SIR - Cannabis is slightly less addictive and harmful than coffee. This has been shown by many studies using much larger sample sizes than the 20 users in the study you report ("Even casual use of cannabis alters brain, warn scientists", April 16). For most adults, cannabis is good in moderation. It is a natural supplement to our endocannabinoid system and helps to protect against autoimmune conditions such as diabetes and cancer. It promotes neurogenesis, so is useful for the treatment of brain injury, stroke, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. The United States government holds a patent for the use of cannabinoids in treating such conditions. [continues 143 words]
I would like to hear the views of one or more Repository columnists, local law enforcement, lawmakers and the public on our skewed system of punishment for drug use, drug selling and drug making. I would like the rationale for letting drug abusers rot in prison for five, 10 or 20 years, then letting them out to repeat-offend. Why punish people who are addicted instead of helping them? I am more concerned with those who sell and, worse, make drugs. Yet we hear about arrests for possession far more than about arrests for intent to sell or about drug labs being "busted." [continues 208 words]
Activists Blame Infection Rate, Unchanged Since 1990, on Policies and Funding The number of people in poor countries taking AIDS drugs -- about 1.4 million -- rises by tens of thousands every week. The spread of AIDS in Africa seems to have peaked. Three countries there -- Uganda, Kenya and Zimbabwe -- report declining HIV prevalence, largely thanks to changes in people's behavior. Even in India, considered AIDS's ticking time bomb, efforts to defuse the epidemic are paying off in some places. [continues 1407 words]
36 Area Adults Took Psilocybin in Study; Many Called Experience Spiritual Psilocybin, the active ingredient of "magic mushrooms," expands the mind. After a thousand years of use, that's now scientifically official. The chemical promoted a mystical experience in two-thirds of people who took it for the first time, according to a new study. One-third rated a session with psilocybin as the "single most spiritually significant" experience of their lives. Another third put it in the top five. The study, published online today in the journal Psychopharmacology, is the first randomized, controlled trial of a substance used for centuries in Mexico and Central America to produce mystical insights. Almost no research on a psychedelic drug in human subjects has been done in this country since the 1960s. It confirms what both shamans and hippies have long said -- taking psilocybin is a scary, reality-bending and occasionally life-changing experience. [continues 782 words]
Document Sets No Targets, Cites Risks to Women UNITED NATIONS -- Delegates to a United Nations conference on AIDS reached agreement Friday after difficult negotiations on a policy declaration that sets no targets for the number of people who should be treated and makes only indirect reference to high-risk groups such as homosexuals, prostitutes and intravenous drug users. The statement, however, contains language acknowledging the "feminization" of the global AIDS epidemic, as well as the importance of teaching young people about the disease and the need for drugs specifically formulated for children. [continues 874 words]
Talks Stymied by Dispute Over Islamic Sensitivities, U.S. Reluctance to Specify Goals UNITED NATIONS -- Negotiations over an updated version of the United Nations' "declaration of commitment" on AIDS are bogging down in battles over the language sensitivities of Islamic countries and the reluctance of the United States to have specific, very expensive global targets spelled out in detail. According to numerous people in close contact with the negotiating teams, the declaration that will be presented to the General Assembly tomorrow may be far weaker than the one adopted in 2001. Though that declaration was not a binding document the way a treaty is, it is widely believed to have been a key factor in marshaling the world's energy and resources to address the needs of AIDS patients in the developing world. [continues 806 words]
Meeting at U.N. Seeks to Balance Treatment, International Funding Sources UNITED NATIONS - Five years after the United Nations' historic first general assembly on AIDS, the world has seen a huge increase in money and attention going to the 25-year-old epidemic, as well as evidence that the disease has stabilized in many areas and is retreating in more than a few. The number of people getting AIDS drug treatment in needy countries has risen more than fivefold in five years, and the number of sites providing it has jumped tenfold in just the past year. At least a quarter-million people are alive today who would not be without the money, effort and expertise expended just since 2003, according to U.N. estimates released Tuesday. [continues 1041 words]
More than 150 people in the United States died in the past five years after being shot by electrical stun weapons wielded by law enforcement officers, Amnesty International reported today. The human rights organization renewed its call -- first made in November 2004 -- for a moratorium on police use of stun guns pending "a rigorous, independent and impartial inquiry into their use and effects." The devices shoot a dart connected to a wire up to 25 feet. The wire delivers a jolt of electricity that briefly paralyzes muscles. The shock can be delivered without the dart by pressing the pistol-like weapon directly against a person. Most of the devices are made by Taser International, based in Arizona. [continues 222 words]
Re: Police chief, ex-mayor are just playing politics with Sullivan probe, Nov. 30 I think it is time former Vancouver mayor Larry Campbell looked at the recent municipal election results and your editorial and realized his 15 minutes of fame are just about over. It boggles the mind why Police Chief Jamie Graham would link his office to the mean-spirited effort to strike out at the new mayor, Sam Sullivan. Graham hasn't proven himself much of a manager of Vancouver Police Department spending, and should be encouraged to look for employment far from the city. David P. Brown Halfmoon Bay [end]
"Hi, my name is David, and I come from a family of addicts. From prescription painkillers to alcohol to crack cocaine to finding needles under mattresses, I've seen firsthand from family members and close friends the damage that addiction can do." Those were the first words I said Saturday afternoon, when I was honored to speak for a few moments during the dedication of Mary's House at Christian Love Ministries in Peachtree. Once a certified counselor is hired, Mary's House will allow the Rev. Denny Smith and his staff to serve more women in a building of their own, increasing the ministry's overall capacity to 53. The need couldn't be greater. As the methamphetamine problem escalates in Cherokee and surrounding counties - and as unemployment, general hopelessness and self-loathing causes more people to turn to the bottle or something worse as an escape from reality - Christian Love plays a vital role in the health and well-being of our community. [continues 411 words]
Dear Editor: Recent events again reveal the lack of courage public officials have when it comes to consistency in the area of alcohol and other drugs. The laws and political leadership continue to treat alcohol as if it were almost harmless relative to substances with similar effects. On the one hand, we have the state Legislature looking to increase the jail time for possession of Ecstasy on the argument that it will better the user's chances of getting treatment. It will more likely scare Ecstasy users from seeking medical help when needed. [continues 224 words]
Recent events reveal the lack of courage public officials have when it comes to consistency in the area of alcohol and other drugs. On the one hand, the Legislature is looking to increase the jail time for possession of ecstasy on the argument that jail time will better the user's chances of getting treatment. It will more likely scare ecstasy users from seeking medical help when needed. On the other hand, when Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager is caught driving drunk, she is lauded for her gracious apology and declines to resign. Even though her high-profile example is more of a threat to public health and safety than 10 ecstasy users. [continues 96 words]
The state of airline security is now well known to be a joke; we who travel the skyways regularly have known this; politicians who get paid to spend our tax dollars knew this; now then, everybody knows this. Politicians have forced drivers to "buckle up" whereas every kid riding a school bus does not have a seat belt and filling up a pickup truck with two to 15 teen-agers is perfectly legal. Politicians who get paid to spend tax money allowed the voting system to become a shambles which led to a ridiculous situation recently. Politicians are allowing the jails to fill up with drug offenders who spend longer in prison than those committing violent crimes. Politicians sustain the drug black market with their inaction although this problem has been defeated by many European countries; they stage a drug war that any reasonable person can see is ineffective. Politicians are currently talking about making illegal aliens into U.S. citizens and have not provided reasonable management of our borders for decades. Federal retirement programs are superior to most companies in the U.S. Politicians have created turmoil in misuse of social security funds for thirty or more years. David Brown, Fletcher [end]
WASHINGTON - The active substances in marijuana may be moderately useful for treating such problems as pain, nausea and appetite loss, but smoked marijuana has little future as a medicine, according to a panel of experts advising the federal government. The long-awaited review, coming after several states legalized marijuana for medical use, was immediately seized upon by advocates of marijuana as an endorsement of their position. ''We are very pleased with this report, which clearly shows there is scientific evidence that marijuana has bona fide therapeutic effects for some patients,'' said Chuck Thomas, director of the Marijuana Policy Project. ''Patients already using marijuana should be given the benefit of the doubt, and should not be arrested.'' [continues 253 words]
WASHINGTON - Reliable data on the use of marijuana for medical purposes have been difficult to get because of its classification. The active substances in marijuana may be ``moderately'' useful for treating such problems as pain, nausea and appetite loss, but smoked marijuana has little future as a medicine, a panel of experts advising the federal government said Wednesday. The long-awaited review comes after several states legalized marijuana for medical use and was immediately seized upon by marijuana advocates as an endorsement of their position. [continues 406 words]
More Research Urged; Smoking Discouraged The active substances in marijuana may be "moderately" useful for treating such problems as pain, nausea and appetite loss, but smoked marijuana has little future as a medicine, a panel of experts advising the federal government said yesterday. The long-awaited review comes after several states have legalized marijuana for medical use, and was immediately seized upon by marijuana's advocates as an endorsement of their position. "We are very pleased with this report, which clearly shows there is scientific evidence that marijuana has bona fide therapeutic effects for some patients," said Chuck Thomas, the director of the Washington-based Marijuana Policy Project. "Patients already using marijuana should be given the benefit of the doubt, and should not be arrested." [continues 677 words]
Marijuana Medically Useful but Issue Still Hazy, NIH Says By David Brown Washington Post Staff Writer Page A06 The Washington Post A panel of experts convened by the National Institutes of Health reported yesterday there is some evidence that smoking marijuana may be a useful treatment for many medical conditions, but said there is no proof that it is better than available legal medications. The evidence for marijuana's usefulness to date comes mostly from patient testimony and small clinical studies that, in general, are not up to the standards required of new drugs, the group of nine scientists wrote. Nevertheless, medicine should not write off smoked marijuana's "medical utility," they said. [continues 542 words]
By DAVID BROWN WASHINGTON POST Slightly more than a quarter of American highschool students have smoked all or part of a cigar in the last year, and about 2.6 percent reported having smoked at least 50. That is the main finding of the first rigorous study of cigar use among U.S. teenagers, which was released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Whether it represents a change in high schoolers' behavior from previous eras is unknown. The survey found that 37 percent of teenage boys had smoked a cigar in the previous year, compared with 16 percent of girls. [continues 408 words]
