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PORTLAND OBSERVER
V o lu m e X V II, N u m b e r 8
D ecem ber 31, 1986
25C
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Some Drugs
May Damage
Immune
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System
by Jerry Garner
There is frightening new evidence that some illegal and legal drugs may
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be weakening the human immune system
Two studies were conducted t>y researchers at Tufts University and the
Medical College of Virginia. The studies have linked drug use-including
smoking and drinking to decreased immunity
Researchers at the Medical College reported that mari,uana weakens
the body's immune system The Virginia researchers came to this conclu
sion after conducting tests on female guinea pigs
The researchers infected the guinea pigs with the herpes simplex virus
HSV II Guinea pigs were used because they develop herpes in a similar
way to humans, and like humans, guinea pigs are prone to periods of re
curring lesions The guinea pigs were placed into two groups andI one
group was given a dosage of THC equal to four joints of marijuana. THC is
Dr. Liam C allen, interim
Executive D irector of N /N E M e n ta l H ealth
Photo by Richard J Brown
C enter
Callen Named Director of
N /N E Mental Health Center
by Je rry Garner
The B oard o f D ire cto rs o f N o rth /N o rth e a s t C o m m u n ity
M e n ta l H ealth C enter has a p p o in te d Dr. Liam Callen as In te rim
E xecutive D ire cto r. Callen is a fo rm e r m em ber o f th e fa c u lty o f
th e U n iv e rs ity o f W a s h in g to n , S ch o o l o f P ublic H ealth and
C o m m u n ity M ed icin e and w as d ire c to r o f th e M edex P rogram .
He fo u n d e d th e C o m m u n ity H ealth A d v o c a te
P rogram in
W a s h in g to n S tate.
Dr. Callen has experience in m u lti-e th n ic p ro g ra m im p le m e n
ta tio n and personnel d e v e lo p m e n t.
He w ill be responsible for
p ro vid e a sp irit o f leadership and renew ed purpose, so that the
agency can resum e its role in service to th e N /N E c o m m u n ity .
W e n o w have a new c o m m u n ity board, an in te rim D ire cto r, a
w e ll-q u a lifie d s ta ff and great hope fo r im p le m e n tin g an even
b e tte r p ro g ra m in th e fu tu r e ."
The board has been seeking a d ire c to r since D r. D avid
C ram er, fo rm e r d ire c to r o f N /N E w as dism issed in A u g u st
D r. C ram er and e ig h t o f th e tw e lv e board m em bers w ere ter
m in a te d on th e re c o m m e n d a tio n o f a task fo rce co m m issio n e d
by M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty E xecutive D ennis B uchanan
The com
» ta ff o rg a n iz a tio n , c o m m u n ity d e v e lo p m e n t and sta b iliza tio n
m itte e w as a p p o in te d by th e c o u n ty to look in to h o w m ental
and d iv e rs ific a tio n o f agency fu n d in g .
he a lth services should be c o n tin u e d in N o rth and N ortheast
A c c o rd in g to B o bbie N u n n , C hairm an o f th e N /N E Board
o f D irectors, th e a p p o in tm e n t o f Dr. Callen as D irector is a big
step in re -b u ild in g th e m ental he a lth c e n te r.
"Dr. Callen w ill
P o rtla n d .
D r. O zodi O suji, w h o has been serving as D irector
o f N /N E since C ram er, w ill be assistant d ire c to r o f th e m ental
health clin ic.
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one of the 426 chemical compounds found in marijuana. I he researc tors
reported that this group of guinea pigs developed ulcers more rapidly and
they were more severe and numerous than the control group The Virginia
researchers also found that those animals suffered two to three times the
number of recurrences and each one had more lesions than the animals
in the control group
Dr Guy Cabral, leader of the Virginia research team, states that the re
suits of their studies indicate that THC depresses the immune system on
three levels interferon, cell mediated immune response, and antibodies
Interferons are the body's first line of defense against virus infection Cell
mediated immune response kills virus infected cells and brings the infection
to a halt Antibodies neutralize a virus particle by latching onto it, thereby
preventing it from infecting the body s cells
It s estimated that over 50 million Americans smoke mari|uana daily
The Tufts studies found that THC also suppresses natural killer INK I cell
activitiy in rat spleens, which may limit their ability to fight viruses NK cells
also seek out and destroy tumor cells, helping prevent the growth of some
cancers and their spread to other parts of the body
Not only do illegal drugs such as mari|uana weaken the body a immune
system making it more susceptible to diseases, studies have shown that
some legal drugs are also dangerous to the immune system Studies have
shown that alcohol and cigarettes are immuno suppressive
Alcoholics
and heavy drinkers are at greater risk of developing certain cancers, tuber
culosis and respiratory tract infections Cigarette smoking has long been
associated with a variety of diseases, including chronic lung infection and
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various types of cancer.
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F o r th e B r o th e r s a n d S is te r s W h o W a n t T o T ry C ra c k
"A Message From Crack
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I am crack. I w ill set you free fo r a m o m e n t’s tim e . Yes, I'm
th e lu scio u s d e riva tive o f co ca in e , th is is tru e . It's n o t nice to
fo o l w ith th e d e v il's sm ile, b u t fo r those w h o w a n t to try m e, I
k n o w w h o you are. Y o u 're th o se w h o have th e fear o f a c c o m
plish m e n ts in yo u r lives.
T he ones w ith th e inner c re a tiv ity ,
afraid to let it co m e fo rw a rd . Y ou are also th e ones w h o never
give yourselves a chance.
. . • 1 »,
A ch ance to believe in yourselves.
Ju s t like th e p ro s titu te s on U n io n A ve n u e , jealous o f th e ir o w n
shadow s.
So w h o is m y n e xt cu rio u s and naive v ic tim , w h o w o u ld be
king or queen fo r a day? W h o are w illin g to sacrifice a great
y o u th and fu tu re , w h ich have n o t yet com e to pass, by s u ckin g
aw ay th e ir brains u n til their a b ility to th in k is a m p u ta te d , by
p im p in g their in s tin c ts u n til th e y b o rro w , beg, ro b , and even
kill
A ll fo r th a t iro n ic a tte m p t to have a n o th e r h it o f m e. I w ill
becom e yo u r best and o n ly frie n d . I w ill go w ith y o u w h e re ve r
you go. I w ill be in your m in d as w e ll as yo u r eyes, b e c o m in g
you h e a rt's desire fo r livin g
A s lo n g as you can a ffo rd m e, I'll
be there fo r yo u .
R em eber th is if yo u decide to try m e: Y ou w ill be g iv in g m e
your a ll- m a te r ia lly , p h ysica lly, m e n ta lly, b u t m o st o f all, s p iri
tu a lly ,
B etter believe me w h e n I state:
z
e •
" I w ill be ta k in g yo u r
all, fro m yo u r last gram o f self respect to th e in n e rm o s t dream s
you never realize
A fte r w e have had our so called f u n - a n d it
w o n 't be u n til yo u are penniless, m a ln o u rish e d , senseless, and
stru n g o u t - t h e n yo u w ill a tta in th e u ltim a te re a liza tio n th a t I
have given y o u - N O T H IN G N E S S .” I am c ra c k l
m
r
•V :
Happy New Year
Howard Parnell light« candle« during Kwanza celebration held at
the Black Education Center. Kwanza 1« a Black holiday celebration
from Dec. 28 — Jan. 1.
-i
hi Ï .
Photo by Richard J Brown
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