October 6th, 2008 | Full text | published by BRAHA Editor in Cultural Environment, For Parents
By Sandra S. Bennett
“Faculty members lack powerful incentives to teach, students invest a minimum of time in their studies, and racial and other tensions undermine a sense of community in academic life.” (Edward B. Fiske, New York Times News Service, May 1990)
During the era of the Viet Nam War, the legal age was lowered to [...]
October 6th, 2006 | Full text | published by BRAHA Editor in Cultural Environment
By Eric R. Danton
Remember when all those fussy Moral Majority types said that exposure to music with violent lyrics can prompt aggressive behavior? Seems they’re right, according to a study published in the May issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
The study, conducted by researchers in Iowa and Texas, found a link between [...]
October 6th, 2006 | Full text | published by BRAHA Editor in Cultural Environment
By John Coleman
The “art” of polling (it’s as much of an art as a science) is very interesting. To begin with, there are some very highly credible polling organizations with relatively high ethical standards and few ideological hang-ups to blur findings. But, others have used poling results, in my view, to “anonymize” their own beliefs, [...]
February 1st, 2003 | Full text | published by BRAHA Editor in Cultural Environment
By Joe Dombroski
The myth of the drug-legalization argument is that government distribution/regulation of drugs would remove the profit, and therefore the incentive, for illicit drug-dealing and drug-related crime. But the reality of drug legalization can be witnessed by any American tourist on the streets of a working-class neighborhood in southern Amsterdam. In that typical Netherlands [...]
November 10th, 2002 | Full text | published by BRAHA Editor in Cultural Environment
Hosted By Liane Hansen
Source: National Public Radio
Liane Hansen…
In the election this past Tuesday a number of Marijuana law reform measures were on the ballots, all were defeated. Federal Drug Czar John Walters called it, “A stunning victory of common sense over pro drug propaganda.” “While I am up to the challenge,”
responded Robert Kampia of the [...]
May 6th, 2001 | Full text | published by BRAHA Editor in Cultural Environment
By Rachel Ehrenfeld
(Editor’s Note: Ms. Ehrenfeld is director of the Center for the Study of Corruption & the Rule of Law. She’s the author of “Evil Money” [HarperBusiness].)
The murderous terrorists who destroyed the World Trade Center towers in Manhattan and damaged the Pentagon, delivered a very clear and sobering message yesterday: The leader of the [...]
The world’s best business model has always been addiction. Tobacco and alcohol have been around for ages, but new temptations and spinoffs are being marketed all the time: meth, painkillers, energy drinks, you name it.
Importantly, the study also finds that the risk of violence from patients with psychoses who also have substance use disorder is no greater than those who have a substance use disorder but who do not have a psychotic illness – in other words, schizophrenia and other psychotic illnesses do not appear to be responsible for any additional risk of violence above the increased risk associated with substance abuse.
Smoking marijuana over an extended period of time appears to greatly boost a young man’s risk for developing a particularly aggressive form of testicular cancer, a new study reveals. [...]
Relief from pain. In some people, prescription pain relievers also cause euphoria or feelings of well being by affecting the brain regions that mediate pleasure. This is why they are abused. Other effects include drowsiness, constipation and slowed breathing. [...]
On Sunday researchers at the University of Buffalo reported that Ritalin, used on children diagnosed with ADHD, may cause long-term changes in the brain. Many clinicians regard Ritalin as short-acting but the research with gene expression in an animal model suggests that it has the potential for causing long-lasting changes [...]
The body produces many chemicals and hormones, i.e., histamines, steroids, thyroid hormone, digitalis-like substances, adrenalin, etc, all of which work by attaching to corresponding brain receptors. The key is that these natural substances produced by the body are present in nanogram amounts [...]
As California State Assembly member Tom Ammiano put it: “What if California could raise hundreds of millions of dollars in new revenue to preserve vital state services without any tax increase?” [...]
“The fight against drugs is actually the fight for Afghanistan,” said Afghan President Hamid Karzai when he took office in 2002. Judging by the current situation, Afghanistan is losing. [...]
Among the things everybody knows is that Democrats, being the party of the little people, raise money in small contributions, whereas Republicans, being the party of fat cats, raise funds in huge basketfuls from wealthy corporate types. At least, that’s the way the world is usually portrayed by the “Today Show,” The New York Times and the Democratic Party. So it’s of more than passing interest to see [...]