In my other life outside of the offices of the Daily Bruin, I spend a lot of time at the various pools owned by UCLA. On Monday, I was scheduled to guard a water aerobics class at the school's rehabilitation pool in Westwood. Imagine my surprise when, as opposed to conversations about the minutiae of their day, I overheard the people in the class talk about something a little, well, greener: pot. A debate had started up over the merits of medical marijuana as a tool in coping with the symptoms of multiple sclerosis, a degenerative nerve condition that each person in the class had in some form or another. [continues 646 words]
More than a year ago, Proposition 19 failed at the polls. If passed, it would have decriminalized marijuana and allowed the government to regulate and penalize marijuana use and distribution in an effort to generate additional revenue for the state government. With a general election period approaching this November, it seems reasonable that California lobbyists will look to the federal government for support in order to decriminalize marijuana nationwide and raise internal revenue. Small groups have also sprung up throughout the United States, primarily in California, advocating for marijuana legalization. One of the most prominent groups and the state's largest medical group, the California Medical Association, has also endorsed the legalization of marijuana. [continues 344 words]
In 1996, California legalized medical marijuana despite prohibitionists' warnings of certain doom. Now, they are making the exact same claims about Proposition 19. Does anyone literally believe that there is an army of sober, law-abiding citizens ready to get stoned and run amok as soon as they can go out and buy a legal ounce of marijuana at the store? People who want to smoke marijuana already do. Proposition 19 simply means that they will no longer have to fund criminal organizations to do so. It's time for law enforcement to quit blowing smoke. Anders Froehlich San Rafael, Calif. [end]
Law Enforcement Officials Point Out Proposition 19's Implications for Problems With Statewide and Campus Regulation Increased marijuana usage rates triggered by Proposition 19 will also spark more marijuana-related crimes, especially on roadways, according to police officers and prosecutors around the state. "It's not going to free up a lot of our resources," said Ethan Shear, a campus police detective who primarily investigates illicit marijuana sales. The bill states that the legalization of marijuana will open up jail cells for more hardened criminals. But under current laws, a person in possession of an ounce or less of marijuana with a valid ID is not eligible to go to prison or even be arrested, said Joseph Esposito, head deputy of the Los Angeles district attorney's narcotics office. [continues 373 words]
Pro or Against, Both Sides Agree Prop. 19's Method of Legalizing Cannabis Is Far From Ideal If passed, Proposition 19, the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010, will allow California residents to grow marijuana for private use or purchase the drug at local grocery stores. The item was first placed on the California ballot last March by medical marijuana provider Richard Lee, and the proposition will be on the ballot next month. According to Yes on 19 spokesman Dan Newman, the initiative is a logical response to California's "failed war" on the drug. [continues 610 words]
Younger Generation More Willing to Discuss Drug Legalization Than in Past; Their Votes Key to Prop. 19's Outcome The 1936 film "Reefer Madness," which was created to deter students from using marijuana, tells the story of young adults getting into car accidents, committing murder, suicide and rape and ultimately descending into insanity as a result of marijuana use. Becoming a cult classic for its unintentional humor, the film failed to prevent students from drug use when it was released, and it has yet to change many students' opinions on marijuana in 2010. In fact, people aged 18 through 39 comprise the largest supporters of Proposition 19, with 59 percent planning to vote in support of it in November, according to a recent field poll. [continues 507 words]
A large sign jutted off the roof of the building, affixed with a neon green marijuana leaf. I had arrived. The Westwood establishment belonged to Dr. Michael Morris, a physician who specializes in medical marijuana recommendations. I wondered if he would write one for me. I have nothing that would qualify as a serious medical condition, but it's common knowledge that when it comes to garnering a medical marijuana recommendation, nobody is checking. My goal was to see how easy it really was to get access to legal bud. [continues 664 words]
For Matthew, music just sounds better when he's high. "When I'm listening to music, and when I'm playing music, I can really focus," he said. "I become more involved in the experience." Matthew started smoking when he came to college and now smokes about three times per week, enjoying a high that relaxes him and enhances his concentration. As for how it all works, the technical aspects are unclear. "I think I don't smoke enough to have any lasting effects. I don't know, I hope not," said the third-year mechanical engineering student, who asked that his last name not be used to protect his identity. [continues 637 words]
The act of smoking a marijuana joint is similar to puffing on a cigarette. Both substances have been known and used for hundreds of years, and their potential risks have long been hot topics of debate among lawmakers. Yet the jury is still out on whether marijuana shares similar health risks as cigarette smoking. For this reason, UCLA researchers like Dr. Donald Tashkin are looking to compare the effects of marijuana and cigarettes on the lungs. When Tashkin, a professor in the David Geffen School of Medicine, started studying marijuana 30 years ago, he expected to find heavy marijuana smokers suffering from many of the same diseases that chronic cigarette smokers suffer from, such as lung cancer and emphysema. [continues 492 words]
Supporters of Act Are Generally Younger Voters, but Personal Beliefs Are an Important Factor Marijuana remains a controversial issue in the minds of American voters, and it may require a joint effort by Republicans and Democrats to make California the first state to legalize cannabis for recreational use. A third of Americans across the country support legalizing marijuana, but the majority still oppose it, according to a recent poll by the Associated Press. California alone, however, is a different story. Voters will decide in November if anyone more than 21 years old can possess up to an ounce or grow up to 25 square feet of marijuana for personal use. A poll released on Tuesday by SurveyUSA revealed 56 percent of Californians believe marijuana should be legalized for recreational use. [continues 351 words]
Daniel Panzer said he tried everything to fight off his insomnia. But the sleeping pills prescribed to the first-year chemistry student by his doctor were not working. Only medical marijuana, he said, would relax him and help him sleep. However, the residence halls have a strict policy against its usage, even though Panzer had the necessary paperwork to prove he needed marijuana. He said he would sometimes have to walk to a friend's apartment to smoke a joint and then walk back in order to fall asleep. [continues 599 words]
Trial Judge And Author Jim Gray Advocates Cleaning Up The Federal Effort To Fight The Drug Problem Judge Jim Gray, a leading authority on drug policy and author of "Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed and What We Can Do About It," will speak at UCLA today. Gray will be discussing his opinions on the flaws of the national drug policy and what should be done to combat a growing illegal narcotics market. Students for Sensible Drug Policy at UCLA is hosting the event, which will take place in Bunche Hall at 6 p.m. [continues 547 words]
California Senate To Decide Whether To Outlaw A bill passed by the state Assembly, now in the state Senate, would make selling the hallucinogenic drug salvia to anyone under the age of 18 a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail and $1,000 in fines. Salvia divinorum, not to be confused with the ornamental plants also called salvia, has gained popularity among high school and college students in recent years. The drug, an herb in the mint family native to Mexico, is legally available to people of all ages in California. [continues 621 words]
An alarming, growing trend of prescription and over-the-counter pill misuse might be attributed to misconceptions The phrase "popping pills" has become more frequently used in conversation among college-aged students in recent times. Other terms such as overdose and abuse have also become more integrated into the daily vocabulary. Addition of these terms to daily speech is one indication, among other information gathered from research and surveys, that reveals the increasing occurrence of prescription and over-the-counter pill misuse. [continues 564 words]
From Drug Regulations to Immigration Rights, Students Promote Their Causes Across Country After studying drug regulations in their public policy class, Eric Gorin-Regan and Daniel Walter were hooked - on public policy, that is. One year later, their interest would take them and fellow student Matt Nazareth to Washington, D.C., to lobby about drug policy issues as part of a developing political student group called Students for Sensible Drug Policy, or SSDP. "We were excited about doing it," Gorin-Regan said. "(We) found that drug policy is the kind of subject where the more you learn about it, the more you're interested in it." [continues 628 words]
Group Says Law Prohibiting Financial Aid to Offenders Is Unconstitutional, Hurts Lower Class The U.S. Department of Education has recently been hit by a series of lawsuits from groups seeking to repeal a policy that prevents college students who have been convicted of drug offenses from receiving federal financial aid. The first suit concluded last week when the Department of Education agreed to provide Students for Sensible Drug Policy, one of the groups opposing the policy, with data on the effects of the law - broken down by state - and waived the $4,000 fee the department had initially planned to charge. [continues 557 words]
Murder and rape are pretty heinous crimes, but according to the U.S. Congress, felony drug possession is the absolute worst of the worst. At least, that's the message we can glean from a provision in the Higher Education Act, which bars students who have been convicted of possessing or selling drugs from receiving federal financial aid or student loans. The law, which was inserted into the Higher Education Act in 1998, has recently drawn fire from Students for Sensible Drug Policy and the American Civil Liberties Union, both of which say they want it repealed. [continues 504 words]
Unrealistic Advertisements and Tenuous Studies Do Little to Sway Teenagers' Beliefs About Marijuana Winter break was going swimmingly until my mother picked the middle of a perfectly good day to teach me a life lesson by wrapping herself in a blanket. She took it in her hands, licked an edge of it, and then rolled herself up, all while plaintively asking me, "What am I? What am I?" When she saw that I was stumped speechless, she gave the answer: "A joint!" I learned my lesson about the evils of marijuana, and we went out for two heaping bowls of chocolate chip ice cream. Mmm! [continues 769 words]
