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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

From Jill Stein for President:
Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein praised former Senator Russ Feingold today for speaking plainly when he says that, “The President is wrong to have embraced the corrupt corporate politics of Citizens United and that’s what you’re doing when you start using and consorting with Super PACs.” [...]
Green Party Watch

From Jill Stein for President:
Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein praised former Senator Russ Feingold today for speaking plainly when he says that, “The President is wrong to have embraced the corrupt corporate politics of Citizens United and that’s what you’re doing when you start using and consorting with Super PACs.” [...]
Green Party Watch

Adding to an ongoing list of controversial statements, American Family Association President Bryan Fischer is now claiming that HIV is not the cause of AIDS or the AIDS epidemic.

Fischer made the comments Wednesday on his syndicated radio show, Focal Point, during an interview with Peter H. Duesberg, a discredited scientist who also claims that the disease manifestation known as AIDS is not caused by HIV. The apparent cause, according to Fischer and Duesberg — who authored the AIDS denialist manifesto “Inventing the AIDS Virus” — is too much homosexual sex and recreational drug use.

And what evidence does Fisher have that HIV does not cause AIDS?

Fischer: I read a story about Earvin Johnson — Magic Johnson–

Duesberg: Ah, yes.

Fischer: A very prominent diagnosis of AIDS in 1991, I think it was.

Duesberg: That is correct.

Fischer: And everybody thought he’s going to die, he’s going to keel over, he’s going to wither away. And here he is 20 years later — and the article was celebrating the 20th anniversary of his diagnosis. You look at the guy and he is absolutely as healthy as a horse, but he’s been HIV-positive for 20 years and that would fit your theory that HIV doesn’t cause AIDS.

Duesberg: And so are 100 million Americans that been HIV-positive in ’85 — and even now in 2012, it’s still 1 million HIV-positive Americans. On average, they have the same life expectancy as the rest, else otherwise they would have disappeared by now.

What Fischer and Duesberg don’t note in this exchange is important. First, Johnson was never diagnosed with AIDS. He was diagnosed as HIV-positive. AIDS is a clinical manifestation of the disease process caused by the virus — HIV — which includes a significantly compromised immune system and one of several infections not found in people with healthy immune systems. Second, neither Duesberg nor Fischer note that as a very wealthy man, Johnson had access to the best medical care and best medications from the moment of his diagnosis. In fact, that flies in the face of a claim by Duesberg that antiretroviral drugs are toxic and kill more people than HIV itself does.

And finally, neither notes that Johnson himself, on Nov. 7, 1991, denied having AIDS. From CBS News:

“I just want to make it clear, first of all, that I do not have the AIDS disease.”

CBS News also reports that Johnson’s care was overseen in part by Dr. David Ho, the scientist who is credited with discovering protease inhibitors, a powerful drug which stops the virus’ replication process.

The folks at the National Association of People With AIDS are not keen on Fischer’s venture into AIDS denialism either.

“There’s no excuse for denying that the HIV virus causes AIDS,” said Peter Kronenberg, communications director for the Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group. “It’s been accepted for years that HIV passes all the standard tests for identifying an infectious agent as the cause of a disease. With very rare exceptions (which can be traced to other health conditions), the virus is present in all patients who display the complete immune system breakdown that characterizes advanced AIDS. Transmission of the virus to uninfected persons causes steady progression towards AIDS as long as the virus is left untreated and unchecked. When the virus is finally treated, even very advanced AIDS patients come back from the brink of death as their immune systems begin to rebuild themselves. There’s nothing left to prove: HIV causes AIDS.”

Watch the Right Wing Watch has the entire Duesberg-Fischer interview:

Photo: Bryan Fischer at the 2011 Values Voter Summit (AMERICAN INDEPENDENT/Sofia Resnick)

The Colorado Independent

America is rich, still the wealthiest nation ever.

Liberal organizations and unions are frustrated that President Obama has not aggressively pushed a new jobs stimulus agenda, and they are offering up a consolidated fall agenda for Democrats to embrace as an alternative to austerity.   If the government won’t take action to help America recover then the people must apply motivation to the powers that be to act in Americas long term best interest.

Representatives of MoveOn.org, Rebuild the Dream and the Center for Economic Policy and Research joined Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) on Tuesday to launch a progressive   “Contract for the American Dream”   to urge the administration and Congress to turn away from budget cutting and focus on job creation.    The American people have been interested in creating jobs and putting America back to work for over 3 years now.    It is the political leadership in both parties that is slow to get the message.

Locally Move On held a noon time rally in front of Congressman Bob Goodlatte’s  office at 916 Main Street in downtown Lynchburg.    In any tally of the worst Congressman in America Goodlatte finishes in the top five spots.    Goodlatte stands in opposition to anything that can help seniors, women, education or workers in need of employeement.    Someday the voters in Virginia’s 6th district will awaken from their long slumber and elect a Congressman who represents the workers and middle class interests.    MoveOn passed out copies of their   “Contract For The American Dream”  and delivered their message to the TV and News Media that attended.    As a get out the information and create public buzz event it was a total success.

The contract is a mix of proposals that could make their way into a fall jobs compromise with Republicans, as well as more far-reaching goals such as universal government-run healthcare for all that are less likely to be enacted.    Republicans are united behind anything that cuts taxes for big business and puts the load on the back of the working man.

Schakowsky said Obama adviser David Plouffe has asked to see the contract, but the White House has yet to comment on it.   The White House will have to be motivated by the people to take a stance and hold a position.    The White House is so used to folding that it now comes second nature for them to back down.

The president “has said he is very interested … in pivoting now to job creation,”  she told reporters.   It must be remembered that the president has talked about his interest in pivoting to job creation many times before and never turned that interest into action.   Obama’s feet must be held to the fire or he comprimises into a bowl of jello.

In 10 bullet points, the contract calls for massive new spending and taxes.     At the top of the list are items Obama has been calling for: investing in infrastructure, clean energy, strengthening public education.     These  “winning the future”  items were included in Obama’s 2012 budget, which was rejected unanimously in the Senate after it become focused on budget cutting.

The contract also calls for a crackdown on corporations to enforce equal pay for equal work, reforming Social Security by lifting the cap on payroll taxes, accelerating the pullout of troops from Afghanistan and overhauling the campaign finance system.

On taxes, the groups are calling for an end to Bush-era tax rates, a new higher tax bracket for millionaires and a surcharge on Wall Street trades of 1/20th of 1 percent. Schakowsky has proposed a 45 percent tax rate for millionaires and a 49 percent tax rate for billionaires.

“We have a jobs crisis, not a deficit crisis,”    the contract reads.

“The federal government must act now to put Americans back to work, and that will require reversing the premature focus on deficit reduction,”       Robert Borosage of the Campaign for America’s Future said.     In a separate release he called for expanding AmeriCorps and creating new direct work programs he calls Urban Corps, Green Corps and Service Corps.      He calls for direct intervention to prevent layoffs on the local level of teachers and police.

The contract is also being promoted by the Change to Win union coalition and a host of smaller groups.     Some of the outside groups on the Tuesday conference call expressed frustration with Democratic leaders.

“I think this contract will not be taken seriously by the serious people in Washington at first,”   said Justin Ruben, executive director of MoveOn.org.

“I think there is a huge leadership vacuum right now,”    Ruben said.     He also said that the rapidly worsening economy could provide the impetus needed to get major parts of the agenda
enacted this fall, including universal publicly run healthcare.

“Crises have a way of changing what’s possible,”    he said.
Van Jones of Rebuild the Dream said the movement behind the contract is three times as big as the Tea Party was when it launched. It will be taking the document to August town-hall meetings.

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If anyone thought President Obama’s jobs bill was going to slide through the Senate before hitting trouble in the House, they were wrong. The Senate Tuesday couldn’t get enough support even for a debate.

With 60 votes needed to open debate, the measure received 50.

From The Hill:

Sen. Joe Lieberman (Conn.), an Independent who caucuses with Democrats, supported (Harry) Reid’s bid to begin debate on Obama’s jobs package but voiced misgivings over its substance.

“The bottom line here is that I don’t believe the potential in this act for creating jobs justifies adding another 0 billion to our almost trillion national debt,” Lieberman said.

“In fact, I think the most important thing we can do to improve our economy, reduce unemployment [and] create jobs is to bring our national debt under control.”

Lieberman endorsed the deficit-reduction plan crafted by the fiscal commission headed by former Sen. Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.) and former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles. He said he would vote against Obama’s jobs package as a whole if it came to a yes-or-no vote.

Senior White House officials said Tuesday they would work with Senate Democrats to divide the bill into pieces that would be more likely to pass.

Senator Mark Udall released this statement after the vote:

“President Obama’s proposal included reasonable ideas from both sides of the aisle to get Americans back to work and solidify our economic recovery. And it deserved to be taken seriously. I hoped that my colleagues in the Senate would listen to our constituents and come together to work out our differences. I’m disappointed they dismissed the proposal out of hand without even discussing its merits. We owed it to the American people to give the details in the proposal real reflection and open debate, not an ill-considered death by Senate rules.

“There were parts of the president’s proposal with which I didn’t personally agree, but I voted to consider the bill because our economy needs solutions, not partisan games. My office received an overwhelming number of telephone calls, emails and social media messages asking me to bridge the partisan divide for Coloradans who are struggling to find jobs. I’ll continue to work with my colleagues on any plan that creates jobs and gets our economy back on track.”

Before the vote, Colorado Democratic Party Chair Rick Palacio said this:

“Republicans campaigned on jobs last year, but we have yet to see any comprehensive plan from the GOP to put Americans back to work. Their inaction has gone on for too long, and today they can finally contribute to the effort to put Americans back to work. Coloradans looking for work can’t wait any longer.”

The Colorado Independent

OPEN PRIMARIES

• Voter group disapproves of Utah’s closed primary elections (By Jennie Christensen, Cache Valley Daily) When it comes to politics, 54 percent of Utahns call themselves Independents. But Nancy Ross, national director for IndependentVoting.org, says the state of Utah is anything but Independent. She says four years ago 93 percent of the people voted for Mitt Romney.
• If you are a voter you’ll want to read this (By KMVT News) Before July 1st, the state of Idaho never required party registration. But because of the federal court decision in Idaho republican party versus Ysursa, the law’s changed. Only registered voters of a political party may vote to select their party’s nominee.
• Political Booths At County Fair Offer Friendly Alternative to Heated Debates (By Ben Botkin, Magic Valley Times News) There’s also voting information at the fair that doesn’t seek to sway your political views. The Twin Falls County Clerk’s office has a booth that explains the state’s switch to a closed primary system. It will require voters to declare a party affiliation before voting in the 2012 primaries, unless party leaders opt to allow unaffiliated voters to cast ballots.

The Hankster

At a campaign stop in Iowa on Friday, a member of the audience grilled Tim Pawlenty on his views about rights for LGBT people. Gabe Aderhold, a senior at Edina High School, asked Pawlenty why he has “not had the courage to stand for me and my friends. You are discriminating against me and it hurts.” Pawlenty said he will never be at the point “where I’ll say that every domestic relationship is the same as traditional marriage.”

Pawlenty has opposed all efforts in Minnesota to give same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual couples. And his opposition extends beyond marriage equality. He vetoed legislation that would give same-sex couples the right to fulfill a deceased partner’s last wishes in 2010. In 2008, he vetoed a bill that would allow local units of government to provide health care benefits for same-sex couples.

Also in 2008, he vetoed a bill to allow government employees, including same-sex partners, to use sick time to care for a seriously ill family member. The Minnesota Family Council pressed for a veto and got one.

“The end game in all of this is a legal imposition of homosexual marriage upon the state of Minnesota,” said Tom Prichard, the group’s president, at the time.