California doctors reverse their stance on legalizing pot. Incoming NPR chief hopes to “calm the waters.” The "Charmed, Tormented Life" of NBA great Jerry West. Winning the war on war.
California doctors reverse their stance on legalizing pot
Five years ago, California voters passed Proposition 215 legalizing marijuana for medical use; at the time, the measure was opposed by the California Medical Association (CMA). But at their annual meeting in Anaheim this year, the CMA announced that it favors the legalization of marijuana, even though the doctor group doubts the drug’s medical value.
The decision comes out of the frustration and confusion California doctors face regarding the state’s medical marijuana law, which permits doctors to prescribe a drug that is prohibited by federal law.
Dr. Donald Lyman, who wrote the new policy, said that although the medical usefulness of cannabis is still in question, the only way to test its medical validity is to legalize and study it. But this new stance appears to be as much about sociology as it is about medicine. Dr. Lyman says that current policy has failed and has resulted in increased prison costs and inequities in drug sentencing laws.
Critics of the new policy call the CMA’s position irresponsible and reckless. Meanwhile, on the federal level, the trend appears to be moving away from legalization. The Obama administration has been cracking down on medical marijuana dispensaries in California and threatening landlords who rent to medical pot sellers.
WEIGH IN:
What do you think of the CMA’s new policy and how will it affect the argument over legalizing marijuana in California and on the federal level? Should marijuana use be legalized and regulated, like alcohol? Would making pot legal lead to better understanding of its medical value?
Guests:
Dr. Donald Lyman, chair of the Medical Marijuana Advisory Committee, California Medical Association, wrote the policy paper for CMA
Dr. Stuart Gitlow, acting president, American Society of Addiction Medicine
Mark Kleiman, professor of Public Policy at UCLA, editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis
Incoming NPR chief hopes to “calm the waters”
The man who helped bring the beloved children’s show Sesame Street to a global audience is moving to a new street – actually a new avenue - Massachusetts Avenue in Washington, D.C., home base of National Public Radio.
This December, Gary Knell takes the reins as the radio network’s new president and CEO. He'll have his hands full – NPR has had quite a rocky year.
Vivian Schiller, who was NPR's news chief, the fundraising official and its chief executive, resigned from NPR earlier this year after she faced significant fallout from a series of controversies. One incident occurred when the network's former top fundraiser was caught on camera apparently calling the Tea Party racist.
Before that, Schiller caught flack for firing longtime analyst Juan Williams over controversial comments he made about Muslims on Fox News’ "The O’Reilly Factor." And some of NPR's senior managers lost their jobs as well.
WEIGH IN:
Gary Knell says he wants to "depoliticize" NPR (of which KPCC is a member station). For more than a decade, Knell has led Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit education organization that also produces Electric Company, Dragon Tales and other children's programming. What will he bring to one of the nation's leading broadcast operations for grown-ups?
Guest:
Gary Knell, incoming president and CEO, NPR
The "Charmed, Tormented Life" of NBA great Jerry West
Legendary Laker Jerry West is back in the spotlight with the release of his biography, "West by West: My Charmed, Tormented Life" this year.
Mr. Clutch, as he's known for his game-winning baskets at the buzzer, has just written a deeply affecting autobiography. The man who is literally the poster boy of the NBA – it's his silhouette in the red, white and blue logo – reveals how he overcame child abuse, debilitating shyness and wrestled with depression to sustain a forty-year career with the LA Lakers.
West divulges his personal demons: “I am the fifth of six children, raised in a home, a series of them actually, that was spotless but where I never learned what love was and am still not entirely sure I know today. What I do know is that I harbored murderous thoughts and they along with anger, sadness and a weird sort of emptiness, are in part what drove and fueled and carried me a long way, traveling a path to the future that, even with the depth of my crazy imagination, I never had the self-confidence to allow myself to fully envision, not really.”
West went on to become an Olympic Gold Medallist, an NBA All-Star, a two-time Hall of Famer and was named one of the fifty greatest players in NBA history. How did he do it? "West by West: My Charmed, Tormented Life" (co-authored by Jonathan Coleman) also talks about his complex relationships with Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain and more basketball stars.
To celebrate the release of his book, Jerry West will talk to fans in Santa Monica tomorrow night. He will be in conversation with Mandalay Entertainment CEO Peter Gruber at Track 16 at Bergamot Station at 8pm. Tickets are available at the LiveTalks LA website. First though, AirTalk welcomes Jerry West to tell us more about his remarkable life.
Guest:
Jerry West, author of "West by West: My Charmed, Tormented Life"; Former Player, Coach, Executive with the Los Angeles Lakers; Advisor to the Golden State Warriors and West Virginia
"Winning the War on War: The Decline of Armed Conflict Worldwide"
World peace is on the rise according to international relations scholar Joshua Goldstein. In his new book, “Winning the War on War,” Goldstein attempts to show that fewer wars are starting and more are ending.
On this premise, it’s easy to conclude, as Goldstein does, that armed conflict worldwide is in decline. Goldstein alleges that no national armies are fighting one another, and all of today’s wars are civil wars, which tend to be smaller. Because of this, he asserts that the number of war-related deaths globally speaking, both military and civilian, has dramatically declined over time.
Goldstein uses the history of United Nations peacekeeping efforts in Bosnia, Rwanda and West Africa, and the purportedly increasing success rate of such efforts to make his point. But to make such a claim seems counterintuitive as the United States further entrenches itself in wars with Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan. There’s also the NATO-backed fight in Libya against semi-ousted leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, among other bloody civil wars, like those taking place in Somalia, the Congo, and various parts of East Asia.
But Goldstein says the opposite is true. Armed conflict has declined worldwide, and the United States’ wars are coming to an end. As we approach the ten-year mark of the Afghanistan war, is the “tide of war receding” as President Obama stated after Osama bin Laden’s killing? Can we separate the United States foreign wars from war-related violence in other parts of the world? Are we headed towards a more peaceful world? Do news headlines reflect the reality of war and peace in our society?
Guest:
Joshua S. Goldstein, Professor Emeritus, School of International Service, American University, author of Winning the War on War