Pot is not harmless
In March, I was invited by community members to speak to students at Mount Holyoke College about the current science of marijuana, an issue I have devoted much of my career to understanding. I was surprised and saddened that a letter writer from Amherst characterized my lecture as “biased and propaganda-based” (Letter: “Time for truth in cannabis science,” April 21-27, 2016). As a neuroscientist, I do my absolute best to present a critical and objective overview of the scientific knowledge available to us. This includes discussion of the limitations of the current research on marijuana use.
I agree with many of the statements the letter writer makes, particularly that “the appeal that marijuana has is not going away.” But just as overstating the harms of marijuana use is ineffective, pretending that marijuana is harmless is equally ineffective. The evidence of benefits of marijuana for teenagers is of far lower quality than the evidence of harm to the teenage brain, and ignoring this very real fact does not help our kids make good decisions. Just as we actively teach teenagers about the risks of alcohol and tobacco use, I attempt to do the same with marijuana; present the risks of this psychoactive compound, and give young adults the information they need to make their own decisions.
While there is a lot we still don’t understand about marijuana, particularly regarding its purported therapeutic benefits for some conditions, we do know that there are at least three important factors that can make marijuana use risky; younger age of onset of use, higher potency of THC in marijuana, and greater frequency of use. This is not “fear-mongering,” but rather, this is science, conducted at top universities throughout the country and the world. Ignoring this science does not help young people make responsible decisions.
— Jodi Gilman,
Harvard Medical School professor
Open letter on UMass divestment
As library staff at the UMass Amherst Libraries, we proudly support the students’ UMass Fossil Fuel Divestment Campaign. Many of us work closely with students, faculty, and researchers across disciplines who address the global climate crisis head on. As providers and proponents of accurate information and teachers of information literacy, we add our voices to the urgent call for action based on peer reviewed literature across a broad spectrum of scientific fields — the climate is in a crisis and fossil fuel reserves need to stay in the ground. We are grateful to our students, who staged sit-ins and demand divestment from fossil fuels, motivated by information that cannot be denied.
In addition to fossil fuel divestment, we also support UMass Divest’s call to re-invest foundation funds in areas that promote both social justice and renewable energy development, actions that address the broad aims of sustainability.
We are greatly heartened by results of the students’ determination: President Meehan’s commitment to place the issue before the Board of Trustees in June, and his stated ambition for the University of Massachusetts system to be the first public university system to fully divest from fossil fuel companies. Together, we need to do more. We urge the Board of Trustees and the UMass Foundation to “divest the rest”— it will send a message, loud and clear, that the university stands with its students, the commonwealth, and the world for an environmentally and economically sustainable and just future.
— Concerned staff at the UMass Amherst Libraries (signed by 23 members of the library staff)
Random acts of kind driving
We know how crowded Route 9 in Hadley can get. I wait a long time sometimes trying to find an opening to turn into the traffic if I’ve been to The Salvation Army Store or Ace Hardware, for example. So, I’ve made it a habit that when I’m driving down Route 9, I try to let in at least two cars. I check my rear view mirror and flash my brake lights and hope there’s no one texting behind me. Maybe each of us who drive Route 9 could consider doing the same thing. We need more kindness out there in rush hour. Maybe we could prevent some fender benders from people taking big risks to cut in before cars that don’t slow down long enough to let other cars in safely.
— Sidney B. Simon,
Hadley
