C.C. Reader
America's Newest Endangered Species
By Soni Moore
Scientists, now able to confirm a few
nationwide studies on America's second
leading recreational drug (alcohol is #1),
marijuana, have come up with concrete
evidence of the damaging effects to the
brain, lungs, heart, and reproductive and
immunity systems of our pot-smoking
young Americans.
Over the past twenty years, Ameri
can teen-agers, usually the one group in
the prime of health, are the only age
group in the United States who have
suffered from deteriorating health. This
time span exactly coincides with the
virtual epidemic of marijuana use among
young people. According to the experts,
marijuana is the single most dangerous
health hazard of American youth today.
A variety of symptoms showing up in
young pot smokers that are usually
associated with middle and old age
include coughs, rales, moderate to • se
vere chest pains, chronic bronchitis,
emphysema, and short-term memory
loss. In a recent study of 1000 U.S.
soldiers stationed in West Germany,
heavy cannabis ("pot") smoking produc
ed sinusitis, pharyngitis, bronchitis,
asthma, and other respiratory disorders
in a year or The chronic bronchitis
and emphyst 4., not unusual in 45- or
50-year-olds, was very evident in these
hashish smokers who were 18 years old!
Studies now show damaging effects
from pot smoking suggestive of long
term health hazards to various body
functions as well as the immediate
effects, such as those related to the
brain. We already know marijuana
"highs" impair memory, learning,
speech, reading comprehension, arith
metic problem-solving, and the ability to
think. Persistent brain abnormalities
and emotional/behavioral changes have
been demonstrated in monkeys given
large doses of marijuana. There is strong
evidence of psychological addiction for
the pot smoker. Highly significant dose
related impairments of lung function
were found in a study of 28 otherwise
healthy young men who averaged five
"joints" a day for 47 to 59 days.
Diary Of A College Revolutionary
By Captain S.C. Anon
(Looks Ike the psycho promoted himself
since last issue).
Monday, October 27
It's Monday. That means I only have
four days to get ready for the weekend. I
had a run-in with an Iranian student this
morning. I wish they'd take them all
away someplace and do something with
them, like forming a clean up crew at
TMI.
These Iranian characters really bug
me; they always have to quote Major
Winchester of the 4077th M.A.S.H., "My
family has had trouble with immigrants
ever since we came to this country."
I saw "The Vikings" on TV. It was
great! Total rape and pillage. Kirk
Douglas and his guys just sailed around,
burning villages, kidnapping all the
beautiful women, and killing everybody
else. Then they took the captured
women back to their place and threw
axes at them. I must have been a Viking
in a previous incarnation.
Tuesday, October 28
Oh my brothers! I went to viddy the
sinny this evening at the Student Cen
ter. "A Clockwork Orange," my ben-
Pot Smokers:
Marijuana smoking irritates the air
passages, increases airway resistance,
contributes to the development of pre
malignant and malignant lesions of lung
cells, decreases the vital air capacity,
and enhances -- by some 200 percent --
enzymes that potentially contribute to
the "eating" or digesting of the lung
itself! The body's immunity, or defense,
system was studied in 51 young chronic
pot smokers, average age 22, each
smoking about four "joints" a week for
approximately four years. The normal 70
percent T-cells in the lymphocytic de
fense system was found to be 41 percent
lower in the cannabis smokers as com
pared with the 81 non-pot-smoking con
trol group, average age 44. This and
other studies show that marijuana in
hibits the build-up of the body's defense
system against infection and also sup
presses its ability to take action when
needed. Marijuana's negative actions on
the heart include narrowing the coron
ary arteries, decreasing the oxygen
supply, increasing the carbon monoxide
supply, weakening the pumping action of
the heart muscle, and, of course, signifi
cantly increasing the pulse and blood
pressure rates.
In 40 percent of the females studied,
an adverse effect on the menstrual cycle
has appeared in those women who smoke
pot at least four times a week. This may
result in infertility. Marijuana reduced
estrogen and progesterone levels in
animal studies and has crossed the
placenta and reached the developing
fetus in pregnant monkeys with result
ing abortions and dead babies.
Marijuana can reduce the sperm
count and produce sperm abnormalities
in men. Studies show that male hashish
smokers also have lower levels of testos
terone in their blood than their non-pot
smoking control group.
Current studies at Columbia Univer
sity show that marijuana has an effect on
the body's master gland, the hypothal
amus, which directs the functions of
other hormone-producing glands.
The 1979 National High School Sen
ior Survey showed that 13 percent of
daily users (one out of 10) smoke more
thers, complete with the ultraviolence,
nagoy groodies, krovvy and of course the
old in-out-in-out. And alas my brothers,
my droogs and I did smeck and creech at
such antics, and crark when it was over
and no more shows were to be seen.
So here I sit oh my brothers, set with
my moloko and synthemesc, devising my
very own real horror show. One that
your humble storyteller shall not soon
forget.
Wednesday, October 29
I heard an "unofficial report" on ABC
tonight that Ayatollah Khomenie was
dying from cancer of the colon. That's
not fair! He's mine! Six months ago Fritz
and Zbrignew came to see me, saying
that Jimmy wanted good old Ayatollah
taken care of, but not for awhile as they
had something in the works themselves.
Well, what they had didn't work, but I
haven't heard from them.
Saturday, November 1
I'm on my way back from the park
after All University Day. It was excell
ent. I spent most of the game at a
tailgate party, and I confess that I didn't
want to leave. If I made a movie about
my experience, I'd title it "Up in Smoke
II."
Sunday, November 2
I'm in Iran. Jimmy was waiting for
Thursday. November 6. 1980
than seven "joints" a day; the other 87
percent average 3 1/2 "joints" a day. Of
the 51 percent of pot-smoking seniors, 43
percent are getting "higher" for longer
periods nowadays.
A little better understanding of what
we do and don't know about marijuana
may be helpful in deciding on whether
"to smoke or not to smoke" at this
point....
Cannabinoids are the chemicals found
only in the cannabis plant, from which
marijuana and hashish are prepared.
THC, tetrahydrocannabinal, is a group of
compounds found exclusively in the
cannabis plant. The cannabinoid chemi
cals make up only a fraction of the 421
known chemicals in the plant, with new
ones constantly being identified. Of the
61 cannabinoids identified in pot so far,
only a handful have been studied. Of
those studied,all are biologically active,
some are psychoactive. Five percent of
.. from page 2
$2 deposit on pitchers at Thirsty's. But
my sources have given me a pretty good
idea of who the culprits are. Don't let me
see you carry anything that is not yours
out of that bar. You don't know what I
look like. I just may be bigger than you.
Enough said!
Are the residence hall RAs getting
the shaft again this year on their fee
reductions? I'll let you know next time.
Stay tuned.
Keep up the good work, Reader staff.
I like what I see. And nobody asked me,
but aren't the 1980 Philadelphia Phi hies
the greatest thing you ever saw?
They're far better than anything that
other side of the state could produce.
(Does Leonard value his life much?)
One more thing: I consider myself a
very apathetic person, but I voted
Tuesday. Just thought I'd mention it. Be
talking to youse later. Until then, I
remain
me in person when I got back from the
park. Air Force One was fueled - and
ready when we got to Harrisburg Inter
national. The specific means of my entry
into Iran are classified, but this morning
I was in position to pick off the senile
Islamic nut when he came out for his
morning denunciations.
As luck would have it, if rained and
koo-koomanie did his denouncing indoors
in front of a television camera. I would
wait around and try again tomorrow, but
I've go a test second period.
On the way to my escape jet, I came
upon a small Iranian-Iraqi firelight. I
couldn't decide which side to shoot at,
since both were in my killing zone and I
hated both sides. So I compromised by
killing them all.
I wonder how the Eagles are doing.
Monday, November 3
Alas, it's Monday again and I'm back
in Middletown. Jimmy called me this
morning to say that it was OK that I
didn't accomplish my mission, as Amy
had changed her mind anyway. He said
that I could keep the two million for my
trouble.
The Governor called me today and
said that if he were elected, he'd give me
another chance at five million dollars.
My vote is cast. Wow, I only have four
days to get ready for another weekend.
More Wumke
LEONARD WUMKE
the chief psychoactive cannabinoid, THC
(delta-9-THC), which appears in all body
fluid tests, crosses the blood-brain bar
rier -- creating highs (and causing prob
lems). To date, we don't know what the
other 95 percent is doing to the body!
Confiscated marijuana samples in the
U.S. in 1975 contained 0.4 percent of the
mind-altering THC chemical. The aver
age street pot samples in 1979 showed a
tenfold potency increase to four percent
and some "home-grown" varieties con
tained up to 7 percent THC per "joint."
Are our youth "going to pot?" Is pot
going to your head? Is the short-term
high worth the long-term risk?
Sources: New York Times, Wednes
day, May 21, 1980 "The Evidence Builds
Against Marijuana" by J.E.Brady, and
The Reader's Digest, November 1980
"Marijuana Alert II: More of the Grim
Story" by P. Mann.
Bomb intended
for Iranian student
Campus Digest News Service
The student president of the Iranian Student
Association at Ohio State University was ap
parently the target for an unsuccessful
Molotov-cocktail bombing last week.
Investigators said that the firebomb had
been thrown near the window of an apartment
occupied by Behzad Bavarian and his wife.
The bomb struck the wall of the apartment
building and fell to the ground where it was
extinguished.
No damage or injuries were reported.
More Longing
from page 2
There is only one program of study at
Capitol Campus that can boast an entire
building of its own.
There is only one program of study at
Capitol Campus that has a mural painted
on the cafeteria wall that screams its
identity at you every time you look up
from your sandwich.
So far, one academic program has
given its majors a sense of belonging.
Speaking for myself as one not a
member of the above academic program,
I am left with a deep sense of "not
belonging" to Capitol Campus.
Every time I sit down in "our"
cafeteria to eat lunch I reassess the
value of my academic program. No, my
program doesn't have the stringent
academic requirements as the one that's
advertised on the wall. My program
doesn't follow any scientific pattern. My
program doesn't prepare me for a
specific occupation.
In fact there isn't much of a demand
for majors in my program. And, on the
whole, graduates from my program can't
command salaries like those whose pro
gram is advertised on the wall.
That sums it up. My program just
can't be as important as the one on the
wall. If it were, I'm sure the University
would have depicted some symbol of my
program on "our" cafeteria wall.
Well, maybe someday there will be a
great need for graduates in my program
and the University will designate a
whole building to the honor of my
program and paint us a mural in the
cafeteria, and then I could feel I really
belonged at Capitol Campus. Until that
"someday," I wish someone would cover
up that obnoxious monstrosity on the
cafeteria wall and let me eat my lunch in
peace!
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K.J.V.