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   . . . a weekly service for the media on news items related to marijuana
                                prohibition.
                               June 26, 1997
            Millions Of Taxpayer Dollars To Be Used To Fund Local
                              Anti-Drug Groups
          June 26, 1997, Washington, D.C.:  Locally based anti-drug groups
such as CADCA (Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America) and PRIDE
(National Parents' Resource Institute for Drug Education) can expect a major
increase in federal funding thanks to legislation approved by Congress on
June 20.
          H.R. 956, the "Drug-Free Communities Act," authorizes the Office
of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) to appropriate $143,500,000 over
five years to community-based anti-drug groups that "demonstrate a
comprehensive, long term commitment to reduce substance abuse among youth."
Rep. Bob Portman (R-Ohio), sponsor of the measure and a CADCA board member,
described the bill as "a fundamentally different approach to addressing the
nation's drug crisis."  The legislation now awaits President Bill Clinton's
signature.
          Ironically, the measure's supporters cite conflicting findings as
endorsements for the legislation.  Section 1021 states that, "Substance
abuse among youth has more than doubled in the five-year period preceding
1996, with substantial increases in the use of marijuana, inhalants,
cocaine, methamphetamine, LSD, and heroin."  Conversely, the bill later
states that, "Community anti-drug coalitions throughout the United States
are successfully developing and implementing comprehensive, long-term
strategies to reduce substance abuse among youth on a sustained basis."
NORML Executive Director R. Keith Stroup, Esq. questioned this apparent
conflict.
          "How can Congress claim that local anti-drug coalitions are
successfully combating youth drug use while also maintaining that youth drug
use has significantly increased every year since 1991?" Stroup asked.  "The
age group experiencing the greatest increase in drug use is the same group
that has been subject to the most comprehensive anti-drug education campaign
in our nation's history.  Unfortunately, that campaign -- based primarily on
lies and exaggerations regarding the potential dangers of marijuana -- is
totally ineffective."
          Stroup also reinforced NORML's opposition to adolescent drug use.
"NORML opposes the use of marijuana, or other drugs including alcohol and
tobacco, by adolescents.  NORML remains committed to the notion that
adolescents should grow up drug-free.  However, NORML also opposes
legislation that would designate taxpayers dollars into the hands of
propaganda groups that have failed to demonstrate success at preventing
adolescent drug use."
          For more information, please contact either R. Keith Stroup or
Paul Armentano of NORML @ (202) 483-5500.  For more information on
community-based anti-drug coalitions, please contact Allen St. Pierre of The
NORML Foundation @ (202) 483-8751.
      (Meanwhile) Drug Czar Announces Youth Drug Use Still On The Rise,
                           Advocates More Funding
          June 26, 1997, Washington, D.C.:  Highlights from a semi-annual
White House report on drug use trends indicate that adolescent drug use
remains on the rise, announced Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey at a Tuesday press
conference.  The full report, Pulse Check: National Trends in Drug Abuse,
will be released this summer.
          McCaffrey used the forum to encourage Congress to approve a
proposed $175 million dollar anti-drug media campaign aimed at adolescents.
The money would pay for the purchase of broadcast, print, billboard, and
Internet messages designed to keep adolescents away from drugs.  The Clinton
administration estimates that the campaign will reach 90 percent of all
youths aged 9 to 17 with an anti-drug message at least four times a week.
          McCaffrey confirmed that the federally supported media campaign
will not target alcohol and tobacco use by young people despite evidence
that adolescents consume both drugs at far higher levels than they do
marijuana, the most commonly used illicit drug by youngsters.
          The Drug Czar also announced that his office will put out a
$400,000 contract to develop a more comprehensive anti-drug campaign on the
Internet.  The announcement came just days after The New York Times featured
a front page story entitled: "A Drug Culture Flourishes on the Internet."
The article alleged that drug-tolerant messages on the Internet are
undercutting the Government's anti-drug policies.
          Allen St. Pierre, Executive Director of The NORML Foundation,
responded that almost every federal health agency and anti-drug organization
such as The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), the National
Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Partnership for a Drug-Free America (PDFA),
Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA), and others already have
Internet capability and active websites.  "This appropriation is yet another
example of gross government excess in the War on Drugs," he said.
          For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre of The NORML
Foundation @ (202) 483-8751.
       Sweeping Drug Testing Bill Passed By The Louisiana Legislature
          June 26, 1997, Baton Rouge, LA:  The state Legislature approved
sweeping legislation on June 21 that would mandate welfare recipients and
others to submit to drug tests.  The measure now awaits the signature of
Gov. Mike Foster who is a proponent of wide-scale drug testing.
          House Bill 2435, introduced by Rep. Heulette "Clo" Fontenot
(R-Livingston), requires drug testing for virtually all residents receiving
moneys from the state, including welfare recipients and individuals who
enter into contracts with the state to provide goods and services.  American
Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) spokeswoman Martha Kegel, who argued against
the bill, said that no other state in the nation has implemented such a
program and estimated that the policy could cost Louisiana taxpayers
millions of dollars.
          The legislation requires individuals in the Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families Block Grant Program to undergo mandatory drug testing.
Participants who test positive for illicit drugs on one occasion must
complete a drug rehabilitation program.  Individuals who test positive a
second time will no longer be eligible to receive state entitlements.
          "This bill ... subject[s] ... impoverished people to the indignity
and gross invasion of privacy of having to urinate in a jar as a condition
of getting the assistance that they need," Kegel said.
          The bill also requires random drug testing for "all persons who
receive anything of economic value or receive funding from the state."
Individuals who refuse to comply with the policy or who test positive for an
illegal drug on more than one occasion shall be subject to "termination,
removal, or loss of the contract or loan."
          "There is little evidence indicating that this policy is either
necessary or legal," said NORML Executive Director R. Keith Stroup, Esq.
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