Download the NORML Daily Audio Stash for 2008-05-14

It’s Wednesday, May 14th and it’s 4:20 somewhere in the world. I’m your host, “Radical” Russ Belville.

Don’t forget to call your Congress and tell them to support HR5842 & HR5843 to end DEA raids in medical marijuana states and to legalize personal possession of marijuana. The number is 202-224-3121.

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Wednesday is Cannabis Science day on the Stash, and coming up after the news, we’re joined as always by Dr. Mitch Earleywine from the State University of New York at Albany. Dr. Mitch is here to talk about the latest quack science report making the rounds courtesy of the Drug Czar – the idea that heavy marijuana use leads to teen depression.

Cannabis Karri brings us our musical break this hempday humpday with some Hawaiian hip-hop from a group called Amphibeus Tungs… voted by the staff of the Daily Audio Stash our favorite new band name. Their song is a relaxing beach number called “Smoke that Feelen” – ah, pakalolo and a white sand beach…

Then we’re speaking with Dr. Melanie Dreher, a researcher at the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Dreher led one of the most definitive studies on the effects of cannabis smoking on pregnant women and their children. We’ll ask her about American courts in the news lately that have convicted new mothers of child abuse when their babies test positive for marijuana.

Don’t forget that it’s not too late to enter our latest “Pass the Stash” contest. You could win a free DVD from Suburban Noize Records’ rappers Kingspade. Stay tuned for details later in the podcast

Welcome to the show, load up your George W. Bong and sit back with your favorite strain… This is your NORML Daily Audio Stash.

Fla. Teens Believe Drinking Bleach Will Prevent HIV - Orlando News Story - WKMG Orlando
ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida teens who believe drinking a cap of bleach will prevent HIV and a shot of Mountain Dew will stop pregnancy have prompted lawmakers to push for an overhaul of sex education in the state.Another myth is that Florida teens also believe that smoking marijuana will prevent a person from getting pregnant.

State lawmakers said the myths are spreading because of Florida’s abstinence-only sex education.

They are proposing a bill that would require a more comprehensive approach, the report said.

It would still require teaching abstinence but students would also learn about condoms and other methods of birth control and disease prevention.

The bill just passed its first vote in a committee.

This is the natural consequence of not providing teens with responsible factual information about sex and drugs.

Abstinence-only sex education is the “Just Say No” approach to teen sexual health, and we all know how well “Just Say No” got everyone to stop using drugs. It’s like a prohibition of biological facts. And for years we’ve told kids reefer madness lies like smoking pot will cause infertility (which, of course, is why there are no Rastafarian babies, right?  One of my good friends and member of Oregon NORML sent this photo of the results he and his wife achieved last week after years of extensive, er, research into marijuana/fertility argument.)  So when we tell them lies about marijuana and withhold the truth about birth control, is the belief that smoking pot prevents pregnancy that surprising?

Some parents will complain that sex education belongs at home.  That’s a laudable goal, but completely unrealistic.  Not every child benefits from a loving, stable home with forthright parents ready to dish about the birds and the bees.  So it is more realistic to teach teens about the biological facts about sex and the proper ways to remain healthy.  Yes, sexual abstinence at a young age is morally preferable for some and definitely the safest way to prevent pregnancy and STDs, but should a teen who does decide to act on those powerful adolescent hormones deserve an unwanted pregnancy or a death sentence due to ignorance?

Similarly, while we all agree that we’d prefer teens to not smoke marijuana, the fact is that some will, whether it is illegal or not.  So should we provide them with the facts, or should we allow their drug ignorance to spill over into sexual ignorance?

Both issues come down to frightened adults not wanting to “send the wrong message” to young people.  They fear if we tell kids about condoms and birth control and that marijuana use isn’t so awful and can be medicinal that we will encourage such behaviors by kids.  Instead, the message we send through abstinence and prohibition is that pregnancy and STDs and marijuana use and abuse are so dreadful that if you have sex and smoke pot, you deserve whatever bad consequence results from your ignorant actions.

Panel rejects drug testing for welfare recipients | MyDesert.com | The Desert Sun
A state Assembly committee on Tuesday turned down a bill inspired by a Riverside County teen as part of a contest.

“R.J.’s Law,” which Riverside high school sophomore R.J. Feild pitched to Assemblyman John J. Benoit, would have required state welfare recipients do undergo random drug testing.

Feild was born 2 pounds, 2 ounces, and was addicted to heroin with traces of alcohol, cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine in his system. He also suffers from spastic triplegic cerebral palsy.

His biological mother used drugs while pregnant with him and collected state funding.

“By defeating R.J.’s Law, Assembly Democrats signaled their acceptance of the status quo, a welfare system that enables drug addicts with taxpayer money,” Benoit, R-Bermuda Dunes, said in a news release.

“R.J.’s Law would have dramatically reformed this system of dependency and would have prevented many children from being born with the traumatic consequences that R.J. has had to suffer. I am proud of R.J. for sharing his testimonial to thousands who heard his story and it’s my hope that other state legislatures around the nation will take up this issue.”

And so what would be the punishment for the mother on welfare who tests positive for drugs?  The end of her welfare check?  Why, that should make her stop doing drugs!  Nothing works better on a heroin addict than taking away their income, right?  No way would any landlord kick a  pregnant heroin addict out on the streets if she couldn’t make rent because she had no welfare check.  She’s certain to get all sorts of great pre-natal care while she’s homeless, rummaging through garbage for food and committing crimes to get a fix.

All that a law like this would do is put the children of addicts at even greater risk.  It is sad that some people get hooked on heroin, but drug testing everyone who needs financial assistance seems a bit drastic.  Just because you’re down on your luck doesn’t mean that you use drugs.

Mom booked, baby born with marijuana in system - NewsFlash - NOLA.com
MONROE, La. (AP) — A newborn was hospitalized after doctors discovered marijuana in his system shortly after his birth and Ouachita Parish sheriff’s investigators arrested the mother.Renita D. Simmons, 18, of West Monroe was booked Wednesday on charges of second-degree cruelty to a juvenile.

Investigators said a caseworker with Glenwood Regional Medical Center called the Sheriff’s Office on Feb. 4 to report a newborn with marijuana in his system.

The caseworker told deputies Simmons gave birth on Feb. 3 and a urine analysis was conducted on the child, according to an incident report.

On Wednesday, the teenage mother admitted to investigators that she used marijuana several times during her pregnancy and used the drug approximately two or three weeks before giving birth, the report stated.

Simmons also admitted to deputies that she knew the drugs could harm her unborn child.

Detectives said that the infant was premature and remained hospitalized as of Thursday.

First of all, does anyone want to take the bet that Renita Simmons is African-American? Studies quoted in the New England Journal of Medicine show that regardless of similar or equal levels of illicit drug use during pregnancy, black women are 10 times more likely than white women to be reported to child welfare agencies for prenatal drug use.

Secondly, use of cannabis by pregnant women has proven to be very effective in relieving the symptoms of morning sickness.

Finally, no one can show that there truly is any significant harm to the fetus or the child resulting from a mother’s use of marijuana.

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