Local SADD Students Get A Chance To Work In The Froggy Radio 107.1 Studio

2010-01-07 / Front Page

Photo courtesy SADD Program Students from the Northfield Middle/High School SADD group, Brandy Parks, left, Troy Currier, and Danielle Dickinson, (Olivia Drown was also in attendance but was not in the photo), along with SAP and SADD Advisor, Annie Luke and GNCC/Drug Free Partnership Director, Roxanne Benson, (both not in photo) record another PSA (public service announcement), focused on the dangers of using marijuana. Radio host and local Northfield resident, Dexter Rowe, right, joins them. Dexter Rowe, Production Director for Frank 107.1, Froggy 100.9 and WSNO 1450, welcomed SADD members of the Northfield High School, into the studio to record a public service announcement for Northfield and Roxbury’s Drug-Free Partnership.

Dex, also a volunteer board member of the Drug-Free Partnership, is a local Northfield resident and a staunch supporter of educating youth on the dangers of substance use and abuse. The PSA focused on the dangers of using marijuana, including impaired driving, and the fact that most teenagers DO NOT use marijuana. The SADD students offered the following message:

“Marijuana changes how your brain works. It contains THC - tetrahydrocannabinol; a mind-altering chemical. Marijuana can slow thinking and reaction time, cause confusion, impair balance and coordination, and affect memory and learning. It can affect your driving too! It can bring on feelings of anxiety and paranoia; mess up your performance in school, sports, and other parts of your life. Stay informed, know the risks. It's illegal! In the recently released Vermont Youth Risk Behavior Survey; 36% of students have tried marijuana - down from 48% in 1997. Of all students, 8% have smoked marijuana by age 13. Most teenagers do not use marijuana. Find a natural high.... like sports, dancing, shopping, volunteering, or joining an activity at your school or in your community. It is important to know the facts. Make an educated decision. Do you want to follow the crowd? …Then don’t use marijuana ~ 64% of your peers have never tried it.”

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First off, people have very

Submitted by Ex-Vermonter and Marijuana activist (not verified) on Thu, 2010-04-15 23:22.

First off, people have very little understanding about marijuana due to the fact that, as stated by Marijuana ISN'T Bad (here in these readers comments), President Nixon (who also knew little of it-people tend to fear what they do not understand) and his "War on Drugs." A lot of the above statements have never been proven and guess what! Marijuana users are actually more aware of their surroundings and tend to drive slower as opposed to say a drunk driver who is unaware and erratically driving. As for the memory thing, this only lasts as long as the effects of marijuana (which wear off in a couple hours). Also, there hasn't been any solid proof about slowed thinking/reaction time and I have no idea where they got the idea about lack of coordination and balance from. About the paranoia: DUH, they're going to be paranoid...who knows what little jerk out there is going to snitch or if the police are watching. If it were legal this would probably not even be an issue. I also know of people who would smoke while doing schoolwork and performed better than they would without it. Also, as stated by Marijuana ISN'T Bad, marijuana has so many medical benefits and smoking a blunt IS NO DIFFERENT than "kicking back and having a beer"!!! If anything it's better and you don't get the hangover. I also agree with Marijuana ISN'T Bad, when DID SADD include pot??? They should stick to what they know and just shut the hell up about pot and I think that RESPONSIBLE adults should be able to smoke it! People need to read more from NORML.org or check out this site I recently became a fan of on Facebook called Legalize Greens: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000736399684&ref=ts

It's so sad...so many people

Submitted by Marijuana ISN'T Bad (not verified) on Wed, 2010-02-10 18:43.

It's so sad...so many people misunderstand marijuana and fail to try and find the truths over the fallacies. "Marijuana is far less dangerous than alcohol or tobacco. Around 50,000 people die each year from alcohol poisoning. Similarly, more than 400,000 deaths each year are attributed to tobacco smoking. By comparison, marijuana is nontoxic and cannot cause death by overdose. According to the prestigious European medical journal, The Lancet, "The smoking of cannabis, even long-term, is not harmful to health. ... It would be reasonable to judge cannabis as less of a threat ... than alcohol or tobacco." -NORML You see it all goes back to President Nixon when he popularized the term "War on Drugs" in 1969. Marijuana was considered a "bad drug" and was later made illegal all over the U.S. People failed to see the benefits of marijuana and were led to believe that it was just another drug out there we had to worry about. But open your mind to this: Marijuana can help patients dealing with Chemotherapy a little relief from their pain and can actually HELP their appetites. AIDS/HIV patients also find relief from marijuana along with people suffering with glaucoma. Thousands upon thousands of people die from alcohol poisoning. There have been no known cases of people dying from marijuana. I believe that RESPONSIBLE adults should be able to sit back and smoke a blunt the way they would kick back and drink a beer to relax--AS LONG AS THEY DO IT RESPONSIBLY! By the way, since when did SADD include marijuana??? If you don't know the real facts than you shouldn't be talking about something you have no idea about.

I completely disagree. The

Submitted by Marijuana ISN'T Bad (not verified) on Wed, 2010-02-10 18:26.

I completely disagree. The claims about marijuana impairing your mind to such an extent IS NOT true and has not been proven. Marijuana has been given a bad rep with no scientific proof behind it. I DO believe that there should be an age limit on it (perhaps 21) and restrictions such as those used for alcohol (no doing it in public and no driving while intoxicated). Only RESPONSIBLE adults should be able to use it. There are many benefits (can be used for the sick and can also be used for food, paper and clothing)! It's a plant that's less harmful than alcohol (which you can overdose on-you cannot O.D on marijuana) and is about the same as a cigarette (if not less) which are all legal. There is more of an issue of people getting a hold of parents or friends pills, than people misusing marijuana. Please, read up more on something before you go trying to bash it!