From: Paul Stanford <[t--r--o] at [igc.apc.org]> Newsgroups: talk.politics.drugs Date: 16 Apr 94 11:53 PDT Subject: Hempnews News #19 From: Paul Stanford The following wire stories are provided as a public service by Tree Free EcoPaper, makers of 50% hemp (cannabis) and 50% cereal straw paper. Tree Free EcoPaper is the world's only supplier of wholesale quantities of hemp paper. We offer an electronic catalog which you can recieve by dropping us an e-mail request. We'll send you our free samples and hemp paper catalog if you give us a postal address. You can call us toll-free at 1-800-775-0225 from the U.S. and Canada. Our phone number for calls outside the U.S. is 503-295-6705. Our headquarters is in Portland, Oregon and our paper is produced in Asia. Without further ado, please enjoy the news: APn 02/23 0917 BRF--Strip Searches Copyright, 1994. The Associated Press. All rights reserved. PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Six boys suing their junior high school over a strip-search for drugs have settled out of court. Terms of the settlement with the New Castle School District were not disclosed. It was reached Tuesday at the start of the fifth day of trial in U.S. District Court. "I didn't feel right, how they made you show most of your private parts," said Devon King. He was one of the students who said they were forced to strip to be searched on Dec. 18, 1992, at Ben Franklin Junior High School. The principal and district assistant superintendent conducted the searches after a student reported seeing one boy smoke crack cocaine and several others smoke marijuana. No drugs were found. School attorney Dominick Motto said the district put its strip-search policy in writing in August and will continue to search students believed to possess drugs or a weapon. "The law is perfectly clear that a strip search may be conducted if there is reasonable suspicion," he said. UPwe 02/22 1751 San Diego favors lifting ban on medical marijuana use SAN DIEGO (UPI) -- The San Diego City Council voted Tuesday to urge President Clinton to lift a federal ban on using marijuana to treat certain illnesses. By a unanimous vote, eight City Council members decided to urge Clinton and Congress to end federal prohibitions against the "legitimate medical use" of marijuana for patients who suffer from AIDS, cancer or glaucoma. The measure was authored by Councilwoman Christine Kehoe in response to the sentencing last month of Sam Skipper, 39, to 16 months in state prison for violating probation conditions on a marijuana cultivation conviction. Skipper was sentenced after refusing to stop using marijuana to combat symptoms of AIDS. The measure passed without comment from any speakers or council members. Councilwoman Judy McCarty was absent due to illness. Sufferers of glaucoma and cancer did testify in favor of the resolution during a Feb. 9 hearing of the council's Public Services and Safety Committee, which passed it on a 5-0 vote. The resolution calls for "a rational system of prescriptive medical access to marijuana" administered by "well-trained medical professionals rather than remote federal bureaucrats." Copies of the resolution are also to be given to Vice President Al Gore, Attorney General Janet Reno, Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala and the San Diego congressional delegation. APn 02/18 1637 Medical Marijuana Copyright, 1994. The Associated Press. All rights reserved. By LAURIE ASSEO Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) -- Backers of medical use of marijuana lost a court bid Friday to force the government to let people use the drug to ease some ill effects of cancer, AIDS and other diseases. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the Bush administration's 1992 decision barring doctors from prescribing marijuana. That decision was supported by substantial evidence, the court said, noting many medical experts testified "that marijuana's medicinal value has never been proven in sound scientific studies." The Clinton administration has said it is reconsidering the ban, and Arnold Trebach of the private Drug Policy Foundation urged the government to reverse the policy. "The ball is in Mr. Clinton's court," Trebach said. "He can look up and say, `Enough of this foolishness.' He can do something compassionate." Trebach said an appeal to the Supreme Court would be considered. Supporters of medical use of marijuana say there is strong evidence that it eases the nausea and loss of appetite caused by cancer and AIDS treatments, eases muscle spasms for people with spinal cord injuries or multiple sclerosis and alleviates the eye pressure that blinds glaucoma sufferers. Some people were allowed to get permission from the Food and Drug Administration to use marijuana for such purposes starting in 1976. A handful of those people still are allowed to use marijuana, but new requests have not been approved. The appeals court said the Bush administration showed a "reasonable preference for rigorous scientific proof over anecdotal evidence, even when reported by respected physicians." The court also rejected claims that Bush administration officials had a long history of prejudice against medical use of marijuana. "We are not impressed," Judge James L. Buckley wrote for the court. His opinion was joined by Chief Judge Abner Mikva and Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg. In refusing to allow medical use of marijuana in March 1992, Robert Bonner, then head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, likened the drug's advocates to "snake-oil salesmen." Bonner said marijuana was not a safe or effective drug for any illness. Trebach said a DEA administrative law judge who recommended approval of medicinal marijuana in 1988 found substantial evidence of marijuana's usefulness in easing the effects of some illnesses. "There are thousands of doctors out there who want to prescribe it. There are tens of thousands of people who want to use it. Big Brother in Washington is saying no," Trebach said. Another three-judge appellate panel ordered the government in 1991 to restudy its earlier decision not to allow medical use of marijuana. The DEA's 1992 policy resulted, and Friday's ruling affirmed that decision. THE BEAT GOES ON: Beat poet Allen Ginsberg is enjoying a new burst of popularity at age 67, long after his days of smoking marijuana and banging out rhymeless lines with Jack Kerouac. Rhino Records in June will release a box set of Ginsberg's poems and songs and in May, Harper- Collins will publish "Cosmopolitan Greetings: 1985-1992," a new book of his poems and later this year excerpts from his journals in the late 1950s. Asked by the Los Angeles Times what was the most widely held misconception about the Beat Generation, Ginsberg replied, "That we weren't literate. We were more educated than most of the academic critics who dismissed our interest in Eastern thought as irrationality simply because it was non-linear. It required cultivation and a good deal more discipline than Western logical simplifications. Still they dismissed us an unruly beatniks with wiggy hair, bongo drums and cockroaches on the floor." UPce 02/16 1121 Bloomington sees record pot bust, makes marijuana a... Bloomington sees record pot bust, makes marijuana a ticketable offense BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (UPI) -- Bloomington city officials recently lessened the criminal penalties for possession of marijuana, but that will not do two Texas men any good. A new city ordinance approved Monday says people caught by police with less than 2.5 grams of marijuana will only receive a ticket and $250 fine. The two men, Billy Wayne Sessions and Lonnie Session, both of Childress, Texas, were caught Tuesday just north of Bloomington driving a truck containing 2,740 pounds of pot valued at $5.48 million, buried underneath 33,000 pounds of cabbage. Illinois State Police, who made the arrest, say the more than a ton of marijuana is the largest cache uncovered on an Illinois highway, and the 14th largest highway pot bust nationwide. State police stopped the truck Tuesday morning because it was traveling 68 mph in a 55 mph zone. A drug-sniffing dog detected the scent of marijuana, then Trooper Russell Sauve called for assistance. State police spent several hours unloading packages of pot, some of which were labeled as "dog food" and "poultry feed," from the truck. The amount of marijuana is so great, there was not even room to store it at police headquarters in Bloomington. Much of the pot was shipped to an undisclosed location in Springfield. Both men were held at McLean County Jail, charged with possession of marijuana, possession with intent to deliver and marijuana trafficking. If convicted on all charges, they could face up to 30 years in an Illinois prison. Both men will appear Wednesday in McLean County Circuit Court. UPce 02/25 1413 Eight indicted on drug charges EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (UPI) -- A federal grand jury in East St. Louis has indicted five people from Arizona and three from Ohio on marijuana trafficking charges stemming from traffic stops by Collinsville police on Interstates 55-70. The indictments announced Thursday by U.S. Attorney W. Charles Grace of Southern Illinois named five people from Tucson, Ariz. They are Ernesto Sanchez, 26, Larry Smith, 43, James Shepherd, 24, Margaret Villegas, 20, and Kristina Coleman, 21. Also named were Gustavo Briseno, 21, Barbara Steward, 31, and Benjamin Shepherd II, 26, all of Columbus, Ohio. The charges, which stemmed from three separate drug busts, include conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana, as well as using and carrying a firearm in relation to a drug-trafficking crime. Penalties could range up to five years inprison and a $250,000 fine, plus two years on supervised release. James Shepherd and Benjamin Shepherd also were charged with possession of a firearm by a felon. They face penalties of up to 10 years in prison or a $250,000 fine. Prosecutors did not disclose whether the Shepherds are related. All of the charges stem from drug seizures made by Collinsville police during traffic stops on I-55-70, 10 miles east of St. Louis. The highway is considered a major route for drug traffickers heading north to Chicago and Detroit or east to the East Coast. UPce 02/23 1345 Grandparents caught with 100 pounds of pot COLLINSVILLE, Ill. (UPI) -- The Madison County state's attorney's office was expected to file drug trafficking charges against two Michigan grandparents whose car was found containing 100 pounds of marijuana during a traffic stop. Police said Tuesday that the traffic stop on Interstate 55-70 in Collinsville led to the arrests of six more people in Michigan after the couple cooperated with authorities and completed their delivery. The 61-year-old man and his 59-year-old wife, both of Lansing, Mich., were stopped Feb. 15 while driving eastbound on I-55-70 in Collinsville, about 10 miles east of St. Louis. The man was pulled over for having an obstructed rearview mirror. Officers said they detected an odor of marijuana and obtained the man's permission to search the car. They said they found two duffel bags in the trunk that were stuffed with a total of 100 pounds of weed. The drugs had an estimated street value of $200,000. Police said the couple hadn't used any air fresheners or deodorants to disguise the odor of the marijuana, as most smugglers do. They said the man told them he couldn't smell anything. The couple cooperated with investigators and continued to Michigan, where the drug delivery was completed, authorities said. Michigan State Police arrested six more people and also seized $25,000 in cash and two cars. The Madison County state's attorney's office is expected to issue drug trafficking charges against the Michigan couple within the next 30 days, police said. RTw 02/28 2133 CHIROPRACTOR WHO GREW POT FOR PATIENT CONVICTED By Martin Wolk SEATTLE, Feb 28 (Reuter) - A chiropractor was convicted Monday of growing marijuana despite her claim that the plants were raised only as medicine for a patient who suffered from glaucoma. After a three-day trial, a jury in Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett rejected the "medical necessity" defence of Joanne Pittman of Index, Washington. The case was the first in the country in which a medical practitioner attempted to use the defence, which in the past has been used successfully by patients charged with marijuana possession in several states including Washington. Narcotics detectives testified during the trial that they found 12 marijuana plants hidden in a washing machine in November 1992 when they raided Pittman's home about 50 miles (80 kms) northeast of Seattle. Detectives, who said the marijuana was of low quality, also found pipes and other smoking paraphernalia in the home. Pittman, 40, said she grew the marijuana solely for the use of a chiropractic patient who testified that he suffered from glaucoma and could not get relief from conventional therapies. Pittman, who has cervical cancer, said that she smoked marijuana herself to stimulate her appetite, but that she obtained it from another source. The trial also featured expert testimony from Robert Randall, a glaucoma patient who is one of only eight people in the United States who receive marijuana legally from the federal government for medical use. Randall is president of the Washington-based Alliance for Cannabis Therapeutics, which lobbbies for the legalisation of marijuana as a prescription drug. Deputy prosecuting attorney Scott Olson said he was sympathetic with the plight of sick people who claim marijuana can help them, but was duty-bound to enforce the law. "It's hard to say what my position would be if I was going blind and pot was the only thing that could save my sight," Olson said by telephone. "To me if marijuana is helpful, if it's medicine, then the legislature should get off its rear end" and change the law, he said. He noted that under Washington state law marijuana is considered a Schedule 1 narcotic, meaning it has no medicinal value. Sentencing in the case was set for March 24. Under sentencing guidelines Pittman, with no prior convictions, could get one to three months in jail on the single felony count, Olson said. REUTER RTw 02/28 1736 WAR ON DRUGS A FAILURE, SAYS COLOMBIAN LAW OFFICIAL (Eds: updates with comments from Colombia, previous Vienna) By Michael Stott BOGOTA, Feb 28 (Reuter) - The worldwide war on drugs has failed and is unlikely to succeed until rich countries consider legalising narcotics to destroy traffickers' power, Colombia's Prosecutor-General Gustavo De Greiff said Monday. De Greiff, speaking at a news conference organised by the United Nations to present its annual narcotics report, said moves by some European and U.S. cities to decriminalize drug consumption while still purshing production and trafficking actually helps the drug traders. That strategy gives traffickers "the best of both worlds -- a useless fight against production and trafficking and a secure market for consumption." He did not mention specific cities. "I consider the fight against drugs a failure," De Greiff said. "More emphasis has been put on fighting production and trafficking and very little on consumption ... I do not favour legalisation for the sake of legalisation, but I have insinuated that it is one of the best ways to close the market to drugs traffickers and stop them making their obscene profits." De Greiff spoke as the U.N. International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) released its annual report and strongly reiterated its opposition to any form of drug legalisation. "We're against any legalisation of drugs," Gottfried Machata of the INCB told a news conference at the agency's Vienna headquarters. The board's report showed that despite the police shooting of Medellin cartel boss Pablo Escobar last December, cocaine manufacture and trafficking from Colombia, the world's top producer, were still expanding. Rene Saa-Vidal, head of the INCB in Colombia, said production of all drugs there rose over the past year. "Colombia is now disputing (with Bolivia) the position as the second biggest producer of coca leaf ... production has gone up from 18,000 hectares (44,477 acres) to around 50,000 (123,548 acres)," he said. "Colombia has also become one of the big heroin producers ... and the most recent figures show a rise in the output of marijuana." De Greiff seized on the figures to argue that legalisation was the only way to destroy the drug trade. Referring to the killing of Escobar, the earlier shooting of one of his top lieutenants, Gonzalo Rodriguez Gacha, and the capture and extradition to the U.S. of drug kingpin Carlos Lehder, he said: "What has happened to the drug market? Nothing! .... There is still demand, drugs are still available and the number of addicts has not fallen." De Greiff quoted Drug Enforcement Administration officers in California as saying that justice authorities throughout the world only managed to seize $800 million of an estimated $40 to $60 billion a year in drug profits. "Unfortunately if you look at the results of the fight, it is pretty discouraging," he added. The United Nations report said Colombia's drug cartels, which control more than 70 percent of the world cocaine trade, were spreading activity to other Latin American countries. "Venezuela ... has become an important transit country; from there the traffickers send tons of cocaine by boat to Europe and in airplanes and small shipments to the United States," the report said. "Argentina, Brazil and Chile are also becoming ever more important transit countries for shipments of illicit drugs destined not only for North America and Europe but also Asia and Africa." The review also said the drug menace had broken national boundaries to become a global business penetrating "the spheres of international politics and world economics." There was clear evidence that drug cartels were increasingly cooperating to outrun controls and maximize profits, the study said. REUTER JACKPOT, Nev. (AP) -- Dr. Hook, who hoped to see his picture on the cover of the Rolling Stone, will have to settle for a police mugshot instead. The entertainer, whose real name is Ray Sawyer, was arrested Saturday and charged with possession of marijuana. Police said they found the pot in Sawyer's Cactus Pete hotel room after receiving complaints that his band openly used drugs. Sawyer was released on $2,500 bail, and finished his weekend performances at Cactus Pete. The 57-year-old singer is known for such hits as "The Cover of the Rolling Stone," "When You're in Love with a Beautiful Woman," and "Sylvia's Mother." ------ RTna 02/28 0949 UN AGENCY REJECTS ANY LEGALIZATION OF ABUSE DRUGS VIENNA (Reuter) - The United Nations drug control agency Monday firmly restated its opposition to any legalization of mood-altering drugs, making no exception for whether they were considered to be "hard" or "soft." "We're against any legalization of drugs. The differentiation between hard drugs, like heroin, or soft drugs, like cannabis, is something we don't do," Gottfried Machata of the International Narcotis Control Board told a news conference. "In the Netherlands, it has been demonstrated that the availability of hashish has led to a deterioration of the situation in the addictive drug market," he said. Cannabis is legally available in the Netherlands. In Europe, there were signs that Italy was leaning toward liberalization of drug laws, whereas Spain and Portugal had tightened up their drugs policy, Machata said. In its annual report for 1993, the U.N. agency said the "drug menace has broken past geographic limits and has outgrown its traditional classification as a criminal or social issue." The business had become global and was penetrating "the spheres of international politics and world economics," it said. The review added that there was clear evidence to confirm that internationalization and cooperation of drug cartels were increasing steadily. At the same time, drug runners were growing more ruthless, creating fully integrated empires from cultivation to distribution and money laundering and arms sales. REUTER UPce 03/03 1023 Chicago alderman proposes decriminalizing pot CHICAGO March 3 (UPI) -- An alderman has proposed a measure in the Chicago City Council to reduce the penalty for possession of small amounts of marijuana to a $250 ticket. Alderman William Beavers, a former Chicago police officer, Wednesday said his proposal to decrimininalize marijuana would help ease backlogs in the county court system by making the penalty for simple possession of pot similar to a parking ticket. Currently, marijuana possession is a Class C misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine. Beaver's ordinance would carry no jail time if a person is convicted of possession of less than 2.5 grams of marijuana. Violators would appear before a city hearing officer instead of going to court. "Let's be realistic about what happens in court and on the street," said Beavers. "Pot smokers get slapped on the wrist, they clog up the court, and it costs a lot of money to taxpayers to get them in court. This way, the city gets some revenue, and they have to pay real hard cash, which hurts more than a slap on the wrist." However, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley is against the idea. "I can't figure that out because if you can't smoke cigarettes at City Hall, should we allow people to smoke marijuana," Daley said. Alderman Edward Burke, also a former police officer, said reducing the penalty for marijuana possession "sends a mixed signal to youngsters...that it (pot smoking) would not be a big deal." RTw 03/02 1603 COLOMBIA TO SHOOT DOWN DRUG PLANES - MINISTER BOGOTA, March 2 (Reuter) - Colombia's national security council has authorised air force jets to shoot down airplanes suspected of carrying drugs if they refuse to obey orders to land when intercepted, Defence Minister Rafael Pardo said Wednesday in a radio interview. "This measure ... would be taken after exhausting all visual and sign procedures ... against an aircraft which does not identify itself, which has no flight plan and which does not comply with signals given by air force planes which intercept it," Pardo said. Anti-drug agents estimate that hundreds of airplanes take off or land in Colombia every month carrying raw materials such as coca base into the country for processing and shipping out refined narcotics to the United States or to transit countries for forwarding to Europe. Washington has provided assistance to the Colombian government such as regular overflights by AWACS surveillance craft and the building of a series of radar bases to track unauthorised plane movements but the vast majority of traffickers' flights still go unintercepted. The United Nations International Narcotics Control Board's (INCB) latest report, published Monday, said that processing and trafficking of cocaine from Colombia continued to increase last year despite police persecution. INCB officials said heroin and marijuana smuggling had also risen. Colombian anti-narcotics police and military managed to immobilize only 27 airplanes last year out of the hundreds which move through the country's airspace, according to official figures. Many craft use routes over the sparsely populated and vast Amazon jungle, where police overflight capacity is severely limited by range restrictions. Pardo said the move to permit the shooting down of traffickers' planes was intended to help protect national sovereignty over Colombian airspace. He said the move would be officialized shortly in a government decree. REUTER UPce 03/13 1127 Gubernatorial candidates wary of inmate early relea... Gubernatorial candidates wary of inmate early release programs By GREGORY TEJEDA United Press International Candidates in the Democratic and Republican gubernatorial primaries realize Illinois' prison system is too crowded, but they are wary of anything that would seem like early release for criminals. Of the candidates, only Democrat James Gierach, an attorney from Palos Park, wholeheartedly supports such programs. Illinois Comptroller Dawn Clark Netsch, a Democrat, and conservative Republican Jack Roeser support such programs on a limited basis. Gov. Jim Edgar, a Republican, along with Cook County Board President Richard Phelan and Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris, both Democrats, are opposed to the idea. Those were the results of a United Press International survey of the gubernatorial candidates, asking each the question "Are expanded early release programs for non-violent prison inmates the right step to help alleviate the overcrowded conditions that now exist in Illinois prisons?" Democratic candidate Sheila Jones, a follower of Lyndon LaRouche, declined to participate in the survey. Early release programs would allow inmates convicted of lesser offenses to earn additional good time, thereby shortening their prison stays and making room for people convicted of violent crimes. Some measures were approved last year by the General Assembly, as part of the package that also saw $60 million allocated for construction of a high- security prison near Tamms. Gierach, who is running on a platform of reforming drug laws, noted that about 6,000 of the nearly 33,000 prison inmates in Illinois are serving sentences for drug convictions. "No record is maintained to distinguish how many of the 6,000 inmates are held for marijuana as opposed to hard drug offenses," Gierach said. "The attempt to fight the lost war on drugs by prison construction is futile, very costly, and results in the early release of violent offenders." Gierach said he supports increased funding for early release programs "which emphasis education, work, job training and drug treatment for non-violent inmates," as well as creation of a new state board that would have full say in determining which inmates get out early. Roeser agreed. "I believe criminals who pose a danger to society should receive first priority for space in prisons," he said. Illinois Comptroller Dawn Clark Netsch said early release programs could be one part of an overall crimefighting package, although she concedes more prison space will have to be built. "We must do more to assure Illinoisans that violent offenders will be incarcerated," Netsch said. "Tough sentencing legislation without providing additional space is just political rhetoric." Following are the negative responses by gubernatorial candidates to the question "Are expanded early release programs for non-violent prison inmates the right step to help alleviate the overcrowded conditions that now exist in Illinois prisons?" Among the more negative responses, Burris said early release programs "are part of the band-aid type approach to fighting crime which has characterized the Edgar administration." Burris said a restructuring of sentencing laws is what is needed to "ensur(e) that those who commit violent crimes go to prison and that they serve at least 85 percent of their sentences. Further, I believe that those who have committed three class 1, 2 or X felonies should receive automatic life sentences." Edgar, however, also opposed early release programs. "My bottom line is this: The most dangerous people in our society need to remain behind bars," he said. "We can achieve that by getting smart on crime as well as getting tough on it." And Phelan said "simply releasing nonviolent offenders early, with virtually no skills or supervision, is an irresponsible solution to our prison crowding problems. "The public safety of Illinoisans is threatened by this practice because the likelihood is high, especially without adequate skills and supervision, that these offenders will commit repeat crimes," Phelan said. RTw 03/12 2122 NEW AGE HIPPIES FOLLOW OLD DRUG, SEX TRAIL TO GOA By Moses Manoharan ANJUNA BEACH, GOA, India, May 13 (Reuter) - A new generation of hippies are following the flower children of the 1960s to Goa, still seeking nirvana through drugs, sex and music. Their communes are built around the same clusters of thatched huts and red sand hovels once occupied by the original hippies beside the pristine, palm-fringed beaches of the former Portuguese enclave, which was taken over by India in 1961. "Goa is the same as what we heard, the romance (of Goa in the 1960s) that was built up as a story of paradise," says Gwendolin, a Malaysian-Chinese who sits on the popular Vegator beach sharing a joint of hashish with friends. But Gwendolin, sporting a punk haircut, points out her generation grew up after the Beatles, free sex and Hindu meditation -- the visible symbols of the 1960s counter culture. "We are the new age," she insisted, taking a puff from a marijuana cigarette handed to her by an emaciated Frenchmen who came to Goa among the early followers of the counter culture. "I'm an original, not a duplicate," the Frenchman proudly said, adding that much has changed in both the hippie and Goa. Indians in clothes of bright red and yellow hawk curios and offer soothing oil massages to barebreasted women, the prime attraction for male visitors from nearby Maharashtra state. Goa, on the coast south of Maharashtra, whose capital is Bombay, has become in the past few years India's top tourist destination with a unique Portuguese culture and long beaches. "It was paradise. We fled the West because it was materialistic. We thought India would resist, it could not," the Frenchman said, referring to the huge luxury hotels and resorts springing up to attract a new kind of foreign visitor. The hippies, numbering in the hundreds, are also different. They have replaced the gentler music and simple lyrics of the 1960s with what they call acid techno rock, electronically produced sounds pounded out through loudspeakers. Sex is more careful in the age of AIDS, but as wild and open as in the past, though hashish and heroin is being replaced by designer drugs such as ecstacy, the hippies say. Markus Pifrement, a 21-year-old from Vienna, believes the first hippies were more free, shuttling between Goa in winter and Nepal in summer. "Now, if you are a freak, you have to go to Goa. It is a question of image," he said, rolling a marijuana cigarette. Drugs are openly consumed at Chapora beside Anjuna beach by men and women from countries ranging from Germany to Japan, often scowling when approached by journalists. Residents warn outsiders and especially journalists of the risk they run of being clubbed by the older hippies, whose children run around the roads barefoot and in torn clothes. The narrow, dusty roads throb to the sound of their unmuffled motorcycles ridden at high speeds. At cafes, they sit in sullen silence, sipping local alcoholic drinks and eating strawberries and ice cream. In the evening, the hippies gather for parties that begin after purchases of drugs and liquor and last up to two days. The police occassionally bust up a party, demanding the hippies say, bribes to issue permits. Sally Duftyn, a doctor from England, says she was at a party disrupted by police, who waved guns and beat up several people. "It was very frightening," she said, adding she would soon return home to resume her practice. Police Inspector Ashok Naik said the raid on the party was over music. No weapons were fired, he said. "We define a hippie as someone who dresses unconventionally, not fully naked, but running around in underwear," Naik said. But alleged police hostility does not worry Karen and Ray Coles, who blow long wooden tubes called didgeridoo, an Australian aboriginal musical instrument they sell for between 600 and 800 rupees ($19-$25). "We have found a new life here, we don't want to return to our old lives," says Ray, who was a building contractor. Beside them, a couple dressed in tartan wait for customers. "I'm a Scottish hairdresser," said Delma. "Not Irish, Welsh or English mind you." "It used to be a few of us exchanging stuff we needed or for money," one long-time Austrian resident reminisced. "Now it has become commercial," she said with a grimace as she spread out semi-precious stones for sale on a blanket. REUTER ------ Canadian government wants to allow hemp farming again OTTAWA, March 21 (UPI) -- The Canadian government is trying to make it legal for farmers to grow cannabis, or hemp, for commercial purposes after a 50-year ban. Health department spokesman Bruce Rowsell says Parliament is about to consider legislation that would legalize growing the crop for rope or paper products. Rowsell said farmers would be licensed to grow forms of hemp that contain virtually no THC, the hallucinogenic chemical in cannabis. Rowsell said farmers in the United Kingdom, France and eastern Europe are allowed to grow hemp crops that contain less than 0.3 percent THC, and that is the standard that will be used in Canada. The clearance to grow hemp is contained in a wider package of changes to Canadian narcotic control laws currently before Parliament. UPn 03/21 1332 Canadian government wants to allow hemp farming again OTTAWA, March 21 (UPI) -- A Canadian government spokesman said Monday that proposed legislation being considered by Parliament will allow farmers to grow cannabis, or hemp, for commercial purposes after a 50 year ban. Health department spokesman Bruce Rowsell said under the proposed legislation, farmers would only be allowed to grow forms of hemp that contain virtually no THC, the hallucinogenic chemical in cannabis. Rowsell said farmers would be required to have a license to grow the crop, which can be harvested to make rope and paper products. He said farm groups lobbied the government to let them grow hemp as a way of replacing tobacco and other crops. Rowsell said farmers in the United Kingdom, France and eastern Europe are allowed to grow hemp crops that contain less than 0.3 percent THC, and that is the standard that will be used in Canada. The clearance to grow hemp is contained in a wider package of changes to Canadian narcotic control laws currently before Parliament. Rowsell said Parliament has not yet dealt with the proposal to allow farmers to grow hemp, and said he didn't know if there would be opposition to it. RTw 03/20 0329 ONE OF ``15 MOST WANTED'' FUGITIVES NABBED IN OREGON WASHINGTON, March 20 (Reuter) - A Scot whose role as the alleged mastermind of an international drug smuggling network made him one of the most wanted criminals in the United States has been arrested in Oregon, authorities said. A statement from the United States Marshals Service said Peter Christopher Scott Macfarlane, a 47-year-old native of Glasgow, Scotland, was arrested early Saturday at a remote residence in Applegate, Oregon, where he was using the alias Richard Parker. Macfarlane, who allegedly amassed millions of dollars from his drug smuggling and distribution activities, was unarmed and offered no resistance at the time of his arrest by deputy U.S. Marshals, the statement said. It said Macfarlane, whose alleged hashish and marijuana smuggling network was linked to organised crime in Canada, was one of the Marshal Service's "15 Most Wanted" fugitives. REUTER APn 03/18 1034 Ranch Raid Copyright, 1994. The Associated Press. All rights reserved. LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A sheriff's deputy who fatally shot a millionaire rancher during a failed drug raid sued the district attorney from another county who criticized his handling of the case. Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Gary Spencer filed the lawsuit Wednesday -- about a year after being criticized by Ventura County District Attorney Michael D. Bradbury. The deputy shot to death Donald P. Scott, 61, during a multi-agency raid in 1991 at Scott's Malibu-area ranch near the Ventura County line. Authorities were looking for marijuana, but none was found. Bradbury's report cleared Spencer of wrongdoing in the death because Scott was armed, but also said Spencer may have lied to get the search warrant. Bradbury concluded the raid was an attempt to seize the $5 million ranch under federal forfeiture laws, which Los Angeles County Sheriff Sherman Block denied. The lawsuit accuses Bradbury and others of libel, slander and civil rights violations, said Noel Klebaum, assistant counsel for Ventura County. "In our view, it's baseless," Klebaum said of the lawsuit. "He accuses Bradbury of having all of these bad motives. But Bradbury found that, in fact, Spencer could not be prosecuted." Spencer, who works in the Malibu sheriff's station, is seeking undisclosed compensatory and punitive damages. He could not be reached for comment Thursday. APn 03/25 0750 FEA--Housekeeping-Drugs Copyright, 1994. The Associated Press. All rights reserved. By GOOD HOUSEKEEPING A Hearst Magazine For AP Special Features Marijuana, LSD and amphetamines -- the drugs of choice of the '60s and '70s -- are making a comeback among teen-agers just as cocaine and crack are losing their appeal. There has been an increase in drug use among eighth, 10th and 12th graders during the past two years, Christiane N. Brown wrote in an article in the current issue of Good Housekeeping, citing a recently released 1993 University of Michigan report titled "Monitoring the Future Study." "This new generation of young people did not witness the destruction these drugs caused in the past," said Dr. Lloyd Johnston, principal investigator of the Michigan study. The survey also reveals a disturbing erosion in anti-drug attitudes among teens. "If kids continue to see drugs as less dangerous and more socially acceptable, use may continue to rise," said Steve Dnistrian, vice president of the Partnership for A Drug-Free America. Experts believe that the permissive attitude toward marijuana is one of the reasons for the sharp rise in marijuana use at the eighth-grade and high-school level from 1992 to 1993. In the last two years, the proportion of eighth-graders using marijuana has increased by half, the proportion of 10th-grade users increased by about a quarter, and the proportion of 12th-grade users by about a fifth. Although these new rates are still below the peak levels reached in the late '70s, they represent a reversal of the declines recorded for more than a decade. "Marijuana use went down in the '80s partly because there were so many `negative examples' of people who suffered its harmful effects," said Dr. Herbert D. Kleber, executive vice president of Columbia University's Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. "Young people today don't see as many drug casualties, and don't believe that it is harmful." Today's marijuana is more potent and dangerous than ever. Ten years ago, marijuana contained about two percent THC, the ingredient that provides the high. Today's marijuana contains an average of 12 percent THC -- and sometimes as much as 30 percent. "Among drugs teen-agers report having used at least once, inhalants rank second to marijuana," Dnistrian said. Inhalants include everyday substances such as butane, solvents, glues and aerosols. They are more popular with younger children -- 11 percent of eighth-graders (one in nine) reported using an inhalant in the previous year, compared with 8.4 percent of 10th-graders and 7 percent of 12th-graders. But in the past two years inhalant use has risen in all grades surveyed. "Young people don't fully understand the dangers of inhalants, perhaps because most are common household products," Johnston said. "But these substances can be lethal -- just a single use can kill." Other possible effects include suffocation, seizure or coma as well as brain, liver and kidney damage. Among high school students, LSD use has risen to its highest level since 1985. "LSD is a good example of generational forgetting," Johnston said. "Today's young people were not around to witness the devastating effects of LSD -- the bad trips, flashbacks, accidents and so on." LSD is usually sold as "blotter acid." Users chew or swallow small sheets of paper which have been treated with liquid LSD. It also is available in tablets and in thin, gelatin squares. In most cases, LSD produces profound changes in perception and causes hallucinations, which take about 12 hours to wear off. Users may later experience flashbacks to the drug trip as well as suffer long-lasting psychoses such as anxiety, panic or depression. UPce 03/23 1840 mi-msuplayers (ED: Spelling of Jordon is correct) Two Spartans arraigned for selling dope MASON, Mich., March 23 (UPI) -- A running back and a former linebacker for Michigan State University's football team were arraigned Wednesday on charges of selling marijuana to undercover officers on campus. Spartans back-up running back Steven Lamar Holman, 19, was freed on $10,000 bond after being charged with two counts of delivering small amounts of marijuana. Former MSU linebacker Eric Williams, 21, was charged with selling a quarter-pound of pot. He was freed after posting $25,000 bond. Both men were arraigned in Ingham County Court before Circuit Judge David Jordon. They were arrested Tuesday. Holman allegedly sold less than ounce of marijuana on Feb. 17 in the Case Hall dormitory. A similarly small amount was allegedly sold to an undercover officer five days later in an apartment in married-student housing. Williams is charged with selling one large amount of marijuana in a married student housing. Holman, a sophomore from Indianapolis, was the third leading rusher last year for the Spartans, gaining 373 yards and scoring six touchdowns. He led the team in kickoff returns. As a star for an Indianapolis high school, Holman was named 1991 offensive player of the year. He was one of MSU's top recruits in 1992. Williams, an outside linebacker, was one the team four years but did not see any action. He played at Kalamazoo Central High School, where he received all-conference and all-area recognition. Separate preliminary exam hearings for the men were scheduled for April 4. UPn 04/02 1837 69 arrested at Michigan's Hash Bash ANN ARBOR, Mich., April 2 (UPI) -- Police arrested 69 people, most of them for possession of marijuana, at the annual Hash Bash rally Saturday on the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbour. In spite of the arrests, university spokeswoman Lisa Baker said the crowd of 5,000 was festive, orderly and peaceful. "There were a lot of people out just because it was a nice day," Baker said. A total of 69 people were arrested. Those arrested for marijuana possession were ticketed for violating state laws, which are tougher than the city of Ann Arbor marijuana statutes, and released on personal recognizance. Hash Bash has been held annually for 23 years to promote legalization of marijuana. Rally organizers said they were kicking off a petition drive aimed at getting a referendum -- the Hemp Initiative -- that would ask voters to legalize pot for medicinal and personal use. "It was like an art fair," said Sgt. Harry Jinkerson. "People were enjoying themselves, looking at the spectacle of people looking at them. " Baker said that because the rally took place on state property, those arrested were being charged under state laws rather than the more liberal Ann Arbor marijuana statutes. Under the state law, fines can be up to $200, while the fine under the city law is $25. UPse 04/04 2055 Views on marijuana clash in Lansing LANSING, Mich., April 4 (UPI) -- Two days after a pro-marijuana rally led to 69 arrests in Ann Arbor, the divisive issue surfaced in Lansing with another rally and a drug czar's call for tougher laws against pot dealers and users. About 50 people gathered Monday on the statehouse lawn for the Capitol Cannibis Protest, which police said was peaceful. No one was arrested. Protesters railed against a Senate bill that would boost penalties for marijuana possession, and endorsed a campaign to legalize marijuana in Michigan for personal and medicinal uses. Meanwhile, state drug czar Robert Peterson gave his blessing to the bill that the protesters oppose. The bill would set a mandatory $500 fine for marijuana possession, up from the $200 maximum fine under current law, and create a sliding scale penalty system for pot dealers so that the bigger the deal, the bigger the fine. Peterson, director of the Office of Drug Control Policy, said studies linking pot smoking to childhodd leukemia, traffic accidents and brain impairment are some of the reasons why he wants the state to "just say no to the elder drug culture." "The campaign to legitimize open pot toking is another con job by national groups supported by drug lawyers and old hippies and yippies," Peterson said. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Michael Bouchard, R-Birmingham, Sen. Jack Welborn, R-Kalamazoo, and Sen. Gil DiNello, R-Clinton Township. The bill's opponents include Dan Patterson, a Michigan State University student who hosts a reggae music show on the campus radio station. "Whatever we've been doing to increase penalties, increase jail sentences and increase fines has not worked," Patterson said. Patterson said he was one of the 5,000 people who attended the Hash Bash rally Saturday in Ann Arbor, which was peaceful but involved some arrests made by police who walked through the crowd lounging outside on the University of Michigan campus. Most of those arrested were flagrant about smoking pot and charged with misdeamenor possession. RTna 04/04 1915 LITTLE DEBBIE MAKERS FUMING AT LITTLE DOOBIE SHIRTS NEW YORK (Reuter) - The makers of the popular Little Debbie cakes are not happy that their snack's rosy-cheeked, curly-haired trademark is being used on a T-shirt hyping marijuana. McKee Foods Corp, based in Collegedale, Tennessee, Friday sued Spencer Gifts, the 486-store novelty store chain, in Manhattan federal court for trademark infringement. On Monday, a federal judge Monday ordered Spencer Gifts to temporarily remove the T-shirts from its shelves and the Pleasantville, N.J. -based retailer said it would return all the shirts to the vendor. The shirts, which sell for $14.99, carry a picture of "Little Debbie" with her curly hair and sunbonnet smoking a marijuana cigarette. However, the shirts call the rosy-cheeked child "Little Doobie" instead and carry the phrase "Blow your mind ... not your waistline." The shirts refer to the snacks as "weed pies" that contain no seeds or stems. The word "doobie" is a slang reference to a marijuana cigarette. REUTER UPse 04/01 1028 Enforcement sought at 'hash-bash' ANN ARBOR, Mich., April 1 (UPI) -- The state's drug czar is urging citizens to demand tougher sanctions against participants in Ann Arbor's annual "hash-bash" Saturday. The Office of Drug Control Policy said citizens offended by the widespread use of marijuana should videotape pot smokers and demand that law enforcement officials prosecute offenders. Ann Arbor, which currently imposes a $25 fine on pot smokers, is host each year to scores of marijuana smokers for weekend dubbed the "hash- bash." Drug Policy Director Robert Peterson, who expressed dismay at the presence of teenagers at previous "hash-bashes," said Michigan's eighth graders smoke marijuana at twice the national average. "It is up to adults to protect children from the drug culture and to silence those voices that whisper 'just say yes' to our young people," Peterson said. Peterson recommeded that Ann Arbor raise its fine to $200, with the fees directed at treating children who use marijuana. He also urged the videotaping of illegal drug use at pot events and demanding that law enforcement action. And he said citizens should demand that stores stop selling clothing that glamorizes the use of marijuana. "Over 3,000 studies on marijuana have been compiled and none of them give this toxic drug a clean bill of health," Peterson said. "The campaign to legitimize open pot smoking is another con job by national groups supported by drug lawyers and old hippies and yippies such as NORML and associated hemp organizations," he said. APn 04/01 0551 BRF--Drug Sales Tax Copyright, 1994. The Associated Press. All rights reserved. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- The Florida Supreme Court declared the state's sales tax on drug deals unconstitutional, ruling it forces people to incriminate themselves. The court ruled unanimously Thursday in favor of Mark Herre, who was slapped with a bill for $236,250 in taxes, fees and penalties on 300 pounds of marijuana discovered in the trunk of a car he was driving in 1988. Herre, who claimed that the car didn't belong to him and that he didn't know what was in the trunk, pleaded no contest to attempted trafficking. He was fined $5,000 and placed on probation but continued to fight the tax bill. States where drug-deal taxes have been upheld, including Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Alabama, protect people against self-incrimination by not requiring taxpayers to identify themselves, the court said. The Revenue Department is looking into whether the ruling means the state must return the $2.3 million collected since the 50 percent tax went into effect in the 1984-85 fiscal year, spokeswoman Donna O'Neal said. RTw 04/06 1627 AMBASSADOR'S SONS CHARGED WITH MARIJUANA SMUGGLING KINGSTON, Jamaica, April 6 (Reuter) - Two sons of Jamaica's ambassador to the United States were arrested Wednesday on attempted drug smuggling charges, police said. Brian Bernal, 20, and his brother Darren, 16, were arrested at Kingston International Airport as they attempted to board a morning flight to Washington, where they are both pursuing studies, police said. Their luggage was searched and "a quantity" of sealed fruit juice tins in their suitcases were found to contain marijuana. Police said they are unable to state the exact amount found until a lab examination is carried out. The brothers are to appear in court Thursday. Their father, Richard Bernal, is Jamaica's ambassador to the United States and the Organisation of American States. He is also head of the Caribbean Community diplomatic corps that has been lobbying Congress to pass legislation to give Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) countries parity with Mexico. The CBI, introduced early in the Reagan administration, gives preferential tariff treatment to exports to the United States from most Caribbean and Central American countries. Mexico joined the United States and Canada in January in a free-trade accord. REUTER UPn 04/06 1437 Dutch leader cuts short Jakarta visit AMSTERDAM, April 6 (UPI) -- Dutch Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers cut short his scheduled four-day trip to Indonesia Wednesday and started home to answer opposition party questions about a new investigative report highly critical of his justice and interior ministers. Lubbers cut short his important trip to the former Dutch colony after only three days, and will face tough questions Thursday in parliament over a growing scandal involving a disbanded undercover drug investigation team. The Inter-Regional Detective Team was disbanded last November after revelations that it was purchasing illegal drugs for sale on the underground market in an effort to infiltrate drug rings operating in the Amsterdam and Utrecht regions. The detectives reportedly were purchasing large quantities of marijuana and hashish. Justice Minister Hirsch Bellin and Interior Minister Ed van Thijn have both been criticized in a the newly released report for failing to impose proper controls on the detective team to prevent its members from exceeding their guidelines. Lubbers has said he would not allow anyone implicated in the report to suffer personal consequences, a statement likely to be challenged when the prime minister is questioned before parliament Thursday. Lubbers' ruling Christian Democrat Party, the CDA, is in the midst of a campaign for the country's May 3 elections and has come under fire recently over the controversy. Lubbers has said he will step aside after 12 years as the prime minister and CDA leader. The party, though facing tough competition, is expected to retain its majority in parliament, with party vice chairman Elco Brinkman expected to succeed Lubbers. In Jakarta earlier, the Dutch foreign minister said Lubbers had to cut short his visit to answer questions in parliament, and explained that the timing was sensitive because of the upcoming elections. The Dutch official expressed the hope that even the three-day visit to Indonesia would show how relations between the two countries had improved. Lubbers had been scheduled to meet several cabinet ministers Thursday before leaving. The Dutch foreign minister, who remained in Indonesia, said he would be speaking with non-governmental groups Thursday about human rights conditions in Indonesia -- particularly the situation in East Timor. East Timor is a former Portuguese colony that was annexed by Indonesia in 1975 following the withdrawal of Lisbon. The annexation was opposed by the Timorese, and has resulted in a bloody war. Ties between Jakarta and the Hague had been strained since 1992, when Indonesia terminated aid receipts from the Netherlands on the grounds the Dutch were using the assistance as leverage to meddle in Indonesia's domestic affairs. The Netherlands was one of several countries that threatened to cut off development aid to Indonesia after government troops opened fire in November 1991 on pro-independence demostrators in East Timor. ------ JUPITER, Fla. (AP) -- Wesley Snipes was thrown from his motorcycle but not seriously hurt after a 120 mph police chase, the Highway Patrol said. The actor refused medical treatment and was ticketed for reckless driving. Snipes spokesman David C. Pollick said the 31-year-old action-adventure star was speeding but not trying to elude police. Highway Patrol Lt. Sherian Staley said Snipes threw something on the road during the chase, and police later found a package of marijuana near that site. No drug charges were filed immediately. Police said the chase began Monday night after Snipes sped between a patrol car and another vehicle on the two-lane Florida Turnpike. It ended 30 miles away; Snipes crashed when his motorcycle and the patrol car bumped. Snipes' movies include "Demolition Man" and "Rising Sun." He is in Florida filming "Drop Zone." ------ UPce 04/05 1511 Drug sentence of former DA upheld MADISON, Wis., April 5 (UPI) -- The Wisconsin Appellate Court Tuesday upheld the 1993 drug possession conviction of former Vilas County District Attorney David Penn. Penn faces six months in jail for possession of marijuana and cocaine. He had accused special prosecutors in the case of misconduct for obtaining a letter Penn said was protected under attorney-client privilege. The court, however, declined to address the alleged misconduct, saying Penn knew the effects of his guilty pleas. Penn was convicted of using marijuana and cocaine in the late 1980s and early 1990s at the time he was prosecuting drug cases in northern Wisconsin. Penn also faces cocaine charges filed two months ago. He is scheduled to appear in court on those charges April 28. RTw 04/06 1627 AMBASSADOR'S SONS CHARGED WITH MARIJUANA SMUGGLING KINGSTON, Jamaica, April 6 (Reuter) - Two sons of Jamaica's ambassador to the United States were arrested Wednesday on attempted drug smuggling charges, police said. Brian Bernal, 20, and his brother Darren, 16, were arrested at Kingston International Airport as they attempted to board a morning flight to Washington, where they are both pursuing studies, police said. Their luggage was searched and "a quantity" of sealed fruit juice tins in their suitcases were found to contain marijuana. Police said they are unable to state the exact amount found until a lab examination is carried out. The brothers are to appear in court Thursday. Their father, Richard Bernal, is Jamaica's ambassador to the United States and the Organisation of American States. He is also head of the Caribbean Community diplomatic corps that has been lobbying Congress to pass legislation to give Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) countries parity with Mexico. The CBI, introduced early in the Reagan administration, gives preferential tariff treatment to exports to the United States from most Caribbean and Central American countries. Mexico joined the United States and Canada in January in a free-trade accord. REUTER UPn 04/06 1437 Dutch leader cuts short Jakarta visit AMSTERDAM, April 6 (UPI) -- Dutch Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers cut short his scheduled four-day trip to Indonesia Wednesday and started home to answer opposition party questions about a new investigative report highly critical of his justice and interior ministers. Lubbers cut short his important trip to the former Dutch colony after only three days, and will face tough questions Thursday in parliament over a growing scandal involving a disbanded undercover drug investigation team. The Inter-Regional Detective Team was disbanded last November after revelations that it was purchasing illegal drugs for sale on the underground market in an effort to infiltrate drug rings operating in the Amsterdam and Utrecht regions. The detectives reportedly were purchasing large quantities of marijuana and hashish. Justice Minister Hirsch Bellin and Interior Minister Ed van Thijn have both been criticized in a the newly released report for failing to impose proper controls on the detective team to prevent its members from exceeding their guidelines. Lubbers has said he would not allow anyone implicated in the report to suffer personal consequences, a statement likely to be challenged when the prime minister is questioned before parliament Thursday. Lubbers' ruling Christian Democrat Party, the CDA, is in the midst of a campaign for the country's May 3 elections and has come under fire recently over the controversy. Lubbers has said he will step aside after 12 years as the prime minister and CDA leader. The party, though facing tough competition, is expected to retain its majority in parliament, with party vice chairman Elco Brinkman expected to succeed Lubbers. In Jakarta earlier, the Dutch foreign minister said Lubbers had to cut short his visit to answer questions in parliament, and explained that the timing was sensitive because of the upcoming elections. The Dutch official expressed the hope that even the three-day visit to Indonesia would show how relations between the two countries had improved. Lubbers had been scheduled to meet several cabinet ministers Thursday before leaving. The Dutch foreign minister, who remained in Indonesia, said he would be speaking with non-governmental groups Thursday about human rights conditions in Indonesia -- particularly the situation in East Timor. East Timor is a former Portuguese colony that was annexed by Indonesia in 1975 following the withdrawal of Lisbon. The annexation was opposed by the Timorese, and has resulted in a bloody war. Ties between Jakarta and the Hague had been strained since 1992, when Indonesia terminated aid receipts from the Netherlands on the grounds the Dutch were using the assistance as leverage to meddle in Indonesia's domestic affairs. The Netherlands was one of several countries that threatened to cut off development aid to Indonesia after government troops opened fire in November 1991 on pro-independence demostrators in East Timor. ------ JUPITER, Fla. (AP) -- Wesley Snipes was thrown from his motorcycle but not seriously hurt after a 120 mph police chase, the Highway Patrol said. The actor refused medical treatment and was ticketed for reckless driving. Snipes spokesman David C. Pollick said the 31-year-old action-adventure star was speeding but not trying to elude police. Highway Patrol Lt. Sherian Staley said Snipes threw something on the road during the chase, and police later found a package of marijuana near that site. No drug charges were filed immediately. Police said the chase began Monday night after Snipes sped between a patrol car and another vehicle on the two-lane Florida Turnpike. It ended 30 miles away; Snipes crashed when his motorcycle and the patrol car bumped. Snipes' movies include "Demolition Man" and "Rising Sun." He is in Florida filming "Drop Zone." ------ APn 04/05 0938 BRF--Little Debbie Copyright, 1994. The Associated Press. All rights reserved. NEW YORK (AP) -- The maker of Little Debbie cookies is suing a novelty store chain over a T-shirt that shows the company's familiar logo -- a little girl in a sun hat -- pushing marijuana-spiked munchies. A federal judge Monday banned Spencer Gifts from selling its "Little Doobie" T-shirts for 10 days. He told Spencer and McKee Foods Corp. to reach a settlement by April 13 or return for a hearing. The shirts show the Little Debbie girl smoking a joint and offering to "blow your mind ... not your waistline" with a package of "12 individually warped cakes." The little girl, featured on packages since 1960, was modeled on Debbie McKee, whose grandfather founded McKee Foods Corp. His name? O.D. UPn 04/07 1544 Dutch official admits drug probe errors AMSTERDAM, April 7 (UPI) -- Dutch Justice Minister Hirsch Ballin acknowledged Thursday that he made mistakes in handling a now-disbanded special invstigation team that bought large quantities of illegal drugs in an effort to infiltrate and smash drug rings in the Netherlands. Ballin, speaking in a special session of Parliament, said he should have kept a closer watch over the Inter-Regional Detective Team, the IRT, and monitored its activities more carefully. "I invested too much trust in the leadership of the IRT," Ballin told Parliament, "and should have taken steps to see that they were doing their work properly." While acknowledging his own mistakes, Ballin suggested that the Amsterdam police chief and district attorney's office should share a large measure of the blame for the IRT exceeding its mandate. The special session of Parliament came after the opposition Green and D-66 parties demanded a hearing over the issue following the release of a special investigative report that was highly critical of the justice and interior ministers over the affair. Ballin and Interior Minister Ed van Thijn, the Amsterdam mayor until his Cabinet appointment earlier this year, were criticized in the report for failing to impose proper controls on the detective team to prevent its members from exceeding their guidelines. The IRT was disbanded last November after it was revealed that the group was purchasing illegal drugs for sale on the underground market in an effort to infiltrate drug rings operating in the Amsterdam and Utrecht regions. The detectives reportedly were purchasing large quantities of marijuana, hashish and cocaine. The controversy over the affair, which comes weeks before the May 3 parliamentary elections, prompted Dutch Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers to cut short his scheduled four-day trip to Indonesia Wednesday and return home to show support for his two Cabinet ministers. The prime minister's ruling Christian Democrat Party faces a tough test in the elections. Public opinion polls released Thursday showed only 30 percent of the party's loyal voters favor Lubbers' handpicked successor, Elco Brinkman, as the next prime minister. Lubbers has said he will step down after 12 years as the country's prime minister. RTw 04/11 1133 DANISH ILLEGAL HASH TRADERS END DRUGS LAW PROTEST COPENHAGEN, April 11 (Reuter) - Danish cannabis traders ended a five-day "strike" over government drugs policy on Monday after failing to persuade authorities to legalise the sale of hashish. During the strike action, dealers refused to trade hash openly as they normally do in Christiania, the Copenhagen hippie colony, forcing regular customers to buy supplies on the criminal hard drug market. The "open" soft drugs traders were hoping to illustrate their point that legalisation of cannabis would remove criminal elements from the hashish market. "After receiving thousands of protests from angry customers forced to purchase cannabis on closed drug markets, we have decided to reopen the world's most open, junk-free hash and pot market," a spokesman for cannabis traders at Christiania, said. Many people visit Christiania to buy marijuana on the infamous "Pusher Street" where soft drugs are openly on sale in defiance of a ban by the Danish authorities. Danish Justice Minister Erling Olsen visited the colony last week but rejected pleas for the legalisation of hash sales in Denmark. Christiania is occupied by some 700 hippie squatters, who declared the former military area an autonomous "free town" in 1971. In 1980, they kicked out a motorcycle gang which was using the area as a centre for hard drug traffic. REUTER WP 04/11 Survey Finds Teens See Little Risk in Occasional ... Survey Finds Teens See Little Risk in Occasional Drug Use By Spencer Rich Washington Post Staff Writer Large numbers of Americans do not think using cocaine, marijuana and other drugs occasionally is a great threat to their health and find the drugs relatively easy to obtain, the government has reported. Only 54 percent of youths from 12 to 17 believe using cocaine once or twice presents a great risk, the Public Health Service reported, using figures based on the 1992 Household Survey on Drug Abuse that was released Friday. And only half in that age group think smoking a pack or more of cigarettes a day poses a great health danger. Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna E. Shalala called the findings of the survey "alarming." Looking at the whole population, the survey found that adults fear drug use more than the young, but even so large numbers do not view occasional use as a big concern. The survey found that a third of those 12 or older said trying cocaine once or twice is not a great risk. A quarter said the same about heroin, and 55 percent about marijuana. And a third did not worry about the health risk of smoking one or more packs of cigarettes a day. "People with the highest educational attainment were most likely to perceive great risk in smoking cigarettes but least likely to perceive great risk in using illicit drugs," the Public Health Service said. Well over half the population, 59 percent, finds it easy to get marijuana, the survey revealed, and two-fifths said cocaine is easy to get. These attitudes and opportunities may explain what researchers called a "disturbing" increase in actual drug use by teenagers, reported Feb. 28 by the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research. That survey found an increase over the preceding two years, reversing a trend of generally declining use of illicit drugs in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Michigan researchers reported that a quarter of all 12th graders said they were smoking marijuana compared with just over a fifth two years earlier, and many said they were using LSD and amphetamines and sniffing glue. APn 04/08 1232 California Cash Copyright, 1994. The Associated Press. All rights reserved. By RICHARD COLE Associated Press Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- California government may be short of money, but the state is awash in cash and experts point to drug trafficking, the state's underground economy and instability in Asia as the likely reasons. Economists say the cash infusion may have partially insulated the region from its four-year recession. But it also has cost the strapped state treasury at least $1.8 billion a year in unreported revenue at a time when the budget deficit has hit $3 billion. Since 1990, the annual cash surplus reported by the Los Angeles branch of the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank has almost tripled, from $3.4 billion to $9.3 billion in 1993. Since 1992, the Los Angeles surplus -- the excess cash the district bank collects from financial institutions compared to what it distributes -- has soared past Miami's to lead the nation's 36 districts. Private financial institutions keep cash on hand to meet daily banking needs. When they have too much, they send it to the district federal reserve bank for safekeeping. Too little, and they ask the bank to send the cash back. "We don't know where all our excess cash is coming from down in Southern California," conceded district spokesman Ron Supinski. But law enforcement officials note the cash switch from Miami to Los Angeles followed a similar trend in drug-trafficking. Tougher enforcement in Florida and the Caribbean put the squeeze on cocaine transporters in the late 1980s, says Ralph Lockridge of the Los Angeles office of the Drug Enforcement Administration. The Colombian traffickers' response was to open routes through Central America and Mexico into the American Southwest. "Now a large portion of the drugs -- some say 70 percent -- come through the Southwest," Lockridge said. "And they have also developed money-laundering systems along the West Coast." Fed figures show two other Southwestern districts, El Paso and San Antonio, are also in the top five showing cash surpluses the past four years. Nationally, estimates of laundered cash run as high as $100 billion. In the late 1980s, Colombia's Medellin cocaine cartel used Los Angeles jewelry stores to hide drug cash in an operation they called "La Mina." Now, investigators say money exchange houses along the Mexican border are performing a similar task. Last September, Customs agents near San Diego stopped three Colombian women and found $300,000 stuffed into special girdles. Analysts agree there are other legal and semi-legal sources for the cash pouring into California. One of the most intriguing is California's "underground economy," a cash-driven alternative system that eschews checks and credit cards. It includes everything from gambling and prostitution to off-the-books sales of legitimate goods. A Wells Fargo Bank study by analyst Gary Schlossberg conservatively estimates California's underground economy at $140 billion a year, or 18 percent of the gross state economy. That figure is probably low, and doesn't include Northern California's huge marijuana crop, he says. "You have to look at the underground economy, especially illegal immigrants and those whose transactions tend to be cash oriented," Schlossberg said. California has more than half the nation's illegal immigrants, he notes. They usually can't open bank accounts or get credit, and are often paid off the books in cash. The state's weak economy also gets some blame. "When the economy goes south, a lot of legal transactions don't get reported just to avoid taxes," Schlossberg said. Another likely source is money flowing in from the Pacific Rim countries. The return of Hong Kong to China in 1997, the tension between North and South Korea and increasing U.S. trade may be driving Asians to fly their U.S. dollars to Los Angeles for investment or safekeeping. Los Angeles Customs spokesman Greg Doss says it is not unusual for Koreans to arrive with $100,000 or more in their suitcase. "And large amounts of cash are brought in from Mexico to purchase goods in the LA area," he said. WP 04/08 Mitchell, Cabranes Said to Top High Court List; ... Mitchell, Cabranes Said to Top High Court List; Senate Majority Leader, Hispanic Judge Offer Clinton Choices on Opposite Ends of Spectrum By Joan Biskupic Washington Post Staff Writer If President Clinton chooses Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell (D-Maine) for the Supreme Court, he'll get an experienced vote-dealer, a true liberal and an example of the old-fashioned Democratic way of picking justices. If Clinton selects U.S. District Judge Jose Cabranes, who has more than 10 times the judicial experience of Mitchell, he'll get nearly the opposite. Cabranes is a 15-year trial judge in Connecticut whose judicial record is moderate enough that the Bush administration briefly considered him for the high court in 1990. While Cabranes would be the first Hispanic justice, his selection also would follow the recent Republican pattern of elevating lower court judges to the Supreme Court. Democratic presidents in this century were more apt to turn to the world of politics. That may tempt Clinton, whose first choice for a high court replacement last year was New York Gov. Mario M. Cuomo. Mitchell and Cabranes emerged yesterday as top names on a list of potential successors to Justice Harry A. Blackmun, who announced Wednesday that he will retire at the end of this term. But - as happened last year when front-runners became also-rans - anything goes in the selection process. Clinton plans to have his first full discussion of the vacancy Saturday, after he returns to Washington from a two-day midwestern trip to promote health care reform. Some senior officials sought to counter the impression yesterday that the White House had settled on Mitchell. They said some of the president's advisers believe a candidate from outside the Beltway would better fulfill Clinton's pledge to diversity the court and change the way Washington does business. Numerous people are being considered, including Solicitor General Drew S. Days III, who would be the third black justice; federal Appeals Court Judge Richard S. Arnold, a longtime Clinton friend from Little Rock, Ark.; and federal Appeals Court Judge Stephen G. Breyer of Boston, who was passed over at the last minute for Ruth Bader Ginsburg last year. Clinton said he was searching for "someone of genuine stature and a largeness of spirit" to replace Blackmun. As shown by his interest in Mitchell and Cuomo last year, he appears attracted to the possibility of nominating someone from public life. Mitchell, 60, would bring a different background and style to the court, as well as a jolt of liberalism. He is against the death penalty, for abortion rights and against prayer in public school. "Mitchell presents a really attractive combination of past government experience," said Stanford University law professor Kathleen Sullivan, noting that he had been a U.S. attorney (1977-79), a federal judge (for eight months) and, since 1980, a U.S. senator. Mitchell, a graduate of Georgetown University Law School, was elected Democratic majority leader five years ago in a fierce competition. "He has been in all three branches. He wins the trifecta," Sullivan said, adding, "As (Oliver Wendell) Holmes said, `The life of the law has not been logic; it has been experience.' " Little can be discerned about Mitchell through his brief tenure as a trial judge. But his judicial philosophy has emerged in numerous floor debates and votes. He disagreed with a 1990 Supreme Court ruling striking down a federal law that banned flag burning. Yet he argued that the Congress should not react with an amendment to the Constitution to protect the flag. "I do not believe we should ever, under any circumstances, for any reason, amend the American Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights is so effective in protecting individual liberty precisely because of its unchanging nature. Once that is unraveled, its effectiveness will be forever diminished," he said. Last month during debate on the balanced-budget amendment, which he opposed, Mitchell noted that if it were adopted, three-fifths of each house of the Congress would have to approve of any unbalanced budgets. "By enshrining in the Constitution, the fundamental law of our nation, the principle that a minority of elected representatives can prevent action favored by a majority, this amendment could have a far-reaching and incalculable effect on the way this nation is governed. It tramples the fundamental idea of majority rule." He led congressional efforts to reverse a series of 1989 court rulings that narrowed the breadth of job-discrimination law and made it harder for workers to sue for bias. He invoked the nation's civil rights history, noting how a quarter century ago "America's conscience was awakened by the use of attack dogs and fire hoses against peacefully assembled American citizens - it is discouraging to learn that we have come so far in time but so short a distance in understanding." Mitchell voted against Clarence Thomas's appointment to the high court in 1991. He also opposed Rehnquist's elevation to chief justice in 1986, asserting that Rehnquist has "hostility ... to the rights of women and minorities, especially black Americans." But Mitchell is fundamentally a consensus-builder, an intense but soft-spoken cajoler who could influence the court's centrist justices. Barring any startling disclosure about Mitchell, he would likely be confirmed easily - a plus for Clinton in considering whom to nominate. But, one White House official countered yesterday, "he's not the sort of justice you can hold up to America at large and say, see what I have done for you like he does with Ruth Bader Ginsburg," a pioneer in women's legal rights. Cabranes, 53, does offer Clinton an opportunity for a big statement: he would be the first Hispanic justice. Cabranes, who was appointed to the trial court in 1979 by Jimmy Carter, has a reputation as a judicial moderate with liberal leanings. He is said to approach each case so neutrally that neither conservatives nor liberals embrace him as their own. While he was widely reported to have been under serious consideration by the Bush administration after Justice William J. Brennan Jr. retired, a former Bush official said yesterday that Cabranes never made "the short list of eight or nine names." The former official said that Bush aides realized that Cabranes was not the conservative they wanted. David H. Souter, who was chosen, has proven himself not to be a true conservative either. Cabranes, a Yale Law School graduate who is chief judge on the federal district court for Connecticut, comes across as reflective but collegial. Yale University law professor Paul Gewirtz said, "He combines being scholarly with being savvy." Although his writings reveal a pragmatic, painstaking approach to cases, Cabranes also displays a social conscience. In a speech to a local civil rights conference last year, he summed up the future rights agenda: "We all know too well that there are critical areas of civil rights in which advances are either threatened or remain yet to be consolidated, most notably in matters involving privacy and sexual orientation. We also know that, for women, victimization as a class by discriminatory laws and social practices, and a collective failure to take sexual violence seriously, is a vivid and palpable reality. This reality is unacceptable." With few exceptions, Cabranes's rulings have received little notice outside his home state. He has been one of the most outspoken opponents of the federal criminal sentencing guidelines, contending they rob judges of the discretion to decide cases with concern for an individual defendant. Last year, when he reluctantly sentenced a man who was found guilty of growing marijuana at his home, Cabranes said, according to the Hartford Courant: "A sentence of five years is substantially more than is required to achieve any of the major purposes of a criminal sanction. (The defendant's) incarceration ... will unnecessarily burden the federal prison system ... yield no discernible benefit to society and yield no discernible benefit to the defendant." Cabranes, who was born in Puerto Rico, was recently edged out for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, which hears cases from Connecticut, New York and Vermont. Clinton in February nominated Guido Calabresi, dean of the Yale Law School. That opening was considered a Connecticut seat. Before Blackmun's resignation announcement this week, administration officials said that Cabranes, who grew up in the Bronx, could yet be considered for a New York slot on the appeals court. Staff writer Ann Devroy and researcher Ann O'Hanlon contributed to this report. APn 04/08 0043 Drug Ads Copyright, 1994. The Associated Press. All rights reserved. By CAROLYN SKORNECK Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) -- Where have all the anti-drug ads gone? Time was, a night of television wasn't complete without that guy breaking an egg into a sizzling frying pan with the warning, "This is your brain on drugs." But those days are over as the public has moved on to other worries, such as war, violent crime and the economy. At the same time, there have been fewer drug-related network news stories and television shows with anti-drug messages, while pro-drug messages from entertainers become more numerous, say those who monitor such matters. There is no hard data showing the individual impact on young people of anti-drug ads, news stories and TV programs on drug use, but some specialists say the collective changes could be factors in a recent rise in drug use. A study by Lloyd Johnston of the University of Michigan found a growth in the use of marijuana, amphetamines, LSD and inhalants such as glue, solvents and aerosols by eighth-, 10th- and 12th-graders last year. Significantly, the study also revealed that students' fears about the dangers of nearly all drugs, including cocaine, continued a decline that began in 1991. Johnston, who has tracked students' use of drugs for nearly two decades, said reduced fears of drugs have led in the past to increased use. "I do think the pulling back of media's carrying of those ads has made a difference," he said. The number of anti-drug ads broadcast on the major networks declined by 29 percent from 1990 to 1993, said Steve Dnistrian of the Media-Advertising Partnership for a Drug-Free America, which produces them and pushes TV stations and publications to run them. In interviews, Johnston and Jay Winsten, director of the Center for Health Communication at Harvard University's School of Public Health, agreed that the changes in attitudes and rising drug use cannot be blamed solely on the drop in anti-drug messages. "What we're up against is mixed messages," said Winsten, a developer of the designated-driver campaign to combat drunken driving. New pro-drug images "may be more responsible for the changes in attitudes than any decrease in the number of anti-drug ads," he said. As the message on drug use was becoming mixed, the nation's attention was diverted to other subjects. The number of drug-related stories on the ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts last year dropped by 87 percent from 1989, when President Bush declared a war on drugs, according to figures from the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a private monitoring group. "The issue was getting heavy attention in the late '80s, until we got the buildup to the Gulf War," Johnston said. "That knocked everything off the screen." The drug issue never bounced back, he said. "This is a country that doesn't like to struggle with problems for too long," Johnston said. When they drag on for decades, "it's easier not to think about it." The nation's political leadership "for the last three to four years has not been focusing on the issue, either," he said. "To some degree, they set the agenda." People simply got tired of the issue, Dnistrian said. "The public has a real short attention span and so does the news media," he said. "If there's nothing new being said, there's a tendency to move on to the next crisis." TV shows often pick up story lines from the news. Accordingly, "drugs as a theme have slowly but surely disappeared from television sitcoms and popular shows that teen-agers watch," Dnistrian said. There are exceptions. Recent anti-drug story lines were featured on the popular "Beverly Hills 90210" and the new program, "The Byrds of Paradise." Both air early in prime time. But other entertainers, including popular rock and rap groups, have been celebrating the joys of drugs. "I like to get high, high, high," intones Cyprus Hill, a rap group that supports legalizing marijuana. The rock group Guns N' Roses sings about shooting up drugs, while Nirvana -- whose lead singer Kurt Cobain recently suffered a brief coma brought on by mixing a large dose of tranquilizers with champagne -- sings about sniffing glue. Nirvana's lyrics do acknowledge a down side to the high: "We'll float around and hang out on clouds, then we'll come down and have a hangover." APn 04/14 0535 BRF--Elderly-Drugs Copyright, 1994. The Associated Press. All rights reserved. HOUSTON (AP) -- An 82-year-old woman who authorities say ran a "major league" drug operation was sentenced to two years in prison. Sally Evans Hubbard, a great-grandmother known as "Big Mama," leaned on her walker Wednesday as she pleaded guilty to drug possession and delivery. Ms. Hubbard, who has diabetes and high blood pressure, could have gotten 20 years. She was accused of selling marijuana and anti-anxiety tablets to an undercover officer in July. A search of her home turned up 30 pounds of marijuana and more than 2,000 painkiller, anti-depressant and muscle relaxant pills. Ms. Hubbard, who has more than 70 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, operated a "major league candy store when it comes to drugs," prosecutor Bill Hawkins said. APn 04/13 1808 Puerto Rico-Drugs Copyright, 1994. The Associated Press. All rights reserved. By PATRICK REYNA Associated Press Writer MIAMI (AP) -- A dozen people were arrested Wednesday in what federal agents called a crackdown on the latest trend in drug trafficking: bringing drugs into the United States mainland through Puerto Rico. The ring, with branches in Miami and San Juan, made use of aliases, speed boats and fake record-keeping to hide its activities, according to a federal indictment made public Wednesday. The smugglers dropped cocaine and marijuana shipments off the coast of Puerto Rico, where others picked up the cargo and brought it ashore, the indictment alleges. Once the shipments were in Puerto Rico, the ring used people to ferry the drugs to the mainland. "Puerto Rico is particularly attractive to smugglers because it is U.S. territory and shipments from here to the continental United States -- whether they be cargo containers, mail or even Federal Express packages -- are not subject to customs checks," said William Mitchell, agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's San Juan office. Agents began noticing the problem in 1988, "and it's been increasing and increasing since then," said Jim Shedd, an agency spokesman in Miami. The ring primarily smuggled cocaine in shipments ranging from 394 pounds to 2,200 pounds, the indictment said. It also allegedly smuggled a 3,000-pound load of marijuana into the country. The smugglers once hid their cocaine in boxes of shampoo that were dropped at a Miami warehouse, and then moved to a horse farm, where agents seized the drugs. DEA agents arrested four suspects in the Miami area; eight others were arrested in Puerto Rico. Five others named in the indictment remained at large. The indictment includes charges of conspiracy to import and importation with intent to distribute cocaine. Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Rossello has asked the Clinton administration to include the island in a federal program that targets high-density drug trafficking areas. New York, Miami, Washington-Baltimore and Los Angeles already have received that distinction. "We are a source island for so much of the cocaine that gets to those places," Mitchell said. "If we don't stop it in Puerto Rico, certainly we won't be able to stop it in those high-density drug areas." RTw 04/13 1058 MOROCCAN POLICE SEIZE 1.6 TONNES OF CANNABIS RABAT, April 13 (Reuter) - Moroccan police seized 1.6 tonnes of cannabis resin near the central town of Fez on Wednesday, the official news agency MAP reported. MAP said the drug, with an estimated street value of 20 million dirhams ($2.1 million), was hidden in a Mercedes vehicle. The driver and his accomplice escaped before police arrived, it added. In 1993 an estimated 130 tonnes of hashish and canabis resin were seized in Morocco, mainly near the ports of Tangier and Casablanca. REUTER RTna 04/12 0906 MARIJUANA -- A CAMBODIAN SURPRISE FOR TOURISTS By Aaron Patrick PHNOM PENH (Reuter) - Marijuana, illegal in most countries, is a traditional medicine and cooking herb in Cambodia -- and an increasingly popular attraction for surprised foreign backpackers. "It's completely legal here," says 32-year-old Werner Heisel, a visiting German. "The Cambodians call it the poor man's smoke -- and if you bargain hard one kilo (2.2 pounds) goes for one or two dollars. But not many Western tourists come for the drugs. It's too early, hardly any foreigners know about it," he told Reuters. Locally-grown marijuana is widely and legally available at markets and street stalls throughout the country. Marijuana has traditionally been used as medicine, as a relaxant and appetite stimulant and as a herb in some dishes. The wispy plant with star-shaped leaves is grown by farmers throughout Cambodia. "It is smoked to feel happy and to go to sleep and allow you to eat a lot," says Aah Joy, a grandmother who claims she has been selling marijuana since 1929. "Twenty cigarettes (of marijuana) costs 1000 riel (U.S. 40 cents). As many Cambodians buy it as foreigners but I don't touch it. It is like a wine. Some people have it and some people don't," she says. Cambodia's barely-functioning legal system, destroyed by 20 years of war, bloody revolution and corruption, has laws against drugs such as heroin and opium but details of prosecutions on drugs charges were not available. Local police said there were no plans to criminalize marijuana use. "It's a tradition. Some police use it as a medicine and some mix tobacco with it," says Captain Sao Sophal, a police criminal investigator in Phnom Penh. The tourism industry is making a shaky recovery as infrastructure and security gradually improve after the dark decades of war and isolation. There are now an average of 10,000 visitors a month, mostly from Japan, Australia, Europe and the United States. Many of the visitors are the younger backpack breed, delighted by the exotic country and friendly people and surprised to see marijuana so readily available. The Tourism Ministry says visitors come to see the impressive range of ancient temples and historical monuments but officials admit the discovery of marijuana does seem to brighten some holidays. "They don't come to Cambodia for that purpose. They come and if they find some and want to taste it they do," explains Undersecretary of Tourism Chenda Sok. Some enterprising Cambodians have been quick to cash in on the arrival of the backpackers and their fondness for marijuana. One pizza restaurant in the capital even offers special selections with the drug sprinkled on top of the dish along with the usual herbs, salami and cheese. Heisel predicted that more young tourists would arrive in Cambodia as word spread of the easily availability of marijuana but he doubted the country would ever turn into an international drugs trade center. The quality of the local product is just not up to scratch, he said. "Cambodian marijuana quality is supposed to be one of the best but I think the number one quality goes to Thailand. Maybe one or two people will try to export to Europe but I have never met anybody who does," he said. REUTER UPwe 04/15 1812 ca-knives Schoolchildren claim right to carry knives FRESNO, Calif., April 15 (UPI) -- The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit Friday on behalf of three Sikh elementary school children who were suspended earlier this year for wearing ceremonial knives under their clothing. The lawsuit, filed in federal court, accused the Livingston Union School District of violating the children's constitutional rights by refusing to allow them to wear kirpans, small sacred knives that Sikhs are required to wear at all times, at school. Sikhs are members of a Hindu religious sect founded in India. Rajinder Singh Cheema, Jaspreet Singh Cheema and Kukhjinder Kaur Cheema were suspended in January after they refused stop wearing their kirpans. District officials objected to the kirpans under school policies forbidding weapons on school grounds. "We and the Sikh community are concerned about preventing school violence," said Stephen V. Bomse, an attorney representing the children. "However, permitting these children to practice their religion in no way compromises that objective." The lawsuit is an early test of a new federal law, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, approved by Congress in reaction to a U.S. Supreme Court decision permitting states to enforce laws that ban practices used in religious ceremonies that would otherwise be illegal -- such as smoking marijuana or carrying a weapon -- as long as the laws are not aimed specifically at religion.