Stunning Hypocrisy

You gotta read this. A Southern Baptist executive caught in an undercover sting for soliciting gay sex after preaching against it. More below:

Reminds me of the Bert Thompson affair, (see news article) a Ph.D. writer for the Apologetics Press anti-evolution ministry, who has written such real winners as "An Investigation of the Biblical Evidence Against Homosexuality" and “This is the Way God Made Me”—A Scientific Examination of Homosexuality and the “Gay Gene”, in a display of stunning hypocrisy, when he was himself fired (but apparently they don't mind publishing his articles still) after being caught in a web of deceipt involving young boys. He also spent about 10 pages of his book, "The Many Faces and Causes of Unbelief", discussing how hypocrisy plays a role in causing unbelief and is one of the most awful of sins that Jesus condemned.

More than a few forums mentioned this, including christianity.com, unforunately the article that Christianity.com sponsored has been removed. But the blogosphere has very little to say. However, the original source news article is still up. See the evowiki as well. It is quite obvious the whole thing has been kept quite "hush-hush". See this blog, or this blog, or this mixed bag of emotions in letters to the editor in response to the original news article, for more. Note, again, that the incredible hypocrisy extends to the Apologetics Press, as they keep those "anti-gay" articles posted on their website, with Thompson's name amazingly still attached to them.

Also reminds me of Roy Clements, and the way the Xian community that trumpeted him as one of the "most gifted Bible expositors of our time" now has totally turned the cold shoulder to him.

There was another really active "former homosexual" who became heavily involved in Christian evangelism specifically reaching out to gays. Turns out, after a few years on the touring circuit and endorsements by Falwell et al, the guy was living a double life, even though he spent almost every day of his life preaching against "the gay sin".

What these people are all missing is that God dislikes seafood (calls it an "abomination") as much as gays. [wink wink]

Mike Rogers (click at your own risk, as there are some racy ads in the sidebars) makes a living at ousting closeted Congressmen/women who vote conservative, anti-gay legislature into effect while leading a double life. Ed Schrock takes the cake as the politicial-closet queer-hypocrite-extraordinaire. Jim West, quasi-conservative who voted against gay rights, is yet another sad hypocrite.

I suppose all the hypocrisy bears witness to the fact that gays are still pretty afraid to live openly in society. That is sad. But I know many "out" persons, and so I think a lot of it has to do with your family and friends being religious/conservative -- how much more likely are you to hide your true self?

I can think of a parallel which is actually applicable to me -- I pretended to believe in god for a while although I no longer did. Atheists and agnostics are more prominent than polls would have you believe, and some of them probably stand behind pulpits every Sunday. You have to wonder how many ministers are also closeted gay or lesbian, working in a conservative church, considering these same points I've made. Hopefully a day will come when people can be who they are without fear, and without hypocrisy.
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Technorati tags: Fundamentalism, Hypocrisy

PERA Legislation Set to Minimize Church-State Separation

Spread the word on this. From AA:

The House Judiciary Committee has passed the so-called “Public Expression of Religion Act.” The measure is ready for a vote by the U.S. House of Representatives. Congress needs to hear from you now!

The bill, H.R. 2679, introduced by Rep. John Hostettler (R-IN) would amend a section of the United States Code and eliminate attorney fees in legal cases where government violated the constitutional separation of church and state. PERA is part of a battery of proposed legislative items dubbed “The American Values Agenda.” This includes measure to protect “unborn children,” ban cloning and penalize legal challenges to violations of the First Amendment’s establishment clause.

Following is the full-text of the action alert from AA:

September 9, 2006
American Atheists Action Alert – Update

BILL TO PUNISH FIRST AMENDMENT LITIGATION CLEARS COMMITTEE, READY FOR HOUSE VOTE!

The House Judiciary Committee has passed the so-called “Public Expression of Religion Act.” The measure is ready for a vote by the U.S. House of Representatives. Congress needs to hear from you now!

The bill, H.R. 2679, introduced by Rep. John Hostettler (R-IN) would amend a section of the United States Code and eliminate attorney fees in legal cases where government violated the constitutional separation of church and state. PERA is part of a battery of proposed legislative items dubbed “The American Values Agenda.” This includes measure to protect “unborn children,” ban cloning and penalize legal challenges to violations of the First Amendment’s establishment clause

Hostettler and supporters of H.R. 2679 claim that attorneys working for organizations that defend the First Amendment and challenge unconstitutional governmental practices in respect to religion are enriching themselves and even violating the rights of believers. The American Legion has launched a national campaign to support PERA, and is calling for “a ground swell of public demand on lawmakers” to pass the bill immediately. A “guide” to PERA issued by this group states: “There simply is no reasonable basis to support the profiteering in attorney fee awards ordered by judges in these (Establishment Clause) cases. The very threat of such fees has made elected bodies, large and small, surrender to … demands to secularly cleanse the public square.”

The House Judiciary Committee recently held a little-publicized, one-day hearing on the “Public Expression of Religion Act.” Only one of the four experts invited to give testimony spoke out against the legislation. American Atheists expects the committee to vote shortly on PERA. The measure could then move to the full House for a floor vote within the next two to three weeks. Congressional representatives need to hear from us now regarding this dangerous, unconstitutional measure!

Pera is About Government Promotion of Religion, Not “EXPRESSION OF RELIGION”

American Atheists President Ellen Johnson says that the Hostettler measure “is not for the benefit of the taxpayer, but for government and religious leaders who insist on eroding the wall of separation between church and state.”

“They know, as do we, that most attorneys are simply unable to work on long-term, complex litigation if they don’t receive some compensatory fee,” Johnson noted. “We’re not talking about donating a few free hours ‘to the cause.’ These cases require an enormous amount of time and effort.”

Governments are often quite willing to squander taxpayer funds in order to defend their unconstitutional practices. The Hostettler bill conveniently ignores this fact.

“Whether it is school prayer or defending a religious monument in the public square, state and local governments are frequently very short-sighted and belligerent when caught doing something that violates the First Amendment,” said Johnson. “If the Legion and Rep. Hostettler really wish to save all of us some money, they should work to stop unconstitutional practices that promote religion.”

Congress Needs to Hear From Us Now to Stop the PERA

Once Again, Atheists, freethinkers, Humanists and other non-believers must speak out and tell our elected representatives in Washington, DC that we oppose legislation aimed at eroding the separation of church and state – bills like the “Public Expression of Religion Act”!

• PERA lowers the penalty bar when government is caught in flagrant violation of the Establishment Clause.
• The bill penalizes attorneys and organizations that defend the separation of church and state, but does nothing to prevent political leaders from draining the public treasury to defend unconstitutional practices in court.
• This legislation has nothing whatsoever to do with legitimate religious expression. It is all about government sponsorship and promotion of religion.
• Contact your congressional representative now!
• Check out our “Tips on Contacting Congress” Page
• Be sure to ask for a written response to your concerns. Make your letters, faxes and e-mail concise and to-the-point. Be polite. Be sure to sign your communique.
• Share you letter and any responses you receive and we will post them on this web site
• Spread this Action Alert! If you are in an Atheist/freethought group, consider posting this message to your newsletter, web site and e-mail lists. Urge others to circulate this Alert, too!

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Technorati tags: church-state separation

God Loves the Hell out of Little Children

From Zenoferox

Let's read a recent AiG fundraising letter for their "Creation Museum":

We see the Lord's hand of blessing every day at AiG, including how so many young people are being impacted. Here is a recent, wonderful testimony about a young girl and her mother that we received through our website:

“The AiG conference [near Knoxville] was wonderful. Ken [mentioned] one book in particular, A is for Adam, had more children come to know Jesus than any other [AiG book]. My ears perked up and I bought the book.

“My 4 1/2 year daughter and I read the book every day for a week. One day she looked up at me with tears in her eyes and said she didn't want to go to hell. She said she wanted to be where Jesus—and where her mommy and daddy—was going to be.

“My little girl bowed her head and prayed to ask Jesus into her heart that day. It was glorious. thank God for how you have touched our lives.”—G. D., Knoxville, TN

Compare this to:

...the atheistic/humanistic FIG organization that opposed us was out to get kids themselves—to train them in a philosophy of hopelessness and purposelessness … and end up separated from God for eternity...

PS: Can you believe that atheists are deliberately targeting young people with a message of hopelessness … with eternal consequences for the “good” of our children?

What Ken Ham is referring to here at the last is Camp Quest. He brags that his organization brings a 4.5 year old to tears with the fear of hell and eternal separation from mommy and daddy, then denigrates a camp where children are taught science and the value of critical thinking. What kind of sick people take a "testimony" that a book containing lies and obvious scare tactics can "convert" a 4.5-year-old child and promote it on their fundraising letter? What kind of sick people are these?

Your average, every day fundies.

And these same stupid fuckers will turn around and watch Faux News when it shows the children in Jordan and Syria in school being taught to hate Israel and call it "brainwashing" without batting an eye. Irony so thick it isn't even funny. It would be sad if it was just an isolated incident, rather than a culture of ignorance and fear. But because it is, it's more than sad -- it's physically sickening, and inspires in me a righteous indignation.

Little Johnny, if you don't kiss God's ass enough, you'll go to an awful place where mommy and daddy won't be, and be tortured forever. You better tell God you're sorry, over and over and over, until God decides that's good enough and doesn't throw your worthless ass into the Pit. Doesn't God love you? Don't you love GAWD?

These are our "cultural competitors": this is what freethinkers are up against in the public square, to move our country in one direction or another, via politicians and public relations campaigns. They have massive organizations, fundraising drives, and the fear of hell to motivate them forward. This is the sort of thing they propagate -- fear and ignorance in little children. We need a kick in the pants sometimes to remind us that we are fighting a good fight against these sorts of people. We need to remember how immoral, how intellectually bankrupt, these kinds of people are. It will keep us motivated.

My "purpose" and "meaning" don't involve brainwashing my children to obey a magical invisible Sky Daddy out of fear. They involve teaching my children the value of goodness for goodness' sake, and how to think rationally and critically, and how to live in reality and make a change here, now.

Keep this "testimony" in mind the next time they shamelessly call themselves "pro-family" and "pro-values". The next time you see their slick suits and smiles, think of the tears in her eyes. Don't forget that.
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Technorati tags: fundamentalism

Last Dance with Mary Jane

I was reading about Pat Robertson's financial woes in Radar Online, and noticed another article, Stoners vs. Six-Year-Olds: A Radar Investigation. In the (hilarious) article, two stoner adults were pitted against two (hopefully sober) young children and multiple species of monkeys. The results? The stoners failed versus kids and beasts. After reading it, though, it piqued my interest into the scientific evidence for long-term brain effects associated with marijuana use. No one disputes the acute effects, but are they reversed over time with abstinence? Apparently not, it turns out...

I still have to say that I can see no solid reasoning as to why alcohol is legal but marijuana is not. Although I do not now smoke [I promise], I support the legalization of marijuana. It is a well-known fact that long-term alcohol use can lead to as many, if not more, health defects as pot. Also, I've never heard of a "pot-related traffic accident". I used to smoke, and never had any problems operating any kind of machinery. In general, most people suspect that the government just won't legalize it because they can't tax it as effectively as they'd like. But this isn't an issue with which I'm intimately familiar, so I'll refer readers to NORML, MLO, Balanced Politics, SoYouWanna, LegalizationofMarijuana.com, CNN's special index, Wikipedia and Leighann Hedman's article.

The following is a long compilation of articles I found using simple PubMed searches. The results, summarized, are that long-term users of marijuana, even after stretches of abstinence as long as a month, show significant brain function impairment and brain structure alteration. Visit the articles for more details:

Effects of frequent marijuana use on memory-related regional cerebral blood flow

Robert I. Block, Daniel S. O'Leary, Richard D. Hichwa, Jean C. Augustinack, Laura L. Boles Ponto, M. M. Ghoneim, Stephan Arndt, Richard R. Hurtig, G. Leonard Watkins, James A. Hall et al.
Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, Volume 72, Issues 1-2, May 2002, Pages 237-250
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0091-3057(01)00771-7

It is uncertain whether frequent marijuana use adversely affects human brain function. Using positron emission tomography (PET), memory-related regional cerebral blood flow was compared in frequent marijuana users and nonusing control subjects after 26+ h of monitored abstention. Memory-related blood flow in marijuana users, relative to control subjects, showed decreases in prefrontal cortex, increases in memory-relevant regions of cerebellum, and altered lateralization in hippocampus. Marijuana users differed most in brain activity related to episodic memory encoding. In learning a word list to criterion over multiple trials, marijuana users, relative to control subjects, required means of 2.7 more presentations during initial learning and 3.1 more presentations during subsequent relearning. In single-trial recall, marijuana users appeared to rely more on short-term memory, recalling 23% more than control subjects from the end of a list, but 19% less from the middle. These findings indicate altered memory-related brain function in marijuana users

Effects of marijuana on neurophysiological signals of working and episodic memory.

Ilan AB, Smith ME, Gevins A. San Francisco Brain Research Institute & SAM Technology, 425 Bush Street, San Francisco, CA 94108, USA. aaron@eeg.com
Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2004 Nov;176(2):214-22. Epub 2004 May 7.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00213-004-1868-9
http://www.springerlink.com/content/b1x80ux5k8g3mh7x/

The primary psychoactive constituent of marijuana, Delta9-THC, activates cannabinoid receptors, which are especially abundant in the frontal cortex and hippocampus. Acute marijuana smoking can disrupt working memory (WM) and episodic memory (EM) functions that are known to rely on these regions. However, the effects of marijuana on the brain activity accompanying such cognitive processes remain largely unexplored. OBJECTIVES: To examine such effects on performance and neurophysiological signals of these functions, EEG recordings were obtained from ten subjects (5M, 5F) performing cognitive tasks before and after smoking marijuana (3.45% Delta9-THC) or a placebo. WM was assessed with a spatial N-back task, and EM was evaluated with a test requiring recognition of words after a 5-10 min delay between study and test. RESULTS: Marijuana increased heart rate and decreased global theta band EEG power, consistent with increased autonomic arousal. Responses in the WM task were slower and less accurate after smoking marijuana, accompanied by reduced alpha band EEG reactivity in response to increased task difficulty. In the EM task, marijuana was associated with an increased tendency to erroneously identify distracter words as having been previously studied. In both tasks, marijuana attenuated stimulus-locked event-related potentials (ERPs). CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that marijuana disrupted both sustained and transient attention processes resulting in impaired memory task performance. In subjects most affected by marijuana a pronounced ERP difference between previously studied words and new distracter words was also reduced, suggesting disruption of neural mechanisms underlying memory for recent study episodes.

Cerebrovascular perfusion in marijuana users during a month of monitored abstinence

Ronald I. Herning, PhD, Warren E. Better, MS, Kimberly Tate, BS and Jean L. Cadet, MD
NEUROLOGY 2005;64:488-493
© 2005 American Academy of Neurology
http://www.neurology.org/cgi/content/abstract/64/3/488

Objective: To determine possible effects of prolonged marijuana use on the cerebrovascular system during a month of monitored abstinence and to assess how the intensity of current use might have influenced cerebrovascular perfusion in these marijuana users.
Method: The authors recorded blood flow velocity in the anterior and middle cerebral arteries using transcranial Doppler sonography in three groups of marijuana users who differed in the intensity of recent use (light: n = 11; moderate: n = 23; and heavy: n = 20) and in control subjects (n = 18) to assess the nature and duration of any potential abnormalities. Blood flow velocity was recorded within 3 days of admission and 28 to 30 days of monitored abstinence on an inpatient research unit in order to evaluate subacute effects of the drug and any abstinence-generated changes.
Results: Pulsatility index, a measure of cerebrovascular resistance, and systolic velocity were significantly increased in the marijuana users vs control subjects. These increases persisted in the heavy marijuana users after a month of monitored abstinence.
Conclusions: Chronic marijuana use is associated with increased cerebrovascular resistance through changes mediated, in part, in blood vessels or in the brain parenchyma. These findings might provide a partial explanation for the cognitive deficits observed in a similar group of marijuana users.

Abnormal brain activity in prefrontal brain regions in abstinent marijuana users

Dana A. Eldretha, John A. Matochikc, Jean L. Cadetd and Karen I. Bollaa,
NeuroImage Volume 23, Issue 3 , November 2004, Pages 914-920
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2004.07.032

We used PET 15O and a modified version of the Stroop task to determine if 25-day abstinent heavy marijuana (MJ) users have persistent deficits in executive cognitive functioning (ECF) and brain activity. Performance on a modified version of the Stroop task and brain activity was compared between 25-day abstinent, heavy marijuana users (n = 11), and a matched comparison group (n = 11). The 25-day abstinent marijuana users showed no deficits in performance on the modified version of the Stroop task when compared to the comparison group. Despite the lack of performance differences, the marijuana users showed hypoactivity in the left perigenual anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the left lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) and hyperactivity in the hippocampus bilaterally, when compared to the comparison group. These results suggest that marijuana users display persistent metabolic alterations in brain regions responsible for ECF. It may be that marijuana users recruit an alternative neural network as a compensatory mechanism during performance on a modified version of the Stroop task. These differences in brain activity may be a common denominator in the evolution of maladaptive behaviors such as substance abuse and other neuropsychiatric disorders.

Neural substrates of faulty decision-making in abstinent marijuana users

Karen I. Bollaa, b, Corresponding Author Contact Information, E-mail The Corresponding Author, Dana A. Eldretha, c, John A. Matochikd and Jean L. Cadete
NeuroImage Volume 26, Issue 2 , June 2005, Pages 480-492
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2005.02.012

Persistent dose-related cognitive decrements have been reported in 28-day abstinent heavy marijuana (MJ) users. However, the neural substrates of these decrements in cognitive performance are not known. This study aimed to determine if 25-day abstinent MJ users show persistent dose-related alterations in performance and brain activity using PET H215O during the Iowa Gambling Task-IGT (a decision-making task). Eleven heavy MJ users and 11 non-drug users participated. The MJ group resided in an inpatient research unit at the NIH/NIDA-IRP for 25 days prior to testing to ensure abstinence. A dose-related association was found between increased MJ use and lower IGT performance and alterations in brain activity. The MJ group showed greater activation in the left cerebellum and less activation in the right lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) than the Control group. When the MJ group was divided into Moderate (8–35 joints/week) and Heavy users (53–84 joints/week), the Heavy MJ group showed less activation in the left medial OFC and greater activation in the left cerebellum than the Moderate group. However, brain activity and task performance were similar between the Moderate MJ users and the Control group, suggesting a “threshold effect”. These preliminary findings indicate that very heavy users of MJ have persistent decision-making deficits and alterations in brain activity. Specifically, the Heavy MJ users may focus on only the immediate reinforcing aspects of a situation (i.e., getting high) while ignoring the negative consequences. Thus, faulty decision-making could make an individual more prone to addictive behavior and more resistant to treatment. Finally, it is unclear if these neurologic findings will become progressively worse with continued heavy MJ use or if they will resolve with abstinence from MJ use.

Neurovascular Deficits in Cocaine Abusers

Ronald I Herning Ph.D, Deborah E King MS, Warren E Better MS and Jean L Cadet MD
Neuropsychopharmacology (1999) 21
http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v21/n1/abs/1395324a.html

The nature of the neurological and cerebrovascular deficits in cocaine abusers and whether they persist in abstinence is unclear. Blood flow velocity of the anterior and middle cerebral arteries was measured by transcranial Doppler sonography in cocaine abusers (n = 50) and control subjects (n = 25). Blood flow velocity was measured within 3 days and again after about 28 days after being admitted to an inpatient research ward to determine whether blood flow velocity improved during monitored abstinence conditions. The mean, systolic, and diastolic velocities as well as the pulsatility index in middle and anterior cerebral arteries significantly differed between controls and cocaine abusers (p < .05). Cerebrovascular resistance is increased in cocaine abusers and the increase persists for over a month of abstinence. Further research is needed to determine whether cerebrovascular resistance can be improved by pharmacological manipulations and whether improved blood flow relates to improved treatment outcome. Reflection Impulsivity in Current and Former Substance Users.

L. Clark, T. Robbins, K. Ersche, B. Sahakian
Biological Psychiatry, Volume 60, Issue 5, Pages 515-522
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2005.11.007

Background: Chronic drug use is associated with increased impulsivity, risky decision making, and impaired behavioral control, but the underlying mechanisms of this neurocognitive profile remain unclear. We investigated impulsive responding in the context of decision making, using a novel behavioral measure of reflection impulsivity: the tendency to gather and evaluate information before making a decision.
Methods: The Information Sampling Task was administered to current substance users dependent on amphetamines (n = 24) or opiates (n = 40), former users of amphetamines or opiates abstinent for at least 1 year (n = 24), and non–drug-using control subjects (n = 26).
Results: Current users of amphetamines and opiates sampled less information than control subjects and responded at a lower probability of making a correct response. Amphetamine- and opiate-dependent subjects did not differ. Reduced reflection was also apparent in the former substance users, who did not differ from the current users. Questionnaire ratings of impulsivity (on the Barratt Impulsivity Scale, version 11) were also inflated in three groups of substance users but were not significantly correlated with performance on the behavioral task.
Conclusions: Reduced reflection is suggested to represent a cognitive marker for substance dependence that does not recover with prolonged abstinence and is associated with multiple drugs of abuse.

Challenges of marijuana research

Ponto, L.L.B.
Brain.2006; 129: 1081-1083
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/brain/awl092

The use of any drug ideally represents a decision based on objective, scientifically based cost–benefit analyses that factor in both the short and long-term effects of that exposure. Pharmacological, toxicological, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic investigations that are deemed to be essential for the rational use of any therapeutic agent are therefore part of the usual drug approval process. With regard to marijuana, sociopolitical factors have intervened in this scientific process. Three major lay perspectives appear to dominate the societal view of marijuana—the ‘reefer madness’ camp holding the view that there are no redeeming attributes to the ‘evil weed’, the ‘innocuous’ camp who consider it to be a harmless recreational substance and the ‘medical marijuana’ camp that believes marijuana to be a panacea for a multitude of aches, pains and chronic diseases with, of course, every shade of opinion in-between. On the scientific front, three trends preface nearly every recent journal article...
[you'll want to check this one out full-text, so just pull it up on-campus, and save it to the computer in .pdf format, and email it to yourself]

Neurological assessments of marijuana users.

Cadet JL, Bolla K, Herning RI.
Methods Mol Med. 2006;123:255-68
Here

This chapter summarizes the neurological approaches used to assess the potential long-term effects of drugs on the nervous system of drug abusers. These include the use of neuropsychological assessments, transcranial Doppler (TCD) sonography, and electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings. Neuropsychological procedures are used in an effort to provide an unbiased estimate of the individual's cognitive capacity, and included tests of language skills, attention, memory, and motor skills. TCD allows for the measurements of blood flow in the anterior cerebral and middle cerebral arteries, which supply blood to the cortex. An EEG recording was included in our assessment on marijuana abusers using a sound-attenuated, electronically shielded chamber. These neurological approaches have allowed the detection of various neurological and neurovascular deficits that are associated with the abuse of marijuana.

Marijuana smoking and head and neck cancer

M Hashibe, DE Ford, and ZF Zhang
The Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 2002; 42:103-107
http://jcp.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/42/11_suppl/103S

A recent epidemiological study showed that marijuana smoking was associated with an increased risk of head and neck cancer. Among high school students and young adults, the prevalence of marijuana use was on the rise in the 1990s, with a simultaneous decline in the perception that marijuana use is harmful. It will be a major public health challenge to make people aware of the harmful effects of marijuana smoking, when some people view it as the illicit drug with the least risk. The carcinogenicity of delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is not clear, but according to laboratory studies, it appears to have antitumor properties such as apoptosis as well as tumor-promoting properties such as limiting immune function and increasing reactive oxygen species. Marijuana tar contains similar carcinogens to tar from tobacco cigarettes, but each marijuana cigarette maybe more harmful than a tobacco cigarette since more tar is inhaled and retained when smoking marijuana. More molecular alterations have been observed in bronchial mucosa specimens of marijuana smokers compared to nonsmokers. Field cancerization may be occurring on the bronchial epithelium due to marijuana smoking exposure. Several case studies were suggestive of an association of marijuana smoking with head and neck cancers and oral lesions. However, in a cohort study with 8 years of follow-up, marijuana use was not associated with increased risks of all cancers or smoking-related cancers. Further epidemiological studies are necessary to confirm the association of marijuana smoking with head and neck cancers and to examine marijuana smoking as a risk factor for lung cancer. It will also be of interest to examine potential field cancerization of the upper aerodigestive tract by marijuana and to explore marijuana as a risk factor for oral premalignant lesions.

Cardiovascular consequences of marijuana use

S Sidney
The Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 2002; 42:64-70
http://jcp.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/42/11_suppl/64S

This review describes what is known about effects of marijuana and cannabinoids in relation to human physiological and disease outcomes. The acute physiological effects of marijuana include a substantial dose-dependent increase in heart rate, generally associated with a mild increase in blood pressure. Orthostatic hypotension may occur acutely as a result of decreased vascular resistance. Smoking marijuana decreases exercise test duration in maximal exercise tests, increases the heart rate at submaximal levels of exercise. Tolerance develops to the acute effects of marijuana smoking and delta9-tetrahydrocannibol (THC) over several days to a few weeks. The cardiovascular responses that occur in response to THC are mediated by the autonomic nervous system, with recent findings also demonstrating that the human cannabinoid receptor system plays a role in regulating the cardiovascular response. Although several mechanisms exist by which marijuana use might contribute to the development of chronic cardiovascular conditions or acutely trigger cardiovascular events, there are few data regarding marijuana/THC use and cardiovascular disease outcomes. A large cohort study showed no association of marijuana use with cardiovascular disease hospitalization or mortality. However, acute effects of marijuana use include a decrease of the time until the onset of chest pain in patients with angina pectoris; one study has shown that marijuana may trigger the onset of myocardial infarction. Patients who have coronary heart disease or are at high risk for the development of CHD should be cautioned about the potential hazards of marijuana use as a precipitant for clinical events. Research directions might include more studies of cardiovascular disease outcomes and relationships of marijuana with cardiovascular risk factors, studies of metabolic and physiologic effects of chronic marijuana use that may affect cardiovascular disease risk, increased understanding of the role of the cannabinoid receptor system in cardiovascular regulation, and studies to determine if there is a therapeutic role for cannabinoids in blood pressure control or for neuroprotection after stroke.

Clinical consequences of marijuana

JH Khalsa, S Genser, H Francis, and B Martin
The Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 2002; 42:7-10
http://jcp.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/42/11_suppl/7S

As documented in national surveys, for the past several years, marijuana has been the most commonly abused drug in the United States, with approximately 6% of the population 12 years and older having used the drug in the month prior to interview. The use of marijuana is not without significant health hazards. Marijuana is associated with effects on almost every organ system in the body, ranging from the central nervous system to the cardiovascular, endocrine, respiratory/pulmonary, and immune systems. Research presented in this special supplement will show that in addition to marijuana abuse/dependence, marijuana use is associated in some studies with impairment of cognitive function in the young and old, fetal and developmental consequences, cardiovascular effects (heart rate and blood pressure changes), respiratory/pulmonary complications such as chronic cough and emphysema, impaired immune function leading to vulnerability to and increased infections, and the risk of developing head, neck, and/or lung cancer. In general, acute effects are better studied than those of chronic use, and more studies are needed that focus on disentangling effects of marijuana from those of other drugs and adverse environmental conditions.

The residual cognitive effects of heavy marijuana use in college students.

Pope HG Jr, Yurgelun-Todd D.
JAMA. 1996 Feb 21;275(7):521-7.
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/275/7/521

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether frequent marijuana use is associated with residual neuropsychological effects. DESIGN: Single-blind comparison of regular users vs infrequent users of marijuana. PARTICIPANTS: Two samples of college undergraduates: 65 heavy users, who had smoked marijuana a median of 29 days in the last 30 days (range, 22 to 30 days) and who also displayed cannabinoids in their urine, and 64 light users, who had smoked a median of 1 day in the last 30 days (range, 0 to 9 days) and who displayed no urinary cannabinoids. INTERVENTION: Subjects arrived at 2 PM on day 1 of their study visit, then remained at our center overnight under supervision. Neuropsychological tests were administered to all subjects starting at 9 AM on day 2. Thus, all subjects were abstinent from marijuana and other drugs for a minimum of 19 hours before testing. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Subjects received a battery of standard neuropsychological tests to assess general intellectual functioning, abstraction ability, sustained attention, verbal fluency, and ability to learn and recall new verbal and visuospatial information. RESULTS: Heavy users displayed significantly greater impairment than light users on attention/executive functions, as evidenced particularly by greater perseverations on card sorting and reduced learning of word lists. These differences remained after controlling for potential confounding variables, such as estimated levels of premorbid cognitive functioning, and for use of alcohol and other substances in the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Heavy marijuana use is associated with residual neuropsychological effects even after a day of supervised abstinence from the drug. However, the question remains open as to whether this impairment is due to a residue of drug in the brain, a withdrawal effect from the drug, or a frank neurotoxic effect of the drug.

Neuropsychological deficits in long-term frequent cannabis users

Lambros Messinis, PhD, Anthoula Kyprianidou, BSc, Sonia Malefaki, PhD and Panagiotis Papathanasopoulos, MD, PhD
NEUROLOGY 2006;66:737-739
http://www.neurology.org/cgi/content/abstract/66/5/737

The authors examined neuropsychological functioning in 20 long-term (LT), 20 shorter term (ST) heavy frequent cannabis users, and 24 controls after abstinence for ≥24 hours prior to testing. LT users performed significantly worse on verbal memory and psychomotor speed. LT and ST users had a higher proportion of deficits on verbal fluency, verbal memory, attention, and psychomotor speed. Specific cognitive domains appear to deteriorate with increasing years of heavy frequent cannabis use.

Repeated cannabinoid exposure during perinatal, adolescent or early adult ages produces similar longlasting deficits in object recognition and reduced social interaction in rats

Melanie O'Shea, Iain S. McGregor, Paul E. Mallet
Journal of Psychopharmacology, Vol. 20, No. 5, 611-621 (2006)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0269881106065188

There is mounting evidence that chronic cannabis use might result in lasting neurobehavioural changes, although it remains unclear whether vulnerability diminishes with age. The current study compared the effects of cannabinoid exposure at three developmental periods on subsequent measures of memory and anxiety. Male rats aged 4 days (perinatal), 30 days (adolescent) and 56 days (young adult) were injected with vehicle or incremental doses of the cannabinoid receptor agonist CP 55940, daily for 21 consecutive days (0.15, 0.20 or 0.30mg/kg for 7 days per dose, respectively). Following a 28-day drug-free period, working memory was assessed in an object recognition task. One week later, social anxiety was assessed in a social interaction test. Two days later, generalized anxiety was assessed in an emergence test. Results revealed that CP 55940 impaired working memory and social interaction similarly at all three ages. CP 55940 had no effects in five of six emergence test measures, but a modest but significant reduction in anxiety was noted in one measure following adolescent exposure. We conclude that chronic cannabinoid exposure leads to long-term memory impairments and increased anxiety, irrespective of the age at which drug exposure occurrs.

Cannabis, Cognition, and Residual Confounding

Harrison G. Pope, Jr, MD
JAMA. 2002;287:1172-1174.
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/extract/287/9/1172

In this issue of THE JOURNAL, Solowij and colleagues1 report a variety of neuropsychological deficits in long-term cannabis users who were tested a median of 17 hours after their last reported cannabis intake. Their findings of impairments in memory and attention are not surprising since several large and well-controlled studies have found similar deficits on neuropsychological tests administered to long-term cannabis users after 12 to 72 hours of abstinence.2-5 If these deficits are brief and reversible (ie, due to a residue of cannabinoids lingering in the brain or to withdrawal effects from abruptly stopping the drug), they might not be a serious threat. However, if these deficits are prolonged or irreversible (ie, due to neurotoxicity from years of cumulative cannabis exposure), they become a matter of grave concern. The findings of Solowij and colleagues favor the latter possibility in that longer-term...
[you'll want to check this one out full-text, so just pull it up on-campus, and save it to the computer in .pdf format, and email it to yourself]

Marijuana use is associated with a reorganized visual-attention network and cerebellar hypoactivation

L. Chang, R. Yakupov, C. Cloak and T. Ernst
Brain 2006 129(5):1096-1112;
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/brain/awl064
http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/129/5/1096

Attention and memory deficits have been reported in heavy marijuana users, but these effects may be reversible after prolonged abstinence. It remains unclear whether the reversibility of these cognitive deficits indicates that chronic marijuana use does not alter cortical networks, or that such changes occur but the brain adapts to the drug-induced changes. Blood oxygenation-level dependent (BOLD) functional MRI (fMRI) was performed in 24 chronic marijuana users (12 abstinent and 12 active) and 19 age-, sex- and education-matched control subjects during a set of visual-attention tasks with graded levels of difficulty. Neuropsychological tests were also administered on each subject. The two marijuana user groups showed no significant difference in usage pattern (frequency or duration of use, age of first use, cumulative joints used, averaged >2000 joints) or estimated cumulative lifetime exposure of {Delta}-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (mean 168 ± 45 versus 244 ± 135 g). Despite similar task and cognitive test performance compared with control subjects, active and abstinent marijuana users showed decreased activation in the right prefrontal, medial and dorsal parietal, and medial cerebellar regions, but greater activation in various frontal, parietal and occipital brain regions during the visual-attention tasks (all with P ≤ 0.001, corrected, cluster level). However, the BOLD signals in the right frontal and medial cerebellar regions normalized with duration of abstinence in the abstinent users. Active marijuana users, with positive urine tests for THC, showed greater activation in the frontal and medial cerebellar regions than abstinent marijuana users and greater usage of the reserve network (regions with load effect), suggesting a neuroadaptive state. Both earlier age of first use and greater estimated cumulative dose of THC exposure were related to lower BOLD signals in the right prefrontal region and medial cerebellum. The altered BOLD activation pattern in the attention network and hypoactivation of the cerebellum suggest neuroadaptive processes or alteration of brain development in chronic marijuana users. These changes also may be related to marijuana-induced alteration in resting cerebral blood volume/flow or downregulation of cannabinoid (CB1) receptors. The greater activation in the active compared with abstinent marijuana users demonstrates a neuroadaptive state in the setting of active marijuana use, while the long-term chronic effect of marijuana on the altered brain network may be reversible with prolonged abstinence.

Cognitive Functioning of Long-term Heavy Cannabis Users Seeking Treatment

Nadia Solowij, PhD; Robert S. Stephens, PhD; Roger A. Roffman, DSW; Thomas Babor, PhD, MPH; Ronald Kadden, PhD; Michael Miller, PhD; Kenneth Christiansen, PsyD; Bonnie McRee, MPH; Janice Vendetti, MPH; for the Marijuana Treatment Project Research Group
JAMA. 2002;287:1123-1131.
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/287/9/1123

Context: Cognitive impairments are associated with long-term cannabis use, but the parameters of use that contribute to impairments and the nature and endurance of cognitive dysfunction remain uncertain.
Objective: To examine the effects of duration of cannabis use on specific areas of cognitive functioning among users seeking treatment for cannabis dependence.
Design, Setting, and Participants: Multisite retrospective cross-sectional neuropsychological study conducted in the United States (Seattle, Wash; Farmington, Conn; and Miami, Fla) between 1997 and 2000 among 102 near-daily cannabis users (51 long-term users: mean, 23.9 years of use; 51 shorter-term users: mean, 10.2 years of use) compared with 33 nonuser controls.
Main Outcome Measures: Measures from 9 standard neuropsychological tests that assessed attention, memory, and executive functioning, and were administered prior to entry to a treatment program and following a median 17-hour abstinence.
Results: Long-term cannabis users performed significantly less well than shorter-term users and controls on tests of memory and attention. On the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, long-term users recalled significantly fewer words than either shorter-term users (P = .001) or controls (P = .005); there was no difference between shorter-term users and controls. Long-term users showed impaired learning (P = .007), retention (P = .003), and retrieval (P = .002) compared with controls. Both user groups performed poorly on a time estimation task (P<.001 vs controls). Performance measures often correlated significantly with the duration of cannabis use, being worse with increasing years of use, but were unrelated to withdrawal symptoms and persisted after controlling for recent cannabis use and other drug use. Conclusions: These results confirm that long-term heavy cannabis users show impairments in memory and attention that endure beyond the period of intoxication and worsen with increasing years of regular cannabis use.

I'm sending a link of these studies to all of the people I know who I suspect would have more than an academic and impersonal interest in the findings...mom, dad, the sister, Mr. John P. Mitchell, of 3011 W. Northbury Lane, 222-1144 [just a joke].
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Technorati tags: Marijuana

Thought of the Day -- Denis Diderot

In watching ARHD, I have discovered my own deficiency in acquaintance with important figures in the Enlightenment and their quotes and ideals. I am going to remedy that.

Denis Diderot (Paris, 1713-1784)

“Wandering in a vast forest at night, I have only a faint light to guide me. A stranger appears and says to me: ‘My friend, you should blow out your candle in order to find your way more clearly.’ This stranger is a theologian”

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Technorati tags: Enlightenment

Deja Vu All Over Again

In watching A Rough History of Disbelief, I found some most excellent quotes contained in the shows. Three in particular struck me for their relevance to our current American political climate:

A tyrant must put on the appearance of uncommon devotion to religion. Subjects are less apprehensive of illegal treatment from a ruler whom they consider god-fearing and pious. On the other hand, they do less easily move against him, believing that he has the gods on his side. -- Aristotle 384 - 322 BCE

On the subject of the nature of the gods, the first question is ‘Do the gods exist or do the not?’ It is difficult, you will say, to deny that they exist. I would agree if we were arguing the matter in a public assembly, but in a private discussion of this kind it is perfectly easy to do so. -- Cicero 106 – 43 BCE

Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful. -- Seneca 4 – 65 BCE

Almost frightening, eh? Almost...
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Technorati tags: Philosophy

Newsweek on Atheism & COTG #48

Newsweek is featuring an article worth checking out: The New Naysayers -- In the midst of religious revival, three scholars argue that atheism is smarter. PZ Myers has commentary, as do Afarensis and dangerous intersection (and if you're bored, see this Fark thread for its comments).

Also, check out the 48th edition of the Carnival of the Godless at Mojoey's place.
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Technorati tags: Atheism

Want to Sign the Wal-Mart Bible Letter?

Wal-Mart has high standards of decency. They refused to carry Jon Stewart's book, America, because it was "obscene". They carry CDs with obscenity-stripped-clean lyrics.

Therefore, someone got the idea to ask Wal-Mart not to carry the Bible because it violated their own standards of decency. And thus, the Wal-Mart Bible Letter got started:

http://thebibleletter.com/

Realistically, I think this is a political statement, partly satire. As of right now, it has 2100 signatories. I read elsewhere that the major hope was that a national Jewish, Islamic or Christian group would respond to it, and that the news media would pick up the story. Anyway, I thought it merited attention. (HT: UTI)

**UPDATE** Robert Turkel, aka JP Holding of Tekton, now has a post up about the letter.

Now I don't care if Wal-Mart carries Bibles or not. It's not like Wally World has the best selection on such things in the first place. Plus I honestly can't stomach shopping there. I mean, those Sam's Club sodas, for example, just don't have the umph of a Mello Yello or a Barq's. But I do care abour bad scholarship being passed off as legit. So here's a project ya'll can join in on.

Brain is collecting sigs by Internet (he has about 2800 as of this typing) and plans to mail his thang to the President of Wal-Mart on November 1. Why don't we have a little fun and pre-empt that?

I don't have the means to set up a signature collection like Brain does, but I've created a "corrected" letter here **[Daniel edited link]** as a Word document. Feel free to save it, apply the right date, sign it, and send it well ahead of November 1. Mine is going out next week. Of course Wal-Mart isn't likely to make policy decisions based on either of these letters, but if nothing else, it sure will make Mr. Brain mad, won't it?

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Technorati tags: Obscenity

AA Sues Jacksonville

American Atheists is making news in the typical way that freethought and skeptical groups do: negative press surrounding a state-church separation lawsuit. They are suing Jacksonville for holding a "Day of Faith" in which the city spent around $100K and held multiple religious programs centered around how to solve the city's homicide rate woes.

Check out the details surrounding the story from the AA blog here:

The city estimated that 6,000 attended the two-hour rally at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena. It featured a lineup of elected, civic and religious leaders who urged residents to pray and volunteer for mentoring and other programs they say could address the social factors behind murder and other forms of violence.

But some people and organizations complained about the rally, saying it was overtly religious in nature and represented an example of government promotion of faith.

American Atheists Inc. filed a motion in federal court in Jacksonville to stop the event. The judge rejected it, saying it was filed too late. Since then the organization said in court it will sue on behalf of taxpayers to recover the funds spent and to prevent the city from holding such an event again, said Edwin Kagin, national legal counsel for the New Jersey-based group.

According to documents provided Friday by Cindy Laquidara, the city's chief deputy general counsel, City Hall spent $9,180 on advertising, $6,856 for DVD and flier production and mailing, and $80,268 for expenses such as T-shirts for volunteers, an event logo, printing, bus service, events staff and video production. The latter amount includes $20,854 for venue charges.

Another $5,097 was spent on staff time dedicated to the event.
Kagin said American Atheists is taking action against the city because the Day of Faith was a prayer service financed by taxpayers.

"The city has no business being in the religion business," he said.

A Day of Faith: Arming Our Prayer Warriors featured short sermons by several Christian ministers, prayers and religious music. One Muslim and one Jewish leader also participated.

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Technorati tags: Atheism

Jonathan Miller's "Atheism: A Rough History of Disbelief"

I downloaded Jonathan Miller's Atheism: A Rough History of Disbelief (ARHD) and found it quite interesting. BBC aired this three-part series documentary, as well as an entirely separate series of programs containing the extended interviews and conversations between Miller and the featured speakers in ARHD, called The Atheism Tapes, in 2005.

In two of the six half-hour installments, Miller interviews philosophers -- Daniel Dennett and Colin McGinn. The following is the first transcript from The Atheism Tapes, the extended conversations found in ARHD which were aired separately, in which Miller interviews English philosopher (living stateside in New York) Colin McGinn. I thought it one of the best sections as it covered the territory of values, meaning, and ethics:

JM: Umm... how about the other ones?

CM: I... here's one I like. People think... I think that psychologically this is quite important to people. That's why this argument is more important psychologically... people think, "Without God, life is meaningless. Where is meaning? It's just an empty charade of... you know... pointless and purposeless, valueless going from one thing to the next.". Well, the first reply to make to that is, you don't necessarily need to seek the meaning of life outside of life.

Here's the premise, the assumption of that argument - without there being a being outside of human life, human life would have no meaning. So the meaning of human life must be conferred by another being. Here's my question - what gives the meaning to that being's life? How does his life, God's life derive meaning? Well here's a dilemma, right? Either God's life has meaning intrinsically just by his existence, or not, right? Well if it does, then it's possible to have a meaningful life intrinsically, so why can't our lives have intrinsic meaning? Their meaning doesn't have to be conferred by another being.

JM: But the religious might want to argue, without even reverting to the ontological argument for the existence of God, the fact... the observable fact that we do have values...

CM: Yeah.

JM: ...and meanings is in fact evidence of the fact that something has

CM: Yes.

JM: ...given the meanings in the same way that the argument says something has given the thing design.

CM: Yeah. Well there's... I think there are two points there. One point is that the existence of values itself is an argument for the existence of God. Like an evidence argument. Another point though all together is the idea that morality can only have a foundation if it's based on God's commands or God's desires, God's wishes. The first one of course, the thing to say about that is there's just no reason to think that the existence of values in human society depends on the existence of God. I mean, why should it? There's just no clear logical argument for that, any more than the existence of ears is a reason. There are various aspects of human life - there's art, value, family, there's all sorts of things that we take to be valuable. Why do any of these require us to postulate God to explain their existence?

A more worrying question for many people is, they don't see that morality can have any foundation, can have any absoluteness, unless there's a god to certify it... legitimate it. That's a... you can see that point. It's a point that was discussed by Plato long ago in the Euthyphro argument. And he makes - well I think - Socrates makes a completely compelling refutation of that argument and it simply goes as follows.

The argument, you see, goes like this: Suppose you take as a moral principle, it's wrong to steal. People say, "Why is it wrong to steal?". Answer - because God says it's wrong to steal. God commanded that you should not steal. OK? The point that Socrates makes in that dialogue is to say, "How can God give this moral rule a foundation? Either the moral rule is intrinsically a sound moral rule, or it can't be given soundness and legitimacy from an external command.". Suppose we had the rule "It's right to murder.". Somebody said, "That's not right! Murder is wrong!". And somebody said in reply, "But God says it's right to murder.". That doesn't convince you that it's right to murder. If God says that something is right which isn't right, God's wrong. He can't make something right just by saying it's right. God can only... what God has to do is reflect what's right in his commandments so that's what he really does. It is wrong to steal. It's wrong to steal and wrong to murder. So God says that it's wrong and he's right to say that. Why? Because it IS wrong in the two cases! He doesn't make it wrong by saying it. He can't do that. It that were so, we'd have no reason to respect God's morality...

JM: So God as it were... appropriates our spontaneous and indigenous values...

CM: Yeah...

JM: ...which then get reflected back on this hypothetical entity...

CM: Right...

JM: ...which then seems to validate our beliefs.

CM: Exactly. So we don't need God to validate our moral beliefs - he couldn't validate them. He only... His validations only work insomuch as they correspond to what IS right and in wrong. He can't make something be morally right when it's not.

Another way to put it is, it can't be a matter of God's free decision or whim what's right and wrong. People can see that morality is what it is. They know what they ought to do. But human beings are weak. We have weakness of the will. We don't always do what we know very well we ought to do. And that is... in most people produces the phenomenon of guilt. Guilt is a powerful negative force in people's minds. People hate guilt, right, guilt is a bad feeling. So you need something to prevent guilt. To prevent guilt, you need something to make you do what you know is right, but since human beings are weak, they don't always do what they know is right, but God gives you an extra motive to do what's right, beyond morality itself. Morality gives you a motive, but it's a motive which is rather fragile. Rather... you know... momentary, intermittent and easily broken. But if you've got the idea of God there, it can sort of give it some more oomph, gives it more power, and then you can do what you know is right more easily, more regularly, and that's, you know, perfectly sensible. It's reasonable... it's not unreasonable anyway for an atheist to think that maybe we need God, or people need God, because without God they can't do what they know is right.

I don't believe that myself. I think people are not as morally depraved as religious tradition says. I think most people will do what's right in normal conditions. They won't always of course, but normally they will. They don't need God. And I think people who sometimes have lived with God as their moral support, their moral whatever it is they're getting from it, when they cease to believe in God, they feel that it was not as difficult to be moral afterwards as they suspected it might be. And in fact it was better, because there's a corrupting part to that conception of God, which is the idea that you're doing something good because God will reward you and think well of you. And that's a corrupting idea. It's much better to do something good because it's good, and only because it's good, and that's your only reason for doing it. But the idea you're going to get the warm fuzzy feeling, "Oh, God's really pleased with me today. I did this.", that's not what morality ought to be about.

I have burned ARHD to DVD, and am considering showing clips of it (not the whole damn 3 hours). You can watch all three 60-minute parts at exchristian.net: Part I, Part II , Part III. You can also download the three parts of ARHD via a BitTorrent client at these three locations: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 (update: torrent links fixed).
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Technorati tags: Atheism