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Quick Hits – October 6, 2009

by Bill Dusty

["Quick Hits" is a new weekly digest of news and commentary that will be replacing the Intruder's recurring "Local News Briefs & Tidbits" following the SI's upcoming design conversion. That re-design should be introduced by the third week of October.]

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QUOTES, CLIPPINGS AND NOTES FROM AROUND THE WEB…

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POT HEADS
The subject of just how harmful or harmless marijuana can be to folks who routinely smoke it continues to come up in conversations across the U.S., as those who abhor the weed slam its use while those who enjoy it almost universally attest to its harmlessness.

So which side is closer to reality on the debate?

I’ve noticed that almost without exception, pot smokers will defend their weed of choice regardless of the context of the argument. “Nobody gets pulled over for being under the influence of pot,” they’ll say. But it’s true, too, that most people who smoke pot do so while drinking alcohol, so that’s what they get tested for when they get pulled over. It’s also a rather silly notion to argue that pot doesn’t impair the ability to drive, when clearly the user is stoned – hence the entire purpose of smoking.

Routine pot smokers also continue to argue that pot is almost entirely harmless. But one of the latest studies performed on the affects of pot use, which used brain scans to detect abnormalities, has backed evidence that pot may impair brain development in young adults.

“This is not the first research to suggest marijuana damages the brain,” reported LiveScience.com back in February, 2009. “In previous research involving memory skill tests, subjects who’d smoked too much did poorly. But brain imaging can reveal specifics.”

“Our results suggest that early-onset substance use may alter the development of white matter circuits,” said study leader Manzar Ashtari in the LiveScience article, “especially those connections among the frontal, parietal and temporal regions of the brain.”

Dedicated pot smokers, of course, will have none of this. Instead, they refer to past studies that support their claims of the harmlessness of pot, while completely dismissing any more recently found bad news. This report from WebMD from 2003, for example, would appear to let pot smokers off the hook. But a later article, reported from the same source (WebMD) in 2008, refutes that previous study with findings from a newer study: “Long-term marijuana use may actually shrink certain parts of the brain and have lasting effects on mental health,” reported the article. Another article claims pot use contributes to gum disease.

This is not to say, however, that marijuana has no positive uses in society. In a controlled-use environment, smoking pot can be a good way to alleviate pain and discomfort, and is commonly used by cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. But relying on this argument alone is probably not going to win many debates, since even in this circumstance, according to the National Cancer Institute, pot remains an unreliable option due to its varying degree of potency (depending on the source) and the fact that other, more reliable medications are available for the same purpose. (Plus, what would the pharmaceutical industry do if we could all just grow our own pain relief?)

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DON’T HAVE A COW, MAN
Recently, a letter writer to the Valley Advocate issued another rant regarding the evils of eating meat. (Click here, scroll to second letter.) You know the kind, where a laundry list of animal abuses are detailed, and we’re all supposed to hang our heads in human shame.

Personally, I’ve always found these anti-carnivorous diatribes somewhat amusing to read, and I found this one particularly comical – if only because of its predictable, droning list of heinous crimes committed against the Lesser Species. The letter writer, one Eddie Buster of Easthampton, finishes:

“I believe that a gradual transition to a vegan diet is the only effective long-term solution for maintaining a guilt-free conscience, as well as radiant health and the quality of our environment.”

I cannot think of a single person I know who has opted to “go veggie” (as Paul McCartney says) because of animal abuse in slaughter houses.

They’re slaughter houses, dude!

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SOCIALLY DEPRIVED
The search for friends continues!

If you or anyone you know would like to follow The Springfield Intruder (aka, Me) online, my regular quips, thoughts and commentary on life can be found on Twitter at username spfldintruder or on Facebook under my name, Bill Dusty.

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Posted by Bill Dusty on Oct 6th, 2009 and filed under News Catch. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.