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July 4, 2002
The San Diego Union
Tribune San Diego, California Drug probe targets
Ecstasy use at Corps' Camp Lejeune
Tipped two years ago that some Marines were using and
selling the club-drug Ecstasy, investigators opened what
became the largest military-drug probe in recent years
and arrested dozens of service personnel on the Corps'
biggest East Coast base. Authorities seized illegal
drugs valued at $1.4 million, including 31,000 tablets
of Ecstasy, 13,000 doses of LSD, 56 ounces of the
"date rape" drug GHB, 4,783 grams of cocaine
and 405 units of steroids. ID#
5557
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June 21, 2002 The
San Diego Union Tribune
San Diego, California Teens
get mad over vide; it's removed
There on a Dance Dance Revolution machine a video
game immensely popular with preteens and teens were
images of drugs, alcohol and a scantily clad nurse
riding up and down on a syringe. "I was appalled to
see that stuff flashing on the screen," said the
17-year-old Stoefen, who first saw the pictures in March
on the Dance Dance Revolution game at Poway Fun Bowl.
ID# 5559
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June 26, 2002 The
San Diego Union Tribune
San Diego, California Bill
requiring testing of professional athletes passes
Assembly committe
Responding to reports of widespread
steroid use in baseball, an Assembly committee voted
Wednesday to require professional athletic teams to test
their players for performance-enhancing drugs.
"This is what happens when you don't police
yourself," Assemblyman Tony Strickland said before
the Assembly Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism and
Internet Media Committee approved the bill 11-0
ID# 5558
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June 28, 2002 Yahoo
News CDC: Teenagers
Using More Cocaine
Injury and violence-related behaviors among
teenagers have fallen, but more teens are using cocaine
and regularly smoking and drinking, according to a
recent survey. . . . The number of teenagers who said
they had tried cocaine in their lifetime rose to 9.4
percent, up from 5.9 percent in 1991. About 4.2 percent
of students said they had used cocaine in the past 30
days, up from 1.7 percent in 1991. ID# 5546
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June 27, 2002 The
Brownsville Herald Brownsville, Texas
As seizures mount, experts say illegal drugs
altering a way of life
For an estimated 30
million Americans, illegal drugs are worth the money and
the risk. But experts say the mind-altering substances
also have the ability to alter the behavior and way of
life of entire populations. . . . The Gulf Cartel has
been able to dominate drug traffic into the United
States, making the Rio Grande Valley one of the main
points of entry in the country, according to information
provided by the PGR and senior U.S. Border Patrol
officials.
ID# 5536
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June 27, 2002 Yahoo
News Court OKs Random
Drug Tests in Schools
The Supreme Court approved random drug tests for
many public high school students Thursday, ruling that
schools' interest in ridding their campuses of drugs
outweighs an individual's right to privacy. The 5-4
decision would allow the broadest drug testing the court
has yet permitted for young people whom authorities have
no particular reason to suspect of wrongdoing. It
applies to students who join competitive after-school
activities or teams, a category that includes many if
not most middle-school and high-school students. ID#
5539
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Editorial June 26, 2002
The Independent Florida Alligator Tallahassee,
Florida Ecstasy linked
to traffic deaths
Fatal car accidents and multiple drug overdoses
are increasingly being linked to the effects of mixing
the euphoric drug Ecstasy with other sedatives or
stimulants, according to a UF forensic toxicology study.
UF associate professor Bruce Goldberger said the
reports on Ecstasy deaths in the past few years are
associated with multi-drug use and fatal accidents
involving these drugs. ID# 5528
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June 24, 2002
Reuters Health US
Anti-Drug Programs Need Younger Focus: Study
Children who
take up smoking cigarettes, using marijuana or start
drinking alcohol in elementary school are considerably
more likely than other children to use such substances
in middle school, researchers say. Therefore, prevention
programs should begin in elementary school rather than
in middle school, as the majority in the US now do,
according to lead author Dr. Nance Wilson of the
University of California School of Public Health in
Berkeley. ID# 5524
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June
19, 2002 The
Chicago Tribune Chicago, Illinois Methamphetamine
abuse rises among U.S. women . . .
Breuklander is among a growing number of women who have
abused meth, a highly addictive stimulant that produces
a euphoria similar to cocaine, but lasts longer and is
made from common household ingredients. Experts and
users say meth appeals to women because it's relatively
inexpensive and easy to obtain, and it gives them energy
to take care of their children or feel more efficient in
everything they do.
ID# 5515
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June
19, 2002 The
Indianapolis Star Indianapolis, Indiana
Organizers aim to make concerts drug-free zones
His eyes bloodshot-red and beer suds spilling down his
right forearm, Chris Schneider stumbled through the
crowd of heavy-metal fanatics, seemingly oblivious to --
or perhaps spiritually in tune with -- his surroundings.
. . . The two are just the type of fans whom concert
promoters and security officials in Indiana -- and
nationwide -- say they're cracking down on. No longer,
they say, are those caught at rock shows with illegal
drugs let off with a wink and a nod.
ID# 5516
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June
13, 2002 The
Sacramento Bee Sacramento, California Federal
injunction halts pot buyers clubs
Three cannabis buyers clubs that are still functioning
must immediately halt the distribution of marijuana
under a permanent injunction issued by U.S. District
Judge Charles R. Breyer. The order, dated and filed
Monday in San Francisco, is expected to further
disenfranchise California's medical marijuana patients,
some of whom depend on pot cooperatives for their
medicine. . . . U.S. law bars the cultivation,
distribution or possession of marijuana by anyone, and
federal authorities have been using every tactic
available to them to stop the gains made by California's
pro-pot brigade. ID# 5484
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June 5, 2002 Reuters
Health Opportunity may be behind 'gateway
drug' effect
Researchers have long speculated about whether using
so-called "soft" drugs like marijuana will
lead to the use of "harder," more physically
addictive drugs, such as cocaine and heroin. Now, new
research suggests a reason why this progression in drug
use might occur: opportunity. Based on a survey of US
households, Dr. James C. Anthony and a colleague from
Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland,
determined that tobacco and alcohol users are more
likely to encounter opportunities to try illegal drugs
like marijuana. Furthermore, once faced with the
opportunity, users of tobacco and alcohol are more
likely to accept marijuana.
ID# 5474
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June 8, 2002
Yahoo News George
Pataki releases proposed changes to Rockefeller-era drug
laws While Pataki portrayed the proposals as a
compromise designed to meet legislative objections to
earlier plans, the initiative was immediately panned by
critics who said the Republican governor is still not
going far enough to ease the drug laws. Pataki said his
plan would allow more people into drug treatment by
expanding the categories of drug offenders eligible for
such referrals. Eligible defendants, though, cannot have
a violent record. ID# 5458
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June 2, 2002
Yahoo News
Evidence-Based Programs Keep Kids Away From Drugs and
Alcohol Scientifically designed
programs based on evidence of what's most effective at
prevention are more successful at keeping children from
using tobacco, alcohol and drugs than other programs,
says a new study presented this weekend at the annual
meeting of the Society for Prevention Research.
ID# 5448
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June 3, 2002
The New York Times
New York Grad Parties Getting Supervision
Like many seniors, the
class of 2002 at St. Pius High School celebrated
graduation with a party that went past dawn. But instead
of kegs of beer, this party featured students' parents
-- and a priest. There's nothing new about
school-sponsored graduation parties, which parents and
educators organize to steer seniors away from drugs and
alcohol. But the bashes are getting more elaborate than
ever, and seniors -- who long shunned them as uncool --
are actually showing up. ID# 5447
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June 1, 2002
Los Angeles Times Los
Angeles, California Planning Commission adopts
certification program The city has one more
weapon in its limited arsenal against problematic
sober-living homes after planning commissioners
unanimously approved on Tuesday a county certification
program designed to monitor the clean-living
environments. The county certification program -- four
years in the making -- was developed by a
multi-jurisdictional task force in the hopes that it
will help officials more closely monitor sober-living
facilities. ID# 5442
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May 29, 2002
The San Diego Union
Tribune San
Diego, California Listen to neighbors, not
naysayers The passage of
Proposition 36, a measure approved by voters in 2000
that requires judges to send nonviolent drug offenders
to treatment instead of prison, may have freed up some
bunks in prisons, but it has passed the burden on to
treatment facilities. The
inability of treatment providers to expand services is
not a funding issue.
ID# 5436
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May 28, 2002
Reuters Health
Substance abuse up in NYC after Sept 11 attacks
The use of alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana intensified
in Manhattan in the wake of the September 11 attacks on
the World Trade Center, according to a recent survey.
Nearly 29% of adults interviewed said they had increased
their use of at least one of these three substances in
the 5 to 8 weeks following the attacks, with the
majority drinking more alcohol than they had previously
consumed, according to the random telephone survey of
nearly 1,000 Manhattan households. ID# 5435
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May 28, 2002
Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles, California Attias Trial Points Up Dorm
Life's Wild Side Of dorm life in
the two 10-story towers, Nino Boles-King, 19, offered a
mixed review. "The food [is bad], but it's really
easy to get [messed] up" on drugs and alcohol, he
said. That's not the kind of endorsement managers of the
massive student housing complex next to UC Santa Barbara
would like to receive. ID# 5432
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May 28, 2002
The Brownsville Herald
Brownsville, Texas As seizures mount, experts
say illegal drugs altering a way of life But
according to officials from the Mexico Attorney Generals
Office (PGR) and the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration, it wasnt until the early 1980s that
drug trafficking became a hugely profitable illicit
industry. The promise of "easy money"
captivated people on both sides of the border, bringing
to power the drug cartels, criminal groups that with
violence and money have changed the landscape of entire
regions. ID# 5431
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May 23, 2002
The Chicago Union
Tribune Sheriff targets school drug cliques
Zaruba said
Wednesday his agency's Operation Omega, aimed at illegal
drug operations dealing with DuPage students, has
notched its 100th arrest."This effort was aimed at
schools and students," Zaruba said. "The
countywide undercover drug operation aims for major
suppliers, and local departments are concerned about
drugs involved in street crime. ID# 5425
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May 22, 2002
Yahoo News Mexican
court blocks extradition of alleged drug king to United
States In a ruling that could help the cases of
other criminals sought by the United States, a Mexican
federal court blocked the extradition of an alleged drug
trafficker wanted in California, a Mexico City newspaper
reported Wednesday. U.S. prosecutors describe Jesus
Amezcua as the "king" of methamphetamines, and
for years they have sought his extradition on charges of
money laundering and drug manufacturing and
distributing. ID# 5423
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May 20, 2002
Yahoo News Drug,
alcohol courts could be shut down Mecklenburg
County's drug treatment courts, the first of their kind
in North Carolina, are in jeopardy of being shut
down.The state's budget woes are threatening to do away
with Mecklenburg's drug treatment court, as well as
similar courts operating in nine judicial districts
across the state. "These drug treatment courts
work," Howerton said in an interview. "If you
stop it, it stops working. It's as simple as that."
ID# 5421
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May 16, 2002
The Washington Post
Washington, DC Groups weigh Drug-Law
Initiatives Two national groups that favor more
liberal drug policies are considering separate ballot
initiatives in the District to legalize medical use of
marijuana and offer treatment for those convicted of
drug possession. The medical marijuana initiative is a
repeat of 1998, when city voters backed a similar ballot
question by a wide margin but congressional Republicans
blocked implementation. Advocates said shifting
sentiments on Capitol Hill make the time right for
another try. The second initiative is new and would
offer substance-abuse treatment to nonviolent drug
offenders but not reduce criminal sanctions against
possessing illegal drugs.
ID# 5419
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May 16, 2002
The North County Times
Escondido, California New drug czar visits
U.S.-Mexico border "We intend to drive down
demand and we intend to go after those who are suppliers
with renewed vigor," John P. Walters said Wednesday
as he toured a residential drug treatment center.
Walters, director of national drug control policy,
visited the center as part of a two-day swing through
Southern California and Tijuana, his first since he was
appointed by President Bush and announced a goal of
reducing U.S. drug use by 10 percent in two years.
ID# 5420
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May 16, 2002
The Sacramento Bee
Sacramento, California Drug Court's grads proud
Donald Walker was arrested in 1999 for possessing
cocaine. What happened next soon changed his life. He
agreed to pay the $500 cost of entering the Sacramento
County Drug Court program. If he graduated from the
program, his drug offense would be expunged from his
record. He had been using drugs intermittently since
1988. "When I got here, I had no intention of
quitting (cocaine)," Walker said Wednesday. He was
relaxing at an annual get-together to recognize program
graduates at the Drug Court's treatment center on
Stockton Boulevard.
ID# 5417
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May 16, 2002
The San Diego Union
Tribune San Diego, California Mexico's
problems with meth increasing Once the scourge of
San Diego, crystal methamphetamine has spread south to
become the most widely consumed drug in Baja California.
Low prices and widespread availability have boosted the
popularity of the highly addictive synthetic drug,
Mexican drug experts said yesterday during a visit by
U.S. drug czar John P. Walters.
ID# 5416
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May 15, 2002
Reuters Health
Information Small ecstasy doses impair rats'
memory, function Rats who receive low doses of
the drug ecstasy show impairment in their ability to
navigate a maze, as well as memory problems, Italian
researchers report. "I would say to someone who
takes ecstasy that a very little dose of ecstasy is not
devoid of risk," study author Dr. Mariaelvina Sala
of the University of Milan told Reuters Health.
"The consequence is spatial disorientation which
could endanger your life, for example when you
drive," she added. ID# 5415
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May 14, 2002
MSNBC News Anti-drug
ad campaigns a flop "THIS
CAMPAIGN ISNT reducing drug use," said Mr.
Walters, who became head of the U.S. Office of National
Drug Control Policy earlier this year. Mr. Walters was
openly critical of the ads even before taking office,
and argued that the advertising effort was in dire need
of an overhaul. Now, he said, he is armed with survey
data that support his suspicions that the campaign hasnt
worked. ID# 5412
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May 12, 2002
Yahoo News Giving
addicts chance to change Some
judges and lawyers believe the drug court concept
violates legal rights and is labor intensive, lenient
and too costly, particularly at a time when state
government faces budget cuts and officials are
considering early release for thousands of prisoners.
Others say it makes the traditional court system more of
a treatment provider than it should be. ID# 5411
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May 13, 2002
The Sacramento Bee
Sacramento, California Bill targets drug use at rave
parties The
high-energy dance events, with laser light shows,
pulsating beats and tons of teens, have earned a
reputation as being havens for rampant drug use.
Supporters of legislation that would make promoters of
large rave parties put in writing a pledge not to ignore
drug use say raves have earned their dubious reputation
for good reason. ID# 5410
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May 13, 2002
Reuters Health
Information Heavy pot smoking linked to short-term
IQ dip Heavy
marijuana use can dull a young person's IQ, but the
effects may not be long-lasting, a small study suggests.
Canadian researchers found that young adults who
currently smoked five or more joints a week showed it on
IQ tests. However, the same effects were not seen in
those who used to smoke heavily but had quit, according
to findings published in a recent issue of the Canadian
Medical Association Journal. ID# 5409
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May 10, 2002
The Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles, California Retailers recruited
in Meth War The sales clerk, on the lookout for
customers buying ingredients that could be used to make
meth, urged a Wal-Mart security guard to follow
Calloway. "Without their help, you can't hardly do
anything about the meth problem, at the rate it's
increasing," said Trooper Mark Applin of the
Kentucky State Police. ID# 5408
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May 10, 2002
The Washington Post
Washington, DC U.S. Delays Some Aid for
Colombia The
United States has suspended a portion of its aid for
Colombia's war on drugs after a "significant amount
of money" earmarked for the counter-narcotics
police disappeared, a U.S. Embassy official said today.
Gen. Gustavo Socha, chief of the counter-narcotics
police force, confirmed that an investigation was
underway and said he had fired six officers. Socha said
he did not know how much money was missing but denied
news reports that it was $2 million. ID# 5407
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May 9, 2002
Yahoo news War- of
Words- on drug dealing Calling
it phase two of Operation Safe Streets, scores of
community activists yesterday announced the creation of
a grassroots organization to sway young men away from
the illegal drug trade in Philadelphia. Men United for a
Better Philadelphia will go to the city's street corners
"not [to] confront young men, but talk to young
men," said Bilal Qayyum, executive of the Father's
Day Rally Committee, at a news conference in front of
the Hank Gathers Memorial Recreation Center at 25th and
Diamond Streets in North Philadelphia. ID# 5406
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May 9, 2002
The New York Times
New York, New York Pataki Proposes Changes to
Rockefeller Drug Laws It
is the governor's third attempt in the last year and a
half to reach an agreement with the Assembly on the
issue. The penalties for drug crimes, enacted in the
1970's, rankle many black and Latino voters, groups the
governor has been trying to please as part of his
re-election campaign. Nine of 10 people serving time for
drug offenses are black or Hispanic. ID#
5405
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May 9, 2002
The Chicago Union
Tribune Chicago, Illinois Sheriff starts
parent-notification program llinois
law declares a person to be an adult upon reaching a
17th birthday, but to DuPage County Sheriff John Zaruba
a 17-year-old still is someone's son or daughter.
Starting this month, his Sheriff's Department will call
parents of such youths who are charged with a crime that
brings them to the County Jail or are in the company of
someone arrested on a drug or alcohol charge. ID#
5404
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May 8, 2002
Yahoo news Sadly,
Drug Laws Stay I'm
not usually big on anniversary stories, but this one is
just too awful, too expensive, too pointless to ignore.
Sadly, another year has passed without a repeal of the
mindlessly harsh and provably ineffective Rockefeller
drug laws. It's a shame ol' Nelson can't drop by and say
hello at noon today, when a big crowd of decent New
Yorkers will gather on Third Avenue outside the office
of his latest successor, George Pataki. ID# 5403
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May 8, 2002
The Miami Herald
Miami, Florida Students say drugs easy but used less
Miami-Dade County middle
and high school students say most drugs, in particular
prescribed pills and LSD, were easier to find in 2001
than in years past, but they also report using fewer
drugs in a survey to be released today by The Miami
Coalition, an antidrug umbrella group. The survey of
2,478 public and parochial students in grades 7 to 12 --
taken in May 2001 -- showed the lowest use of alcohol,
cigarettes and marijuana since the survey started in
1995. ID# 5402
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May 8, 2002
The Chicago Tribune
Chicago, Illinois Lisle event offers anti-drug
advice
More than
two dozen high school students, their parents and many
community leaders met late last month in the village's
Meadows Center to promote drug-free lifestyles.
Workshops, small group discussions and parent sessions
kept everyone busy for nearly 10 hours. "The idea
of getting kids to realize they have control over their
decision-making and their choices is a big aspect of
[Operation Snowball], that those decisions don't have to
be driven by other kids, you can stand on your own and
be an individual," he said. ID# 5401
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Editorial
May 8, 2002
The North County Times San
Diego, California Drug use can be overcome
Substance abuse affects all American children. Drug and
alcohol use hurts academic performance and leads to
increased rates of truancy, dropouts, crime and
violence. San Diego County is no exception. But we are
promoting solutions that address these problems even
though we understand the primary mission of schools is
to educate our children. We can do both.
ID# 5400
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May 8, 2002
The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California LAPD
Agrees to Shrink DARE Programs Commission
President Rick Caruso had said last week he was prepared
to essentially scrap DARE to free up more officers to
combat gangs and narcotics-related crime. But on
Tuesday, a last-ditch effort by police officials to save
the high-profile DARE program proved successful. The
commission agreed to allow DARE to keep 44
officers--enough to continue its elementary school
programs. Junior high and high school programs will be
cut, except at a few magnet schools.
ID# 5399
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May 6, 2002
Yahoo news Ecstasy use on the rise
Civil liberties activists
on Monday called on U.S. lawmakers to repeal a law that
bans convicted drug offenders from receiving federal
student aid. In a letter to the House of Representatives
Education Committee, a coalition of 41 groups including
the American Civil Liberties Union (news - web sites)
said the 4-year-old measure hurts young offenders as
well as society by blocking access to education, a
proven rehabilitation tool. ID# 5398
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May 2, 2002
The Daily Cardinal
Madison, Wisconsin Ecstasy use on the rise
Despite a recent major bust
of an alleged Ecstasy trafficking ring that involved
three UW-Madison students and several arrests made at an
organized rave at the Alliant Energy Center last
weekend, the popularity of Ecstasy may still be on the
rise, according to local authorities. "We've
noticed an increase, both in the amount that is
available on the streets and what has been taken by the
police in the past years," said Madison Police Lt.
Brian Ackeret, director of the Dane County Narcotics and
Gang Task Force. "It's an increase that is
happening both in Dane County and nationally, and
because of that we are making it a top priority, and
these recent arrests are examples of that." ID#
5392
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May 1, 2002
The Chicago Tribune
Chicago, Illinois Car Seizure law passes
House The
Illinois House passed legislation Tuesday allowing
police to seize vehicles from people driving with a
license that was suspended or revoked on drug or alcohol
charges. "We will have, if not the toughest law,
one of the toughest laws in the country," said Sen.
Kathleen Parker (R-Northbrook), the bill's Senate
sponsor and chair of the Senate's Transportation
Committee. ID# 5389
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April 29, 2002
Yahoo News Supreme
Court Rejects Cincinnati's Drug Ban AppealThe
U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites) dealt a setback on
Monday to Cincinnati's attempt to create
"drug-exclusions zones" that ban anyone
arrested or convicted of certain drug offenses from a
high-crime neighborhood. The justices let stand an Ohio
Supreme Court ruling that declared the 1996 law violated
an individual's constitutional right to travel. ID#
5387
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April 28, 2002
The Chicago Tribune
Chicago, Illinois Tijuana drug sting taints
cops--and Fox The
police chief of this notorious border town, Carlos Otal
Namur, swears that he is just a simple street cop, and
an honest one at that. The work of his 1,300 officers is
keeping order outside the strip joints along Avenida
Revolucion, making sure drunken American tourists don't
get into fights, solving car thefts, responding to the
occasional gunfight. Sometimes they bust drug dealers on
the street, he said, but they never investigate or have
dealings with the major drug cartels. ID#
5386
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April 27, 2002
The Los Angeles Times
Los Aneles, California State Bill Targets Slum Lords
Community leaders and
Devonshire Division police officers have tried for years
to control a problematic apartment complex in a
crime-ridden North Hills neighborhood. They closed off
access from busy Nordhoff Street, held block parties to
promote peace and increased police patrols to deter
criminal activity. On Friday, lawmakers announced a new
approach to dealing with troubled buildings legislation
that would force apartment owners to live in their
complexes to ensure that safety measures are
implemented. ID# 5388
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April 25, 2002
Yahoo News Anti-drug
law backfires When
Congress passed a law four years ago taking federal
financial aid away from college students who had been
convicted of drug crimes, it was hailed as a miracle
cure. ''The best thing we can do for education is to get
somebody clean and then get them back into school,''
said Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., the law's chief sponsor.
Not a bad goal. But the supposed benefits haven't
materialized. ID# 5384
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April 25, 2002
The North County Times San Diego, California
Investigation leads to alleged drug ring An
investigation into an Ecstasy laboratory in Escondido
led to the discovery of a cocaine and marijuana ring
operating out of Tijuana, a U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration spokesman said Wednesday. Special Agent
Donald Thornhill Jr. said eight people were arrested
this week in the Tijuana case. ID# 5383
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April 25, 2002
The Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles, California Drug Courts, for Hard Cases
Drug
courts--treatment programs pioneered in California eight
years ago and typically lasting about a year--compel
district attorneys, cops and public defenders to set
aside their adversarial roles and cooperate to keep
substance abusers clean. The courts are one of the few
criminal justice reforms that both conservative and
liberal criminal justice scholars strongly support. And
they save money. ID# 5382
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April 24, 2002
The San Diego Union
Tribune San Diego, California Questions surround
college student's death No
one knows for sure what killed Brian Gillis. The
19-year-old college freshman, a basketball and track
athlete when he was at Poway High School, was found dead
in his bed April 4, a few days after returning to
California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo
from home, where he'd spent spring break. Now his family
and friends want answers. Authorities describe Gillis'
death, which is under investigation, as suspicious.
"I wouldn't want to get into what happened,"
said San Luis Obispo police Lt. Gary Orback.
"There's a lot of rumors and speculation."
ID# 5381
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April 23, 2002
Yahoo News Gov't
Implements Laundering Law Banks,
credit card firms and many other financial companies
will have to adopt comprehensive programs to combat
money laundering as part of the Bush administration's
fight against drug dealers and terrorists. The
requirement announced Tuesday by the Treasury Department
(news - web sites) implements part of a law enacted last
year that aims to thwart terrorism and crack down on
money laundering. The rules cover not only banks and
credit card companies, but also securities firms, mutual
funds, wire-transfer businesses, check cashers and
commodities dealers. ID# 5380
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April 24, 2002
Yahoo News Fed
up with its seedy image, Tijuana sets out to gain some
respect In
many ways, Tijuana is a public relations nightmare Its
name is associated with Mexico's deadliest drug cartel,
and its more popular tourist attractions are its cheap
booze and prostitutes. Then there's police corruption.
And an unflattering pop song. Not to mention the
unfortunate matter of Tijuana's diabolical area code.
Now Tijuana is taking things into its own hands. It has
formed a "Comite de Imagen" ID# 5379
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April 23, 2002
The Chicago Tribune
Chicago, Illinois Aurora joins federal anti-drug
program Aurora
will join seven other Illinois municipalities in the
federal Weed and Seed program aimed at revitalizing
high-crime neighborhoods, officials announced last week.
The U.S. Department of Justice has designated Aurora's
near east side and adjacent parts of unincorporated
Aurora Township as a Weed and Seed site. That could
bring the area up to $925,000 in federal grants over the
next five years, said Kane County Assistant State's
Atty. ID# 5376
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April 22, 2002
The Review Newark,
Delaware Ecstasy found as No. 1 drug used in date
rapes Ecstasy
doesn't decrease inhibition, it eliminates
inhibition," rape counselor Ellen Bloom said in a
speech titled "Date Rape and Designer Drugs,"
delivered Monday in the Trabant University Center
Multipurpose Room. While not as dangerous as other date
rape drugs, it is the number one drug abused on campus
right now, she said, as the screen behind her flashed
with hundreds of different colors and shapes of ecstasy
tablets. ID# 5375
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April 18, 2002
The San Diego Channel San Diego, California
Drug Airstrips discovered near Tijuana
Mexican Federal Agent Raul
Tovar told 10News that agents had been doing flyovers of
the Tijuana region recently, taking pictures of the vast
landscape that runs south and east of the city.
Suspicious areas were inspected by foot, where agents
found fresh plane tire tracks on the dirt, 10News
reported. Authorities also found evidence that highway
road reflectors were being used to light the runways at
night. ID# 5374
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April 22, 2002
The San Diego Union
Tribune San Diego, California Mexico's
Fox promises governors assistance in drug, water battles
President Vicente Fox met yesterday with several
governors from northern Mexico, promising to help them
battle drug smuggling and support them in their fight
with the United States over water. "I'm very proud
to see Mexican culture flourish in the northern part of
the country and in front of the United States," Fox
said. "I believe that it is necessary that we
continue working to construct step by step a Mexico that
we all want." ID# 5372
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April 22, 2002
The San Diego Union
Tribune San Diego, California Personal drug wars
Growing numbers of
Mexican-Americans are checking into Tijuana drug
rehabilitation centers rather than face waiting lists
and higher treatment costs in the United States. The
Mexican centers have little oversight, and many use
tough, controversial treatments. But desperate families
and addicts say the Spartan facilities and strict rules
are a small price to pay for the potential rewards.
"Over there (in the United States), you have to
want to stay clean, but here you are forced to,"
said Maria Esther Covarrubias, 28, of Carlsbad, who was
completing a six-month stay at a Tijuana drug center
program. Two of her friends, also from the United
States, are in nearby rehab centers. ID# 5371
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April 18, 2002
The Daily Aztec San Diego, California
Studying Stoners A
study released by the Journal of the American Medical
Association found that long-term cannabis use impairs
memory and attention beyond the period of intoxication
and worsens these with regular use. The study, released
in early March, found that academic achievements,
occupational proficiency, relationships and daily
functioning were impaired for habitual users. "By
far, the drug of choice on this, and probably all
campuses, continues to be alcohol," said James
Lange, coordinator of Alcohol and Other Drug Initiatives
at San Diego State. "So, most of our efforts have
been targeting alcohol abuse. However, our surveys show
that marijuana is the next most commonly used drug on
this campus." ID# 5367
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April 17, 2002
Yahoo News Drug
Tunnel Found Under U.S. Customs Lot
Puzzled
federal agents tried Tuesday to discover who dug an
85-foot- (26-meter) long tunnel that started in Mexico,
ran directly underneath a U.S. Customs Service parking
lot in Southern Arizona, and was believed used at least
once to smuggle drugs into the United States.This is the
ninth drug tunnel found in Nogales since 1995, including
two that spanned the U.S.-Mexico border. In December,
authorities discovered a more elaborate tunnel that
opened into a vacant house in Nogales and had the
makings of a rail system to carry drugs through it. It
was linked to a several area drug seizures. ID#
5365
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April 17, 2002
The San
Diego Union Tribune San Diego, California
Tackling a troublesome tunnel
Stockton residents use the
tunnel that bisects their neighborhood under the trolley
tracks at K and 33rd streets to get to school, the
market, the city bus stops and to visit friends on the
other side. But the short, hidden walkway between a
vacant city-owned lot and homes also allows for illegal
drug activity, public urination and graffiti. Issues of
safety and community pride have prompted City Councilman
Ralph Inzunza, Gabriela Brannan, a deputy city attorney
with the Neighborhood Prosecution Unit, and the San
Diego Police Department to call residents together this
Saturday morning for a meeting to decide the tunnel's
fate. ID# 5364
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April 16, 2002
The San
Diego Union Tribune San Diego, California
Fox, in Tijuana, lauds crackdown
on officers
TIJUANA
Mexican President Vicente Fox yesterday credited Baja
California Gov. Eugenio Elorduy for supporting a federal
operation that led to last week's detention of 42 Baja
California law enforcement agents suspected of working
for the Arellano Fιlix drug cartel. "The fight
against drug trafficking and organized crime is going to
continue," Fox said at the end of his Tijuana
visit. "We won't stop until we are sure of wrecking
and dismantling any sort of complicity with organized
crime." ID# 5361
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EditorialApril
14, 2002 The
Washington Post Washington, DCYes
to a Law That Gets Rid of Dangerous Tenants
As the property manager of
500 federally subsidized apartments in Southeast
Washington for 14 years, I agree with the recent Supreme
Court ruling that residents of public and assisted
housing can face eviction if a family member or guest
conducts illegal drug activity within the residence or
if a household member is arrested on drug charges away
from the housing unit [news story, March 27]. Some
residents of assisted housing and their advocates
maintain that this ruling is unfair because residents
aren't always aware of drug activity. Elderly residents,
for example, can be subject to eviction if their
visiting grandchildren are arrested for smoking
marijuana on the playground of the housing complex, and
whole families can face eviction if one member is
arrested on drug charges miles away from the family's
residence. ID# 5354
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April 14, 2002
The Chicago Tribune
Chicago, Illinois Yale OKs
policy on aid lost to drug law
Yale has approved a new
policy to reimburse students who have lost their federal
financial aid because of convictions for drug
possession. Because no Yale student has lost eligibility
for federal aid under the four-year-old drug-free
provision of the Higher Education Act, the new policy is
largely a public statement by Yale, university spokesman
Thomas Conroy said. ID# 5353
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April 15, 2002
The New York Times Colombia's
Chief Wants More US Help
Colombia's coca production
climbs and efforts to cultivate substitute crops fail.
New planes for drug spraying are not delivered. European
contributions have been much less than expected. The
South American country's commitment to human rights is
in question. Members of Congress are looking at what has
been done with the $1.7 billion in aid they've given to
Colombia over the last two years. They don't like what
they see. ID# 5351
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April 12, 2002
The Chicago Tribune
Drug sting in Mexico targets cops
MEXICO CITY -- Summoned to
a police academy for an evaluation of their public
service, Tijuana police commander Carlos Otal and 200
fellow officers had no idea their grades had already
been decided by an army anti-corruption unit sent by
President Vicente Fox.In an unprecedented raid against
Mexican police accused of protecting drug traffickers,
the heavily armed soldiers stormed the assembly of local
police Wednesday near Tijuana, the corrupt and dangerous
border town across the border from San Diego. ID#
5344
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April 12, 2002
ABC News Drug Deal
Under federal law, college
students with drug convictions are denied financial aid
bankrolled by taxpayers. But Yale University students
who run on the wrong side of the drug laws will now get
a helping hand. Yale is the fourth and most prestigious
college so far to announce it will provide its own
assistance for students who lose federal financial aid
because of drug-related offenses. Hampshire College,
Swarthmore College and Western Washington University
have already adopted similar guidelines. ID# 5346
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April 15, 2002
The San Diego Channel San Diego, California
Tijuana Crackdowns Not Yet Felt At Border
SAN DIEGO -- The police
corruption scandal in Tijuana, Mexico, continues to
unfold, 10News reported. Federal prosecutors this week
began rounding up police officers with suspected ties to
drug smugglers. But the waves of change in Tijuana don't
appear to be having an effect on drug seizures at the
border. ID# 5356
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April 14, 2002
Yahoo News Mexico
Fights Tijuana Cop Corruption TIJUANA,
Mexico (AP) - Over the years, Tijuana police have
cruised the streets with drugs lords in Chevy Suburbans
during the day, then put on their badges to fight crime
in the violent border city at night. They have gunned
down fellow officers while protecting smugglers and made
regular stops at scores of crack houses dotting
Tijuana's dust-blown hills, picking up bribes in
exchange for leaving dealers alone. ID# 5355
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April 14, 2002
The Chicago Tribune
Chicago, Illinois Crackdown
doesn't end fears in TijuanaTIJUANA,
Mexico -- One sign of just how closely linked this
border city is with the drug trade can be found in the
introduction that Tijuana car wash owner Manuel
Rodriguez offers. "I wash only cars, not
money," he said, adding slowly with emphasis,
"I do not launder money." To Rodriguez, the
arrest of dozens of high-ranking state and city police
officials last week for possible ties to drug
traffickers seemed an acknowledgement of the obvious. In
Tijuana, after all, opposing police squads have been
known to engage in shootouts on behalf of rival drug
lords.
ID# 5352
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April 12, 2002
The San Diego Union
Tribune San Diego, California House panel
wants need for freeway checkpoints studied
A House panel has approved
legislation that would order the attorney general to
study the possibility of closing the immigration
checkpoints on interstates 15 and 5 in San Diego County.
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, sponsor of the measure, said
the checkpoints should be closed and their hundreds of
law-enforcement personnel transferred. Issa said he
questions whether the enforcement presence is worth the
traffic headaches on I-5 at San Onofre and I-15 near
Temecula on the San Diego County line. ID# 5348
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April 12, 2002
The Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles, California Police Held in Sting
Suspected of Ties to Tijuana Drug Cartel The
41 Baja California policemen, including the Tijuana
police chief, who were arrested in an elaborate sting
operation and flown to the capital are all suspected of
involvement in the Arellano Felix drug cartel, Mexican
authorities said Thursday. The suspects were lured to
the Tecate police academy Wednesday under the pretense
of a firearms check. After all had turned over their
weapons, Mexican army units and federal officers swooped
in and made the arrests from about 200 officers present.
There was no resistance. Among those arrested was
Tijuana Police Chief Carlos Otal Namur and one of his
deputies, Jesus Jacobo Aguirre. ID# 5347
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April 11, 2002
USA Today Smugglers
refine tricks to pass security Smugglers
are finding new ways to get cocaine, heroin and Ecstasy
into the United States, even as increased security at
U.S. borders and airports is leading to record drug
busts, authorities say. In recent months, U.S. officials
have been surprised by the ingenuity of South American,
Mexican and European drug-smuggling rings, whose
operations virtually shut down just after the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks because of dramatically increased
security at U.S. borders. When the rings tried to
re-establish smuggling routes later in the fall, border
agents began seizing unprecedented amounts of drugs.
ID# 5343
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April 11, 2002
The San Diego Union
Tribune San Diego, California South Bay court is
at front line of drug war There
are lieutenants, corporals, lowly soldiers.And then
there are the small fries, the mules. Like Jose Tomas
Aquero Medrano, Miguel Bermudes, Francisco Ibarra and
Cirilio Lopez Morales, who were brought before Cannon
last month. Since 1995, under an agreement with federal
prosecutors, thousands of small-time smugglers who have
been caught by customs agents at the international
border in San Ysidro have been handed over to local
prosecutors, who brought charges in state court. ID#
5342
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April 11, 2002
The San Diego Union
Tribune San Diego, California Tijuana's
chief, dozens of Baja police detained In
what some are describing as the biggest police shake-up
in Baja California history, Tijuana Police Chief Carlos
Otal Namur and about four dozen other police officers
from across the state were taken into custody by federal
agents yesterday. The operation apparently was aimed at
rooting out deeply entrenched police corruption and
possible ties to drug cartels. It involved a number of
high-ranking police officers and took place at the state
police academy outside Tecate. ID# 5341
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April 11, 2002
The Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles, California Tijuana Chief, 40 Police
Officers Held The
Tijuana police chief and about 40 other Baja California
state and local police officers were arrested by Mexican
army units and special federal police in a surprise
operation at a Tecate police academy Wednesday as part
of the Mexican government's crackdown on drug-related
corruption. Details of the morning raid remained
sketchy, but Baja California Gov. Eugenio Elorduy
Walther confirmed the operation at a news conference.
The governor's office and the Tijuana mayor's office
said Tijuana Police Chief Carlos Otal Namur was among
those arrested. ID# 5340
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April 10, 2002
The Chicago Tribune
Chicago, Illinois District 303 may use search
dogs School
officials soon will consider whether to use
drug-sniffing dogs for random contraband searches. The
District 303 Board of Education Monday directed Supt.
Fran Kostel to draft a policy for them to discuss. If
implemented, the searches would examine lockers and
student vehicles in school parking lots. Students,
including their clothing and backpacks, would not be
searched under the proposal. As the civil war in
Colombia continues, U.S. officials increasingly doubt
whether the U.S. program that pays farmers to replace
coca farming with legal crops will have any lasting
success in combatting drugs, according to a report in
Sunday's Washington Post ID# 5338
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April 7, 2002
Yahoo News US
Doubt Plan to Replace Coca Crop In Columbia
As the civil war in
Colombia continues, U.S. officials increasingly doubt
whether the U.S. program that pays farmers to replace
coca farming with legal crops will have any lasting
success in combatting drugs, according to a report in
Sunday's Washington Post ID# 5333
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EditorialApril 3, 2002
The New York Times
New York, New York A decline in Drug Use
"Justices Rule
Drug-Eviction Law Is Fair" (news article, March 27)
quotes a lawyer suggesting that this country has made no
progress in reducing illegal drug use over the last 20
years. I beg to differ. Fifteen years ago, the country's
biggest drug problem was cocaine. ID# 5315
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March 28, 2002
The Daily Aztec
San Diego, California College life may harm
learning potential
"Alcohol, marijuana,
caffeine, diet, sleep deprivation, stress &emdash;
all of those things are able to impair learning,"
said Larry Squire, psychology professor-in-residence at
the University of California San Diego. Memory is
basically the end product of cognition. So anything
about cognition that is weak &emdash; inattention,
poor motivation, not thinking clearly &emdash; any
of that will result in a less-perfect memory of what one
is processing." ID# 5316
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April 3, 2002
The Pioneer Press St.
Paul, Minnesota 4,107 marijuana plants seized
Two dump trucks and 13
hours after drug task-force agents shattered the door to
an art supply warehouse in Burnsville and burst into the
darkness, they finished carting away the 4,107 marijuana
plants found inside. When they raided Becker Art Supply
what the man who heads the Dakota County Drug Task
Force calls a front for growing marijuana agents
expected to find a few marijuana plants inside. But they
didn't count on the elaborate irrigation and lighting
system, the sophistication of it all and the large
number of plants. ID# 5314
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April 3, 2002
The Philadelphia
Enquirer Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Schools await
ruling on wider drug tests
Adam Friend has a good
excuse for not taking drugs As an athlete, he is subject
to random drug tests at his school. If a urine test came
back positive, he'd be kicked off the baseball team.
"I think it's a great thing for our school. People
in the community know that kids that are athletes aren't
on drugs," said Friend, 18, a senior at Pottstown
High School in Montgomery County who has been tested for
drugs twice. What Friend sees as a positive for his
school, parent Mark Zdepski of Stockton, N.J., considers
"coercion." ID# 5313
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Editorial
April 3, 2002
The Ventura County Star
Ventura, California Taking high school drug tests
too far
BAD IDEA Case before
Supreme Court would expand such scrutiny to all
after-school activities. Those who advocate expan | | |
