Claudio Cappuccino

Testi originali Maggio 2000

Mon, 24 Apr 2000 - Indianapolis Star (IN)
LIMITATIONS OF POWER
It was, said Rep. Henry Hyde, "a throwback to the old Soviet system, where justice is the justice of the government, and the citizen doesn't have a chance." Hyde, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, was referring to a 1984 anti-drug law that allowed federal agents and police wide leeway to seize property and use the proceeds to finance their budgets. Hyde sponsored a bill limiting seizures that was passed recently by Congress, approved by President Clinton and supported by such diverse groups as the Trial Lawyers Association, the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Rifle Association. The 1984 law authorized seizure based on nothing more than "probable cause" to suspect the property was involved in criminal activity. Owners did not have to be convicted or even charged with implication in a crime. In fact, in more than 80 percent of seizure cases, criminal charges were never brought. So Hyde's description was on target. The old law was embarrassingly close to the Soviet way of doing things. Not incidentally, it proved a windfall for crime-fighting agencies. The annual flow of cash, houses, sports cars, vehicles and other assets to the Justice Department escalated from $27 million in 1985 to $449 million in 1998. Local authorities could act on their own or, when involved in a federal case, get a share of the proceeds. Law enforcement groups opposed amending the law, saying it would devastate department budgets and make it easier for drug dealers to escape punishment. In numerous instances, however, the 1984 law was exploited and innocent people were wronged. Often they had no knowledge of illegal activities. Parents had their homes seized because a son was growing marijuana on the property. Families were evicted because a member was charged with drug abuse. A man lost his business because a drug peddler was caught plying his trade in a restroom. In one particularly egregious case, a Florida family had its 4,000-acre ranch seized on suspicion it was a landing strip for a drug-carrying plane that crashed nearby. It took the family four years and thousands of dollars to get the property back. A court ruled the police had no reason to believe the family knew of any drug flights. The new law would make it easier for government to seize property once the owner is convicted of a crime. But minus a conviction, the government must prove the property had been used for criminal activity or was bought with the proceeds from a crime. Should the owner challenge the confiscation, the government must present a "preponderance of evidence" that the property was substantially connected with criminal activity. The law also eliminates a requirement that owners challenging confiscation must post a cash bond worth 10 percent of the property's value. Hyde battled seven years to impose limits on seizure power. That he has finally succeeded is a tribute to his persistence and to the belated, but still welcome, common sense of Congress.
www.starnews.com

06 May 2000 - National Post (Canada)
Luiza Chwialkowska
MARIJUANA GROWERS SOUGHT, EXPERIENCED NEED NOT APPLY
Ottawa Looking For High-Grade Supply For Clinical Trials
OTTAWA - The federal government is seeking individuals or corporations to supply Health Canada with hundreds of kilograms of high-quality marijuana, Allan Rock, the Health Minister, announced yesterday. The "affordable, quality, standardized marijuana products" sought by the government must be grown in Canada and will be used in clinical trials that will investigate potential medical benefits of the drug, according to a Request for Proposals issued by the Department of Public Works. The five-year contract would pay approximately $5-million. Proposals are due by June 6 and a contractor will be chosen this summer. Bidders on the contract will have to obtain a special licence, pass a security check, and cannot employ personnel with past criminal drug convictions. Officials at Public Works would not comment on whether proposals from existing growers could potentially lead to their arrest. "They're not being asked to describe their marijuana-growing operations. They are being asked to describe a proposal for setting up marijuana-growing operations," said Fran Gerhberg, a spokeswoman for Public Works. "If you are growing it already, you are growing it illegally," she noted. The supplier will be required to maintain "stringent security" at its facility. A legal marijuana supply is part of the marijuana research plan announced by Mr. Rock last June. "Establishing a Canadian source of research-grade marijuana is an important step in putting our plan into action, and we will proceed expeditiously," Mr. Rock said in a statement yesterday. The government is reviewing a number of research proposals and could begin supplying marijuana to patients in a matter of months.
www.nationalpost.com

06 May 2000 - Vancouver Sun
Ken MacQueen
B.C. TO OTTAWA: 'THIS BUD'S FOR YOU'
Health Canada Calls For Tenders To Supply High-grade Medical Cannabis.
British Columbia's multi-billion-dollar pot industry has a chance to go legit with the news Friday that Health Canada is calling for tenders to supply high-grade medical marijuana. Announcement of the long-awaited tender was greeted with elation by Hilary Black, founder of Vancouver's Compassion Club Society. The three-year-old club operates in a legal grey zone, supplying medical marijuana to more than 1,000 members with such diseases as AIDS, glaucoma and multiple sclerosis. "We've been waiting for this," Black said Friday. "That's great that the bid is finally out." Brian Taylor, the former mayor of Grand Forks, called the news a huge economic opportunity for the province and a chance to rehabilitate the reputation of so-called B.C. Bud. Taylor has worked for more than three years to establish the Cannabis Research Institute in Grand Forks, designed specifically to supply medical marijuana for the Canadian and export market. Critics have called him a dreamer or a criminal, but Taylor was feeling a sense of vindication Friday, saying his company, which is being underwritten by a private share offering, is well placed to bid for the five-year contract. "This calls for a whole different way of looking at B.C. pot," he said in an interview from Grand Forks. "Instead of it being bike gangs and Asian gangs and police intrusions, this potentially is a major market for B.C. The reputation has been established illicitly, but it could be maintained in a [legal] marijuana market for medical purposes." B.C.'s reputation for high-quality marijuana has earned it international criticism from U.S. and even United Nations drug enforcement agencies. The Organized Crime Agency of B.C. says there are 10,000 illegal growing operations in B.C., producing an annual crop worth more than $3 billion for consumption and export. The government-sanctioned marijuana will be used for clinical research trials to gather scientific evidence on its safety and effectiveness in treating medical conditions. Some seriously ill people say the drug, when smoked or eaten in foods such as brownies, can ease symptoms of many diseases. Black says those at the Compassion Club find the drug can ease pain, cut nausea, reduce the shaking of spastic or degenerative diseases and stimulate appetites, among other benefits. Health Minister Allan Rock has issued legal exemptions to several dozen seriously ill Canadians, allowing them to use the drug. However, until now, he has not acted to provide a supply for the ill or for research. The contract calls for a "reliable source of affordable, quality, standardized marijuana products" for clinical trials. The supplier would have to grow and store the product, manufacture it into cigarettes and distribute it to "recipients authorized by Health Canada." Black said she hopes the Compassion Club will be able to share in the supply, after years of relying on growers who put themselves at considerable legal risk. Taylor, gambling on the potential of medical marijuana, has already acquired land, and established a plan to grow both outdoor and hydroponic organic marijuana. He also has an extensive security plan in place to ensure the crop isn't stolen from the fields or hijacked on the way to market. "B.C. needs this new industry," he said. "If we allow this to slide into the hands of Quebec or an Ontario market, I think we've made a real mistake." He called Health Canada's announcement the start of "a more sensible approach" to marijuana. The bids must be submitted to Ottawa by June 6 and a crop must be ready within a year. But Taylor was taking a few minutes to celebrate. "I've waited so long, I'm going to savour it," he said. "I'm going to have a glass of wine and sit down." Today, Vancouver cannabis activists have organized a "millennium marijuana march" starting at 2 p.m. at the Vancouver Art Gallery at Georgia and Howe and proceeding to Stanley Park. The event, including music, face-painting and a pot seed giveaway, is part of an international effort to end the "global pot prohibition" against medical or recreational use of the drug.
www.vancouversun.com

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