Contact:

A newly published study reports that, while crime has been decreasing nationwide, it has been on an upward course for much of rural America. These trends are clear for index crimes, which include eight of the most serious crimes reported to the FBI, including murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, auto theft, and arson. However, the gap between metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas is closing more rapidly for non-index crimes, which include crimes generally regarded as less serious, such as white-collar crimes, and drug and alcohol-related arrests. In fact, arrest rates are now actually higher for some categories of crimes than in metropolitan areas, starting with domestic abuse, fraud, manslaughter, DUI, forgery, marijuana sale and possession, synthetic drugs sale and possession, burglary, arson, and embezzlement.

“This increase in non-metropolitan crime comes as a bit of surprise,” notes the author of the study, Dr. Terry Rephann, “because many economic and demographic trends in rural America mirror those that have contributed to a downturn in metropolitan crime rates, namely an aging population and increased legal employment opportunities.” However, several countervailing factors appear to oppose this trend, he explains.

Agoura Hills, Ca. – “Who is Brandon Hein?” is the question asked by bumper stickers and the Friends of Brandon Hein Web site at http://www.BrandonHein.com. The site, originally launched 1996, has just been re launched. The new Web site encourages users to purchase goods and services through on line affiliates, thus raising money for the Brandon Hein Legal Defense Fund.

Hein, now 22, was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole for being in a backyard “fort” in the San Fernando Valley suburb of Agoura Hills when another teenager stabbed and killed the son of an LAPD officer. Hein had just turned 18 at the time. Hein, Jason Holland, who admitted the stabbing, and two other boys who were present were all tried together in front of Malibu’s “celebrity Judge” Lawrence J. Mira and all sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. Mira, who is perhaps best known for his incredible patience with Robert Downey, Jr. and other errant celebs, turned his full judicial wrath on the four teenagers in what Rolling Stone magazine called a “Lynching In Malibu.”

Hein had never been in trouble before, but under California’s felony murder rule, prosecutors, chafing from a run of public embarrassment [OJ, the Menendez brothers, and Michael Jackson], chose to charge everyone with murder asserting the boys had gone to the backyard “fort” to steal and not to buy marijuana. Although nothing was taken, prosecutors gave the teen drug dealer immunity in return for his testimony that Hein and the others came to steal his pot.

Hein, who has been in prison for almost five years, has no access to the Internet and has never seen the site, although his “Friends of Brandon Hein” organization keep him informed. The original Web site was partially responsible for the spate of publicity Hein has received on TV shows like Geraldo, Leeza, Charles Grodin, and Hard Copy. The commercial aspect of the site is sure to raise some eyebrows, but supporters maintain that the cost of justice is excessive in the U.S. and that in order to proceed with Brandon’s appeals donations of all kinds are needed. Each page features a clock that shows the length of time Hein has been in prison, reminding visitors that the seconds of this young man’s life are ticking away.

“Ask Brandon” allows users to peruse answers to questions frequently asked of Hein. Brandon Hein accepts responsibility for his actions but maintains it is unjust to punish him for the actions of others. Included is a selection of “Emails: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” that have been received by the Web site. Hein insists on seeing all comments, particularly negative ones which he claims “motivate” him. Hein has completed his Graduate Equivalency Diploma and is working on college courses, paid for by a friend, from Indiana University.

####

For further information contact Dick Detrich [ cruising@gte.net ] 805-498-0287 or Friends4BH@aol.com or Sedona@worldnet.att.net

“Where Eagles Soar,” by Phyllis Modeland,a fast-paced novel set in the Buffalo National Wilderness and Ozarks National Forest of Arkansas, has been released this week by Crossroads Publishing Company, Apple Valley, Minnesotahttp://www.crossroadspub.com/eagles.htm >. The novel is available as an electronic book (e-book) on line, or on CD or floppy disc. “Where Eagles Soar” is a contemporary suspense novel. It takes place deep in Ozarks wilderness areas where no people live and law enforcement is difficult. The rugged, remote area affords seclusion for marijuana growers and abandoned buildings that hide an illicit drug lab. Few venture into this place where motorized vehicles are prohibited. But ornithologist Jo Talley and consulting engineer and Eagle Watch volunteer, Tanner Winslow, go there in a desperate attempt to save a bald eagle they see shot. Theybecome entangled in a deadly struggle against weather, trackless forest and those who would stop at nothing to protect their drug trade, describes the author. This is Modeland’s fourth book. Others

include the non-fiction “A Living History of the Ozarks,” published by Pelican, and two young adult novels; “On the Scent of Danger,” published by Thomas Bourgey and Thorndike, and “Moxie,” published by MacMillan in the United States and in Germany by Franz Schneider. Modeland, who lives in remote Marion County, Arkansas, also is editor and publisher of a weekly international newsletter for electronic book readers, The RunningRiver Reader http://www.runningriver.com/readerarchives/>

Contact:

Telluride Hempery Creations is planning an April 1st, 2000 launch for it’s website http://www.telluridehempery.com. And that’s no joke.

The website is the creation of owner Andy Roo Mowery with help from his partner, Frank Held.

The website promises to offer some new twists on an old idea – bringing uncensored information about hemp to the masses via the Internet. In addition, it will preserve and display the work of hemp artists from all over the world in the Hemp Roots Museum.

Andy has been working on the concept since the fall of 1999 when he learned that Planet Hemp (who has carried his unique macramé jewelry in their store and website) was closing their doors and putting their focus on the Web.

“The Internet will soon be the primary means of gathering information and shopping for goods, so it only makes sense to catch the wave while it is breaking,” Frank says.

“In addition, the offensive actions of the DEA against the hemp industry have forced many of us to become more active in the cause to legalize hemp cultivation in the United States,” Andy says.

During 1999, the first states in the US legalized the cultivation of hemp. However, Drug Czar Gen. Barry McCaffrey, has tried to put a stop to the growth of this potentially prosperous industry.

“As I see it, he went on the offensive by having the DEA confiscate $ 300,000 worth of raw materials from Canada, hold them for several months, and then declare a zero-tolerance policy towards THC. If he could not win the battle of wit, surely, he thought he could bring this industry to its knees by other, more aggressive means,” Andy says.

telluridehempery.com will also provide unique content on the fight to make hemp legal to cultivate in the United States, to legalize medicinal marijuana, to decriminalize recreational marijuana, and to generally end the expensive and failed war on drugs.

“Quite often, information is presented in the media and on various websites giving either a total pro-legalization, or anti-drug stance. The issue is actually quite complex requiring all to find a middle ground. In most cases, the result is further polarization of the masses on the issue. I want to change that by giving both sides an equal voice,” Andy says.

The website will also have free information on how to make Andy’s unique macramé, a museum to preserve and display the creative efforts of hemp artists, a contest giving away $ 1,000 to the hemp artist who gets the most votes for their jewelry and links to hemp manufacturers and stores.

Andy and Frank urge everyone to visit their site and tell them what they think as development will be a continual process. “Even if you want to tell us we are wrong, we want to hear it!” Andy says.

Canadian Rock n Roll icon “Max Wah” spotted with controversial entourage in Dallas!

6 weeks after all but disappearing from the public eye, Max Wah was seen today at a public hearing in Dallas, Texas to rally his support in the legalization of marijuana in the US. Dallas, Texas citizens were outraged to find the Canadian musician gaining massive support from their University of Dallas youth and putting on an illegal protest in the city center. No charges have yet been laid.

Max disappeared a month and a half ago along with two well-known Austrian supermodels, making a hasty trip to South America subsequent to the release of his last record-smashing single, “Wahk this Wahy”. Many attributed his “going on the lamb” to the possibility of legal action being filed by British rock giants Aerosmith for copyright infringement over the self-evident parallel of their hit single, “Walk this way”. In an interview with Wallace Fordman earlier this week, he said “Wah’s alright. He’s a great dude, just a little misadjusted”.

One can only conject what next wild and reckless antics the infamous Max Wah will be up to at the Spring Fest in Amsterdam this weekend!

Find More Marijuana Press Releases

Visitors can sample the current WORLDWIDE NEWS LETTER at http//:http://www.worldwidenewsletter.com and fill in the blanks on world news in this changing world —and a lot more.

This month the WORLDWIDE NEWS LETTER reports on the Northern Ireland “terrorist Engineer; why there’s no let up on the killings of Christians in India; Iraq’s new missiles; what Gorbachev is up to in Russia; Israel’s cruise missiles, and much more. In business news check out the new Super-duper Airbus seating 650 people; How pokemon helps girls; Singapore’s new Island dedicated to business; The new French anti-globalization hero; and there’s lots more.

The Potpourri section is loaded with stories including Britain’s new legal way to release marijuana to the Public; Locating potential strokes before they occur; the latest in Chinese cooking; taking a future bullet train along the Nile, developing a “designer” rice using genetics; it goes on and on. Ever hear of T rays?

Finally the LETTER pokes fun in the Trivia section, like when it describes the new AM and PM toothpastes one can buy as well as why South Korea won’t buy Chinese garlic!

Also available at http://www.worldwidenewsletter.com — Worldwide newspapers priced to meet the average person’s budget.

During the past 8 years via US Mail, WORLDWIDE NEWS LETTER subscribers have been reading worldwide news and features—the good and the bad, many of which get into the local newspaper late, and sometimes never. Now the same information is available via an e mail edition. The NEWS LETTER also chronicles global business stories of interest, again many before local release. Feature stories include international health news, human interest, the environment, food, travel, science, the arts and more. The last page winds up with a trivia section, often humorous and sometimes downright silly.

Visitors to the http://www.worldwidenewsletter.com web site can view a free sampler of the WORLDWIDE NEWS LETTER for their enjoyment and enticement to subscribe.

Find More Marijuana Press Releases

CD-writer.com Ltd announced today that they intended to run a promotion, via Ministry Magazine, to give away a number of Pine SM200C mp3 CD Players in a free competition. The competition will run through the period of 1 month with the draw expected to take place on 15th of December. The promotion will be featured in the December issue of the magazine, on sale November 14th.

Additional prizes will include Nero 5 from Ahead, Data Beckers Mp3 Wizard and Studio Master mp3 mixer software.

Additionally, users registering via the promotion will be offered an exclusive downloadable CD compilation, that will be made available in both Liquid Audio and mp3. The CD will contain tracks from some of London’s leading underground DJ’s and will be a real exclusive.

The promotion is part of a pre Christmas campaign to raise the profile of the site and products, which combine both music and technology.

CD-writer.com ltd is presently going through a period of both technical a commercial development. With the site offering potential for the sale and promotion of physical and digital products,

Nic Ranshaw, the managing director of CD-writer.com ltd, stated,

“We are keen to open up communication with importers, distributors, and manufacturers of hardware and software products relative to custom CD creation. The site offers a great platform for sales and sales promotion of these niche market products. We were the first company in the UK to sell the Pine MP3CD Player and can see great potential in these cutting edge devices. We have a specific bias towards supporting media, music and digital distribution industries”

Nic spent 3 years as Head of Internet Production for Ministry of sound and has been working for CD-writer.com ltd full time since July of this year.

CD-writer.com is expected to announce early next year their plans for the roll out of D-commerce operations.

Further info:

http://www.cd-writer.com is europes most comprehensive custom cd creation website.

The sites shop is presently featuring a range of the latest mp3cd players,

including the new Pine SM-200C, the ET600, MP-Trip and the Napa. The site

also features regular news and product reviews, firmware and driver

upgrades. Great savings on blank media. Fast CD-writer’s including the

Plexwriter and Cyclone from TDK, and economy units starting at £100. The

shop offers 24hr shipping on all products. Media prices include UK shipping

costs.

The site also boasts access to 10’s of 1000’s of legal audio downloads in

Liquid Audio format, with over 20 exclusive tracks, including Marijuana from

Z-star, exclusive to CD-writer.com.

To date CD-writer.com ltd has formed strategic alliances with some major

downloads and music web sites including, Ministry of Sound, Icrunch,

E-classical and ATrecordings.

Visit CD-writer.com now @ http://www.cd-writer.com


Visit the shop now @ http://shop.cd-writer.com

Contact: Jim Lesczynski, Media Relations Director, 212-852-3931

1/18/01 ? New York City Council Speaker Peter J. Vallone?s final State of the City address Wednesday failed to propose real solutions to the city?s most pressing problems, says the Manhattan Libertarian Party. Vallone?s proposals, which included releasing statistics on police treatment of minorities and increased education funding from the state, would do nothing to stop racial profiling or improve failing government schools, the Libertarians charge.

?Vallone?s address was a disappointment to New Yorkers craving answers to serious social ills,? says Jim Lesczynski, the party?s Media Relations Director. ?Instead of fresh thinking, he gave us the same old big-government nonsense. More statistics will tell New Yorkers nothing we don?t already know.?

?We already know minorities are subject to racial profiling and other mistreatment, almost always in the name of the war on drugs. The quickest way to put an end to these injustices is not through more statistics and reports, but through an end to the insane drug war,? says Lesczynski.

Scott Jeffrey, the Libertarian who ran for Congress against Rep. Charles Rangel last year on a platform of marijuana legalization, found urban minority youth under siege from the war on drugs by black cops as well as white.

?Our government leaders have declared war on a generation of urban youth, and they feign surprise when there are casualties,? says Jeffrey.

Calling for increased funding for government schools is also nothing new, but it has failed time and again to improve the quality of our children?s education, Lesczynski notes. The answer is not more money for the city?s schools, nor a simplified funding formula from Albany, but school choice, he says.

?I agree with Speaker Vallone that the state of our government schools is an emergency,? says Lesczynski. ?Libertarians demand that parents be empowered to remove their children from the emergency

situation as quickly as possible, through bold school-choice reforms. Vallone asks parents for patience and more tax dollars.?

Manhattan Libertarian Party Chair Jak Karako, a financial analyst, blasted Vallone?s spendthrift proposals.

?Vallone has the gall to ask for another $ 500 million in taxpayers? money for school aid and an additional $ 80 million a year for public housing,? says Karako. ?Rather than increase the municipal budget, Libertarians would look for ways to cut spending and return that money to the people who earned it.?

Libertarians will challenge the Vallone/Giuliani/Green Big Government policies with forums, petitions, protests and candidates. Libertarians from around New York State will gather April 28th in Manhattan’s Holiday Inn Midtown to hear speakers on topics such as gun rights, women’s rights, protecting property ownersfrom abuse and protecting free expression by separating state and culture.

Cenicola-Helvin Enterprises Officially Launches RITRO.com – Real Insight

Through Raw Opinion

March 1, 2001 – Las Vegas – Cenicola-Helvin Enterprises has officially launched RITRO.com – Real Insight Through Raw Opinion after a successful sneak preview was released in late December. RITRO.com is a volunteer based web community with topics and articles on life experiences in which members have the opportunity to voice their opinions, vote on topics, and obtain writing advice.

Wendi L. Cali, Cenicola-Helvin Enterprises’ Content Director and Editor in Chief of RITRO.com, is an active participant in the community discussions, provides writing tips and advice and hosts the “Thought of the Day” column.

RITRO.com – Real Insight Through Raw Opinion, may be viewed by some as a site for debating controversial issues. More than a site for debate, however, RITRO.com is founded on the support and celebration of diversity. Presenting sensitive issues under the categories of books, health, people and politics as well as writing tips and advice aids the members of RITRO.com in presenting their opinions. The writing tips/advice section is also an excellent resource for aspiring writers to enhance their craft.

Recent topics for discussion include, the rights for homosexual marriages, legalization of marijuana and gun control. Upcoming topics include Wicca as a religion, alcoholism as a learned behavior and female cyber culture, just to name a few.

About RITRO.com — http://www.RITRO.com RITRO.com – Real Insight Through Raw Opinion, is a web community with topics and articles on life experiences in which members and aspiring writers have the opportunity to voice their opinions, vote on topics and obtain writing advice.

About Cenicola-Helvin Enterprises — http://www.Cenicola-Helvin.com :

Cenicola-Helvin Enterprises is an Internet information resource company publishing a variety of web sites ranging from technology news to classified advertising to providing e-business solutions.

Web sites in the Cenicola-Helvin Enterprises Network (CHE Network) include:

YardSaleNet.net — Striving to be the Internet’s largest FREE classified advertising network

Techlines.com — A premier source for technology enthusiasts to grab the latest headlines from the technology industry including technical, financial, press, and Macintosh news

BannerView.com — An E-Business Solutions Provider at the heart of developing and designing all of the web properties in the CHE Network

Press contact:

Mark Cenicola

Cenicola-Helvin Enterprises

http://www.Cenicola-Helvin.com


press@cenicola-helvin.com

702-312-9444

More Marijuana News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 26, 2001

Pleasant Hill, California—One in five couples trying to have children in the United States today is struggling with infertility challenges, yet a large number of them can find no clear medical cause. This number has skyrocketed over the last three decades; with one measure of fertility, average male sperm count, dropping more than 50% during that time. For those experiencing infertility, the pain and longing for a child can be an awful day and night reality. Many studies now point to one or more of the triple factors of environmental toxicity, lifestyle, and emotional health that appear to be precursors to the problem. Now, however, infertile couples and health professionals can learn about non-medical and complementary strategies for offsetting this outbreak of lowered fertility.

“I began to research the large amount of literature on the non-medical causes for infertility during my own fertility challenge several years ago,” says Karin Clark Edmiston, a Northern California author of the recently published Get Pregnant Naturally: The Workbook. “In regard to environmental toxicity, there are many non-medical techniques that infertile couples can use to reduce exposure to chemicals with known effects on fertility and thereby greatly increase their likelihood of conceiving.”

Clark Edmiston points out that current studies specifically show the need for people trying to conceive to avoid exposure to coffee, smoking, the food additives MSG and BHA, alcohol 24 hours before conception, alcohol and marijuana in combination, exposure to solvents, PVC plastic and the pesticides chlordane and Dursban. While the exact mechanism that decreases fertility is still unclear with many food based and environmental chemicals, others such as chlordane, Dursban, BHA, and PVC plastic have been found to reduce fertility by confusing the body’s estrogen receptors, and are often referred to as “environmental estrogens.”

Clark Edmiston, a presenter for the national infertility support organization RESOLVE, presents classes and workshops on effective strategies to use alone or in conjunction with medical infertility treatments that greatly increase the likelihood of conception. For more info contact her at (925) 256-9454 or http://www.getpregnantnaturally.com. RESOLVE may be reached at (617) 623-0744.

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Contact: Karin Clark Edmiston(925)962-0310

5/23/01 – The Manhattan Libertarian Party condemned the Giuliani administration and the New York Police Department today, following the NYPD’s release of statistics showing that an alarming 88% of people stopped and frisked in the city are black or Hispanic. The data are further evidence that the government’s war on drugs has become a war on minorities and the poor, the Libertarians charge.

“These statistics should be a wake-up call to all New Yorkers,” says Jim Lesczynski, the party’s Media Relations Director and a candidate for City Council. “For too long, we have known that minorities are subject to racial profiling and other mistreatment by armed government agents, almost always in the name of the war on drugs. But this report shows us just how racially lopsided the government’s immoral drug war

really is.”

Travis Pahl, the Libertarian candidate for public

advocate, calls the new statistics an outrage. Pahl promised that if elected, he will fight for an end to such injustice.

“Being stopped and frisked is a frightening and

humiliating experience. If Wall Street suits were

subject to this police harassment, the public outcry would be deafening,” says Pahl. “It should come as no surprise that the politically marginalized are the targets of these unconstitutional searches.”

Scott Jeffrey, a long-time marijuana-legalization

activist and the Libertarian candidate for Manhattan Borough President, points out that the drug war has been particularly harsh on the city’s young blacks and Hispanics.

“Our city government has declared war on a generation of urban youth,” says Jeffrey. “Democrats squawk with outrage about racial profiling but are silent on the underlying cause. These civil rights violations are the inevitable consequence of Giuliani’s war on pot

smokers.”

The Libertarian Party is committed to ending the drug war and will run a slate of candidates for local office this year, including Kenny Kramer for Mayor, Travis Pahl for Public Advocate, James Eisert for Comptroller, Scott Jeffrey for Manhattan Borough President, and six candidates for New York City Council from Manhattan. Voters can find out more about their Libertarian candidates by visiting http://www.ManhattanLP.org or sending an email to info@ManhattanLP.org.

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CALCOL (CLCL-OTC) TO MAKE AND SELL ZER QUICK AIDS TEST KITS

CALCOL INC. & ZER HITECH LTD.

TO MAKE, SELL AND DISTRIBUTE

QUICK AIDS TEST KITS AT LOW COST FOR HIGH IMPACT AIDS AREAS (AFRICA, CARIBBEAN, SOUTH ASIA, EASTERN EUROPE, FORMER SOVIET UNION)

OFFERS TEST KITS AT LOW COST ON LARGE SCALE FOR MASS DISTRIBUTION TO MAJOR RELIEF AGENCIES AND HUMANITARIAN ORGANIZATIONS : MASS SCREENING OF INFECTED COULD LEAD TO DISEASE PREVENTION, TREATMENT, AND CONTROL

CLEVELAND, OHIO USA, BEIJING, CHINA, AND JERUSALEM ISRAEL (7/20/01 12:10 PM EST):

CALCOL INC. (CLCL-OTC) a development stage US holding company for China manufacturing companies in pharmaceuticals (Calcol Changbaishan Pharmaceutical Ltd. Shenzhen, China) and soft drinks (Sanhe Meile Soft Drinks Ltd. Beijing, China), announced today that it has signed a binding letter of intent effective July 19, 2001, with ZER HITECH LTD Jerusalem, Israel, to immediately commence to make, sell, and distribute Quick AIDS Test Kits at a low cost on a large scale for high impact AIDS areas (especially Africa, the Caribbean, and South Asia and certain countries of the former Soviet Union). The Quick Aids Test Kits manufactured by Zer are currently sold in the following countries: Kenya, Nigeria, Brazil, Lithuania and certain countries of the former Soviet Union.

The companies, which have been associated since l995, announced that their new high intensity effort to mass market the test kits at a low cost was urgently prompted by recent announcements of major efforts by the UNAIDS organization, Global Business Council, the Coca-Cola Company (KO-NYSE) and the Pfizer Foundation (PFE-NYSE) and other major international organizations and corporations to raise $ 7-$ 10 billion dollars per year for mass distribution of information, prophylactics, diagnostics (including test kits), and pharmaceuticals in high impact AIDS areas especially in Africa where HIV has infected an estimated 25 million people. CALCOL confirms it has conveyed an offer to supply the low-cost Quick AIDS Test Kits in large quantities to the companies and organizations involved and has received some preliminary indications of interest.

Amb. Richard A. Holbrooke, Head of the Global Business Council, coordinating a private sector response to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan’s appeal said: “I have come to believe that despite all the major problems we face in the world today—terrorism, nuclear weapons, drugs—that AIDS is the greatest threat.” With approximately 36 million people worldwide afflicted with AIDS, some 25 million in Africa alone (an estimated 1 in 4 is infected in South Africa), and rapid spread of the disease in India, China, and eastern Europe. (Holbrooke’s New Job: Urging Business to Fight AIDS,June 19, 2001(Reuters). Recently ”Coca-Cola Company offered its distribution and marketing expertise to fight AIDS in Africa”, UNAIDS Associate Director Robert Hecht said that he hoped many other companies would also pledge their resources. “It is clear that Coca-Cola is not just interested in using money but in using its other strengths and assets…If we can get dozens of other companies involved in a similar way it will have a major impact”. Under a three-year deal, Coca-Cola is offering its transport and marketing expertise to boost education and prevent the spread of the disease.” (UNAIDS Urges Business to Help in AIDS Fight Reuters June 20, 2001). “The Coca-Cola system in Africa will deploy its unique infrastructure and presence in local communities to support local prevention, education and treatment programs. In Nigeria, Coca-Cola will support the work of the National HIV Sero- Prevalence Sentinel Surveillance Survey for women attending antenatal clinics. The purpose of this program is to track HIV infection levels through institutions that provide access to populations that are of particular interest in combating the epidemic. The Coca-Cola system in Nigeria will provide marketing support to develop awareness materials on the sentinel sero- surveillance program, assist in the printing and distribution of 10,000 pamphlets, provide expertise in logistics and help distribute testing kits in all of the Nigerian states.” (UNAIDS Signs Up Coca-Cola in Battle Against AIDS :The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation Will Co-ordinate Local Support For AIDS Programs Across the Continent GENEVA, June 20 /PRNewswire) Also, “Earlier this month, the Pfizer Foundation announced that it is funding construction and staffing of a state-of-the-art AIDS clinic in Kampala that will treat more than 50,000 patients annually and provide training to African health care professionals for the diagnosis, care and treatment of HIV/AIDS patients. The company also announced in June that it would offer its antifungal Diflucan at no charge to AIDS patients in the 50 least developed countries, including Uganda, as identified by the United Nations and World Health Organization.” (Major Study in Uganda to Identify Best Community-Based Approaches for HIV/AIDS Prevention New Partnership Program Involving UNAIDS, UNICEF, Uganda AIDS Commission and Pfizer Foundation June 25, 2001/PRNewswire).

Commercial tests retail for $ 20.00 per test, and tests of whole blood for HIV1+2 or Hepatitis B in a clinic or medical testing laboratory may cost much more, mass production in China may enable the Companies to produce and distribute large quantities (potentially tens of millions of units per year) of the Zer Quick AIDS Test Kits for mass screening for the low sales price to international agencies and governments of approximately US$ 1.95 (ONE DOLLAR NINETY FIVE CENTS) per unit, with the possibility that efficiencies of mass production may make a lower price possible. Initially Zer will make samples and initial production runs available for purchase from their manufacturing facilities in Israel where Zer currently hasthe capability to produce 5 million units per year. The companies believe their new cooperative venture will make possible mass screening of tens of millions of people throughout the world under the humanitarian relief organizations. If pregnant mothers can be diagnosed in time, for example, they can possibly then be treated with low doses of AZT and other drugs which have been proven to prevent transmission of HIV/AIDS to the next generation. The possible impact of such a program on world health, control of the spread of disease, treatment, and prevention of disease transmission could be very significant, in the belief of the companies.

Norman C. Kaplan, Chairman and President of CALCOL INC. states:

“We are grateful to have such a highly recognized company such as ZER as our partner in dealing with this major international health emergency. Headed by two great partners, Dr. Avi Zer and Dr. Tami Zer, both holding Ph.D. degree in medical sciences and life sciences respectively from the highly prestigious Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Under the new agreement, ZER HITECH LTD. (“ZER”) has agreed to be responsible for patent and trademark registration and health agency registration (the expense of registrations is included in the budget of the project), product licensing, R&D, know-how, technical support, quality control, and manufacturing set up (in terms of the high tech aspects of the products such as the testing strips, antibodies and so forth). We, CALCOL INC. (“CALCOL”) have agreed to be responsible for the funding and financial arrangements, large scale manufacturing, marketing and distribution agreements with the major customers. Sales prices of the products and distribution agreements shall be negotiated by CALCOL and ZER working together. Sales prices shall be kept to as low-cost as feasible while earning a reasonable profit. Wherever possible, the relief organizations or governments shall be asked to pay for products with substantial deposits in advance, by L/C’s and/or on delivery in cash; and shall be asked to assist the companies with grants, loans and reimbursements to provide capital for manufacturing equipment and expenses for health agency registrations and mass distribution of the products.

“Both parties promised best efforts in moving as expeditiously as possible to “close the loop” in all aspects of the project. Both parties promised confidentiality in all aspects of the technology, manufacturing process, costs (other than necessary disclosures to customers and/or government agencies), and marketing agreements. Both parties promised non-circumvention of the other in new manufacturing, marketing, and distribution arrangements .

“Both parties have agreed to share 50-50 (FIFTY PERCENT EACH) net profits on all sales of products to the international relief organizations such as Global Business Council, UNAIDS, US government, and other foreign governments made through this agreement ( including sales of products initially wholly manufactured in Israel distributed through the agreements negotiated by CALCOL in cooperation with ZER while the manufacture, marketing and distribution of larger scale production of the products is in development). Excluded from this agreement are ZER’s pre-existing business arrangements before this date for marketing and sales of the products on a proprietary basis.

ABOUT ZER HITECH LTD.

The ZER GROUP, a leading biotechnology company, was founded in

1976 by Avraham Zer Ph.D. (Medical Sciences, Hebrew University of Jerusalem) and Tami Zer Ph.D. (Life Sciences, Hebrew University of Jerusalem). ZER concentrates on fertility related and infectious disease products – research, development and manufacture of Diagnostic assays (ZER HITECH), and also has a network of medical service laboratories servicing hospitals, private laboratories and medical institutions in Israel (ZER LABORATORIES). The companies comprising the Zer Group, although separate and independent entities, work closely together to provide complementary services and products through close knit cooperation on quality control, clinical testing and information feedback. ZER HITECH LTD. develops, manufactures and markets One step assays. ZER has on staff 60 personnel of whom 48 have scientific qualifications.

ZER HITECH LTD. develops, manufactures and markets One step assays: PREGNANCY tests, Dipstrip, Card and Midstream formats. LH-OVULATION tests, Card and Midstream formats FSH-MENOPAUSE tests, Card and Midstream formats AMNIOTEST MONOLINE pregnancy test In addition, ZER has developed and manufactures Innovative HIV 1+ 2 for Serum,Plasma and Whole Blood, as well as Hepatitis B; Drugs of Abuse; Chlamydia; Strep A and B; H. pylori; Occult blood and other assays. Core business In-vitro and one -step diagnostics kits Market regions: Europe, Far East, South America.

ABOUT CALCOL INC.

CALCOL INC. (CLCL-OTC) (Delaware), a development stage company, was originally a holding company for pharmaceutical patents and products. Based upon research by Mr. Kaplan at the University of California San Diego (Biology Department), the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California (Autoimmune and Neoplastic Disease Laboratory), and Harvard University (Physics Department), the Company pioneered the pharmaceutical development of Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in medicinal marijuana, for the treatment of nausea associated with cancer chemotherapy and loss of appetite associated with AIDS. The Company also developed and tested (in vitro at the Salk Institute, and in vivo in mouse models in conjunction with the National Cancer Institute) a derivative of THC (THC-mustard) as potential site-specific alkylating agent (anti-tumor drug) with antinausea properties. Mr. Kaplan received one patent, and published two abstracts and two scientific papers on this research. CALCOL INC. sold non-exclusive distribution rights in its THC/dronabinol product to BARR LABORATORIES (BRL-NYSE) in l988 on a 15 year agreement. CALCOL INC. retains some rights in the THC/dronabinol product. In l994, CALCOL INC. invested in the purchase of 60% interest in a pharmaceutical factory in Shenzhen,China CALCOL CHANGBAISHAN PHARMACEUTICAL CO. LTD. and an 80% interest in a soft drink concentrate and bottling factory in Beijing, China, SANHE MEILE SOFT DRINKS CO. LTD. (photographs of the finished soft drink concentrate plant and bottling plant under construction and information about the Company appear on CALCOL’s website http://www.calcol.com). CALCOL INC. common stock (par value $ .001) trades OTC under the symbol “CLCL” (Cusip #128699) on the Pink Sheets (http://www.pinksheets.com) with marketmakers FLTT FLTTRC Fleet Trading Jersey City, NJ 800 526 3041 HILL HT025 Hill Thompson Magid & Co. OTC Trading – Jersey City, NJ 800 631 3083 201 434 8100 HRZG BOBS Herzog, Heine, Geduld, In OTC Trading – Jersey City, NJ 800 221 3600 212 962 0300 MHMY 869 M.H. Meyerson & Co., Inc. OTC Trading – Jersey City, NJ 800 333 3113 201 459 9600 NITE 1147A Knight Secs LP Jersey City, NJ 800 232 3684 212 336 8686 PGON TRADERB Paragon Capital Corp. OTC Trading – Boca Raton, FL 800 521 8877 561 750 3777 SHRP 5939 Sharpe Capital Inc. OTC Trading – New York, NY 800 355 5781 212 791 5658 WIEN 5009 Wien Securities Corp. OTC Trading – Jersey City, NJ 800 624 0050.

Norman C. Kaplan, Chairman and President of CALCOL INC., appears in the 55th Edition of Marquis Who’s Who In America 2001. Mr. Kaplan, a graduate of the University of California San Diego and Harvard University, was a research scientist in the Autoimmune and Neoplastic Disease Laboratory of Jonas E. Salk MD at the Salk Institute and studied physics with the Nobel Laureates Sheldon Glashow and Steven Weinberg at Harvard University. He is the founder of the Norman C. Kaplan Fund in Water Resource Management of the Hebrew University which sponsored exchange visits between China and Israel and was instrumental in the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Mr. Kaplan is currently a member of the International Committee of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs John F. Kennedy School of Government Harvard University. He received the 60th Anniversary Medal of the Hebrew University in 1988. Vice President of CALCOL INC. is Mr. Ji Jun, Assistant Vice President is Mr. Zhou Hai Ou, the Sr. Vice President and Secretary Treasurer of CALCOL INC. is Mr. David B. Orlean, a former official of the US Department of Justice and President of the Orlean Company of Cleveland Ohio.

This announcement, which is not an offer to buy or sell securities, may contain certain forward looking statements regarding anticipated manufacturing, marketing, sales, and distribution agreements of medical diagnostic test kits and pharmaceutical products with anticipated manufacturing and sales arrangements, and projected sales figures which may or may not be achieved, anticipated pharmaceutical products, anticipated soft drink franchises, trademark, and license agreements, business licenses which may or may not be issued or renewed in the future by the Chinese government or other governments, medical device approvals and licenses which may or may not be issued or approved by various governments and international health agencies, potential sales projections of certain quantities of units of products to humanitarian agencies governments and non-profit organizations and pharmaceutical companies for mass low-cost or free distribution which may or may not be achieved, potential business opportunities in medical device and pharmaceutical manufacture, marketing and distribution and /or other speculative areas in China businesses and business in other high risk countries (such as Africa, the Caribbean, South Asia and the former Soviet Union) which may or may not materialize, construction projects which may or may not be successfully completed, factory production and potential profits market share for goods and services which may or may not be achieved, and financings which may or may not attain successful completion or commercial success, and should not be relied upon by any person to make an investment decision, and is for information only. CALCOL INC. (Delaware) common stock (par value $ .001) cusip #128699 trades OTC in the United States, involves a high degree of risk and is a suitable investment only for accredited (high net worth—net worth of US$ 1 million or more) institutional, and overseas investors, who are able to assess the risk, and can afford to lose their entire investment. CALCOL INC. “CLCL” (cusip#128699 common stock (par value $ .001) )is traded OTC in the United States and quoted on the Pink Sheets (http://www.pinksheets.com) An accredited, overseas or institutional investor considering an investment in a Pink Sheet quoted stock should consult the “RISK FACTORS” section of the Pink Sheets website (http://www.pinksheets.com/risk.jsp) and should consult a registered investment advisor or licensed stockbroker for investment advice..

CONTACT ( United States): Norman C. Kaplan, President, CALCOL INC., P.O. Box 22103, Beachwood, OH 44122. Phone: 216-514-0849. China): Mr. Ji Jun, Vice President CALCOL INC., President, Sanhe Meile Soft Drinks Co. Ltd. Rm. 1001, Tower A Beijing Landmark Towers No.8 North Dong Sanhuan Rd., Chaoyang District Beijing 100004 China Phone: 011-86-10-6590-0386 Fax: 011-86-10-6590-6239. calcolchina@aol.com. CALCOL@aol.com. Http://http://www.calcol.com. (Israel) ZER HITECH LTD. Avi Zer Ph.D. 34 Ben Yehuda St. City Tower Jerusalem, Israel Phone011-972-2—6522462 Fax:011-972-2-6512898.Email: contactus@zerhitech.com .

The Korean War (1950-53) will always be remembered as a large scale “police action”. It was one of the high water marks of the cold war between capitalism and communism. This conflict involved a test of resolve, patience and strength for both sides. And nowhere in the Allied ranks was this burden carried more than by the U.S. and other Allied POW’s captured by Korean and Chinese communist forces. With hardly any exception, life became hell for thousands of Allied POW’s caught in the communist net in the early stage of the war, mostly due to high level military bungling.

Communist treatment of the POW’s was extremely brutal, and the prisoners were herded off in various size groups on death marches to camps in North Korea. (They were sort of lucky, the ones who could not walk were summarily shot at capture point or along the way, or some were just executed anyway.)

The string of camps in the mountainous valleys of northern North Korean became extermination centers in their own right. 99% of all Allied POW deaths occurred in the first year of incarceration, mostly during the first winter. By the summer of 1951 the Chinese (who had assumed control of the camps), realized that they would have to have some POW survivors if anyone was going to believe their propaganda of “lenient treatment” of their captives. Conditions gradually started to improve for the prisoners.

In the meantime, the POW’s were woefully ill trained and unprepared for their tenure of very inhumane treatment. They were routinely interrogated, tortured and beaten, etc. for the most trivial of offenses, fed a starvation diet, and forced to listen to communistic “re-education” lectures outside in the harsh North Korean cold. Military discipline broke down, prisoners stole from each other and worse. Wood for cooking was in short supply, too.

*It is at this point that we get to the gist of our story. I have several sources of documentation for the evidence below. I believe that it is enough information to establish a minimal basis for analysis. In his book on the Korean War by Max Hastings, a renowned British writer, a paragraph is devoted to the subject:

“For the weakened men, the greatest hardship was the regular wood detail. Their lives depended upon collecting sufficient fuel to keep their fires and cookers alive. Yet with each trip they were compelled to forage further and further afield into the mountains. The supply began to falter. Crossly, the Chinese summoned a meeting and harangued the prisoners upon their negative attitude toward labor, pointing out that it was not for the captor’s benefit, but that of the captives. Then, as spring came, there was a surge of volunteers for the wood detail. The Chinese were delighted to discover that “your attitude toward labor has improved”. Yet it was not wood that called the men, but the discovery of marijuana.( italics added). First identified by some of the Mexican prisoners, it grew wild on the hills. Through the next two years it became, for some men, the only means of making captivity endurable. It caused some excesses which puzzled the Chinese-sudden exuberant singsongs from groups of black prisoners, one morning a helplessly stoned figure racing around the compound screaming, “The Indians are coming! The Indians are coming! But the Chinese were told that he was shell-shocked. Curiously enough, in two years they never appeared to grasp the truth.”(1)

*Mr. Hastings statements differ somewhat from the account of an American POW who defected (mostly out of curiosity) who never collaborated and was never charged with that, and later returned to the U.S. In Morris L. Wills book, which also has only one paragraph on it, he says:

“Another thing happened. Some of the POW’s found that marijuana was growing all around the camp. Everytime they would go out on a wood detail, they would bring some back and smoke it. At first only a few people would smoke it, but then it suddenly swept the whole camp. I started smoking it too, one rainy day when the others were sitting around and smoking. It made you feel high and very reflective. Almost everyone enjoyed it and kept doing it. Later, when the Chinese found out, they clamped down. They were ruthless. If they found any marijuana, you got punished. They tried to stop us from bringing it in but we managed to hide it. By the spring of 1952, it was very scarce. It got to the point that I was smoking stems.”(2)

I won’t comment on the differences, such as the Chinese crackdown, it appears that they were situated in different camps, or there was no unified or consistent Chinese policy on the matter. The third reference I have found sheds light on the subject in a different way. In his book on Korean War POW’s , Richard Biderman quotes a 1957 Columbia Law School study on the military justice system. It was commenting on a book by Eugene Kinkead about the collaboration of POWs with their captors, a familiar charge in this age of McCarthyism:

There is a tendency in the Kindead book to equate prisoner misconduct with collaboration. Not all men with derogatory charges against them were charged with misconduct involving aid to the enemy. Among other types of allegations were breaches of discipline, assault, theft, suspicion of having surrendered when escape or resistance was still possible, and smoking marijuana. (Marijuana grew in profusion in and about camp sites. Its use presumably was culturally acceptable to some of the Negro and Spanish-American prisoners, Turkish prisoners, and some Chinese guards. Chinese authorities sometimes tried to control it’s use).(Grant,nd.) (3)

*All I can say is that this supports the main item of our story, but keeps the overall Chinese reaction unclear.

Bibliography:

(1)The Korean War, by Max Hastings, Simon and Schuster, c. 1987

(2)Turncoat by Morris L Wills, Englewood Cliffs, N.J’ Prentice Hall, c.1968

(3)March to Calumny by Richard Biderman, MacMillian, c.1963

After being confronted with the following information, the following should be assumed, unless one is in a state of denial.

Most, if not all of the Allied POW’s at least tried pot and some probably smoked it more than others. Marijuana has been documented throughout history and scientific study as being a cure for many types of ills and diseases. No doubt many of the side-effects of the early bad treatment of the POW’s resulted in a variety of sickness, for which cannabis has been known as an alleviator of, if not a complete cure all of, too. As an appetite stimulator it is also well know for. This was very important for keeping up the prisoners strength since their rations were very savory challenged!

As far as it being a stress reliever, as many have claimed, how more idealistic do the conditions have to of been then for such a “laboratory experiment” to be carried out to prove that medical marijuana also reaches into the mental health field? It certainly turned out to be a life-saving morale booster for many of the POW’s.

Final Analysis:

The U.S. Government should deem such evidence as sufficient enough as to allow further study. Perhaps their unwillingness to allow any such studies are because they are afraid that people may discover what really happened in those camps and become interested in such issues as Decriminalization, medical marijuana, and other hemp related issues.

Much more of this can be pieced together but I believe the bottom line is that enough is here to warrant further investigation. D.O’Reilly

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The recent decision by the Ministers of Australia and New Zealand to continue the prohibition of hemp foods in Australia is counter productive to the law against drugs.

It is common knowledge within Australia and New Zealand that industrial hemp is not a drug and that marijuana is a drug. By continuing prohibition for industrial hemp not only goes against the grain of the rest of the world, but it gives the wrong impression to the younger generation.

When the younger generation is told that industrial hemp is illegal, when most know that hemp food products are used overseas, these children who represent our next generation are given the impression that the Government’s anti-drug campaigns must be a farce.

“The Ministers may be ignorant, but the teenagers in today’s society are not.” States Mr Phil Warner, CEO of Ecofibre Industries, a world leading force in the Industrial Hemp Industry. “By giving the impression that Australia believes that hash cookies are the same as hemp foods, which is a well-known and highly inaccurate image, the Australian anti-drug image is not being supported.”

“We support the anti-drug campaign of the current Government, “supports Paul Benhaim, Managing Director of Hemp Foods, “however, this recent decision makes a mockery of the current drug education program.”

The decision by ANZFA who recently supported all the technical reasons for hemp being used as a food followed the rest of the World’s attitude to hemp as a food, as a ‘nutritional and useful grain’.

Not withstanding the damage to a number of industry’s and related jobs for Australian’s the decision against Hemp Foods does not help current belief in today’s Government.

For further information and other current press releases please visit http://www.hempfoods.com.au

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Davao, Mindanao, Philippines, May 16, 2002 (Up-Dated through July 19, 2002)

Michael Terrence Meiring had basked in the shadow of inscrutability for many years as he roamed around the Philippines with his numerous partners, investors, contacts, and other treasure hunters. By some accounts, he is a treasure hunter and a physician who dabbled in herbal medicine (It is VERY unlikely that he is a doctor).

It is said he has been in and out of Davao City for the past 10 years, always staying in Suite 306 of the Evergreen Hotel. The talk in Davao is that Meiring hobnobs with influential political personalities in Mindanao, among them Nur Misuari (When he was out of jail!) and Hashim Salamat as well as NBI and PNP officials.

An explosion in his Davao hotel suite on May 16, 2002, ripped off that mantle of obscurity, exposing Meiring and his numerous American and Filipino partners, to the public limelight. What has been revealed, however, is a more complex man, whose trail leads back to South Africa and boxes supposedly containing US Federal Reserve notes and bonds obtained from the Abu Sayyaf. Supt. Samuel Yordan said, “Dynamite stored in the room had caused the explosion, which damaged several of the Evergreen Hotel’s 52 rooms. Damage was placed at P2 million ($ 100,000 USD). Among others, the May 16 blast also made a “casualty” of the then officer in charge of the Davao City Police Office, Supt. Samuel Yordan, who was relieved from his post by Regional Police Director Eduardo Matillano for security lapses.

Since the May 16 blast, there have been enthusiastic attempts by authorities and his partners to keep the circumstances surrounding the incident very hush-hush.

Meiring lost both his legs in the explosion, which also left a big portion of his body badly burned. What is unusual is that he was reportedly whisked out of Davao, past the Philippine National Police guarding him at the hospital, and on to a chartered plane, accompanied by what Immigration officials described as agents of the US National Security Agency agents and agents of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 9, 2002

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ERIC ANDERSEN’S BEAT AVENUE, MIXING BEATS AND BEAT,

SLATED FOR FEBRUARY 25 RELEASE ON APPLESEED RECORDINGS

NEW YORK, N.Y. — Appleseed Recordings will release Beat Avenue, an unconventional 2-CD set by one of the world’s premier singer-songwriters, Eric Andersen, on February 25, 2003. This release is a high-water mark in a career lasting four decades and more than two dozen albums dating back to the early ’60s folk and Beat scenes centered in New York’s Greenwich Village, Boston/Cambridge, and Berkeley/San Francisco.

Always a distinctive, influential and ever-evolving stylist, Andersen has been friend, inspiration and collaborator with artists ranging from Joni Mitchell, Lou Reed, Townes Van Zandt and The Band’s Rick Danko. Best known for seminal, oft-covered mid-‘60s ballads like “Thirsty Boots” and “Violets of Dawn,” Eric bolsters the intensity of his passionate, evocative songs with the guitar-driven, drum-powered grooves found on much of Beat Avenue.

The new set’s first disc contains 12 new original Andersen compositions encompassing the various musical styles Eric has absorbed, expanded or pioneered. His poetic, sensual lyrics are married to electric and acoustic instrumentation and rock, folk, country and blues-flavored arrangements. There is an apocalyptic urgency that propels songs like “Ain’t No Time to Bleed,” “Rains Are Gonna Come,” “Great Pyramid,” and “Before Everything Changed,” a spooked unease to “Under the Shadows” and “Feel Like Comin’ Home,” and smoldering lust mixed with regret on “Song of You and Me,” “Salt On Your Skin” and the howling “Stupid Love.” “Shape of a Broken Heart” and “Runaway” exemplify the troubled tenderness of Andersen’s best ballads.

The second disc contains only two songs, neither remotely fitting the “folk troubadour” tag Eric’s earliest work inspired and has long since outgrown. The 26-minute title track is, in Eric’s words, “part of an ongoing personal ritual of trying to stretch and rupture the borders of the usual safe singer-songwriting approaches.” The composition “Beat Avenue,” which Eric worked on for the past fifteen years, is a hypnotic, cinematic account of a watershed day in world history — November 22, 1963. Combining spoken and half-sung vocals, programmed musical atmospherics, and real instruments, “Beat Avenue” recounts the day and night of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination as experienced by the then-20-year-old Andersen, who had hitchhiked to San Francisco earlier that year to mingle with the Beat Movement poets and writers who had set his creative impulses aflame.

On the night of President Kennedy’s death, Eric attended a poetry reading in the Haight-Ashbury by Beat mainstay Allen Ginsberg, then joined Ginsberg and fellow Beat poets and writers Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Michael McClure, David and Tina Meltzer, and Neal Cassady at a post-reading gathering at Ferlinghetti’s house in the San Francisco hills. Shock, somber conversation, and marijuana smoke eddied through the building, as did a naked Ginsberg, the ever-amped Cassady, and an impressionable and wide-eyed young Eric.

Eric’s account of the Beat gathering, the day leading up to it, and the days that followed in the grave new world are set to low-key, atmospheric jazz/blues accompaniment by multi-instrumentalist Robert Aaron (woodwinds, guitars, bass, keyboards, trumpet), a longtime member of hip-hop star Wyclef Jean’s band who has also worked with David Bowie, Laurie Anderson, and Mary J. Blige, as well as appearing on Eric’s last two CDs, Memory of the Future (1999) and You Can’t Relive the Past (2000), both issued by Appleseed.

“Beat Avenue’s” unconventional structure and outpouring of imagery extends Andersen’s autobiographical song-form experiments on previous compositions “Ghosts Upon the Road,” “Trouble in Paris,” Memory of the Future,” and “No Man’s Land.”

The kaleidoscopic “Beat Avenue” is followed by “Blue Rockin’ Chair,” an earthy, carnal 12-minute country blues akin to some of the tracks on You Can’t Relive the Past that Eric recorded in Mississippi with “real deal” blues musicians associated with the Fat Possum record label.

Accompanying guitarist/keyboardist Eric on the first disc and “Blue Rockin’ Chair” are such “A-list” musicians as Robert Aaron, former Hooters guitarist Eric Bazilian (who wrote Joan Osborne’s hit, “One of Us”), vocalists Phoebe Snow and Lucy Kaplansky, jazz-fusion bassist Mark Egan (Pat Metheny Group, Ornette Coleman), powerhouse drummer Shawn Pelton (of the “Saturday Night Live” houseband and sideman to Shawn Colvin, Billy Joel, and Sheryl Crow), and The Band’s Garth Hudson on keyboards, accordion and sax. Other musical contributors include Eric’s singer-songwriter daughter Sari on duet and supporting vocals, and violinist Joyce Andersen (no relation).

Working within and without traditional song frameworks, wielding a vivid poetic skill, a fearless approach to songwriting, and muscular musical backing, Eric Andersen has created a masterpiece on Beat Avenue that should explode forever the “folksinger” pigeonhole that has confined his popular reputation for too long. He is a unique and enduring artist who has earned a broad and ageless audience.

NOTE: Lyrics to the songs on Beat Avenue can be found on Eric’s website: http://www.ericandersen.com

# # #

For more information on Eric Andersen, please reply to The Baker/Northrop Media Group:

Meryl Wheeler (718) 624-1370

It is common usage to refer to any consumption of illegal drugs as drug abuse. Anyone who sniffs cocaine or heroin, or who smokes crack or marijuana is commonly called a drug abuser or even a drug addict. But is it the legality of the drug that makes the difference between use and abuse, between being a consumer and an addict? Is everyone who takes an illegal drug an abuser or an addict? Three prominant health researchers argue in a paper published in the Journal of Substance Use that the answer to each of these questions is no. The researchers, who asked “is recreational drug use normal?” are Drs. Thomas Nicholson and John White, both professors in the Department of Public Health at Western Kentucky University, and Dr. David Duncan, the President of Duncan & Associates and an adjunct associate professor at Brown University Medical School.

Nearly 40% of all American adults, majorities of those between the ages of 18 and 25, and a majority of high school seniors have taken one or more of the currently illegal drugs. Can all of them – roughly 87 million persons – be considered drug abusers or addicts? Can a behavior be called abnormal when so much of the population engages in that behavior?

“Recreational use of illegal drugs is not only statistically normal but for most of the users it is clinically normal as well,” asserts Prof. Nicholson. A number of community studies, including ones conducted by researchers funded by the fedeeral government, have repeatedly found that the majority of users of illegal drugs show no signs of any psychiatric problem indicative of addiction or drug abuse. “Just as the majority of drinkers are not alcoholics, the majority of illegal drug users are not addicts or abusers,” he says.

“Whether we are talking about alcohol or cocaine, about marijuana or heroin,” says Dr. Duncan, “only about 15 to 20% of those who continue to use after some initial experimentaion ever experience any sort of problem that would justify labelling their drug consumption as abuse.” The majority suffers no harm from their drug use and causes no harm to others. The greatest risk drug use carries for them is the risk of being caught and punished under our drug laws and zero tolerance policies. “The only exception to this seems to be the legal drug tobacco which proves to be addictive for most smokers.”

“We, ourselves, have surveyed over nine hundred illegal drug users who are happy, successful adults with stable home lives,” says Prof. White. “Using a mental health measure originally developed by the National Center for Health Statistics, we found no difference, on the average, between a population of illegal drug users and the general population, he added. “Not surprising,” commented Dr. Duncan, “when you consider that forty percent of the general population are illegal drug users.”

“The War on Drugs and the entire concept of drug prohibition is founded on the premise that some drugs are so inherently dangerous that no one can use them without suffering serious harm, often including addiction,” according to Dr. Duncan. “That premise is nothing but a prejudice. It is very simply false.”

The paper, “Is recreational drug use normal?” will be found in Journal of Substance Use, volume 7, pages 116-123.

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