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Fall
2003 (October, November, December) |
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2003 (July, August, September) |
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2003 (April, May, June) |
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Winter
2003 (January, February, March) |
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Fall
2002 (October, November, December) |
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Summer
2002 ( July, August, September) |
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Spring
2002 (March, April, May, June) |
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"Border smuggling,
drug arrests decline" (San Diego Union Tribune,
Dec 23, 2003) -- California border inspectors
detected fewer drugs and immigrants this year than in
2002, repeating a downward trend that began after the
Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Cocaine seizures at
the six ports of entries in San Diego and Imperial
Counties plummeted from 17,031 in 2002 to 12,470 pounds
in 2003. Pot busts dwindled from 298,161 pounds to
286,847 pounds. ID# 7536
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"Teen drug use falls, government survey shows"
(Reuters Health, Dec 19, 2003) -- WASHINGTON
(Reuters) - An annual survey by the U.S. government
showed a marked decline in the number of American
teen-agers using illegal drugs, officials said on
Friday. Drug use fell by 11 percent among students
between the ages of 13 and 18 over the past two years,
according to the survey. ID# 7530
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"Youth Drug Use Declines, But Alcohol, Future
Trends are Concerns"
(Join Together Online, Dec 19, 2003) -- The
federal government's $180 million youth anti-drug media
campaign may be paying dividends in terms of reduced
youth marijuana use, according to data released today
from the 2003 Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey.
Tobacco, Ecstasy and LSD use also showed substantial
declines. But the report's lead researcher says that
while there is plenty of good news this year, the survey
has some troubling warning signs about future drug-use
trends. ID# 7534
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"Elgin seeks to ban items in teen clubs"
(Chicago Tribune, Dec 19, 2003) -- Pacifiers,
glow sticks and similar accessories favored by
electronic music fans are drug paraphernalia, said Elgin
officials, who are taking the first step toward an
unusual law that would ban such items from nightclubs
catering to the under-21 crowd. On Wednesday, the
Elgin City Council backed an ordinance for underage
events at nightclubs such as The Mission, a downtown
club that most nights draws an adult crowd. The
regulations, which would be required of any
establishment intending to hold an event for people
younger than 21, would ban several club toys. ID#
7514
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"11 face charges in running North Side drug market"
(Chicago Tribune, Dec 19, 2003) -- Eleven
people were charged Thursday following a crackdown on a
North Side drug market that sold heroin and cocaine
within several hundred feet of two schools, authorities
said. Those charged either supplied or sold drugs
near Wilson Avenue and Sheridan Road, oftentimes while
children were in sight, Chicago police said. Officers
confiscated $139,000 in heroin and cocaine, $16,443 in
cash, a car and a handgun during the seven-month
investigation. ID# 7517
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"Medical marijuana decision doesn't sanction pot
sales to the sick"
(North County Times, Dec 19, 2003)
-- That issue, the next
legal battle in the medical marijuana movement, still is
pending before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A
three-judge panel of the same court ruled Tuesday that a
congressional act outlawing marijuana can not apply in
states with laws permitting sick people to use marijuana
with a doctor's recommendation. ID# 7510
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"Federal appeals court OKs medical marijuana in
some cases"
(Sacramento Bee, Dec 17, 2003) -- SAN
FRANCISCO (AP) - A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday
that a congressional act outlawing marijuana may not
apply to sick people with a doctor's recommendation in
states that have approved medical marijuana laws.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that
prosecuting these medical marijuana users under a 1970
federal law is unconstitutional if the marijuana isn't
sold, transported across state lines or used for
non-medicinal purposes. ID# 7499
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"Ecstasy Outdated as Young Britons Find New Dance
Drugs"
(Join Together Online, Dec 10, 2003) --
New statistics from Britain's Home Office finds that the
popularity of ecstasy as a dance drug is waning as
teenagers turn to legal prescription drugs, the Guardian
reported Dec. 5. According to the British Crime Survey,
ecstasy use among 16- to 24-year-olds in England and
Wales dropped 21 percent last year. Use of amphetamines,
also popular among young people attending all-night
parties and dance events, also is on the decline. ID#
7482
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"Smoking cannabis causes damage to lungs"
(Reuters Health, Dec 10, 2003) -- LONDON
(Reuters) - Smoking cannabis is not the harmless
recreational activity it may seem to some--because it
can cause lung damage, researchers said on Friday.
Regularly smoking three or four joints a week, even for
less than six years, can impair lung function and rob
the body of antioxidants that protect cells against
damage, which can lead to heart disease and
cancer. "Smoking cannabis on a regular basis
actually depletes your lung of protective antioxidant
substances...and this may have chronic long-term
implications for young individuals," said Dr. Sarah
Nuttall of the University of Birmingham in central
England. ID# 7477
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"El Cajon adopts overkill against johns and junkies"
(San Diego Union Tribune, Dec 11, 2003) -- Under
a new ordinance that will take effect Jan. 1, men
arrested for soliciting prostitution from their cars in
El Cajon can have their vehicles permanently seized by
the city. This gross judicial overreach is intended to
counter the growing problem of prostitution in El Cajon,
but it is likely to create more problems than it
solves. The measure provides that vehicle owners
may request an administrative hearing and object to the
confiscation. But getting their cars back is probably
going to mean paying what the city deems to be their
fair-market value. Otherwise, the vehicles will be sold,
with the proceeds going to the City Attorney's Office or
to law enforcement agents to cover the costs of this
Draconian program. ID# 7478
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"Oakland Cafes Distribute Medical Marijuana"
(Join Together Online, Dec 8, 2003) -- They
may not be identifiable by signs, but several
medical-marijuana cafes have opened in Oakland, Calif.,
in the past few years, the Baltimore Sun reported Nov.
28.In 1996, voters in the state legalized the use of
marijuana for medical purposes, even though the drug is
considered illegal under federal laws. Since that time,
federal drug agents have closed down several
medical-marijuana clubs. Oakland's medical-marijuana
cafes have kept a low profile to avoid similar
prosecution. Some have bouncers guarding their
entrances, while others camouflage themselves as typical
cafes serving coffee and other menu items. A separate
upstairs or downstairs area is reserved for smoking by
medical-marijuana users. ID# 7472
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"Survey Finds Drug
Use Common Among Teens" (Los Angeles Times,
Dec 2, 2003) -- Marin County teenagers have
easy access to drugs, alcohol and tobacco, according to
a survey of high school students. The survey of
588 high school students by the Youth Health Advisory
Council found that 49% buy drugs, often from
classmates. ID# 7457
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"Prosecutors targeting pregnant drug users"
(Chicago Tribune, Nov 24, 2003) --
NEW YORK -- Stacey Gilligan is accused of drinking so
much vodka during her eighth month of pregnancy that her
baby was born drunk. Tayshea Aiwohi is charged
with consuming such huge amounts of crystal meth while
she was pregnant that her son died of methamphetamine
poisoning two days after his birth. ID#
7442
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"Senate
candidate calls for legalizing, taxing pot"
(North County Times, Nov 20, 2003) -- .
. . Regulating and taxing the sale of marijuana to
adults could bring a minimum $2 billion annually to
state coffers, Gray said. "The war on drugs
has directly created an enormously large and lucrative
black market that has corrupted institutions ... (and)
enabled the sale of illicit drugs to provide huge
amounts of funding for terrorists," Gray said in a
campaign position paper. ID# 7436
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"Skyline Hills marches with conviction, protest
smoke shop"
(Voice & Viewpoint, Oct 9, 2003) --Pounding
with resolution and booming with conviction, leaders and
residents from Skyline Hills and neighboring South Bay
communities marched in front of the Skyline Smoke and
Gift Shop, demanding the store be shut down for
allegedly selling drug paraphernalia, pornography and
other items that promote negativity. ID# 7434
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"Vista gang drug suspects called violent"
(North County Times, Nov 17, 2003) --
Her month-old baby, her 11-year-old sister and her
mother remained in the car. Inside the house, a
grandmother waited to handle the deal. Her
grandchildren, ages 3 and 8, were with her.
Neither woman was aware that federal and local drug
enforcement agents had the house under surveillance.
Officers were about to raid it as they dismantled an
alleged heroin ring involving members of the Vista Home
Boys gang. ID# 7427
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"Anti-Overdose Drug Given to S.F. Addicts"
(Los Angeles Times, Nov 17, 2003) --
Marking a first for a public agency in California, the
San Francisco health department began dispensing a
controversial anti-overdose medication to heroin addicts
Saturday at a city-sponsored needle exchange
program. ID# 7425
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"Mexico City's top prosecutor calls for
consideration of drug legalization"
(San Diego Union Tribune, Nov 13, 2003) --
MEXICO CITY – Mexico City's top prosecutor said
Thursday he thinks Mexico should consider a
"gradual" legalization of drugs, in order to
reduce the influence and power of drug
traffickers. "I think they (drugs) could
gradually be legalized, starting, for example with the
prisons, where there is a whole mafia structured around
control of the drug trade," said City Attorney
General Bernardo Batiz. ID# 7419
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"Marijuana Use Among Canadian Teens Reaches Record
High"
(Join Together Online, Nov 12, 2003) --
A Health Canada survey finds that more 12- to
19-year-old Canadians smoke marijuana regularly than use
tobacco, putting use of the drug at the highest level in
25 years, the Ottawa Citizen reported Oct. 29. ID#
7415
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"News briefs from California's Central Coast"
(North County Times, Nov 11, 2003) --
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- The county Narcotics Task Force is
adding a social worker because officers on drug busts
often encounter children. In some cases,
methamphetamine pipes have been found tucked next to
bottles of baby formula or hidden inside toys,
authorities said. ID# 7412
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"Tunnel for smuggling found in Calexico"
(San Diego Union Tribune, Nov 12, 2003) --
CALEXICO – U.S. Border Patrol agents discovered a
cross-border smuggling tunnel yesterday morning after
one of their vehicles sank into the ground near a
residential area, about a mile east of the Calexico
border crossing. ID# 7414
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"Study Women in S.D. jails use drugs more than men"
(San Diego Union Tribune, Nov 10, 2003) --
WASHINGTON – They are in San Diego County's lockups,
and seem to be more hardened in their cocaine and
methamphetamine use than the toughest criminals They are
women. In the past decade, women jailed in San
Diego have been found to be using a wider variety of
drugs and more frequently than men in the system,
according to the Justice Department's Arrestee Drug
Abuse Monitoring Program. ID# 7403
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"Dutch May Ban Foreigners from Cannabis Coffee
Shops"
(Join Together Online, Oct 31, 2003) --
Responding to international pressure, the Netherlands is
considering a proposal that would prohibit foreigners
from patronizing the country's cannabis cafes, the Drug
War Chronicle reported Oct. 31. The issue was
raised by German Interior Minister Otto Schily, who said
many of Germany's citizens cross the border each day to
consume and purchase cannabis. Americans and Britons
also frequent the pot-selling "coffee
shops." ID# 7388
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"Neighbors Are Bothered by Rehab Center"
(Los Angeles Times, Nov 3, 2003) --
Neighbors of an oceanfront drug treatment center in
Newport Beach are complaining to City Hall that facility
operators are violating the occupancy limit in one house
while expanding by renting another home nearby.
Several residents near the three-story home operated on
the Balboa Peninsula by Narconon, a private network of
more than 100 drug rehabilitation and prevention centers
around the world, complain about noise, clouds of
cigarette smoke drifting into their homes and traffic in
the narrow alley that separates them from their
neighbors. ID# 7384
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"Lawmaker 'shocked' at Metro role in pro-marijuana
ads"
(The Washington Times, Oct 24, 2003) --
The chairman of the House subcommittee on drug addiction
said he is "outraged" over ads on Metro buses
and in subway stations promoting marijuana use and risky
sex. Rep. Mark Souder, Indiana Republican, has
sent a scathing letter to Richard A. White, Metro's
chief executive officer, decrying the "Legalize and
Tax Marijuana" ads — public service announcements
placed by Change the Climate, a Massachusetts-based
nonprofit. ID# 7383
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"Kids who are bored to tears do drugs"
(North County Times, Nov 2, 2003) --
I'm a senior at San Dieguito Academy. In my 12 years of
schooling I have been through the DARE program and two
separate health classes, all of which preach "don't
do drugs," or "keep kids off drugs." I
live in the Cardiff/Encinitas area and I now feel it has
been just talk. The kids in this area don't have
anything to do except go to overpriced movies in a
run-down theater or go to the beach (on a cloudy
day). ID# 7374
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"Meth use has risen drastically in city"
(Los Angeles Times, Oct 30, 2003) --
The use of methamphetamines, a powerfully addictive
and sometimes fatal stimulant, has skyrocketed in
Huntington Beach in the past decade.
Methamphetamine possession makes up more than 70% of the
narcotics related arrests in Huntington Beach,
Huntington Beach Police Sgt. Corby Bright said. Bright
heads the unit that handles all investigations of
narcotics-related activities. ID# 7368
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"Embattled smoke
shop closes in Skyline" (San Diego Union Tribune,
Oct 16, 2003) -- Skyline store that sold pipes
and clothing embroidered with marijuana leaves closed
after members of the community threatened to shut it
down. Skyline Smoke and Gift Shop hasn't reopened since
a rally and protest in front of the store Oct. 4.
"I was being bombarded by everybody from every
direction," said Duraid Hallak, who opened the shop
two months ago. ID# 7343
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"Parents urged to
talk to kids about dangers of 'Hug Drug' – otherwise
known as Ecstasy" (San Diego Union Tribune, Oct
16, 2003) -- WASHINGTON – Kate Patton had never
heard of Ecstasy before the night of Nov. 14, 1999.
That's when two police officers came to her home in
suburban Chicago to tell her that her 23-year-old
daughter, Kelley, was dead. She had overdosed on
Ecstasy. Patton joined anti-drug advocates
Thursday at a news conference announcing new TV, radio,
newspaper and Internet ads aimed at encouraging parents
to talk to their children about Ecstasy – known as the
"Hug Drug," "X" or
"E." ID# 7342
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"A New Ecstasy Campaign"
(New York Times, Oct 16, 2003) --
The Partnership for a Drug-Free America will introduce
today an ad campaign focusing on the drug Ecstasy and
backed by the largest donation of media time it has
received. The Comcast Corporation, the
cable giant, has agreed to donate time valued at $51
million over three years. The campaign and the Comcast
deal, to be detailed at the National Press Club in
Washington, are efforts to answer two big challenges the
partnership says it faces having parents address the
dangers of Ecstasy with their children and putting the
most effective messages in front of the right
audiences. ID# 7339
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"Justices
reject govt. medical marijuana appeal"
(Reuters Health, Oct 14, 2003) --
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court let stand
on Tuesday a ruling that the government cannot revoke
the federal prescription licenses of doctors who
recommend medical marijuana to sick patients. Without
any comment, the justices rejected a Bush administration
appeal of the ruling that bars the government from
punishing and from even investigating a doctor's conduct
because of a recommendation that a patient use
marijuana. ID# 7332
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"Foes Protest
Limits on Medical Pot"
(Los Angeles Times, Oct 14, 2003) --
A rift within the medical marijuana movement widened
Monday over a measure signed into law by Gov. Gray Davis
that for the first time establishes the amount of
cannabis a patient can possess and sets up voluntary
patient identification cards. The bill by state
Sen. John Vasconcellos (D-Santa Clara) limits a patient
or caregiver to half a pound of dried marijuana and six
mature or 12 immature plants, though it leaves room for
physicians to recommend more and permits cities or
counties to allow higher amounts. ID# 7329
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"Georgia
court tosses law requiring motorist drug tests"
(Sacramento Bee, Oct 7, 2003) --
ATLANTA (AP) - The Georgia Supreme Court overturned a
law that required motorists involved in serious
accidents to submit to drug testing or face the loss of
driving privileges for a year. The state's implied
consent law "authorizes a search and seizure
without probable cause" and violates the state and
federal Constitutions, the court ruled Monday in
throwing out a motorist's conviction. ID#
7315
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"Hawaii Takes
Proactive Steps To Curb Meth Crisis"
(Join Together Online, Oct 7, 2003) --
Officials in Hawaii are implementing several initiatives
aimed at curbing the escalating use of methamphetamine
throughout the state, the Alcoholism & Drug Abuse
Weekly reported Sept. 29. Hawaii has the highest
rate of methamphetamine misuse in the country. In
addition, crystal methamphetamine, known as
"ice," is attracting young adults from ages 21
to 35. ID# 7316
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"$250,000 in
Drug Seized; 8 Arrested"
(Los Angeles Times, Oct 7, 2003) --
A Ventura County narcotics task force Monday announced
the seizure of an estimated $250,000 worth of crystal
methamphetamine and the arrests of eight suspected
members of a drug ring, authorities said. The
investigation that led to the seizure of about 7 pounds
of the drug known as ice began 14 months ago in Ventura
and ended last week with the arrests of the suspects in
Oxnard, the San Fernando Valley and at a home lab in
Inglewood, authorities said.
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"Swiss prescribe
heroin but say pot should stay illegal"
(Sacramento Bee, Oct 6, 2003) --
GENEVA (AP) - Philippe, 36, works for that abiding
symbol of Swiss respectability - a bank. He also likes
to relax with a joint of marijuana after work. Until
very recently it looked as though his habit might soon
cease to be a crime. But then Parliament killed
government-backed legislation that would have
decriminalized cannabis consumption.
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"Smoke shop feeling
heat over pipes"
(San Diego Union Tribune, Oct 4, 2003) --
Wedged between a family restaurant and a barber shop,
Skyline Smoke and Gift Shop sells dozens of pipes in
bright purples, greens, reds and blues. Its stock
includes pipes shaped like football helmets, glass-blown
pipes and one-foot-tall pipes. Signs scrawled on
notebook paper hang from the glass cases, instructing
customers how the pipes should be used. "All items
are for tobacco use only," one sign says. "No
drug slang will be allowed," says
another.
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(Join Together Online, Oct 2, 2003) --John
Walters, director of the White House Office of National
Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), criticized the Netherlands
for not doing enough to curb ecstasy production, the
Associated Press reported Sept. 26.
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