cannabisnews.com: High Crime
function share_this(num) {
 tit=encodeURIComponent('High Crime');
 url=encodeURIComponent('http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/24/thread24722.shtml');
 site = new Array(5);
 site[0]='http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u='+url+'&title='+tit;
 site[1]='http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit.php?url='+url+'&title='+tit;
 site[2]='http://digg.com/submit?topic=political_opinion&media=video&url='+url+'&title='+tit;
 site[3]='http://reddit.com/submit?url='+url+'&title='+tit;
 site[4]='http://del.icio.us/post?v=4&noui&jump=close&url='+url+'&title='+tit;
 window.open(site[num],'sharer','toolbar=0,status=0,width=620,height=500');
 return false;
}






High Crime
Posted by CN Staff on April 17, 2009 at 07:24:49 PT
By Boulder Weekly Staff
Source: Boulder Weekly
Colorado -- Across the nation, campuses are being asked to rethink their alcohol laws and sign up in support of the Amethyst Initiative. The Amethyst Initiative, launched this past July, asks a simple question: Are our current drinking laws working? With what is being labeled an epidemic in the rise of college-age binge drinking, most statistics will answer that question with a blatant, “No.”Here in Boulder, Gordie Bailey fell victim to that epidemic when he died of alcohol poisoning at a CU frat house in 2004.
One of the major goals of the Amethyst Initiative is to support the lowering of the legal drinking age to 18 in an effort to approach our alcohol culture from a different and safer perspective. Thus far, three Colorado colleges have signed on in support of the Amethyst Initiative — Metro State College of Denver, Mesa State College and Colorado College.But other organizations are taking a different approach in advocating campus policies that reflect responsible partying — by taking marijuana use into consideration.It’s a campaign being labeled the Emerald Initiative, and its main purpose is to encourage college campuses to enforce marijuana-related penalties to at least the same degree as drinking offenses. While schools typically have graduated penalties or a strike system in place for dealing with underage drinking, most schools have a zero-tolerance policy toward marijuana possession or use. Headed by Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER), the Emerald Initiative wants students who would like to use marijuana as an alternative to drinking to be able to do so without being deterred by the disproportionately negative ramifications of being caught.“There’s substantial evidence that marijuana and alcohol are the two most popular substances amongst college-aged individuals,” says Mason Tvert, executive director of SAFER. “Yet, one of them causes substantial harm, while the other causes relatively far less harm. And universities, and we as a society, steer students towards drinking and away from marijuana, and that’s bad public policy.”And while universities might tell you that they don’t encourage student drinking, the signs say otherwise.At CU, you can find tailgaters at football games (which are played at a Coors Event Center), and students can purchase shot glasses alongside textbooks at the campus bookstore. But unabashed evidence can be found even in the official guides offered to students.The CU-Boulder Off-Campus Student Services’ pamphlet, “The Smart Party,” meant to present the legal consequences of hosting an alcohol-centered party, is inundated with tips, checklists and quick facts about noise-violation fines.And though “The Smart Party” does encourage students to be on the lookout for signs of alcohol poisoning, and respond to those situations appropriately, there are otherwise no suggestions on how to drink responsibly or socially. Rather, the brochure is strewn with photos of students doing the exact opposite — students drinking on ungaurded balcony ledges, girls on the hoods of cars in toga outfits, a coffee table littered with an array of unattended open beverages, and a large group of males, yelling and pointing fingers.And though the University may consider these photographs to be adequate representations of “smart” or “safe” partying, they definitely succeed in relaying one message: drinking is normal and acceptable. But the lack of campus brochures about marijuana, and the fact that students caught possessing marijuana on campus are subject to suspension, gives the message that the drug does not bare the same acceptance in the eyes of campus authority.One reason often cited in support of this discrepancy is the fact that marijuana is illegal, and alcohol is not. However, SAFER points out that underage drinking is also illegal and yet colleges are quick to encourage safe, responsible alcohol use to its 18- to 20-year-old populations. In addition to fighting the unbalanced penalties on campuses, the initiative also addresses the alcohol-versus-marijuana disparities in federal policies such as the Higher Education Act.“If you’re a college student and you get caught using marijuana one time and get convicted, you lose your financial aid,” notes Tvert. “However, you could be involved in a grossly negligent vehicular homicide under the influence of alcohol and don’t.”But possibly most important for the Emerald Initiative is to get open lines of communication about marijuana — its use, effects and the general laws surrounding it — into the collegiate domain.Attached with the Emerald Initiative’s letters to colleges is a survey for the administration to fill out. It asks the schools questions about perception — whether they see alcohol or marijuana use as a problem on their campus, for example — as well as more hard-line questions about reported campus sexual assaults and violent incidents that involve alcohol versus those that involve marijuana. Whether schools will reply is yet to be determined.“It will be very telling,” says Tvert, “because part of the problem is that they don’t want to have this conversation, and that’s unfortunate.”According to SAFER, when students themselves are posited with ideas on how to curb student drinking, the idea of less harsh marijuana penalties comes up often.“At every school where this has been brought up, including at least six of the top 15 universities in the country, every school has had a majority [student] vote in favor of these measures,” says Tvert. “In Colorado, it is at 68 percent.”And though the students may have little input in terms of the adopted policies set forth by the university administration, their stances toward marijuana is telling of their desires.Tvert agrees: “Why on earth do these gray-haired college administrators think that they have a better grasp on what’s going on at college parties than the kids that are actually at them?”Source: Boulder Weekly (CO)Published: April 16-22, 2009Copyright: 2009 Boulder WeeklyContact: editorial boulderweekly.comURL: http://drugsense.org/url/mIsyktPlWebsite: http://www.boulderweekly.com/CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help 
     
     
     
     




Comment #15 posted by FoM on April 17, 2009 at 20:05:01 PT
MTag
I just posted the expanded article on the front page. Here's the link.Miss New Jersey Makes Marijuana Her Platformhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24724.shtml
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #14 posted by MTag on April 17, 2009 at 19:51:52 PT
Re: Former Miss NJ Applies Heat To Legalize MMJ
I am glad to finally see someone writing about this topic. I have suffered from acute asthma since I was in first grade. I was hospitalized 5 times because attacks were so bad I couldn't breathe at all. At the age of 25 now I still wake up in the middle of the night weezing and short of breath. I had started smoking cannabis when I was 18, and since it has anti-inflammatory properties it really helped with my asthma condition, especially with the use of a vaporizer which eliminated the very things that worked against people with such condition. In fact it worked in longer durations than my rescue inhalers. In 2007 I was arrested for possession of less than 1/2 gram on a fed beach. Since than I have been drug tested over 30 times no lie, and have been unable to use cannabis to control my symptoms. Since this took place I have gone through 10 times as many rescue inhalers as I had used in the previous 12 years. Everyone assumes that because cannabis is smoked in a joint or pipe the majority of the time that it is working completely against such a lung condition, but I beg to differ. There is def a medical benefit for asthma patients whether it be in vaporized or edible(which lasts much long) form and I don't care what police or politic say.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #13 posted by FoM on April 17, 2009 at 18:08:35 PT
Former Miss NJ Applies Heat To Legalize MMJ
 April 17, 2009A former Miss New Jersey has put down her tiara and is rolling up her sleeves to fight for the legalization of medical marijuana.The New Jersey state senate approved a bill that would legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes in February. While the bill awaits approval by the state’s assembly and then Gov. Jon S. Corzine, Georgine DiMaria is using her former title and her personal experience battling medical issues to raise state and national awareness about legalizing marijuana for the people who need it the most.Georgine DiMaria, 24, won the Miss New Jersey pageant and went on to compete in the Miss America pageant in 2006. Since then, she’s served as a national spokeswoman for the American Lung Association.DiMaria uses medical marijuana to treat her severe case of asthma after rescue inhalers and other forms of treatment failed to get her condition under control. Her asthma was so bad that it left her bedridden, forcing her to be homeschooled.“When you can’t breathe, nothing else matters,” DiMaria said. 
See Saturday's editions of The Press for additional coverage.Copyright: 2009 The Press of Atlantic City Media Group URL: http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/186/story/461712.html
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #12 posted by FoM on April 17, 2009 at 18:05:54 PT
Hundreds Rally To Legalize Marijuana
April 17, 2009  New York -- Fans of the Grateful Dead have been rallying all afternoon in East Capitol Park in Albany. Hundreds of people have gathered to hear speeches in favor of legalizing marijuana use and listen to live bands. The event is sponsored by New York Citizens Against Marijuana Prohibition and Damn Sam Productions. The Grateful Dead are performing in Albany tonight.URL: http://polhudson.lohudblogs.com/2009/04/17/hundreds-rally-to-legalize-marijuana/
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #11 posted by FoM on April 17, 2009 at 14:22:49 PT
Dankhank
You're welcome. You should hear the one on the FITR CD - DVD. It was recorded in Canada. The sound and video were absolutely amazing.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #10 posted by dankhank on April 17, 2009 at 14:17:15 PT
Day in the Life ...
wonderful tribute to the Beatles ...thanks for the link.just got a nice copy of it ... :-)
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #9 posted by FoM on April 17, 2009 at 13:35:34 PT
Runruff, About Susan Boyle
Check out this song she sang in 1999. It's Cry Me a River. Another amazing song.http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/videogaga/16130/susan-boyle-hype-revitalizes-10-year-old-cover/
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #8 posted by FoM on April 17, 2009 at 11:23:13 PT
museman
I'll be with you in Spirit. Have a wonderful day tomorrow.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #7 posted by museman on April 17, 2009 at 11:20:20 PT
FoM
"Neil isn't the best singer but he is honest with his music and that's why I appreciate him."Me too.BTW, there is going to be a 420 Gathering in Eugene(tomorrow I think) that I am going to help with sound -at least for my sons band, anybody in the area should check it out...I have to get ready to go now.....LEGALIZE FREEDOM
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #6 posted by FoM on April 17, 2009 at 10:40:20 PT
museman
When we bought Fork in the Road we bought Sugar Mountain Live at Canterbury House 1968. It's acoustic and he talked between songs. He talked about what he did before he started singing. He worked in a book store and got fired for being basically irregular in his behavior. Someone gave him he said a red pill ( speed) and he could work and index books all day long but the next day he turned into mush. Those weren't his exact words but the people knew what he meant and laughed along with him. Neil isn't the best singer but he is honest with his music and that's why I appreciate him.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #5 posted by museman on April 17, 2009 at 10:25:34 PT
in the life
John would be proud.I wonder if Neil ever got his guitar pick out of his axe, those were classic 'pick fell into my guitar' movements... (I know it was all about feedback :)Good music never dies, it just finds real artists to continue its 'day in the life.'thnx
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #4 posted by The GCW on April 17, 2009 at 08:58:24 PT
Tvert 
Mason Tvert speaks for so so many of Us.Tvert again and again, is still going strong.Thank You, Mason
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #3 posted by FoM on April 17, 2009 at 08:08:36 PT
A Day In The Life: Neil Young
On Neil Young new CD-DVD he sings this song. It isn't online but it was so powerful. I hope others enjoy it too.Found my way upstairs and had a smoke;Somebody spoke and I went into a dream . . .Neil Young - A Day in the Lifehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hbet0Ck-zfE
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #2 posted by FoM on April 17, 2009 at 07:59:51 PT
runruff
It takes a lot anymore to impress me because people are so self centered and hateful.Humility is a beautiful emotion to see in this day and age.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #1 posted by runruff on April 17, 2009 at 07:56:18 PT
OT: 
We are such big fans of the lovely Susan Boyle. Such an angelic voice and sweet spirit.I feel so moved by her sweet and humble spirit.
[ Post Comment ]


Post Comment