Anonymouse
2004-09-03 18:17:51 UTC
NORML E-Zine
Volume 7
Issue 34
September 2, 2004
The NORML E-Zine is a free weekly compilation of major news items
regarding marijuana policy. Text of archived stories is available on
NORML's website at:
http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=3442
Donate today to NORML's long-standing efforts to end pot prohibition!
https://secure.norml.org/join/
Sign up for NORML's monthly pledge program today!
https://secure.norml.org/join/pledge.html
Gear up for the upcoming presidential election by purchasing t-shirts,
hats and other products from NORML's new "Politically Thinking" line of
merchandise. Every design is intended to help spread NORML's message and
marijuana smokers to the polls this November. Budget conscious NORML
supporters should check out the new "T-shirts Under $15" section.
http://www.cafeshops.com/norml
####################
TOP STORIES
* 99 Percent Of All Marijuana Plants Eradicated In US Is Feral Hemp
* Alaska Court Narrows Marijuana Search Law
* Feds Back Down In CO Medical Marijuana Legal Case
__________________________________________________________________
99 Percent Of All Marijuana Plants Eradicated In US Is Feral Hemp,
Federal Data Reveals
Washington, DC: Approximately ninety-nine percent of all marijuana
eradicated by the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) Domestic
Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program in 2003 was feral hemp-not
cultivated marijuana, according to figures recently published online by
the Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics.
According to the DEA data, of the estimated 247 million marijuana
plants destroyed by law enforcement in 2003, more than 243 million were
classified as "ditch weed," a term the agency uses to define "wild,
scattered marijuana plants [with] no evidence of planting, fertilizing, or
tending." Unlike cultivated marijuana, feral hemp contains virtually no
detectable levels of THC, the psychoactive component in marijuana, and
does not contribute to the black market marijuana trade.
NORML Foundation Executive Director Allen St. Pierre criticized the
program for spending millions of taxpayers' dollars eradicating hemp.
"Hemp is grown legally throughout most the Western world as a commercial
crop for its fiber content, yet the US government is spending taxpayers'
money to target and eradicate this same agricultural commodity," he said,
noting that many of today's current hemp plots are remnants of
US-government subsidized crops that existed prior to World War II.
"Virtually all wild hemp goes unharvested and presents no legitimate
threat to public safety. As such, it should be of no concern to the
federal government or law enforcement."
According to DEA figures, Indiana led all 50 states in the volume of
ditchweed eradicated, destroying more than 219 million plants. Oklahoma
law enforcement eradicated some 10 million plants, and Missouri destroyed
an estimated 4.5 million. More than half of all states failed to report
their ditch weed totals.
California led all 50 states in the number of cultivated plants
eradicated in 2003, with the DEA citing nearly 1.2 million plants
destroyed.
Begun in 1979, the Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program
allocates federal funds to law enforcement agencies in all 50 states for
the purpose of uprooting marijuana. For 2003, DEA data indicates that
8,480 arrests were derived from law enforcement raiding over 34,000
outdoor plots, and over 2,600 indoor gardens.
For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, Executive
Director of the NORML Foundation, at (202) 483-5500. A past NORML report
and analysis on domestic marijuana cultivation is at:
http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=4444
Domestic Marijuana Number of marijuana
Plant Eradication (2003) plants eradicated
1.) California 1,181,957
2.) Tennessee 697,105
3.) Kentucky 527, 775
4.) Hawaii 392,422
5.) New York 99,423
-----------------------
46.) South Dakota 340
47.) Delaware 200
48.) Vermont 173
49.) Rhode Island 76
50.) Wyoming 33
Domestic Hemp Number of hemp
Plant Eradication (2003) plants eradicated
1.) Indiana 219,124,925
2.) Oklahoma 9,995,153
3.) Missouri 4,489,850
4.) North Dakota 3,200,000
5.) Minnesota 3,095,172
DEA Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program data is
available online at:
http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook/1995/pdf/t438.pdf
_________________________________________
Alaska Court Narrows Marijuana Search Law
Police Must Now Suspect That More Than Four Ounces Of Marijuana Is
Involved
Anchorage, Alaska: Alaskan courts continue to observe that the right
of privacy for adults also includes possession up to 4 ounces of
marijuana. According to the Associated Press police cannot execute a
search warrant in a person's home for possession of less than 4 ounces of
marijuana, the Alaska Court of Appeals ruled last Friday.
The court ruled in the case of Leo Richardson Crocker, Jr., who was
charged with marijuana-related offenses after police, acting on a tip,
searched his home and found marijuana and growing equipment. The opinion
is the latest in a series of decisions that have carved out protections
for possessing marijuana in an Alaskan home.
The state Supreme Court in 1975 ruled that an adult's rights to
limited marijuana possession was protected under the state constitution's
privacy provisions. Last year, the Appeals Court defined that limit as 4
ounces. Further, the Appeals Court also struck down a 1990 voter
initiative that criminalized possession of any amount of marijuana.
You can read the Alaska Appeals Court opinion at:
www.state.ak.us/courts/ops/ap-1949.pdf
_________________________________________________
Feds Back Down In CO Medical Marijuana Legal Case
Return Marijuana Growing Equipment To Patient
Aurora, Colorado: Dana May, who suffers from chronic pain, won a major
legal victory last week when the federal government agreed to return all
of his marijuana-growing equipment.
The assistant U.S. attorney also informed NORML Legal Committee member
and Mr. May's criminal defense attorney, Robert J Corry, Jr., that the
feds will not prosecute May for any crime. However, the marijuana Mr. May
was caught with will not be returned.
Executive Director of the NORML Foundation Allen St. Pierre said that
Mr. May and his partner are genuine heroes for standing up to federal law
enforcement and "advocating for the common sense principle that if medical
marijuana is legal for approved patients in Colorado (and nine other
states), and if the government fails to provide for safe and legal access
to a physician-recommended medicine, then Mr. May is guilty at worse of
self-preservation."
May's doctor signed his legal forms in 2002 permitting him to grow and
use marijuana under Colorado law to help treat his chronic pain in his
legs and feet as a result of a 1995 accident. Mr. May called his victory
bittersweet and complained that anti-drug personnel should target hard
drug sellers rather then "going after little pot growers like me."
"I think this is a big step because the DEA giving my equipment back
they know what I'm going to do with it and it's like they're condoning
it," said Mr. May.
You can read more about federal cases against state-sanctioned medical
marijuana users at:
http://www.canorml.org/news/fedmmjcases.html.
For more information relating to Dana May's legal efforts against the
federal government, contact NLC member and Denver criminal defense
attorney Robert Corry Jr, at 303-634-2244.
####################
NORML Media Watch
NORML was featured prominently in several media outlets this week,
including The Olympian, The Lawrence Journal World, and The Abington
Mariner. To read these articles or about other NORML media appearances,
check out "NORML in the Media" at:
http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5481
Sign up for NORML's monthly pledge program today!
https://secure.norml.org/join/pledge.html
Smokers vote in 2004! Check out the candidate's updated positions on
marijuana policy. If you have not already done so, register to vote or
change your voter registration address at:
http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5916
####################
Volume 7
Issue 34
September 2, 2004
The NORML E-Zine is a free weekly compilation of major news items
regarding marijuana policy. Text of archived stories is available on
NORML's website at:
http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=3442
Donate today to NORML's long-standing efforts to end pot prohibition!
https://secure.norml.org/join/
Sign up for NORML's monthly pledge program today!
https://secure.norml.org/join/pledge.html
Gear up for the upcoming presidential election by purchasing t-shirts,
hats and other products from NORML's new "Politically Thinking" line of
merchandise. Every design is intended to help spread NORML's message and
marijuana smokers to the polls this November. Budget conscious NORML
supporters should check out the new "T-shirts Under $15" section.
http://www.cafeshops.com/norml
####################
TOP STORIES
* 99 Percent Of All Marijuana Plants Eradicated In US Is Feral Hemp
* Alaska Court Narrows Marijuana Search Law
* Feds Back Down In CO Medical Marijuana Legal Case
__________________________________________________________________
99 Percent Of All Marijuana Plants Eradicated In US Is Feral Hemp,
Federal Data Reveals
Washington, DC: Approximately ninety-nine percent of all marijuana
eradicated by the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) Domestic
Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program in 2003 was feral hemp-not
cultivated marijuana, according to figures recently published online by
the Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics.
According to the DEA data, of the estimated 247 million marijuana
plants destroyed by law enforcement in 2003, more than 243 million were
classified as "ditch weed," a term the agency uses to define "wild,
scattered marijuana plants [with] no evidence of planting, fertilizing, or
tending." Unlike cultivated marijuana, feral hemp contains virtually no
detectable levels of THC, the psychoactive component in marijuana, and
does not contribute to the black market marijuana trade.
NORML Foundation Executive Director Allen St. Pierre criticized the
program for spending millions of taxpayers' dollars eradicating hemp.
"Hemp is grown legally throughout most the Western world as a commercial
crop for its fiber content, yet the US government is spending taxpayers'
money to target and eradicate this same agricultural commodity," he said,
noting that many of today's current hemp plots are remnants of
US-government subsidized crops that existed prior to World War II.
"Virtually all wild hemp goes unharvested and presents no legitimate
threat to public safety. As such, it should be of no concern to the
federal government or law enforcement."
According to DEA figures, Indiana led all 50 states in the volume of
ditchweed eradicated, destroying more than 219 million plants. Oklahoma
law enforcement eradicated some 10 million plants, and Missouri destroyed
an estimated 4.5 million. More than half of all states failed to report
their ditch weed totals.
California led all 50 states in the number of cultivated plants
eradicated in 2003, with the DEA citing nearly 1.2 million plants
destroyed.
Begun in 1979, the Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program
allocates federal funds to law enforcement agencies in all 50 states for
the purpose of uprooting marijuana. For 2003, DEA data indicates that
8,480 arrests were derived from law enforcement raiding over 34,000
outdoor plots, and over 2,600 indoor gardens.
For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, Executive
Director of the NORML Foundation, at (202) 483-5500. A past NORML report
and analysis on domestic marijuana cultivation is at:
http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=4444
Domestic Marijuana Number of marijuana
Plant Eradication (2003) plants eradicated
1.) California 1,181,957
2.) Tennessee 697,105
3.) Kentucky 527, 775
4.) Hawaii 392,422
5.) New York 99,423
-----------------------
46.) South Dakota 340
47.) Delaware 200
48.) Vermont 173
49.) Rhode Island 76
50.) Wyoming 33
Domestic Hemp Number of hemp
Plant Eradication (2003) plants eradicated
1.) Indiana 219,124,925
2.) Oklahoma 9,995,153
3.) Missouri 4,489,850
4.) North Dakota 3,200,000
5.) Minnesota 3,095,172
DEA Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program data is
available online at:
http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook/1995/pdf/t438.pdf
_________________________________________
Alaska Court Narrows Marijuana Search Law
Police Must Now Suspect That More Than Four Ounces Of Marijuana Is
Involved
Anchorage, Alaska: Alaskan courts continue to observe that the right
of privacy for adults also includes possession up to 4 ounces of
marijuana. According to the Associated Press police cannot execute a
search warrant in a person's home for possession of less than 4 ounces of
marijuana, the Alaska Court of Appeals ruled last Friday.
The court ruled in the case of Leo Richardson Crocker, Jr., who was
charged with marijuana-related offenses after police, acting on a tip,
searched his home and found marijuana and growing equipment. The opinion
is the latest in a series of decisions that have carved out protections
for possessing marijuana in an Alaskan home.
The state Supreme Court in 1975 ruled that an adult's rights to
limited marijuana possession was protected under the state constitution's
privacy provisions. Last year, the Appeals Court defined that limit as 4
ounces. Further, the Appeals Court also struck down a 1990 voter
initiative that criminalized possession of any amount of marijuana.
You can read the Alaska Appeals Court opinion at:
www.state.ak.us/courts/ops/ap-1949.pdf
_________________________________________________
Feds Back Down In CO Medical Marijuana Legal Case
Return Marijuana Growing Equipment To Patient
Aurora, Colorado: Dana May, who suffers from chronic pain, won a major
legal victory last week when the federal government agreed to return all
of his marijuana-growing equipment.
The assistant U.S. attorney also informed NORML Legal Committee member
and Mr. May's criminal defense attorney, Robert J Corry, Jr., that the
feds will not prosecute May for any crime. However, the marijuana Mr. May
was caught with will not be returned.
Executive Director of the NORML Foundation Allen St. Pierre said that
Mr. May and his partner are genuine heroes for standing up to federal law
enforcement and "advocating for the common sense principle that if medical
marijuana is legal for approved patients in Colorado (and nine other
states), and if the government fails to provide for safe and legal access
to a physician-recommended medicine, then Mr. May is guilty at worse of
self-preservation."
May's doctor signed his legal forms in 2002 permitting him to grow and
use marijuana under Colorado law to help treat his chronic pain in his
legs and feet as a result of a 1995 accident. Mr. May called his victory
bittersweet and complained that anti-drug personnel should target hard
drug sellers rather then "going after little pot growers like me."
"I think this is a big step because the DEA giving my equipment back
they know what I'm going to do with it and it's like they're condoning
it," said Mr. May.
You can read more about federal cases against state-sanctioned medical
marijuana users at:
http://www.canorml.org/news/fedmmjcases.html.
For more information relating to Dana May's legal efforts against the
federal government, contact NLC member and Denver criminal defense
attorney Robert Corry Jr, at 303-634-2244.
####################
NORML Media Watch
NORML was featured prominently in several media outlets this week,
including The Olympian, The Lawrence Journal World, and The Abington
Mariner. To read these articles or about other NORML media appearances,
check out "NORML in the Media" at:
http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5481
Sign up for NORML's monthly pledge program today!
https://secure.norml.org/join/pledge.html
Smokers vote in 2004! Check out the candidate's updated positions on
marijuana policy. If you have not already done so, register to vote or
change your voter registration address at:
http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5916
####################