current events – Page 19 – Go Retire Psychiatrist

High as a Kite!

We heard about the marketing of a new cannabis product in Iowa. A company called Climbing Kites makes a beverage that contains low concentration THC and it’s legal to buy it as long as the percentage of Delta 9 THC is not above 0.3%. Their website says funny things like “Fly High: All Buzz, No Booze.” However, it’s not legal to make it in Iowa. So, you just have to make believe you’re drinking it. Just kidding, sort of.

No, seriously, while it’s true it has to be made in Minnesota and shipped back to Iowa, you can buy it in Iowa legally as long as you’re over 21 years old and don’t mind going to prison for 20 years if you’re caught with an open container of the beverage while driving. Relax, that’s a joke. Have another drink! There’s a FAQ web page on the Climbing Kites web site. It’s Iowa’s first THC drink.

That doesn’t mean recreational marijuana is legal in Iowa, at least not yet. Several surrounding states are, though, including Missouri, Illinois, and Minnesota. There’s an interesting article on the future for marijuana legalization in Iowa.

Marijuana is still not legal at the federal level, though. It’s still classified as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act. While there is some conflict between the states that legalize recreational marijuana and the federal government, the federal government is not hustling to prosecute in those states.

It’s been a while since I tried marijuana, which really only caused me to think I could feel every blade of grass (the kind you mow) under my feet. It was before the evolution of the paramecium and, as luck would have it, before the invention of matches. This meant I had to chew the marijuana, leading to a gas attack which attracted a pack of dinosaurs. Of course, my gas attack is what led to the first mass extinction of the large reptiles resulting in the formation of the first mammals, who traded the marijuana for cell phones with the Extraterrestrials. It’s hard to know who got over on that deal because mammals came down with the zombie scrolling fixation while the ETs got a case of the stucks, suddenly becoming unable to remember how to drive their spaceships or make basic decisions about abducting cattle or mutilating soybeans. As you know, that led to all the UFO crashes on the planet, eventually making it necessary to hire the Bigfoot clan to re-educate them about how to traverse multiple dimensions in space-time enabling the collection of massive amounts of beef jerky supplies. History tells us this didn’t work out well for the ETs because their mouths are way too small to eat beef jerky.

There are many ways to get high as a kite; the substance high, the runner’s high, the writer’s high, and more. Weighing the good and the bad about them is a difficult task.

CDC ACIP Meeting February 28-29, 2024 to Discuss Covid-19 and Other Vaccines

There are news stories about a pending CDC-ACIP meeting (February 28-29, 2024) which might include information about a CDC recommendation to possibly add a 3rd additional Covid-19 vaccine booster this spring.

The Covid-19 vaccine portion of the meeting is scheduled for February 28, 2024 at 8:30 AM EST. There will be a vote at 1:55 PM EST that day.

Interestingly, also on the agenda is a discussion about the RSV vaccine on February 29, 2024 at 8:30 AM EST. We wonder whether the committee will talk about the current requirement for a shared clinical-decision making discussion with a physician for getting the RSV vaccine.

New Large Covid-19 Vaccine Study Shows Association with Rare Side Effects Which Other Smaller Studies Have Found

I’ve seen a couple of news stories about the CDC supported large study across many countries which essentially shows that Covid-19 vaccines can be associated with rare side effects. The stories might tend to raise anxiety about the vaccines’ overall safety, which has been repeatedly proven in other studies.

The study is published in the journal Vaccine and the conclusions are consistent with smaller studies showing the Covid-19 vaccines safety although they do have rare side effects.

One of the news stories contacted an expert, Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center, who confirmed that.

Unfortunately, there are over 1200 comments (and counting) containing alarmist and misleading information about the vaccines.

Black History Month: In Honor of James Alan McPherson

I thought it would be nice to mention James Alan McPherson, Pulitzer Prize winning author and longtime Iowa Writers’ Workshop faculty member, in keeping with the theme of this month’s Black History Month: African Americans and the Arts. A neighborhood park was named in his honor (James Alan McPherson Park) in 2021. There has been a plan to erect a memorial plaque in his honor, which I believe is still in process.

There is a very nice summary of his accomplishments as a writer on the Black Past website.

CDC May Change the 5 Day Covid-19 Isolation Guidelines

I see many news headlines reporting that the CDC may be planning to drop the 5 day Covid-19 isolation guidelines. For now I’m taking that as a rumor until the CDC website says something official about it.

Word on the street is that we may know more in April.

Afro-American Cultural Center Activities for Black History Month 2024

The Afro-American Cultural Center in Iowa City has many activities scheduled for Black History Month 2024. Check it out!

Thoughts on the Dr. MLK, Jr Distinguished Lecture by Michele Norris

Sena and I viewed a recording of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Distinguished Lecture given by Michele Norris on January 23, 2023. It was not available to the general public, about which I have inquired. It was a very interesting, informative, and entertaining presentation. It was about her 14-year Race Card Project which led to her new book, “Our Hidden Conversations: What Americans Really Think About Race and Identity.”

Michele opened with a little information about Bayard Rustin, which we didn’t know. There’s a film titled “Rustin,” available on Netflix which is about him and Dr. King and their complicated relationship. He was a gay black man, which was difficult for the civil rights movement leaders to accept. He was the key organizer for the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

In her own words, Ms. Norris created the Race Card Project because she thought no one wanted to talk about race. She found out she was wrong because there was an avalanche of response to her request that people write something about race on a small postcard (6 words) and send it back. Interesting examples:

“Father was racist. I’M NOT. Progress!”

“Did my Southern Grandpa attend lynchings?” (This card came from Iowa.)

“Married a white girl. Now what?” (The girl thought of the guy as an “assimilated” brown man.)

“Alabama. MLK assassinated. Students cheered. Horrified.” (This was in a college classroom.)

“We aren’t all strong, black women.” (Norris’s comment was that it makes black women seem more like a weed and not a flower).

“Two white dads. Three black kids.” (Adorable photo included of gay married men with three adopted black children.)

“Can someone help me find my privilege?” (Photo of a white man included. Ms. Norris said that most of the cards are from white people, which surprised her.)

“My name is Jamaal. I’m white.” (Include a picture of a white guy. This was a story about Iowa. The guy showed up for a job interview, and the receptionist says “I thought you would be taller.”)

“Vote for Obama. Look like me.” (White guy married to white gal; they adopted black girl. I think he meant, in the abstract, that no matter what color you or the candidate are you should vote based on whether the person is qualified for the job. It’s funny that his very young daughter commented on it in a predictably concrete way given her age. She said she lived in Iowa and didn’t see too many people who looked like her. Ms. Norris said this story would be included in the book.)

It’s tough to express complicated ideas in just six words.

Ms. Norris says it’s unlikely that we’re going to agree with each other. She wants to build bridges across the chasm which divides us and she is hopeful about our ability to do that. We ordered her book.