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thursday, October 20, 1977 vol. 101 no. 28 lincoln, nebraska
Professor claims
the weed is safe
By Tarn Lee
Marijuana is one of the safest drugs in use today,
according to Dr. J. Thomas Ungerleider, marijuana re
searcher and psychiatry professor at the University of
California Medical Center in Los Angeles.,
He testified before a subcommittee of the Nebraska
Legislature's Judiciary Committee Wednesday in opposi
tion to LR 26. The resolution, sponsored by Omaha
Sen, Patrick Venditte, is to study the feasibility of
imposing stiffer penalties on marijuana users.
Ungerleider disputed testimony by Prof. Hardin Jones,
who testified in support of the resolution last month,
Jones said marijuana was the most dangerous drug used in
the United States today.
"In an experment cited by Jones, monkeys who were
forced to inhale 200 times the normal dosage of marijuana
showed genetic damage, Ungerleider, Said, '
"Marijuana is one of the safest drugs we have" he said.
Some drugs will kill people who take five or ten times the
recommended dose," he said.
Although Jones said marijuana has been shown to
. cause brain damage, Ungerleider said no reputable scien
tist believes that , Researchers who have compared long
term marijuana user? with non-users have found no mea
surable difference, he said, , ; , :
Contrary to Jones's testimony, Ungerleider said, mari
juana does not cause physical dependency on withdrawal
symptoms, although long-time users may develop a psy
chological dependence on the drug,
He said there also is no evidence that marijuana is
responsible for an anti-motivational syndrome.
L , J 111 : , rtl A
I - "V cy I
Photo by Bob Pearson
Marijuana researcher J, Thomas Ungerleider testifies Monday at a legislative hearing that reports of marijuana's
harmful effects were "nonsense."
The effects of marijuana are transient impairment of
. time -space perception and psychomotor control, he said.
It does not cause people to become homosexuals or
violent either, he said,
; It does, however, help patients suffering from
glaucoma, cancer, asthma, anorexia nervosa (a nervous
disease in which young women starve themselves), and
maybe epilepsy, he said. Marijuana also increases the pain
threshold, is a sedative and a mild tranquilizer, he added.
It does temporarily decrease production of the male
sex hormone, testosterone, but it does not cause impo
tence or sterility, contrary to Jones's testimony.
Ungerleidei; was appointed to serve on former president
Richard Nixon's Commission on Marijuana and Drug
Abuse, The commission found that alcohol use was a
much more serious problem than marijuana use. It also
unanimously recommended decriminalization of mari
juana, he said.
If,
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Photo by TJ Kirk
This raft relatives will be out on the prowl by month's end, but this little
white kitty is sitting pretty, waiting out the last days of autumn.
N CLU attorneys meet today
to discuss illegal search suit
Attorneys representing the Nebraska
Civil Liberties Union will meet this
afternoon to try and reach an agreement
concerning alleged illegal searchs at the
UNL Sports Complex. :
The meeting is a continuation of a Wed
nesday meeting. Private Attorney Robert
B, Creager met with reporters in the U.S.
Federal Court Clerk's office Wednesday,
describing the meetings .as "an Hth hour
move. . .We had anticipated filing suit
today," .
The controversy surrounds complaints
that students were illegally searched for
alcohol and controlled substances at the
Sept. 15 Fleetwood Mac concert.
, Creager said a petition for an injunction
against the procedures and a temporary
restraining order pending a hearing is pre
pared. He refused to name the plaintiffs
and defendents of the suit if it is filed.
The immediate goal of CLU actions is
to stop similar procedures at the Oct. 28
Crosby, Stills and Nash concert, he said.
"We're not- even certain precisely what
the official policy is. That's the nature of
the meeting," Creager said.
Following Wednesday's meeting . with
UNL attorneys, he said "We're bargaining
in good faith right now. . .the university is
apparently willing to cooperate with us."
Creager previously had said that if Wed
nesday's negotiations proved fruitless, the
suit would be. filed later that day. Any
CLU action has been postponed until after
this afternoon's second meeting, he said.
Need for meeting discussed
The necessity of a special Faculty
Senate meeting on the 1977-78 UNL
budget problem was the discussion topic at
a senate executive session Wednesday.
The Oct. 25 special Senate meeting was
scheduled to allow faculty members a
chance to form a recommendation on the
$1.6 million budget deficit UNL faces, said
Michael Turner, Faculty Senate president.
However, Ned Hedges, vice chancellor
. for Academic Affairs, said it may not be
necessary to have a special Faculty Senate
meeting if the budget problem can be
handled in the senate's regular meeting.
The senate meets the second Tuesday of
each month. -
Turner said most budgets allocate
$700,000 to $800,000 more than the
amount of money available to allow for
expenditures that don't ma ierialize.
However, he said UNL's deficit,
accumulated over the last five or six years,
is inappropriate and could cause difficulties.
He said the faculty is affected by any
part of the budget and should have a
chance to discuss it openly.
' The budget is a sensitive internal
problem and should first be addressed by
the Senate's executive committee, Turner
said.
inside Uiurcday
Fees-Behind closed doors: Hie task
force on student fees will conduct
meetings until December. . . ; .p. 7
Night Train pulls into Lincoln: and
unpacks a distinctive style of jazz
and blues. p. 8
Baby, you can drive my car: County
city employees begin carpool
program to save energy ..... .p. 9