

Underwear Goes Inside the Pants

The Des Moines Register has published lyrics to "Underwear Goes Inside the Pants" by Lazyboy, including the following:

Why is marijuana not legal? Why is marijuana not legal?

It's a natural plant that grows in the dirt.

Do you know what's not natural?

80 year old dudes with -------. That's not natural.

But we got pills for that.

We're dedicating all our medical resources to keeping the old guys -----,

but we're putting people in jail for something that grows in the dirt?

Baltimore Police Arrest 3 After Firebombing

By BRIAN WITTE
Associated Press Writer

BALTIMORE (AP) - Attackers firebombed the house of woman who had spoken out against drug trafficking in a city where controversy over a homemade DVD called "Stop Snitching" recently flared. Police said Sunday that three juveniles had been arrested.

The 59-year-old community activist was not injured in the fire, which happened early Saturday morning and caused minor damage to her home, police said. The woman, whose name was not released, was taken into protective custody.

The attackers used Molotov cocktails to start the fire, police spokesman Matt Jablow said.

WILBERT RIDEAU IS FREED

Suit alleges excessive police force in suspect's shooting death

Associated Press

DECATUR, Ala. - A federal lawsuit alleges authorities used excessive force when deputies shot and killed suspected bootlegger James Hulett and abused his 63-year-old wife by forcing her to crawl on her belly while uttering a racial slur about her.

Hulett, 53, was shot at his home in Decatur during a raid for illegal alcohol sales, according to reports.

Authorities reportedly claimed that Hulett pulled a gun and the officers shot him. The lawsuit states that Hulett was unarmed at the time he was shot.

Witnesses said the officers kept Hulett handcuffed and would not remove the cuffs for paramedics to properly treat him after he had been shot multiple times.

"For this guy, who was not responding, it was kind of stupid," said paramedic Kris Reisz.

His report stated that law enforcement officers refused to remove the handcuffs. A forensic report stated that Hulett's body had 13 bullet holes.

"They instructed Mrs. Hulett, who was sitting on the porch, to get down on her hands and knees but she was experiencing difficulties due to infirmities caused by her age of 63," the suit says.

One of the officers then called her a racial slur and instructed her to get all the way down and to crawl on her belly, the suit says.

"As she was crawling toward the steps, one of the officers grabbed her and dragged her down the steps onto the graveled yard. They handcuffed her and placed her near the van," the suit says.

Amber Alert issued for two

The Watauga County Sheriff's Office and the N.C. Department of Crime Control and Public Safety issued an Amber Alert yesterday after authorities said that two young children were abducted from a foster home at gunpoint by their biological parents.

The two children had been living with a Watauga County foster family after Child Protective Services removed them from the care of their biological parents, James Lee Canter, 29, and Alisha Ann Chambers, 18, several months ago.

The couple were charged with operating a meth-amphetamine lab, and deputies had been trying to find Canter to serve an arrest warrant on him since the lab was found.

Early yesterday morning, Canter showed up at the foster home along with Chambers, pointed a gun at the foster mother and stated simply that the couple were taking their kids, Townsend said.

The unwinnable war on dangerous drugs

Financial Times, UK editorial

Legalising narcotics would break the grip of organised crime on the drugs trade. It would also help separate casual users who take drugs for recreation from the hard core of addicts who account for well over half the drugs consumed and who need special help.

The war on drugs has simply shown that drugs and the drugs markets cannot be wiped out. It is time to look at more realistic and less ambitious alternatives.

'This could be the last time I see my children'

Martin Bright reports on the aristocrat fighting extradition to America who says he is part of a secret deal with the US on the Guantanamo Bay detainees.

Carlyle-Clarke, 47, a furniture importer and former racing yachtsman, will present a 2,000-name petition to the Home Secretary, Charles Clarke, this week, to protest against his deportation to Alabama. If convicted he could face 25 years in a prison system described by Amnesty International as one of the harshest in the country.

The American authorities have been pursuing Carlyle-Clarke since the late Eighties, when his name was connected with a £60 million deal to import cannabis into the US east coast from the Caribbean.

Carlyle-Clarke, whose family has owned the ancient Winterborne Clenston estate in Dorset since 1066, told The Observer: 'I am sole parent to an eight-year-old child I have brought up from birth. My over-riding concern is the welfare of Max. There has never been another figure in his life. He has no one else and would be effectively orphaned by my extradition.'

They Both Suck

Libertyflash.com is providing streaming video of man-on-the-street reactions to the Libertarian "Democrats and Republicans Both Suck" t-shirt. Filmed at various locations in Atlanta, GA.

Pueblo Family Sues Police Over Botched Drug Raid

January 14, 2005 Associated Press

PUEBLO, Colo -- A Pueblo family has filed suit in federal court, saying their rights were violated when police in black ski masks burst into their home at gunpoint without a warrant as part of a drug raid that resulted in no charges.

The family is seeking unspecified damages for what they say was an illegal search of their home in 2000. The officers, in court filings, call the episode as "unfortunate" and blamed it on "miscommunication" between law enforcement agencies.

Man, 34, dead after overnight drug raid

By KATIE ROOK
Saturday, January 15, 2005

A 34-year-old man is dead after a struggle with police officers who raided his west-end Toronto home early yesterday morning looking for drugs.

Paul Medeiros, whose six children were also in the two-storey duplex during the raid, was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital with breathing difficulties and pronounced dead.

His brother-in-law, Manny Botelho, 31, said the hallway was white with pepper-spray and the children became sick to their stomachs from the fumes.

"It makes me angry," he said. "On the side of the [police] cars they say, 'To Serve and Protect,' not to go into someone's house and beat the shit out of someone."

Tom Coleman Found Guilty

By BETSY BLANEY
Associated Press

LUBBOCK - The lone undercover agent in a sting that sent dozens of black people to prison on bogus drug charges in Tulia was convicted Friday of one of two perjury counts.

Tom Coleman was acquitted of testifying falsely in a 2003 hearing that as a sheriff's deputy he never stole gas from county pumps, but he was found guilty of saying that he didn't learn about the theft charge against him until August 1998.

Jurors deliberated his punishment for less than an hour before recommending a seven-year probated prison sentence. The judge can either follow their recommendation or come up with his own sentence. He is expected to rule Tuesday.

Caffeine - The world's most popular psychoactive drug

National Geographic
"For most of human existence, your pattern of sleeping and wakefulness was basically a matter of the sun and the season," explains Charles Czeisler, a neuroscientist and sleep expert at Harvard Medical School. "When the nature of work changed from a schedule built around the sun to an indoor job timed by a clock, humans had to adapt. The widespread use of caffeinated food and drink—in combination with the invention of electric light—allowed people to cope with a work schedule set by the clock, not by daylight or the natural sleep cycle."

Helicopter Crashes in Colombian Drug War, Kills 20

BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) - A U.S.-made helicopter on an anti-drugs mission crashed in the Colombian jungle on Thursday, killing all 20 Colombian soldiers aboard, the army said.

The Colombian troops were on a mission to secure crops of coca -- the raw material of cocaine -- before aerial spraying planes destroyed them, it said.

It was the worst accident for Colombian military aviation since another Black Hawk crashed in March 2003, killing 23 troops.

The United States provided Black Hawks to Colombia as part of more than $3 billion in mainly military aid since 2000 aimed at the world's largest cocaine industry.

Check out the Spanish Helicopter School Battalion at Fort Rucker, Alabama.

Thelma White, 94; Actress Known for 'Reefer Madness'

By Elaine Woo
Times Staff Writer

January 13, 2005

Thelma White, whose portrayal of a hard-boiled addiction queen in the 1936 movie "Reefer Madness" was largely forgotten until the film resurfaced in the 1970s as a cult classic, died of pneumonia Tuesday at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in Woodland Hills. She was 94.

"Reefer Madness" was a low-budget propaganda film written by a religious group to broadcast the dangers of marijuana. It was relegated to the cinema waste heap for almost 40 years until 1972, when Keith Stroup, founder of the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws discovered it in the Library of Congress archives and paid $297 for a print. He then screened it in New York as a benefit for the advocacy group, unwittingly launching it on the road to cult-film history.

Diabetic Suing Police For Alleged Beating

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- A school principal who says he was beaten by at least four city police officers while having a diabetic attack is suing the officers, accusing them of dragging him through his car window and calling him a drug user before getting him medical help.

The lawsuit says Greer pulled his BMW into a convenience store parking lot on Nov. 4 when he started feeling disoriented, a symptom of the onset of a diabetic attack. A store clerk called the police after noticing Greer's car had been parked for awhile.

When the police arrived, they broke the car windows and pulled Greer out through the shattered passenger's side window, even though his car doors were unlocked, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit goes on to describe how officers Jeffrey Asher, James Kervick, James Shewchuck and James Moriarty, kicked, choked and beat Greer.
The lawsuit says Greer repeatedly told the officers he was diabetic and said he needed juice or sugar to stave off his diabetic attack.

"The police defendants nonetheless continued to beat and kick him and repeatedly yell that he was on drugs," the lawsuit says. Greer says the police hit him with what he believed to be nightsticks and a flashlight, then handcuffed him behind his back and shackled his legs.