Columbia City Paper

Marijuana Enthusiasts React
Paul Blake got an arrow splitting bull’s-eye [“Sheriff Leon Lott Should Stop the Politicking,” Feb. 12, 2009). Cannabis (marijuana) is arguably safer than beer, wine or whiskey. Cannabis prohibition is nothing more than government subsidized discrimination. It’s time to treat cannabis prohibitionists like vampires. Truthfully, 
Stan White, Dillon Colorado

Olympian Michael Phelps is in good company.  The list of professional athletes caught using marijuana is long.  Could it be that drug warriors have been lying about marijuana’s health impact?  They’ve definitely been lying about the deterrent value of marijuana prohibition.
The U.S. has higher rates of marijuana use than the Netherlands, where marijuana is legally available to adults over 18.  Marijuana prohibition is built on lies, beginning with the “reefer madness” myths of the 1930’s and continuing to this day with government anti-drug propaganda masquerading as science.  As an admitted former pot smoker, President Obama no doubt knows the truth about marijuana.  Truthfully, marijuana is easily the least harmful recreational drug, legal or otherwise.  If health outcomes determined drug laws instead of cultural norms, marijuana would be legal.  The question is, will Obama bring change or will he continue to subsidize the prejudices of culture warriors?

Sincerely,
Robert Sharpe, MPA
Policy Analyst
Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington, DC 

Dear cancelled Bonnie Rait concert, 
 You really gave us something to talk about. And it’s not love! We won’t forget this, Rait! 
Columbia City Paper

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DON’T PANIC! YOUR WAR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

  The Swat Valley is a magical place in northern Pakistan where every child is born with the innate ability to batter down doors, rescue hostages, and safely apprehend suspected drug kingpins. Additionally, the area’s notoriously boy-crazy, clique-y teenage girls inspired the hugely popular Swat Valley High teen fiction series.
All lies. I admit it. But the truth is only slightly more fantastical.
The Swat Valley is, by all accounts, a natural paradise. It is frequently referred to as the “Switzerland of Asia,” a description I chuckled at until I found snapshots of Swat on Flickr.
Wa-wa-wee-wa! It is beautiful. To call it the Switzerland of Asia is a high compliment – to Switzerland.

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   The gallery at 1329 State Street in Cayce is actually an architect’s office. And it serves as a perfect venue for the “Art + Cayce” exhibition, which features prints and ceramics that stretch the boundaries of the constructs of form and function.
Professor Virginia Scotchie, head of ceramics at USC and one of the featured artists, has exhibited her work extensively throughout the United States and abroad and has received numerous awards, including the Sydney Meyer Fund International Ceramics Premiere Award from the Shepparton Museum in Victoria, Australia. She has lectured internationally on her work and been an Artist in Residence in Taiwan, Italy, Australia and the Netherlands. Due to her international background, Scotchie’s main goal is to develop a more international ceramic program at USC.
“During my career, I traveled a lot and realized the importance of leaving one’s comfort zone to learn more about other cultures and aesthetics,” she says.

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Recently, I celebrated my first year of marriage to the most amazing man. When we first began dating, he told me that he enjoys open sexuality and wants swinging to be part of any partnership he’s in. I regard myself as free-spirited and agreed to explore this with him. We delayed experimentation because I had a stressful job and I wanted to spend my limited free time with him instead of exploring our sexuality with multiple partners. My work situation changed, and we have since had about a dozen experiences in the past year. I have discovered that these situations are not a turn-on for me—in fact, they are a turnoff. I feel resentful after these episodes, and I don’t feel like having sex for days. We have discussed this at length, and we have been seeing a counselor. Recently, we had a civil discussion wherein we discussed the possibility of him having these sexual experiences without me, since I do not find them compelling. This idea appealed to him. He proposed going to a sex party alone that very night.
Ever since then, I have been crushed by the prospect of my husband having a sex life outside of our relationship. Since we met, his sexuality has had an outward trajectory, rather than being relationship centered. Having a healthy sexual relationship with him is enough for me. He makes a good point that he has been straight about his desire for this lifestyle since day one, but I am still frustrated and horrified that my husband needs to have sex outside of our marriage. I can’t help but feel hurt that I alone am not enough for him.
I’d appreciate your straight, honest feedback on this.

Sex Best One On One

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