4 Commentary
_______________Clackamas Print
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Marijuana ‘facts’ misleading
. Eric Lewis
11 Contributing Writer
In the April 19, 2006 Print
article, “A few facts about mar
ijuana,” Sam Krause listed six
bits of information (one curi
ously repeated) that combined
to give a positive impression
of cannabis (pot) smoking. Mr.
Krause noted only the very few
articles not finding cannabis’s
deleterious effects on mental
abilities. While printed on
the “Commentary” page, his
article offered no commentary,
and its title purported to offer
facts, not opinion, to read
ers. This biased submission
of “facts” would be laughable,
if the possible consequences
weren’t so grave.
So they can make the best
choices possible, Clackamas
students should be presented the
whole truth regarding impor
tant topics. For some, choices
will involve drug use, including
marijuana. Knowing the facts
is crucial in making wise deci
sions. For the good of our stu
dents, the following are some
facts Mr. Krause neglected to
mention.
For decades, it has been
known that large doses of can
nabis produce confusion, amne
sia, delusions, hallucinations,
anxiety and agitation (Chopra
& Smith, 1974, Archive of
General Psychiatry). Chronic
cannabis smoking is associ
ated with increased bronchitis;
with more phlegm production,
coughing and wheezing than
seen in tobacco users or non-
smokers (Bloom et al., 1987,
British Medical Journal).
[Noted marijuana researcher
Nadia] Solowij compared men
tal abilities of long-term users
(average term of use 24 years),
short-term users (average term
of use 10 years) and non-users.
She concluded cannabis impairs
learning, retention, retrieval and
time estimation. These losses in
abilities endure after subjects
were no longer intoxicated, and
worsened with increasing years
of regular use (2002, Journal
of the American Medical
Association). Smoking cannabis
more than 50 times by the age
of 18 increases the risk of pre
mature death (Andereasson &
Allebeck, 1990, Scandinavian
Journal of Social Medicine).
Cannabis can also impact
reproduction. Burkman found
men using marijuana fre
quently (on average 15 times
per week) experienced, low
ered sperm count, lowered
seminal fluid production and
abnormal sperm behavior
- extreme initial locomotion,
followed by reduced speed
and failure to reach the ova
(2003, American Society for
Reproductive Medicine pre
sentation). Mothers smoking
pot risk the following can
cers for their infants: nonlym-
phoblastic leukemia, rhabdo
myosarcoma and astrocytoma
(Robinson, Buckly, & Daigle,
1989, Cancer).
Underscoring Mr. Krause’s
selective fact-finding, the
Lancet article he cited is where
many references of harmful
effects of cannabis are outlined.
While Mr. Krause noted canna
bis’ regulatory effects of dopa
mine, he neglected to mention
the article’s very next sentence:
“Recent evidence suggests can
nabinoids enhance dopamine
release in reward centers and
that teenagers and young adults
who smoke cannabis have a
slightly higher than normal
risk of developing psychosis”
(Baker et al., 2003).
Other recent work has
advanced science’s under
standing of the relationship
between smoking marijuana
and psychosis. A longitu
dinal study spanning 1994
to 1999 found that canna
bis users who experience a
marijuana-induced psychotic
episode are more likely to
suffer subsequent psychojc
episodes and be diagnosld
with schizophrenia-spectran
disorder. Furthermore, those
who developed psycholsl
did so at an earlier age than
would be expected, partic
ularly in the area of pal-
noid schizophrenia (Arendtltl
al., 2005, British Journal of
Psychiatry).
The consequences of pre
senting less than the whje]
truth can be dire. Only high-]
lighting positive aspects of an
important issue can ultimaiem
harm the readers who 7Ae
Print is designed to serve. It
is a disservice to ClackaJd
students for our school-spon-l
sored newspaper to providial
one-sided presentation of the!
“facts” about marijuana. I j
Eric Lewis is an
o/ psychology at ClackanU
Community College. He holds!
a Ph.D. from the University ofl
Nevada.
Shut up and turn off the bloody cell phone before clast
during a lecture without appar
ently feeling any remorse for
| Commentary Editor
interrupting the lecture. At
least I apologize when my
phone rings in class.
Shut up.
I suppose this is a natural
That’s all I ask. When I am
in class, I want to actually hear extension of the mindset that
the lecture. Unfortunately, this allows people to leave their
has been getting harder for me cell phones on in churches
lately, because more and more and movie theaters, but that
of my classmates are leaving doesn’t excuse the behavior.
their cell phones on during Answering a phone call dur
class.
ing a lecture, even just to say
This would not be so bad “I’m in class right now, I’ll
if they had the decency to call you back later,” is boorish.
set their phones to vibrate, or It shows a complete lack of
even to hit the “mute” button respect for the rest of the class
when they do receive a call. and especially for the instruc
However, they are not doing tor. Silence the phone and let
this. They are, instead, tak the call go over to voice mail.
ing the calls. At least most If the caller is offended by this,
of the time they exit the room that’s their problem.
for this, but I have witnessed a
This is all part of my theory
growing number of Clackamas that cell phones are the spawn
students who seem to have no of Satan. They have shorn
qualms about sitting there and many people of any sense of
answering their phone in the decency or decorum. At the
middle of a lecture..
movies, in church, at plays and
I have had my phone go off ballets - there is no escaping
in the middle of class before, their cacophony of ringtones.
and it has never failed to make Not even the lecture hall is
me feel like a total ass. I sacred anymore.
cannot comprehend how these
A character on a TV show -
clods can answer their phones sadly cancelled - once referred
. Laura Cameron
to “a special level of
hell. A hell reserved
for child molesters,
and people who talk
at the theater.” It
is my firm belief
that those lec
ture-halting cell
users are slated
for that same
special hell. I
hope my read
ers will keep
that in mind
the
next
time their
phone goes
off during
class.
A spe
cial hell.
HCLL PHodg'.
A
all calls eycgpr tel £ markkt 0< s
AMb POUUTEAS ARfiWTOX AMÏÎ
T he oi M RiWôcnjMe
fluirti
WELCOME TÜ ueu-
Illustration by E. E. West Clackamas Print
Students chafe at ‘guilty by association’ punishmen
I Adam J. Manley
II The Clackamas Print
acquainted with the shooter, yet
he found himself being punished
as if he had pulled the trigger
himself.
Anyone passing through the
An extreme hypothetical situ
cafeteria has probably ‘noticed, ation, I’ll grant, but it demon
and possibly complained about, strates the absurdity of some
a certain collection of students thing more subtly disturbing:
who can be found there every guilt by association.
day. Over the last two years,
There are problems. Nobody
this conglomeration of barely is denying that. But from my
acquainted individuals - friends perspective, the counseling
of friends of friends and so forth department’s guilt-by-associa-
- has received complaints of tion plan is more a tyrannical
being loud, lewd, and disrup power trip than a solution.
tive.
Thè threat is this: if any more
Imagine that a man is standing complaints are made, anyone in
on a street comer with his friend. the vicinity of the problem-caus
A friend of his friend, whom the ers is automatically suspended.
first man has only seen briefly, The counseling department’s
walks up and talks to them. Then suggestion to avoid suspension?
this third man shoots a passerby. As soon as anyone starts getting
All three men are convicted of out of hand, just leave. Simple
the same murder and are pun enough on paper, yes, but a great
ished equally.
deal trickier in execution.
Hardly sounds fair, does
To begin with, this assort
it? The first man was barely ment of acquaintances is spread
out over multiple tables. I can
often be found sitting at one of
these tables myself. If someone
is engaging in lewd or disruptive
behavior, a person sitting two
tables away shouldn’t be expect
ed to pay any attention. If they’re
bothered by it, of course they’ll
notice. But when certain behavior
doesn’t bother someone, they’re
not likely to notice it. It doesn’t
matter if, consciously, they know
the person shouldn’t be engaging
in such activity - their conscious
mind is simply unaware that it’s
happening. It’s been tuned out.
It’s background noise, hardly
noticeable.
Another point is that not all
of these people know each other.
Earlier, I referred to these people
as a “collection” and a “con
glomeration.” Not a group. A
swarthing mass of connections.
A group implies coherence, soli
darity. This is different people,
in and out throughout the day.
Different people there or not
with each year, each term, each
hour and minute.
The reason this mass of bod
ies gets complaints is because
it’s large, and the very reason
it’s large is because it is not a
group. Two friends sit down,
they’re joined by other friends,
who are joined by their friends,
who are joined by their friends,
and it continues ad infinitum.
Not everyone knows each other,
so not everyone can be expected
to feel responsible - or even
remotely connected - to the
problems caused by others.
Moreover, because of how
this mishmash of people comes
together, simply getting up and
moving away to avoid suspen
sion doesn’t work. If someone
moves, their friends are likely to
follow. Then the friends of those
people follow. Soon, you have
the friends of friends of friends
following the original person to
a new location - including I
very people that person was!
ing to move away from.
So have there been disl
tions? Yes. Has the counsel
department’s threat worked]
lessen the disruption? Possil
Does the end justify the me J
No.
In trying to create a safe I
comfortable^ learning env«
ment, the counseling departni
has used methods of fear H
paranoia. How can one feel s
and comfortable while at
same time worrying about situ
too close to the wrong peol
The method prevents the goal
Editors note: Adam 1
Manley is a staff writer /or i
Clackamas Print, and u/sl
member of the targeted grow
question. In order to avoid fl
or conflict of interest his wvoi
ment in the reporting of the ifl
was limited to this opinion pfl
alone.