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The topic of medical marijuana and its complete legalization is a controversial topic in the United States. Scientists and politicians are hesitant to legalize a drug that is thought to create a generation of Cheechs and Chongs. 

Springfield College Professor Joseph Berger from the science department talked about what he knew on the subject.

“Some chemicals, such as THC, have a molecular structure that is similar to that of neurotransmitters that occur naturally in the brain. There are receptors for neurotransmitters in different regions of the brain.”

“One category of receptors are called cannabinoid receptors. THC binds to these receptors and can produce various effects on the brain. When THC binds to cannabinoid receptors in the hippocampus, it affects memory.”

                  In a normal brain, neurotransmitters are active in the brains synapse to inhibit dopamine levels. Anadamine is a naturally found cannabinoid in the body. This cannabinoid blocks the release of the inhibiting neurotransmitters. As a result dopamine can be released.

THC(the most active ingredient in marijuana) mimics Anandamine. The only difference is that THC lasts longer. This is why THC results in a “high”.

Marijuana isn’t some harmful drug, but a mimic of a naturally found pain killer in the body. More importantly marijuana plants are grown naturally. So it is much healthier and cheaper than on the market drugs.

For example, pain killers are not natural and have a much higher dependency percentage than marijuana. In addition, with most pain killers other drugs are needed to keep the liver and kidneys functioning properly.  

Trevor Marcotte experienced this first hand.  “I actually saw a 5 percent decrease in my liver enzymes and an 8 percent decrease in my kidney enzymes.”

According to a John Hastings study for an “In Health” magazine, pain-killers are ranked 60 spots higher than marijuana out of 100 addictive drugs.  

  The joke goes, marijuana is not addictive, but growing it can be.  Like any other medication, people start to rely on it for relief. That doesn’t make marijuana addictive.

Susanne Hynes, a nutritionist from Shelburne Mass, recently attended a medical marijuana conference in San Fransico. She said “there has never been any cannabis overdoses reported!” An amazing statistic when you compare to alcohol and cigarettes, which are both taxed and legal. 

She continued, “The positive effects of marijuana range from stunting cancer growth, easing people thru a seizure, enabling people to cope with pain, creams can help with arthritis, the list goes on and on.”

Berger said he was “not aware that marijuana is specifically a pain killer, and very doubtful that it is the best form of pain killer.”

Another stereotype of marijuana is that it affects learning, motivation, and intelligence.

Berger’s view on intelligence was that “Some people report that marijuana helps a student concentrate or improve their grades. Most of the evidence is that it does the opposite. It does make many people feel good when they get high, and that may give them the feeling that it is helping alleviate pain or other problems.”

Although he is self-admittedly not an expert on the topic, Berger said that “there is significant evidence that marijuana interferes with memory and can lead some people to be less motivated to study or do work.” Overall Berger just felt that “in some of the cases the medical uses are an excuse to simply get an enjoyable high.”

Hynes finds evidence like this incorrect. “As far as laziness goes, I think that is more of what people think of when they think of marijuana smokers, but that is on a recreational level.  There are stains that can motivate and energize, enabling people who need to medicate at work to keep working.”

Comedian Doug Benson can attest to Hynes statements. Benson smoked medical marijuana multiple times everyday for 30 days in the movie “Super High Me” in order to see if all the stereotypes about marijuana’s negative effects were true. The result, they were NOT.

Benson went through two physicals and no differences were found. More importantly, Benson took the SAT before smoking weed and received a score of 980 out of 1600. Then, after 30 days he improved to a score of 1030 while high. Although, marijuana alone won’t make people smarter or more athletic, it’s safe to say that it won’t hurt either.

According to Americans for Safe Access, there are more than 200,000 people in California with a prescription for Medical Marijuana.  In 2006 alone estimated sales from California Cannabis alone exceed 12 billion dollars. If taxed, marijuana could have made one billion in government revenue.

Medicare costs are growing inversely to the unemployment rate. The legalization of marijuana should seem logical when you look at the cheap expense of marijuana besides the high return in government profits.

Even some of our founding fathers like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson are documented praising the drug. So why, in an economic depression, is the government so against its number one cash crop? 

Hynes believes that the government and big pharmaceutical corporations are to blame for medical marijuana not being legalized. 

“It's money and fear.  Big pharmaceuticals do not want money taken out of their pockets.  They make so much money off of synthetic drugs.  The idea that someone could grow something naturally and medicate themselves scares them.  It's actually criminal to deny sick people this option to better line their pockets!”

There are countless interviews online with amazing genuine people who express a vast appreciation to marijuana for how it positively influences their lives. With marijuana, people are no longer the slaves of multiple prescriptions and weekly hospital visits.

Marijuana is an organic drug that should no longer be associated with criminals or moronic imbeciles like the media portrays. With no proven side effects, the miracle of THC can be the cheap solution to pain for anyone who is terminally ill with cancer, aids, or just someone trying to battle the depression/anxiety that comes with everyday life.  

1st Article for School Newspaper

                                                            Under The Radar

            Trevor Marcotte graduated from Wahconah  Regional High School with a 4.0 grade point average and five football records, including: most rushing yards, total yards, and touchdowns in a season. Marcotte can run a 4.48second 40-yard dash, bench 335 lbs five times, and run 22 miles a week. In addition he was accepted into the top ranked physical therapy school in the country. But unknown to most who pass him by, Marcotte has a dirty little secret. He takes drugs.

            Does he take A.) Alcohol B.) Steroids C.) Marijuana or D.) Adderall ?

The answer is C, but most would not assume such a talented person uses marijuana. In today’s society there is much debate on the topic of medical marijuana and its complete legalization. Scientists and politicians are hesitant to legalize a drug that is thought to create a generation of Cheechs and Cheongs. 

            Since he was 15, Marcotte has suffered from hereditary migraines. “It’s like someone is taking a nail and hammer to the right side of my head. Sometimes I feel really nauseous and I just want to curl up in a ball. Any light and sound any non ordinary smell can trigger it. It got really really bad, two years ago, I had migraines six times a week and I began vomiting. I had no appetite and it made me not want to do anything.”

            Marcotte’s roommate is Jeffrey Cirillo a physical therapy student from Longmeadow, Mass. Cirillo described Marcotte’s migraines as devastating. “He is almost incapable of doing anything when he has them.  The lights are off in the room with no T.V. or loud sounds.  He is both light and sound sensitive.”

             Like any patient with migraines, Marcotte was given pain killers like Vicodin and Vicoprofen.  “At one point I was on 12 different medications. I had to get blood drawn three times a week because they had to check my liver and kidney enzyme count and heart function and spinal cord function and I had to get spinal tapped. I actually saw a 5 percent decrease in my liver enzymes and an 8 percent decrease in my kidney enzymes.”

 During his senior year, Marcotte found something that most people with hereditary migraines never find, relief.

            Marcotte discovered the herbal therapy of marijuana and began smoking under his family’s radar to help his migraines. Most children get grounded or beaten when their parents go in their room safe and find three-quarters of an ounce of marijuana, but Marcotte got a prescription. After his parents realized how much the marijuana helped his migraines, they went to his fifth neurologist and got a prescription for five milligram liquid THC tablets.

            “I take the weed pill typically once when I wake up and once before bed, and maybe one or two during the day if I have a nasty headache (before it reaches a migraine). Marcotte gave a Cheshire Cat smile as he described the wonders that marijuana has done for him.

“Taking the pills, one, takes away my headaches, two, it calms me down, three, it helps my anger issues and it keeps me from getting stressed, and four, when I don’t have to worry about throwing up or curling up in a ball because it takes my nausea away so I can eat, and I can concentrate on other things more. Instead of six migraines a week, it’s now one or two a week which is a huge difference for me. There are no limitations or side effects from the pill, just relief.”

Cirillo also noticed a positive difference in his roommate from freshman year. “Since Trev has started taking his medical marijuana, he has been a much happier person.  I cannot remember the last time I heard him say that his head was killing him, or the last time I came in the room and the lights were off and blinds shut due to his migraine.”

Marcotte’s enthusiasm over marijuana is not uncommon and either are his results. In his freshman year of college, when he smoked only twice, Marcotte had a g.p.a of 3.5. He has since increased his grade point average from 3.5 to 3.8 in the top ranked physical therapy program in the country using weekly.

“It doesn’t affect my work because I’m focused on work and not pain.”

Marcotte is extremely hard working regardless of his drug use. All the social stigmas that go along with marijuana do not fit Marcotte’s personality. As Cirillo would tell you, “Trevor is someone who you can trust.” On a regular day you might find him at the union, under the radar, working on his homework due weeks away. Head down buried in his texts with his mind totally lost in the trippy world of human anatomy and body chemistry.  He might be a marijuana user but Marcotte is more addicted to the high of success.

Article for Advance Journalism

“If you past the Rock you did something right, some people have been chasing the rock for a long time”

A YMCA affiliate for Springfield College, Harry Rock defines Spirit Mind Body.  A Connecticut native Rock has been involved with the YMCA all his life.

Rock’s Journey all started when he was a young boy and his mother sent him to his first summer YMCA camp. “I just love being outside and looking at nature. I love the humps and bumps of the mountains when I’m on the river.”

                  When he was in college Rock and a friend of his expanded their love for nature into a cross country tour of all the national parks. The two of them traveled in a camper with a makeshift bunk bed they made with plywood.

                  The two ran out of money in Seattle and decided to find seasonal work at Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. “I loved it there; I was getting paid to ski and had provided housing, for me it was a dream job.”

                  Then when spring came Rock headed back east and found another seasonal job on the Farmington River leading white water rapid tours. “I would work week-ends and summers when I wasn’t teaching.”  While working the job Rock’s boss taught him the sport of canoe poling. The sport changed Rock’s life. 

                  Canoe Poling is the sport of traveling in canoes upstream through rapids as fast as possible using a long pole. It is a sport that Rock has dominated for decades. He has won fifteen slalom canoe poling championships and ten wild water titles.

Wild water is a competition where the athlete has to navigate his own path upstream as fast as he can. The appeal to this is that if you prepare yourself and study the rivers you can gain a great advantage and shave of crucial seconds off your final time.

 Slalom, which Rock prefers, is like skiing. In slalom canoe poling you have to race in sprints up stream between colored buoys.  Rock prefers Slalom because it is more technical because if you skip a buoy you are penalized.

                  The YMCA trained Rock from a young age. The values he learned there gave him a work ethic that is incomparable to most people.

“You always want to be the best. I was very lucky because for a long time I was the best at what I did. Its nice as long as your not getting caught, but ya know what, it motivates you! It forced me to get on the river on days it was cold or rainy and I didn’t want to. You gotta put the time into it and you have to be very very dedicated. I love the sport, I love the pursuit of being the best. I just always want to be the best I can be, I cant not do my best, I cant stand not being just average, that’s what the YMCA taught me.”

Asides from skiing, Rock, is also an avid cyclist, rock, climber, roller skier, and a champion of a more unknown sport of canoe poling. Rock even stars in an introductional video out for canoe poling.

                  But his “world was turned upside down” on “Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. Dec. 12, 2006, twelve days before Christmas” when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. The man who “never took a sick day” was slapped in the face with the shock of having a deadly disease.

                  “I can fight heart disease and high blood pressure, I can do that by eating right and working out. But what you learn about cancer is, it doesn’t care who you are. It’s the only thing I have found in this world that’s truly not discriminatory, there’s no bias.” Cancer stopped Rock in his tracks. Life was not so perfect anymore. If only life was like skiing and all it took to get going was some snow and slick wax.

                  But despite all odds Rock kept to his YMCA ways and stayed positive. Spirit, Mind, and Body are the three necessities to life. “I made a pledge in my head…within three weeks, I was going to be in skis.” Rock said what helped him push through his cancer fight was that he “wanted it to happen, so he made it happen!”

 His life philosophy is “if I love life, then I’m not done living.” Three weeks later, with his wife out of the house, he got of the couch, blew the dust off his skis, struggled to put on his boots, but against all odds, Rock went out in his yard and shuffled around on his skis.  “Psychologically I was alive! I was doing what I set out to do.”

                  “It took me a few months to get full strength back.” But after that, Rock was back on the mountains climbing up in the summer, skiing down in the winter, and then canoe poling back home spring.

Although battling with cancer is not something that Rock wanted for his life, he is proud to be apart of the club of cancer survivors. To help other men with prostate cancer Rock hosts talks for the American Cancer Society and support groups. He also gets involved with some local events and sponsors runners for cancer research.

                  But overall Rock is just happy to be alive and doing what he does everyday. “There’s nothing I wasn’t doing then that I’m not doing now. “

"Chalk Talk"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0jsJ6nj0-U

A T.V. Show I made for T.V. Journalism.

My play by plays were edited out because I had to use NBA and NHL footage I didn't have the rights to.

The First Readers I Ever Wrote

Visuals                                                                                                                  Sounds

One Shot of Anchor                                                        THE MENS LACROSSE TEAM IS OFF TO A 2-0               Graphic Box something Lacrosse                            START AFTER A DOMINATING VICTORY OVER NUMBER                                                                                              SEVENTEENTH RANKED NAZARETH THIS SATURDAY.

                                                                                                                TEAM POINTS LEADER SHANE FERGUSON HAD AN OUTSTANDING GAME WITH TWO GOALS AND TWO ASSISTS. KYLE LOUER AND SHAWN RUNYON ALSO HAD A GREAT PREFORMCE AND SCORED THREE GOALS A PIECE.

                                                                                                                SPRINGFIELD WAS ELIMINATED IN THE SECOND ROUND OF THE NCCA TOURNAMENT LAST SEASON BY SAILSBURY-THE EVENTUAL RUNNER UP-AND HOPE TO WIN THE CHAMIONSHIP THIS SEASON.

                                                                                                                SPRINGFIELD WAS RECENTLY RANKED 18TH IN THE COUNTRY BY THE UNITED STATES INTERCOLLIGIATE LACROSSE ASSOTIATION COACHES POLL.

                                                                                                                SPRINGFIELDS NEXT HOME GAME IS AGAINST STEVENS TECH SUNDAY MARCH SIXTH AT ONE P.M. 

Two Shot of Anchors                                                                      BE SURE TO GET THERE ON TIME TO CHEER ON SPRINGFIELD AS THEY MAKE THEIR RUN FOR A RETURN TO THE NCAA TOURNAMENT.

One shot of Anchor                                                                        THE MONTH OF MARCH HAS A LOT OF INTERESTING ON CAMPUS EVENTS PLANNED- HERE IS A LIST OF THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT WANT TO MISS.

Graphic of Event Calendar                                                           ON THE FIFTH THERE IS A BROADWAY TRIP TO SEE THAT ADAMS FAMILY HOSTED BY CAB.

                                                                                                                ON THE SEVENTH AND EIGHTH THE CAREER CENTER IS HAVING LECTURES ON HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE ULTAMITE INTERVIEW AND FINDING AND INTERNSHIP IN THE RFB CU ROOM 233 AT SIX P.M.

                                                                                                                ON WEDNESDAY THE NINETH THERE IS AN ASH WEDNESDAY SERVICE IN MARCH MEMORIAL CHAPEL AT TWELEVE P.M. FOR OUR RELIGIOUS VIEWERS.

                                                                                                                ALSO ON WEDNESDAY - NIGHT LATE NIGHT MADNESS IS HOSTING AN OPEN MIC NIGHT IN THE RBF CU STAGE AT NINE P.M. SO IF YOUD LIKE TO SHOW OFF YOUR TALENTS SIGN UP WITH SARA DIMATTA.

                                                                                                                IT’S EXPECTED TO BE A GREAT SHOW THIS YEAR SO ALL ARE ENCOURAGED TO COME.

                                                                                                                LASTLY- THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES-ONE OF SPRINGFIELD COLLEGES TOP ANNUAL PREFORMENCES- IS COMING BACK THE FIRST WEEKEND OF MARCH.

                                                                                                                FOR THOSE INTERESTED- THE SHOW TIMES ARE SEVEN P.M. FOR FRIDAY AND SATURDAY- AND THREE P.M. FOR THE CLOSEING SHOW ON SUNDAY.

                                                                                                                ALL PREFORMENCES WILL BE HELD IN JUDD HALL UNION WEST.

One Shot of Anchor                                                                        IN ACADEMIC NEWS- THE NINETEEN 2010 PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT GRADUATES DEFIED ALL ODDS BY PASSING THE NATIONAL CERTIFICATION EXAM ON THEIR FIRST TRY.

                                                                                                                SPRINGFIELD COLLEGE OFFERS A FIVE-YEAR-DUAL DEGREE PROGRAM IN PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT STUDIES, WHICH COMBINDS ACADEMIC LEARNING WITH HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE.

                                                                                                                CHARLES M. MILCH- THE CHAIR OF THE SPRINGFIELD COLLEGE PHYSICIANS ASSISTANT DEPARTMENT- SAID THAT ALL 19 MEMBERS HAD JOB OFFERS BEFORE GRADUATION WITH STARTING SALARIES RANGING FROM $80,000 TO $105,000

                                                                                                                SO FOR ALL YOU SCIENCE MAJORS WATCHING- KEEP WORKING HARD AND SOON YOU WILL BE IN MONEY.

                                                                                               

                                                                                   

(Visuals)                                                                                   (Sounds)

One Shot of Anchor

Graphic Box: Weather Stuff                                          ALTHOUGH IT IS THE BEGINNING OF MARCH- SPRING WEATHER IS STILL FAR AWAY.

                                                                                    HERE IS THE FORECAST FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK.

                                                                                    FRIDAY IS GOING TO BE CLOUDY WITH A HIGH OF 40 AND LOW OF 35 DEGREES.

                                                                                    SATURDAY AND SUNDAY WILL BE FILLED WITH RAIN SHOWERS WITH TEMPERATURES RANGING FROM 40 TO 35 DEGREES.

                                                                                    NEXT WEEK WON’T GET MUCH BETTER AS THE FORECAST PREDITION IS ALL RAIN AND SNOW FOR THE ENTIRE WEEK EXCEPT FOR TUESDAY WHICH SHOULD BE SUNNY.

                                                                                    THAT’S IT FOR YOUR SPTV3 WEATHER FORECAST- BE SURE TO STAY AND STAY PREPARED FOR THE UPCOMING WEATHER.

Springfield Men's Lacrosse Preview

Last the season the Springfield College men’s lacrosse team was eliminated in the second round of the division three NCAA tournament. After a great victory upsetting the number one ranked Widener team, Springfield was eliminated by Salisbury who moved on to the championship game where they lost to Tufts.

Matt Hudson a junior defensive midfielder on the team says “Last season went well, we just lost to many close games to ranked team. As a team we had to do a better job of pulling together in those tight games…We have some big expectations for this season. We have a really good team and we’re playing together as one. We expect to go far this year, our goal is to win our league, make the NCAA’s, and win a national championship.”

As of now the Springfield has started off the season with two dominant victories against Gordon and the 17^th ranked Nazareth. In the two victories Springfield has outscored opponents 23-14. A big part of this is the combination of one of the countries top defences and the new and improved attack game.

When asked about the reason for the teams outstanding start to the season, junior Shane Ferguson commented that “the coaches have figured out the style of play that we are best at, and have been doing a great job working with us… The only thing that was in question with losing seniors is that we lost our goalie, but our freshman goalies have stepped up huge and our taking big steps in commanding the defense which is exciting.”

Hudson continued by adding “Our team is loaded with athletes and this year we are trying the push the pace and play a faster transition game which is always exciting to watch.  We have one the best defenses in the country, and our offense is starting to find a style which makes them very successful and fun to watch.”

Fun to watch is an understatement. This year’s lacrosse team is electric. Whether it is the big hits donated to visiting teams by a stacked defensive line, numerous acrobatic saves by freshman goalies Connor Nash and Robert Maher, or the fast paced net shedding Springfield attack lead by point leader Ferguson, this years team is a must see!

While talking with the players, they gave me a list of big games including #11 Middlebury College, #18 Bowdoin, Endicott, and Stevens Tech which is this Sunday at 1 p.m.

Hudson also spoke for the team by saying “we hope all the students will make the long drive to WNEC on April 5^th at 4 p.m. and show their support.” 

So this is a call to all fans. The men’s lacrosse is doing their part and playing with championship form. It’s our responsibility to go to the games and make noise for them. Get painted up, make some signs or something. Its not every year Springfield is going to have a team so talented. Enjoy it while you can.