Showing posts with label AlterNet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AlterNet. Show all posts

June 2, 2008

Iraq Town Hall Meeting Will Be Web Cast!

Every participant in this event has valuable information to share. I urge you to log in or if you're in Neu Yawk, get to Town Hall in NYC!

True Crimes
The Untold Story Behind the Devastation of Iraq
June 3, 2008

LIVE WEBCAST!

7:00 PM

On June 3, 2008, join bestselling author JEREMY SCAHILL, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer
CHRIS HEDGES, journalist LAILA AL-ARIAN, and the New Yorker's SEYMOUR HERSH, as they go behind the headlines to tell the untold story of the occupation of Iraq, the daily plight of Iraqi civilians, and the ongoing role of private mercenaries in America's "War on Terror."
The event is a dual book launch for COLLATERAL DAMAGE: AMERICA'S WAR AGAINST IRAQI CIVILIANS by Chris Hedges and Laila Al-Arian, and the updated paperback edition of BLACKWATER: THE RISE OF THE WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL MERCENARY ARMY by Jeremy Scahill.
The conversation will be followed by audience questions and a book signing.
Tickets are available for the event at the Town Hall Box Office, 123 W. 43rd St., New York City (www.the-townhall-nyc.org / 212-997-6661) or at Ticketmaster (212-307-4100/ www.ticketmaster.com)
Cosponsored by The Nation, Public Concern Foundation, Democracy Now!, The Indypendent, CERSC, Democrats.com, Peace Action New York, Alternet, Tricycle, The Armenian National Committee, Center for Constitutional Rights, and Veterans for Common Sense.
http://ccrjustice.org/live-webcast-true-crimes

November 10, 2007

Get Off the Pot

Of course this research does not encourage pot for teens, but does offer a rational and reasonable explanation for problem kids who use substances to cope with their problems. The second article from the Marijuana Policy Project shows there are professional who want to cut a path out of the dark ages of prohibition.
Could Smoking Pot Be Good for Teens?

By Bruce Mirken, AlterNet. Posted November 10, 2007.
…if one follows the logic used by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP, aka the Drug Czar's office), the answer would be, "In some ways, yes."The Swiss study, just published in Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine was based on a survey of 5,263 students, aged 16-20. Scientists compared teens who smoked both cigarettes and marijuana, those who used only marijuana, and those who abstained from both substances. The results were surprising.
…What the Swiss study does, if policymakers would only listen, is suggest that ONDCP's obsessive focus on stamping out even occasional marijuana use is misguided. The serious public health problem isn't good students who light up an occasional joint with friends on weekends, much as we might prefer they not do so. The real problem is the population of kids, clearly identifiable in the Swiss research, using multiple substances at an early age and having all sorts of problems at school and home. These kids -- more depressed, less likely to finish school and using heavy amounts of marijuana, booze and other drugs -- exist in the United States as well as Switzerland, and they clearly need help that many aren't getting.

http://www.alternet.org/stories/67461/
American Psychiatric Association Assembly Backs Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Unanimous Vote Signals Growing Acceptance of Medical Marijuana
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a unanimous vote, the Assembly of the American Psychiatric Association has approved a strongly worded statement supporting legal protection for patients using medical marijuana with their doctor's recommendation.
…"As physicians, we cannot abide our patients being subject to arrest and jail for using a physician-recommended treatment that clearly relieves suffering for many who are not helped by conventional treatments."
"This unanimous vote shows the growing acceptance of medical marijuana by organized medicine," said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. "Members of Congress who have opposed efforts to protect patients from federal prosecution have tried to portray medical marijuana as a fringe issue. But the APA Assembly vote, along with other recent endorsements including the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, shows that it's those who want to arrest the sick and suffering who are on the fringe."
http://www.mpp.org/site/c.glKZLeMQIsG/b.1493403/apps/nl/content2.asp?content_id={CFA4CEEF-2C7F-435A-B4EB-33D005D62F1A}&notoc=1