independentsforkerry.org

A University of Colorado economics professor has co-authored a study, just released by the Institute for the Study of Labor in Bonn, Germany that concludes that suicide rates among young males declines markedly after states legalize medical marijuana. Professors at Montana State University and San Diego State University were also involved in the study. The study is titled “High on Life: Medical Marijuana Laws and Suicide.”

CU economics professor Daniel Rees is co-author of a study which concludes that passage of medical marijuana laws leads to a decrease in suicides among young men. (Image: CU Denver)

CU Denver professor Daniel Rees and his coauthors don’t say conclusively why suicide rates fall. They offer evidence that marijuana acts as an antidepressant when used moderately, but also note that using marijuana in larger amounts can actually lead to depression.

They also note that the sale of alcohol to young males declines in states that legalize medical marijuana and note that alcohol is a known depressant the use of which can lead to suicidal thoughts. Rees did not return a phone call seeking comment.

from the study:

Using state-level data for the period 1990 through 2007, we estimate the effect of legalizing medical marijuana on suicide rates. Our results suggest that the passage of a medical marijuana law is associated with an almost 5 percent reduction in the total suicide rate, an 11 percent reduction in the suicide rate of 20- through 29-year-old males, and a 9 percent reduction in the suicide rate of 30- through 39-year-old males.

…

We conclude that the legalization of medical marijuana leads to an improvement in the psychological wellbeing of young adult males, an improvement that is reflected in fewer suicides.

…

In an often-cited article, Hamermesh and Soss (1974) argued that negative shocks to happiness may reduce expected lifetime utility to the point where an individual will decide to take his or her own life. The negative relationship between legalization and suicides among young adult males is consistent with the argument that marijuana can be used to cope with such shocks. However, estimates provided by Anderson et al. (2011) provide an alternative explanation. These authors found that the passage of MMLs (medical marijuana laws) led to sharp decreases in alcohol-related traffic fatalities, self-reported alcohol use, and per capita beer sales. The strong association between alcohol consumption and suicide related outcomes found by previous researchers (Markowitz et al. 2003; Carpenter 2004; Sullivan et al. 2004; Rodriguez Andres 2005; Carpenter and Dobkin 2009) raises the possibility that medical marijuana laws reduce the risk of suicide by decreasing alcohol consumption.

Speaking recently at the University of Denver, Amanda Reiman, Ph.D, the director of research at the Berkeley Patients Group and a lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley, said that marijuana has medical value even for people not suffering from one of the ailments that medical marijuana laws typically allow people to use marijuana for.

“We deontologically believe that drug use is inherently wrong, which is why it is hard for us to believe there are responsible users. Do you really have to be sick to get benefit from cannabis?” she asked rhetorically.

She said that when you ask people why they smoke marijuana, the most common answer is that it helps them relax. “The word medical is redundant when talking about cannabis. Relaxation itself is medicinal.”

Reiman’s words were echoed on the DU panel by University of California law professor Marsha Cohen, who said that when asked why they smoke marijuana, people answer “‘It makes me feel better.’ That makes it medicinal use,” she said.

Mason Tvert, executive director of SAFER (Safer Alternative for Recreational Enjoyment) and one of the organizers of a ballot initiative to regulate marijuana like alcohol, which will probably be on the Colorado ballot in November, said he was not surprised by the study’s conclusions.

“We know marijuana has medicinal value, and we know that people living with pain sometimes kill themselves,” Tvert said. He added that the connection with alcohol use was intriguing. “Every credible study ever done proves that marijuana is safer than alcohol,” he said.

The Colorado Independent contacted numerous mental health/suicide prevention organizations but could not find anyone willing to comment for this article. Needless to say, other studies have reached other conclusions regarding the effect of marijuana on mental health. For one such perspective, click here.

The Colorado Independent

Dr. Khalil Gibran Muhammad will be Dr. Fulani’s guest at this month’s Interview by a Black Independent. Dr. Muhammad is the new Director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. He is a prize winning author. In a recent NY 1 profile , Cheryl Wills had this to say about Dr. Muhammad: “A former professor of history at Indiana University, Muhammad recently authored “The Condemnation of Blackness: Race, Crime and The Making of Modern Urban America.” He says he is ready to take the Center into the digital age and is eager to enlist the next generation to help him achieve his goal to keep history relevant.” Please join Dr. Fulani for a lively conversation with Dr. Muhammad on Friday, February 24th at 6pm.

The Hankster

Independents will be key to upcoming California elections (Jason Olson LETTER Sac Bee) In 2012 — for the first time in living memory — independent voters will play a major role in all of California’s elections.

Re “Democrats go at GOP, each other” (Capitol & California, Feb. 13): In 2012 — for the first time in living memory — independent voters will play a major role in all of California’s elections.

Thanks to open primaries and redistricting reform passed by voters in previous elections, all candidates now must run against each other in an open field, where all voters can participate. To get elected, candidates now need to win the support of independent voters. Independent voters have no intention of giving that support away for free.

Independents are deeply concerned about a political dialogue dominated by what’s best for the parties rather than what’s best for the American people. Independents want critical reforms to our political process to shift that balance of power away from the parties and towards the voters. Candidates looking to win their elections should take note of the independent movement for nonpartisan reform.

– Jason Olson, San Francisco

The Hankster

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein has won the Illinois primary, which was held online and open to all residents of Illinois 13 and older.  From the Green Party of Illinois:

Results are in from the Illinois Green Party’s first ever online primary. With a total of 153 ballots cast, Harvard-educated physician Jill Stein of Massachusetts has won the primary with 71% of the vote. Legendary sitcom actress Roseanne Barr, whose name was not on the official ballot but became an officially recognized candidate by the GPUS after the ILGP’s registration deadline, earned 18% of the vote as a write in. San Diego air quality inspector Kent Mesplay received 5% of the vote. Nearly 5% of the votes were cast as “Undecided” and three unrecognized write-in candidates received less than 1%.

Unlike the taxpayer-funded Republican and Democratic primaries, the Illinois Green Party cost very little and allowed any Illinois resident age 13 years or older to participate. Participants were allowed to join the party and cast their vote at the same time. Caucuses were held throughout the state to serve as a polling place for those without Internet access, and mail-in ballots were available by request.

Dr. Stein, a native of Highland Park, Ill., established a strong campaign presence in her home state. Following her campaign kick-off, Stein made several appearances in the Chicago area and at a mock election at Western Illinois University in Macomb. Her campaign also sent out several e-blasts to supporters during the course of the voting, including an e-mail endorsement from Rich Whitney, a two-time Illinois gubernatorial candidate who is well-respected within the party.

The Barr campaigned was helped by a media splash from her campaign kick-off, which happened at the beginning of the ILGP’s primary voting period. Though still in its early stages, her campaign has already brought in several members who are new to the Illinois Green Party.

“From the standpoint of party building, the primary was very successful,” said Election Administrator Patrick Kelly. “Thanks to the efforts of our candidates to reach voters, were able to grow our membership and by giving any Illinoisan who wanted to participate a chance.”

Playing off Stein’s success in the WIU mock election, the Illinois Green Party will convene it state membership meeting, March 2-4, at WIU in Macomb to select delegates to the Green Party’s Presidential Nominating Convention in Baltimore, Md. in July. If an apportionment plan is approved by the Green Party of the United States, Illinois would be awarded 31 delegates to the national convention who would be pledged accordingly: Stein would receive 22 delegates, Barr 5, Mesplay 2, and 2 would be unbound.

These results are unofficial pending approval of the Illinois Green Party Executive Committee.

FULL RESULTS

Independent Political Report

Today Jill Stein’s campaign, aimed at securing the Green Party’s nomination for president, sent out a fundraising email with the pitch of “Double Your Green.”  That is, if Stein raises ,000 in donations of 0 or less from 20 or more states, the federal government will then match donations of that amount dollar-for-dollar.  Interestingly, the email contained a map of their progress toward that goal:

See below for a map showing how far along your state is toward qualifying for matching funds:

The sooner we qualify, the better. That’s when we start doubling our green for the Green Party, which means that Dr. Stein can invest twice as much on getting the Greens on the ballot, building our state and local parties, and putting our Green New Deal agenda in the public eye.

As of Monday, February 20th, two states have qualified (CA, MA), one state is close (NY) and four states are halfway there (IL, MD, VA, WI).

Our goal is to qualify in our first 10 states by March 15th.

States that have qualified: California, Massachusetts

3/4 of the way there: New York

Halfway there: Illinois, Maryland, Virginia, Wisconsin

1/4 of the way there: D.C., Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington

Raised something: Every state.

The full email can be read here.

Independent Political Report

Movements to the Mountaintop
History as Collective Failure: Lessons from the Black populists
Omar H. Ali
February 19, 2012
GREENSBORO, N.C.–Famously, George Washington lost almost every major battle during the American Revolution, yet he won the war. His final victory at Yorktown is embraced as an example of individual perseverance in the face of overwhelming odds.

In our winner-take-all culture, we tend to glorify the winners, emphasizing the individual–from historical figures, such as Washington, to contemporary figures, such as Oprah Winfrey or Barack Obama. We learn about them as individuals who “make it”–on their own, through extraordinary acts, with vision, and a little bit of luck. The formula: They struggled, they failed, but pressed on until they won (glory, money, the war, the vote, the presidency).

But what if in history there is no such thing as “the individual” or “winning”?What if there is only the seamless process of collective creation–no victory (no defeat), only what people do together? Back stories–the ones you don’t usually hear–can teach us about collective creativity, about the fleeting nature of winning and about the production of history of many people doing mostly ordinary, but sometimes, extraordinary things together.

What most of us learn about “black history” entails the people and/or movements that succeeded in making political changes–notably, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement. But what about those who didn’t make it to the mountaintop? What about the dreams that remain unfulfilled and the movements that failed?

Black populism, the movement of black farmers, sharecroppers, and agrarian workers from 1886 to 1900, was such a movement. It sought, but was not able to make, the economic and political reforms that were so desperately needed by a generation of Southern African-Americans coming out of slavery. Black populism was also the largest independent black political movement in the region before the modern civil rights movement. Read more …

Omar H. Ali is associate professor of African-American history at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and author of “In the Lion’s Mouth: Black Populism in the New South, 1886-1900″ (University Press of Mississippi, 2010).

The Hankster

(Madison, WI) – The Wisconsin Green Party is conducting a Presidential Primary by mail, with ballots sent to all dues paying members of the Party this week. Mailed ballots must be returned by March 2nd, the day before the WIGP State Nominating Convention and Spring Membership Meeting.
The Primary ballot includes four candidates. Roseanne Barr (CA) [...]
Green Party Watch

The Huffington Post published an article today about the “the more than 300 lesser known Americans who have registered with the Federal Election Commission to run for the highest office in the land.”  Those mentioned include Green Party candidate Mike Ballantine, and Independent candidates “Naked Cowboy” Robert Burck and “Average Joe” Schriner.

The article also claims that Libertarian National Committee member Wayne Allyn Root is running for president:

The smart money may be against a third party candidate, but sports handicapper Wayne Allyn Root, hopes to be the Libertarian Party presidential candidate. The Las Vegas resident served as the party’s vice presidential nominee in 2008 and points to England, where a third-party candidate was able to make an impact in the last election after turning in a great debate performance.

Root is also the executive producer for the Travel Channel’s “Ghost Adventures.” He believes a one-year tax holiday would have been more successful at saving the economy than the stimulus package passed by Congress was. Root would like to introduce a flat tax.

His vocation as a sports handicapper on radio and TV stations isn’t much different from the profession of a stock analyst, he said, noting that critics point to his occupation to marginalize him.

But, Root believes a sports handicapper is well suited to understand the country’s character.

“America is the biggest gambling nation in the world, especially when it comes to gambling on small-business creation,” he said. “It’s the risk-taking entrepreneurs that made America great.”

Despite the report, Root has not filed with the FEC as a presidential candidate and is not currently seeking the Libertarian Party (LP) nomination. Nevertheless, he is often mentioned as a potential vice presidential nominee.

Candidates actually seeking the LP nomination include former air traffic controller RJ Harris, activist R. Lee Wrights, and former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson.

Independent Political Report

• STATE: Partisan trenches (THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE – Riverside CA) New voter registration totals from the secretary of state once again show that the large political parties hold a shrinking share of the electorate, while the number of independent voters continues to grow. Democrats now compose 43.6 percent of the state’s more than 17 million registered voters, while Republicans make up 30.4 percent of voters. But 21.2 percent of registered voters — more than one in five — now identify with no political party.
• Rise of registered Republicans on the Treasure Coast (WPEC – CBS 12 – St. Lucie FL) Many Independent voters are now registering Republican. Voters tell us it’s happening so they can weigh in on such an important presidential primary.
• Poll results show Rehberg-Tester Senate race in virtual tie (By ROB CHANEY of the Missoulian) Republicans made up 28 percent of the Montana poll respondents, while 24 percent declared themselves Democrats. A surprising 46 percent said they were “independent or something else,” which was the highest total among the mountain states and far above the national average. Utah was the next closest independent state (35 percent), while only 13 percent of Wyoming residents called themselves that.

The Hankster

Andrew Gumbel, the ghost writer for Amanda Knox’s ex-boyfriend’s forthcoming Authentic Autobiography, has had his recent attacks on the Oscar Internet voting plan featured in The Guardian and reprinted in the LA Times as an “original” Op Ed.

He says The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was duped into accepting an Internet voting system for the vote on the Oscars in 2013. In the ghost writer’s opinion, a trustworthy Internet voting system is impossible to achieve with current technology. As “proof” he cites a list of anti-Internet voting extremists, including Ron Rivest and Alex Halderman (who are well known for having bullied West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie Tennant in a public forum on Internet voting.)

Leaning on Rivest, Halderman, David Dill, and a couple of others, Gumbel writes, “Computer security experts have warned [of] … cyber attacks that could falsify the outcome but remain undetected.” Well, that is one scary story! Imagine – Anonymous hacks into Oscar’s computer and votes for Bollywood’s Rakhi Sawant in every category, and nobody knows it was him! That would truly be a disaster!

But has anything like that ever really happened?

The answer is a big NO! Internet voting has been conducted in Norway, Switzerland, India, Canada, and here in the US in several places, including West Virginia. In every case, technical and political experts, including officials and the public, were satisfied that there were no undetected Leprechauns who snuck in and changed everyone’s vote.

As if that isn’t gunk enough, Gumbel then reveals that he told “the Academy’s chief operating officer, Ric Robertson, … of the near-total unanimity of computer experts [that Internet voting was insecure].” He says Mr. Robertson was shocked at the news.

Only one little problem with Gumbel’s report. In every successful Internet voting event, there were dozens of experts who worked on the project, and who knew it could be done. So, no “unanimity” there.

Come on Mr. Gumbel; stop throwing your gunk at Oscar!

For more on Gumbel’s gunk go to Oscar Hit w/ Gumbel Gunk

William J. Kelleher, Ph.D.
Twitter: wjkno1
Email: Internetvoting@gmail.com

The Hankster