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CNN Newsnight Aaron Brown

Stolen Identities; Supreme Court Weighs in on Medical Marijuana

Aired June 06, 2005 - 22:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


AARON BROWN, HOST: It used to be that all you had in the end of your day was your good name. Now it seems everybody has it. Your employer has it, your bank, the hospital, maybe a hacker in Estonia, a counterfeiter in Brooklyn perhaps, or some guy on a loading dock with a box of computer tapes that he doesn't know quite what to do with, but knows a kid who does. And when he gets it, good luck, keeping that good name of yours. Tonight, how your identity gets stolen. First though how it gets lost. Here's CNN's Gerri Willis.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's almost getting to be a regular occurrence -- the personal data of millions of Americans has been lost by a major financial institution. Again!

AVIVAH LITAN, GARTNER ANALYST: At this point, you and I basically have zero control over our information. It's beyond our control.

WILLIS: Citi Financial told 3.9 million of its customers over the weekend that their personal information had been mislaid by a UPS courier. Apparently the tapes contained customer's Social Security numbers, account numbers, names, and addresses. Essentially exposing nearly four million people to identity theft. Worse, the computer tapes, although they would require a mainframe computer to read, were not encrypted. Like an open book with no secret coding to stop a sophisticated thief or even slow one down. Experts say unfortunately too many U.S. companies, like Citi Financial, aren't encrypting their customer's sensitive information.

LITAN: The reason why they didn't is probably they just didn't get around to it. There's so much data leakage and so much data leaving the company.

WILLIS: This is only the latest in the largest in a series of cases where major U.S. companies have had, had to admit their customer's most secret information has been compromised. Since February, there have been more than a dozen of these cases involving one million customers of Bank of America, 145,000 at ChoicePoint, 32,000 at Lexis-Nexis and 600,000 at Time Warner, the parent corporation of CNN. What's going on? Identity theft is on the rise along with the awareness of the problem. One in 20 Americans experience some form of identity theft each year whether it's old- fashioned credit card fraud or more high-tech computer hacking. One expert says its Americans appetite for convenient credit that's creating a wave of consumer information and the potential for losses.

LITAN: That's what it's all about in the financial services industry, is getting people to use more financing, spend more money, and to do that you need a lot of information, to market to them and to sell them exactly what they'll be interested in and there's a cost to that. And the cost is serious privacy issues.

WILLIS: However, experts think the real reason we are hearing about more and more of these data losses is that a change in a California law forces companies to go public when customers' data is lost or compromised. In other words, it may well be that they aren't losing anymore of our data; it's just that before, they didn't have to let everyone know.

Gerri Willis, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: If you've got one of the older Social Security cards, take a look at the front of it. Not for identification, it says. Now, try telling that to the bank. Try getting a loan without it. Or worse, try keeping your credit safe when someone else has your number. And they can get it. Here's CNN's Alina Cho.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Her business card lets you know instantly who Mari Frank is because once, another woman, a woman who didn't even look like her became her.

MARI FRANK, IDENTITY THEFT VICTIM'S ADVOCATE: When they searched this woman's home, they found a whole desk full of me. They found credit cards. They found checks. They found a suit against me at her house for Thrifty Rental Car for the car that she rented and totaled.

CHO: In 1996, the woman posing as Frank's business associate requested and got her credit report, which listed her Social Security number. Once she had the number, Frank says, the woman went to town.

FRANK: She basically was able to get my whole life, not only my personal life but my professional life, with just one thing. The Social Security number.

CHO: It took a year for Frank to clear her name and her credit.

FRANK: That Social Security number is the key to the kingdom of identity theft.

CHO: When Social Security numbers were first issued in 1936, the federal government promised they would never become national I.D. numbers, but over time, as a practical matter, that's exactly what's happened. So much so, today's Social Security is the most frequently used and abused record-keeping number in the United States.

FRANK: I became an expert by necessity, sort of speak.

CHO: Frank is the author of two books on identity theft. She also counsels victims on how to deal with it, how others can avoid it.

FRANK: Practically speaking, you cannot live your life without giving your Social Security number, but you can be stingy with it. The key issue for any consumer watching this is, always ask why do you need this? Is it necessary to the transaction that I'm giving you?

CHO: Frank says the only reason legally to give out your Social Security number is for a specific government purpose. Like, taxes. The doctor's office would only need it to put it on a death certificate. Credit card companies always request it for background checks but Frank says they don't need it and consumers don't know they can say no.

FRANK: They can use your name, your address, and other identifiers but they will push on you and they can deny you credit if you refuse give your Social Security number, because you're going to look suspicious.

CHO: Another tip, never carry your Social Security number in your wallet in case it gets stolen. I had mine on my health insurance card.

FRANK: Yes.

CHO: This looks like a Social Security number.

FRANK: That is my Social Security number.

CHO: OK, not a good idea.

Mari Frank is very serious about letting the world know who she is and her picture, she feels, is a better and safer identification than any number.

Alina Cho, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Most of the times of course, I.D. thieves simply want your money. Most of the time. Here's CNN's Jonathan Freed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Richard's Marraccini's walk to the mailbox is short. But it's long an anxiety.

RICHARD MARRACCINI, IDENTITY HARASSMENT VICTIM: 99.9 percent of anything that shows up in the mailbox on the street is going to be garbage.

FREED: Some people have their credit cards stolen. Richard and his wife Joanne say they've been robbed of their lives.

JOANNE MARRACCINI, IDENTITY HARASSMENT VICTIM: I worry about our reputations. I mean, we're Italian, and we were brought up and we were raised that your name was the most important thing you had. Don't every ruin your name. Well, you know what, someone is trying to ruin our names.

FREED: For almost ten years, that someone has been waging war with the Marraccini's and their identity has been the battlefield.

R. MARRACCINI: This has been everything I have been keeping over the years.

FREED: The assault on their lives is nothing less than sinister, with the identity attacker mailing out the Marraccini's vital personal information including Richard's Social Security, birth date and bank account numbers across the country, in the form of a mock credit report. Encouraging people to use it. Some do. And canceling things like loan applications has become Richard's part-time job.

When you look at everything laid out here on the table, do you feel like you're looking at your life or somebody else's life?

R. MARRACCINI: Well, I know it's my life. Unfortunately I wish it was somebody else's.

FREED: It gets worse, the attacker is targeting Joanne on a personal level. Putting her name and address on pen pal lists for prison inmates.

J. MARRACCINI: I was getting sometimes seven eight letters a day from different prisoners in different prisons. Well, I got to the point where I stopped opening them, because what in these letters was terrible.

R. MARRACCINI: They were very graphic.

FREED: The attacker has even pretended to be Joanne on line.

J. MARRACCINI: Dear Joanne, I'm a 19-year-old male from Wooddale Illinois, I received your e-mail and I was very interested. I'm not looking for love but I'm look for fun.

FREED: So by now probably wondering who would do this and why? The Maraccini's are convinced somebody in their old community is behind it all. Someone with whom they once had a neighborhood dispute. Richard and Joanne eventually moved on but they say that wasn't enough for the person who they believe is their attacker.

R. MARRACCINI: I could deal with it if it was somebody that stole your identity and they wanted to try to buy things. You eventually get covered in those areas. But this person, the only reason he wants our identity is to -- is to harass us basically. Maliciously harasses.

FREED: Richard and Joanne insist they've worked every angle trying to stop it sending piles of documents to the police. The FBI tells CNN there isn't enough evidence to warrant a federal investigation and explains the attacker is so good at covering its track; the postal service can't take action. Authorities say the attacker is doing just enough to cause trouble, but not enough to get caught. And there is no evidence anyone is profiting from it. J. MARRACCINI: We have no proof. No lawyer will take the case. They all want to help but they told me that until we have concrete evidence something tying it to him, they can't do anything for us.

FREED: Joanne says it's make them feel helpless like having a terminal illness.

J. MARRACCINI: I don't know what pleasure he's getting from this. He can't see us. He doesn't see me walk around the house. He doesn't -- you know, see me crying in the middle of the night. He doesn't see Rich on the computer during all of his free time. So what pleasure is he getting from this? That's what I don't understand.

FREED: Richard and Joanne say why someone would keep this up for so long is probably beyond a normal person's understanding. And they realize going public might only encourage the attacker. But they're hoping it will have the opposite affect and help them take back control of their lives.

Jonathan Freed, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Well, for every business, there's a Henry Ford. For every criminal enterprise an Al Capone or a Willie Sutton. In the world of identity theft, that would be Frank Abagnale, whose identity was assumed in this case by Leonardo DiCaprio.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM HANKS, ACTOR: Hands on your head.

LEONARDO DICAPRIO, ACTOR: Look it is the new IBM select...

HANKS: Put your hands on the head.

DICAPRIO: You can print type in five seconds...

HANKS: Shut up. Put your hands on your head.

DICAPRIO: You know, he has got over 200 checks here.

HANKS: Hands on your head.

DICAPRIO: Drafting. He even has payroll envelopes addressed to himself.

HANKS: Put it down. Drop it.

DICAPRIO: Relax. You're late. All right. My name's Allen, Barry Allen, United States Secret Service. Your boy just tried to jump out the window. My partner has him in custody.

HANKS: I don't know what you're talking about.

DICAPRIO: You think the FBI are the only ones on this guy? Come on. Come on, he's dabbling in government checks here. Been following a paper trail on this guy for months now. Hey, you mind taking that gun out of my face, please, really!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Mr. Abagnale did time for his adventure some 40 years ago, in France, in Sweden, and back home. He poses as a doctor, a lawyer, a pilot for Pan-Am -- that's reassuring. He's now a consultant for real, the industry and the FBI, and we're pleased to see him with us tonight. You don't look like Leonardo DiCaprio that much.

FRANK ABAGNALE, JR, AUTHOR, "CATCH ME IF YOU CAN:" I know that.

BROWN: So many things. I wrote a story about privacy probably seven, eight years ago. I went to my editors and I said, it's not really that people steal so much; it's really that we give away a lot.

ABAGNALE: Absolutely. I mean, first of all, you have to understand that technology basically breeds crime. What I did 40 years ago is now 4,000 times easier today to do them when I did it. Forty years ago if I was forging a check I needed a Hidelberg (ph) printing press that was 90 feet long and cost a million dollars. There were color separations, negatives, plates, type setting. Today I would simply go to a laptop, download a corporate logo and print out a check in four colors in 15 minutes. Forty years ago, only three people you knew your Social Security: You, the government and your employer. Today everyone knows or has access to it.

BROWN: If you wanted to, how long would it take you to find my Social Security number?

ABAGNALE: Probably 10 minutes.

BROWN: What would be the first thing you would do?

ABAGNALE: I would simply, probably just go online. There is so much access through the Internet, online. Actually, back in 1995, I wrote a white paper where I showed that I could go online and find out 22 pieces of information about any American, including the president of the United States, simply based on public records. I could tell you where you banked, what your account number was, where you went to school, who lived in the house with you that wasn't related to you. All of this comes from marriage licenses, public records, driver's licenses, and things that anyone has access to -- death records, birth records, et cetera.

BROWN: So, it is kind of ironic today that Citi Corp or Citigroup or whatever Citi is called now, told us that they've lost the records of 4 million people, when they market a credit card that's designed, they say, to prevent identity theft.

ABAGNALE: True. I don't really believe that they were lost. Obviously someone knew the value of those and has sold them to someone else. These things will not show up, these names or these identities, for three, four years from now, and three or four years from now someone on that list will have their identity taken and think it was something that recently happened.

BROWN: Well, I don't want to make this personal, but I swear in the last five weeks, I've hit the trifecta. My employer, my bank, and I found out because I was applying for credit on something, that somebody opened up a cell phone account in my name years ago, five years ago, right? One of the things you learn is that they love extending credit, cell phone in this case, T-mobile, they had no problem doing that. But they're not at all interested in clearing up the problem.

ABAGNALE: Absolutely.

BROWN: There's no money in clearing up the problem.

ABAGNALE: No, and all companies, corporations, banks, hospital, financial institution, municipalities are not doing a very good job of managing the identities of their customers and their employees. I always ask a bank why is it when a car pulls up in the drive and the teller, who is 17 years old, has access to the person's signature, their date of birth, their Social Security number, their driver's license number, how much they have in their account, how much they have in their mutual account, their private banking account? That information should be blocked from those levels of employees. And there are very simple softwares available today from numerous companies under $100,000 capable of doing that. You need to ask yourself when you have a business, what are you doing to protect the identity of your customers and your employees?

BROWN: This one quick thing, two more questions. One quick thing, you said you would never write a check, no reason to write a check. So in terms of advice, don't write checks. You said it would take 10 minutes to find my Social Security number. How long would it take to find yours?

ABAGNALE: Probably the same thing. Mine would be...

BROWN: But you're smart. You're supposed to know ....

ABAGNALE: There is no way really to protect it because it's just in every public record. Every company that's ever had ran credit on me.

BROWN: So we should just accept that it's out there and bad guy -- and it is kind of a lottery, whether you'll get nailed or not?

ABAGNALE: I know what I do is very simple and I have been doing it for six years. I basically have a company that monitors my credit. All I make sure is that they monitor all three credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and Transunion, and they notify me in real time. That's the big key. Many people go out and buy a monitoring service. They monitor one credit bureau and they notify you once a quarter. Well, it would be too late.

Even if they sent you a letter, it would be too late. So I use a service that monitors my credit, seven day a week, 24 hours a day and they notify me in real-time if someone is attempting to use my credit. The only way I can protect myself is to be proactive. So if I know someone's at Best Buy tonight trying to buy a TV in my name, I can call that Best Buy store and tell them that's not me. That is the only thing I can do.

BROWN: That's full-time work. Nice to meet you.

ABAGNALE: My pleasure.

BROWN: Thanks for coming in.

Major ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court on the use of marijuana for medical purposes today. Talked about that in a bit. But first, near quarter past the hour. Pretty near quarter past the hour in fact. Erica Hill joins us again with the headlines. Good to see you.

ERICA HILL, HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR: Pretty close, good to see you. We're starting offer the week well, very close to fifteen after.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair is on his way to Washington, where he will meet tomorrow with President Bush to discuss a proposal to double the amount of aid developed nations send to Africa. That proposal is on the agenda. When the group of eight nations meets next month in Scotland. This meeting part of the preparation for the G-8 Summit.

The Pentagon says it's not going to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay. Over the weekend, Democratic Senator Joe Biden called for the facility to be shut down. That followed the disclosure of five cases where guards mishandled prisoner's copies of the Koran including kick and stepping on the holy book.

A judge in Utah today sentenced Mark Hacking to six years to life behind bars for murdering his wife last summer and dumping her body in the garbage. Authorities believe he did it after Lori Hacking found out he lied about being admitted to medical school. Hacking told the judge he's been tormented every waking minute by his crime.

And actor Russell Crowe is accused of hitting a New York City hotel employee in the face with a thrown telephone. Crowe was arrested this morning, charged with assault and criminal position of a weapon. The weapon in this case, being the telephone. Crowe was later released by a judge pending a September trial; his publicist denies Crowe struck the hotel employee.

And that is the latest from headline news. Aaron back over to you.

BROWN: Erica thank you. Check with you in half an hour. Straight ahead on the program, back to Iraq, to being a Marine again. He's leaving behind an important job, state treasurer in the state of Colorado and a wife who agreed to their honeymoon delayed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I did have my angry phase. Fortunately it didn't last too long. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well I think if she were happy about it I would be really worried.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Why Mike Kaufman is leaving his bride behind. Why he can't seem to stay away from Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is my medicine. And if it is taken away, I die. And I don't feel that it's right for me to have to lose my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: The state of California told her she can use medical marijuana to control her pain. Now the Supreme Court says she can be arrested.

He's one of a handful of people in the United States allowed to smoke pot legally.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But I keep saying to the government is, here I am, right here. You've been giving me this medicine for over 22 years, along with some other patients. Why don't you study me?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So why don't they? An answer to that question and more. From New York, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: No longer news to tell you, the military's having a difficult time finding enough recruits. The post-9/11 surge has given way to the reality of a long, tough battle in Iraq. So this story isn't about people who won't, it's about one man who will. Mike Kaufman is the exception to the rule even among recruits. He isn't young, he isn't look for benefits, he sure isn't looking for adventure. Perhaps more than most, Mr. Kaufman can say with absolute assurance, his decision to go to Iraq is no honeymoon.

Here's CNN's Sean Callebs.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): There has been a dispute for several weeks now, between Mike Kaufman, Colorado state treasurer, and Cynthia Honssinger, the state's deputy attorney general.

CYNTHIA HONSSINGER, COLORADO DEPUTY ATTY. GENERAL: I did have my angry phase. Fortunately, it didn't last too long and Mike can really spin things well. But I also knew that my chances of talking Mike out of this were not good and that it would only really cause a break between us.

CALLEBS: The issue in question is not political or financial. It's deeply personal. You see these two public servants were soon to be married.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's nice.

CALLEBS: And had planned a romantic Italian honeymoon but Mike Kaufman has throne a monkey wrench into that scenario. From all the accounts I read your fiancee certainly has some misgivings about this whole thing.

MIKE KAUFMAN: Well I think if she were happy about, I would be really worried.

CALLEBS: Worried because the 50-year-old Republican has decided to take an unpaid leave of absence and after 11 years is headed back to the U.S. marines to serve in Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do your work and come home in one piece.

CALLEBS: Anyone who might have been surprised at this doesn't really know Mike Kaufman.

KAUFMAN: I think people were just so stunned about it in a way, they knew my character that I'm just the kind of person to do this, having gone to the first Gulf War.

CALLEBS: That was in 1991 when Kaufman took another unpaid leave. That time from a legislator to command marines during the liberation of Kuwait.

KAUFMAN: This is (INAUDIBLE) this would be off of my high iterleran (ph). This is from Desert Storm.

CALLEBS: The son of career soldier. Kaufman quit high school and joined the army at 17. Afterward he went to the University of Colorado on the GI Bill. Graduated and then joined the marines. Kaufman has always taken good care of himself. Now mornings around the track, and time spent knocking off a few chin-ups in the office have a purpose. But why? Why risk life and limb trading in the trappings of politics for desert fatigues?

KAUFMAN: The fact is if we don't create a stable government there, our young men and women that have sacrificed so much in uniform are not coming back home.

CALLEBS: A few days after our interview, the treasurer married the bride he cherished. But the honeymoon got paired down from a trip to Italy to a few days in New York. But August Kaufman is expected to be in Ramadi working toward next January's elections. After that? Well, he has his eyes set on secretary of state, back here in Colorado. KAUFMAN: I have been coming back here and doing it in Colorado, getting this state up and running for elections is not going to be quite as challenging. So I think I'll have the qualifications to do it.

CALLEBS: Sean Callebs, CNN, in Denver.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Just ahead, medical marijuana. Legal in some states, at least it looked that way for a while. Supreme Court's decision today and the gravely ill people who will have a tough time living with it.

Also tonight, one of the few people in the country legally permitted to fire up a joint. We'll take a break first. From New York this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: U.S. Supreme Court today dealt a major blow today to the advocates and the medical use of marijuana. In the long-awaited decision, the justices ruled 6-3, that sick people who use pot under the supervision of a doctor, can be arrested. It's centered on a question literally as old as country itself. How much power do states have? How much power does the federal government have? Today the federal government won and in this case, Angel Raich lost.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN (voice-over): At first blush, Angel Raich may seem an unlikely advocate for medical marijuana. She says she's never even had a speeding ticket, believed that drugs were bad, and describes her self as a conservative. At first blush justices Thomas, Rehnquist, and O'Connor, conservatives all, may seem unlikely advocates to support her right to use medical marijuana. But they were the dissenters today's decision that invalidates a state voters' right to set state marijuana policy. Ms. Raich's support is simple, the pot California allows her to smoke eases the pain of her brain cancer.

ANGEL RAICH, MEDICAL MARIJUANA USER: It's not like a cure but it works. And it worked for me.

BROWN: But the court's majority, its most liberal members included, said that is not the point. The point has to do with power, not pain. And who has it where drug laws are concerned.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: The Supreme Court's decision wasn't about medical marijuana. It was who decides whether medical marijuana is legal or not? The Supreme Court said, it's the United States government, not the state's.

BROWN: Justice O'Connor along with Thomas and Chief Justice Rehnquist who is fighting a cancer battle of his own said in this case, the states do have the right to set policy. It's not support for marijuana use. Justice O'Connor said she would have voted against the medical marijuana initiative, but a vote in favor of the right of a state's citizens to make their own laws governing conduct in their own states. But majority said drug use is a federal question. And Congress must vote to allow the states to decide and there is now a proposal to allow just that.

ROBERT RAICH, ATTORNEY AND HUSBAND: It would prohibit the spending of federal money to harass medical cannabis patients in states which allow it. I think all congressmen should take the invitation they have received from six members of the Supreme Court and change the federal laws.

BROWN: But for now federal agents can arrest users even in states where medical marijuana is legal. And for now, Angel Raich remains a criminal, in violation of narcotics laws.

A. RAICH: I don't have another alternative to this. This is my medicine. And if it is taken away, I die.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Today's ruling, a clear victory for the Drug Enforcement Agency, which in 2001, began raids against patients and their caregivers in California. Angel Raich was one of them. In 2002, she and another patient filed a lawsuit against the government, the case has been work its way through the courts since then. Earlier today, we spoke with Karen Tandy, the administrator of the DEA.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: You're obviously are pleased with the decision the court reached today. I'm curious, one of the things the corrupt said if states -- if the Congress wants to pass the lawmaking medical marijuana legal, then Congress should do that. Would the DEA oppose a law like that?

KAREN TANDY, DEA ADMINISTRATOR: Well, DEA enforces the laws that congress passes. And it's very -- would be very troubling to see marijuana legalized, given the inherent dangers that that drug presents. It's not for DEA to say what law should be. I can tell you about the situation now.

The British Medical Association felt that marijuana should not be decriminalized because of the concern that people would think it's safe. And it would send the wrong message. And here, there are so many studies and facts that reflect just how dangerous this drug is. For those people on the other side of it, who say that it has medical properties, the Institute of Medicine has found that it's been marijuana, smoking marijuana, is largely ineffective as a medicine. And to that extent, the institute of medicine has determined that marijuana has no future as medicine as smoked marijuana.

BROWN: People in 10 states have debated this question pretty extensively, actually. And I may be wrong about, this but I think in every state where this has been, the medical marijuana question, the narrow question of medical marijuana, not the Alaska case which was much broader. Not Arizona which was broad also. But just medical marijuana, came down on the side of medical marijuana. Why do you think they're wrong in that sense? They thought about it.

TANDY: Well, first of all, the reason our prescription drugs and drug supply in this country are safe is because we have a closed system. It is not a drug system where drugs are dispensed based on ballot initiatives and public voting. There is a system here to ensure that our drug supply and drug distribution system remains safe. So the ballot initiatives that you would point to, there are others that you could equally point to, where the public has rejected smoking marijuana as medicine. And the science simply doesn't support about.

BROWN: Really, where have they rejected smoking marijuana as medicine? Really?

TANDY: Oh, there have been ballot initiatives in states. One of the recent ones, Oregon, they tried to expand the legalization or decriminalization. Marijuana for medicinal reasons. And that was rejected.

BROWN: No, I absolutely agree with you that whenever it's expanded, I pointed to Alaska, other places, then it becomes a different question. Then it becomes the availability of marijuana generally to the population either of in a decriminalized form or something like it. But when it's narrowly defined, ever been a case where it's been rejected that you know of? I may be wrong.

TANDY: I know that there are certain cities where there were ballot initiatives. One of those cities in Michigan. Where it was rejected and drug legalizers are coming back now to try to make another run at it.

BROWN: Let me ask one other question on marijuana generally. Canada is looking that the differently. Britain has looked at this whole question marijuana and how society ought to deal with it. Europe, I think across the board, is looking at it differently. In some respects, i think an argument could be made that the United States -- this not a right or wrong from my point of view, it's just out of step with where the rest of the world is, or where a good number of our allies are at least of how to deal with marijuana. Do you think that the way we deal with marijuana generally needs to be rethought?

TANDY: Well, just addressing the foreign experience here. As those countries that decriminalize marijuana have lived with their decision, what you're seeing is some of those countries pulling back and re-evaluating that decision to decriminalize marijuana. You look at the Netherlands, for example. They had over a thousand coffee shops that were really selling marijuana for smoking. That thousand plus has now been reduced to hundreds because of issues that developed as a result of their decriminalization. In fact, many cities there have a zero tolerance policy now for smoking marijuana.

BROWN: It's good to meet you. We appreciate your time today. Thanks.

TANDY: Thank you.

BROWN: Nice job.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: The head of the DEA. In a moment, a man who can do virtually what no one else in the country can do, fill a prescription for marijuana. His legal and medical journey after the break. Around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: As we said before the break, today's Supreme Court ruling on medical marijuana isn't the final word on the subject. Congress will have the final say, though, don't hold your breath. For years now, the issue has made its way through the courts. One fundamental question has gone unanswered. Does marijuana actually make sick people feel better? Researchers have been asking that question even as patients insist they already know the answer. Here's CNN's John Zarrella.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IRVIN ROSENFELD, MARIJUANA USER: Want to let you know we got done on that stock earlier today.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Irvin Rosenfeld works for a securities firm in Ft. Lauderdale. Despite the high- pressured environment and very serious and painful medical condition, Rosenfeld says, he feels good.

ROSENFELD: Here's that file on Sand Hill.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, great.

ROSENFELD: Make three copies of it and send it to the people i told you too, please.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right.

ZARRELLA: The three breaks a day, Rosenfeld takes outside on this park bench. Not coffee but marijuana breaks get him through.

ROSENFELD: What it does for me is it relaxes the muscles. I can just feel my muscles relaxing and the tension and the pain distinguishing.

ZARRELLA: Rosenfeld is one of the seven million people in the United States allowed to legally light up a joint. They were part of a federal research program now ended that gave them the right to smoke government-grown marijuana for their medical conditions.

It doesn't impair your decision-making or?

ROSENFELD: Nothing. I get no euphoric affect. For some reason I never have off of any cannabis.

ZARRELLA: Rosenfeld's interested filled with some 200 benign tumors. He's had them since he was a boy. At 13, he says, the pain he suffered began to demand stronger and stronger painkillers. He took morphine for 19 years. Even that didn't stop the pain.

ROSENFELD: Other medicines were tried and that's why I was able to get marijuana.

ZARRELLA: Rosenfeld and the attorneys proved to the government's satisfaction that marijuana worked for him. He was admitted to the Compassionate Care and Investigative New Drug program in 1982. Once a month, Rosenfeld gets a cookie tin filled with 300 marijuana cigarettes. Based on his doctor's prescription.

ROSENFELD: It actually reads, "use 10 cigarettes daily as directed."

ZARRELLA: What does the marijuana do for you?

ROSENFELD: It saved my life. And it keeps the tumors as far as I'm concerned from growing. Because I haven't had a tumor grown for 30 years even though my disease says I can develop a new tumor at any age.

ZARRELLA: Federal drug control policy officials say there is no research that validates marijuana as safe and effective. Despite claims like Rosenfeld's.

ROSENFELD: What I keep telling to the government, here I am. Right here. You've been giving me this medicine for over 22 years. Along with some other patients. Why don't you study me? But they haven't done it.

ZARRELLA: Rosenfeld and the other six who were in the medical marijuana research program have been grandfathered in and can still smoke pot. He believes that program can be restarted. That, he says, would lift any cloud of any doubt over whether marijuana has any medical benefits. John Zarrella, CNN, Ft. Lauderdale.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Ahead on NEWSNIGHT, two key decisions bring an end to the dispute over the outcome of the governor's race in Washington State. And our anniversary series recalls the bravery and brutality of Tiananmen Square. We'll take a break first. From New York, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL)

BROWN: In a moment, remembering Tiananmen Square, but first, near quarter to the hour, Erica Hill in Atlanta with some of the day's other headlines -- Erica.

HILL: Hi, Aaron. We're getting late word out of Washington State tonight the Republican candidate for governor, Dino Rossi is dropping all further legal challenges to Governor Christine Gregoire's victory. Gregoire beat Rossi by only 129 votes but earlier today, a state judge refused to throw out those results saying the voters have spoken and the courts should not intervene.

Jurors in the Michael Jackson case wrapped up their first full day deliberations today without reaching a verdict. They were escorted to and from court in special vans. Jurors sent a float to the judge early in the day, saying they had a question. That question, though, has not been made public. They'll resume deliberations in the morning.

And American and North Korean officials met today in New York it talk about halting North Korea's nuclear weapon's program. The State Department says the meeting was requested by North Korea. The Bush administration has been pressuring that country to return to the bargaining table.

And Aaron, that's latest from Headline News at this hour. Back over to you in New York.

BROWN: Thank you very much. Sixteen years ago the world watched as students in China tried to bring democracy to their country. But Tiananmen Square came to be known as the place where a movement was crushed by tanks and is the focus of tonight's installment of in our anniversary series, then and now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Tiananmen Square, April 1989, it began peacefully. Beijing University students mourning death of a former government leader who supported the student movement for democracy. But student's memorial turned into a people's protest that lasted nearly six weeks. Wang Dan was one of the student leaders.

WANG DAN, FORMER STUDENT PROTESTER: I saw the power of the people at that moment. You really could see the power of the people. And it was the first time in the history of the republic (ph) of China that people took to the streets without allowance from the government.

ZAHN: The Chinese government imposed martial law at the end of may but the protests continued until troops moved in on June 4th. It still isn't known how many people were jailed, injured, or killed.

WANG: Those people who died I really feel deep sorrow for them because I was their leader. I leaded them to go to the square.

ZAHN: Wang Dan was in prison twice for his action and eventually released into exile to the U.S. He's published 17 books and is studying for his PhD. at Harvard.

WANG: If I have a chance to -- of course I still will involve in political activities or other activities to try to promote human rights and democracy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: ... all the changes in China in 16 years. All year long, as we celebrate 25 years of bringing you the news, we look back at the newsmakers and the stories that have defined the era in which we've lived. The morning papers coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Okeydoke, time to check morning papers from around the country and around the world. Many have good headlines today. We'll see how many we get to.

"The Christian Science Monitor" starts us off because we haven't in a while. "States try to ease property tax rise faces with revolt by homeowners. Legislators from Maine to Nevada," which pretty much covers it unless you're in California, "are coming up with possible fixes." Why not do what the federal government does, just run a massive deficit.? It's not a problem.

"Stars and Stripes" our soldiers will be reading tomorrow. "Top court upholds ban on marijuana. Decision allows federal government to prosecute for medical use." That's the big story for the soldiers. And the sailors and the marines and the rest. I think that pretty much covers it.

"The Washington Times," I love this story. "Lawmakers dash to correct record of trips." Ford, that's Harold Ford of Tennessee, as the most prolific traveler, since '00, 62 trips. Maxine Waters, 61. James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin received gifts worth $176,000. It's not a bad gig being a member of Congress if you're thinking.

Down here, pope blasts gay marriage as perilous to family unit. The new pope also came out again against divorce, artificial birth control and freestyle unions. Not exactly sure what that is.

"The Oregonian" out in Portland. "FBI/CIA criticized in efforts on terror. Members of the September 11th panel focus on gaps particularly obstacles in intelligence sharing among spy agencies." What exactly needs to happen for these people to get their act together?

"The Examiner," that's the free paper in Washington, you can't get a better deal than that. "Dude, where's my Social Security number? City Financial says courier UPS lost computer tapes containing four million records." What I liked about that is down here, there's the ad for Chevy Chase bank. Now, if you're really clever, your slogan would be "We're the bank that doesn't lose your personal data."

How much time do I have? Got to go. Okay, the weather tomorrow in Chicago -- Russell Crowe had a little problem here in New York. Weather tomorrow in Chicago according to "Sun-Times," "gamey." We'll wrap it up in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Quick thing, we've got one story out of the "Christian Science Monitor," the big reality TV show in Iraq is called "Terrorism in the Grip of Justice." People confessing. See you tomorrow.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired June 6, 2005 - 22:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
AARON BROWN, HOST: It used to be that all you had in the end of your day was your good name. Now it seems everybody has it. Your employer has it, your bank, the hospital, maybe a hacker in Estonia, a counterfeiter in Brooklyn perhaps, or some guy on a loading dock with a box of computer tapes that he doesn't know quite what to do with, but knows a kid who does. And when he gets it, good luck, keeping that good name of yours. Tonight, how your identity gets stolen. First though how it gets lost. Here's CNN's Gerri Willis.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's almost getting to be a regular occurrence -- the personal data of millions of Americans has been lost by a major financial institution. Again!

AVIVAH LITAN, GARTNER ANALYST: At this point, you and I basically have zero control over our information. It's beyond our control.

WILLIS: Citi Financial told 3.9 million of its customers over the weekend that their personal information had been mislaid by a UPS courier. Apparently the tapes contained customer's Social Security numbers, account numbers, names, and addresses. Essentially exposing nearly four million people to identity theft. Worse, the computer tapes, although they would require a mainframe computer to read, were not encrypted. Like an open book with no secret coding to stop a sophisticated thief or even slow one down. Experts say unfortunately too many U.S. companies, like Citi Financial, aren't encrypting their customer's sensitive information.

LITAN: The reason why they didn't is probably they just didn't get around to it. There's so much data leakage and so much data leaving the company.

WILLIS: This is only the latest in the largest in a series of cases where major U.S. companies have had, had to admit their customer's most secret information has been compromised. Since February, there have been more than a dozen of these cases involving one million customers of Bank of America, 145,000 at ChoicePoint, 32,000 at Lexis-Nexis and 600,000 at Time Warner, the parent corporation of CNN. What's going on? Identity theft is on the rise along with the awareness of the problem. One in 20 Americans experience some form of identity theft each year whether it's old- fashioned credit card fraud or more high-tech computer hacking. One expert says its Americans appetite for convenient credit that's creating a wave of consumer information and the potential for losses.

LITAN: That's what it's all about in the financial services industry, is getting people to use more financing, spend more money, and to do that you need a lot of information, to market to them and to sell them exactly what they'll be interested in and there's a cost to that. And the cost is serious privacy issues.

WILLIS: However, experts think the real reason we are hearing about more and more of these data losses is that a change in a California law forces companies to go public when customers' data is lost or compromised. In other words, it may well be that they aren't losing anymore of our data; it's just that before, they didn't have to let everyone know.

Gerri Willis, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: If you've got one of the older Social Security cards, take a look at the front of it. Not for identification, it says. Now, try telling that to the bank. Try getting a loan without it. Or worse, try keeping your credit safe when someone else has your number. And they can get it. Here's CNN's Alina Cho.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Her business card lets you know instantly who Mari Frank is because once, another woman, a woman who didn't even look like her became her.

MARI FRANK, IDENTITY THEFT VICTIM'S ADVOCATE: When they searched this woman's home, they found a whole desk full of me. They found credit cards. They found checks. They found a suit against me at her house for Thrifty Rental Car for the car that she rented and totaled.

CHO: In 1996, the woman posing as Frank's business associate requested and got her credit report, which listed her Social Security number. Once she had the number, Frank says, the woman went to town.

FRANK: She basically was able to get my whole life, not only my personal life but my professional life, with just one thing. The Social Security number.

CHO: It took a year for Frank to clear her name and her credit.

FRANK: That Social Security number is the key to the kingdom of identity theft.

CHO: When Social Security numbers were first issued in 1936, the federal government promised they would never become national I.D. numbers, but over time, as a practical matter, that's exactly what's happened. So much so, today's Social Security is the most frequently used and abused record-keeping number in the United States.

FRANK: I became an expert by necessity, sort of speak.

CHO: Frank is the author of two books on identity theft. She also counsels victims on how to deal with it, how others can avoid it.

FRANK: Practically speaking, you cannot live your life without giving your Social Security number, but you can be stingy with it. The key issue for any consumer watching this is, always ask why do you need this? Is it necessary to the transaction that I'm giving you?

CHO: Frank says the only reason legally to give out your Social Security number is for a specific government purpose. Like, taxes. The doctor's office would only need it to put it on a death certificate. Credit card companies always request it for background checks but Frank says they don't need it and consumers don't know they can say no.

FRANK: They can use your name, your address, and other identifiers but they will push on you and they can deny you credit if you refuse give your Social Security number, because you're going to look suspicious.

CHO: Another tip, never carry your Social Security number in your wallet in case it gets stolen. I had mine on my health insurance card.

FRANK: Yes.

CHO: This looks like a Social Security number.

FRANK: That is my Social Security number.

CHO: OK, not a good idea.

Mari Frank is very serious about letting the world know who she is and her picture, she feels, is a better and safer identification than any number.

Alina Cho, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Most of the times of course, I.D. thieves simply want your money. Most of the time. Here's CNN's Jonathan Freed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Richard's Marraccini's walk to the mailbox is short. But it's long an anxiety.

RICHARD MARRACCINI, IDENTITY HARASSMENT VICTIM: 99.9 percent of anything that shows up in the mailbox on the street is going to be garbage.

FREED: Some people have their credit cards stolen. Richard and his wife Joanne say they've been robbed of their lives.

JOANNE MARRACCINI, IDENTITY HARASSMENT VICTIM: I worry about our reputations. I mean, we're Italian, and we were brought up and we were raised that your name was the most important thing you had. Don't every ruin your name. Well, you know what, someone is trying to ruin our names.

FREED: For almost ten years, that someone has been waging war with the Marraccini's and their identity has been the battlefield.

R. MARRACCINI: This has been everything I have been keeping over the years.

FREED: The assault on their lives is nothing less than sinister, with the identity attacker mailing out the Marraccini's vital personal information including Richard's Social Security, birth date and bank account numbers across the country, in the form of a mock credit report. Encouraging people to use it. Some do. And canceling things like loan applications has become Richard's part-time job.

When you look at everything laid out here on the table, do you feel like you're looking at your life or somebody else's life?

R. MARRACCINI: Well, I know it's my life. Unfortunately I wish it was somebody else's.

FREED: It gets worse, the attacker is targeting Joanne on a personal level. Putting her name and address on pen pal lists for prison inmates.

J. MARRACCINI: I was getting sometimes seven eight letters a day from different prisoners in different prisons. Well, I got to the point where I stopped opening them, because what in these letters was terrible.

R. MARRACCINI: They were very graphic.

FREED: The attacker has even pretended to be Joanne on line.

J. MARRACCINI: Dear Joanne, I'm a 19-year-old male from Wooddale Illinois, I received your e-mail and I was very interested. I'm not looking for love but I'm look for fun.

FREED: So by now probably wondering who would do this and why? The Maraccini's are convinced somebody in their old community is behind it all. Someone with whom they once had a neighborhood dispute. Richard and Joanne eventually moved on but they say that wasn't enough for the person who they believe is their attacker.

R. MARRACCINI: I could deal with it if it was somebody that stole your identity and they wanted to try to buy things. You eventually get covered in those areas. But this person, the only reason he wants our identity is to -- is to harass us basically. Maliciously harasses.

FREED: Richard and Joanne insist they've worked every angle trying to stop it sending piles of documents to the police. The FBI tells CNN there isn't enough evidence to warrant a federal investigation and explains the attacker is so good at covering its track; the postal service can't take action. Authorities say the attacker is doing just enough to cause trouble, but not enough to get caught. And there is no evidence anyone is profiting from it. J. MARRACCINI: We have no proof. No lawyer will take the case. They all want to help but they told me that until we have concrete evidence something tying it to him, they can't do anything for us.

FREED: Joanne says it's make them feel helpless like having a terminal illness.

J. MARRACCINI: I don't know what pleasure he's getting from this. He can't see us. He doesn't see me walk around the house. He doesn't -- you know, see me crying in the middle of the night. He doesn't see Rich on the computer during all of his free time. So what pleasure is he getting from this? That's what I don't understand.

FREED: Richard and Joanne say why someone would keep this up for so long is probably beyond a normal person's understanding. And they realize going public might only encourage the attacker. But they're hoping it will have the opposite affect and help them take back control of their lives.

Jonathan Freed, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Well, for every business, there's a Henry Ford. For every criminal enterprise an Al Capone or a Willie Sutton. In the world of identity theft, that would be Frank Abagnale, whose identity was assumed in this case by Leonardo DiCaprio.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM HANKS, ACTOR: Hands on your head.

LEONARDO DICAPRIO, ACTOR: Look it is the new IBM select...

HANKS: Put your hands on the head.

DICAPRIO: You can print type in five seconds...

HANKS: Shut up. Put your hands on your head.

DICAPRIO: You know, he has got over 200 checks here.

HANKS: Hands on your head.

DICAPRIO: Drafting. He even has payroll envelopes addressed to himself.

HANKS: Put it down. Drop it.

DICAPRIO: Relax. You're late. All right. My name's Allen, Barry Allen, United States Secret Service. Your boy just tried to jump out the window. My partner has him in custody.

HANKS: I don't know what you're talking about.

DICAPRIO: You think the FBI are the only ones on this guy? Come on. Come on, he's dabbling in government checks here. Been following a paper trail on this guy for months now. Hey, you mind taking that gun out of my face, please, really!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Mr. Abagnale did time for his adventure some 40 years ago, in France, in Sweden, and back home. He poses as a doctor, a lawyer, a pilot for Pan-Am -- that's reassuring. He's now a consultant for real, the industry and the FBI, and we're pleased to see him with us tonight. You don't look like Leonardo DiCaprio that much.

FRANK ABAGNALE, JR, AUTHOR, "CATCH ME IF YOU CAN:" I know that.

BROWN: So many things. I wrote a story about privacy probably seven, eight years ago. I went to my editors and I said, it's not really that people steal so much; it's really that we give away a lot.

ABAGNALE: Absolutely. I mean, first of all, you have to understand that technology basically breeds crime. What I did 40 years ago is now 4,000 times easier today to do them when I did it. Forty years ago if I was forging a check I needed a Hidelberg (ph) printing press that was 90 feet long and cost a million dollars. There were color separations, negatives, plates, type setting. Today I would simply go to a laptop, download a corporate logo and print out a check in four colors in 15 minutes. Forty years ago, only three people you knew your Social Security: You, the government and your employer. Today everyone knows or has access to it.

BROWN: If you wanted to, how long would it take you to find my Social Security number?

ABAGNALE: Probably 10 minutes.

BROWN: What would be the first thing you would do?

ABAGNALE: I would simply, probably just go online. There is so much access through the Internet, online. Actually, back in 1995, I wrote a white paper where I showed that I could go online and find out 22 pieces of information about any American, including the president of the United States, simply based on public records. I could tell you where you banked, what your account number was, where you went to school, who lived in the house with you that wasn't related to you. All of this comes from marriage licenses, public records, driver's licenses, and things that anyone has access to -- death records, birth records, et cetera.

BROWN: So, it is kind of ironic today that Citi Corp or Citigroup or whatever Citi is called now, told us that they've lost the records of 4 million people, when they market a credit card that's designed, they say, to prevent identity theft.

ABAGNALE: True. I don't really believe that they were lost. Obviously someone knew the value of those and has sold them to someone else. These things will not show up, these names or these identities, for three, four years from now, and three or four years from now someone on that list will have their identity taken and think it was something that recently happened.

BROWN: Well, I don't want to make this personal, but I swear in the last five weeks, I've hit the trifecta. My employer, my bank, and I found out because I was applying for credit on something, that somebody opened up a cell phone account in my name years ago, five years ago, right? One of the things you learn is that they love extending credit, cell phone in this case, T-mobile, they had no problem doing that. But they're not at all interested in clearing up the problem.

ABAGNALE: Absolutely.

BROWN: There's no money in clearing up the problem.

ABAGNALE: No, and all companies, corporations, banks, hospital, financial institution, municipalities are not doing a very good job of managing the identities of their customers and their employees. I always ask a bank why is it when a car pulls up in the drive and the teller, who is 17 years old, has access to the person's signature, their date of birth, their Social Security number, their driver's license number, how much they have in their account, how much they have in their mutual account, their private banking account? That information should be blocked from those levels of employees. And there are very simple softwares available today from numerous companies under $100,000 capable of doing that. You need to ask yourself when you have a business, what are you doing to protect the identity of your customers and your employees?

BROWN: This one quick thing, two more questions. One quick thing, you said you would never write a check, no reason to write a check. So in terms of advice, don't write checks. You said it would take 10 minutes to find my Social Security number. How long would it take to find yours?

ABAGNALE: Probably the same thing. Mine would be...

BROWN: But you're smart. You're supposed to know ....

ABAGNALE: There is no way really to protect it because it's just in every public record. Every company that's ever had ran credit on me.

BROWN: So we should just accept that it's out there and bad guy -- and it is kind of a lottery, whether you'll get nailed or not?

ABAGNALE: I know what I do is very simple and I have been doing it for six years. I basically have a company that monitors my credit. All I make sure is that they monitor all three credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and Transunion, and they notify me in real time. That's the big key. Many people go out and buy a monitoring service. They monitor one credit bureau and they notify you once a quarter. Well, it would be too late.

Even if they sent you a letter, it would be too late. So I use a service that monitors my credit, seven day a week, 24 hours a day and they notify me in real-time if someone is attempting to use my credit. The only way I can protect myself is to be proactive. So if I know someone's at Best Buy tonight trying to buy a TV in my name, I can call that Best Buy store and tell them that's not me. That is the only thing I can do.

BROWN: That's full-time work. Nice to meet you.

ABAGNALE: My pleasure.

BROWN: Thanks for coming in.

Major ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court on the use of marijuana for medical purposes today. Talked about that in a bit. But first, near quarter past the hour. Pretty near quarter past the hour in fact. Erica Hill joins us again with the headlines. Good to see you.

ERICA HILL, HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR: Pretty close, good to see you. We're starting offer the week well, very close to fifteen after.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair is on his way to Washington, where he will meet tomorrow with President Bush to discuss a proposal to double the amount of aid developed nations send to Africa. That proposal is on the agenda. When the group of eight nations meets next month in Scotland. This meeting part of the preparation for the G-8 Summit.

The Pentagon says it's not going to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay. Over the weekend, Democratic Senator Joe Biden called for the facility to be shut down. That followed the disclosure of five cases where guards mishandled prisoner's copies of the Koran including kick and stepping on the holy book.

A judge in Utah today sentenced Mark Hacking to six years to life behind bars for murdering his wife last summer and dumping her body in the garbage. Authorities believe he did it after Lori Hacking found out he lied about being admitted to medical school. Hacking told the judge he's been tormented every waking minute by his crime.

And actor Russell Crowe is accused of hitting a New York City hotel employee in the face with a thrown telephone. Crowe was arrested this morning, charged with assault and criminal position of a weapon. The weapon in this case, being the telephone. Crowe was later released by a judge pending a September trial; his publicist denies Crowe struck the hotel employee.

And that is the latest from headline news. Aaron back over to you.

BROWN: Erica thank you. Check with you in half an hour. Straight ahead on the program, back to Iraq, to being a Marine again. He's leaving behind an important job, state treasurer in the state of Colorado and a wife who agreed to their honeymoon delayed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I did have my angry phase. Fortunately it didn't last too long. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well I think if she were happy about it I would be really worried.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Why Mike Kaufman is leaving his bride behind. Why he can't seem to stay away from Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is my medicine. And if it is taken away, I die. And I don't feel that it's right for me to have to lose my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: The state of California told her she can use medical marijuana to control her pain. Now the Supreme Court says she can be arrested.

He's one of a handful of people in the United States allowed to smoke pot legally.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But I keep saying to the government is, here I am, right here. You've been giving me this medicine for over 22 years, along with some other patients. Why don't you study me?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So why don't they? An answer to that question and more. From New York, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: No longer news to tell you, the military's having a difficult time finding enough recruits. The post-9/11 surge has given way to the reality of a long, tough battle in Iraq. So this story isn't about people who won't, it's about one man who will. Mike Kaufman is the exception to the rule even among recruits. He isn't young, he isn't look for benefits, he sure isn't looking for adventure. Perhaps more than most, Mr. Kaufman can say with absolute assurance, his decision to go to Iraq is no honeymoon.

Here's CNN's Sean Callebs.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): There has been a dispute for several weeks now, between Mike Kaufman, Colorado state treasurer, and Cynthia Honssinger, the state's deputy attorney general.

CYNTHIA HONSSINGER, COLORADO DEPUTY ATTY. GENERAL: I did have my angry phase. Fortunately, it didn't last too long and Mike can really spin things well. But I also knew that my chances of talking Mike out of this were not good and that it would only really cause a break between us.

CALLEBS: The issue in question is not political or financial. It's deeply personal. You see these two public servants were soon to be married.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's nice.

CALLEBS: And had planned a romantic Italian honeymoon but Mike Kaufman has throne a monkey wrench into that scenario. From all the accounts I read your fiancee certainly has some misgivings about this whole thing.

MIKE KAUFMAN: Well I think if she were happy about, I would be really worried.

CALLEBS: Worried because the 50-year-old Republican has decided to take an unpaid leave of absence and after 11 years is headed back to the U.S. marines to serve in Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do your work and come home in one piece.

CALLEBS: Anyone who might have been surprised at this doesn't really know Mike Kaufman.

KAUFMAN: I think people were just so stunned about it in a way, they knew my character that I'm just the kind of person to do this, having gone to the first Gulf War.

CALLEBS: That was in 1991 when Kaufman took another unpaid leave. That time from a legislator to command marines during the liberation of Kuwait.

KAUFMAN: This is (INAUDIBLE) this would be off of my high iterleran (ph). This is from Desert Storm.

CALLEBS: The son of career soldier. Kaufman quit high school and joined the army at 17. Afterward he went to the University of Colorado on the GI Bill. Graduated and then joined the marines. Kaufman has always taken good care of himself. Now mornings around the track, and time spent knocking off a few chin-ups in the office have a purpose. But why? Why risk life and limb trading in the trappings of politics for desert fatigues?

KAUFMAN: The fact is if we don't create a stable government there, our young men and women that have sacrificed so much in uniform are not coming back home.

CALLEBS: A few days after our interview, the treasurer married the bride he cherished. But the honeymoon got paired down from a trip to Italy to a few days in New York. But August Kaufman is expected to be in Ramadi working toward next January's elections. After that? Well, he has his eyes set on secretary of state, back here in Colorado. KAUFMAN: I have been coming back here and doing it in Colorado, getting this state up and running for elections is not going to be quite as challenging. So I think I'll have the qualifications to do it.

CALLEBS: Sean Callebs, CNN, in Denver.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Just ahead, medical marijuana. Legal in some states, at least it looked that way for a while. Supreme Court's decision today and the gravely ill people who will have a tough time living with it.

Also tonight, one of the few people in the country legally permitted to fire up a joint. We'll take a break first. From New York this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: U.S. Supreme Court today dealt a major blow today to the advocates and the medical use of marijuana. In the long-awaited decision, the justices ruled 6-3, that sick people who use pot under the supervision of a doctor, can be arrested. It's centered on a question literally as old as country itself. How much power do states have? How much power does the federal government have? Today the federal government won and in this case, Angel Raich lost.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN (voice-over): At first blush, Angel Raich may seem an unlikely advocate for medical marijuana. She says she's never even had a speeding ticket, believed that drugs were bad, and describes her self as a conservative. At first blush justices Thomas, Rehnquist, and O'Connor, conservatives all, may seem unlikely advocates to support her right to use medical marijuana. But they were the dissenters today's decision that invalidates a state voters' right to set state marijuana policy. Ms. Raich's support is simple, the pot California allows her to smoke eases the pain of her brain cancer.

ANGEL RAICH, MEDICAL MARIJUANA USER: It's not like a cure but it works. And it worked for me.

BROWN: But the court's majority, its most liberal members included, said that is not the point. The point has to do with power, not pain. And who has it where drug laws are concerned.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: The Supreme Court's decision wasn't about medical marijuana. It was who decides whether medical marijuana is legal or not? The Supreme Court said, it's the United States government, not the state's.

BROWN: Justice O'Connor along with Thomas and Chief Justice Rehnquist who is fighting a cancer battle of his own said in this case, the states do have the right to set policy. It's not support for marijuana use. Justice O'Connor said she would have voted against the medical marijuana initiative, but a vote in favor of the right of a state's citizens to make their own laws governing conduct in their own states. But majority said drug use is a federal question. And Congress must vote to allow the states to decide and there is now a proposal to allow just that.

ROBERT RAICH, ATTORNEY AND HUSBAND: It would prohibit the spending of federal money to harass medical cannabis patients in states which allow it. I think all congressmen should take the invitation they have received from six members of the Supreme Court and change the federal laws.

BROWN: But for now federal agents can arrest users even in states where medical marijuana is legal. And for now, Angel Raich remains a criminal, in violation of narcotics laws.

A. RAICH: I don't have another alternative to this. This is my medicine. And if it is taken away, I die.

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BROWN: Today's ruling, a clear victory for the Drug Enforcement Agency, which in 2001, began raids against patients and their caregivers in California. Angel Raich was one of them. In 2002, she and another patient filed a lawsuit against the government, the case has been work its way through the courts since then. Earlier today, we spoke with Karen Tandy, the administrator of the DEA.

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BROWN: You're obviously are pleased with the decision the court reached today. I'm curious, one of the things the corrupt said if states -- if the Congress wants to pass the lawmaking medical marijuana legal, then Congress should do that. Would the DEA oppose a law like that?

KAREN TANDY, DEA ADMINISTRATOR: Well, DEA enforces the laws that congress passes. And it's very -- would be very troubling to see marijuana legalized, given the inherent dangers that that drug presents. It's not for DEA to say what law should be. I can tell you about the situation now.

The British Medical Association felt that marijuana should not be decriminalized because of the concern that people would think it's safe. And it would send the wrong message. And here, there are so many studies and facts that reflect just how dangerous this drug is. For those people on the other side of it, who say that it has medical properties, the Institute of Medicine has found that it's been marijuana, smoking marijuana, is largely ineffective as a medicine. And to that extent, the institute of medicine has determined that marijuana has no future as medicine as smoked marijuana.

BROWN: People in 10 states have debated this question pretty extensively, actually. And I may be wrong about, this but I think in every state where this has been, the medical marijuana question, the narrow question of medical marijuana, not the Alaska case which was much broader. Not Arizona which was broad also. But just medical marijuana, came down on the side of medical marijuana. Why do you think they're wrong in that sense? They thought about it.

TANDY: Well, first of all, the reason our prescription drugs and drug supply in this country are safe is because we have a closed system. It is not a drug system where drugs are dispensed based on ballot initiatives and public voting. There is a system here to ensure that our drug supply and drug distribution system remains safe. So the ballot initiatives that you would point to, there are others that you could equally point to, where the public has rejected smoking marijuana as medicine. And the science simply doesn't support about.

BROWN: Really, where have they rejected smoking marijuana as medicine? Really?

TANDY: Oh, there have been ballot initiatives in states. One of the recent ones, Oregon, they tried to expand the legalization or decriminalization. Marijuana for medicinal reasons. And that was rejected.

BROWN: No, I absolutely agree with you that whenever it's expanded, I pointed to Alaska, other places, then it becomes a different question. Then it becomes the availability of marijuana generally to the population either of in a decriminalized form or something like it. But when it's narrowly defined, ever been a case where it's been rejected that you know of? I may be wrong.

TANDY: I know that there are certain cities where there were ballot initiatives. One of those cities in Michigan. Where it was rejected and drug legalizers are coming back now to try to make another run at it.

BROWN: Let me ask one other question on marijuana generally. Canada is looking that the differently. Britain has looked at this whole question marijuana and how society ought to deal with it. Europe, I think across the board, is looking at it differently. In some respects, i think an argument could be made that the United States -- this not a right or wrong from my point of view, it's just out of step with where the rest of the world is, or where a good number of our allies are at least of how to deal with marijuana. Do you think that the way we deal with marijuana generally needs to be rethought?

TANDY: Well, just addressing the foreign experience here. As those countries that decriminalize marijuana have lived with their decision, what you're seeing is some of those countries pulling back and re-evaluating that decision to decriminalize marijuana. You look at the Netherlands, for example. They had over a thousand coffee shops that were really selling marijuana for smoking. That thousand plus has now been reduced to hundreds because of issues that developed as a result of their decriminalization. In fact, many cities there have a zero tolerance policy now for smoking marijuana.

BROWN: It's good to meet you. We appreciate your time today. Thanks.

TANDY: Thank you.

BROWN: Nice job.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: The head of the DEA. In a moment, a man who can do virtually what no one else in the country can do, fill a prescription for marijuana. His legal and medical journey after the break. Around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT.

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BROWN: As we said before the break, today's Supreme Court ruling on medical marijuana isn't the final word on the subject. Congress will have the final say, though, don't hold your breath. For years now, the issue has made its way through the courts. One fundamental question has gone unanswered. Does marijuana actually make sick people feel better? Researchers have been asking that question even as patients insist they already know the answer. Here's CNN's John Zarrella.

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IRVIN ROSENFELD, MARIJUANA USER: Want to let you know we got done on that stock earlier today.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Irvin Rosenfeld works for a securities firm in Ft. Lauderdale. Despite the high- pressured environment and very serious and painful medical condition, Rosenfeld says, he feels good.

ROSENFELD: Here's that file on Sand Hill.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, great.

ROSENFELD: Make three copies of it and send it to the people i told you too, please.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right.

ZARRELLA: The three breaks a day, Rosenfeld takes outside on this park bench. Not coffee but marijuana breaks get him through.

ROSENFELD: What it does for me is it relaxes the muscles. I can just feel my muscles relaxing and the tension and the pain distinguishing.

ZARRELLA: Rosenfeld is one of the seven million people in the United States allowed to legally light up a joint. They were part of a federal research program now ended that gave them the right to smoke government-grown marijuana for their medical conditions.

It doesn't impair your decision-making or?

ROSENFELD: Nothing. I get no euphoric affect. For some reason I never have off of any cannabis.

ZARRELLA: Rosenfeld's interested filled with some 200 benign tumors. He's had them since he was a boy. At 13, he says, the pain he suffered began to demand stronger and stronger painkillers. He took morphine for 19 years. Even that didn't stop the pain.

ROSENFELD: Other medicines were tried and that's why I was able to get marijuana.

ZARRELLA: Rosenfeld and the attorneys proved to the government's satisfaction that marijuana worked for him. He was admitted to the Compassionate Care and Investigative New Drug program in 1982. Once a month, Rosenfeld gets a cookie tin filled with 300 marijuana cigarettes. Based on his doctor's prescription.

ROSENFELD: It actually reads, "use 10 cigarettes daily as directed."

ZARRELLA: What does the marijuana do for you?

ROSENFELD: It saved my life. And it keeps the tumors as far as I'm concerned from growing. Because I haven't had a tumor grown for 30 years even though my disease says I can develop a new tumor at any age.

ZARRELLA: Federal drug control policy officials say there is no research that validates marijuana as safe and effective. Despite claims like Rosenfeld's.

ROSENFELD: What I keep telling to the government, here I am. Right here. You've been giving me this medicine for over 22 years. Along with some other patients. Why don't you study me? But they haven't done it.

ZARRELLA: Rosenfeld and the other six who were in the medical marijuana research program have been grandfathered in and can still smoke pot. He believes that program can be restarted. That, he says, would lift any cloud of any doubt over whether marijuana has any medical benefits. John Zarrella, CNN, Ft. Lauderdale.

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BROWN: Ahead on NEWSNIGHT, two key decisions bring an end to the dispute over the outcome of the governor's race in Washington State. And our anniversary series recalls the bravery and brutality of Tiananmen Square. We'll take a break first. From New York, this is NEWSNIGHT.

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BROWN: In a moment, remembering Tiananmen Square, but first, near quarter to the hour, Erica Hill in Atlanta with some of the day's other headlines -- Erica.

HILL: Hi, Aaron. We're getting late word out of Washington State tonight the Republican candidate for governor, Dino Rossi is dropping all further legal challenges to Governor Christine Gregoire's victory. Gregoire beat Rossi by only 129 votes but earlier today, a state judge refused to throw out those results saying the voters have spoken and the courts should not intervene.

Jurors in the Michael Jackson case wrapped up their first full day deliberations today without reaching a verdict. They were escorted to and from court in special vans. Jurors sent a float to the judge early in the day, saying they had a question. That question, though, has not been made public. They'll resume deliberations in the morning.

And American and North Korean officials met today in New York it talk about halting North Korea's nuclear weapon's program. The State Department says the meeting was requested by North Korea. The Bush administration has been pressuring that country to return to the bargaining table.

And Aaron, that's latest from Headline News at this hour. Back over to you in New York.

BROWN: Thank you very much. Sixteen years ago the world watched as students in China tried to bring democracy to their country. But Tiananmen Square came to be known as the place where a movement was crushed by tanks and is the focus of tonight's installment of in our anniversary series, then and now.

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PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Tiananmen Square, April 1989, it began peacefully. Beijing University students mourning death of a former government leader who supported the student movement for democracy. But student's memorial turned into a people's protest that lasted nearly six weeks. Wang Dan was one of the student leaders.

WANG DAN, FORMER STUDENT PROTESTER: I saw the power of the people at that moment. You really could see the power of the people. And it was the first time in the history of the republic (ph) of China that people took to the streets without allowance from the government.

ZAHN: The Chinese government imposed martial law at the end of may but the protests continued until troops moved in on June 4th. It still isn't known how many people were jailed, injured, or killed.

WANG: Those people who died I really feel deep sorrow for them because I was their leader. I leaded them to go to the square.

ZAHN: Wang Dan was in prison twice for his action and eventually released into exile to the U.S. He's published 17 books and is studying for his PhD. at Harvard.

WANG: If I have a chance to -- of course I still will involve in political activities or other activities to try to promote human rights and democracy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: ... all the changes in China in 16 years. All year long, as we celebrate 25 years of bringing you the news, we look back at the newsmakers and the stories that have defined the era in which we've lived. The morning papers coming up.

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BROWN: Okeydoke, time to check morning papers from around the country and around the world. Many have good headlines today. We'll see how many we get to.

"The Christian Science Monitor" starts us off because we haven't in a while. "States try to ease property tax rise faces with revolt by homeowners. Legislators from Maine to Nevada," which pretty much covers it unless you're in California, "are coming up with possible fixes." Why not do what the federal government does, just run a massive deficit.? It's not a problem.

"Stars and Stripes" our soldiers will be reading tomorrow. "Top court upholds ban on marijuana. Decision allows federal government to prosecute for medical use." That's the big story for the soldiers. And the sailors and the marines and the rest. I think that pretty much covers it.

"The Washington Times," I love this story. "Lawmakers dash to correct record of trips." Ford, that's Harold Ford of Tennessee, as the most prolific traveler, since '00, 62 trips. Maxine Waters, 61. James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin received gifts worth $176,000. It's not a bad gig being a member of Congress if you're thinking.

Down here, pope blasts gay marriage as perilous to family unit. The new pope also came out again against divorce, artificial birth control and freestyle unions. Not exactly sure what that is.

"The Oregonian" out in Portland. "FBI/CIA criticized in efforts on terror. Members of the September 11th panel focus on gaps particularly obstacles in intelligence sharing among spy agencies." What exactly needs to happen for these people to get their act together?

"The Examiner," that's the free paper in Washington, you can't get a better deal than that. "Dude, where's my Social Security number? City Financial says courier UPS lost computer tapes containing four million records." What I liked about that is down here, there's the ad for Chevy Chase bank. Now, if you're really clever, your slogan would be "We're the bank that doesn't lose your personal data."

How much time do I have? Got to go. Okay, the weather tomorrow in Chicago -- Russell Crowe had a little problem here in New York. Weather tomorrow in Chicago according to "Sun-Times," "gamey." We'll wrap it up in a moment.

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BROWN: Quick thing, we've got one story out of the "Christian Science Monitor," the big reality TV show in Iraq is called "Terrorism in the Grip of Justice." People confessing. See you tomorrow.

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