Indeed, these legal actions came on the heels of an ABC News/Washington Post poll from Jan. 18 that showed 81 percent of respondents support the idea of legalizing medical marijuana, up from a sizable 69 percent in 1997. Further, 56 percent said that if allowed, doctors should be able to prescribe medical marijuana to anyone they think it can help.

For most of the country, and the federal government, marijuana is considered a Schedule I drug alongside substances such as heroin, PCP, and LSD. Schedule I drugs are among the most restrictive as they have a high potential for abuse and no medical applications. The classification means that medical marijuana is illegal under federal law, but in October the Obama administration set forth a new policy calling on federal officials to not prosecute medical marijuana users who comply with state laws.

This move was probably not too shocking, coming from the administration of a man who admitted to smoking marijuana as a teenager. What is shocking is that less than one month later, the American Medical Association called for the review of the classification of the drug as unsafe and medically unpractical. In its statement, the association, which represents 250,000 physicians, urged the federal government to reevaluate the substance for medical purposes by conducting further clinical research. The association also stressed the new policy should not be read as promoting the legalization of marijuana, the medicinal use of marijuana or the implementation of “state-based medical cannabis programs.”

“Despite more than 30 years of clinical research, only a small number of randomized, controlled trials have been conducted on smoked cannabis,” Dr. Edward Langston, an AMA board member, said in a statement. He further noted that the limited number of studies was  “insufficient to satisfy the current standards for a prescription drug products.”

While proponents of medical marijuana use welcome the AMA’s support, many point to the fact that since California became the first state to legalize medical marijuana in 1996, dozens of studies have been published preaching its benefits for some patients.

“The AMA always takes the position that there needs to be more research,” said Paul Armentano, deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). “We know more about marijuana than the foods we eat, than prescription drugs.

“It’s a continuation of cultural battles that go back many, many decades in this country,” Armentano continued. “When marijuana prohibition initially began, the initiatives for it [were] clearly based on racial bias. That racial bias has been replaced with a cultural or stereotypical bias [rather than science], which maintains the continuation of prohibition today.”

In states allowing marijuana for medicinal purposes, the laws clearly state that not just anyone having a bad day qualifies to use the drug. Typically, users must be suffering from cancer, glaucoma, positive HIV/AIDS status and chronic, debilitating diseases or medical conditions that result in wasting syndrome, severe or chronic pain, severe nausea, seizures, or severe and persistent muscle spasms.

But the future seems bright for proponents of legalized marijuana, and not just for medicinal purposes. A Gallup poll conducted in October showed an 8 percent increase in support of the legalization of marijuana from 2005 to 2009. Trends suggest that the escalating endorsements originate from women, 18-49 year olds, Democrats, liberals and moderates.

To date, about two dozen states, including Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, are introducing or considering legislation ranging from allowing medical marijuana use to decriminalizing possession of small amounts of the herb.

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The H1N1 influenza is a respiratory illness with symptoms that mirror those of the seasonal flu, including fever over 100 degrees, sore throat, cough, runny or stuffy nose, chills and fatigue, body aches, headaches, and occasionally vomiting and diarrhea. To prevent the disease, the CDC recommends coughing into a tissue, washing hands frequently, avoiding hand contact with eyes, nose and mouth, and avoiding contact with sick people or those believed to be sick.

Since higher-education institutions may act as a “point of spread,” the CDC has provided universities and colleges with an H1N1 tool-kit, which urges faculty, students and staff to stay in their homes, dormitories or residence halls for 24 hours after the fever subsides. It also asks faculty to increase student awareness of influenza.

The most effective measure a person can take is to get vaccinated, and soon that should be easier to do.  Currently, there are nearly 70 million doses available throughout the country, Frieden said. Unfortunately, that’s not enough to vaccinate everyone at risk, which also includes children and those of any age with underlying health conditions such as diabetes and asthma.

The backorder is due to the lengthy time period that the bacteria needs to fully culture, Frieden said. In the coming weeks, though, there should be more vaccines available for at risk individuals.

But more vaccines won’t necessarily translate to vaccinations for 18- to 24-year-olds. So far, state health departments have primarily targeted pregnant women and children before opening the vaccinations up to healthy college students and other groups at risk, said Carrie Williams, spokeswoman for the Texas Department of State Health Services.

“At this point, we haven’t allocated any vaccines to any schools,” Williams said. “We’re focusing the limited amount to the providers focusing on high-priority groups. Once [the vaccine] opens up, we’re going to give out more.”  A date hasn’t been set for when the vaccine will be available to all individuals.

It’s easy for healthy people to dismiss the CDC’s recommendations as an overreaction, but this disease should not be ignored. It has reached pandemic level, leading President Obama in October to declare the H1N1 virus a national emergency. And from August 30 to November 21, 29,348 people were hospitalized and 1,224 had died from the virus.

The flu season lasts until May, and at this point, researchers are unsure as to why people ages 24 and under are most affected by the disease.

“Flu viruses are very complicated organisms, and this particular strain has only been in circulation since April,” said Jeffrey Dimond, CDC spokesperson. “The initial efforts of scientists went toward creating a vaccine against it, which was done in record time. Now scientists can begin looking into the particulars of the virus-including why it seems to strike younger people more readily.”

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However, that was not the case earlier this month in Tangipahoa Parish just outside New Orleans, where Justice of the Peace Keith Bardwell refused to marry an interracial couple.

Beth Humphrey, 30, and Terence McKay, 32, decided to marry elsewhere and have since hired a private lawyer and filed a discrimination lawsuit against the judge. Additionally, the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana has insisted on an official investigation by the state’s Judicial Commission to have the judge dismissed from his gubernatorial-appointed position.

“What has come out of [this] is a clear signal that [Bardwell's] attitudes are no longer acceptable, and that [the younger generation] expects and demands better,” said Marjorie R. Esman, executive director of the Louisiana chapter of the ACLU.

Despite the overwhelming outrage and calls for his resignation, Bardwell has refused to step down.

“He’s not stepping down because he believes he hasn’t done anything wrong,” said Zach Schreiber, president of Tulane University’s chapter of the ACLU. “He was brought up by his parents, and they have the same values. His parents have taught him this, and no one has taught him any differently.”

Bardwell’s actions have served as a reminder that racism and bigotry still exist, said Danatus N. King, president of the New Orleans branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Despite these claims, the judge has asserted that he is not a racist, and he stands by his actions.

Humphrey and McKay were not the first couple to whom Justice Bardwell denied a marriage license. In his 34 years as a judge, Bardwell estimates he has refused to marry about four interracial couples, all in the past 2 1/2 years. He believes that children from these couples would not fit into either race’s societal structures and would, therefore, suffer.

“What he has done and has done several times is a racist act,” Schreiber said. “He’s a government official, although I’m sure his constituents don’t care. There are problems with Louisiana, especially in the parishes outside of big cities, with racism. I don’t know all about that parish, but if they did care about what was going on, I would believe that there would be some sort of action taken against him.”

Esman acknowledged the racial differences and issues that linger in Louisiana but also spoke of the public’s ability to recognize “that it’s not supposed to be that way.” Aside from affirming that Bardwell’s actions were illegally improper, Esman believed the judge’s concerns were unjustified.

“Even if his concerns are justified, he doesn’t have the authority to impose his judgments on children that don’t exist yet,” she said. “He doesn’t make those determinations on anyone else. It’s patently ridiculous to say that children of mixed race don’t succeed, when obviously the president [has].”

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As a child, I often heard stories about the Sumatra of his youth. Then, the province and its citizens were poverty-stricken, and my dad’s family was no exception. They struggled more than others because of his mother’s death when he was 9-years-old and his father’s inability to work due to age. These conditions left my dad and his siblings with the responsibility of working to support the family while completing their education. To earn money, my dad fished in Lake Maninjau, West Sumatra, and sold the catch of the day to local markets. His family planted nutmeg, coffee beans, and vegetables, which were also sold at the market. The money allowed my dad to buy items the family needed such as oil, sugar, and laundry soap.

It’s become a cliché to say that, in your youth, you walked miles to school in bad weather. But my dad did walk everywhere he went, including his middle school, which was 5 kilometers, about 3.1 miles, away. Despite the distances, he did not own a single pair of shoes. Eventually, my dad was able to buy a bicycle.  It remained his primary method of transportation for most of his adolescence.

Despite living in abject poverty, my dad held Padang dear to his heart. It meant home. It meant family. And its destruction and devastation during the last quake has made my parents immensely sad.

Officials report that at least 809 people were killed in the magnitude 7.6 quake. As of Oct. 12, 241 are listed as missing, and 1,250 are injured, many from the massive landslides that were triggered by the quake. More than 135,300 buildings, including Jam Gadang, a massive clock built by the Dutch when they colonized the country, were damaged or destroyed.

The archipelago of Indonesia was the home to President Obama for four years of his childhood. In response to the recent disaster, the president pledged $3 million in aid. The U.S. Air Force Humanitarian Assistance Rapid Response Team has been deployed to Indonesia to help the survivors, many of whom have been left homeless due to the extensive damage.

Even though my dad lives in Houston now, he hasn’t forgotten his roots. The Indonesian community in Houston, in collaboration with the Indonesian Scholarship & Relief Assistance of North America, is conducting fundraising activities for the earthquake victims. They hope this fundraising will help lessen the burden of people affected by the natural disaster. To learn more about their efforts, or contribute to their fundraising, you can visit their Web site at http://www.israna.org/.

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