When I discovered that there have been no related deaths or overdoses linked to marijuana use, I was surprised. Mainly because I've had a lifetime of hype and fear doled out by numerous information sources. From the government to relatives to teachers, the story is all the same -- stay away from marijuana, it will kill you. If no one is dying, and let's face it, tobacco kills more than 450,000 annually, then why all the hype? Keep this question in mind when you read the following information concerning marijuana.

What Some Politicians Consider Sane. . .

"Politicians have tried spending their way to victory and jailing their way to victory in the futile, 25-year-old War on Drugs," said Steve Dasbach, national chairman of the Libertarian Party. "Now they're so desperate that they are willing to amputate their way to victory."

In Mississippi, a bill dubbed "Smoke a Joint, Lose a Limb" would punish marijuana smokers by amputating an arm or a leg. The legislation, submitted in January 1998 by Republican State Representative Bobby Moak, provides that the convicted person and the court "must agree on which body part shall be removed." 

Congressman John Linder (R-GA), Chairman of the National Republican Campaign Committee, has proposed that drug users be quarantined at abandoned military bases so they don't "infect" others. The problem with these proposals -- besides the fact that they're barbaric and unconstitutional -- is that, if implemented, they could lead to an America where one-third of the adult population is surgically tortured, or sent to jail for life. 

Some facts concerning marijuana:

Prior to the Marijuana Act of 1937, marijuana was used by physicians for a number of ailments. Between 1840 and 1900, medical journals published over 100 papers on the theraputic use of the plant, recommending it as an appetite stimulant, muscle relaxant, analgesic, sedative and anti-convulsant; and for treating opium addiction and migraine headaches. 

According to a American Society of Clinical Oncology survey, half the doctors that responded said they would prescribe marijuana as an anti-emetic (anti- nauseant) if it were legal, as only 43% responded that available legal anti-emetics provided adequate relief to their patients. 

There has never been a reported overdose, side effect or related death linked to marijuana use. In comparison, adverse reactions to prescription drugs kill more than 100,000 annually.

So what is the government so afraid of? It's easy, the loss of money. But from whom? Many tend to blame the pharmaceutical companies, as legalized marijuana could replace many products on the market. But the reality is that pharmaceutical companies spend enormous amounts of money trying to create chemically what occurs naturally in the marijuana plant. Legalized marijuana could actually be a boon to the industy by providing a safer base to create new drugs from.

This brings us to two separate industries, both of which would be financially effected with legalized hemp: paper and chemical industries. As a plant, hemp grows very rapidly in just about any climate. In 1937 a machine called a decorticator was invented that removed the soft center of the plant, which can be used to make paper. This process made it cost-effective to mass-produce hemp paper, which is stronger than wood-based papers. Just as luck would have it, the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 made the plant illegal before any real paper production could begin.Interesting sidenote: the first and second drafts of the Declaration of Independence were written on paper made from Dutch hemp.

Chemical companies like Dupont make nylon rope, a direct competitior for hemp rope. Dupont just happened to get the contract to sell nylon rope to the military as a replacement for the "dangerous and deadly" hemp counterpart. Imagine for a moment a couple sailors trying smoke hemp rope. It sounds preposterous, but this is the same logic used by Dupont to convince Congress to replace hemp with nylon, even though a study conducted in 1931 by the U.S. Navy found no "significant problems or long-term effects arising from (the) use of marijuana." Chemical companies also provide the base chemicals used for pharmaceutical drugs.

As you can see, both industries stand to lose large profits from marijuana legalization. Since these industries are billion-dollar providers, patients and doctors that seek to make marijuana a legal, prescribed drug face a serious uphill battle. Add the fact that politicians are willing to permanently maim and quarantine people for using it, even though no one's been hurt or killed by the plant, and you have a serious problem -- one that may take generations to solve.
 
 

Another Drop of Color Equals Murder
Jasper, Texas -- The "Good old boy" mentality is alive and well in Jasper, Texas. So much so that another African American is dead for choosing to wear the wrong skin color -- actually dragged for two miles behind a pickup truck -- to the point where his arms and head were discovered a mile from his mangled torso.

Three Caucasian men are charged with the crime, all are supposed to have ties to some "All White" organization. On to Part Two

You have to wonder what happens when you go to Heaven and try to convince God that you mangled someone for his/her sake. I'll bet it's a riot -- Editor

When Business and Politics Try to Play God
Dover, New Jersey -- Tourists take note, the drive of the century awaits you. Take a drive south down Route 95 through New York City, past the Newark Airport, and through "Thunderdome." That's our family nickname for the petroleum processing plants that own both sides of the highway (around exit 13, North Jersey), as well as the poisoned water tables and the air surrounding "Thunderdome." Travel further south and find any type of business, and the environment purchased to run it. Enter the big picture. . . 

The part you never see coming, until after the contracts are signed, the checks are cashed and the summer home gets another addition. The rise of cancer among our young. The shore town of Dover, NJ reports 5 new, confirmed, cases of childhood cancer (ages 5 to 15) this year. And the year is only half over -- and Dover is just one of many shore towns in a very small part of the world. The news of the five cases came two years after the news that the Toms River section of Ocean County township suffers abnormally high rates of childhood cancers, which prompted a massive state and federal study. 

Of course studies will be performed, after all, we must get to the root of this. Just ask Rita Manno, Spokewoman for the New Jersey State Health Department. Her response to the parents of these suffering, possibly terminally ill children was, "...studying cancer cases over an 18-year period is the best chance we have of giving Dover township an insight into their community and their cancer rates." Maybe they'll link the cause to a local pig farmer, maybe they'll find the truth. In 18 years, the Eagle Point Nuclear Power Plant, located in Southern NJ, may no longer exist, or it may double in size, which could prompt another 18-year study. What's funny is that the current study only focuses on certain types of cancer. Apparently of these five tragically-stricken children, only two cases are "statistically relevant." Inaccurate tests equal inaccurate results. 

At this point it doesn't matter -- just ask the five-year-old after his first chemotherapy treatment. Businessmen and women take note: your grandchildren and great-grandchildren could be next. It's almost worth the profits, after all, you'll be long gone and your money will be spent before you have to watch them suffer. 

Is there a Dover, NJ near you? A sign to look for is large complexes of buildings with pipes running outside that have big posters preaching marketing statements like. . ."Environmentally Advanced" and "Safe for You. . .Better for Your Future." Outside pipes indicate a high potential for flammable materials or dangerous chemicals. They are required by law so the fire-teams can have ready access to high-risk areas -- Editor.

Majority Rules and War Begins
Yugoslavia -- "Give the people what they want" is a phrase that is apparently not understood by Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. His hard stance has left more than 300 people dead as the Serb-led Yugoslav government tries to suppress the increasingly radical independence movement among Kosovo’s ethnic Albanians, who make up 90 percent of the province’s population.

NATO started an "air power" demonstration in an attempt to shake Milosevic into reality and show that NATO will not put up with the slaughter of innocent people. 

Only time will tell if this will become something worthy of a "Movie of the Week." At best we can hope for a new rock song, you know, something like: "I'm Not Gonna Vote for Milosevic, Oh No!" -- Editor

Whose Writing the Checks
Washington, D.C. -- I created this section to identify the shift in the political belief structure that's obvious to even the most casual observer today. When we consider the history of politics, and look at the stereotypical viewpoint of the liberal left (aka Democratic Party) and the radical right (aka Republican Party) two pictures are burned into our grey matter: 1) the liberal left will squander all our money and give it away to "poor people" and 2) the radical right will take money from big business, lobby for the same business, and make sure they get their money's worth. In reality, both parties take money, and each politician has their own theories on treating the woes our society poses.

The shift is that politicians seem to be quite obvious these days as to just who's writing their checks. A good case in point was the attempt to repeal the assault weapons ban just a couple years ago. Even though 300 state police and law enforcement officials (our paid professional consultants on public safety) voted unanimously to keep the ban, numerous politicians led by Newt Gingrich got up to say just how important having a semi-automatic assault rifle was to their personal safety. I remember one politician from upstate New York that explained how his wife just would not be safe in their upstate New York home without the equivalent of an AK 47 to protect her. 

So what's the issue? It's simple, these politicians are paid to vote for the majority, not their own personal interests. Even if they were not paid endorsers for the NRA, and even if the aforementioned politician's 65-year-old wife could find the safety catch, these matters are inconsequential when a paid professional advises against it. 

A more recent example is the new Tobacco Bill. For years the tobacco industry (deeply rooted in old politics, they opposed abolishing slavery heavily during President Abraham's rein) has been admittedly selling poison to people, and marketing this cancer-causing poison to our youth. The new Tobacco Bill was designed to punish that industry financially for the problems they have caused. But when the bill finally reached our Republican-majority Senate, the sympathetic Senate added a tax-break for the middle-class tobacco users, thereby creating a roundabout path of income revenue for tobacco growers. 

Hypocrisy, or paid advertising for your tobacco industry? To me, it's a glaring example of just who is writing the checks. 

And so it goes, on and on. And these are big issues. There are thousands of bills, laws, and other items that appear every day before Congress and the Senate. Some blatent, designed to protect a specific industry, and others ride the coat tails of important issues, which just have to be included for certain politicians to give their OK and pass the bill (or law) to the next level. Who is writing these checks? 

Update - FYI -- The Republican party killed the Tobacco Bill on June 17, 1998. Their primary reason was that the bill, in their opinion, was just an excuse for a massive tax hike. For the record, the chief issues the bill was created for are as follows: 1) to raise the price of a pack of cigarretes by $1.10. This would help generate $516 Billion over 25 years to help states pay smoking-related healthcare costs, and finance anti-smoking awareness campaigns. 2) Pay for health research to combat nicotine addiction, and 3) Give the FDA authority to regulate nicotine. If our government is not for sale, then why would our appointed officials vote against keeping our youth safe from addictive substances, with documented medical history identifying the death of thousands of Americans? Go figure. And why would they vote against raising $516 Billion dollars? It's just bad business sense -- it's crazy. 

Update - FYI -- Week of July 12, 1998 - The House awarded an unusual form of welfare to gun shop owners. A House spending bill provides up to $2 million in financial compensation to gun dealers that imported assault weapons that will become illegal this year. 

I wonder how Trent Lott would feel if he had to watch his grandchildren suffer from lung cancer. I guess it doesn't matter, with all that Tobacco Money, he could afford the best iron lung -- Editor.

Some facts: The tobacco industry spent $35 million last year, hiring more than 200 lobbyists to make itself heard. In the last decade it "contributed" $30 million to Congress. Since April 8, when it walked away from negotiations on the Senate bill, it spent $40 million on advertising to build public opposition to the bill. 

I think professional volleyball players have the right idea -- they paint their sponsors right on their bodies. If our politicians were required to do the same, we would all know just who is writing the checks. This fall, vote YES on the Paint Your Politician bill. It's good for you -- and better for your future -- Editor

That Hypocritical Hippocratic Oath
Los Angeles, California -- It was bound to happen sooner or later. With the clear division between rich and poor, or between  insured and uninsured getting clearer, one doctor was bound to make a stand. And stand she did, demanding $400.00 cash up front before the doctor, Doctor Lori Burke, an anesthesiologist, would give her patient, a woman in labor, an epidural for her pain. Even when the woman offered her a credit card, check, and a Western Union confirmation number for cash, the doctor stood fast demanding cash for pain relief, refusing her uninsured patient and letting her suffer.

Doctor David J. Birnbach, President, Society for Obstetric Anesthesiology and Perinatology said, "That is morally reprehensible. My own personal belief is that it is not fair to have two standards of care -- one for patients who have insurance, and one for patients who don't have insurance." 

There are lawsuits pending against the physician and hospital. According to court papers, Dr. Burke has refused six other women anesthesia for the same reason -- lack of cash. The funny thing is that $400.00 is a little pricey for the procedure under question. According to health insurance guidelines for the area, MediCal pays only $57.00 for the procedure and allows $14.00 for each 15 minute increment the doctor is required. Private insurance companies only pay between $175.00 to $300.00 for the procedure, and allow up to $60.00 for each additional 15 minutes the doctor is required. 

Ya gotta pay off those medical school payments somehow, and the new car, and the new house, and the vacation to France, and the bike tour in Germany, and the skiing trip to the Alps and the new boat and the other new car, and the summer condo, and. . . -- Editor

You Want Some Salt for That Gaping Wound?  Jasper, Texas -- In the wake of a horrible crime, the Ku Klux Klan wishes to downplay the whole "white vs. black thing" by holding a march through the center of a town that is trying to unite in the wake of a violent, racially motivated murder. 

To keep the Jasper town council "comfortable" with the march, the Klan leader promised not to bring any guns. Good thing, but what else do they hide under those sheets? Go here for the follow-up 

One Good Turn Deserves Another
Week of June 21, 1998 -- Three white men in Illinois and three white men in Louisiana are charged with dragging African American males behind their respective cars. Enough said.

The "Twinkie Corpse Syndrome" or That Old Dead Relative Just Ain't Who They Used to Be
Everywhere -- Corpses last longer -- and decompose slower -- than just a few decades ago. The cause is not some supernatural power that could lead to the next episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". It's actually much closer to home, and comes from the food we eat. 

North Vietnamese soldiers were the first to notice that American corpses lasted 3 to 4 times longer than their own. Since the American diet consisted primarily of preservative-laden "army" meals and snacks like "Twinkies" and North Vietnam soldiers ate mostly rice and vegetables, the North Vietnamese did the math and the term "Twinkie Corpse" was born.

Today even more chemicals, including artificial colors and flavors, and the widespread use of food preservatives in processed foods endear most American diets. The preservatives work so well, they stay in our bodies and accumulate over time, thereby "preserving" and extending the life of our body tissue, even after the heart stops pumping oxygen to our organs. If this keeps up, you may see an outcropping of "dead relative" or "Twinkie Corpse" stores. Look for the forthcoming book: 1001 Uses for a Dead Relative. 

Soylent Green, anyone? Or how about some new words for an old tune (sung to the Oscar Mayer Weiner tune): 

China Beats the U.S.
Excerpts from the Associated Press were used to create this section

China proves to the world that it is better than the U.S. and is indeed beating the U.S. at its own game: industrialized pollution. China now emits more greenhouse gasses than the U.S., and if the trend continues, will surpass the gasses emitted by U.S., Canada, and Japan combined by the year 2025. And it doesn't stop there.

Over 80% of China's 900 rivers are polluted, and the drinking water in only 10 of China's 27 largest cities meets official health standards. With a country that consumes nearly 4 million sq mi of our earth, and provides residence for 1/5 of our world's population, China's pollution problems have global implications. 

The Chinese government promised a $54 billion investment to help clean up the mess. While we wait, the Chinese people will contend with ever increasing rates of cancer, lung disease, and other pollution-related illnesses. (Cancer is the number 1 cause of death in Chinese cities.) 

As a resident of New Jersey, I'm used to polluted water -- here in Cherry Hill, we have to swim in a pool or not at all. When I lived in Ohio, Lake Erie was off-limits most of the summer due to pollution-related bacteria. But what effect does it have on the future of the human race when 1/5 our population mutates to survive the pollution, not to mention the impact all that dirty water has on the world? If I were China, I'd go to war and steal a "clean" country. Oh well, if they do, at least we know it won't be the U.S.. By the way, anybody seen the movie "The Arrival"? If not, rent it, you'll see what I mean. -- Editor

Just When You Thought it Was Safe
Washington D.C. -- Imagine kicking around your back yard, having a cookout, and basically chilling out with family and friends. Then WHAM! a small tactical nuke trashes your party. It could happen, especially if you live in the Shenendoah Valley, just outside Washington D.C. or in the Hudson Valley, close to N.Y. City. 

According to Russian defector and former colonel in the Soviet intelligence agency, Stanislav Lunev, the threat is a lot more real than we think.

In addition to planting numerous tactical nukes, intended to cripple key U.S. cities and military targets should war break out, Lunev claims there are trained Soviet assasination squads taking notes on the movements of the president and key political figures. His book, "Through the Eyes of the Enemy" was released Wednesday, July 8, 1998, and provides details concerning the Soviet military's fear of attack and their specific plans for terrorist-like retaliation in the event of a war. The "Cold War" just got warmer.

It's Time to Stop This Craziness If this doesn't show the "splinter" groups in America that it's time to stop fighting against fellow Americans, I don't know what will. And we all thought the Soviets had changed. With their crippled economy, high unemployment rates and starving families, they choose to divert funds back into their military, the very reason their economy collapsed in the first place. If this doesn't show the world village-at-large that we haven't matured in the last thirty years or so and that it's time to choose peace over war, then nothing will. In the immortal words of comedian George Carlin, "It's time to stop all the dick-waving and pissing on each other's territory."

And I was worried about Newt Gingrich burning down Washington. It turns out he is the least of our worries. It's not bad enough that we have militia groups bombing federal buildings, the Montana Freemen trying to cripple our banking system, incumbent politicians fixing elections, and the neo-nazis looking for the next Hitler. Now we have to worry about a mounting plot of the Russians trying to assasinate and overthrow the U.S. Government. Does anybody besides me feel like they're in a bad Twilight zone episode? 

This sounds like the next plot for an upcoming movie. I know -- we'll have Bruce Willis and George Clooney assemble a team of professionals that just happen to be in prison on trumped-up charges. They can argue with each other, find and disarm the infiltrators, say a few timely jokes, and save Washington just in time for the elections. -- Editor

Money for Nothing -- Crash the Banks for Free  Billings, Montana -- Freemen that is. In a conspiratal plot to cripple the U.S. banking system, the top four members of the Montana Freemen cut 3,432 bogus checks totalling 15.5 Billion dollars to followers nationwide. 

Update - Viagra Death Toll Rises From 69 to 237 (and is still climbing) 
Worldwide -- People will do just about anything for a good hard on. Some sacrifice their presidency -- others sacrafice their lives. In a recent story we identified 16 reported deaths linked to the drug Viagra, and numerous emergency room visits for an affliction known as priapism. Priapism happens when an erection won't go away, and is extremely painful to those afflicted. Imagine an emergency room full of men trying to hide their painful hard ons and you get the picture.

Related-deaths have increased to 237 as of November, despite a decline in Viagra sales from $411 million in the first quarter to $141 million this past quarter.

According to the FDA, the deaths were less than pleasant, ranging from simply passing out and never waking up to 'hemorrhagic shock' and 'turning gray' before suffocating to death.

What's an erection worth to you?

Erection Update - November 1998

The increasing deaths from heart attacks in elderly men that use Viagra have caused the FDA to change it's recommendation considering the usage of Viagra -- but not very much. New warnings suggest that men with a history of heart problems or on certain types of heart and blood pressure medication consult their physician prior to using Viagra. In comparison, Great Britain changed its laws to not allow the medication to be dispensed to any man with a history of heart problems or using heart/blood pressure medication, because of the dangers and increasing death toll. You have to wonder, how many deaths are necessary for the FDA to put the safety of the people first? Then again, elderly men are one of the key target markets for the drug, so you can bet, change will not come easy.