Breakthroughs 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.