Category: FYI

If perchance there is a randomized trial here in Manila please text me I’m volunteering.

AMA Advocates Change in Marijuana Classification
Category: Obama Administration • drug war • drugs • health policy • marijuana • medicine
Posted on: November 11, 2009 12:37 PM, by Nick Anthis
Yesterday, the influential AMA (American Medical Association) announced that it would cease its opposition to the concept of medical marijuana and instead advocate for a change in federal classification of the drug. From the LA Times:
The American Medical Assn. on Tuesday urged the federal government to reconsider its classification of marijuana as a dangerous drug with no accepted medical use, a significant shift that puts the prestigious group behind calls for more research.
The nation’s largest physicians organization, with about 250,000 member doctors, the AMA has maintained since 1997 that marijuana should remain a Schedule I controlled substance, the most restrictive category, which also includes heroin and LSD.
In changing its policy, the group said its goal was to clear the way to conduct clinical research, develop cannabis-based medicines and devise alternative ways to deliver the drug.
“Despite more than 30 years of clinical research, only a small number of randomized, controlled trials have been conducted on smoked cannabis,” said Dr. Edward Langston, an AMA board member, noting that the limited number of studies was “insufficient to satisfy the current standards for a prescription drug product.”
via AMA Advocates Change in Marijuana Classification : The Scientific Activist.

Wow I don’t know how accurate these stats are; But if this is true with cellphones and computer usage this high probably between 15-25% of the population uses the internet, we could support great products in the mobile and web parts of the local tech industry.

Still TV but…
In the Philippines, television still has the biggest influence on the voters at 70+%, higher than the 22% of the Internet.
Unlike in the US, where majority of voters belong to the middle class, most Filipino voters belong to the D and E social classes. Many of them, especially in the provinces, don’t have access to the Interent.
Nevertheless, Ong sees big potential in new media.
“Television is still the most influential. But new media might replace some of the mediums we are used to in the past. We want to know how viable it will become. This is our attempt to begin to explore [a] cyberspace campaign,” Ong said.
Lim said there are around 28 million Internet users in the Philippines. Out of this number, around 18 million are voters. “This is a huge number and the pie is growing,” he said.
In the 2007 elections, Lim said there were only about 10 million Internet users in the Philippines. Around 60% or 70% of the users then accessed the Internet in their offices. Now, around 60% to 70% of Internet users go to cafes.
“This is a people’s campaign. To be honest, this is an experiment. We don’t have much money. I had to be creative. Since we could not go mainstream, this is the most fertile [medium],” Ong added.
via Noynoy does an ‘Obama’, taps new media | ABS-CBN News Online Beta.

COMELEC fixes the deadline for the change and transfer of polling places to November 30
Date: 24 September 2009
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In compliance with Section 153 of the Omnibus Election Code, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) has fixed the deadline for the filing of petitions/requests for transfer of polling places in connection with the 2010 polls to November 30, 2009.
The Omnibus Election Code explicitly provides that no location of polling places shall be changed within forty-five (45) days before a regular election and thirty (30) days before a special election, referendum or plebiscite except in case it is destroyed or it can not be used.
Saying that it foresees various petitions/requests from registered voters or political parties for the transfer of polling places; the COMELEC said “there is a need to fix the deadline for the filing of petition/request for transfer of polling places to jibe with the timelines prescribed by the Commission to perform pre-election activities and to give the Election and Barangay Affairs Department enough period to assess, evaluate and make recommendations to the Commission En Banc and the latter ample time to approve/disapprove such request.”
The COMELEC, in Resolution 8676, promulgated September 23, 2009; resolved to fix the deadline to November 30, 2009.
“No request/petition for transfer of polling place shall be entertained after the deadline except in case the existing polling place is destroyed or it can not be used,” the COMELEC ruled. ###
via COMELEC | Election Automation 2010 | Press Releases.