Pubdate: Sun, 24 Oct 2004 Source: Anchorage Daily News (AK) Copyright: 2004 The Anchorage Daily News Contact: http://www.adn.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/18 Author: Sharon Severson Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1455/a09.html Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm (Opinion) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/marijuana+initiative Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) VILLAGES REVEAL MARIJUANA'S HARMFUL EFFECTS; ANTI-POT TEAM APPRECIATED I was so encouraged to read the news about the anti-pot team ("Anti-pot team attacks push to legalize it," Oct. 14). We were teaching in the villages in Northwest Arctic in the '70s when the Molly Hootch schools were being built and the returning high-schoolers brought their "pot" connections to the villages. Almost overnight we watched our students change. They no longer seemed able to distinguish right from wrong or care if they were hurting others or themselves. The prefrontal cortex, where decisions are made, seemed to be disconnected from the intellect. Emotions seemed disconnected as well. In reading Scientific American this April and learning the important new research about the chemical transmission of information in our brains, as well as the electrical transmission of information we already knew about, we are beginning to understand the disaster that pot has made of so many lives in the Bush as well as in the city. We are so pleased that someone is standing out against it! Sharon Severson Anchorage - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake