Breakthrough Downplayed

I didn't know if I should post this in politics or community, so I put it on both

I the last couple of days there has been a lot of scientific hubbub about marijuana coming out of the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs lately. The only reason I know this is because I read the news on this site and I live in Colorado Springs! I have to get this news from Switzerland?!?

Endocannabinoid System May Play Role In Maintaining Body's Homeostasis

October 20, 2005 - Bern, Switzerland

Colorado Springs, CO: The endocannabinoid system appears to play a major role in maintaining homeostasis (metabolic equilibrium) in humans and other living organisms, according to a review published in the September issue of the Harm Reduction Journal. Endocannabinoids are chemicals produced naturally in humans and animals that bind to the same receptors as do plant-derived cannabinoids such as THC.

"Endocannabinoids protect [living organisms] by fine-tuning and regulating dynamic biochemical steady states within the ranges required for healthy biological function, [and...] counteract[ing] biochemical imbalances that are characteristic of numerous damaged or diseased states, in particular those associated with aging," according to the review.

Biological functions regulated by endocannabinoids include appetite, body temperature, blood pressure, reproductive activity, learning capacity, and motor coordination.

A separate study published in the current issue of the Harm Reduction Journal speculates that cannabis smoke may be less carcinogenic than tobacco smoke because cannabinoids possess anti-cancer properties.

An epidemiological review published this past summer in the journal Alcohol concluded that the moderate use of cannabis is not associated with an increased risk of tobacco-related cancers, such as lung or colorectal cancer. A 1999 review by the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine found "no conclusive evidence that marijuana causes cancer in humans, including cancers usually related to tobacco use."

For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at (202) 483-5500. Full text of both studies are available on the Harm Reduction Journal website at: http://www.harmreductionjournal.com/home/

DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6706

Or this big one

Pot Smoke: Less Carcinogenic Than Tobacco?

This is ridiculous, I know this is the most conservative city in the state (and yet it produced me, weird) but that shouldn't have anything to do with the media. This is the only news story containing the word marijuana that the Colorado Springs Gazette ran.

Springs police get cut of busts

Also there has been allot going on with I-100: the Alcohol-Marijuana Equalization Initiative in Denver and yet, not a word in the scant 98 mi south of the capital. So it's also not surprising that I haven't seen nor heard about Question 200, "which seeks to make 'the investigation, arrest, and prosecution of marijuana offenses ... the town's lowest law enforcement priority'' in Telluride. I think this is an outrage and my local media is selling my city short on the scientific progress, and my state on social progress. Be assured that this post will be followed by a scorching letter to the Gazette and the local broadcast media.

do what you can, shame you have to outsource just to get local news you are interested in. Aren't there any alternative type papers there?
and what is 1- 100 alchohol mj thing? I need more info on that.

No, the Colorado Springs Independent is only running news about school board races.

Citywide Cannabis Initiatives To Be Voted On Next Month
October 20, 2005 - Denver, CO, USA

Denver, CO: Voters in a pair of Colorado cities as well as two Michigan suburbs will decide next month on four municipal initiatives aimed at liberalizing their area's local cannabis laws.

In Denver, residents will vote on I-100: the Alcohol-Marijuana Equalization Initiative. Sponsored by SAFER (Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation), I-100 seeks "to have the private adult use and possession of marijuana treated in the same manner as the private adult use and possession of alcohol." If passed by Denver voters, the initiative would eliminate all local civil and criminal penalties for the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana by those age 21 and over.

For more information about Denver's initiative, visit: http://www.saferchoice.org/

Telluride, Colorado voters will decide on Question 200, which seeks to make "the investigation, arrest, and prosecution of marijuana offenses ... the town's lowest law enforcement priority." The proposal further adds, "If the adult use of marijuana is ever recognized as lawful under Colorado law, the town of Telluride shall support the creation of a system to license, tax and regulate marijuana for adult use as soon as possible." In recent years, voters have passed similar deprioritization initiatives in Oakland, California; Columbia, Missouri; and Seattle, Washington.

More information on Question 200 is available online at: http://www.sensiblecolorado.org

Voters in Ferndale, Michigan will decide next month on Proposal D, which seeks to "exempt" patients from local criminal penalties if they use medical cannabis under a physician's supervision. Last year, voters in Detroit and Ann Arbor overwhelmingly approved similar proposals.

For more information on Proposal D, visit: http://www.ferndalecares.org

Lastly, Traverse City voters will decide on a measure to require police to make the prosecution of medical cannabis patients the town's "lowest law enforcement priority." A recent poll of Michigan voters found that more than 60 percent favor legalizing medical cannabis.

For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, or Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at (202) 483-5500.

A detailed analysis of this November's pending marijuana initiatives is available online at:
http://www.hightimes.com/ht/legal/co...?bid=343&aid=5

DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6705

If I-100 Passes I will be relocating to Denver, Colorado Springs is a silly place.

I'm moving wherever it passes if it is at all possible. The government should support our personal decisions as adults instead of trying to make them for us.

It would be awesome, but hey, that's what the government does. What's worse is that they've fooled most of the country into believing that's what they're supposed to do. Then you get special interest groups that use that to their advantage and there you go, the current situation in the USA. I have a feeling that if it does pass the DEA will step up it's enforcement of the area, it would still be preferable to the current situation.

Go for the Gazette, dirty hippy. Make sure you know what you're talking about, in case someone refutes you.