Who Profits The Most By Continuing the War On Drugs?

March 31, 1997: Partnership for a Drug-Free America - AKA: Partnership for a Truth-Free America Sources of Funding from 1988-91 - Extracted from Federal Tax Returns

The Global Inventory Project (GIP) - is a site created as a multimedia repository of national and international projects, studies and other initiatives aimed at promoting and utilizing the resources of the developing Information Society. Launched in 1995, this G7 Pilot Project is coordinated by the European Commission and Japan. *The US is the only G7 Country that does not cultivate hemp. - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K., and the United States*

The News & Observer ( Raleigh, NC) - 4 July 1998 NCSU Paper Scientist Touts - Hemp Paper - but the Drug Enforcement Agency just says no. - Med Byrd, NCSU scientist, has combined science and zeal to develop quality, inexpensive paper out of non-wood fibers such as industrial hemp. - Byrd finds himself having to navigate an unacademic world that features a stonewalling DEA, the piggyback tactics of pro-marijuana lobbyists and an activist movie star who can't get his facts straight.

Pubdate: Wed, 24 Jun 1998 - The Sun ( Baltimore, Md) - The books in question address stevia's sweetening property -- a big no-no in the eyes of the FDA. Stevia could be a major economic threat to established companies that manufacture artificial sweeteners. It's calorie free. - FDA ORDERS BOOKS ABOUT HERB DESTROYED - LAST month, U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials ordered the destruction of three books about an herb and its use. Never mind the First Amendment. Never mind upholding the U.S. Constitution. - The herb at the center of this controversy is Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni, better known as stevia or "honey leaf." Under the law, stevia can be marketed as a dietary supplement like a vitamin but not as a food additive. - The herb is said to benefit the health of those who take it. The FDA considers stevia safe to simply swallow as a supplement ( powder or liquid), but unsafe when added to food or drink. - The FDA goes ballistic when it thinks a company is selling stevia as a natural sweetener -- a property for which the herb is well-known in Paraguay and Brazil where it grows.

3 Jul 1998 Source: Mail and Guardian (South Africa) Author: Ferial Haffajee Such conservative South African companies as Mercedes Benz and PG Bison are funding research - AJOR South African companies, in conjunction with the government, are funding research into hemp production at the country's first experimental cannabis farms. Among them are Mercedes Benz South Africa, PG Bison and Masonite Africa.

Sat, 29 Aug 1998 - BRINGING IN THE HEMP - First there was hemp, hope and hype -- now comes the harvest.Canada's first legal reaping of non-hallucinogenic cannabis in 60 years is just underway and will continue through September.

Date: Fri, 19 May 2000 10:15:35 LOTS OF LOTS OF PEOPLE PRAYING THAT WAR ON DRUGS NEVER ENDS

1 May 2001 Source: National Defense Magazine Author: John Stanton WAR ON DRUGS - U.S. HAS NO 'EXIT STRATEGY'

HASH KEEPS ENGLAND FANS HAPPY - Euro 2000 - the real reason for the trouble-free behaviour of England fans - Police have admitted that the widespread availability of cannabis in the Netherlands has had a calming effect on fans, whom it was feared would cause trouble after the Portugal game last Monday. 1) 2)