From: Paul Stanford <[t--r--o] at [igc.apc.org]> Newsgroups: talk.politics.drugs Subject: Hemp News # 28 Date: Tue, 24 Jan 1995 10:51:16 -0800 (PST) From: Paul Stanford The following news wire stories are provided as a public service by Tree Free EcoPaper, makers of hemp (cannabis) paper and other nonwood papers, pulps and fibers. We are happy to announce the introduction of our new USA manufactured hemp paper products, made with European hemp fiber, beginning in January 1995. Contact us for samples of the USA paper. Tree Free EcoPaper is the world's oldest and largest supplier of wholesale quantities of hemp paper. We offer an electronic retail catalog which you can recieve by dropping us an e-mail request. We'll send you our free samples and our hemp paper wholesale price list 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 the USA, Europe and Asia. We offer nonwood office and printing paper, card stock, cover stock, 100% hemp pulp for paper makers, whole hempstalks and 100% hemp bast fiber. Without further ado, please enjoy the news: UPne 01/23 1528 Marijuana target of new ad campaign By TRACY CONNOR NEW YORK, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- Pot. Hashish. Mary Jane. Cannabis. Whatever you call it, marijuana is the target of a new nationwide public service advertising campaign from the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. At a news conference in Manhattan Monday, partnership officials said studies have shown that marijuana use by teenagers has risen sharply over the last two years and positive perceptions of the drug are growing among youth. "After years of progress and a very dramatic reduction in drug use, a reversal is now occurring," said partnership Chairman James Burke, who was flanked by Lee Brown, director of the White House Office on National Drug Control Policy. "Leading national indicators suggest a marijuana crisis is now emerging," Burke said, introducing seven new television spots. Dr. Lloyd Johnstone of the University of Michigan, who conducts yearly surveys of teenagers on drug use, said that although marijuana use declined steadily between 1979 and 1991, it has doubled among eighth-graders in the last two years. Thirteen percent of eighth graders surveyed in 1994 admitted using the drug in the previous 12 months, up from 6.5 percent in 1992, when the increase began to be seen. In addition, use among 10th graders was up to 25 percent in 1994 from 15 percent in 1992. And among 12th graders, usage rose to 31 percent in 1994 from 22 percent two years before. He said the current crop of teenagers faces different attitudes toward marijuana than in the '70s, when use among minors peaked at 50.8 percent. Many parents of today's teens used the drug; some popular rap and rock groups encourage its use; and the five-point marijuana leaf has become a popular design motif. "I think it's unlikely things are going to get better in the near future," he said. "They'll get worse before they get better again." Allen Rosenshine, chairman of BBDO Worldwide, a noted advertising firm, created the anti-marijuana advertising campaign at no cost to the partnership, which is a non-profit coalition of representatives from the communications industry and anti-drug activists. He said the creative team behind the ads had to consider several obstacles: teenagers' perception that most of their peers smoke pot and that marijuana will help them cope with the daily problems of life, and the common knowledge that marijuana will not cause any immediate, direct harm to the user. Instead, the youngsters in the ads talk about their increasing dependence on marijuana, its role as a "gateway" to harder drugs, and the impact on their lives. The campaign does not use any of the slogans the partnership is best known for, such as the "This is your brain on drugs," line that accompanied a shot of a messily fried egg. Allen St. Pierre, deputy national director for the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws, said that although his group supports legalization for adults only, the partnership's newest campaign is "misguided." "You have to ask why they are devoting their enormous resources to a campaign on teens and marijuana when they could be focusing on crack, cocaine, tobacco or alcohol, all of which are killing people right now," he said. Since March 1987, volunteers for the partnership have created over 400 ads, and the value of air time and print space donated to the group is over $1.7 billion. AAP 01/24 0138 CLINICAL USE OF CANNABIS DERIVATIVE SANCTIONED: REPORT Copyright 1995 The Australian Associated Press. Redistribution Unauthorised. BRISBANE, Jan 24 AAP - The Queensland government had sanctioned the clinical use of a derivative of cannabis, according to Brisbane's Courier-Mail. A new drug called dronabinol, which was identical to cannabis, was given to a seriously ill AIDS patient late last year, the paper said. The paper said the permission to prescribe the new drug ended years of caution about using cannabis and similar drugs for medical treatment. Health Department public health director Gerry Murphy was quoted as saying the state could authorise future use on a case-by-case basis while the federal government considered approving dronabinol. In the report he said the drug, created synthetically, was used to treat the nausea suffered by AIDS patients to allow them to eat and gain weight. AAP hig/srw AAP 01/24 0045 MAIN STORIES IN COURIER-MAIL Copyright 1995 The Australian Associated Press. Redistribution Unauthorised. BRISBANE, Jan 24 AAP - Main stories in today's Courier-Mail, first edition: PAGE 1: The state government has sanctioned the clinical use of a derivative of cannabis (local, exclusive). DJ 01/23 0620 High Court To Hear Case Of Ex-Prisoner Who Accused Qu By Paul M. Barrett Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal of a former federal prison inmate who claims that just before the November 1988 election he was illegally prevented from publicizing his allegation that years earlier he had sold marijuana to Dan Quayle. The high court said Friday it would review a preliminary procedural question in Brett Kimberlin's civil lawsuit against the former director of the federal Bureau of Prisons. The prison official, J. Michael Quinlan, ordered that Mr. Kimberlin be held in special detention rather than being allowed to communicate with journalists. The case, which is expected to be decided by July, won't address the merits of the drug-sale allegation, which former Vice President Quayle has denied and which hasn't been otherwise substantiated. In November 1988, journalists learned that Mr. Kimberlin, then in a U.S. prison in Oklahoma on drug and explosives violations, was claiming that he sold marijuana to Mr. Quayle in the early 1970s when Mr. Quayle was a law student. The prison warden set up a group interview with media organizations. But after the Bush/Quayle campaign expressed dismay over the situation, Mr. Quinlan ordered the press conference canceled and had Mr. Kimberlin placed in a special detention cell. Mr. Kimberlin, who has since been paroled, sued Mr. Quinlan, claiming that the official had violated his constitutional right to free speech. A federal judge here ruled at a preliminary stage that the suit could go forward. But the federal appeals court here reversed that ruling and ordered the suit dismissed. The appeals court set a tough standard for such a suit to avoid early dismissal: Even before trial, the appeals court said, the plaintiff must provide "direct evidence" of government officials' intent to violate constitutional rights. Mr. Kimberlin appealed that ruling to the Supreme Court. The Clinton administration, asked by the justices for its views, had urged them to use the case to decide whether direct, as opposed to circumstantial, evidence is required for such suits to go to trial. If Mr. Kimberlin wins the case it could go back to the trial court at a time that could be embarrassing for Mr. Quayle's plans to run for president next year. The truth of Mr. Kimberlin's allegation against Mr. Quayle wouldn't be an issue in the trial, however. (Kimberlin vs. Quinlan) (END) DOW JONES NEWS 01-23-95 6 18 AM RTec 01/22 1153 Dutch minister proposes regulating soft drugs Copyright, 1995 Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved. The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd. AMSTERDAM, Jan 22 (Reuter) - The Dutch government is considering the regulation of soft drugs supplied to the country's "coffee shops," where the buying of marijuana and hashish is tolerated, the Justice Ministry said on Sunday. A spokeswoman confirmed comments made by the justice minister in the press on Saturday, but emphasised that the Netherlands was not proposing the legalisation of drugs. "There has been some exaggeration in the media, but the minister is only proposing regulation and she must have talks with the public prosecutor and health ministry," she said. The Dutch tolerate the buying and smoking of small quantities of soft drugs in the hundreds of coffee shops spread throughout the Netherlands, but the supply of these drugs is still illegal. "We must get over the hypocrisy of what is not allowed in front of the (the coffee shop) door and what is tolerated behind it. It may have worked well in the seventies, but now it is getting out of hand," justice minister Winnie Sorgdrager told the de Volkskrant newspaper. Sordrager said she was looking at the possibility of the state regulating the supply and production of soft drugs within the Netherlands, which currently attracts criminal gangs. "It should be possible to differentiate between what is produced within the Netherlands and what is produced abroad," she said. A spokesman for the coffee shops estimated, during an interview on Dutch television on Saturday, that about half the soft drugs consumed are produced domestically. He said there were about 600,000 "regular" users of marijuana and hashish in the country and around 400,000 "occasional" users. French authorities have strongly criticised liberal Dutch drugs policies arguing that they promote drug consumption and criminality. REUTER RTna 01/20 1645 Canadian province to study decriminalizing drugs Copyright, 1995 Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved. The following news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Reuters Ltd. VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuter) - The Canadian province of British Columbia said Friday it would look into decriminalizing some drugs like heroin under certain circumstances in an attempt to combat overdose deaths. The province's chief coroner, Vince Cain, proposed not prosecuting users for possessing some drugs and perhaps even providing heroin to some hardened addicts. His ideas were outlined in a report released Friday on reducing drug deaths. "I am recommending the decriminalization of simple possession of specific 'soft' and 'hard' drugs. ... I am suggesting the possibility of providing heroin to seriously addicted people in a paramedical model," Cain said. Such moves may reduce drug-related crime and trafficking and encourage addicts to enter treatment programs, he said. Such an approach, which treats drug addiction as a health problem rather than a crime, has been tried elsewhere, including the Netherlands and Liverpool, England, Cain said. Overdose deaths have soared in British Columbia on Canada's Pacific Coast due to an influx of extremely pure heroin from Asia. Illegal drug use is the leading cause of death in the province for people between 30 and 44 years old, and heroin was involved in 90 percent of those deaths in 1993, Cain said. Cain did not name the drugs he wants decriminalized and said they should be determined through further study. Marijuana and hashish are commonly considered soft drugs, while cocaine and heroin are usually classified as hard drugs. Government officials announced the creation of a task force to explore the proposals, and officials said they planned to discuss them with counterparts in Canada's federal and provincial governments. "This represents a significant shift in social policy which cannot be undertaken without national consensus," said British Columbia health minister Paul Ramsey. REUTER APn 01/20 0619 BRF--Tattletale Son Copyright, 1995. The Associated Press. All rights reserved. PONTOTOC, Miss. (AP) -- A 5-year-old home from school with the chicken pox called 911 five times and got his pot-smoking mother busted. "The boy was so proud of himself," Sheriff Randy Roberts said Thursday. "He was tickled to death at what he'd done." Authorities got five emergency calls in nine minutes on Wednesday afternoon from the child's home. The caller hung up the first three times, but the 911 system showed where the call came from. "Then on the fourth call the dispatcher told him that a car was being sent out to check on him and he said, `Don't send the law,'" Roberts said. "Then he called a fifth time and hung up again." Deputies said they arrived at the house and found the woman smoking marijuana. Her son showed them where to find a small amount of the drug hidden under a couch, police said. The mother, whose name wasn't released, faced misdemeanor drug charges. The child was being cared for by relatives. UPma 01/18 1602 Marijuana defendant commits suicide GRANDVIEW HEIGHTS, Ohio, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- A local and state investigation was underway into the apparent suicide of Keith Wise, 38, of Las Vegas, who shot himself Tuesday in front of his lawyer's office. Wise was dead at the scene in the suburban Columbus community one hour before he was expected to plead guilty to two federal conspiracy charges -- conspiracy to distribute more than a ton of marijuana and conspiracy to launder money. Kevin Durkin, Wise's lawyer, discovered his client's body as he walked to his office from a parking lot. Wise appeared to be shot in his head and a handgun was on the ground under one of Wise's legs. Grandview City Attorney Brian Cook said the death is being investigated by city police detectives, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, and the Franklin County coroner's office. Wise was one of 19 people, including Upper Arlington businessman Robert Hill, indicted in August in connection with a gang that allegedly smuggled more than three tons of marijuana to Columbus from Tucson, Ariz., during a five-year period ended in October 1993. Hill, the alleged ringleader of the smuggling operation, faces up to life in prison after pleading guilty last week to a drug kingpin charge and one count of conspiracy to launder money. DJ 01/18 0619 Drug Comeback: One Sad Trend Lost In Shuffle By Gerald F. Seib Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal The new Congress isn't exactly short of things to do, but here's one task crying out for attention: putting a stop to the backsliding underway in the national war against drugs. Subtly, almost imperceptibly, drug use is creeping back up among America's youth. Worse yet, all the warning signs of bigger problems ahead are flashing. Use of marijuana, often a precursor of cocaine use, is up sharply among teens. Simultaneously, young people's perception that drugs are risky is declining, an attitude change that usually forecasts an actual upturn in drug use. At least one powerful voice is trying to persuade the new, Republican-controlled Congress to fix its eyes on this troubling picture. The voice belongs to William Bennett, the former drug czar, who has been pressing new GOP members to get drugs onto at least their second 100 days' agenda. His message, Mr. Bennett says, is simply this: "You cannot ignore it." In truth, though, ignoring the problem is what a lot of people, in Congress and out, have been doing. Consequently, the country is in a position roughly akin to that of a drug abuser who may appear to be recovering but who actually is in grave danger of a relapse. Over the last few years, it was possible to conclude that, outside of the inner cities, broader American society had finally turned the tide in its long battle against illegal drugs. Studies by the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, for instance, showed that drug use among high school seniors declined gradually but steadily through the second half of the 1980s and into the 1990s. Not coincidentally, perceptions that regular drug use was risky rose through the same period. Now, those comforting trendlines have turned. The University of Michigan research shows that illicit drug use has been rising, slowly but clearly, among eighth and 10th graders and high school seniors in each of the last two years. Particularly alarming was the rise found in the use of marijuana. Over the past two to three years, the share of students reporting use of marijuana at least once in the past year has doubled among eighth graders, grown by two-thirds among 10th graders, and jumped by 40% among high school seniors. The rise in marijuana use is particularly troubling, because historical trends show that marijuana is a "gateway" drug often leading to other drugs. Recent studies by Columbia University's Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, or CASA, document a link between marijuana, as well as alcohol and tobacco, and later cocaine use. To put a grim human face on the latest statistics, CASA estimates that the jump in youthful marijuana use means 820,000 more young Americans will try cocaine in their lifetime, and that 58,000 of them will become regular cocaine users as adults. Why is this happening? The best guess is the broadest one. The country is letting down its collective guard. For starters, society generally has stopped pounding home the theme that drugs are dangerous, meaning that a whole new set of young Americans isn't getting the same kind of clear signal their older brothers and sisters did. "The message is getting mixed," frets Joseph Califano, the former health, education and welfare secretary and CASA's chairman. "It's everything from the fact that we're starting to see pot come back to the movies and the music business, which are incredibly important to young people, to the fact that Jocelyn Elders is sending out an ambiguous message." (END) DOW JONES NEWS 01-18-95 6 23 AM UPn 01/16 1734 Parental oversight lowers drug risk DETROIT, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- Children whose parents are home or reachable after school, and who enforce nighttime curfews, are less likely to experiment with tobacco, alcohol or illicit drugs, a study said Monday. The study conducted by a researcher at Detroit's Henry Ford Hospital tracked the drug-related behavior of 900 third- and fourth-graders in Baltimore. It concluded that parental monitoring, even among single parents, improved chances that youngsters would steer clear of drugs. The study was published in the January issue of The American Journal of Epidemiology. "This is the first study that indicates that parents who develop and maintain consistent guidelines for their children, and make an effort to know where they are and what they're doing, have an opportunity to prevent their children from starting drug use at very early ages," said Howard D. Chilcoat, study author and researcher at the hospital's Department of Psychiatry. Previous research has suggested early drug use increases the risk of drug problems later in life as well as involvement in delinquent activities, Chilcoat said. More than 900 students in grades three and four, between ages 8 and 10, were interviewed in 1989 and 1990 for the latest study. They were asked about tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and inhalants. None of the students tried drugs before the first interview. But 4.2 percent said they had tried drugs or tobacco by 1990. Among those interviewed, Chilcoat said, 2.7 percent reported using tobacco and 1.5 percent used alcohol. Less than 1 percent used inhalants, marijuana or cocaine, but nearly 2 percent reported use of more than one of the items. At the start of the study, children were asked about parental supervision, including after-school and weekend curfews; the presence of an adult within an hour after the child came home after school; and if the child knew how to contact parents after they came home from school. Chilcoat said the study found high levels of parent monitoring in 1989 was linked to a lower risk for drug sampling over the next year. The children with the highest level of parental monitoring showed the lowest incidence of drug use, he said. Also, the relationship between monitoring and risk of drug sampling did not change in single-parent families. Although children from single- parent families reported lower levels of parental monitoring, the incidence of drug sampling did not differ in single-parent versus two- parent families. PR 01/16 0759 STUDY FINDS PARENTAL MONITORING AFFECTS KID'S EARLY DETROIT, Jan. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Parents who monitor their child's behavior and whereabouts reduce the likelihood of the child sampling drugs at an early age, according to a study published in the January issue of The American Journal of Epidemiology. "Recent research suggests that early drug use is linked to a greater risk of later drug problems as well as involvement in delinquent activities," said Howard D. Chilcoat, Sc.D., author of the study and a researcher in the Department of Psychiatry at Henry Ford Hospital. "This is the first study that indicates that parents who develop and maintain consistent guidelines for their children and make an effort to know where they are and what they're doing have an opportunity to prevent their children from starting drug use at very early ages." More than 900 Baltimore-area elementary students in grades three and four (8-10 years old) were interviewed in 1989 and again in 1990 about their use of tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and inhalants. None of the students in the study had sampled drugs at the time of the first interview. However, in 1990, 4.2 percent said they had tried drugs. The most frequently mentioned drug was tobacco, with 2.7 percent of all children in the sample using it, followed by alcohol (1.5 percent), inhalants (0.8 percent), marijuana (0.5 percent) and cocaine (0.1 percent). Almost two percent reported use of more than one of these drugs. At the start of the study, children were asked about the supervision they experienced at home and the extent to which parents monitored activities and behavior outside the school environment. Among the factors included in the report were: Established rules about when the child should come home after school or on weekend nights. The presence of adult supervision within one hour of the child going home after school. If the child knew how to contact parents if they were not at home after school The study found high levels of parent monitoring in 1989 signaled subsequent lower risk for drug sampling. The children with the highest amount of parent monitoring showed the lowest incidence of drug use. When variables such as sex, age, minority status, level of affiliation with drug using peers and level of antisocial behavior were considered, the relationship between parent monitoring and drug sampling remained significant. Also, the relationship between monitoring and risk of drug sampling did not change in single-parent families. Even though children from single-parent families reported lower levels of parent monitoring, the incidence of drug sampling did not differ in single-parent versus two-parent families. "Changes in parent monitoring also were related to drug sampling," said Dr. Chilcoat. "Although it is normal for parent monitoring to decline as children mature from middle childhood to adolescence, this study indicates that the more parent monitoring declines, the higher the risk for starting drug use." -0- 1/16/95 RTna 01/12 1051 Dutch govt to lodge protest over U.S. drug report THE HAGUE (Reuter) - The Dutch government said Thursday its embassy in Washington would lodge a protest over a U.S. government report that it said grossly misrepresented the country's drugs policy. A report from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that said Dutch authorities condoned the street trade in drugs was described by Foreign Minister Hans van Mierlo as a "blatant violation of the facts." "We have instructed our embassy in Washington to point out our opinion of the report to the U.S. authorities," said a foreign ministry spokeswoman. The DEA report was entitled "How to hold your own in a drug legalization debate." Drugs are illegal in the Netherlands, but the sale of cannabis in euphemistically named "coffee shops" is tolerated and the possession of small quantities of heroin and cocaine allowed for personal use. The Dutch claim this liberal approach has helped contain the number of its addicts. But France and other countries have heavily criticised Dutch policy, saying it encourages drug use. REUTER PA 12/14 1329 CANNABIS: THE FACTS Copyright 1994 PA News. Copying, storing, redistribution, retransmission, publication, transfer or commercial exploitation of this information is expressly forbidden. By Teilo Colley, PA News Cannabis is Britain's most popular soft drug and if its supporters had their way it would be perfectly legal to light up in public. :: Cannabis sativa -- also known as Indian hemp, marijuana, pot, tea, weed, hash, ganja, dope, Mary Jane and countless other nicknames -- is a hardy plant which grows all over the world and has been in use for thousands of years, though mainly for making rope rather than smoking. :: The ingredient which gives users the high is tetrahydrocannibol (THC). The dried or compressed plant is smoked and, depending on the THC content, induces a mildly euphoric state. :: Its supporters claim it is non-addictive and virtually harmless, but detractors argue that it can impair judgement and lead to harder drugs. :: Earlier this year, the Home Secretary angered the pro-pot lobby by increasing fines for possession. His decision also surprised some police forces, which routinely give just a caution for possession of small amounts. :: The decriminalisation debate is not new -- on 24 July 1967, 65 prominent people signed an advertisement in The Times calling for cannabis legalisation. :: Former Beatle Paul McCartney, a signatory who some years later was deported from Japan for being in possession, says of pot: "It's a whole lot less harmful than whisky, rum punch, nicotine and glue." :: Earlier this year Germany's Supreme Court ruled that possession of small amounts was not a punishable offence, bringing the country into line with Holland, which has long tolerated its use and where it is the sixth most important greenhouse crop. :: A survey carried out by Time Out magazine last year found that 97% of all 25-year-olds in London had used marijuana. Police say that its cultivation in Britain is widespread and increasing. :: Some doctors believe cannabis can help sufferers of a variety of medical conditions including multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and glaucoma. UPn 12/12 1519 Teen survey: Marijuana, cocaine use up WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- Marijuana use by teenagers increased nationwide this year, while one out of every 30 eighth graders has at least tried cocaine, according to the annual Monitoring the Future Survey released Monday. It was the third straight year the survey of 8th, 10th and 12th grade students has shown an increase in marijuana use after a decline in the late 1980s. The survey indicates that cocaine use, though used much less than marijuana, increased this year among 8th and 10th graders. Survey results were announced at the Department of Health and Human Services by HHS Secretary Donna Shalala, national drug policy director Lee Brown and Education Secretary Richard Riley. The survey also indicated that anti-drug attitudes among teenagers are deteriorating, officials said. HHS is developing a marijuana prevention campaign aimed at younger audiences to combat the increase in use, Shalala said, because studies show most drug use starts with marijuana. HHS also released a survey from the Drug Abuse Warning Network that showed an 8 percent increase in drug-related emergency room visits by all ages in 1993 for such incidents as drug overdoses, suicide attempts and drug-related diseases. The DAWN survey showed no significant changes in several categories, including cocaine-related emergency room cases, but showed a 31 percent increase in heroin-related cases, a 22 percent increase in marijuana/hashish cases and a 53 percent increase in "speed" or methampethamine cases. In contrast, the Monitoring the Future Survey found that among 1994's high school seniors, 30.7 percent said they had tried marijuana at least once in the last year, compared to 26 percent of 1993's seniors and 21.9 percent of 1992's. But the figures remained lower than the survey's historic highs from 1979 (50.8 percent) through 1985 (an average of 40 percent). The MFS also found: -- 45.6 percent of high school seniors had used an illicit drug at least once in their lifetimes, up from 42.9 percent in 1993 (but less than the peak of 65.6 percent in 1981). -- After remaining static in 1992 and 1993, the portion of high school seniors who have used cocaine sometime during their lifetimes rose for 8th and 10th graders, but essentially staying the same for 12th graders. -- The percentage of 8th graders who used cocaine at least once increased from 2.9 percent in 1993 to 3.6 percent in 1994, and for 10th graders from 3.6 to 4.3 percent. Crack cocaine usage also increased for 8th graders. Those using crack at least once rose from 1.7 to 2.4 percent over the past year. -- The percentage of 8th, 10th and 12th graders who perceive cocaine to be harmful decreased from 62.8 percent in 1991 to 54.5 percent this year. -- Use of hallucinogens among 10th graders increased from 6.8 to 8.1 percent from 1993 to 1994. -- Following a long period of decline, alcohol use remained the same among seniors in 1994. The MFS was conducted by the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, under a grant from HHS's National Institute on Drug Abuse. The Drug Abuse Warning Network survey is based on reports from hospital emergency rooms. The MFS survey of high school seniors has been conducted annually since 1975, while 8th and 10th graders were added in 1991. (Written by Michael Kirkland in Washington) UPma 12/10 1105 Man charged in officers' deaths GARFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio, Dec. 10 -- A Warrensville Heights man was charged Friday with two counts of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated vehicular homicide in the deaths of two Garfield Heights police officers. Anthony Taylor, 26, is being held on $200,000 bond in Garfield Heights City Jail. He was arrested after a tip led police officers to a home, where Taylor was hiding in the basement. Police investigators said he had a small amount of marijuana, a pager and $285 in cash on him. Patrolman Robert Stefanov and Michael Brown died early Thursday in a crash that occurred while they were allegedly chasing Taylor. Their cruiser, driven by Stefanov, hit a car while going through an intersection and flipped over. The roof of the patrol car was smashed against two utility poles, trapping the officers inside. It took nearly an hour to remove their bodies from the wreckage. Police Chief Thomas Murphy said their investigation would be completed Monday, but noted the officers did not violate the department's pursuit policy. Stefanov, 30, had been a patrolman for five years; Brown, 26, for four years. UPs 12/08 1709 bb-lawn NEW YORK, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Jack Lawn announced his resignation Thursday as chief of operations of the New York Yankees. Lawn, who was head of the Drug Enforcement Agency during the Bush administration, will become chairman and chief executive officer of the Century Council, a non-profit anti-alcohol abuse organization based in Los Angeles. Lawn had been the Yankees' vice president and chief of operations for the past five years and was in charge of the club's business activities. UPn 12/08 1236 Reno: No evidence on drug allegations WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Attorney General Janet Reno said Thursday she has no information that would back up allegations by House Speaker- elect Newt Gingrich that one-quarter of the White House staff has used drugs within the last five years. Gingrich, who said he based his allegations on a conversation with an unnamed "senior law enforcement official," made the comment during an interview last Sunday on the NBC News television program "Meet the Press." Reno said she had not received any information that would support the claim, and "I don't have any insight into Speaker Gingrich's comment." But Reno added she was sure the Justice Department would be hearing from Gingrich if he has any specific information to convey. Gingrich made the comment after being questioned on his earlier characterization of President Clinton and the first lady as members of the "counterculture." The incoming House speaker conceded that, like Clinton, he had smoked marijuana more than 20 years ago, but "that just meant I was alive and a graduate student." Gingrich pointed to delays in granting security clearances to White House staff as supporting the drug use claim. Reno said Thursday that the clearance delays by the FBI were caused by the Democratic administration filling an unusually large number of positions after 12 years of Republican control of the executive branch. Reno said the administration also was trying to fill 113 federal judgeships left over from the Bush administration. "The FBI had a lot to do," she said. (Written by Michael Kirkland in Washington) RTw 12/08 0915 Japanese man seeks new trial in Philippines BACOLOD, Philippines, Dec 8 (Reuter) - A Japanese businessman sentenced to death in the Philippines for drug trafficking says he was framed and will seek a new trial, his lawyer said on Thursday. Hideshi Suzuki, the first foreigner sentenced to die since the Philippines revived capital punishment earlier this year, was convicted by a court in central Bacolod city on Wednesday of transporting 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) of dried marijuana leaves. Suzuki's lawyer, Ernesto Treyes, told reporters he had at least two new witnesses who could prove the marijuana that police said they seized from the Suzuki last April at Bacolod airport belonged to someone else. "We are up against a formidable group," he said. He did not elaborate. Treyes did not say why the witnesses were not presented in the just-ended trial. Suzuki was the 15th person sentenced to death under the new law. The others were all Filipinos. REUTER UPn 12/08 0710 Chernobyl zone yields drugs By KIRILL KOKTYSH MINSK, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- The restricted radiation zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant has proved to be fertile ground for growing drugs, the Belarus Interior Ministry said Thursday. Chernobyl, in northern Ukraine just across the border from Belarus, was the site of the world's worst nuclear accident in April 1986, suffering a near meltdown after a fire and explosion that spewed radiation over a wide area of Europe and left the land around the power plant poisoned and sealed off in a restricted zone. Marijuana growers sneaked into the zone and cultivated a crop which they apparently thought was safely away from the watchful eye of the authorities who manned checkpoints leading to the Chernobyl zone. "The Belarus side of the Chernobyl zone is strictly guarded only on the roads," acknowledged Minister of Internal Affairs Sergei Pivanov. "We can't keep many people at the place. That's really dangerous for health. We are not able to block all the way from the forest." And so people looking for empty fields and abandoned garden plots to sow their illicit crop managed to slip into the zone and reap a harvest of hot hashish, poisioned poppy plants and marijuana made in the shadow of Chernobyl. The Interior Ministry said it conducted a four-month surveillance operation followed by a crackdown that netted hundreds of suspects and whole fields of drugs growing in a zone declared off limits for health and safety reasons. Poppies and their opium product and marijuna were confiscated, and large areas of planted fields were destroyed, Pivanov said in revealing details of what the Interior Ministry called Operation Poppy and Operation Doping, conducted in a 19-mile (30 km) zone around Chernobyl and concluded last month. The drugs are presumed to be high in radiation since they were grown so close to Chernobyl in an area deemed unsafe, abandoned by its residents and sealed off as a danger zone. The drugs were believed to be destined for European markets, according to the Interior Ministry. The Chernobyl drug field cases have contributed to a four-fold jump in criminal cases in Belarus this year, Pivanov said. He noted that of the 1,900 drug trafficking cases filed nationwide this year, 1,365 are in court in Gomel, a city in southeastern Belarus whose district includes the Chernobyl zone to the south. He said prosecutors were still working on the cases and he could not say how many people would be charged criminally in connection with the Chernobyl drug fields. Although Belarus authorities suggested that some of the drug farmers may have slipped into the off-limits zone from the Ukraine side, Ukrainian drug enforcement officials said they were unaware of the Belarus operation and that their regular flyovers revealed no such similar activity on Ukrainian lands around Chernobyl. Unrelated to the Chernobyl drug connection, Belarus said there is a growing problem of drugs crossing its borders from the east as Central Asia residents pass through allegedly bringing drugs grown in their home countries to Europe, using Russia, Belarus, Ukraine or the Baltics as transit points, though the former Soviet republics are starting to reinforce their international borders. And some former residents of the region, mainly the elderly, have been trickling back to homes in the off-limits zone, homes abandoned in the aftermath of the Chernobyl accident, returning to live and grow vegetables in their garden plots. APn 12/06 1250 BRF--Australia-Marijuana Copyright, 1994. The Associated Press. All rights reserved. CANBERRA, Australia (AP) -- Australia's capital territory on Tuesday reversed a decision to legalize the therapeutic use of marijuana. Last week's vote prompted a storm of protest from federal officials and police who accused lawmakers of going soft on drugs. The law would have allowed doctors in the Canberra area to prescribe marijuana in small amounts for therapeutic use. On Tuesday legislators in the territory restricted the law to doctors undertaking research. Independent lawmaker Michael Moore called the amendment shameless politicking. "We were only exempting from a $100 ($US 76) fine under the strictest of conditions people who were dying of AIDS or who had cancer or who were going blind," Moore said. APn 12/03 0221 BRF--Marijuana Festival Copyright, 1994. The Associated Press. All rights reserved. AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) -- It had all the feel of an old-fashioned state fair, as growers entered contests for the best crop and traded farming tips while others attended fashion shows and pop music concerts. But in this case the crop was marijuana, and the celebration was equal parts trade fair and drug festival. Named for the potent marijuana developed and grown in the Netherlands -- a nation known for high-tech agricultural techniques -- the second annual Netherweed Festival Friday drew about 2,000 visitors. The sale and possession of both hard and soft drugs in small quantities are non-prosecutable offenses in the Netherlands, although technically still illegal. Police prefer to concentrate on arresting large-scale traffickers. Ed Rosenthal, a self-proclaimed "marijuana expert" from Oakland, Calif., was invited to the festival to give a speech on growing techniques. When he arrived, there was no microphone and no projector for his slides, but he didn't seem to mind. "Get me a chair to stand on and a joint, pure marijuana with hashish, and we'll be alright," he told the organizers. AAP 12/01 1617 NEW ACT CANNABIS LAWS WELCOMED BY PERTH USER Copyright 1994 The Australian Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. By Judy Hughes of AAP PERTH, Dec 1 AAP - New laws in the ACT which allow possession of marijuana for medical purposes were today warmly welcomed by a Perth man who claims he uses cannabis to prevent severe vomiting attacks. Gordon Huntley, 43, of the Perth suburb of Balga, said the ACT initiative was wonderful news which heartened him in his own campaign for the introduction of similar laws in Western Australia. He said he knew of hundreds of people in WA who used cannabis to relieve the symptoms of a variety of medical conditions including multiple sclerosis, cancer and asthma. "I'm currently forming a group called the Alliance for Cannabis Therapeutics to push for marijuana law reform," he said. Mr Huntley has a complex medical condition which includes multiple sclerosis. He said today he used cannabis about three to four times a day, usually in the form of a tea, because he found it prevented vomiting attacks and helped stimulate his appetite. "If I don't use it, over a period of time I start getting these severe vomiting attacks," he said. "I stopped using it for about six months and my weight dropped two and a half stone and I ended up in hospital." Mr Huntley said he grows marijuana plants for personal use and has had his home raided by police seven times in the past four years. He said he had been fined a total of more than $1,000 after being convicted six times and was due to face court again on January 5 on the seventh charge. Mr Huntley said the raids were very stressful for him, particularly in view of his deteriorating health. He said he had tried other medical treatments to relieve his problem with vomiting, but they had either failed or had serious side effects. "With one I lost total bowel control and it was just really difficult for me to go out," he said. Mr Huntley said he had used marijuana for 25 years and had not suffered any side effects from it. He staged a five-day hunger strike in October as part of his campaign to press the state government for laws which provided legal access to cannabis for those with serious medical conditions. The ACT's Legislative Assembly passed legislation yesterday allowing people to grow up to five marijuana plants or possess up to 25 grams of marijuana for medicinal purposes under certain conditions. AAP jlh/jn/de AAP 12/01 1012 NSW MP CALLS FOR MATCHING CANNABIS LEGISLATION Copyright 1994 The Australian Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. SYDNEY, Dec 1 AAP - A New South Wales MP today called for the state government to match the ACT's new marijuana laws, which allows people to possess the drug for medical purposes. Upper House Democrats MP Richard Jones said the ACT's lead gave "a marvellous opportunity" for additional research to be done on the effects of marijuana prescribed for certain conditions. He said he was encouraged to see the Liberals combining with the Independents in the ACT to have the new law passed. "It is now time for the NSW parliament to look at the legislation and pass a similar law to enable a legal, controlled study to ascertain the effects of cannabis on people who are ill and suffering," Mr Jones said. The ACT's Legislative Assembly yesterday passed legislation allowing people to grow up to five marijuana plants or possess up to 25 grams of marijuana for medicinal purposes under certain conditions. Under the new law, proposed by ACT Independent MP Michael Moore, GPs can prescribe marijuana for individual patients if they consider there is a clinical need. The doctor must keep research notes and make a case report. Mr Moore said the move was good news for people who relied on cannabis to arrest blindness caused by glaucoma and for treating nausea caused by chemotherapy, muscle spasms from muscular disorders and the symptoms of AIDS. AAP mm/kr/dmb