Notes, Notes and more Notes

Today I answered two more of my foundation questions. I found some interesting actions taking place across our country from people hoping to legalize, decriminalize, or allow the medicinal use of marijuana. I also got a chance to talk to the director of the Pittsburgh chapter for NORML and I have set up an interview with him. For now, I am continuing my notes and working on interview questions.
Peace,
Julia

I should just get a bluetooth...

For the past two days, I have been trying to contact people to interview for my project. Two proffesionals I have called were Joe Deluca and Dave Sabol, police chiefs for their counties (Rochester and Ambridge, respectively). I want to interview them because they made statements in an article I found at . They believe Pennsylvania should decriminalize cannabis because it is more costly and unnessesary to prosecute people with small amounts. They still believe people with large amounts should be prosecuted for drug dealing, bu those who use it should not be targeted. Dave Sabol no longer works with his police force, but Officer Deluca tried to contact me while I was in school. I called him again, but he was unavailable. I also contacted Mark Cohen, a representative for PA that has introduced a bill to allow medical marijuna in our state. I left a message with his secretary, but I'm not sure how willing he will be to talk with me since he is in Philidelphia. That's all for now!
Peace,
Julia

A blog a day keeps ms. savido at bay

Right now I'm working on finding interview subjects to get background information for my foundation questions. I've been trying to find people in Pittsburgh, but a Philidelphia representitive who is pushing for medical marijuana in Pennsylvania could provide alot of info. Others I found so far were police chiefs who believe Pittsburgh should decriminialize marijuana, the Pittsburgh chapter of NORML, and my counselor at school, Mr. Kalieda who already volunteered for an interview. The only expert I need to find is someone in the medical field. For now, I will continue my research on these people and try to start scheduling the interviews and creating the questions next week. That's it for now!
Peace,
Julia

Muy Interesante!

Today my laptop was badly injured in a dangerous collision, so I decided to focus on note taking while it is being repaired. When I started researching a foundation question, I found this brilliant site http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_is_marijuana_illegal that completely answered my question in full detail and gave me a lead on some of my other questions. I'm pretty excited about some of the info I found.I also found these interesting facts from the site http://rodolphepilaert63.wordpress.com/2008/06/02/the-hearst-company-dupont-cannabis-conspiration/ about hemp (fiber made from stems of cannabis sativa:

• In 1916, the U.S. Government predicted that by the 1940s all paper would come from hemp and that no more trees need to be cut down. Government studies report that 1 acre of hemp equals 4.1 acres of trees. Plans were in the works to implement such programs; Department of Agriculture
• Oldest known records of hemp farming go back 5000 years in China, although hemp industrialization probably goes back to ancient Egypt
• The first Bibles, maps, charts, Betsy Ross’s flag, the first drafts of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were made from hemp; U.S. Government Archives
• 80% of all textiles, fabrics, clothes, linen, drapes, bed sheets, etc. were made from hemp until the 1820s with the introduction of the cotton gin
• For thousands of years, 90% of all ships’ sails and rope were made from hemp. The word ‘canvas’ is Dutch for cannabis
• “I grew Hemp”, George Washington
• REFUSING TO GROW HEMP in America during the 17th and 18th Centuries WAS AGAINST THE LAW! You could be jailed in Virginia for refusing to grow hemp from 1763 to 1769; Hemp in Colonial Virginia, G. M. Herdon

Presentation Week

Today was the last week of presentations for our proposal, and I heard alot of interesting topics. Alot of them are very unique and coming along nicely. I wish my presentation could have been better, but I think I did the best I could with the time I was given. Today I'm going to try and see if I can get some interview subjects and a local organization that promotes alternative cannabis policies. That's it for now, ttyl!
Peace,
Julia

No such thing as a lazy Sunday...

Today I finished my timeline and even came up with a couple new action proposals along the way. In addition to sending a packet to local senators and politicians, I will also write an editoral to two major newspapers in Pittsburgh. Another idea I have is to use a video sharing site to create a profile for my project. There I will make videos detailing the history, impact and current controversy surround cannabis. With that I hope to reach the most people and spread as much information as I can with the research I find. This will have to be done mostly outside of school, but in the end it will be worth it since this will be a good action to present to the panel. I'm finished with my proposal for now, so its time to add a little to my notes.
Peace,
Julia

A Proposition...

Today I worked on my project proposal. After writing my draft on Monday, I got some feedback from Ms. Savido and revised my paper. I'm almost finished with the edits, so I'll probably be able to continue working on my Foundation Question notes.
Peace,
Julia