cannabisnews.com: SAFER Hosts Rally





SAFER Hosts Rally
Posted by CN Staff on April 12, 2005 at 14:42:41 PT
By Erin Feese, Colorado Daily Staff
Source: Colorado Daily
Colorado -- Voting is in full swing this week, and student government candidates are not the only ones campaigning. SAFER (Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation) hosted a rally at the UMC Fountain Monday in support of the marijuana referendum.The referendum is asking students to support the idea that the university's punishments for marijuana violations should not be greater than those for alcohol.
SAFER is a Boulder-based non-profit organization whose mission is to educate the public about the harmful consequences of alcohol as compared to marijuana.About 30 people gathered to hear from SAFER representatives and from guest speaker Paul Danish, former Boulder city councilman and Boulder County Commissioner."Marijuana is much less likely to cause violence and addiction," he said, noting that millions of crimes linked to alcohol use are committed annually in the U.S. Danish said many problems are associated with marijuana, not with actual use, but with the prohibition of it. He said many societal resources are used to go after marijuana-users that could be better allocated elsewhere.Danish said the idea that marijuana is safer than alcohol has been around for many years, but quoting Ronald Reagan's famous line "Facts are stubborn things," he said that reality hasn't made a difference in attitudes about it.Danish said it is important that the information given out about recreational drug usage is honest, especially is a university setting dedicated to intellectual honesty.CU sophomore Vanessa Cisneros, CU campaign manager for SAFER, said "It is simply poor public policy to encourage students to drink by having harsher penalties for marijuana use."Cisneros said she is sponsoring the referendum because it is time for the university to accept that marijuana is safer than alcohol.Mason Tvert, executive director for SAFER, said the university's response to the proposed referendum has been negative. He said the university's stance is that both marijuana and alcohol are equally harmful."If you think about it, who's going to cause you more problems, a person using marijuana or a person using alcohol?" Tvert said, adding that a person using alcohol is more likely to be violent or damage property.So does SAFER endorse marijuana use?"Absolutely not," Tvert said. "We just don't think the penalties should be harsher for students who choose to partake in a safer alternative to alcohol."If the referendum passes, it will not prompt any action. It would show that students hold a general consensus about the issue, said Evan Ackerfeld, assistant director of SAFER."We want students to get out in numbers and voice their opinions on this," he said.Source: Colorado Daily (UC Edu, CO)Author: Erin Feese, Colorado Daily StaffPublished: April 12, 2005Copyright: 2005 Colorado DailyContact: letters coloradodaily.comWebsite: http://www.coloradodaily.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Safer Choicehttp://www.saferchoice.org/Referendum Makes Its Way Onto ASCSU Ballothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20439.shtmlCSU Students Get Marijuana Referendum on Ballothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20422.shtmlCollege Activists Promoting Pot Use Over Alcoholhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20414.shtml
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #14 posted by FoM on April 13, 2005 at 11:45:26 PT
Just a Comment
I personally don't believe in guns and I never will. I felt this way my whole life and I'm too set in my ways to change my thinking now. Why don't they trap and humanely destroy the cats? Somethings I'll just never understand.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #13 posted by dongenero on April 13, 2005 at 09:22:29 PT
yep, there are some nuts in WI
I wonder why they don't propose hunting season on stray and feral dogs as well? 
Well, duh! because it's dumb! Like hunting domestic cats is dumb!To be fair to Wisconsin, they shoot a good number of hunters each year as well. Along with people removing clothes from clothes lines, people wearing white mittens, basically anything that moves and is noticeable in a semi treed area. Anything that could look remotely like a white tail deer when you are inebriated out of your mind on booze is very likely to be shot at.
Oh, also there was talk of allowing blind people to hunt there a few years back. I'm not sure if that came to pass.But other than shooting each other out in the woods, a fair number are "Darwin-ed" out by driving snowmobiles into immoveable objects, gates and wire fences at 70mph. Again, often inebriated, as the snowmobile trails generally go from tavern to tavern.Ya hey der.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #12 posted by potpal on April 13, 2005 at 09:04:02 PT
ot - feline friends under fire
I, for one, won't be visiting WI anytime soon...http://abcnews.go.com/US/LegalCenter/story?id=662272&page=1 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #11 posted by FoM on April 12, 2005 at 18:43:07 PT
A Question About The Hearing
I was able to hear all of Dr. Earleywine and then my husband called and we talked and I only caught a little bit of the last person that spoke. How were the comments after Dr. Earleywine? I really appreciated his comment. I heard the lady say she doesn't have a problem with people who grow it themselves. I did hear that right didn't I?
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #10 posted by FoM on April 12, 2005 at 17:46:48 PT
21 Minutes Into Audio
It's starting now.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #9 posted by FoM on April 12, 2005 at 17:38:36 PT
Taylor
Thanks. I have the sound down and am into it about 13 minutes. I appreciate the info.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #8 posted by Taylor121 on April 12, 2005 at 17:30:19 PT
30 minutes ish
Around 30 minutes in, not far, I started kinda in already.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #7 posted by mayan on April 12, 2005 at 17:29:56 PT
Backpedaling in Alaska
From Taylor 121's post...In effect admitting that they overreached, bill proponents are currently in the process of revising the bills' "findings" in an effort to bring them more in line with reality. We will post the updated findings as soon as they are available. Bill sponsors' backpedaling comes on the heels of favorable opinion pieces in the Anchorage Daily News, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, and the Juneau Empire.It seems that the fascists in Alaska have indeed made a huge mistake. They opened up the debate on cannabis and now find themselves overwhelmed by facts and science. The prohibitionist's desperation tactics are backfiring in a big way as the media is finally questioning the tired, regurgitated lies!  Sorry if this has been posted...Protect Patients From Politics - By Montel Williams:
http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/21742/THE WAY OUT IS THE WAY IN...Larry Flint To Publish Major 9/11 Skeptic Article:
http://rense.com/general63/fmt.htmInvestigate Cover-up of 9/11 Warnings:
http://www.workingforchange.com/activism/action.cfm?ItemId=18544THE MOVEMENT:
http://www.the-movement.com/9/11 Was an Inside Job - A Call to All True Patriots:
http://www.911sharethetruth.com/
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #6 posted by FoM on April 12, 2005 at 17:25:46 PT
Taylor
Do you know how long into the audio that our issue starts?
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #5 posted by FoM on April 12, 2005 at 17:15:20 PT
Taylor
Thank you. I need to feed my dogs and quick get something to eat myself and then I will listen to the whole hearing. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #4 posted by siege on April 12, 2005 at 17:14:22 PT
mental ill health, but so can poverty
Turning Point - Cannabis can exacerbate effects of mental ill health, but so can poverty
Tue, 12 Apr 2005Social Care charity Turning Point today responded to research published by King's College London, the University of Wisconsin, and the University of Otago on the interaction between people's genes and their environment.Speaking in response to the research, Richard Kramer, Director of Policy for Turning Point said:"It is important that we constantly monitor new research on the relative harms of all drugs and that we use that research to inform society's response to drug use. However, given the high media profile that this particular issue has attracted it is essential that the debate is based on the clear facts and not on media speculation."This research confirms what we already know - that those with a predisposition towards mental ill health can be adversely affected by cannabis use. As the researchers themselves make clear 'this study does not imply that cannabis is a major threat to public health. Even if they had the risk genotype, 85% of young cannabis users did not develop psychosis.' And 'This study does not suggest that cannabis is a major cause of schizophrenia. The effect applies to few young people, and thus would not be expected to raise rates of mental illness in the population.'"The government has already asked the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to examine the body of research around the links between cannabis use and mental ill health. This review looks set to take place after the general election and I don't see that this new research is any reason to change that."Yes cannabis can exacerbate the effects of mental ill health in some cases, but so can poverty, so can unemployment and so can social exclusion. We should be looking at the whole range of" End of itemTo read more about the views of Turning Point click here. http://www.politics.co.uk/press-releases/turning-point-cannabis-can-exacerbate-effects-mental-ill-health-but-so-can-poverty-$8255624.htm
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #3 posted by Taylor121 on April 12, 2005 at 17:08:42 PT
House Bill was not voted out, subject to call tho
Murkowski's bills get back-to-back hearings in the House and SenateOn consecutive days, April 11 and 12, the Senate and House Judiciary Committees heard testimony on S.B. 74 and H.B. 96. In both hearings, an array of experts from inside and outside Alaska continued to dismantle the "findings" that are the key to Gov. Frank Murkowski's (R) plan to recriminalize marijuana in the home. Unlike in the other committees that have examined these bills, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee intended to move S.B. 74 after one hearing. However, due to the overwhelming number of people who wanted to testify against the bills, the committee was forced to continue the hearing at a later date. No action was taken by the House Judiciary Committee. In effect admitting that they overreached, bill proponents are currently in the process of revising the bills' "findings" in an effort to bring them more in line with reality. We will post the updated findings as soon as they are available. Bill sponsors' backpedaling comes on the heels of favorable opinion pieces in the Anchorage Daily News, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, and the Juneau Empire. http://www.ktoo.org/gavel/audio.cfm
Hear the hearing
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #2 posted by WolfgangWylde on April 12, 2005 at 16:08:44 PT
More junk science from the UK...
They're going to get re-classification reversed, IMHO.ONE IN FOUR AT RISK OF CANNABIS PSYCHOSIS ONE in four people carries genes that increases vulnerability to psychotic illnesses if he or she smokes cannabis as a teenager, scientists have found. A common genetic profile that makes cannabis five times more likely to trigger schizophrenia and similar disorders has been identified, increasing pressure on the Government to reverse the drug's reclassification from Class B to Class C. The increased risk applies to people who inherit variants of a gene named COMT who also smoked cannabis as teenagers. About a quarter of the population have this genetic make-up, and up to 15 per cent of the group are likely to develop psychotic conditions if exposed to the drug early in life. Neither the drug nor the gene raises the risk of psychosis by itself. The study, led by Avshalom Caspi and Terrie Moffitt, of the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London, offers the best explanation yet for the way that cannabis has a devastating psychiatric impact on some users but leaves most unharmed. Scientists had suspected that genetic factors were responsible for this divide, but a gene had not been pinpointed. The findings, to be published in Biological Psychiatry, also reinforce a growing consensus that nature and nurture are not mutually exclusive forces but combine to affect behaviour and health. The King's team has previously identified genes that raise the risk of depression or aggression, but only in conjunction with environmental influences. Mental health campaigners said that the results vindicated their concerns about the decision last year to downgrade cannabis to a Class C drug, which means that possession is no longer an arrestable offence. Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of the mental health charity Sane, said that it was becoming clear that cannabis placed millions of users at risk of lasting mental illness. About fifteen million Britons have tried cannabis, and between two million and five million are regular users, according to the Home Office British Crime Survey. The research suggests that a quarter could be at risk. The evidence will be considered by a review of the drug's classification announced last month by the Home Secretary. It may be possible to develop a test for genetic susceptibility to cannabis. "If we were able genetically to identify the vulnerable individuals in advance, we would be able to save thousands of minds, if not lives," Ms Wallace said. Dr Caspi, however, rejected the idea of screening based on the COMT gene. "Such a test would be wrong more often than it is right. Cannabis has many other adverse effects, especially on developing teenagers, on respiratory health and possibly on cognitive function. Effects may be pronounced among a genetically vulnerable group but that doesn't mean we should encourage others not genetically vulnerable to use cannabis." The King's team tracked 803 men and women born in Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1972 and 1973, who were enrolled at birth in a research project. Each was interviewed at 13, 15 and 18 about cannabis use, tested to determine which type of COMT genes they had inherited, and followed up at 26 for signs of mental illness. COMT was chosen as it is known to play a part in the production of dopamine, a brain-signalling chemical that is abnormal in schizophrenia. It comes in two variants, known as valine or methionine, and every person has two copies, one from each parent. Among people with two methionine variants, the rate of psychotic illness was 3 per cent, the background rate for the general population, regardless of whether they had used cannabis as teenagers. Among those with two valine variants the rate was 3 per cent for non-users but 15 per cent for those who had smoked cannabis in their teens. Dr Caspi said research had shown that the valine gene variant and cannabis affect the brain's dopamine system in similar fashion, suggesting that they deliver a "double dose" that can be damaging. The work needs to be replicated by others to confirm the findings, Dr Caspi said. It also is possible that the gene involved is not COMT but a neighbour. THE DRUG OF CHOICE FOR MILLIONS *Cannabis was reclassified from a Class B to a Class C drug in January 2004. Possession remains illegal, but is not an arrestable offence. The Home Secretary has asked for a review by November *The Home Office estimates that fifteen million people have tried cannabis, two million to five million are regular users and reclassification has saved 199,000 hours' police work *Liberalisation campaigners argue that millions smoke the drug with fewer ill-effects than others suffer from alcohol or tobacco *A recent study at Maastricht University found that cannabis doubles the risk of schizophrenia, hallucinations and paranoia among a genetically susceptible group 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #1 posted by FoM on April 12, 2005 at 15:46:53 PT
Just a Note
If I am slow getting news posted it could be because I've been sidetracked reading an e-mail group I have been getting. I'm afraid if all of the bickering doesn't stop I'll need to unsubscribe because it upsets me. I am a firm believer in bloom where we are planted. I believe we need to work with the system and I hope that is what the majority of people see too.
[ Post Comment ]


Post Comment